chapter_0019

19 – Assassins

19 – Assassins

It was a quiet night.

Cron’s castle looked just as it always did.

Outside the castle, the guards were patrolling.

Inside, the serene moonlight bathed everyone in a comforting slumber.

They were there, silently.

Wearing black masks, they entered the castle so naturally.

The guards passed by them without noticing at all, continuing their patrol.

Entering the castle as if it were their own home, they rushed toward their target without any hesitation.

Without a sound, without a footfall, they swiftly made their way to the lord’s bedroom, and nothing could stop them.

If left unchecked, they would soon arrive at the lord’s chamber.

Once there, they would carry out their mission, and the lord of the castle would die without even realizing it.

As the moonlight worried, they found themselves in front of the lord’s bedroom.

But for the first time, they halted their advance.

This was because she was there, in front of the lord’s bedroom, where they had thought no one would be.

Lana, dressed in a neat maid’s outfit, awaited them silently.

And for the first time in the quiet castle, she spoke.

“Hello. I am Lana, the maid serving Lord Calix.”

Lana introduced herself politely.

The intruders felt a threat in her greeting.

Despite wearing that complicated maid’s outfit, there was no sound emanating from her body.

With an icy, expressionless face, Lana calmly regarded the intruders and said,

“The lord is currently asleep. If you wish to see him, please visit the estate office tomorrow morning to register.”

Her words carried no emotion.

There was no fear or hostility; she simply provided them with information.

And that, above all, sounded chilling to the intruders.

“If you approach the lord any further…”

Lana stepped forward.

At her movement, the intruders recoiled, and for the first time since arriving, they breathed out.

Ignoring their reaction, she coldly stated,

“I will recognize you as enemies.”

An entity that approaches without a sound, executes without a heart, and eliminates its target from the world without leaving a trace.

That was what an “Assassin” was.

Thus, they were always told this during their training.

“Empty everything.”

The intruders had also heard that phrase during their training and had carried out every mission silently and emotionlessly until now.

But today, for the first time, they made a sound.

Because of the maid before them, who was emptier than themselves, they felt the emotion of fear and let out a sound.

Unable to retreat, they drew their daggers and took a step forward.

And…

“You have approached.”

Lana recognized them as enemies.

In that moment, her long maid’s skirt was shed.

Then, two daggers hidden beneath her short slip and thighs were revealed.

She silently drew the two daggers, preparing to greet her guests.

“As the maid of Princess… no, Lord Calix, I will exclude you.”

At that moment, her profession transformed from “Maid” to “Assassin.”

In the quiet corridor, shadows began to clash.

The three intruders scattered and charged at her.

No matter how high her rank as an assassin was, she was ultimately alone.

Even if a few sacrifices occurred, it wouldn’t matter if they could achieve their mission.

Thinking this, the leading intruder, willing to sacrifice himself to complete the mission, witnessed an unbelievable sight.

Out of nowhere, a dagger she had thrown flew past his head.

“……!”

What surprised him was not just that she had thrown the dagger at a speed he couldn’t see, nor that it had passed by his head.

It was the certainty that her dagger had pierced the head of his comrade behind him.

Invisible and unheard, the comrade who had just been behind him was dead.

Realizing this, the leading intruder charged at her without hesitation.

Even though his comrade had died, it meant her weapons were halved.

With the certainty that they would die if they didn’t seize this opportunity, the two intruders began to rush at her.

Whoosh-! Whoosh!! Whoosh-!

The sound of wind began to fill the quiet corridor.

Their daggers created a wind sound as they crossed the space where her daggers had been.

Not allowing a single hit from each other’s attacks, they danced a silent dance under the moonlight.

Who was the most surprised in that exchange?

Having entered the empire’s top academy and achieved the highest grades as an assassin, she was astonished by the skills of those who were engaging her.

And the intruders, who had successfully completed numerous missions in the shadows, were equally amazed by her ability to silently evade their attacks with her feminine form.

Thus, they understood.

In the next move, one side would die, either she or them, as the balance would be disrupted.

And the intruders were the first to break that balance.

Thud-!

The sound of something piercing flesh echoed through the quiet corridor, and surprise spread across Lana’s face.

One of the intruders had jumped onto her dagger, impaling himself.

This was their “one move.”

There were two of them, and as long as one survived to complete the mission, it would suffice.

Seeing the opening created by the sacrifice of his comrade, the intruder charged at her.

Having killed countless people as an assassin, he began to see the line.

A black line that would surely guide another to death began to form around her neck.

He swung his dagger toward that line.

But in that moment… she vanished from his sight.

“!!!?”

His assured attack sliced through the air, and as he saw his comrade impaled before him, the intruder felt death approaching from behind.

Thud-!

“Cough!”

A metal object dug into his heart, avoiding his spine.

Clinging desperately to his fading consciousness, he turned around.

There she was, with her dagger piercing the forehead of his comrade, who lay dead.

From the dagger that had pierced his heart, he felt a faint magical power and, seeing the position of his comrade who had been killed, he began to understand what had happened to him.

This was Lana’s Blessing, .

The effect of that ability was to teleport Lana to the location of her dagger, in other words, it was a teleportation ability.

Simple, yet it exerted absolute power in fights where life and death hung in the balance in a mere 0.1 seconds, such as assassination and close combat, and it was with this blessing and her talent that she achieved the highest grades in the academy’s assassination program.

The intruder lamented his foolishness for entering battle without considering that she might possess such a blessing as his consciousness faded away.

“May you… find happiness in your next life…”

Looking at the fallen intruders, Lana offered a prayer for their last moments.

After dealing with the intruders, Lana fell into deep thought.

She had sensed the assassins and stepped forward to protect the lord, but she had never mentioned her abilities to him.

There were two main reasons she hadn’t disclosed her assassination skills.

The first was that the princess had told her to keep it a secret, and the second was that, for reasons she didn’t fully understand, she didn’t want to tell Lord Calix.

In that situation, looking at the three corpses before her, she became troubled.

If dawn broke and it was revealed that she had dealt with the assassins, things could get noisy.

In the worst-case scenario, she might be sent back to the princess, and her teacher might not be able to continue either, which made her head spin.

“I don’t want to leave this place… I need to find a way.”

As she pondered a good solution, she glanced at Calix’s bedroom.

Then, a thought struck her that she should offer an apology gift, and a very good idea came to mind.

Without hesitation, she executed that plan.

An apple in the morning is a tonic.

Due to the dietary habits formed in her previous life, I started my morning by peeling an apple alone in my room.

That day, I woke up before the maid arrived, still half-asleep, and was peeling the apple with a knife.

But then…

“AAAHHH!!!!”

A scream echoed from outside.

What kind of scream is that so early in the morning!?

Startled, I grabbed the knife and opened the door.

“What’s going on!?”

“L-Lord! Over there…”

“Over there?… Oh my! What a shock.”

Stepping outside, I found Maid Julia trembling in shock.

And when I looked in the direction she was pointing, there were three bodies that appeared to be assassins.

The assassins, dressed in black clothes and black masks, were stained with cuts and red blood, as if they had died after a fierce struggle.

At that moment, the guards, having heard the scream, rushed over.

“Lord!!”

“Are you alright!?”

They seemed to have rushed in a panic, worried about my safety.

I was about to tell them I was fine when they shouted first.

“Lord! There’s blood on your clothes!!”

“What, blood?… Oh my! What is this!?”

Hearing that, I looked at my body.

My nightgown was soaked in blood, turning red.

No! What the hell is going on!?

Why is my nightgown a sea of blood overnight?

While I was panicking, the guards looked at me with astonished faces and said,

“Could it be that you…?”

“Did you catch those assassins, my Lord?”

“What!?”

Seeing the dead assassins, my blood-soaked nightgown, and the knife,

the guards seemed to have come to that conclusion.

I had caught the assassins with a knife.

…Is that even possible!?

I desperately denied it.

“That can’t be! I don’t know anything about it!”

“I see.”

“Understood. We will officially handle it that way.”

At my words, the guards and Maid Julia nodded as if they were promising to keep the secret for the sake of the lord.

No! It wasn’t me!

You fools! It really wasn’t me!

And a few days later…

Songs began to circulate in the streets about how I had slaughtered the assassins with a knife.

This is really not me… I felt so wronged that I could go crazy.

A word from the author (Author’s note)

Thank you, [Satoshi]!!

I will continue to present even more charming characters!!

Thank you for your support!!!!!

??? : With this, the lord’s reputation will grow even greater, and the lord will surely be pleased. After all, I am the perfect maid.