บท 61: Chapter 60: The Tourist II

Arkham doesn't have a sister. In fact, the person who plays Arkham also doesn't have a sister. On their agenda, Jasper Arkham's backstory is just a single son of a middle income family who had served prestigious restaurants.

Then, why the hell is his boss pretending to be his older sister?

He received no messages from her since yesterday, which is typical since she usually takes a while to give feedback to his reports, and now she's here in the White Pearl Mansion? On the invitation of his fucking Young Master Mar and Liam?

The four of them, two young alphas, Arkham's "sister" and her mated boyfriend are sitting on the dock overlooking the private beach in the middle of the afternoon sun. They're sharing food; deep-fried shrimp in chili sauce was on the floor for everyone; Mar was giving away some of his beautiful meat buns while Liam was holding on to his very pink smoothie. The couple, Arkham's "sister" was deep in talking about colorful meatballs while her "boyfriend" was tearing apart his cotton candy.

Long forgotten ice cream cups lined their circle of food, and they talked as if they were experts narrating in a nature documentary.

"The Southerners believe the most important thing one can do in life is die." Ruby said her part with the conviction of a TV news reporter.

"Is that so? We are not experts in history, may you enlighten us on the topic of Southern religion?" Liam's formal tone was rather cursed than anything, usually the platinum blond alpha is laid back and speaks in a casual tone. Hearing his voice being naturally formal scared the spy a little.

The "boyfriend" nodded and put down his cotton candy. His dark skin and bright green shirt with ugly pineapple prints made him stand out from the group as he talked. "I am a Southerner, and yes, native Southerners believe in life after death. Though Mainlanders are not fond of religion anymore, down south people are still very religious. Funerals are very elaborate and can take up to a week. Since we believe in life after death, we want as little physical remains as possible when we die. Therefore, cremation is the most popular— Hold up, is that our boy Jasper?"

As soon as the words left his lips, the two young alphas turned around so quickly that their heads might as well snap. Arkham gave them a little wave as he walked towards the group.

"Sorry, I was occupied in the kitchen." He gave them a smile as he sat down in between the two parties.

Truth be told, the spy was occupied trying to find a way to get to Hannah Gavin, the maid who laced the butler water supply with a sleeping agent. He was so far unsuccessful since one needs a code to get into the hallway in the walls. No matter how much he asked Petrov about it, the older butler thinks the new butler wants petty revenge, which is much better than the head butler suspecting something is up with Arkham, but still...

It's his job to find out what's going on, and being a newbie butler in the mansion prohibited him from doing that. And now his boss is also here?

"No worries, Jasper. We got some food for you." Ruby's plastic grin told Arkham that something isn't right. "Deep fried seafood with chilli sauce, your favorite!"

Arkham doesn't like seafood. Nor chilli sauce. Nor deep fried food in general. He let out a sigh and picked up a stick of skewered shrimp anyways. The best course of action is to play along.

"Ah..." Mar's phone vibrated, and he immediately started texting back. "Liam, your dear sister is summoning us."

"Why didn't she text me?" Liam, who was already on his phone, showed his screen to his best friend. "See, nothing from her."

With hesitation, the black haired alpha moved his phone closer to his companion. "Meg didn't text me. Star did."

"I see, I see." Liam nodded wisely, as if he just understood the universe by looking at the text messages.

The black haired alpha was the first to stand up from his seat on the floor of the dock. He dusted his clothes and picked up his smoothie. "Let's go, dude. Star's gonna skin us alive."

"Alright, alright." The taller alpha didn't waste any time doing the same. He looked at the three who were still sitting down, and he pointed his finger right at the dark skinned man. "Celesto, don't forget about the card we got you, you need to give it back to the guards when you leave. Arkham can show you and Ruby around if you're lost."

"Bye, Ruby!" Mar gave the woman a quick high five before he began running towards the living room balcony which is connected to the dock.

"Call us if you wanna hang out again!" Liam bid his farewell before he ran after his best friend.

Meanwhile, Arkham was sitting there, still confused. He knows visitors can only get in with the cards given to them by the guards, and to acquire those cards, they need permission from one of the masters of the house.

How did Ruby and Celesto manage to charm those two young alphas was beyond Arkham...

Now that they're quite alone, the spy took in a deep breath and stared at his "sister".

"'We have lost all contact from you 42 hours ago.'" The dark skinned man began speaking in his native dialect, and Arkham pressed his lips into a hard line. He hopes none of the people watching the security camera speak Southerner.

"'What do you mean? I sent in my reports, and I received no reply. I thought Ruby was taking as long as usual to respond.'" Arkham responded in the most casual tone possible, as if he's talking about the weather.

"'I realized this time that my response was postponed, and you didn't pick up your phone. We assumed the worst, you know.'" His boss looked at him with those green eyes.

Her eyes were almost identical to his, and that's probably what sold it to the young alphas that Jasper Arkham is Ruby Arkham's younger brother. The spy was a little spooked when the front door guards happily informed him that his older sister looked just like him, she and her fiance were with Young Master Mar and Liam on the dock.

"'I didn't get any calls from you.'" Arkham frowned a little, but he still kept his smile. The people watching the security camera shouldn't suspect anything.

"'We called you like fifteen times.'" Celesto patted the spy's shoulder, pretending to give him life advice. "'You got no missed calls?'"

The new butler simply nodded.

Fuck, they've been compromised.

"'When I got here, I found that the server was cut off. That's why we can't reach you.'" Ruby's sly giggle was inappropriate for the situation, but whatever sells their act is encouraged.

"'Why didn't you at least text me normally?'" Arkham rolled his eyes with a smile.

Celesto shook his head, and he pushed Arkham playfully. "This is a surprise visit, you little shit. You can't let people know the surprise!"

"Thanks?" Arkham took a bite of his food. The shrimp was actually pretty good.

"We gotta get going soon, Jasper." Ruby's smile didn't change as she stood up, taking her meat buns and smoothie with her.

From the look on her face, the switch back to a language the staff can understand was intentional.

Arkham shrugged and deep throated his shrimp in a bite before he picked up the empty container along with various ice cream cups.

"'We're glad you're safe.'" Celesto's smile was genuine when he helped the new butler clean up. "'A new server is being set up, so don't forget to pick up your phone. Lay low until you receive further instructions.'"

"Okay." After saying his short reply, Arkham quickly ran towards the nearest maid station, which is in the living room, to give them their trash.

They thanked him for even having the heart to clean up after his young masters outside of their bedroom... Sure, isn't that Arkham's job?

Then, he walked his "sister" and her fiance to the gates. Matteo, his fellow butler, gave the couple a wave before he opened the gates for them.

"You know that guy?" The new butler questioned his boss one last time before the leave.

"Just met him. Great guy!" Celesto pulled Arkham into a hug while Ruby let out a laugh.

"We'll see you soon!" His boss waved goodbye before she took her fiance's hand.

Arkham watched them disappear down the hill as they walked back to town nearby. He wondered who the hell cut off their server? The spy should find who, but at the same time his order was to lay low for now.

Unbeknownst to him, a pair of purple eyes watched him from a window. Mar tapped on his laptop as his mind ran. After a few seconds, he gestured for his best friend to follow him.