CHAPTER 54……………………………….
Terceurus headed to the second-floor room.
It was Maryanne’s room.
There were only a few knights assigned to guard the house, and only one was stationed in her room.
Knock, knock.
The knight knocked to announce Terceurus’ arrival.
A moment later, the door opened, and Maryanne appeared.
Terceurus looked down at the young girl, smaller in height and build than himself, trying to suppress his unease.
“You said you have something urgent to discuss with me.”
“Yes. May I come in? Of course, if it’s uncomfortable, we could walk in the garden instead.”
“As you said, it’s late, so staying in the room might be difficult. A garden walk is also a bit challenging.”
“I see.”
Terceurus thought every word the girl said was correct.
He wondered why he hesitated when he could have come right after dinner.
“Shall we just talk here then?”
Maryanne smiled gently at the dazed Terceurus and had the knight guarding the room, as well as other staff, step aside.
The second-floor corridor was wide and long, so even if someone was on the same floor, they wouldn’t hear the conversation if spoken quietly.
Feeling the quiet, Terceurus spoke.
“Do you have any intention of giving up the land you received?”
“Not at all.”
“Even if you thought it over once more?”
“Not at all.”
“…I see.”
Terceurus lowered his head slightly.
All he could do was give a cautious warning.
“Be careful.”
“Excuse me? About what?”
“Just… be careful of everyone. Wherever you go, be sure to stay with those you can trust.”
“….”
“Please don’t ask for more details. This is all I can tell you.”
Terceurus’ eyes studied the girl Maryanne, her expression unreadable.
He wasn’t sure if she fully understood him.
But judging by her judgment at dinner earlier, she seemed perceptive enough.
This was all he could do.
The rest, he decided, would be left to fate.
Just as he was about to leave, Maryanne’s voice stopped him.
“You seem close with Crimu.”
“…We’ve been like that since childhood.”
“Tersei… Terceu… no, Terceurus, you seem kind.”
Maryanne repeated his name several times, smiling awkwardly, before continuing.
“That kindness is probably why you’ve come here today.”
“…!”
“Thank you. I don’t know the details, but I appreciate you telling me.”
Seeing Terceurus’ surprised face, Maryanne smiled.
“Well, have a peaceful night.”
With that, she disappeared back into the room.
Terceurus, left behind, froze for a moment, pale, before hurriedly turning when he saw the knight and servant walking down the far corridor.
The next morning, I looked a mess.
I had been busy from night until dawn.
Though I hadn’t slept and felt stiff, I focused on what was about to happen.
“Miss, look over there.”
Kautz’ words drew my attention to the courtyard below, where the knights who would become my bodyguards were arriving.
Their movements were sharp, their eyes coldly observant.
Hmph, even watching them made my spine tingle.
These were assassins.
Shevard was a prime candidate for the next Duke. I was his fiancée.
And I had the Duke’s favor. Naturally, I was a thorn in their side.
They must have planned to scare me—or kill me—to seize the land.
“How many are there?”
I squinted, counting below the window.
One… two… five?
Five, all supposedly my bodyguards.
If all were assassins, it would be like handing them my neck.
But last night, I had sent a letter to Ron immediately.
[Ron, how are you? Did you get into the assassination branch safely? Lately, there are assassins targeting my friend. I’d like your help—can you?]
Ron replied immediately, concisely:
[Ran, is your friend male?]
Why would that matter now?
I calmly wrote back: no, the friend was female, and asked him to quickly tell me how to stop assassins.
By the next day, Ron responded, and I learned about fifty-eight popular assassination methods currently in use.
‘Wait, there’s a trend in killing methods?’
Well, since it came from the empire’s top underground guild, it would be extremely useful.
Hmm, die already!
“Miss Maryanne.”
Men with scars across their faces and arms bowed to me.
The bodyguards.
I acknowledged them in the hallway, then opened the door fully.
Their eyes widened in unison.
‘Surprised? But this is just the beginning.’
Usually, bodyguards didn’t enter my room.
But I didn’t care.
“Come in.”
Hesitant, they slowly poured into the room.
Their expressions betrayed disbelief.
It was ridiculous that their target was a little girl—and she was even letting them in willingly.
It was basically saying: “Here, kill me if you can.”
I lined them up against the wall and stood in front of them.
“Now you see, this is my room. I’ll give each of you one chance. One chance to kill me.”
“…!”
Shock and surprise mixed on their faces.
One even reached for the sword at his waist.
“Hssst, I’m not done yet!”
I pressed down on his hand, making it firm with magic.
“Ugh!”
His face contorted.
I let him go lightly, smiling.
“From today, for two days: if you can’t kill me, you die, understand?”
I looked like I was threatening hooligans, though my trembling little fists were tiny.
Time passed.
Pathetic fools.
For two days, they faced countless death traps.
Some lunged from behind with knives; others poisoned the vases on the table.
Of course, these were all methods Ron had taught me.
I deflected assassination attempts effortlessly.
Two attacking at once was risky, but Roro’s barking helped me survive.
And when things got really dangerous, I secretly used magic.
‘Thanks to Ron and Roro, I survived.’
I ruffled Roro’s soft fur, thinking I’d pamper Ron the same way when I met him.
Exactly two days later.
The knights lined up against the walls.
I stood in front of them as the delinquent Maryanne once more.
“Hey, I said I’d give each of you one chance to kill me! Who said you could go twice?!”
“H-Huh!”
“S-Sorry!”
I casually smashed a vase on the table.
Clang! The sound echoed beautifully.
I could hear them swallowing nervously, wiping sweat from their clothes.
“Since you didn’t kill me, you know what’s coming next?”
Before they could speak, I struck each with my tiny fist, hitting their solid stomachs.
Pow, pow.
“Ugh!”
“Argh!”
“Guh!”
I channeled a bit of mana to empower my fists.
Their internal organs would ache for days.
If they tried to kill me, this was the punishment they deserved.
The last man clutched his stomach, locking eyes with me.
“P-Please…”
“Who said you’d die? Just until you’ve been hit enough.”
I raised my fist, issuing a fierce warning.
“Go tell everyone. Maryanne is this strong. And I’ll build on the land I received and become incredibly rich! Mwahahaha!”
I laughed gleefully, then punched.
Soon, the sounds of thwack and ugh rang out in harmony.
Terceurus’ face turned dark.
With no money at home due to his father’s debts, his father had taken out loans to hire assassins. And they failed.
The only silver lining was that some of the money spent on the assassins was returned.
Everything else was a disaster.
“Uwaaah!”
Grabbing his mysteriously colored hair, Terceurus screamed.
His father must have already known the news.
‘Weakling! Useless!’
His father’s terrifying voice rang in his ears.
But his expectations were wrong.
Outside, Rynes, having lured his son out of the house, was not scolding him—but plotting another scheme entirely.
