26
Chapter 26
“Kkyaaaaaak!”
Thankfully, the easily frightened Vivian screamed enough for both of us.
Meanwhile, Lord Penadel took appropriate measures to ensure the intruder, Terry, didn't get any closer to me.
Pressing her neck with the tip of his fork was a bit of an overreaction, though.
Terry, who had arrived without warning, spread her hands in a gesture of surrender, as if she was used to it.
“Can you at least hear me out? I came to report on how I handled the request you made.”
“You sneak in like this and expect me to believe you?”
“There's a reason I snuck in. Won't you listen? If I were you, I'd be too curious to kick me out. If you kick me out like this, when you lie in bed, you'll be thinking all night, ‘Ah, I should have listened to what she was going to say,’ and you won't be able to sleep!”
Well, she certainly has a way with words.
I gestured lightly, and Lord Penadel lowered his weapon.
That's when it happened.
“Hic.”
Leo hiccuped. He must have been quite surprised, as he was frozen in place, about to put a Macaron in his mouth.
Rolling his eyes around to gauge the adults' mood, Leo hiccuped and placed the remaining Macaron on a plate.
Then, in an innocent voice, he opened his mouth.
“Um, hic, would you like, hic, a Macaron?”
* * *
The second-floor study in the detached annex.
I glared at the Macaron crumbs on Terry's lips with a displeased expression.
To just accept it when a child offered it.
“You seem to be in a bad mood.”
“Just get to the point.”
“How heartless.”
Terry looked disappointed as she rummaged through her things and handed me a document.
Inside, it was written briefly but clearly how the Sewer Rat had collaborated with the Stray Dog to handle this matter.
The names of those involved were also there, all with the heavy word "deceased" written next to them.
Except for one person, Bruno.
'He must have sensed something and fled to the Magic Republic.'
Bruno's ending was a bit unsettling, but overall, it was a clean and brutal handling of the situation, befitting the slums.
I nodded in satisfaction.
The window indicating that the <Cecil's Lullaby> quest was completed didn't pop up immediately.
But I wasn't too worried. It was thanks to the news that the 'PanShield' I had exclusively purchased was selling quickly.
The moment Vivian's Magic potion replaced Bruno's Magic potion in the slums, the quest would be completed on its own.
Around that time, the patent application for 'Cecil's Lullaby,' filed under Vivian's name, would be completed.
Even if 'Cecil's Lullaby' was released on the market afterward, it would be placed under strict surveillance to prevent abuse, according to patent law. To prevent something like what happened with Bruno from happening again.
“So, the report is done. Now, explain why you snuck in.”
Let's see how plausible her excuse is.
At my words, Terry cleared her throat and opened her mouth in a very serious and heavy voice.
“Don't be surprised, Master.”
Why am I your Master?
I raised an eyebrow with a fierce expression, but Terry didn't budge, as if she had a lot of nerve.
Instead, she wore a neat smile like a skilled door-to-door salesperson and began to rattle off words.
“The security of this detached annex is very, very poor! I infiltrated Master's mansion in broad daylight to prove that fact. There are thirty-eight infiltration routes I found. But don't worry, Master. There's a way to keep Master safe!”
Wow, that's a very surprising story.
I didn't even know where to start pointing out the flaws.
Fortunately, Lord Penadel spoke for me with a short but fierce sound of metal.
Terry, glancing at Lord Penadel, quickly changed her words.
“Ah, of course, Master's safety is guaranteed when the knight is by her side. But, Sir Knight! What if Master is attacked by an assassin while changing clothes or taking a bath?”
Why is it assumed that I'm going to be attacked by an assassin...?
I didn't think it was worth answering, so I assumed Lord Penadel would ignore her words as well.
But surprisingly, he seemed to be carefully considering his answer.
No, I understand that men and women are different, but shouldn't you think my life is more important right now?
And what followed was a rather unimpressive answer, even for Lord Penadel.
“I will make it impossible to infiltrate the mansion.”
“That's strange. You know, I had a dream two days ago that I infiltrated this mansion and stole something from Master's drawer.”
“……”
“Ah, or was it not a dream?”
Wow, how annoying.
Her ability to be cheeky is truly top-notch.
“Well, then, Master. Let me introduce you again to a way to protect Master from assassins. But before that, let me introduce myself. As you know, I am a member of the Sewer Rats. My specialty is assassination, and my hobby is poisoning.”
“……?”
“From the perspective of a professional assassin, Master is exposed to a fatal threat. Especially since this detached annex doesn't even have guards at night. What do you think about this, Master?”
I don't know what she's talking about.
More than that, did she just say her specialty is assassination and her hobby is poisoning?
“I see, you seem to have a lot of concerns. Since ancient times, poison has been used to treat poison. In the same vein, the only thing that can protect Master's life from the threat of assassins is an assassin. Therefore, I will apply to be the butler of this detached annex. Here, I even brought a letter of recommendation.”
A letter of recommendation from an assassin.
I was reluctant to open it, but I calmly took it and read it.
Surprisingly, it contained a detailed record of her having worked in various service and technical jobs, earning recognition from her superiors.
A new recruit who seems to have the perfect career to be a butler...
'What am I doing right now?'
I almost stopped her.
I threw the letter of recommendation that Terry handed me as if discarding it and looked up at her crookedly.
Don't be intimidated even if you find out she's an assassin. I have Lord Penadel, my human bulletproof glass.
“I don't bring Sewer Rats into my house.”
“Ah, don't worry about that. I'm not a Sewer Rat anymore.”
What is she talking about now?
“As you may know, our Sewer Rats run our business as a family business. Everyone thinks that family companies have a messed-up hierarchy.”
Then, Terry protested as if she was really wronged.
“But that's not the case! I got fired. They told me to reflect for a few months and then come back.”
No, if you're fired, you're fired. To tell you to reflect and then come back, that's the abuse of family management, isn't it?
“So, I came to Belinda to repay my debt on this occasion.”
“Repay your debt?”
“Repaying grudges twice and debts four times is the tacit virtue of this industry. So, I came to repay the price of the information that Master mentioned, that debt.”
To come to repay a debt four times over.
Terry's determination was so heavy that I started to get a little scared.
Besides, can't you just repay that debt with money?
As soon as I thought that, Terry rattled off words as if she had seen through my thoughts.
“Of course, I thought about compensating with money, but aren't you Blanche, Master? Money is worth less than a pebble on the street to you. After thinking about it all night, I concluded that the best way is to protect Master's life.”
“Why is it assumed that my life is in danger?”
“It's no use asking me such a question as if you're testing me. I'm not underestimating Master like I did last time. You already know that Master's personal information has been shared with some assassin guilds, don't you? That's why you hired a knight from the north as a bodyguard, isn't it?”
“……”
I don't know. What is that? Scary.
My personal information has been shared with assassin guilds. Is my life in more danger than I thought?
Thinking that my silence meant that I had accepted her proposal, Terry finally smiled brightly, as if she was satisfied with selling a product.
And, according to the etiquette of the nobility, she took my hand and kissed it, swearing like a knight.
“Until the debt is repaid, I swear to protect you more dearly than my own life, as long as Master wishes.”
“……”
“……Master?”
Ah, I don't know anymore. I opened my mouth almost resignedly.
“I allow it.”
“Thank you.”
And so, I ended up hiring an assassin on leave as my butler.
