TYMC 31

Chapter 31

“Here.”

As Aile placed the paper into the crow’s beak, the bird immediately soared into the sky.

After confirming the silent black wings disappeared safely beneath the moonlight, Aile slowly closed the window and leaned their head against the wall.

Within the silence, the sound of the conifer forest in early winter faintly swaying beneath the fierce dawn wind could be heard.

“I can’t believe I’m working this hard and still have no results…”

Maybe because they had hurriedly written it to match the crow’s arrival time, their shoulders felt incredibly stiff.

‘At this rate, I won’t be able to face the captain who trusted me with such an expensive request.’

Staring absentmindedly at the moonlight spilling beneath the window, Aile openly revealed their anxious mood.

Soon, it would have been nearly a month since accepting the request and coming to Casio.

‘At first I thought it’d take a week at most.’

Just as before, they had thought they could easily handle this alone.

‘Because there was nothing… and I couldn’t figure anything out…’

In the end, they had broken regulations and gone to the hideout to seek the captain’s help, but now that things had come this far, there was no choice but to finish properly.

‘I don’t have the right to lecture others about following rules anymore… If Cheblin finds out I went to the hideout, he’ll nag me endlessly. Ugh.’

Before they realized it, it was already three in the morning. Even Lis, who frequently worked late, would surely be sleeping soundly at this hour.

Thanks to that, Aile always intentionally woke up around this time to patrol the mansion.

“Guess I should get going?”

This was the only time Aile could comfortably wander around every corner of the estate.

In the first place, this was also around the time assassins usually operated.

More than anything, since everyone was asleep, they could move with a much wider range than usual.

After quickly stretching their weary body, Aile lightly stepped out of the room to begin the final task of the day.

“Oh, since it’s winter, it’s definitely cold.”

As soon as Aile stepped onto the rooftop where cold winds blew freely, they shivered from the biting chill. In weather like this, it felt like even assassins wouldn’t bother showing up.

In fact, winter was an extreme off-season for assassins.

Since commissions cost several times more than in other seasons, unless it was truly urgent, most either had no work or traveled east where the weather was warmer.

‘Unless you want to freeze to death, laying low during winter is the right choice.’

Considering how much movement slowed down, unless someone came wearing thick fur clothes…

But who would be stupid enough to do that?

Just as Aile relaxed and was about to head back down—

“…Huh?”

A familiar movement, yet one with a presence they had never sensed before, stealthily appeared near Lis’s room.

The wind concealed it, but if one listened carefully, it was noticeable enough.

“The assassin Des mentioned isn’t supposed to come until tomorrow.”

Aile tilted their head in confusion.

That meant a different assassin had come.

“Tch, having such a popular target is exhausting…”

Thinking tonight would pass quietly, Aile casually tied together their hair that had been blowing around in the wind.

Sometimes long strands blocked their vision during inconvenient moments.

“Can’t have people touching someone else’s belongings carelessly.”

It was strange that there were people everywhere wanting to kill a fifteen-year-old young master who wasn’t even an adult yet.

Of course, Aile wasn’t much different, considering they would also have to kill him once they uncovered the secret.

“Though… is that really an assassin? Why are they moving so slowly?”

As Aile headed toward Lis’s room, something about the other person’s movements felt odd.

It wasn’t the sort of movement one usually expected from an assassin.

It was almost like…

‘Like someone’s trying to move while buried under layers of fur clothes.’

Aile was just about to scoff at the absurd thought—

Then something truly unbelievable entered their sight.

“…I can’t tell if this is stupidity or bravery.”

They said the world was vast and full of weirdos, and apparently that was true. A completely fur-lined black-clothed assassin was awkwardly climbing the outer wall of the mansion.

“Huff… haaah…”

The person seemed exhausted from the heavy clothing. Even though Aile stood fairly close by, they were too busy breathing heavily to notice.

‘Looking at them, they don’t seem very dangerous… The target’s asleep anyway, so maybe I’ll just watch from a distance for a bit.’

Assassins who entered Duke Casio’s estate—where survival was notoriously impossible—generally fell into two categories.

The first: complete amateurs who knew nothing.

The second: experts who knew exactly what they were getting into but came for the money anyway.

‘That one’s definitely the first.’

In Aile’s eyes, there wasn’t even any reason to consider which category this fool belonged to.

They would interfere if the person actually tried entering the target’s bedroom, but for now they were still busy climbing, so Aile didn’t feel like interrupting.

‘Even amateurs wouldn’t come here empty-handed, so…’

Sitting casually on a sloped part of the roof, Aile decided to watch and see what the person planned to do.

‘Oh wow, stepping there will make you slip. Idiot. What an idiot.’

—Looks like our master’s standards have really dropped.

Even things like that are crawling in now.

Del’s voice rumbled throughout the bedroom.

Lis had also just awakened from the unfamiliar presence.

Honestly, not noticing it would have been stranger; someone’s sluggish breathing was unpleasantly close.

“…Annoying.”

Normally, nuisances like this were dealt with by Del alone.

Even without doing much, Del’s shadow became enormous at night, causing people to mistake it for a monster and collapse backward in terror.

Falling from the fifth floor usually meant death or permanent injury even for agile assassins, making cleanup simple.

The only reason Del wasn’t moving now was obviously because of resentment from yesterday when no one noticed he was sick.

“Are you getting revenge?”

Lis roughly brushed aside his fallen hair with an annoyed expression.

—Revenge? That’s something humans do. Why would I?

“Then get rid of that.”

—…Wait, Aile’s nearby.

At Del’s words, Lis’s lips pressed tightly together.

He had assumed Aile would be asleep after returning from vacation, so it was unexpected that they were still awake.

—I’m not sensing any movement. Looks like they’re just watching.

Del’s pointed ears twitched repeatedly as if puzzled that Aile, who usually stepped in immediately, was staying still.

“Perfect. I wanted to check something anyway.”

Lis, who had been sitting still beside the bed, suddenly stood up.

Alarmed by his sudden action, Del blinked his red eyes and hurried after him.

—Lis, Aile’s outside!

“Stay here.”

Giving a short answer, Lis left Del behind and walked toward the window.

—What are you trying to…

Del nervously swung his tail before hiding behind the curtains while Lis opened the terrace door without hesitation.

The assassin was directly below on the balcony railing, making it a dangerous situation where an attack could happen at any moment.

Meanwhile, seeing Lis suddenly emerge from the room, Aile immediately jumped to their feet.

‘What? He wasn’t asleep? More importantly, why now of all times?!’

The only reason they had been relaxed was because Lis had supposedly been sleeping peacefully inside his room.

‘Now that the target’s awake, I can’t just sit here watching anymore.’

Aile’s blue eyes immediately fell toward the assassin on the balcony below.

The assassin glanced up at Lis standing on the terrace above, then reached into their clothes and quietly tossed something silver into the air.

‘Poison needle? So they’re not a close-combat type. Is that why they wore fur clothes?’

Seeing that, Aile instinctively pulled a poisoned needle from the holster strapped to their thigh and threw it.

Without making even the slightest sound as it cut through the wind, the needle struck the assassin’s projectile precisely.

‘Trying to lay hands on someone else’s treasure worth ten million gold?’

Seeing their attack interrupted, the assassin immediately looked around.

The eyes hidden beneath the black clothing moved sharply, trying to find Aile.

‘You’ll regret it if you find me…’

I’m wearing a maid outfit, so that’s enough of a handicap, right?