Chapter 1 : Chapter 1
Chapter 1. Prayer in the Night
CLANK... CLANK... CLANK...
A steam train roared across the plains, racing through the night. Its pitch-black body blended into the darkness, leaving only the grinding wheels to reveal its presence as they crushed along the rails with a steady, rhythmic thunder.
Yet this was no ordinary passenger train. It was the private train of the business tycoon, Klein Master, and tonight it was heading toward an industrial city in the north together with a batch of special cargo.
The windows were covered by heavy curtains. Only the occasional sliver of light escaping through the gaps hinted that people were still moving inside.
From an unseen perspective outside, several guards dressed in black stood in every carriage, patrolling the corridors while watching over the wooden crates stacked along both sides.
Click...
Inside the restroom of the last carriage, the door lock turned softly.
A tall woman with delicate features stood before the mirror, making the final adjustments to the maid uniform she was wearing.
The black-and-white skirt covered her knees. A neatly pressed white apron with ruffled edges rested over it, while the black boots around her slender feet had been polished until they reflected the light.
A strand of white hair fell across the generous curve of her chest. She gently twisted the strand and tucked it behind her ear, her crimson pupils glimmering beneath the dim light.
From appearance alone, she was clearly a dignified maid of exceptional beauty—the sort of woman most favored among nobles, capable of easily threatening the status of any noble lady.
However, the reason she had appeared here tonight was not simply to clean rooms or care for daily needs.
This was Eve’s...
Frankly, she had long since lost count of how many missions she had carried out.
All she knew was that the target of this mission was a man named Klein Master.
His public identity was that of a successful business magnate, a somewhat famous philanthropist, and a devout follower of the Central Church.
But all of that was merely a smokescreen meant to deceive the public.
Behind the façade, he was the mastermind behind twenty cases of missing young women—a demon who treated living people as commodities for trade.
At that thought, Eve concealed the chill in her eyes and put on a faint smile before pushing open the restroom door.
A serving cart was already waiting outside.
She had borrowed it from the kitchen carriage half an hour earlier.
The head chef had raised no objections.
After all, he had merely been tied up tightly and gagged, lying on the floor while producing muffled “mmph mmph” sounds of distress.
In sharp contrast to the warm atmosphere suggested by the dining cart, a bottle of red wine had already been decanted, and a steak that had long gone cold lay on a porcelain plate.
Eve adjusted her posture, placed both hands on the cart’s handle, and began moving down the corridor.
When she passed through the first carriage, the bodyguards in suits glanced at her but paid little attention.
After all, it was not unusual for their employer to hire a maid at the last minute—especially during a long journey like this.
Such arrangements were often not only meant to handle daily chores, but also to satisfy certain other needs.
As she passed them, Eve lowered her head slightly, displaying the appropriate humility while steadily pushing the dining cart forward.
Because the wooden crates crowded the corridor, it had become narrow enough for only one person to pass at a time—just wide enough for the cart.
When she reached the second carriage, Eve heard two guards leaning beside a window. They were smoking and speaking in hushed voices.
Their conversation seemed to be about tonight’s cargo.
“I heard this batch is pretty good…”
“That’s none of our business. We get paid, we do the job. When it’s over, we’ll head to a club and call a couple of models.”
“Shh. Someone’s coming.”
They immediately fell silent and looked at the approaching figure with alert eyes.
Eve kept her harmless smile and pushed the cart past them slowly, as though she had heard nothing at all.
Even after she disappeared from their sight, their voices could still be faintly heard discussing the maid who had just passed—though the content of their conversation was rather vulgar.
Finally, Eve arrived at the door of the third carriage.
Two particularly burly guards stood there, blocking her path.
“Stop. What’s this?” one of them asked in a hoarse, unpleasant voice. His sharp head and hardened build suggested someone who had trained extensively.
“Late-night supper and wine prepared for the gentleman,” Eve replied calmly, without any sign of tension. “The head chef said Mr. Klein might need something tonight to help him sleep.”
The two guards exchanged a glance.
One of them began inspecting the cart—lifting the lid of the dish, checking the steak, and even pulling the cork from the wine bottle to sniff it.
The other man carefully looked Eve up and down.
“Cooperate. Search.”
Eve obediently raised her arms.
The guard’s hands quickly searched her body—shoulders, underarms, waist.
His hands paused briefly at the hem of her skirt.
He hesitated, debating whether to check more private areas—the mysterious region where her thighs disappeared beneath the skirt.
It could not be helped.
The maid uniform she wore… was simply too perfect. Perfect enough to stir inappropriate thoughts.
In the end, when he saw Eve’s gentle smile, he withdrew his hand and straightened his posture.
“Clean.”
Now was work time. If something went wrong because he had been distracted by beauty, he would not be able to bear the consequences.
The other guard finished checking the dining cart and nodded, finding nothing unusual.
He then opened the carriage door and stepped aside, allowing Eve to push the cart inside.
“Thank you.”
The calm, magnetic voice sounded like the soothing tools from a sleep-aid channel, sending goosebumps running down both guards’ arms.
Yet goosebumps were not the only thing that stood at attention.
The two men hurriedly closed the carriage door and cleared their throats, pretending nothing had happened, each afraid the other had noticed his embarrassing reaction.
“Hey, did you hear that? She just said thank you to me.”
“Bullshit! Stop fantasizing. She was obviously talking to me.”
…
Back to Eve.
The moment she stepped inside, she saw a carriage lavishly decorated, completely different from the industrial steel structure outside.
Deep red velvet curtains hung over the windows.
All the furniture was made of polished wood.
Brass decorations glowed warmly beneath the lights.
Even without trying, she could smell the lingering scent of cigars and expensive perfume in the air.
Eve’s gaze swept quickly across the interior before stopping firmly on the figure sitting in a chair.
Klein Master sat in a large armchair facing the window, wearing a sleeping robe and holding a thick book.
It was the latest revised edition of the Church’s Bible.
On the table beside him rested a cross made of an unknown material.
Hearing the door open and footsteps approach, he turned his head slightly, frowning.
His daily prayer had been interrupted.
“Who allowed you to come in?”
Eve did not answer immediately.
Instead, she pushed the dining cart closer and stopped three steps away from him.
Placing both hands over the apron at her abdomen, she bowed slightly.
“Good evening, Mr. Klein.”
Klein placed the Bible down, his expression still tense.
“Who are you? I do not recall hiring a maid to accompany this trip.”
He glanced briefly at the food and wine on the cart. Although it suited his taste, there were more important matters at the moment.
“Answer my question!”
After the sharp reprimand, Eve slowly straightened her posture.
The gentle smile on her face never disappeared.