Arthur scowled to himself as he did his final patrol for the night.
The house staff had clocked out for the night, and although the cleaning was pristine without any mistakes, he barely paid attention.
His thoughts were completely taken up by a particular male Omega.
Learning that after all Lake had done, he was still allowed to work at the mansion wasn’t as infuriating as Master Davian personally asking after him.
He would rather make Lake disappear under mysterious circumstances than have the Omega get any closer to Master Davian.
And he had an idea of just how to do that and get away with it.
Without bothering to complete his patrol, Arthur returned to his room, there was someone important he needed to call.
Matilda Black. Master Davian’s aunt.
"Who is this?" A sharp voice demanded as soon as the call connected.
"Arthur Boone, the butler of the Black House." He introduced hastily, well aware that Miss Matilda could choose to hang up at any time.
The older lady’s sneer could be heard clearly in her voice. "And what do you want?"
"Some information I think you might find useful," Arthur said carefully.
Matilda clicked her teeth, beginning to run out of patience. "You have nothing that could be useful to me.
Arthur remained unshaken by her ire, he needed something and he would tolerate anything to get it.
"Certainly, but I thought you might like to know that a maid was with Master Davian on his last rut, and he’s beginning to get more and more attached to the male Omega."
Matilda went pin-drop silent at that, and Arthur puffed out his chest at that, confident that he had caught her full attention.
"When did all of this happen?" Matilda asked after the short stretch of silence.
Her voice was much quieter now, with none of the reproaches she previously spoke with.
Arthur gave her as much information as she needed, making sure to tag on the fact that the Master would be going on a business trip the very next day.
"Leave it all to me, Arthur," Matilda said slyly, and a chilling smile could be heard in her voice.
Arthur glanced at his phone with a pleased smile as the call dropped, perhaps he hadn’t lost it all, after all.
Lake sat on his bed and ate the takeout he had gotten, he felt groggy but also very well-rested.
It was no surprise he felt that way as he had slept the most he had for years now.
There were downsides to spending the entire day asleep, however, and that was how doing that had thrown off his sleep rhythm.
Lake really didn’t want to go in to work the next day, wary of what he would come to meet.
But he needed the money so when it was starting to get really late, he forced himself to go to bed as he would have to be up early the next day.
The next morning, after cleaning up and getting ready, he very carefully wrapped the column of his neck in black silk.
He made sure to carry a couple of the silk ties as spares - he never knew when he might need them.
This time, when he stepped out of his apartment, he was resigned to Avery who was camped outside like a security dog.
"Lake, it’s been a while," Avery beamed, his voice pitched high.
"I’ve been busy, one would think you’d be too," He murmured the second half of his sentence under his breath.
Lake immediately started walking, not at all surprised by Avery walking beside him.
"I bet you’ve been," The clinging Omega said in a knowing voice. "Butler Arthur was searching for you a couple of days ago."
Lake made a face - who called him Butler Arthur?
"And I’ve resolved the issue with him," Lake stopped to say with a strained smile, hopping into the elevator and hastily closing it.
Avery didn’t make a move to try and follow him, and Lake hoped that his abrasiveness was finally starting to get to him.
He still hadn’t forgotten that Avery was the one to sic Arthur and the men on him the morning he was on the run.
But he had bigger issues than a neighbor who had nothing exciting happening in their lives so they decided to be a nuisance.
Lake had no idea how work was going to go for him, keeping his job at the Black mansion was tentative.
Things were still strained, and if it was no longer to his benefit, he could just disappear and start afresh somewhere else.
He tried not to think about Master Davian’s disappointment if he left but they were cut from completely different cloths - they could never be sewn together.
Lake silently got into the mansion without an issue, silently getting changed into his uniform at the locker room.
It was here he found out that the Master had gone on a business trip. The maids were chatting about it as they got ready for the day’s work.
This was actually good news, things were still so delicate that it was beneficial for him that Master Davian wouldn’t be around for a couple of days.
By the time the Master returned, everything that had happened would be pushed to the side for other pressing matters.
As soon as Lake stepped out of the locker room, he ran into the very person he dreaded.
Arthur had a gloating look on his face as he stared him down, the other maids hurrying away to keep themselves busy.
"I thought you would also be taking today off," He said, ashy blond hair slicked back.
Lake knew that the thought wasn’t from a place of concern, sarcasm dripping from the butler’s words.
"I’ve been unable to work for two days, I’d better not."
Arthur made a derisive sound at the back of his throat, "I wonder why."
Lake remained silent at that, he had predicted this very scene so he was unbothered, waiting for Arthur to get all his bile out so he could start working.