TYMC 20

Chapter 20

“Young master, my vacation….”

“Ae-il, can you bring tea to the office? And some light refreshments as well.”

“Ah, yes.”

I failed my first attempt at bringing up the vacation issue spectacularly.

No choice. I’ll try again when I bring the tea.

“Young master, I’ve brought the tea.”

A little later, I placed a neatly arranged tea set with warm, sweet black tea on Lys’s desk, who had already started working early in the morning.

Glancing over, I could see his hands moving nonstop—he looked extremely busy.

‘If I talk to him when he’s busy, he might just brush me off.’

Even normally, Lys became sharp and sensitive when he was working, so he tended to dismiss anything that wasn’t important.

And nothing could be less important than my vacation, so this was actually the perfect moment to bring it up.

“Young mas—”

The moment I opened my mouth at the perfect timing,

“Ae-il, could you massage my shoulders? They’re stiff.”

“…Yes.”

Once again, I was cut off mid-sentence. I pressed my lips together and silently stood behind him, massaging his shoulders.

This kind of thing was what Deas always made me do back in Black Rose….

‘The place is different, but the work feels strangely similar.’

Just as I was shivering at the strange sense of mismatch, I was finally released from the massage duty.

“Young master! My vaca—”

“The tea’s gone cold, Ae-il.”

“I’ll heat it up.”

I reflexively picked up the tray with the teacup and left the office.

While walking down the hallway, I suddenly realized I had failed to say it again.

“…Is it just my imagination? I feel like I keep getting interrupted every time I try to speak.”

When I thought about it properly, Lys’s requests were all reasonable enough.

If the tea got cold, it was only natural as a maid to reheat it.

And the shoulder massage too—if the master was stiff, it was appropriate to step in and relieve his fatigue.

‘Even if I’m acting as a maid, isn’t this a bit much? But I have no choice if I want to complete the mission safely….’

The soul of a maid bound by duty and the soul of an assassin buried deep inside me were clashing violently within.

By the time I finished thinking that, I was already holding the reheated tea again.

I placed the tray back on his desk and swallowed a determined breath.

This time, no matter what happens, I’ll say it to the end. What’s so important about a vacation anyway!

“You—”

“Ae-il, could you clean the reception room? I feel like there’s dust—it’s making my throat hurt.”

“Yes sir.”

Before I knew it, I was wiping the glass of the display cabinet in the reception room with a cloth. Scrub, scrub.

Wait… why did I become a chore artist?

‘How did this even happen?’

After that, every time I tried to speak, Lys would assign me some task or another, forcing my words shut.

And every time, his reasons were so reasonable that I couldn’t even show dissatisfaction, let alone complain.

‘Why…? Did I do something wrong?’

After about twenty failed attempts, I finally came to a realization—late, but still.

‘Don’t tell me… he already figured out what I was trying to say and is deliberately stopping me?’

If my guess was correct, I might never be able to say it at this rate.

It seemed like he was in a bad mood for some reason, but I had no idea why, so I had no way to fix it.

“I should just tell the head maid….”

As the exclusive maid, getting vacation approval required permission from my master, Lys.

But if things continued like this, I wouldn’t be able to get his approval myself, so I decided to go through the head maid instead.

Then Lys would have no choice!

After finishing even the last cleaning task—dusting the study shelves—I immediately headed for the head maid and pushed open the door.

But just then, a maid standing nearby spotted me and hurried over.

“Oh, Ae-il! There you are. The young master’s been looking for you. Go see him quickly.”

“…Again?”

“Hmm?”

“No, it’s nothing…”

I had been so busy all morning cleaning and running errands that I barely had time to breathe. When I turned my head, I saw through the window that the sun had already begun to set.

‘No way! All I wanted was one day of approved vacation… and the day’s already gone?!’

Shocked, I leaned against the wall like a sheet of paper fluttering in the wind.

As the saying goes, memories fade with time—like gamblers at the arena forgetting their losses as quickly as possible, I needed to act fast.

Besides, it was uncertain whether those gamblers were even still there.

Though honestly, once people bet their lives on gambling, where else would they go?

‘This is the last time. If I get rejected again, I’m going straight to the head maid.’

I, who hadn’t even made it near the head maid yet, knocked on the office door.

Knock knock.

“Young master, it’s Ae-il.”

When I entered, Lys, looking completely exhausted, was leaning his chin on his hand while staring at documents with a tilted gaze.

As I stood before him, his unmoving violet eyes slowly lifted upward.

‘It’s been a while since he looked this tired. At this rate, I can’t even bring it up properly. Tch.’

When our eyes met, I placed the tray I was holding down in front of him.

“It’s fruit tea good for fatigue. Please drink it while you work.”

“…Ae-il, what do you want to say?”

“Huh?”

At his sudden words, I blinked. Lys continued, still looking directly at me.

“You’ve been staring at me like you have something to say.”

His low voice fell beneath the window where the sunset light was seeping in.

‘You only realize that now…?’

Swallowing the words that almost escaped me, I finally took out the vacation request form I had been holding carefully.

“Young master, could I take one day off tomorrow?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

“…I’ll come back quickly after—wait, what? Really?”

Lys took my application and stamped it casually with a calm expression.

I had expected him to refuse, so his approval came so easily that I felt strangely stunned.

Especially since I had applied so suddenly—I had even prepared explanations for him in advance, expecting questions like where I was going or why.

“One day feels too stingy. Take two days instead.”

He even added an extra day himself, writing ‘2 days’ on the document.

The reason I had asked for only one day was simple.

My mission involved observing the target and uncovering his secrets, so being away from Lys for too long was a serious risk.

If something happened while I was gone, I wouldn’t be there to protect him, and if I had to use my abilities, it would mean a loss in both money and time.

‘Plus, my report would get shorter too.’

Lys took a sip of the fruit tea I had brought and smiled faintly as he handed the document back.

“I’d like to send you away for longer, but if you’re not here, I’d feel too lonely.”

“…Ahem. I’ll come back as soon as I’m done. Thank you.”

I knew his words about missing me were not sincere. After all, he had many maids to attend him.

There had been others serving him even before I arrived….

‘Why is my face getting so hot?’

Lys said he would be working until dawn today, so it seemed I wouldn’t need to extinguish the candles in his bedroom.

Just as I turned to go report to the head maid and return to my room, I heard voices from the hallway.

“What should we do?”

“Who wants to take it?”

“I… don’t really….”

A few maids gathered in a corner were discussing something with gloomy expressions.

Judging from their faces, it seemed serious—but if I got involved, it would probably become troublesome, so I should just pass quietly.

“Ah, Ae-il! Perfect timing. Come here for a moment!”