🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 26
“Captain, Ruan has arrived.”
Just as I was about to stand up, my body froze at the attendant’s quiet voice from outside the door.
I quickly turned my head, and a familiar face appeared through the open doorway.
“Hello, Eil. It’s been a while.”
Beneath his dark, multicolored hair, reddish-brown eyes that were unbearably gentle curved softly as they looked at me.
“Senior Ruan…!”
Ruan was the same age as Cheblin and four years older than me.
Under Imperial law, people were recognized as adults at nineteen. Since both Ruan and Cheblin were eighteen, they would become adults after this winter passed.
Unlike the somewhat reckless Cheblin, Ruan had a completely different personality. He was calm, mature, and kind in everything he did.
‘That’s why I call only Ruan “Senior” and not Cheblin.’
Because of that, Ruan was considered the most likely candidate for the next captain of Black Rose and held the strongest influence after Death.
“I heard you took on a long-term assignment. Your face has become half its size.”
Ruan approached until he was right in front of me and slowly caressed my cheek with worried eyes.
The warmth was on an entirely different level from when some random bastard touched me, and it felt as though even tensions I hadn’t noticed were melting away.
A month ago, Ruan had suddenly been dispatched elsewhere after Cheblin, so I hadn’t seen him for quite some time. It seemed he had only just returned.
“Right? I’m suffering more than you know. The Captain doesn’t understand at all.”
“…Is that so?”
As I pouted, Ruan gently patted my shoulder and shot Death a reproachful look.
Yesss, this is exactly why I love being the youngest member!
This subtle rebellion is something I could never pull off myself, and I absolutely love it!
“Ruan, don’t indulge Eil like that. She’ll become spoiled.”
“But Captain, you didn’t scold Eil for coming back to the hideout in the middle of an assignment, did you?”
Ruan replied smoothly, pointing out that Cheblin had once been hung upside down for doing the same thing.
Death immediately fell silent.
I could have sworn I heard a groan slip through his teeth just now…
Let’s pretend I didn’t.
“It was nice seeing you, Senior. I need to get back to work, so I should go.”
“Eil, be careful out there. If you need help, call me anytime.”
I nodded lightly at Ruan’s words and immediately left the hotel.
Since I had come to the hideout for the first time in a while, I wanted to stay longer, but the assignment came first.
‘I hope nothing happened to the target.’
Surely something hadn’t happened during the short time I was away, right?
‘…Just in case, I should hurry.’
Climbing into the carriage waiting near the clock tower, I looked up at the sky, now darkening with dusk, and urged the driver onward.
“She left safely. We have confirmed there is no tail.”
Only after the attendant finished reporting Eil’s movements did Ruan finally take a seat.
In fact, he only relaxed after hearing every detail—the carriage Eil had boarded, its owner, and even the coachman’s identity.
Only then did his tightly sealed lips part.
“Captain, now explain.”
“You’re being overprotective, you know that?”
Death rubbed his aching head and let out a groan.
No matter how much Eil was the youngest member, Ruan had an excessive tendency to fuss over her.
It was so severe that even Death, who treated Eil almost like a daughter, found it exhausting.
“From what I heard, it sounded like you were discussing ending the mission. Let’s stop it here. This assignment is too difficult for Eil.”
“Eil is the only elite member acknowledged by every member of Black Rose. There will be no cancellation.”
Death glared fiercely at Ruan.
Besides, hadn’t Ruan himself agreed that Eil deserved to become one of Black Rose’s elites?
“That agreement was based on the results she showed in individual assignments. This is different. A long-term infiltration mission is another matter entirely.”
Ruan remained unmoved and continued speaking in his pleasant voice.
When Death didn’t answer immediately, Ruan continued without waiting.
“What if Eil becomes emotionally attached while carrying out the mission?”
“Are you questioning the qualifications of an elite operative?”
“I’m simply pointing out that fourteen is still an age where one is vulnerable to emotional attachments.”
The response came back instantly, and Death groaned again.
Ruan’s greatest strength was that he always spoke persuasively and clearly.
At the same time, it was also his greatest flaw because he left his opponents with no room to argue.
“Now that she’s already been deployed, we can’t just replace personnel. You know that too, Ruan.”
“From the beginning, the fact that the target made Eil his personal attendant is strange. There isn’t a single case on the continent where a mere maid is promoted to a personal attendant overnight just because she looked after a pet.”
In powerful noble households, the management system for servants was strictly organized.
Especially in a ducal house as renowned throughout the Empire and beyond as the Casio family, it was common for the children of counts and marquises to volunteer as attendants.
In other words, although they were called maids or servants, they were actually the sons and daughters of high-ranking noble families gathered in what amounted to a second social circle.
“And yet she surpassed all of them and secured the position of personal attendant immediately. A commoner without even a family name.”
It was, in reality, impossible.
“Captain, the target’s behavior is far too obvious. There are too many suspicious points.”
“…Hmm.”
“Eil lacks practical experience dealing with nobles, so she probably didn’t realize how unusual it was. Even if she noticed, she likely wouldn’t have thought much of it. She would simply assume it was a coincidence.”
Ruan’s face darkened with caution.
He could not simply stand by and watch.
“Yes, I understand what you’re saying, but for now, it’s best to trust Eil and wait. According to the reports, things still seem fine.”
“I’m suspicious of your motives, Captain. You assigned this mission to Eil precisely when both Cheblin and I were away on assignments.”
Death met Ruan’s reddish-brown gaze demanding an explanation and let out a deep sigh while roughly rubbing his face.
I knew this moment would come. That’s exactly why I gave Eil the assignment while those two were away.
“…As you probably already know, Eil’s debt increased again.”
The root of the problem, of course, was Eil’s father.
He was a notorious wastrel known by titles such as:
“A piece of trash who treats underground gambling dens like his own home.”
“A useless man who dumped his debts on his young daughter.”
Naturally, Eil always defended him because he was her father, but nobody else saw him that way.
“If the debt isn’t repaid soon, she’ll lose her citizenship. We can’t just sit back and watch her be expelled from the country.”
Eil would rather die than accept help from others.
Even if it meant losing her citizenship and being banished to another nation, she would absolutely refuse any financial assistance.
That stemmed from having learned at a young age the ruin that came from relationships built around money through her father’s debts.
More than anything, Eil herself had been “sold” to Black Rose because of money.
“That stubborn brat won’t accept help. Even if I say it’s a loan instead of a gift, she rejects it outright. Then this high-paying assignment came in… so I thought at least she could receive the advance payment through it.”
Even after hearing Death’s explanation, Ruan’s expression showed no sign of easing.
If it had been Ruan, he would have forced the money into Eil’s hands, even if it hurt her feelings.
‘The Captain was afraid of exactly that, so he chose another way to help.’
The intention was understandable.
But in the end, it wasn’t a direct solution.
Still, because they both cared about Eil, Ruan reluctantly swallowed his dissatisfaction and decided to step back.
“If Eil fails to produce results within a reasonable period, I’ll take over the assignment. Infiltration work is my specialty to begin with.”
“I’ll consider it. But I have plans in motion, so not yet.”
“It will fail. Eil isn’t the type who can complete a mission by exploiting a third party’s life. You know that.”
Hearing confidential information flow so naturally from Ruan’s mouth, Death pressed a hand to his forehead once more.
He had thought Ruan had only just returned from another region, but judging by the way he spoke, he must have arrived much earlier and listened to the entire conversation with Eil from the beginning.
What a ridiculously slippery bastard.
“Even if it fails, she needs to see it through to the end before she’ll accept it. I intend to let her do as much as she can, so stop pestering me.”
Death waved a hand dismissively.
In truth, he never intended to give Eil enough time to become attached to the target.
‘Lis Casio… Just as Ruan said, something about him feels suspicious. I’ll have to move up the timetable for pulling Eil out.’
Death’s dark eyes, black as spilled ink, slowly sank into thought.
