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Chapter 19
There are plenty of other things I’ll miss before I leave.
If she had to choose, she would probably miss Del’s fluffy fur the most.
His signature limp, pointed ears, and even his thick tail—no, his fur-stuffed tail that seemed to have a mind of its own.
She normally wasn’t the sentimental type, but once the thought entered her mind, one tiny regret after another surfaced without end.
After all, these are people from a world I’ll never see again…
From the beginning, this had never been a place someone like her truly belonged.
She was a commoner without even a family name, while aside from the ordinary maids, even the attendants and lady’s maids here were all children of noble families serving the great Duke Casio household.
It was a place where money that could let an ordinary commoner live comfortably for a lifetime was treated as mere pocket change.
From the very foundation, they were different from her.
When she was younger, she might have felt deprived, but now she no longer cared.
Unlike nobles bound to one place, she possessed the freedom to drift wherever she pleased without worrying about the eyes of others.
“To be honest, this has probably been the most enjoyable mission I’ve ever taken.”
The larger the reward, the more difficult the assignment usually was, but this long-term mission had been surprisingly peaceful.
Aside from taking the heads of a few assassins who came after the target, there hadn’t been any significant battles.
Once I pay off my debt and have money left… I’ll go to Terasa.
Moonlight poured through the window where the crow had departed only moments before.
When she was very young, she vaguely remembered watching a full moon just like this while being held in someone’s arms.
“…Just hang in there a little longer, and I’ll make it.”
Terasa was the eastern port city of the Empire that she had dreamed of since childhood.
Having seen it only through pamphlets, it had become the goal of her life.
People strolling along golden beaches where pure white waves crashed, the salty scent that made her wrinkle her nose, the damp smell of the sea, and even the distant horn of ships sounding before dawn.
Perhaps it was her way of rewarding herself as an adult for the fiercely difficult childhood she had endured.
Whatever the circumstances, she had to settle her debt before she could go there.
“And it’s far away, so I’ll need plenty of travel money… Since it’s called the City of Abundance, I’ll need a decent amount of capital just to live there.”
It was a plan she had muttered to herself countless times, yet today it somehow felt different.
Perhaps because she was finally convinced that if she completed this mission successfully, she would truly be able to go.
If I stay any longer, I might really grow attached… I need to cut things off here.
There was a limit to how much she could honestly accept the kindness everyone at the duke’s estate had shown her.
She had infiltrated the place while hiding the fact that she was an assassin.
She could neither accept nor give affection so carelessly.
That was what it meant to separate business from personal feelings.
Everything she showed them had been nothing but acting and lies.
But for how much longer?
I can’t keep doing this forever… I’m still not even an adult.
The golden moonlight shattered into fragments between her slowly closing eyelids.
Tap. Tap tap.
The sound of something pecking at the window naturally woke her.
She shot upright, and the crow pacing along the windowsill placed what it held in its beak onto the frame before immediately taking flight.
“Ugh, it’s damp.”
Barely lifting the letter with her fingertips, Ail sighed and tossed it onto the table.
She’d told them to tell the captain to switch from crows to messenger pigeons, but apparently Cheblin had forgotten.
Or maybe he’d been sulking and deliberately neglected to pass along the message.
Flapping her hand repeatedly to dry the paper, she carefully unfolded the still slightly damp letter.
“…Huh?”
The first thing she saw was a sentence written in bold across the top.
“Request for mission termination denied due to insufficient investigation and lack of supporting evidence.”
That wasn’t exactly unexpected.
She had submitted what amounted to a report full of speculation.
It was only natural.
Still, she’d held onto a tiny bit of hope.
The real issue was what came next.
The short message beneath contained information she hadn’t known.
So Cheblin had…
“Cheblin saw the target use his power at the arena…?”
It also said that if she heard the words “drum barrel,” she would understand.
Since Cheblin himself didn’t know anything beyond that, she was instructed to investigate further.
“The drum barrel… I do remember it.”
There was no way she could forget the bizarre sight of countless people sticking their heads into the drum as though it were filled with gold bars.
If only that incident hadn’t happened half a month ago, she wouldn’t have been this flustered.
Apparently, Cheblin had forgotten about it the entire time and only now reported it to the captain.
Even more ridiculous was the fact that she had been standing right beside him back then.
Why hadn’t he mentioned it immediately?
She really should have pinched his cheeks even harder.
“Investigate further… How am I supposed to do that?”
Half a month had already passed, so finding that drum was hopeless.
“And I can’t exactly ask the target whether he used his power back then… Ha…”
That left only one option.
She would have to visit the arena herself and find the people who had been there that day to hear what they remembered.
Although she’d only spoken with them briefly, if anyone was going to investigate, she was certainly more suited for it than Cheblin.
“Come to think of it… I haven’t used my vacation leave even once, have I?”
From the moment she entered the estate as a maid, taking leave had never even crossed her mind.
Vacation? As if.
Every single day was an active mission.
Still, if she received leave, she’d be free to go out, so she would have to bring it up naturally with Lis.
Obviously, she couldn’t tell him she was going to investigate the arena.
She needed a believable excuse.
A family matter or some excuse about home should work. Those always do.
Since it would soon be time for him to wake up, she decided it would be best to ask while attending to his morning routine.
After quickly washing and straightening her clothes, she headed directly to Lis’s bedroom.
Knock, knock.
When she knocked, a voice from inside told her to enter.
Opening the door, she found Lis sitting in a chair wearing a white robe over his damp hair.
Ever since the first day she became his personal maid and unintentionally saw him undressed, Lis had begun waking up early and finishing his shower before she arrived.
She still had no idea why.
“Young Master, you’re up early again today.”
“Mm. I have a lot of work.”
Drying the moisture from his hair had practically become the first fixed task of every morning.
Once she confirmed it was mostly dry, she naturally stood up and stepped close to the waiting Lis, who spread his arms for her to help him dress.
Recently, Lis had obediently worn whatever clothes she chose without a single complaint.
It wasn’t as though she’d put much thought into it.
With a face that suited anything and a wardrobe filled with only the finest garments, it was hard to make a bad choice.
…Let’s not mention that I’m basically picking at random. He seems perfectly satisfied anyway.
Over a thin cravat, she fastened an indigo velvet vest embroidered with gold thread, then buttoned the silver buttons of the thick black jacket layered on top.
In the quiet of the morning, Lis spoke in a slightly husky voice.
“I’ve thought this for a while now, but you have good taste in clothes, Ail. Have you picked outfits for men before?”
She slowly nodded.
“Yes… quite a lot, actually.”
It was another product of her environment.
Her companions in Black Rose all dressed as though they grabbed whatever was lying around, so unable to watch any longer, she often ended up choosing their clothes for them.
Fortunately, assassins usually wore black uniforms anyway, so it wasn’t something she had to do often.
But why was it?
Lis’s violet eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
Huh?
That expression looked strangely familiar.
It looked exactly like Cheblin whenever she’d smacked him on the head and he’d started sulking.
“Oh… so you’ve done it a lot.”
The corners of Lis’s lips twisted into a peculiar smile.
Why was he smiling all of a sudden?
“Haha! Yes, I’ve done it a lot!”
…For now, she decided to laugh along with him.
