5:00 AM.
The Private Sanctum of the Academy Headmaster.
Inside the main office of Shitapur Academy, the light of dawn had not yet broken, but luxury was already awake.
Headmaster Rasel Cheng sat at a massive mahogany table. Before him lay a royal breakfast fit for a king. A bowl of steaming, fragrant rice; to his right, a clay pot filled with rich, dark Beef Curry, accompanied by mashed potatoes glistening with butter.
Standing to his left was a ravishingly beautiful maid.
In her hands, she held a bowl of lentil soup. Her body seemed carved by a master sculptor. She wore her uniform in a calculated manner—revealing just enough of her fair skin and the deep valley of her bosom to catch the Headmaster's wandering eye.
On her lips played an elegant, inviting smile. Her goal was clear: to become the Headmaster's personal attendant and escape the drudgery of a common servant's life.
At Rasel's gesture, she poured five spoons of thick lentil soup over his rice. Rasel was a man of distinct tastes; he preferred a heavy meal to start his day rather than bread.
As he took the first bite of rice and lentils, the maid slipped silently into the next room and returned bearing a prize.
A massive Roasted Hilsa Fish, the size of a man's forearm.
Armed with a silver knife and spoon, she stepped intimately close to Rasel. With practiced grace, she began to debone the fish, separating the succulent flesh from the thorns. Her posture was so close that Rasel could feel the warmth radiating from her body.
Rasel inhaled deeply.
Overpowering the aroma of the roasted fish came the intense scent of flowers. She had bathed meticulously and applied expensive perfume for this specific task.
Rasel's gaze drifted from the fish to the heaving chest of the woman beside him. Primal fantasies began to awaken in his mind.
"Master," her voice dripped like honey. "Your favorite roasted Hilsa, served with lentils of the western wind. I have removed every single thorn."
Her cheeks flushed red, her eyes lowered demurely. Rasel could no longer restrain himself. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap with a sudden jerk.
"Master..." she whispered in feigned shyness.
Rasel leaned in close, the fire of lust burning in his eyes.
"Would you mind if I..."
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Three sharp raps on the door shattered the moment.
Instantly, the romance evaporated. Rasel's mood turned sour.
Frustration etched itself onto the maid's face. She knew opportunities to seduce the Headmaster were rare.
Rasel gestured irritably. Reluctantly, she slid off his lap and went to open the door.
Standing in the doorway was an Academy Guard.
He looked like a 'Wet Dog' dragged out of a pond. Water dripped from his entire body. But Rasel knew that not a single drop of rain had fallen in Shitapur for the past week.
This was not rain—it was the cold sweat of terror.
The guard entered and fell to his knees, holding an envelope high above his head. His hands trembled violently.
"Subordinate... pays respects to Lord Headmaster. A Lord Leader has sent this letter for you."
Rasel took the letter with annoyance. His mind was still lingering on the maid, who stood by the door, pouting.
But as he tore open the envelope—
The blood in Rasel's veins turned to ice. His eyes bulged, threatening to pop out of their sockets. Sweat beaded on his forehead. Suddenly, he understood why the guard looked like a drowned rat.
At the bottom of the letter was a signature—Azgaar Ahmed.
Rasel screamed internally, "Azgaar Ahmed wants to have a 'good conversation' with me tonight?!"
Disbelief paralyzed him. Why? What was his crime? Why would a monster like Azgaar want to talk to a lowly Rank 4 like him? Was it about his son, Ruhan's results? Or something else?
A chill ran down his spine, freezing him to the core. For a full minute, he forgot to breathe.
But he could not show weakness in front of a guard. He composed himself, forcing a facade of indifference.
"Fine. You may go."
"Subordinate takes his leave..."
Before the words were fully spoken, the guard vanished, fleeing as if a predator were snapping at his heels.
Rasel looked back at the maid. Sensing her chance, she locked the door and sashayed back toward him.
But Rasel was in another world. The voluptuous body on his lap, the scent of flowers, the exposed skin—none of it registered. His senses had gone numb. The terror of Azgaar Ahmed's name had withered his desire instantly.
The maid felt dejected, but she didn't give up. She tried to comfort him, unaware of the contents of the letter.
"Master..." she cooed softly.
Suddenly—
BANG!
There was no knock. No request for permission.
The door slammed open with such force it hit the adjacent wall.
Rasel and the maid jumped apart in shock.
The maid's eyes widened in horror. Who dared to enter the Headmaster's room like this?
But as she saw the figure in the doorway, her pupils contracted into pinpoints.
Humayun Kabir!
The Leader of Shitapur Village. The Head of the Shita Clan. The supreme authority—Rank 3.
Rasel Cheng bowed his head in fear and reverence.
"Subordinate pays respects to Lord Clan Leader. Lord, you came yourself? If you had sent a word, I would have..."
Rasel tried to smile, but it looked like a grimace of pain. A letter from Azgaar Ahmed and the arrival of Humayun Kabir in one day—it was like being struck by lightning twice.
Humayun Kabir did not look at Rasel. His cold gaze fixed upon the maid cowering in the corner.
He spoke a single command, his voice calm yet bone-chilling:
"Get lost."
The girl didn't think twice. Leaving behind her dreams, her plans, and the Headmaster, she ran for her life. She didn't dare look back.
As she fled, she muttered to herself,
"In this world of Masterers, we Norms are nothing but pets. If they wish, they feed us; if they wish, they kill us. Whether we live or die matters nothing to them..."
She sprinted along the deserted path behind the Academy. She thought—if only one can get the protection of a Masterer, one can live a decent life.
But for greedy and overconfident ones like her? In the end, death is the only fate.
Suddenly—
SWISH—SQUELCH!
A Bone-Chopping Blade tore through the wind. Her body remained standing, but the top half of her head... was gone.
The blade had sliced horizontally through her skull, splitting her brain in two.
White brain matter and red blood gushed out, drenching her beautiful chest, the body she had groomed to secure a future. Now, it was nothing but a lifeless, mutilated lump of meat.
From the shadows behind her corpse, a group of maids watched. Their eyes burned with jealousy and hatred.
"The witch wanted to steal our dream... she deserved to die."
But among them, the timid and the weak trembled. The friends of the dead girl shivered in fear, realizing the cost of losing this game.
But no one noticed a second shadow standing behind a distant tree. The shadow glanced at the corpse once. Its face held no emotion.
It whispered to itself,
"It seems... they have already done my work for me."
The shadow dissolved into the wind.
Back in the Headmaster's room.
Humayun Kabir walked to the center of the floor.
"It seems I interrupted your romance, Rasel."
Rasel, flushed with shame and fear, stammered, "No, Lord! It was nothing like that, she was just..."
Humayun raised a hand to stop him. He had no time for excuses.
He pulled a box from his pocket and threw it toward Rasel. It was no ordinary box. It was sealed tight with Plastic Strips.
Rasel caught the box and stared at it deeply.
Plastic! This material was incredibly rare in the entire Bhola district. Only seen in the Capital or used by Government Administrators in the New City.
"What is this, Lord?" Rasel's voice trembled.
Humayun Kabir replied in a deep, gravelly voice.