Episode 11
Yurion saw that Rania looked calmer than before, so he decided to press his advantage — time to add a little “stick” after all that “carrot.”
“There’s one more thing I should tell you,” he said smoothly. “This contract—it follows the standard format used in our world, which means it’s legally binding.”
“Binding?” Rania repeated nervously. “You mean… because you said it can’t be changed?”
“Well, yes… that too,” he admitted. “But what I really mean is — if someone breaks the contract, a wanted notice automatically gets sent to all allied or friendly guilds.”
All the color drained from Rania’s face.
Night’s Eye was powerful — so powerful that even the Imperial Family didn’t dare touch them. No one really knew how far their influence reached.
If she tried to declare this contract invalid, her personal information — name, face, everything — would be distributed across all the dangerous guilds out there.
Even fleeing to another country wouldn’t help; they’d track her down eventually. Unless she somehow changed her entire identity.
Yurion watched her freeze up and added softly, as if apologetic,
“I’m really sorry to say that, but it’s for your own safety. It’s… kind of a formality. Even if both parties agreed to cancel it peacefully, that ‘wanted notice’ part can’t really be helped. It’s just… custom.”
That part wasn’t a lie — but it wasn’t the full truth either. In reality, those notices were only used for serious traitors or people who’d done real damage to the guild.
If Rania ran to the Imperial Palace and begged for help, they might actually protect her. But seeing Yurion’s gentle expression and hearing his reassuring words, she was almost ready to give up fighting it.
Honestly, the terms weren’t that bad.
Yurion smiled kindly. “Oh, one more thing — the contract period is three years. After that, you can choose to stay or leave. Even if you leave, the guild will still ensure your safety. Night’s Eye is registered as an Adventurer Guild, after all. We’re experts at… quietly protecting people.”
Three years. Long, but not forever.
Rania’s mind started spinning faster.
Three years of lending her name, getting paid double, and being rewarded with expensive wine?
If she quit later, she’d still be “protected.” And running away seemed impossible anyway. So… wasn’t it smarter to just play along?
She also didn’t believe Enoch’s interest in her would last long. Sure, things had gotten… awkward after that night, but she figured he was just curious. He’ll get bored soon enough.
‘He’ll lose interest once he realizes how ordinary I am,’ she thought.
They came from completely different worlds — he’d eventually get tired, like everyone else.
Even her ex, Robel, had changed once she stopped being sweet and started keeping her distance.
‘He liked quiet, obedient types,’ she thought, then smirked. ‘So maybe I should just act the opposite.’
Rania wasn’t naturally meek — not at all. But the idea of irritating someone like Enoch sounded… dangerous. The man was the head of an assassin guild, after all.
She sighed. And then there are my customers…
Most of them were older folks who came just to relax. They’d be heartbroken if the café suddenly became a den of criminals.
Still, after thinking hard, Rania looked up cautiously.
“Um, Yurion?”
“Yes, Rania? Please, just call me Yurion,” he said pleasantly. “I’m your assistant now.”
“Ah, right. Yurion.” She hesitated. “This might sound weird, but… does the Master ever, you know, kill guild members if they’re rude to him? Like if someone talks too casually or doesn’t tiptoe around him?”
“That doesn’t really sound rude to me,” he replied.
“Well… he’s kind of like my boss now, right?” she said seriously.
Yurion’s lips pressed into a line.
It was a fair question — acting too familiar with a boss could look disrespectful.
But truthfully, nobody had ever dared act “too casual” around Enoch before, so he had no data to go on.
Still… yesterday, Rania had acted comfortably around him — and Enoch hadn’t killed her. In fact, he’d seemed to like it.
Yurion smiled. “You can act however you want around him.”
“Oh! So… he’s lenient with his people?”
“Well, there have been a few guild members he personally… dealt with,” Yurion admitted. “But they deserved it.”
“…Dealt with?” Rania echoed, freezing.
Yurion only kept smiling.
The ones Enoch had killed were traitors — infiltrators who murdered younger guild members. After that, Night’s Eye had started enforcing stricter recruitment rules. But Yurion saw no reason to tell her all that. She’d only panic.
Besides, if she got scared, she might stay cautious — and that was safer for everyone.
Even though Enoch seemed soft with her, Yurion didn’t trust his moods. He could change at any time.
For now, Yurion just planned to enjoy working under Rania. Compared to other branch leaders, she was gentle, clueless, and harmless — the perfect boss for him to slack off under.
Three quiet years would be bliss. And if she left afterward, oh well. Opportunities like this didn’t come twice.
He smiled, looking like an angel, though his thoughts were anything but.
Rania, watching him, felt uneasy — but she dropped the subject.
“Just behave yourself,” she told herself. “Once he realizes I’m normal and boring, he’ll lose interest.”
She still didn’t remember exactly what had happened that night with Enoch — just flashes of warmth, maybe closeness, but nothing clear. It didn’t even feel like she’d slept with him.
Mostly, she just felt uncomfortable. Maybe scared.
But what could she do? If she couldn’t change it, she’d have to accept it and make the best of it.
So she brought up one last question — the one that really bothered her.
“There’s something else I’m worried about,” she said quietly. “If my café becomes a guild branch, won’t my regular customers stop coming? They’ll have nowhere else to go…”
“That’s fine,” Yurion said easily. “Some of our other branches run normal businesses too. Like Branch 3 on Bellot Street — remember that café you visited? That’s one of ours.”
“Wait — Bellot Street? That nice café? That friendly owner… he’s a guild member too?” Rania’s eyes widened.
Yurion just smiled and said nothing.
