“Young master, about my leave…”
“Aile, could you bring some tea to the study? And some light refreshments too.”
“Ah, yes.”
After finishing helping him dress, my first attempt to bring up my leave ended in complete failure.
Well, it couldn’t be helped. I’d try again when I brought the tea.
“Young master, I’ve brought the tea.”
A little while later, I carefully set down a neatly arranged tray of warm, sweet black tea and snacks on Lis’s desk. He had started work early in the morning.
A quick glance showed his hands moving nonstop—he looked incredibly busy.
‘If I talk to him when he’s busy, he might just brush me off.’
Normally, Lis tended to get sensitive when he was busy, and he often dismissed anything that wasn’t important.
And there was probably nothing less important than my leave, so this might actually be the perfect time.
“Young master, my lea—”
Just as I seized the moment to speak,
“Aile, could you massage my shoulders? They’re stiff.”
“…Yes.”
Once again, my words were cut off. With my lips pressed tightly together, I stood behind him and silently began kneading his shoulders.
This was something Des used to make me do all the time at Black Rose…
‘Different place, same kind of work somehow.’
By the time I felt a strange sense of déjà vu creeping over me, I was finally freed from the task.
“Young master! My leave—”
“The tea’s gone cold, Aile.”
“I’ll warm it up.”
Reflexively, I picked up the tray with the teacup and left the study.
While walking down the hallway, I suddenly realized I had failed again to bring it up.
“…Is it just me? Why do I keep getting interrupted?”
If I thought about it carefully, all of Lis’s requests were perfectly reasonable.
If the tea had gone cold, it was only right for a maid to warm it up again.
The same went for the shoulder massage—if her master was stiff, it was only natural to help relieve his fatigue.
‘Even if I’m pretending to be a maid, isn’t this a bit too much? But I have to see the request through…’
Deep inside, the part of me bound by a maid’s duty and the part of me driven by an assassin’s logic were clashing violently.
Before I knew it, I was holding a freshly warmed cup of tea again.
Placing the tray back on his desk, I swallowed hard.
This time, even if I got interrupted, I’d finish what I had to say. It was just leave, after all!
“Young mas—”
“Aile, could you clean the reception room? There must be dust—my throat’s bothering me.”
“Yes, sir.”
When I came to my senses, I was already scrubbing the glass cabinets in the reception room. Scrub, scrub, scrub.
Wait… how did I turn into a chore artist?
‘How did this even happen?’
Even after that, every time I tried to speak, Lis would assign me another task—this, that—effectively shutting me up.
And every time, his reasons were so reasonable that I couldn’t even complain.
‘Why…? Did I do something wrong?’
After about twenty failed attempts, I finally came to a realization—far later than I should have.
‘Could it be… he already figured out what I’m trying to say and is deliberately stopping me?’
If that was true, I’d never get the chance to say it like this.
It seemed like something had irritated him, but since I had no idea what it was, there was no way to fix it.
“…I’ll just go through the head maid.”
As his personal maid, I needed Lis’s permission for leave.
But at this rate, I’d never get it directly from him, so I decided to go through the head maid instead.
Then even Lis wouldn’t have a choice!
After finishing the last of my cleaning—the bookshelves in the study—I opened the door, planning to head straight to the head maid.
But just then, a maid standing outside spotted me and hurried over.
“Oh, Aile! There you are. The young master is looking for you. You should go quickly.”
“…Again?”
“Hm?”
“Ah, it’s nothing…”
Since morning, I had been running around nonstop—cleaning, doing errands—barely able to catch a breath. When I turned my head, I saw the sun already setting outside the hallway window.
‘No way! I just wanted approval for one day off, and the whole day is already gone…?!’
Shocked, I leaned my head against the wall like a limp piece of paper.
Memories fade with time, and I had to move quickly before the gamblers at the arena forgot everything from that day.
Besides, there was no guarantee they’d still be there.
Though, realistically, where would people who bet their entire lives on gambling even go?
‘This is really the last try. If I fail again, I’m going straight to the head maid.’
Without even getting close to the head maid, I found myself knocking on the study door.
Knock, knock.
“Young master, it’s Aile.”
When I entered, Lis looked utterly exhausted, propping his chin on one hand while staring lazily at the documents.
When I stepped in front of him, his unmoving violet eyes slowly lifted to meet mine.
‘It’s been a while since he looked this tired. I can’t even argue with him like this… tch.’
Our eyes met, and I placed the new tray I was holding on his desk.
“It’s fruit tea—good for fatigue. Please drink it while you work.”
“…Aile, what do you want to say?”
“…Pardon?”
Caught off guard, I blinked as he continued without looking away.
“You’ve been staring at me like you have something to say.”
His low voice fell softly into the room, tinted by the evening light.
‘You only noticed now…?’
Suppressing the urge to say that I’d been staring since morning, I pulled out the leave request I had been carefully holding.
“Young master, may I take a day off tomorrow?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“I’ll be back soon, so if you could just approve— …What? Really?”
Taking my request, Lis casually stamped it with a cynical expression.
I had expected him to refuse outright, so the easy approval left me completely stunned.
I had even prepared answers in advance, expecting him to ask where I was going or what I’d be doing.
“One day seems stingy—take two.”
He even added another day, writing “2 days” on the request himself.
There was a reason I had only asked for one day.
Since my task involved observing the target and uncovering his secrets, being away from Lis for too long would be a serious problem.
If something happened while I was gone, I wouldn’t be able to protect him, and using my abilities would cost both time and money.
‘And it would reduce the content for my report.’
Lis took a sip of the fruit tea I brought and smiled faintly as he handed the request back.
“If it were up to me, I’d let you stay away longer—but it’d feel too empty without you.”
“…Ahem. I’ll return as soon as I’m done. Thank you.”
I knew that wasn’t true. There were plenty of maids who could attend to him.
There must have been others before me as well…
‘Why is my face so hot?’
Since Lis said he’d be working until dawn again, I wouldn’t need to put out the candles in his bedroom.
After submitting the request to the head maid, I was heading back to my room when—
“What should we do with this?”
“Who’s going to take it?”
“I’d rather not…”
A group of maids had gathered in a corner of the hallway, looking gloomy as they discussed something.
Judging by their expressions, it seemed quite serious… I was curious, but getting involved felt like it would only bring trouble, so I decided to quietly pass by.
“Ah, Aile! Perfect timing—come here for a second!”
