On the way back, thanks to Del guiding us, we were able to safely make it out of the forest.
As soon as we returned to the manor, Lis stopped by the study to gather some documents and said he would be working in his bedroom until dawn, so I didn’t need to attend to him for the night.
But… is that really okay?
I’ve never heard of a maid going to sleep before her master when he’s still awake. And I’m not just any maid—I’m his personal attendant, which made the dilemma even heavier.
I remained standing in one corner of the bedroom without leaving, and Lis, who was leaning against the bed flipping through a stack of documents, spoke casually.
“If you want, you can stay by my side all night.”
With a gentle smile, he patted the spot next to him, adding that the bed was spacious enough for me to sleep there too.
“Good night.”
“Oh, rejected.”
As I stepped back without hesitation and gave a brief farewell, Lis shrugged as if disappointed.
Pretending not to notice, I hurried back to my room.
Perhaps because the weather was getting colder, the number of assassins coming to the duke’s estate had been gradually decreasing, so these days I could sleep relatively peacefully.
After all, the night outfits assassins usually wear are far too thin for winter. But wearing fur would hinder movement, so that wasn’t an option either.
‘Back in my day, I worked in winter wearing nothing but a single night outfit. Kids these days are getting soft.’
Taking out some paper for my report, I began writing down the contents I had already organized in my head.
“Come to think of it, I was asked to check whether Del’s eyes glow red…”
It seemed strange—why would an ordinary fox’s eyes glow? But questioning a request was unnecessary for an assassin.
‘Now they’ve got me spying on a fox too, huh.’
Anyway, I had carefully observed Del’s pupils for half a month, but I never once saw them glow.
“Let’s mark this as irrelevant… Next is the report about Lis’s power, which I’ve been putting off.”
I had been submitting regular reports to Black Rose every three days, but I had never once mentioned Lis’s abilities.
Not because I had any hidden agenda—there was simply nothing worth reporting.
‘It’s been half a month. I can’t delay it anymore. I have to write something.’
When I submitted a report to Black Rose, it would first be filtered by Death before being passed on to the client.
If I failed to mention his powers again this time, the client would surely complain.
Well, Death would be the one dealing with that… but still, that wasn’t fair.
I couldn’t put my captain in a difficult position.
“Frequently injured, rather frail… It is judged that he has not yet awakened his abilities, or that he possesses none… Honestly, I might as well submit a blank page.”
Reports were supposed to avoid speculative statements, but I hadn’t even been able to confirm whether he had powers at all.
I could already picture Death smacking his forehead, wondering what kind of garbage report this was.
But what was I supposed to do? It was the truth.
“Let me at least write some excuses at the bottom. It’s a bit pathetic, but I’ve got my grievances too.”
The target mostly stayed at home working.
Since he rarely went out, there was no external contact, and the duke’s estate was so peaceful it was almost absurd.
Naturally, there had been no opportunity to see him use any power.
So based on my observations over the past half month, I reached the conclusion—subjective yet undeniably objective—that he likely had no abilities.
“…And that’s why it’s unfair,” I muttered, hoping my captain would understand.
Given that an enormous sum was at stake, there couldn’t be even the slightest lie in my report.
“If I just claim he has abilities, how am I supposed to prove it?”
Feeling the painful weight of writing a report that essentially said no results, I finished it.
“It’s not like I didn’t consider other methods, Captain.”
Folding the report neatly for the crow to carry, I muttered to myself.
At one point, I had even seriously considered simply watching without intervening if an assassin attacked at night.
After all, if he had survived this long even before I came, it meant he must have something.
‘From what I saw before, he can handle a sword… but using a longsword against fast, close-range assassins is foolish, so I’m not sure how useful that is.’
Trusting in an ability I had never even seen and leaving him to fend for himself—it sounded easy, but it wasn’t.
‘What if he dies because I didn’t help?’
Then my payment would be gone too.
And my father’s gambling debt, which had already ballooned to astronomical levels, would tighten around my neck again with accumulating interest.
‘It’s too much of a gamble. I did seriously consider it once… but even now, it’s still impossible.’
Maybe if I happened to witness a situation where he was forced to use his powers in front of me, things would be different.
But in the Duke Cassio estate, where the loudest sound was often just fallen leaves being swept by the wind, such a situation would likely never occur.
‘Half a month is enough to complete a normal mission. This is my first long-term assignment dragging on for months… I have to be careful.’
If my judgment led to the target’s death, it would waste time, money, and the manpower Black Rose had invested.
That made reckless action impossible.
I couldn’t push the target into danger, nor could I deliberately put him at risk.
No one knew better than I did how easily a life could be lost for the smallest reason.
“Oh, right on time.”
Spotting a crow lingering by the window, I opened it slightly and placed the neatly folded report in its beak.
If my report—that Lis had no abilities—was accepted, then my mission would end immediately.
With no reason to stay, I would leave under the pretense of family circumstances.
The mission was to uncover the secret of Lis’s power and kill him. But if he had no power at all, then there was no reason—or value—in killing him.
‘I’ll return to Black Rose…’
Since Black Rose was a small elite group, everyone was usually busy with their own missions, so we rarely saw each other at the base.
In contrast, the duke’s estate was lively, with servants constantly interacting.
Even though I had only stayed for half a month, I had grown somewhat attached after frequently crossing paths with the staff.
Thinking about leaving left a faint sense of regret.
“Ah… except for that man, Demon Haires.”
The aide who had supposedly served Lis the longest still disliked me.
After all, working as an assassin, it was easy to tell whether someone’s attitude was friendly or hostile—and Demon had shown nothing but hostility from the start.
It had lessened compared to the beginning, but he still wasn’t exactly kind.
For example…
‘Young master does not drink tea below 82 degrees.’
Demon suddenly grabbed me as I was carrying tea and, pulling out a thermometer from somewhere, pressed it against the teapot before shaking his head.
‘Uh… he drinks it just fine though?’
‘…Impressive. To think you’ve ruined the young master’s palate.’
What did he mean by “impressive”? I didn’t really get it, but if he tried it himself, he’d understand.
Making tea had always been my responsibility as the youngest member of Black Rose, so I was confident in it.
‘Want to try some? It’s good.’
‘Why would I dri— gulp.’
As I poured a cup and held it up to him, Demon frowned but eventually opened his mouth.
A heavy silence followed.
‘Wow, this is really go—’
He froze mid-sentence, his expression stiffening, then turned and strode away down the hallway.
He still occasionally picked pointless fights like that, and I could never figure out his intentions.
Though… he did seem to like the tea, didn’t he?
