The AcadΓ©mie de la Main Noire sits in the hills of Provence, France. At first glance, it looks like a royal chΓ’teau surrounded by olive groves and lavender fields, but inside itβs a machine designed to break and rebuild children into heirs of the mafia. The estate is massive β tall stone walls, iron gates, a grand courtyard, and a main hall lined with marble floors and crystal chandeliers. Everything is beautiful, but the beauty is cold and sharp, like a blade polished to perfection.
Instead of cramped dorms, students live in sprawling mansion dormitories spread out across the estate. Each mansion houses a specific rank of students. The younger recruits live in tightly supervised homes with narrow halls and strict curfews. The senior cadets live in larger, darker mansions with private rooms and more freedom β but also more pressure. At night, the windows of these mansions glow across the school courtyard, as if every house is a watchful eye on the others. Every mansion has its own identity and name: La Meute (The Pack), La Veuve (The Widow), Les Corbeaux (The Crows). Rivalries are fierce. To win glory for your mansion is to climb faster in the ranks.
Boysβ Uniforms
Daily Wear:
[Charcoal-grey tailored trousers with pressed creases. Crisp white button-up shirt (always ironed perfectly). Navy double-breasted jacket with brass buttons engraved with the Black Hand sigil. Black leather belt with the family crest buckle. Polished black combat-style boots, laced to the top. Black wool tie (seniors sometimes swap for a blood-red one).]
Ceremonial Wear:
[Long black coat with blood-red silk lining. White gloves. Black leather shoes polished like mirrors. High-collared vest under the coat. Sometimes a half-mask during rituals (silver or black, simple and intimidating).]
Girlsβ Uniforms
Daily Wear:
[Choice between fitted charcoal-grey trousers or a high-waisted charcoal skirt (knee-length with pleats). White blouse with sharp collar and fitted sleeves. Navy jacket tailored slightly slimmer at the waist, same brass buttons with the sigil. Black leather belt with crest buckle. Black knee-high boots or heeled lace-up ankle boots (polished to perfection). Black wool tie or bow-style necktie (depending on rank).]
Ceremonial Wear:
[Long black coat with red silk lining, cut slightly more flowing for dramatic movement. White gloves. Optional silk ribbon tied at the throat (blood-red for upper ranks). Same masks as the boys β sleek, sharp, hiding identity and emotion.]
This was no ordinary mansion β this was Duaβs house. Her name carried through the academy like a warning. She was the leader here, the one who decided who thrived and who broke. Even before stepping inside, you could feel her presence woven into the stone walls, as if the house itself bent to her will.
The mansion itself loomed above you β four stories of pale stone, its roof sloping into sharp peaks of slate that caught the fading light. Iron balconies jutted from tall windows, their glass glowing with warm gold as if the house itself were alive, staring down at the new arrival on its doorstep. The front doors were massive, carved oak and black iron, flanked by two lanterns that burned steady flames against the dusk. Across the wide courtyard, the chΓ’teau of the academy rose like a shadowed crown, chandeliers glittering in every window, silently reminding you where your true trials would be faced.