Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Banquet
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Yuria watched Ian blankly from the shadows near him, unnoticed by others, until he finally took his seat at the table. Having received her feeding from him just that morning, she couldn't help but shower him with overtly affectionate gazes.
Deep down, she wanted nothing more than to rush over to the table right now, pull him into an embrace. Surely, he would accept her with that troubled look on his face. But given the circumstances, Yuria had to carry out the tasks Ian had asked of her for the first time.
Disappointing him was absolutely out of the question.
Before long, rumors had spread among the maids that Yuria was the most capable among them.
Thus, following the head maid, she assisted in various tasks and managed to gather a fair amount of information amid the chaotic banquet preparations.
'Just as Master said, there are some rather dangerous ingredients here.'
Poison with addictive properties... the kind that mildly disrupts mana. She ignored it. It wasn't going anywhere near Ian's lips, her top priority, nor even Rachel's, whom he had specifically asked her to protect.
And even if she pointed out the addictive poison, proving its effects would take time, and exposing it afterward would only stir up the already hectic crowd—like pouring oil on a fire. Yuria knew full well that such actions wouldn't aid Master's plan; instead, they'd likely create an even better environment for the assassins.
As for the other nobles who had once hunted her kind getting mana poisoning from those tainted foods—permanently losing their ability to wield magic or dying outright—it was none of her concern.
'...But if even a trace of this got into Ian's mouth.'
There was no need to spell out the rest.
Serving Master anything laced with even the tiniest amount of poison was utterly unforgivable. If there was a 0.0001% chance it could harm his life, she could wipe out everyone here in an instant. She didn't care how many died. No guilt would trouble her. In fact, killing nobles? She'd welcome it with open arms.
As she moved through the mansion, she set the traps Ian had requested and removed anything that could pose a threat to his life.
...
Perhaps she'd been too focused on those tasks, because as she hurried along, she failed to notice the other person's feet at the end of the corridor and collided right into them.
"Ugh! Ah, s-sorry."
"No, my apologies."
The other person apologized first.
The one she'd bumped into was a maid she vaguely remembered seeing before.
She recalled her having long hair down to her waist not long ago, so the sudden short cut looked suspicious.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
Yuria smoothly caught the plate the woman had nearly dropped and handed it back with graceful motions.
The fallen maid was a blonde with blue eyes—the type Master had warned her to keep her distance from. But with so many blonde, blue-eyed maids around, he'd emphasized treating them only as suspects, not scrutinizing too closely lest it arouse suspicion. Maintaining a proper distance was key.
And in Yuria's eyes, this woman was one who needed that distance. She clearly exuded an unnatural aura.
Yuria's eyes narrowed further.
'Her mana has increased. Enough to punch out a decent monster.'
'Looks like the assassin is using her as a skin suit. But the banquet hasn't even properly started yet, so I'll hold off for now.'
Killing her here on flimsy evidence would just make cleanup a hassle later. Hiding the body was easy enough, but handling the aftermath to the end was another matter.
The real maid was long gone. All that remained was a rotting assassin inside, puppeteering the skin.
"..."
As proof, the maid picked up the plate with her left hand.
She'd definitely been right-handed the last time Yuria saw her.
There was no reason to hold it that way.
Especially in a position more natural for the right hand—opting for the left confirmed it 100%.
'Master said there might be someone who can conceal their mana, so memorize every maid's quirks.'
Normally, that would be an insane task, but for a genius like Yuria, it was child's play. Just note each maid's dominant hand.
As Yuria took the maid's hand and helped her up, she continued the conversation.
"N-No, I'm fine... Thank you."
The woman gave an awkward smile in response, and Yuria nodded.
One of the unidentified assassins disguised as a maid had retrieved what she'd dropped.
A transparent vial containing a blue liquid. The label boldly read 'Britna Ian.'
Of course, Yuria only glimpsed it for a fraction of a second, but her superhuman vision caught every detail.
'........This person.'
She suppressed the rising killing intent.
Even as those thoughts swirled, Yuria stared at her, fists clenched tight.
The woman stared right back and asked,
"Oh, are you heading to Young Master Ian, by any chance?"
"Yes."
"Then, if you go straight from where I came, you'll find him through the largest door."
With that, she pointed in the direction she'd come from and tried to leave.
Yuria saw no reason to stop her. Being near this one was unpleasant enough.
But just a second later, as her thoughts raced ahead, Yuria called out.
"Wait."
"?"
"...How do you know where Young Master Ian's room is?"
Ian's office had recently been relocated.
And only Head Butler Harzen, herself, and a few attendants knew.
Even amid the busyness, Ian handled most of his own work or delegated through Harzen or her.
In other words, many maids still didn't know Ian's new room.
So how did this accident-prone maid know?
"Well... I was just with him."
"..."
At those words, shadows doubled, then quadrupled behind Yuria.
Her surging killing intent filled the corridor in an instant. Even distant maids shuddered instinctively, unaware of the situation.
A plate shattered from the tremor, casting a shadow over Yuria's expression.
"What did you do."
Her voice, chilling enough to raise goosebumps, echoed coldly in their ears.
Any evasion here, and she'd tear the body in half without a second thought.
"Uh..., w-well. To deliver Lady Rachel's letter..."
The assassin answered without realizing she was trembling.
Overwhelmed. There was no other word for it.
Yuria's eyes narrowed.
"Is that true?"
Lady Rachel usually wrote letters in the morning and sent replies then. Master hadn't written any yesterday to begin with.
"..."
"So what kind of letter requires delivery at this hour?"
Normally, no maid would need to answer such a question.
They wouldn't know the contents anyway, and prying could be a grave offense. But this assassin hesitated.
That was as good as a confession.
And there was more damning evidence.
"Besides, Master isn't in his office right now."
"Nor is Lady Rachel there."
As Yuria pointed, a faint reflection in the window showed Master and Rachel in deep conversation.
Irrefutable proof, no excuses possible.
Even if the assassin kept lying, retracing the initial questions would expose her eventually. Predicting this, she slowly bowed her head.
The corridor's air grew icy.
Just the two of them remained.
"...How long have you known?"
The question came.
Yuria suppressed her rising excitement and replied coldly.
"What level of excuses do you think a lowly scum like you could come up with?"
The word "lowly" made the body twitch.
Bandits, often of slave origin, were weak to noble provocations. They'd kill brutally, but taunting someone so far beneath them was irresistible.
"..."
In that atmosphere, the maid's once-trembling voice thickened, her form beginning to change. It was so grotesque that any ordinary person would have vomited.
The figure, attitude flipping in an instant, seized the mood with a sinister tone.
"...Acting like you knew it all along, piecing it together."
"You're the sloppy one, lowly scum."
"Ha, guess I've gotten rusty. Taking flak from a young girl like this."
With that arrogant declaration, the man drew a dagger and shed the skin suit.
He seemed confident in his skills.
Of course. He wouldn't have heard.
That the count's family had raised the last vampire heir into a monster.
About three seconds later, the scene made even the battle-hardened assassin Vishkinya recoil in shock.
....
'Has the plan gone awry?'
Vishkinya bit his habitual tongue-tongue and eyed the maid before him.
First off, she was stunning. Even with minimal makeup, her natural beauty and scent outshone anyone at this banquet—a fact clear from a single glance.
That only made her more suspicious.
A woman like this wouldn't end up as a sex slave. Most would become the count's concubine. High chance she'd infiltrated dressed as a maid.
Of course, he thought his disguise and acting would fool even the count's eyes.
Vishkinya of Transformation.
Vice-captain of the assassination squad deployed this time.
A ruthless killer who lucked into a fine maid's skin to slay others.
Few knew his true face.
His mission: assassinate Britna Kane.
And Britna Ian if the chance arose. But he had no interest in hunting a terminally ill patient on death's door. He'd only stopped by to check since the room had changed.
It should've been a non-issue.
Yet this maid shattered that assumption spectacularly.
Even after stabbing the lower abdomen and mimicking the memorized voice and mannerisms perfectly, she'd seen through him instantly.
First thing to check: mana quantity.
Dead silent.
Nothing detectable at all.
Whatever that earlier killing intent was, no mana meant she was a complete weakling.
Weak enough to drag to a room and ravage against her will.
He licked his lips and drew his dagger.
'Once I take this body, I'll kill Ian and Kane too as a bonus.'
As head maid proxy, she'd have easy access.
When the decoy assassins attacked the banquet hall and bodies fell, slipping in amid the chaos to slit throats wouldn't be hard.
"Looks like I'll have to personally discipline this insolent maid."
He licked the blade, smirking lewdly.
Discipline, of course, meant breaking her under him.
Imagining her moaning only spiked his dopamine, brain buzzing.
By now, victims usually went limp, muscles spasming, despairing as the blade touched skin.
He savored that, filling his pleasure. That was his way.
But.
"...?"
No fear, no buckling legs— Yuria just tilted her head, utterly unfazed. If anything, she looked down on him like, "Is that all?"
"...As expected of lowly vermin, you can't escape Master's notice either."
"...What?"
"Scar on your right hand, massive left eye, limping left foot, irregular breathing. Especially that filthy speech pattern. Exactly as Master described—uncannily so."
"..........."
Vishkinya's face hardened like stone.
"Still, a vice-captain... Yes, perfect. You're worth killing. Master will pat my head when I report this trophy. Now then..."
His mind raced.
How much did this maid know about him?
No choice—he leaped, dagger drawn.
But with a single casual gesture, his body was subdued.