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Chapter 07
Lis stared blankly at the assassin lying in a miserable heap on the rooftop, then soon lost interest and turned away.
When Lis returned to the bedroom and lay down on the bed, Aile entered the room almost immediately.
Judging by his somewhat heavy breathing, it seemed he had been running all over the forest searching for Del.
Worried that the young master might wake up, Aile held his breath as he placed Del onto the bed and quietly approached the candlestick to extinguish the flame.
However, after finishing everything he needed to do, Aile suddenly walked toward the bed instead of the door.
He waved his hand suspiciously over Lis’s face, whose eyes remained closed.
After silently observing Lis’s steady breathing in the darkness for a while, Aile only relaxed after confirming several times that he was deeply asleep.
Soon afterward, the faint sound of a window opening could be heard.
Aile’s footsteps blended into the silence of dawn and disappeared out the window in an instant.
“……”
A moment later, Lis’s tightly shut eyes slowly opened.
Beneath his gradually lifting eyelids, violet eyes carrying a strange gleam lazily shifted toward the slightly open window.
It seemed Aile had noticed the assassin on the roof.
Lis had thought he wouldn’t notice since the assassin’s breathing had nearly stopped, but an assassin was still an assassin. To detect such a tiny presence…
“…Why did he go?”
Just because Aile sensed the assassin didn’t mean he had any obligation to deal with him.
Especially since Aile was hiding his true identity. Yet he was risking exposure to take care of the man…
“He’s still alive.”
If he had known this would happen, Lis would have killed the assassin more quickly.
As Lis sat up, Del, who had seemed asleep, suddenly opened his crimson eyes.
With his long tail swaying, Del followed after his master.
Whoosh, thud!
The dull sound came from above the terrace, near the roof.
There stood Aile, moving as lightly as a feather.
Perhaps the maid uniform adorned with excessive lace was getting in his way, because he had casually pulled it up to his thighs. Strangely enough, the bizarre appearance suited him perfectly.
His long silver hair fluttered beneath the night sky, sparkling like stars under the dim moonlight of dawn.
Grrr.
Seeing the assassin charge toward Aile, Del bared his teeth with a low growl.
Lis quietly grabbed Del by the scruff of his neck.
“Del, shh. Not yet.”
If the assassin somehow managed to injure Aile, he intended to send Del in immediately.
No matter how strong Aile was, his opponent was still a fully grown man with a vastly different physique.
Moreover, the assassin was fast—far beyond the level of the riffraff they had encountered in the Black Forest.
Thud!
Then, Aile suddenly slammed the back of the assassin’s neck with a thick scabbard that seemed to appear from nowhere.
He’s already half-dead. There was no need to go that far…
There wasn’t the slightest trace of mercy in those ruthless hands.
“Can we meet again?”
“Who knows… If we do meet again, I don’t think I’ll be an angel anymore. So let’s never meet again.”
Suddenly, a memory from long ago flashed vividly through Lis’s mind.
“……As I thought.”
Lis, who had remained silent until now, finally parted his lips slightly.
That merciless gesture.
That complete lack of compassion.
Even the rough kicks that carried not a shred of kindness.
Lis missed none of it, taking in every movement before covering his mouth with one hand.
“Definitely an angel.”
The corners of his lips curled upward behind his fingers.
At that moment, Aile turned his head.
As if sensing something, he stared sharply toward the terrace.
His gaze carried a heavy tension.
Grrr!
Lis quietly stepped deeper into the shadows and gestured.
Del immediately leaped forward, wagging his tail vigorously.
“…Ah, it was Del.”
His relieved voice drifted softly through the stillness after realizing the presence belonged to Del.
Then Aile casually removed the fallen assassin’s belt.
Using it, he tied the assassin’s hands and feet together in an elaborate ribbon-like knot as though wrapping a gift, then hurled him far into the distance.
“Wow, he flies pretty well.”
Hearing Aile’s innocent admiration, Lis blinked and stared curiously at the place where the assassin had been.
It doesn’t seem like this is the first time he’s thrown a person…
After neatly finishing the cleanup, Aile vigorously ruffled Del’s head.
“Del, what you saw just now is a secret from Master, okay?”
Grrr, grrr.
The chubby fox Del responded with a low rumble.
Tap tap.
Tap-tap-tap.
Early in the morning, before the moon of dawn had fully set, a secretive tapping at the window made Aile rub his heavy eyes and roll over.
“Mmm… What is it?”
Turning his head, he spotted a red-eyed crow sitting quietly on the windowsill.
Aile sluggishly got up and opened the window.
The crow dropped the object it had been carrying in its beak and immediately flew away into the sky.
“Haah, Death. I keep telling you not to put things in a crow’s mouth.”
Forcing a bitter smile, Aile carefully picked up the letter dripping with sticky crow saliva and unfolded it.
[Report received. Feedback is as follows.
1. Explain why you were sent in as a maid but became a personal attendant instead. Submit a written report.
2. Provide a more detailed report regarding the fox’s appearance. In particular, confirm whether its red eyes emit light.
3. Investigate the target’s combat abilities in detail.
P.S. Do whatever it takes to earn the target’s trust.]
“A… a written report!?”
Aile’s eyes widened at the unexpected punishment.
The drowsiness that had lingered moments ago vanished instantly.
Of course, he hadn’t expected praise since things hadn’t gone according to plan.
“But this isn’t fair!”
He had stayed up before dawn fighting sleep to submit that report, only to receive a disciplinary report in return!
He genuinely couldn’t understand what he had done wrong.
If anyone was to blame, shouldn’t it be the thorn that had happened to get stuck in Del’s paw at exactly that moment?
“What a ridiculous repor—”
Aile froze with a terrifying expression for a moment before smoothly breaking into a pleasant smile.
He tossed the letter onto the reddish candlestick.
Soon, the thin paper crackled as it burned away in the flame.
“Mhm. Aile doesn’t know anything about that.”
Having thoroughly cleared his mind, Aile put on his maid uniform and headed toward Lis’s bedroom to carry out a maid’s first duty: waking up the young master.
Knock knock—
Since there was no response, Lis apparently was still asleep.
Aile quietly turned the doorknob.
“Huh?”
But when he entered, Lis wasn’t in the bed.
The only one there was Del, his crimson eyes shining as he aggressively swished his tail.
“Del, where’s the young master?”
In response to Aile’s question, Del fixed his gaze somewhere.
Just as Aile turned to look in that direction with confusion—
“…!”
Lis emerged from the bathroom and suddenly froze.
Holding Del in his arms, Aile stared at him blankly before bowing politely.
“Young Master, good morning. You’re up early.”
“……Aile, why are you here?”
The awkward reply made Aile tilt his head.
To him, it seemed like an obvious question.
“My first duty is to wake you up, Young Master.”
Even as he said that, Aile was openly staring at Lis’s half-dressed body.
His well-built upper body was completely exposed, while his damp hair still glistened with water.
Yet Aile showed no surprise or embarrassment.
In fact, he looked remarkably accustomed to situations like this.
“…Aile, could you stop looking at me?”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Aile obediently nodded and turned around.
He didn’t understand why Lis had said that; he simply followed the order.
Quickly throwing on the nearest robe he could find, Lis swallowed hard and ran a hand roughly across his pale face.
A short while later, after Lis told him it was fine, Aile immediately turned back around.
“……Young Master.”
For some reason, Aile’s gaze seemed anything but ordinary.
Carefully examining Lis with sharp eyes, Aile’s expression grew unexpectedly serious as he began to speak.
