Episode 33
Maddie took another step forward.
Squelch. Her blood-covered soles left sticky red footprints on the floor as they peeled off with a wet sound.
Trying to reassure the trembling child who was gasping for breath, Maddie continued smiling brightly.
“Aigo, you look just like your uncle. I’m your uncle’s friend. Let’s go with me, sweetie.”
Astrid instinctively avoided her gaze.
“Where’s your mom, sweetheart?”
“I’m the mom! I—I am! I’m her mom!”
“No, you’re not, lady. Stepmom? No, not even that. A nanny maybe?”
Astrid’s birth mother was said to be mute and born with a withered left hand.
“Astrid. Where is your mom? Why are you here all alone?”
At Maddie’s question, tears quickly welled up in the child’s eyes.
“Oh dear, that’s sad. No mom? She must be dead.”
Judging by the child’s reaction, it seemed Yulikian’s younger sister was already dead.
Just as Maddie tried to brush off the thought and move on, the male assassin suddenly shouted.
“Hey! Watch your mouth around a kid! You piece of trash…!”
“Trash?! Look who’s talking, cursing in front of a child. Murderer!”
Maddie shouted back, and the man let out a short, incredulous laugh.
Then the female assassin stepped in to calm the situation.
“Don’t waste words. Let’s just finish the job and leave. We kill this crazy b*tch and the nanny, take the kid, and go.”
“Oh my~ how kind of you. I was going to ask about your plan, but you just spilled everything. Ohohoho.”
Maddie bent over in laughter.
Her eerie laugh echoed through the small house.
Still giggling, Maddie walked over and closed the door with her foot.
“But what now? You’re not making it out of here alive.”
Cracking her neck, Maddie raised one side of her mouth into a twisted smile.
Just then, the man grabbed the nanny’s hair and shouted.
“You bitch! We don’t care whose orders you’re following—we’re not backing down without a fight!”
“Yeah.”
“What?”
“You should back down. Otherwise, you’ll regret it.”
Maddie gave a warm smile that didn’t fit the situation at all.
“I’m going to be this kid’s stepmom, after all. Of course, I have to protect my child.”
Everyone in the room except Maddie looked stunned.
Astrid dropped her teddy bear with a soft thud.
She was clearly shaken.
“Don’t worry. I’m not her stepmom yet.”
Maddie shrugged and winked at Astrid.
Even with a knife at her throat, Astrid turned her head away in denial.
She clearly didn’t want to believe Maddie could be her stepmother.
But Maddie didn’t seem to mind at all.
“This world’s cruel, you know. It’s tough living alone without a legal guardian. Right? But don’t worry. Think of it as just getting a new nanny.”
The male assassin, now pale-faced, asked again.
“What did you say? Stepmom? Think about the kid’s future. That’s just wrong.”
“Rick. That’s none of our business!”
“But still… it’s pitiful! Growing up under someone like her—she’ll end up like us!”
“That’s her problem!”
“Exactly. That’s for me to handle. Why are you interfering?”
Maddie pouted dramatically.
For someone staring with such a murderous gaze, she sure was trying to act cute.
But only for a moment.
Maddie raised her hands and walked toward the bickering assassins.
“Friends, let’s move this along. If I stay out overnight, my boyfriend’s gonna scold me.”
Maddie calmly walked across the room toward them.
“Don’t come closer! I’ll kill you!”
“You’re the one who’s going to die, sweetie. Are you doing this job because you’re too dumb for anything else?”
She spoke gently, like explaining to a child.
“You only heard crashing noises from outside, right? So you’re not sure what’s going on. Confused, huh? Should I step out and check how your buddies are doing?”
The female assassin, who had been holding Astrid, cautiously opened her mouth.
“Now that you mention it… it is strange. Two of them went out, but only this crazy woman came back unharmed.”
“My, what keen instincts. Hello~ I’m the crazy woman~”
Maddie cheerfully waved her right hand.
The assassins exchanged glances.
The man nodded toward the hallway.
“Hilda. Hand the kid over to me. Go check the hallway.”
“Y-yeah. I’ll go. I’ll sit here. No attacks! Seriously!”
Maddie raised both hands as if surrendering and walked to a corner of the room.
She sat down on a small navy chair and casually spoke to Astrid.
“Astrid, is this your chair? Doesn’t fit me. Oh, there’s a blanket too.”
The child trembled with tightly shut lips, clearly refusing to answer.
The female assassin handed Astrid over to the man.
“Don’t try anything. Move even a little, and I’ll kill both this woman and the kid.”
She slowly walked toward the door.
Swallowing nervously, she opened it and peeked down the hallway.
Meanwhile, Maddie inspected the closet.
Still seated on the small chair, she opened drawers and flipped through the child’s picture books.
“Wow, there’s even a music box! Should I play it?”
She wound the music box with an excited expression.
A loud melody filled the once-quiet house.
Maddie looked more like a houseguest than a rescuer, her nonchalance confusing the nanny.
But her skill seemed real.
As she flipped through the fairy tale book, Maddie raised her voice.
“Friend. See the two people lying down? Don’t they look like they’re just sleeping? I laid them down so nicely. I’m so proud.”
She wrapped her arms around herself and kissed her shoulder and arm exaggeratedly.
“She’s insane.”
“Hey. You’ve got five dots on your hand. I know that mark. Your big boss is Harban, right? How’s he doing? Probably not well, with idiots like you pulling off child kidnappings without permission. Poor Harban must be stressed out.”
“You… know us?”
“Of course! Why else would I be here? I came because you didn’t report to your boss and started skimming off the top. You think I killed your friends for fun? I hate that. I’m squeamish, you know.”
“H-how… we thought the boss didn’t know at all… Dammit! We’re not the only ones doing it…!”
The man was visibly shaken, and Maddie, as if waiting for it, pulled out a dagger and threw it.
It happened in an instant.
Not even the nanny or Astrid realized what had occurred.
The man holding them hostage didn’t even scream before collapsing.
His grip on the nanny’s neck slowly loosened.
Before they could turn to see, the tall man dropped like a rock.
Thud!
When Astrid tried to look back, Maddie rushed forward and whispered to the nanny.
“Cover the kid’s eyes.”
The nanny quickly shielded Astrid’s eyes.
The female assassin, hearing the crash, rushed back into the room.
“Rick!”
Maddie grabbed a nearby carpet and swung it up.
It disrupted the assassin’s line of sight.
Using a shard of glass, Maddie slashed at the woman’s ankle while sliding low across the floor.
The woman groaned and staggered.
In a desperate move, she raised her knife toward Maddie’s throat.
But Maddie hooked both feet behind the woman’s knees and twisted, throwing her balance off.
Then she grabbed the woman’s wrist and forced it into her own chest.
The fight ended in a blink.
Maddie stood and brushed herself off.
“Keep your eyes closed for now.”
She carried the assassins into another room.
It didn’t seem right to greet Yulikian’s niece in a room full of corpses.
Good thing there’s music. Maybe she won’t be as scared.
Maddie rewound the music box and approached the nanny.
“All done. Let’s go.”
“…Hey. You say you’re from that organization. Why should we trust you?”
“My master sent me. Told me to protect you both if anything happened.”
Her tone was calm now.
“…Lord Crocton? Why didn’t he come himself…?”
Ah, look at that. “Master” isn’t Yulikian—it’s Crocton.
So the nanny was planted by Crocton.
“Yes.”
“By anything happening… you mean those guys trying to kill me?”
So she knew assassins would come.
She assumed the “unexpected situation” meant she was also a target.
See? Just a little pressure and they spill everything. That’s why you shouldn’t live a life of crime.
Maddie politely answered.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She picked up the teddy bear and placed it gently in Astrid’s hand.
“Here you go, Miss Astrid.”
Without opening her eyes, the girl cautiously hugged the bear to her chest.
Now that the assassins were gone, the nanny finally let her temper show.
“Hey! What the hell was that mix-up?! They almost killed me! If you’d been a bit later, I’d be dead!”
“I’m sorry.”
“What about the money we agreed on?! I wasn’t told anything—just that I couldn’t leave this mansion no matter what!”
“…No matter what?”
Maddie’s lips curved into a slanted smirk.
She casually flicked the ends of the nanny’s hair.
The nanny flinched but didn’t back away.
“That’s not what I was told, nanny.”
“W-what do you mean…?”
“If you were really her nanny, the one you should protect isn’t the house. It’s the kid. Right?”
“I—I’ve taken care of Astrid for years! If I’m not the nanny, then who is?!”
“Not just a robbery—these were assassins acting on orders. Normally, you’d be scared, wanting to flee. But you wanted to stay here. Strange.”
“That’s because soon—!”
“Oh. Because your master is coming to rescue you?”
Maddie’s eyes darted quickly.
Crocton is coming. He must’ve told her about the raid. Said they’d have to move Astrid somewhere safer.
Maybe even somewhere Yulikian couldn’t find.
That would make it easier to control him using Astrid.
But one thing bothered her:
We just kill this woman, trash the house, and get out. No one’s going to stop us, remember?
Sure, moving Astrid would be easier if the nanny was out of the way.
But… in front of the child?
Maddie’s cold gaze shifted to Astrid’s round head.
Kill the nanny she’s known for years right before her eyes?
They’re insane.
Maybe they planned to traumatize her and use that fear to control her.
Fear is the easiest emotion to exploit.
No! No! I won’t! I’m not eating that! I said no! Aaaah!
A sudden scream echoed in Maddie’s head—a young girl’s scream.
She winced. The back of her head throbbed.
Clenching her eyes and then opening them again, she saw the house remained the same.
Maddie took a slow, deep breath.
The nanny cautiously opened her eyes to check Maddie’s condition.
Maddie’s face was right in front of her.
Expressionless at first—but when their eyes met, Maddie smiled sweetly.
“Since Lord Crocton is coming, what a relief.”
She leaned in and whispered in the nanny’s ear.
“Even after you abused Miss Astrid for years, he still kept you alive. Such patience, don’t you think?”
The nanny flinched and turned her head away.
Maddie was still smiling.
But the playful light had vanished from her eyes.
Her scarred, strong hand swung like a blade and struck the nanny across the nape of her neck.
