Episode 4
We arrived at the Sanmiguel estate castle sooner than expected.
There was an underground passage not far from where we’d eaten lunch.
It seemed the members used this passage to discreetly enter and exit the castle.
Though the journey was short, I learned several things along the way:
1. Within Sanmiguel, only the lord, the viscount, knows the true identity of the Irregular. The vassals and servants are unaware.
2. Thus, the members use fake identities within the Sanmiguel castle.
3. Among them, the elite squad poses as knights, and the leader disguises himself as a military strategist.
And the final piece of information…
“So, these are all supposed to be Tekari-made weapons. Look, it says ‘Tekari’ right here.”
The members proudly showed off their weapons, grinning.
I said quietly, “…Big Head.”
“What?”
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
“…It says ‘Big Head.’”
In an instant, the members fell silent.
And not long after, they glared murderously at the weapons they’d been treating like sacred treasures all the way to the castle.
“That damn blacksmith old man…”
“How dare he trick us?”
“I won’t let him get away with this!”
Throwing down their gear, the members rushed off like the wind.
Yes, that was the fourth piece of information.
‘The high illiteracy rate among the members.’
That’s why they had no choice but to entrust the ledger to Antonio.
Among them, Antonio was the only one who could somewhat write.
Even so, Antonio was fuming, ready to hunt down the so-called blacksmith old man.
‘Tekari is a tricky word.’
To sound sophisticated, it was written in ancient script rather than common language, making it even harder.
At that moment, as we arrived at the castle, a member who had guided the leader and Viscount Sanmiguel somewhere returned.
“The deputy leader is looking for you.”
Antonio froze.
He clicked his tongue and said to me, “Wait here a bit. I’ll go see the deputy leader, deal with that blacksmith old man, and then show you a real Tekari-made weapon.”
But the member added, “The lady is to come along as well.”
“Eustea? Why?”
“No reason was given.”
Antonio shrugged. “Probably to settle your wages.”
His words reminded me of my situation.
‘I’m only here as a chore worker.’
So why would the deputy leader want to see me in person?
If it was about wages, they could’ve sent another servant to handle it.
Pondering this, I followed Antonio and the member.
As we walked, we chatted.
“That damn old swindler. How dare he scam us?”
“Maybe you should learn to read? Then you won’t get tricked anymore.”
“Imperial language is hard. Common, formal, ancient… Why are there so many types of writing?”
“Just memorize the ‘Te’ character. Ancient script looks complicated because it’s pictographic, but it’s actually derived from pictures.”
“Pictures?”
“Tekari means ‘forged by a typhoon.’ ‘Te’ means typhoon. It looks like this…”
I pulled out my notebook from my bag and wrote the ‘Te’ character.
“This part is a house. This part is the wind. Doesn’t it look like a house being blown away by the wind?”
“It does.”
We talked like this as we arrived at the knight commander’s office.
It seemed the deputy leader’s fake identity was the knight commander.
When the member knocked, a low voice came from inside.
“Come in.”
Antonio and I entered the knight commander’s office.
And when I saw the deputy leader at the desk, I was stunned.
‘Does the elite squad only recruit based on looks?’
His striking beauty was enough to make me think that.
He had a refined, urban face with long, narrow eyes and a sharp nose.
Black hair and ash-gray eyes.
He exuded a pure, ascetic aura, like the epitome of a knight.
‘No one would ever guess he’s an assassin.’
The deputy leader, eyes fixed on his documents, asked, “The daughter cast out from the Andres family, correct?”
It seemed he’d already heard about me from the members.
His gaze was sharp.
Now I understood why he wanted to see me in person.
He was suspicious of a chore worker from a marquess family who’d suddenly joined the group.
He wanted to assess me himself.
I clasped my hands nervously. “I’m Eustea. It’s my first time meeting you. I know it’s forward, but instead of wages, could I possibly get a job at the castle…”
“Foolish.”
“…!”
The deputy leader looked at me.
His cold, ash-gray eyes pierced me like arrows.
“A daughter cast out from a marquess family. Unless you’re desperate to stand out, who would hire you?”
I was at a loss for words.
Indeed, a place as security-conscious as the assassin guild’s base would be even less likely to hire me.
‘I thought I might have a chance since the members seemed to like me.’
As I fell silent, Antonio’s expression hardened.
“Information control is your specialty, isn’t it? If you handle it…”
“Information control for a chore worker? Do we have money to burn?”
“She works hard. She’s a good kid.”
But the deputy leader stood up without interest.
He strode toward me.
“I can tell you’re clever. You’ve got Antonio wrapped around your finger.”
“…”
“That’s exactly why I’m reluctant to let you leave alive.”
“…”
I quietly lowered my head.
Seeing this, Antonio stepped between us, indignant.
“She worked hard! She didn’t sleep a wink on the way to the base. She got up at dawn to prepare every meal, and even while we ate and rested, she mended her clothes and looked after the leader.”
“Anyone in her position would put in that much effort.”
“Deputy Leader!”
“She knows the Irregular’s base and has seen the members’ faces. Don’t you realize how dangerous that information is?”
“Are you saying you’ll kill her?”
“It’s the surest and cleanest method.”
“You bastard…!”
Antonio shouted, abandoning all decorum.
I lifted my head sharply. “Thank you!”
“…What?”
“…?”
Both men turned to look at me.
I scratched my head awkwardly. “If I were you, I would’ve dealt with me the moment I entered the castle instead of bothering to call me here.”
The only reason he was arguing with Antonio in front of me was clear.
“It’s a warning to keep my mouth shut if I want to live, right?”
Antonio looked dumbfounded. “He’s threatening you. How is that something to be thankful for?”
“You didn’t mention my mother.”
“…”
“Even though you know a hostage is the most effective way to threaten someone.”
Since being cast out from my family, countless people had threatened to kill me.
The cruel ones threatened to harm my mother.
Then I’d stay up for days and nights to protect her.
I could handle dying myself, but the thought of my innocent mother dying because of me was unbearably terrifying.
“Not targeting my weakest point is a kind thing to do.”
“…”
“…”
The deputy leader and Antonio fell silent.
I bowed deeply once more. “Thank you for everything.”
No helping it.
Since the deputy leader was so firm, I’d have to give up on working at the castle.
Instead, I’d find a job in a nearby village.
* * *
The deputy leader watched Eustea slip out of the castle through the window.
‘What a strange kid.’
Thanking him for threatening her instead of killing her?
Ridiculous.
If he were truly someone worthy of thanks, he would’ve first thanked Eustea for safely bringing the leader and members to the castle.
The members’ mission this time wasn’t easy.
It involved wiping out a prominent family in the capital.
Yet the members, who should’ve been exhausted, were lively.
That must mean Eustea had taken good care of them.
‘And yet I threatened her out of the blue. She’d have every right to feel wronged.’
The deputy leader sighed and turned his gaze.
His eyes met Antonio’s, who was slouched on the sofa, looking thoroughly displeased.
“Do you even have a heart?”
“Stop talking nonsense and bring me the ledger.”
Antonio clicked his tongue and tossed the ledger over.
Catching it lightly with one hand, the deputy leader sat back at his desk.
‘How messy will it be?’
He’d assigned the ledger to Antonio because he was slightly better than the others.
But it was probably a disaster waiting to happen.
Yet something was off.
Purchase costs, suppliers, items, quantities, amounts, and reasons for purchase were neatly organized.
Receipts and contact information for the responsible parties were attached.
And the layout was clean and intuitive, making all this information easy to grasp at a glance.
‘The touch of a god-sent worker?’
The deputy leader looked at Antonio. “What’s this?”
“The ledger.”
“I’m not asking because I don’t know what it is. Who wrote it?”
Teaching Antonio to write was hard enough; there was no way he suddenly developed this kind of competence.
“Oh, Eustea wrote it.”
“That kid just now…?”
In that moment, an overwhelming urge to hold onto her surged within him.
How difficult it had been to manage the Irregular, who only knew how to fight.
Things had improved slightly after taking over Sanmiguel, but a humble city lacked talent.
All the capable people had been snatched up by great noble families.
‘Calm down.’
Closing the precious ledger, he clutched his throbbing head.
Then he looked at Antonio. “I didn’t tell you to do this much. At least learn to write the items properly.”
“With that old swindler? No way.”
“That old swindler was hard enough to find. Do you think there are many people who can teach literacy and are willing to work with an assassin guild?”
“Still, I hate that old man. He’s so full of himself, I have to restrain myself from snapping his neck—”
Thud!
The deputy leader threw a book at Antonio.
“Argh!”
“So instead of snapping his neck, you broke his leg?”
Because Antonio broke the old man’s leg, the tuition fee jumped from 10 gold to 20 gold.
Twenty gold was enough to feed and house a battalion for a couple of months.
“You’re part of the elite squad. When the leader enters noble society, you’ll need to support him upfront.”
That’s why, despite his frustration, he was paying the 20-gold tuition.
Rubbing his head, Antonio grumbled, “That old man can’t even teach well. Eustea taught me in five minutes what he—”
Why is Eustea’s name coming up again?
The deputy leader looked at Antonio, confused. “What do you mean?”
“She taught me ancient script too.”
“Ancient script? You can’t even handle common script.”
“She really taught me.”
Indignant, Antonio looked around and pointed at the deputy leader’s shield on the wall.
“That’s ‘Te,’ right?”
“…!”
The deputy leader glanced at the shield.
Then, stiffly turning his head, he looked back at Antonio. “…You’re not just saying that because you know it’s Tekari-made?”
Fuming, Antonio stood and rummaged through the papers on the desk, finding a character.
“This is ‘Basa.’ It means tiger.”
“…”
“It’s used for a man like me.”
Antonio puffed out his chest proudly.
The deputy leader checked the character with trembling eyes.
It was indeed ‘Basa.’
“She… really taught you this?”
“I told you.”
If taught well, he could learn well, he said.
The reason they’d gone through eleven teachers was because they were bad at teaching.
Antonio smirked arrogantly.
The deputy leader stood frozen, recalling the process of losing those teachers.
The language levels progressed from common, to formal, to ancient.
The information agents of the Irregular had scoured to find teachers, but they were stuck at common script.
And when Antonio didn’t follow as expected, they treated him like an insect and got beaten.
When the deputy leader went to smooth things over…
“Eek!”
“Please, let me resign. Please!”
Terrified, they begged to have their resignations accepted.
‘But she taught not just common or formal, but ancient script?’
In that brief moment?
At that realization—
Bang!
The deputy leader bolted outside.
And shouted desperately, “Where is Teacher Eustea?!”
Information control difficult?
He’d make it happen.
The only one who could teach that fool was Teacher Eustea.
* * *
…A dream?
I stared blankly at the smiling servants of the Sanmiguel estate.
Just an hour ago, I was definitely being sent away.
Of course, I hadn’t given up.
‘If I couldn’t work at the castle, I was going to find a job in a nearby village.’
But…
I was called back to the castle.
And high-ranking servants were even offering me a dress.
“It’s from the knight commander.”
The deputy leader?
Flustered, I took the dress when the servant insisted.
‘Wow, it’s nice.’
Light, soft fabric.
A lovely design that girls my age would squeal over.
‘Why give me something this nice?’
Was it instead of wages?
But it was too much for wages.
‘Maybe they’re saying to take this and leave the city entirely?’
Feeling uneasy, I asked the servant, “Did the commander say anything else?”
“He had an urgent call and had to step out, but he instructed us to treat the guest well until he returns.”
That made me even more anxious.
But then—
“The commander prepared a dress, I hear?”
A bright, clear voice rang out.
It was a girl with flowing blonde hair, looking very excited.
She stopped short when she saw the dress in my hands.
“Why are you holding that?”
“Well, um…”
Before I could answer, she strode over and yanked the dress away.
Then she shouted at the servants, “How could you let such a precious dress be held by those filthy hands?”
My hands were scarred and stained from handling ingredients.
They must’ve looked very dirty.
‘It only looks that way; I washed them clean.’
The girl glared at the servants irritably.
“You should be grateful I’m in a good mood. Otherwise, I’d have told my uncle, and you’d be in trouble.”
She held the dress up to her body, checking it.
“The commander is so sweet. He prepared this dress but worried I wouldn’t know it was for me?”
Giggling, she hugged the dress tightly. “He acts aloof, but he really cares about the lord’s niece.”
Her words made me realize who she was.
‘She’s Viscount Sanmiguel’s niece.’
The one the viscount recommended as the leader’s adopted daughter.
But…
‘Hmm.’
The dress was given to me by the deputy leader.
The servants clearly handed it to me, saying it was from the knight commander.
But from the situation, it seemed she thought the dress was hers.
And judging by her demeanor, she likely knew about the Irregular.
That must be why she, as the lord’s niece, was aiming to be the leader’s adopted daughter.
‘If I leave it like this, it’ll be embarrassing.’
Smiling brightly, the viscount’s niece said, “I need to try it on.”
If this went on, it’d be a mess.
I cautiously approached her and whispered, “That’s the dress the commander gave me.”
She stared at me.
To spare her further embarrassment, I added, “The commander might’ve planned to prepare a similar dress for you. It could be a misunderstanding…”
At that moment—
Thud!
The viscount’s niece shoved my shoulder hard.
I fell to the floor with a thud.
My tailbone hit the ground, and the pain brought tears to my eyes.
“Ugh…”
“How dare a guttersnipe like you try to deceive me? You think a dress like this suits someone like you?”
As she shrieked, the startled servants flinched.
“What’s going on?”
The deputy leader’s voice rang out.
