episode_0015

Yuria watched Ian absentmindedly until another command followed, and he sat at the table. Since she had received bloodsucking this morning, she sent him an even more affectionate and obvious gaze.

In her heart, she wanted to go to that table right away and embrace him. Surely, even so, he would accept her with a troubled expression. However, given the circumstances, Yuria had to carry out the tasks Ian had ‘requested’ of her for the first time.

Disappointing him was absolutely out of the question.

Among the maids, Yuria had been rumored to be the most competent. Therefore, by assisting the head maid, she was able to gather some information in the chaotic situation of the banquet.

“It seems there are some slightly dangerous ingredients as the master mentioned.”

There was an addictive poison… it contained a level of magic suppression, but she ignored it. It wouldn’t enter Ian’s mouth as a top priority, and it wouldn’t even enter Rachel’s mouth, whom Ian had directly requested it for.

And even if she were to mention that it contained an addictive poison, proving its effect would take time, and after revealing it, she would be seen setting fire in the already chaotic crowd. Yuria realized that there was a significant chance that instead of helping the master’s plan, it could create a more comfortable environment for assassins.

It wasn’t Yuria’s concern whether other nobles who had hunted and tormented them in the past would eat the food containing those ingredients and become permanently unable to handle magic or die. She didn’t care.

“…But if this enters Ian’s mouth.”

There was no need to discuss the aftermath.

Even a tiny amount of poison presented to the master was by no means an easily overlooked matter. If it posed even 0.0001 percent risk to Ian’s life, she could easily blow everyone here away right now. It didn’t matter how many died. She felt no guilt. On the contrary, she would not refuse and would welcome killing nobles.

Moving around the mansion, Ian set up traps as requested and removed anything that could endanger his life. Perhaps due to being too focused on such matters, he accidentally collided with someone at a corner of the hallway.

“Ugh! Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m the one who should apologize.”

The other person apologized first. It was the maid he had seen once before. She used to have long hair down to her waist, but now she had a short haircut, which caught Ian’s attention.

“Are you hurt?”

Yuria smoothly caught the plate the woman almost dropped and handed it back to her. The fallen woman was the owner of the blonde wall. She belonged to the category of women whom the master had warned not to get too close to. However, the maid with the blonde hair was not just one or two, and the master had emphasized the importance of maintaining an appropriate distance, as paying too much attention would only raise suspicion.

Yuria could see it in her eyes, the need to maintain that appropriate distance, and the woman definitely exuded an unsettling aura.

‘…Her magic has increased. She can even take down formidable monsters with her bare fists. It seems the assassin is eyeing this woman as their next target. But since the banquet hasn’t properly started yet, I should leave it be for now.’

Killing her without solid evidence would only lead to unnecessary trouble later. While there were plenty of ways to conceal it, taking responsibility for it was a different matter altogether.

In reality, the maid no longer existed. Inside, a decomposed assassin possessed her skin and repeated the act.

“…”

As evidence, the maid held the plate with her left hand. It was undoubtedly a 100% certainty, as when last seen, she had been right-handed, and there was no reason for her to switch.

Master has welcomed a new maid who knows how to hide her magic, and instructed all the maids to memorize her characteristics. What was supposed to be an insane task for others was not so difficult for the genius, Yuria. Knowing just the handle of each maid was enough.

Yuria took the maid’s hand and helped her up, continuing the conversation. “Yes, I’m not hurt… thank you.” As she replied with a vague smile, Yuria nodded. One of the assassins disguised as a maid picked up what she had dropped. A transparent vial containing blue liquid. The name ‘Brittany Ian’ was casually written on the surface.

Of course, the time it took to thoroughly examine the name was a mere fraction of a second, but Yuria, who had reached the level of a superhuman, could not ignore this. “This person…” Suppressing the surging vitality moment by moment, while harboring such sentiments, Yuria clenched her fist and stared at her. The woman looked straight at her and asked, “Oh, are you going to see Master Ian?” “Yes.” “Then if you go straight from where I came out, you’ll find the biggest door when you enter.”

With those words, she pointed to where she had come from and tried to leave. Reluctantly, Yuria did not try to stop her. Facing that person was unpleasant. However, what made her stop the maid was when Yuria’s thought added one more second. “Wait a moment.” “?” “….How do you know where Master Ian’s room is?” Master Ian’s study had recently been temporarily relocated. Only the butler, Harzen, herself, and a few other maids knew about it. Moreover, amidst their busy schedules, Master Ian mostly managed his own affairs, or through Harzen or herself. In other words, many maids still didn’t know much about Master Ian’s room. How does this maid, who might cause trouble, know? “Well… I just saw him until a while ago, so…” “…”

As the words left her mouth, Yuria’s shadow behind her doubled and quadrupled in an instant. The sudden surge of energy filled the corridor, causing the maids, who were a little further away, to react physically, their bodies trembling and flinching, unaware of the situation. As a result, a plate shattered, casting a shadow over Yuria’s expression.

“What are you doing?” A voice that could send shivers down one’s spine echoed coldly in the ears, without the assassin even realizing they were trembling.

Overwhelmed, there was no other way to describe it. Yuria’s eyes narrowed.

“Is that the truth? Surely Lady Rachel usually writes letters in the morning and replies. Besides, yesterday, the master did not write any letters at all.”

“But… I… I was delivering a letter for Lady Rachel…”

The assassin replied unintentionally, not even aware of their own trembling. It was crushing, there was no other way to explain it.

Yuria’s gaze narrowed.

“Is that so? What kind of letter is it that you’re delivering at this hour?”

Normally, it would be unnecessary to answer. Not only would it be impossible for a maid to know the contents of the letter, but also revealing its purpose could be considered a serious offense. However, the assassin hesitated and faltered.

Yes, they had essentially confessed. And there was more crucial evidence.

“And the master is not currently in the study. Furthermore, Lady Rachel has also vacated her position in the study.”

As Yuria spoke, she pointed to where the master and Rachel were faintly reflected in the window, engaged in conversation. There was no need for further lies; the evidence was clear. Continuing to lie here would only lead to the inevitable exposure of their true identity.

The atmosphere in the chilly corridor remained icy. Only a couple of things remained.

“…How long have you known?” the question came.

Yuria, trying to calm the rising excitement, spoke in a cold tone, “Do you think the excuses concocted in the minds of lowly beings hold any weight?”

At the word “lowly,” the body involuntarily flinched.

Generally, thieves with a background in slavery are particularly susceptible to the provocation typical of nobility. As cruel as they may be in their killings, there is no greater provocation than when their opponent is significantly beneath them.

“…”

Due to this environment, the maid, who had been trembling until just now, gradually began to speak more boldly, her appearance soon transforming. Her demeanor was so brutal that had an ordinary person witnessed it, they might have been driven to vomit.

In an instant, the fellow’s attitude shifted, setting the mood with a sardonic tone.

“It seems like you’re just fitting things together as if you knew everything.”

“You are pitiful. A lowly being.”

“Hah, I must have really rusted. Being criticized by a young lady like this.”

Uttering such arrogant words, the man drew his dagger and soon discarded the leather he had been wearing. He seemed confident in his own abilities.

Yeah. He probably didn’t hear.

Surely, he hadn’t heard about how the Viscount was raising the sole descendant of a vampire into a monster.

The sight that appeared about three seconds later astonished the renowned assassin, Bishakinya, from the assassination world.

‘Has the plan gone awry?’

Bishakinya, habitually chewing on his tongue, looked at the maid before him.

First of all, she was beautiful. Even with light makeup, her inherent beauty and the fragrance emanating from her were superior to anyone else at this gathering. It was clear at first glance that she was a woman beyond compare.

Therefore, he was even more suspicious.

A woman like her wouldn’t become a sex slave. Most likely, she would enter the Viscount’s household as a concubine. It was almost certain that she had infiltrated while wearing a maid’s outfit.

Of course, he had thought that even in the eyes of the Viscount, his acting and disguise wouldn’t easily give him away.

Bishakinya, the shape-shifter.

The leader of the assassination unit deployed this time.

Fortunate enough to obtain the skin of a good maid, he was a ruthless assassin who killed others in that guise, undetected even by the Viscount.

There were very few who knew his true identity.

His purpose and mission were to assassinate Britna Kane.

And if the opportunity arises, it would be to kill Brit and Ian. However, there was no interest in personally seeking out a terminally ill patient to kill. Since the room had obviously been changed, this was just a brief visit to check.

Originally, it would have been a situation that passed without incident. However, as predicted, the maid in front of me suddenly woke up.

Even though I had thoroughly altered my speech and tone while plunging the knife into her lower abdomen, she saw through it immediately.

The first thing to consider is the amount of magic. It’s quiet. In other words, nothing can be felt. From the complete lack of magical energy, it was clear that this woman was a complete weakling.

A weakling to the extent that even forcibly feeding her the accumulated desires of Bishakin in the previous room would be sufficient. Drooling, I draw my dagger.

“After taking over that body, I’ll also kill Ian and Cain, just for good measure.”

It’s highly likely that she’s responsible for managing the maids, so at least she should be easily accessible. When the assassins thrown as bait attack the banquet hall and several people die, if I take advantage of the chaos and aim for her neck disguised as a maid, things won’t be as difficult to resolve as I thought.

“A maid with bad habits needs to be corrected by me personally.”

He licked the blade with his tongue, harboring a sinister smirk.

Of course, correcting the habit meant something else entirely. Just imagining her whimpering under him already made dopamine tingle in his brain.

The opponent who has tasted life and threat at this point becomes weak in the legs, their muscles convulsing, ultimately despairing the moment the blade touches them.

Finding pleasure in such a situation was his way. However…

“…?”

Rather than feeling any sense of terror or weakness in her legs, Yuria tilted her head in confusion. Instead, she seemed to be looking down on herself, almost as if wondering if that was all there was to it.

“…As befitting a lowly maggot, you can’t even escape from your master’s mind.”

“…What?”

The wound on his right hand, the large left eye, the injured left foot, and the irregular breathing. Especially that filthy way of speaking. It was so identical to what the master had described that it was bewildering.

“………..”

Bisharkin’s face stiffened like a stone, moment by moment.

“Still, you’re a squad leader… Yes, good. You are worth killing. You will be a material worthy of reporting to the master and having your head patted. Well then…”

His thoughts swiftly turned.

It is uncertain how much this maid knows about herself.

Inevitably, with a leap, he drew his dagger.

With a light gesture, he was subdued.