Bored of Poison Play, Hooked on Juice – Shadows on the Rooftop
Three days had passed since the young lady grew bored of paint play and the assassin started enjoying food. Chloe and Marian's paint—poison—games continued. But even if Chloe had a knack for handling kids, she was still a total beginner in this department.
"This one's no good either…."
Up to now, they'd only practiced with dangerous stuff: basilisk venom, siren scale powder, poisonous mushroom juice, and so on. That was the problem. Chloe figured it was enough to mix random poisons, test them with the silver spoon to confirm they couldn't be eaten, then pop one of the cookies the maids brought into Marian's mouth as praise and reward….
"B-But you figured out you can't eat that one too, right? Want a cookie?"
"I'm sick of cookies now…."
Like with any kid's attention span, repeating the same pattern for days made it show plainly on her face. Biting her lip awkwardly, Chloe first tidied up the poisons. She couldn't risk Marian touching them while she was gone—even with an antidote, who knew what might happen.
She cleared away the most dangerous ones first….
"Miss, mind if I step out for a bit?"
"Where to?"
"The bathroom."
"The bathroom's right here."
"This is your bathroom, Miss. I'll be quick."
"Oh… yeah!"
Chloe slipped out of Marian's bedroom like she was escaping.
Fuck, I'm screwed….
Through the silver spoon, Marian had learned her whip: there were tons of things in the world you couldn't eat, and you had to check them first. And in education, balancing carrot and whip was essential. Just the whip would make even Marian lose interest fast, so Chloe had offered the Grand Duke's cookies—the ones she'd teared up over eating—as both carrot and reward.
Honestly, she thought cookies would be plenty as a carrot, but getting bored this quick was an unexpected snag. So, what could replace the cookies…?
"Juice?"
Juice was perfect. It fit the paint play concept nicely too.
"Maid!"
"Yes? What is it?"
Chloe grabbed the wrist of a passing maid.
"Got kiwi and strawberries in the pantry?"
"Probably…?"
"Puree them smooth, one glass each. Bring an extra empty glass and straws too. No sugar. And a small bowl with a teaspoon."
"Y-Yes, ma'am…."
The maid looked deflated at being held with such grave seriousness just to fetch kiwi and strawberry juice, but she moved off promptly.
"She won't tamper with it, right?"
While waiting, Chloe closed her eyes and focused on sounds from inside the bedroom.
"Booored…."
Marian already missed her, it seemed, even though Chloe had just left. Well, she'd grown tired of the cookie flavor, not Chloe herself. It wasn't weird for the kid to seek her out. Chloe smiled faintly.
This feels kinda nice.
A tutor sought out by the kid. It felt like validation, putting her in a great mood. As Chloe smirked to herself….
"Um…."
"Gah—!"
"Sorry. You seemed urgent, so I brought them…."
The maid had the items. Thanking her for the trouble, Chloe took them and headed back in.
"I'm back!"
"Yeah, you are."
Marian welcomed her noisily despite the short absence. Returning to the table, Chloe set out the kiwi juice, empty glass, and strawberry juice in order. Now for the next part….
"Miss, I brought new paints. Wanna mix this one too?"
"Again?"
She meant, why bother when we know it's inedible?
Sharp kid….
Chloe had pegged her as naive, but three days of the same routine had sharpened her instincts.
"We'll do this one, then tomorrow something new. Sound good?"
"Okay! Yeah, let's do it. Gimme the dropper, dropper."
"No dropper this time."
"Ooh…!"
Marian's face finally brightened as she poured strawberry juice glug-glug-glug into the empty glass. No fiddly dropper made it feel fresh, and she layered kiwi juice atop the half-full glass of red.
A strata of green over red formed.
"They're not mixing?"
This time, with no color change, Marian perked up.
"Pretty cool, huh?"
"Eh, not really…."
Guess not. Chloe handed over the long silver teaspoon with a wry smile. Marian snatched it eagerly and plunged it in.
But….
"No change?"
"Means it's safe to drink, right?"
"Y-Yeah…!"
The silver spoon was fine, and the fresh twist on the familiar game had Marian excited, her voice pitching higher. And what Chloe offered now was….
"Miss, try it with this?"
"That's…!"
"A straw."
Straws—nobles rarely used them, deeming sucking sounds crude. Especially young Marian, who'd hardly ever tried one.
"Way easier this way."
"F-For real?"
"For real."
Chloe slipped it into the kiwi-strawberry glass. Intrigued, Marian slowly put the straw to her lips. Her cheeks hollowed as she sipped….
"…!"
Amazed by the maid's fresh juice, her dark eyes sparkled. Then….
"I-I wanna do paint play tomorrow too."
She took back her words in a flip.
Do I actually have a talent for this teaching thing?
She really did, it seemed.
# Having hooked Marian on the kiwi-strawberry combo, Chloe wrapped up with some idle chit-chat and ended the lesson. Truth be told, Chloe's day really started after Marian's lessons. First, she headed to the vassals' dining hall.
As a knight in Haksen's personal guard—complete with uniform—and with a five-year tutor contract, Chloe had full access. No one batted an eye at her entering.
Unlike the cross-continent train, stares were minimal.
People really do need education.
Living in a place like the Grand Duke's castle drove home how many had basic refinement.
Mmm, delicious.
Today's dinner: simple baguette with rich, flavorful butter. Ever since rediscovering taste with that first chocolate cookie, the sweetness lingered in her mind. So she was easing back with plain foods.
Restricting, but….
Just bread and butter—why's it this good?
After over a decade without real flavor, even butter on shoe leather would taste divine. Finishing her modest but excellent meal, Chloe returned to her room. Her task here was set: arm up.
"Ugh, gotta order new gear too…."
She strapped on her wrist assassination blades tight, then hid a dozen daggers inside her jacket at angles invisible from outside. Next, one on her thigh.
"So that's why women wear skirts…."
Skirts were curiosities, not threats. But female assassins exploited that blind spot, striking unexpectedly. Now that Chloe was a woman, best follow the pros' habits. For an assassin, hidden weapons equaled extra lives.
"Next…."
She slipped on shoes where a heel tap popped a dagger from the toe. An assassin's body was a weapon; their clothes, storage for more. Feeling the outfit's new heft, Chloe sighed and stepped out.
"Alright, let's do this…."
After sunset was assassin time. Her contract included bodyguard duty, so she had to watch for killers too. Double- and triple-checking the infiltration routes she'd mapped over three days, Chloe headed to the roof by her bedroom window.
"No issues inside today, at least…."
Climbing was easy. Buildings used bricks stacked by hand, leaving gaps for fingers and toes. Wedge in, climb slow… and you're on the roof.
"Huh."
She could do it, but….
"Huh?"
Who the hell's this guy?