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Chapter 05
“I think I’ve told you everything you need to know. If there’s anything you still don’t understand, feel free to ask anytime.”
“Thank you, Head Maid.”
After receiving an intensive crash course on maid duties from early morning, I didn’t finish the handover until after sunset.
“It’s already late tonight, so just bring tea to the Young Master and turn off the lights in his bedroom.”
“Yes, Head Maid.”
The treatment I received changed almost immediately after I unexpectedly became his personal maid.
My quarters were moved from the annex to the main mansion, and my clothes were upgraded from an ordinary servant uniform to a much more elegant maid outfit.
Moreover, a personal maid held the highest rank among the maids and had to remain close to her master at all times, so she stayed on the same floor as him.
That’s why my room was assigned near Ris’s bedroom. I never intended to get this close to him. Sigh…
Forcing my complicated emotions aside, I headed toward Ris’s office carrying a freshly brewed cup of fragrant tea.
Knock, knock.
“Yes, come in.”
In the center of the antique office, illuminated by moonlight streaming through a large window, sat Ris, hard at work.
“Young Master, I brought your tea.”
I placed the teacup on the desk piled high with stacks of white documents, bowed politely, and turned to leave.
“Where are you going?”
Ris’s voice stopped me.
When I looked back, his unreadable violet eyes were staring directly at me.
“I finished my task, so I was going to take my leave.”
“Really? As far as I know, you still have work left to do. Are you leaving already?”
Tilting his head slightly, Ris spoke in a peculiar tone.
As he said, I still had one duty left.
“Bring tea to the Young Master” had just been completed.
The only remaining task was “Turn off the lights in the Young Master’s bedroom.”
The problem was…
“That can only happen after you go to sleep, Young Master…”
“What should I do? I’m not sleepy.”
Ris answered with a faint smile and shrugged as if it were regrettable.
…What is this ominous feeling?
It sounded suspiciously like he was saying, ‘If I don’t sleep, neither do you.’
“Warm tea should help you fall asleep.”
I suddenly sensed a crisis.
If things continued like this, I might end up staying awake all night.
So I quickly offered him the tea with a friendly smile.
“I’ve heard lullabies are the best remedy for sleeplessness…”
Just when it seemed like he would obediently pick up the teacup, Ris set it back down and said something meaningful.
“Haha. Who would dare tell the Young Master such nonsense?”
“My mother.”
“Wow, Madam was truly wise! I completely agree!”
I switched sides so quickly it was almost embarrassing.
Cold sweat ran down my back as Ris stared at me.
I never expected him to suddenly bring up the late Duchess Cassio, who had passed away years ago.
But why did he suddenly mention lullabies? Don’t tell me he wants me to sing one…?
“Right? Then sing me a lullaby, Ail. If I get sleepy, I’ll head to bed.”
“…You’re joking, right?”
People say assumptions can kill.
Fourteen years as an assassin, and this was the first time a target had asked me to sing a lullaby.
I’d heard countless pleas for mercy and requests to pass along final messages to loved ones.
But this ridiculous request?
Never.
Absolutely never.
“I’m always serious, Ail.”
His lazy voice rang clearly in my ears.
At the same time, I heard the tapping of a fountain pen against the desk.
Tap. Tap.
A perfect sound of impatience.
Ugh! I may be disguised as a maid, but at my core I’m still an assassin. There’s no way I can perform tricks in front of my target!
“Young Master, the truth is that I’m an incredibly terrible singer. If I sing, any sleep you have will disappear instantly. Please withdraw your order.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
I put on the most pitiful expression imaginable.
Ris immediately furrowed his brows as though he truly felt sorry for me.
Just as I secretly smiled, thinking he might give up—
“I should have realized sooner that Ail had no talent for singing. I’m sorry. I was raised as a pampered young master, so I’m not very good at judging people.”
…Huh?
Wait a second.
Hadn’t I heard that somewhere before?
‘I guess you’re a pampered young master, so you’re not very good at judging people.’
Gasp.
That was what I had said in the Black Forest!
Good grief, had he really been holding onto that all this time?
“Don’t be too upset. I’ll hire the Empire’s finest music teacher for you.”
“Thank yo—wait, what did you just say?”
At this point I genuinely wondered whether I was hallucinating.
First he asked for a lullaby.
Now he wanted to get me a music teacher?
What kind of nonsense was this?
“If you take lessons, you’ll be able to sing confidently too.”
“No, really, I’m fine…”
“My maid feeling discouraged because she’s tone-deaf makes me sad. There’s no need to feel pressured.”
Smiling generously, Ris leisurely sipped his tea.
This damned Young Master… Does he somehow know I’m the assassin from the Black Forest? Otherwise, why would he keep messing with me like this…?
…No, that was impossible.
I had been wearing a hooded robe back then.
There was no way he could know it was me.
I really should never have saved him.
Maybe I should kill him now instead.
The contract fee is ten million gold!
Ten million gold!
Ten million gold!
Ten million…!
At that critical moment, Death’s booming voice echoed vividly through my mind.
Right…
If ten million precious gold wanted something, what couldn’t I do?
“…Now that I think about it, I was actually in the mood to sing.”
“Really? That’s good to hear.”
In the end, everything went exactly the way Ris wanted.
Trying to avoid it would only have earned me music lessons, which sounded even worse.
“Ahem.”
But a seasoned assassin never gives up, no matter the circumstances.
With a solemn expression, I cleared my throat.
“Little bunny, bunny dear, where are you going? ♪
Hop-hop-hop, crawling along… off to bed you’re going ♬
Even the bunny is sleeping, so why aren’t you asleep…? ♪”
“…Ail, I think the lyrics are a little strange.”
Ris tilted his head.
“Do rabbits even crawl?”
Meanwhile, feeling completely satisfied with my flawless execution of the mission, I confidently shook my head.
“That can’t be right. You’re just tired. I think you should go to bed now.”
“…Am I?”
At long last, Ris stood up.
I had been dangerously close to throwing a needle coated with sleeping medicine at him.
Fortunately, it didn’t come to that.
As I quietly followed him toward the bedroom, Ris suddenly turned around as though he had just remembered something.
“Ail, I think Del is still outside. Could you bring him to my room?”
“Yes, Young Master.”
I thought bringing Del back would be easy.
Back in the assassin corps, I hunted tigers. A fox should be nothing.
A short while later, however, I learned just how mistaken I was.
“Del! Please stop running…!”
Awoooooooooo!
For some reason, every time I tried to catch him, Del would let out an excited howl and bolt away at terrifying speed.
“Ugh! Is that really a fox? I don’t think it is!”
This was insane.
Nobody told me Del was this fast!
“Huff… huff… My stamina—no, my money is running out. I need… hazard pay… additional compensation…”
In the end, I had to run all over the forest before finally catching him.
“It kind of feels like Del ended up taking me for a walk instead… Is it just my imagination?”
After much hardship, I finally returned to the bedroom with Del.
By then, Ris had already fallen asleep.
After placing Del on the bed as well—he had apparently fallen asleep somewhere along the way and was softly snoring—I quietly crossed the room and extinguished the candles.
The day is finally over. If I hadn’t suddenly become a personal maid, I would have gone home hours ago!
Now all that remained was returning to my room and organizing the report for Death.
The fact that I had somehow become a personal maid, the fact that the target owned a very unusual fox, and countless other details…
For the first day of the mission, there was already a mountain of things to report.
Alright, now back to my room—
“…?”
Just as I hurried toward the door, exhausted, a familiar sense of unease crept over me and stopped me in my tracks.
The target’s bedroom was on the fifth floor, the highest floor of the mansion.
And the only ones here were the sleeping target, Del, and me.
Which meant that no one else should be present.
Unless, of course, it was a ghost with no fear of heights.
“Well, even if rescue work isn’t my hobby…”
