TYMC 02

Chapter 02

Even by her own standards, Aile was not particularly merciful. If she were, she would have quit being an assassin long ago.

‘Still, it’s pretty dirty for a bunch of people to gang up on one person, isn’t it? Besides, if they keep making that much noise, monsters are going to come running.’

Then this entire area would be devastated by both the pursuers and the one being chased.

‘And monster corpses and human corpses start to stink when they rot.’

If that happened, it would become annoying for her to pass through this place comfortably in the future.

‘Right. This is for my own sake. Not because of that pretty, pitiful young master over there.’

Having made up her mind, Aile pulled her black robe down over her face and jumped without hesitation.

A moment later, the sound of someone landing lightly on the thick undergrowth shattered the silence of the forest.

“Hey, sickly young master. Move aside. I’ll save you.”

“…Who are you?”

Seeing Aile approach without hesitation, the boy narrowed his eyes.

Noticing at once that he was wary of a stranger, Aile spread her arms slightly and flapped them like wings.

Flap, flap.

“Can’t you tell? I’m an angel.”

Looking closer, the boy’s appearance was quite a sight. He was covered in blood and looked as though he could drop dead at any moment.

“I don’t need your help.”

Yet this frail young master, who clearly didn’t know how to appreciate kindness, rejected the salvation of an angel.

Aile snorted and frowned.

“What are you talking about? You’re drenched in blood.”

Ignoring what the boy said, she pushed him behind her and stepped forward.

“…It’s not my blood.”

Unfortunately, the boy’s muttering never reached Aile.

“You should be ashamed of yourselves!”

Aile pointed dramatically at the unruly assassins before her.

“Ganging up on a kid like this—you pieces of trash!”

The assassins trembled in indignation at the sudden scolding.

“What nonsense are you spouting? Does it look like we’re the ones bullying him!?”

“Who’s bullying who here!?”

“Waaah, I miss my mom…”

…Well, everyone did seem to have torn clothes and quite a lot of blood on them.

Had they all rolled down a cliff together or something? They should be more careful. Tsk, tsk.

“Anyway, you were trying to shake this kid down, weren’t you? Aren’t you ashamed of picking on someone so much younger than you?”

At that moment, everyone except Aile fell silent.

You’re a kid too, so who exactly are you calling young…?

“W-Well, that’s true, but as you can see, the situation has reversed—”

“Wait, that black rose emblem…! Isn’t that Black Rose!?”

“What? No way! Why would Black Rose be here!?”

“L-Let’s run…!”

The assassins finally noticed the rose emblem embroidered on Aile’s black robe and immediately began backing away in terror.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Aile rushed forward instantly and knocked down the fleeing assassins one by one.

“Gah!”

“Ughhh—”

Before they could even retaliate, they were struck in the back of the head and collapsed onto the dirt, foaming at the mouth.

“Why did you help me? Aren’t you an assassin just like them?”

The boy, who had silently observed Aile’s elegant yet precise movements, finally asked.

Apparently, he had already figured out that she was an assassin.

However, Aile’s expression turned unpleasant the moment she looked back at him.

“I guess rich young masters don’t have good judgment. I’ve been doing this since the day I was born. Don’t compare me to those idiots.”

It seemed she had taken offense at being lumped together with the people lying unconscious on the ground.

For a brief moment, the violet eyes of the boy, who had remained calm until now, sparkled.

“Now that you’ve experienced it firsthand, you should know this place is dangerous. Look, see that path over there? Go straight, turn left, run diagonally, then turn right and you’ll reach a village.”

Could there possibly be a less helpful set of directions?

When the boy didn’t respond, Aile assumed he was scared and sighed.

“What’s the point of having so much money? You’re weak as hell. Don’t go around alone anymore. Use all that money to hire guards or something.”

“Can we meet again?”

“…What?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Aile blinked blankly.

She had expected some boring thank-you, not that.

‘He knows perfectly well I’m an assassin, and he’s asking if we’ll meet again…? This kid is pretty crazy himself.’

Someone once said that crazy people were best avoided.

“Who knows… If we meet again, I probably won’t be an angel anymore. So let’s not see each other again.”

With that, Aile gave the fallen assassins one more kick for good measure before lightly leaping into the trees and disappearing.

“…Black Rose.”

In the middle of the dark forest, now alone, the boy quietly whispered.

Perhaps he might meet that violent angel again someday.

“I told you to come back immediately after finishing the job… and now it’s already night.”

At Death’s ominous words, Aile rolled her eyes.

Outside the window, it was already late into the night. Even the moonlight failed to penetrate the darkness.

“You little brat!”

Squeeeze—

“Ow, Captain! That hurts! It hurts!”

Deeply moved by the warm affection expressed through the merciless stretching of her cheeks, Aile rubbed her sore face with teary eyes.

“It’s supposed to hurt! I told you to come immediately because there was an urgent mission!”

“I was going to, but I was busy saving a pitiful soul…!”

“Since when are you an angel saving souls!?”

Death let out a deep sigh as he watched Aile grumble while rubbing her reddened cheeks.

If he went outside and told people that Aile was one of the elite members of the Black Rose assassin group, absolutely no one would believe him.

And for good reason.

With her dazzling silver hair flowing in soft waves and blue eyes sparkling like sunlight on the sea, Aile looked more like the cherished daughter of a noble family than an assassin.

And that was precisely why she was the perfect candidate for this mission.

“Here, Aile. This is the new assignment. Read the details yourself.”

“Huh? A black rose seal? I thought you were exaggerating, but this really is an urgent mission.”

Aile’s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the black rose insignia stamped on the file Death handed her.

Seeing her shameless reaction, Death smacked his forehead.

‘This adorable little thing really didn’t listen to a word I said…’

Among all the requests that came to the assassin group, a file bearing the black rose seal meant only one thing:

A request personally submitted by someone of high status—namely a noble or someone of equivalent standing.

Aile opened the thin file and skimmed through the information on the target.

“The target is ‘Ris Cassio,’ age fifteen… Huh? Cassio?”

Surely it couldn’t be that Cassio she knew of? The terrifying ducal family known throughout the Empire as the Monster Duke House?

‘No way…’

Aile stopped reading and looked up skeptically. Death quietly nodded.

“Your mission is to kill Ris Cassio. Naturally, that includes uncovering the secret behind the power possessed by the Cassio family.”

“Captain, have you finally lost your mind?”

The House of Cassio was known throughout the Empire as an impregnable fortress.

To prove it, countless assassins had attempted to infiltrate it only to die meaningless deaths.

This was common knowledge to anyone living in the Livd Empire, whether they were assassins or not.

“I’m not telling you to break in recklessly like the others. You’ll infiltrate as a maid.”

“So you’re telling me to work as a maid now? What if I’m discovered…?”

“A maid is one of the lowest-ranking positions. You won’t be noticed. The risk is relatively low.”

Death patted Aile’s shoulder reassuringly.

But Aile felt anything but reassured.

‘I admit I’ve gotten a little complacent lately, but assigning me a mission this insane…!’

Aile glared at Death with eyes full of betrayal.

“I absolutely refuse to—”

Just as she was about to shake her head firmly, Death suddenly held something out in front of her eyes.