TMYM 09

Chapter 9

Lys’s quiet voice was icy.

Damon then understood: Lys’s feelings toward Eile were not a simple crush.

Eile looks unlike a typical assassin, and even this early, she fits the young master’s picky taste, he had thought. Maybe Lys liked this rare, young maid a little.

But now he saw it was different: curiosity, interest… and a bit of contempt.

That wasn’t strange. It hadn’t even been ten years since the duchess was killed by assassins. Feeling hatred when another assassin appeared was natural.

So that’s why he compared her to a bug.

In other words, a toy. He wouldn’t throw her away yet because she was interesting—but once he was bored, he would. Lys had a habit of discarding anything as soon as it felt “used.”

So Eile would be thrown away before long. She had to be. Damon would not let his master be taken by assassins again.

“Damon, after breakfast I’m going to the fighting arena with Eile.”

On the edge of the capital, Erlet, there was a big entertainment district—the “back alleys.” Its top earner was the fighting arena. Trouble was constant. Officially it was legal, but in truth it dodged the law and was basically gambling. The crowd was mostly poor commoners, so the place was rough.

“I’ll prepare a hidden carriage,” Damon said.

“No. Make it a flashy one. The more attention, the better.”

“…Is this a patience test?”

Lys smiled sideways. A shiny carriage in a dark place would draw every eye and invite every problem.

“Well, we’ll see…”

Last night, Lys confirmed that for some reason Eile wanted to protect him. An assassin protecting her target—how contradictory. In the back alleys, everyone shows their true, dirty side. Could Eile hold back her assassin nature there? The twisted thought amused him.

After breakfast, Eile came out ready to go and swallowed hard when she saw Lys at the gate.

Even with his face hidden by a robe, he looked elegant. Until he became an adult, he had to wear black robes outside—an old Cassio rule to keep their unknown power from leaking out.

With a destination like that, we’ll use a stealth carriage… right?

Eile reached the gate and stared, dead-eyed, at a blinding gold carriage. On white marble panels, pure gold decorations shone like the sun.

“…Are we really taking this, young master?”

Lys lifted his robe a little and faced her.

We’re going to the underworld and you want to announce you’re a noble to the whole city?!

Anyone could go to the back alleys for fun, no matter their status. But almost nobody showed their identity there—especially nobles. Unless they wanted to be robbed and killed.

“Yes. Do you like it?” his violet eyes curved.

“It’s… pretty, but…”

Too pretty—that’s the problem!

“Good. I’m glad you like it.” Lys stepped into the carriage, satisfied.

Eile barely kept herself from saying, Are you out of your mind? Is he doing this to mess with me because he knows who I am? Probably not. Would a good smack fix his brain? It works on my teammates…

Just as she was about to climb in—

“Miss Eile, a moment.”

A man with black-blue hair and eyes approached, giving off a mysterious air.

“Apologies for the late greeting. I’m Damon Haires, the young master’s aide.”

“I’m Eile. It’s an honor to serve the young master with you.”

The Haires count family was famous in the empire—passionate about learning and founders of an academy. Eile already knew all this from her background checks, but she pretended not to and bowed.

“As it’s your first outing, I have one request,” he said.

After hearing his advice, Eile got into the carriage. The scenery began to rush by.

“Eile, what did Damon say?” Lys asked, still looking out the window. He’d noticed even though he boarded first.

The young master is very sensitive to cleanliness. There’s a lot of trash around the arena. Please keep the area tidy.

It was simple advice. Eile answered lightly.

Soon, they arrived.

Coming here in this thing… we’ve already become targets, Eile groaned inwardly, staring out the window.

Among the thugs, the rumor would spread fast: some clueless noble who knows nothing about this place. The easiest kind of prey.

“Eile, take my hand.”

“Oh, I’m fine—”

“The coachman forgot the step. Come.”

Lys, already on the ground, held out his hand. The step really was missing, so Eile had no choice. She took his hand.

“…Thank you.”

His large, warm hand felt disturbingly nice. That gentle warmth felt out of place in a situation this dangerous. As soon as she touched the ground, she let go.

She could feel it at once—heavy stares. Lys, a normal person, might not notice, but Eile, an assassin, felt the malice stabbing them from all sides.

Protecting the target without revealing myself… this could be annoying.

Even the arena guide, who came out to meet them, looked panicked at the sight of the carriage.

“P-please this way,” he said.

As they entered the alley toward the arena door, the expected thing happened.

“Hey, noble boy. Share a little with your poor neighbors.”

“From that carriage, you’ve got money. Let’s keep it simple—ten gold coins.”

A group of obvious thugs blocked the path, fingers wagging for payment. Ten gold was over ten times a commoner’s monthly income. They were outright mocking.

Ah. So that’s the ‘trash’ Damon meant.

Eile swallowed a laugh. Telling a “normal maid” to mind the trash meant: risk your life if you must, and keep the young master safe.

Damon clearly doesn’t like me. No guards either—that had already told her enough. She didn’t know his reason, but fine.

Either way, she couldn’t fight openly in front of Lys. She had to stay a plain maid.

Not hard. Just annoying.

This wasn’t even worthy of being called an obstacle.

Eile’s pale eyes softened, full of calm confidence—the look of a Black Rose elite assassin.