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Chapter 4
An emergency meeting of Hyde’s executives was convened.
After Rosalyn explained the situation, every officer wore a different expression.
“Our Guildmaster has finally gone and caused a huge mess.”
“Should I just run now?”
And so on.
“Wait, why are you all looking like this? It’s not as though the guild’s very fate is hanging in the balance.”
“Not when the Guildmaster has caught the direct attention of the Commander of the Black Iron Knights?”
That was what made the mood so grim.
The unheard-of punishment of community service and probation was strange enough on its own. But of all people, why did the one appointed as her supervisor have to be the commander of the very knights who would gladly see their guild crushed?
It reeked of someone’s deliberate scheme.
“Isn’t this clearly a move to dismantle our guild?”
“Why should we care? Even if the Knights barged in right now and seized every file we own, they wouldn’t find so much as a speck of dust.”
“On the surface, yes.”
On the surface.
In her previous life as a police detective, Rosalyn—then Park Sohyun—had been a model citizen with an almost fanatical respect for the law.
“And look where that got me. A righteous death.”
She had died for it—doggedly digging into corruption she should have ignored.
So when she was reborn, Rosalyn set herself a single goal:
“This time, I’ll look out for myself and myself only!”
In this world, those who played by the rules ended up robbed or beheaded. She had learned quickly to survive by walking the line between legal and illegal.
Once Hyde grew large enough, she even started keeping double sets of records.
She had amassed the secrets of nobles, stored away heavy chests, and stashed off-the-books wealth in hidden banks.
It was, in truth, a grand collection of every shady trick she had once witnessed criminals use back on Earth.
Here, no investigation could touch her.
Still, her subordinates were uneasy.
“Doesn’t it seem odd? A punishment no one’s ever heard of, and our Guildmaster just happens to be the first target?”
“That is… true.”
Sion, the vice-guildmaster, spoke sharply, making Rosalyn hedge.
Sion was the one always nagging her to at least act like a dignified leader. But how could Rosalyn tell him the truth?
“I bribed the judge, and when I crossed my legs during the trial the man decided to get petty revenge.”
If she said that, she’d be trapped in four hours of hellish scolding, sweet smile and all.
“Sorry, Sion. This is one secret I can’t share.”
So Rosalyn smoothly changed the subject.
“Anyway, start digging into young Lord Ainderte.”
Sion’s gaze sharpened. Beneath his gentle exterior, no one was colder once work began.
Rosalyn pressed the moment.
“You all know what to do.”
Her voice dropped, like issuing a covert directive.
The executives nodded grimly.
“Don’t worry too much. Sure, he’s a giant—but I’m no pushover either, and you all know it.”
Their eyes shone with pride.
“This is our chance to uncover Cassis Ainderte’s weakness. I’ll work from the inside, you from the outside.”
Rosalyn’s red eyes gleamed.
“Bring me anything—even something small. Whoever finds a weakness first will earn a bonus.”
“Yes, Guildmaster!”
“Leave it to us!”
The atmosphere thickened with resolve. After all, nothing motivated people like money.
“Good. Meeting adjourned.”
Rosalyn stretched with satisfaction. Soon, Cassis’s secrets would pile high upon her desk.
One day later.
Her desk was still empty.
“Not a single weakness? After an entire day?”
Instead, only unpleasant news had arrived.
“Sir Cassis has finished the review and come here to explain.”
There he was, seated at the head of the reception room, as cold as yesterday.
“Wait—didn’t he say it would take several days?”
Rosalyn was dumbstruck.
“How could anyone finish interpreting law in a single night? Did he stay up all night working, too?”
It felt like a defeat, though it had been her subordinates working, not her.
But the problem was that Cassis had come back so soon.
“You’re a busy man, Sir. You could’ve summoned me to headquarters instead.”
She winced at the thought. Yesterday’s brief visit had caused panic among her people.
“Now he’s here two days in a row—half the guild must be wondering if it’s time to bolt.”
Ignoring her discomfort, Cassis set down an untouched teacup.
“To examine the probationer’s environment. I did not see it properly yesterday.”
“Life is life, no matter where you look at it….”
His chilling gaze made Rosalyn swallow the rest of her words.
“How can a man’s eyes be that murderous?”
It wasn’t for nothing he was called the Reaper of the Battlefield. The man who had led the Black Iron Knights in stacking corpses into mountains and rivers of blood.
Cassis Ainderte.
But his expression quickly cooled into a detached calm.
“Community service usually means volunteering at a temple or relief center, reflecting on one’s sins.”
Rosalyn nodded—she knew that much already.
“Probation means being allowed to live freely under certain conditions, while under supervision, to ease reintegration into society.”
“That’s right.”
“However, if you serve at such institutions, I cannot supervise you. Therefore, the time you spend assisting me in my duties will count toward your hours.”
“…Pardon?”
“From tomorrow, you will report to the Knights and serve as my assistant.”
Rosalyn’s eyes went wide.
“Assistant to the Commander? In the Black Iron Knights’ base? Beside this terrifying man—every single day? Starting tomorrow?!”
“But, Sir, weren’t you saying I could live freely?”
“Indeed.”
“Then how am I supposed to manage my existing responsibilities if I must come in daily?”
If she was tied down, the guild would grind to a halt. She still had mountains of work—and Cassis’s weakness hadn’t been found yet.
“Absolutely not every day.”
Cassis, unreadable as ever, studied her with his blue eyes.
“Then I’ll summon you only when necessary.”
“Thank you.” Rosalyn bowed deeply.
“Bless the stickler for rules!”
But Cassis wasn’t done.
“To complete your sentence, it will take much longer that way.”
“…Longer?”
“Your assigned hours total 1,000.”
She froze.
“Ah. I forgot about that part.”
Her mind raced.
“If it’s eight hours a day, that’s 125 days… four months. Every other day? Eight months. Once a week… over two years?!”
Her face twisted in horror.
Still, she gathered her courage and held up two fingers.
“Every other day. I’ll report on alternate days.”
“So be it.”
He agreed too easily. Rosalyn felt a chill.
“Why does this feel like I walked into his trap?”
But she forced the unease down.
“You said you came to observe my daily environment, correct?”
“Yes.”
So there was no other business.
“Fine. Let’s just treat it as having a shadow for a day.”
She sprang to her feet.
“Then let’s get to work!”
She marched straight out of the reception room without checking if Cassis followed.
Standing in the lobby, she inhaled deeply, then shouted loud enough to shake the building:
“Everyone, assemble!”
She had to explain things before her guild panicked and fled.
“…So, think of him as a guest observer for the day.”
Faces went pale across the hall.
“Why the looks? Just act like he’s not here.”
“But… what if someone bumps into him and loses their head…?”
The guild was chaotic by nature; collisions happened. And though Cassis wouldn’t kill for that, the worry was understandable.
“That won’t—”
“It will not happen.”
Cassis spoke for the first time since the assembly began.
His deep voice froze the air.
“I do not cut down the innocent.”
A knightly declaration. But in a guild built on gray dealings, almost no one could call themselves innocent.
The tension only deepened.
Rosalyn intervened quickly.
“You came to see how I normally live, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
She smiled brightly.
“Then if the members are too scared, you won’t see anything normal. But if you promise not to interfere in any way today, they’ll act as usual.”
A sly but reasonable ploy.
Cassis regarded her, then turned to the crowd.
“I promise. Pay me no mind.”
Silence answered him. A silence sharp enough to hear a pin drop.
Rosalyn clapped her hands lightly.
“See? No need to be afraid. Sir Cassis is really very gentle once you get to know him—well, maybe not.”
A quick glance confirmed his face was still frozen stiff. She gave up.
“Alright then, back to work, everyone—”
At that moment, the front doors slammed open.
Every eye turned to the guild member staggering in, face pale, gasping for breath.
“Guildmaster! Billy—Billy is…!”
