Chapter 11
Rosie, frightened by Emilina’s dual nature, clammed up like a shell.
And she quickly shook her head as a sign of surrender.
“Should’ve done that earlier.”
Emilina stroked Kir’s head with a satisfied expression.
“Anyway, you get it, right? Just wait a bit. That girl tried to give you something bad, so I’ll deal with her first.”
“…Okay.”
Kir answered with a sulky look.
He seemed upset about something, which flustered Emilina, and she was about to ask why.
But before she could, Rosie came closer, tapping her shoulder and speaking up.
“Hey. Can’t you talk about that later? I came to find you ‘cause I’ve got something to say.”
“What if I don’t want to? And have you stopped calling me ‘miss’ now?”
“…Just cut me some slack.”
“Fine, but then I’ll hit you one more time.”
Thud.
“Ugh—what are you, some kind of thug?”
Emilina kicked Rosie squarely in the shin and smiled in relief.
Rosie’s painful protests didn’t seem to concern her in the slightest.
“So, what did you want to say? I’m busy.”
She gestured toward Kir, implying she already had company.
Her attitude clearly said, If you’ve got something to say, hurry up.
Rosie rubbed her shin once, then forced her lips open with effort.
“I’ve decided to officially learn the sword. I’m joining the knight order.”
“That’s it?”
“Hey! I’m being serious here!”
“Stop yelling, it’s annoying. So what’s your point?”
“Ha… I was hoping you’d cheer me on. Anyway, you won’t be seeing me much. I’ll be busy with training.”
“That’s great. Not sure if you’ve got any talent with a sword though.”
“What do you take me for! And even if I don’t, hard work pays off!”
Emilina waved her hand dismissively, urging her to go already.
Rosie huffed, then glanced at the little boy clinging tightly to Emilina’s side.
Scratching his head, Rosie greeted him.
“Hey kid. Sorry for the late hello. Must be tough putting up with this lady’s personality.”
“She’s nice to me.”
Kir snapped his head away, guarded.
Rosie looked him up and down with a face that said Oh, really now? Then she nudged her chin toward him and asked Emilina:
“So who’s this? Wait—don’t tell me…!”
Rosie gasped dramatically, covering her mouth.
Emilina smacked the back of her head hard.
“Don’t let your imagination run wild. He’s just a kid who ended up living at my house.”
“You know you’ve got a really bad habit of hitting people?”
Rosie rubbed the sore spot, grumbling.
“Yeah. But only with you.”
“Wow…”
“Anyway, good luck. Oh, which knight order are you planning to join?”
“Of course Duke Ditrio’s order!”
That’s when it happened.
“On whose authority.”
Kir, who had been quietly listening, suddenly cut in.
Both girls turned to look at him. Kir, flustered, quickly stammered out an excuse.
“N-no, I mean… That’s not the kind of place you can just join, you know…”
He babbled nervously, then embarrassed, hid behind Emilina’s back.
Peeking out, he glared at Rosie.
“Pfft. You hear that? You’ll really have to work hard.”
Emilina patted Rosie’s shoulder encouragingly.
But Rosie’s pride was wounded.
She’d spoken out with grand dreams, yet it felt like her wings had been clipped before even taking off.
Of course she felt upset.
So she made a vow.
She would definitely join the knight order, and when she did, she’d shock Emilina and that cheeky little brat.
“Just you wait. I’ll get in for sure.”
With that, Rosie said she had things to do and left first.
Emilina and Kir, left behind, looked at each other briefly.
“Shall we go too?”
“Mm.”
Kir nodded, took Emilina’s hand, and kept his eyes on Rosie’s retreating back as he thought:
Hmph. No way I’ll ever accept you.
He couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy toward Rosie.
Completely unaware of the dark shadows silently watching them.
“Certain, then.”
“Yes. Tracing George’s movements, they stopped near that girl’s house.”
“Good. That confirms it. He was hiding there.”
“What shall we do?”
The man pondered briefly.
This had originally been George’s mission. But contact with him had been lost for days.
That meant only two things:
Either he’d been caught, tortured, and killed—or killed on the spot.
Most likely the former.
An unexpected obstacle.
Someone skilled enough to erase all traces.
No way George could have been taken out by that kid who couldn’t even sense killing intent.
“Who could it be…”
“Sir?”
“You know as well as I do—George was a skilled man. One I trained myself.”
“Yes, Master.”
“And yet, there’s someone covering for the target, making it hard to move.”
A true problem.
The man hated loose ends as much as his master did.
It was nice of someone to get rid of George, but failure meant nothing.
Now he even had to dispose of another subordinate who had been with him.
All this just to catch one prey—it wasn’t worth the loss.
“Hm. What to do…”
Had George spilled under torture?
He’d trained George well enough that normal methods wouldn’t break him.
But if the one behind this was truly skilled, perhaps they were also well-versed in torture.
“And yet, no presence is felt.”
The man stroked his chin irritably.
Around the target, there was no trace of another’s aura.
There’s only so much one can hide—it didn’t seem like the protector was even watching.
Normally, they would’ve stationed someone to keep guard if they knew.
That uncertainty was troubling. Maybe it was a trap.
He couldn’t judge just yet.
Better safe than sorry. I’ll watch for now.
“Put it on hold.”
“I agree.”
“Oh? Why’s that?”
“It looks like the target is staying at that girl’s house.”
“And what of it?”
“She’s… a noble.”
“What?”
A noble, in this backwater? The man scoffed.
“At best a minor noble.”
The subordinate quickly lowered his head, apologizing.
“Forgive me. I just thought it’d be cleaner to strike when the target is alone.”
Not a wrong thought.
Even a low-ranking noble was still a noble. Killing both would carry risk.
But to the man, it was no threat at all.
So that’s why George delayed, huh. Fool.
George must have thought the same.
Waiting for the prey to be alone.
That would explain why there had been no news for a month after he claimed to have found them.
The puzzle pieces clicked into place.
He should’ve just killed them both. Tch.
The man clicked his tongue at George’s incompetence.
And then, a better idea struck him.
“Forget the hunt. Leave them be for now.”
“No surveillance either?”
The man licked his lips with a chilling smile.
The subordinate swallowed nervously.
Whenever his master wore that expression, it was never a sane idea.
And indeed, the man spoke with an eager gleam in his eye.
“No need. I’ve found new prey. I’ll use them properly.”
“Then…”
“She’s at the age to be swayed by feelings. We’ll make her come to us.”
“Yes, Master.”
The man had decided to show a little mercy.
After all, the prey had solved his problem for him.
Why wouldn’t he be pleased, when he could set a trap without taking any risk?
Since he couldn’t figure out the protector’s intentions, better to let the prey move on their own.
Watching them squirm will be entertaining.
The man left calmly, already anticipating the day the prey would come to him.
On the way home after shopping.
Emilina was troubled.
They were short on ingredients.
Sigh… Meat was way more expensive than I thought.
Even after emptying her allowance, she still came up short.
With a face near tears, she muttered:
“So I guess it’ll be just flour-coated fried meat…”
“Hm?”
“Sorry, Kir. I couldn’t manage better. It won’t taste good.”
“No, everything you make is delicious.”
Kir squeezed her hand tightly, telling her not to apologize.
Emilina was moved.
His encouragement gave her strength.
Alright. I’ll make it tasty no matter what!
Now was the time to show her skills.
They’d gone out for a delicious lunch, after all—she had to do her best.
That’s when it happened.
A voice called out to them.
“Hey there, little customers! Got a moment to model for a painting? Just 1 silver is all it takes!”
It was a street painter calling from the roadside.
A common sight—Emilina was about to ignore it and keep walking.
If Kir hadn’t stopped dead in his tracks, eyes showing interest.
“You want to?”
Kir nodded silently, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her.
