"I am a villain"

Prologue

I had lived in this home for years. It was my only home since I was found at the age of 8 and I have worked my hardest ever since. My name is Laila. It's the only thing I have from my family. A family I don't even remember as the Edwards Mansions staff was my new family. I am currently 19 years old. I could leave at any point and become a part of another house or even get an education. the only thing I needed was to work for 2 more years to be able to afford an actual education. Currently, I am doing laundry. It was the most laborious chore there was as even though we had machines most of the clothing had to be washed by hand. I was in charge of cleaning the masters' coats. I had four masters. The four sons of the Edwards family. Only one of them wasn't adopted and they were very different. 

"Laila, the first coat should be finished by now," The laundry watcher said. I just got up and pulled the last coat out of the water and hung all of them up. He was pleasantly surprised. 

"Now Abigale has a few things she needs you to tend to," He said. I merely nodded not really speaking much. He pointed at a room on a map of the mansion. I left quickly going to the room. The mansion was huge and going from one end to the other could take an hour but that was if you wanted not to use shortcuts. The house was built with many secret passages that no one knew were there. I used every single one I knew if it saved me time. Going from one end of the mansion to the other would take an hour without the use of shortcuts but it only took twenty minutes with the use of them. It took me five minutes before I found myself in the library. There was no doubt that Abigale was in there as you could hear the shouting of the old housekeeper. I walked into her view and she only scoffed. What got her in such a bad mood?

"Everyone gather around," She yelled and a bunch of servants came running. The youngest was 12. She was training the new hires. That was why she was angry. She had the patience of a spoiled brat, but otherwise, she was understanding and caring for those who did their jobs. 

"This is Laila. She started here when she was 12 just like you are now. Laila, show them how to clean a book," Abigale said with a sigh. I nodded and sat by the books at the biggest table as the children spread out around me. I took the needle the cotton and the cloth. I whipped it down with the cloth. used the cotton to go into the crevises and then used a needle to remove the fine dust. I made sure everyone could see what I did. Abigale told everyone to find their books and get started. She then looked at me. 

"I'm guessing that you've already finished all of your chores?" She asked. I only nodded. She grabbed the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"It's only 1," She muttered under her breath. I looked at her almost expecting to be told to wipe down the shelves while the books were off. 

"Go to the music room. The masters want the instruments cleaned and you are the only one I trust to do it unsupervised. You get the rest of the day off once you are done," She said. I nodded and left. I had a cloth in the pockets of my pants. The masters had chosen the uniform once they took over the estate and I can only thank them for changing from the old puffed-up skirt to a pair of trousers with a blouse and vest for both genders. Some girls had a kind of apron on their vest but that was optional. I found that it got in the way more often than not. The Music room was quite far away from the library, but that was only natural. It would take 10 minutes to get there even if I used shortcuts. I hurried, feeling my braid hitting my back with every step I took. We had four options for our hair. A long braid, a ponytail, twin tails, and finally a bun. My hair was so long that a bun would look like a leaning tower about to collapse, and the two others would simply make my hair get in the way all the time.

 I walked passed a certain picture in between two shortcuts. It was a family portrait of the masters and their parents. I couldn't help but look up. The youngest of the masters was 13 when it was painted, and the oldest was 16. I had just started working there and remembered the complaints from all the masters. They didn't want to sit still for the five hours it would take to sketch. I couldn't help but smile at the memory as I looked at every one of them. The oldest was an ass all the way through. He was rude had no patience and I swear he was looking for someone to penalize. The only thing he had and still has going for him is his appearance. He is quite attractive. His hair is jet black and his eyes a dark green with light circles around the irises. His jaw was his most dominating feature and I swear he could probably crush stone in his mouth. His nose was crooked and he looked like your stereotype yakuza crock. His skin was a bit on the pale side but lately, he had actively been sunbathing to give it color. The second oldest was 14 at the time of the painting. His hair was brown and his face was a bit on the feminine side. His brothers would tease him about it to no end but he didn't seem to be bothered by it. He had an unnatural amount of muscles to look more masculine and it worked for him. The second youngest was also 14 years old. He was blond had blue eyes and was your average-looking blond. Let's just say puberty did him a favor, but he was pretty careless and would interrupt us and make the servant's life harder if it got him what he wanted. He was the pickiest of all the masters. Lastly, we have the youngest. He had brown hair and eyes. He was the only biological child of the Edwards Family. He was also the most mild-mannered and was quite kind. He was built like a boulder and was easily the strongest despite looking the weakest. I personally preferred serving him over the others because he treated us, servants, the best. I finally came to the music room. They all had shared one trait a lack of patience. Unfortunately it was a trait half of them carried into adulthood. I arrived at the music room and heard music from within the room. I saw one of the personal butlers standing outside the room. His name was Rasmus, but I barely interacted with him. He looked at me and walked over to me.