Bloni widened her eyes and stared at me.
Then she asked her followers standing behind her,
“What is she saying right now?”
As Bloni started laughing, her followers giggled along.
One of Bloni’s maids, who looked about fourteen, stepped toward me.
She tapped my shoulder sharply—tap, tap!—and said,
“How are you going to kill me? Hmm?”
Her hand was unbelievably hot.
Bloni and the other maids watched me with lighthearted chuckles.
The maid who tapped my shoulder leaned her face in close and snickered,
“I’m asking how you’re going to kill me.”
“Like this.”
I grabbed the maid’s arm, twisted her around in one motion, and slammed her down onto the floor.
Thud!
“Kyaaah!”
With the dull thud, the maid pinned beneath me screamed.
I grabbed her hair as she struggled and pushed her down hard.
“Aaah!”
“......!”
“......!”
The maid screamed again, and Bloni and her followers stared at me with stiff expressions.
They probably thought they could look down on me because I was smaller, but that was far from the truth.
I had been trained rigorously since I took my first steps.
‘Did you think I only learned how to use blessings and magic tools?’
Monsters with offensive blessings were deployed in Astra.
Dionera’s , Joffrey’s , Milan’s , and more.
I trained desperately to survive among kids far stronger than adults.
“What do you think you’re doing!”
Another maid charged at me.
I yanked her wrist sharply and punched her in the face.
Thwack—!!
The maid charged with full force and speed, but she was hit squarely by my punch.
“Aaaah—!”
The maid fell, clutching her face and screaming.
Bloni and the other maids, who had been watching, opened their mouths slightly.
Then, looking at the maid who’d been punched, they muttered,
“B-Blood...!”
“Blood?”
The maid touched her face and realized blood was flowing from under her nose, turning pale.
“Blood... blood... youuu—!”
Besides, to survive among those monster-like cousins, the first thing I learned was how to brawl.
‘When I had no strength, those cousins couldn’t touch me easily.’
Punching the nose precisely.
Biting.
Grabbing hair.
Biting again.
If all else failed, gouging eyes.
Bloni turned pale and shouted at her maids standing beside her,
“What are you doing?!”
“Uh? Uh-uh!”
Other maids flustered and rushed at me.
‘No chance.’
While mounted on the maid, I swiftly twisted my body left and right.
The maid trying to grab my hair lost balance and fell.
The maid who tried to shove my shoulder tripped over the fallen maid and landed on her backside.
‘I’m the best at dodging.’
If I were an ordinary kid, one hit from my cousins would have sent me to the afterlife.
Naturally, I learned to move like my life depended on it.
“My arm, it looks broken...!”
“Waaah... mama...!”
I easily stood and looked down.
Except for Bloni, the other maids were all sprawled on the floor.
“If you raise your hand against others, you should know you can be hit back.”
I shrugged while looking at the crying maids.
Then I asked Bloni, “Right?”
Bloni was pale.
“Do you think I’ll let this go?!”
“And if you don’t?”
“I’ll tell the butler...!”
I smirked.
“Then hurry up and tell him.”
“...What?”
I approached Bloni.
As I got closer, she faltered and backed away.
She was pushed until she hit the corridor wall.
I closed in and whispered,
“Go tell him, okay?”
“You...!”
“Tell him that ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) the lower-ranked servants caused a disturbance in another’s territory. Tell him you fought without thinking of settling it.”
“......”
I stroked Bloni’s blonde hair and murmured,
“You probably won’t be able to come back in. You’ll be stuck working as a low-ranked servant your whole life.”
“...!”
“Oh, that’s if you’re lucky and the butler overlooks it.”
“S-Shut up!”
“You’ll get kicked out without severance for causing a disturbance in someone else’s territory, you fool.”
“Same goes for you!”
Bloni screamed.
Meanwhile, I was checking the time.
‘It’s about time people start looking for us...’
At that moment,
Bloni’s eyes sparked fury, and she shoved me hard.
I fell straight onto my backside.
“How dare a vulgar girl of unknown origin...!!”
Bloni raised her hand arrogantly.
Then—
“Hey! What are you doing there!”
A loud voice came from the end of the corridor.
‘Right, they’re here.’
A woman in a dress.
Wearing the Euroseong family crest on her chest.
A senior servant managing the Euroseong castle.
Bloni seemed to recognize her and quickly lowered her hand in embarrassment.
She looked at me, and I smirked so only she could see.
‘Am I stupid?’
If we were really going to have a brawl, we’d close the door and fight inside.
‘I dragged this out on purpose for this moment, fool.’
Euroseong servants hurriedly came running.
The manager of Euroseong castle gave a bitter laugh looking at me and the sprawled maids.
“What on earth is this...?”
They must have been baffled.
‘Servants fighting, and in someone else’s castle.’
I covered my cheek with a sorrowful expression.
Though I was never struck, anyone seeing me would think I had been.
‘And Bloni looks like she beat up those maids behind me.’
The maids were behind me, and only Bloni faced us.
Bloni was at a loss.
“This, this is, well, this is...!”
“No need to explain.”
“No, no, please listen! This girl—”
“I have no interest in hearing about disputes within other families.”
The senior servant’s gaze was ice cold.
At that moment, I quickly got up and bowed deeply.
“I apologize. There was a shameful incident at the residence.”
“......”
“But this was neither due to negligence in the teachings of the Ishiron family nor disrespect toward the Euroseong family.”
“......”
“No matter what happened, it is entirely my fault for offending the higher-ups, my lady.”
Bloni and the maids wore stunned expressions.
Exactly,
‘It’s really your fault! You beat us up...!’
They looked like they wanted to say that.
Bloni gasped sharply.
She must have realized she was about to get blamed.
“Um, so, this girl raised her hand against us, so we had no choice...!”
‘Ugh.’
I smirked inwardly at Bloni.
‘That excuse will backfire.’
The Euroseong servants were already very angry.
A disturbance in their castle by outsiders.
And it was caused by servants from a more prestigious family.
They probably thought Ishiron servants were disrespecting Euroseong.
‘But what if you defend yourself and say it wasn’t your fault?’
The Euroseong servants gave cold looks.
The senior servant scorned Bloni.
“You don’t need to make excuses for Ishiron matters here.”
“You misunderstand...!”
“It’s just unfortunate there’s only one decent servant in Ishiron family.”
When she said “decent servant,” she meant me.
Bloni and her followers turned pale.
The Euroseong servant sighed and said,
“Anyway, hurry up. The higher-ups are already gathered in the hall.”
“Uh...!”
Bloni tried to say something, but I quickly interrupted.
“Yes, we will move quickly.”
The senior Euroseong servant left first.
A young Euroseong servant following behind glanced at me.
. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“My lady? No, I’m just a regular servant.”
Though she denied the title, she smiled kindly.
“My name is Haylin. Come find me after the welcome party. I’ll give you medicine. And...”
Haylin glared at Bloni’s group and said,
“The Lady Bessy you just saw is very loyal to Euroseong. She won’t let this pass lightly.”
“Is that so...?”
“Yes. Those who use their status to raise their hands will be duly punished.”
She meant to properly complain to the Ishiron servants.
Bloni looked pale and stared at us.
Regardless, I smiled mournfully at Haylin.
Haylin sighed deeply seeing me.
“Poor thing. Come on, let’s go.”
“Yes, my lady...”
“I’m not a lady. Hehehe!”
I followed Haylin at a quick pace, glancing back at Bloni.
Bloni clenched her teeth and glared at me as if to kill.
I smiled brightly and parted my lips.
‘It hasn’t even started yet.’
The grudge against the cloth... no, the handkerchief my father made with clumsy hands runs deep.
By the time we arrived, the welcome party was already winding down.
Since it was dawn, the welcome party was mostly just a few words exchanged with the lord of Euroseong.
Alexis was doing very well.
“Thank you for the warm welcome.”
I felt proud.
‘Yes, yes.’
The etiquette lessons I had been taking since childhood were paying off.
Alexis was also very perceptive.
Euroseong is a branch of Ishiron.
Though the distance is far, the main family treating the branch disrespectfully could be seen as denying its autonomy.
‘Just right.’
The lord of Euroseong was a young man.
A very handsome young man.
‘Similar type to Conrad.’
Meaning a pretty man.
The Euroseong lord smiled warmly.
“Lord Adelric often visits Euroseong. We have prepared the room you always stay in when he comes.”
This meant Euroseong treated Alexis as equal to their eldest son Adelric.
Alexis and I exchanged a glance.
I subtly gave a thumbs up.
Alexis chuckled.
The Euroseong servants opposite us wore enchanted expressions.
Though they quickly composed themselves.
‘It’s like when dad smiles and the servants at our mansion unconsciously gasp.’
Well, the male lead of <Ice.Black.Hand> wouldn’t lose his looks.
When he grows up, he’ll be a real handsome man praised like my father.
“Tomorrow lunch will be prepared. Other guests visiting Euroseong will attend, so we ask the young lord to grace us with his presence.”
“Yes.”
“It must have been a hard journey. You should rest quickly to recover.”
The Euroseong lord and Alexis stood and shook hands.
With that, the welcome party ended.
The servants moved following their masters.
Several senior Euroseong servants followed Alexis to guide him.
Alexis glanced at the Ishiron servants.
“You.”
Me? Why?
I wondered, but considering my position, I bowed my head.
“Yes, young lord.”
“You have tasks to do. Follow me.”
“Yes.”
When we arrived at the room Alexis would stay in, the senior Euroseong servant left.
Only Alexis and I remained inside.
Alexis inspected the room carefully.
He lifted the covers, checked the windowsill, and looked inside the fireplace.
“There’s no trace of magic. You can speak freely.”
“Where did you learn that?”
“Carly.”
“...That’s a lie, right?”
Could Carly, the general of the Egritz army, be so meticulous?
I’d sooner believe he was searching for snacks.
Alexis chuckled.
“Sounds like a lie, but it’s really Carly’s habit. When he was a general, he dealt with many foreign spies, so it became a habit.”
“Is that so?”
Alexis handed me a bundle of parchment.
“The list of Euroseong’s magicians. It includes those working underground, so there should be some wild mages there.”
“Wow—!”
I quickly grabbed the parchments.
Then Alexis tied a band around my wrist.
“What’s this?”
“Pass to exit the castle. I got a letter in advance, registered in Rilu’s name.”
“They’re giving out passes for going outside the castle...”
“This place is a hub for underground dealings. Looks like I know how to handle that kind of thing. You can move even at dawn. But—”
Alexis tapped my forehead lightly with his knuckle and said,
“Don’t go alone.”
“If I move with you, investigation will be limited. I’ll bring monsters. I also have a movement stone and magic tools.”
“...Tell me your destination and arrival time. I need to know if something happens to you.”
“Okay, okay. Then I’m off!”
I waved my hand gently at Alexis.
He nodded.
I hurried down the corridor checking the papers.
‘What was the name the wild mage used? Ted told me...’
I hummed and tried to recall.
Ah, right.
‘Hans!... Oh no.’
Hans is like “Chulsoo” in Korea.
A super common alias.
There were truckloads of Hans listed.
‘...Let’s start from the closest.’
I planned to rest for a few hours, then immediately start looking for Chulsoo—I mean, the wild mage.
The next day.
Han Ji-hyuk, who left the castle with me, grumbled.
“It’s not even the third Hans. How many Hans are there?”
“Twenty-two.”
“...Do you think we’ll find him? The lunch is soon, we should get back.”
“We can’t not look. We even gave money to the guards for bringing you out.”
My precious 80 gold.
When I glared, Han Ji-hyuk shook his head.
“You’re rich but stingy in strange ways.”
“You have to save where you can. You never know when something might happen. Speaking of which, let’s exchange some money.”
Holding my earring, I said.
The gold coins at the mansion have the Astra crest, so we needed commonly used coins.
Han Ji-hyuk and I decided to head to the pawnshop.
As we walked, we stopped at the same time.
We looked at each other pretending to chat cheerfully and quietly said,
“Did you feel that?”
“Yeah, behind us.”
We started walking again, smiling and looking at each other once more.
“It started from that alley.”
“Yeah.”
When we reached the alley, we suddenly started running.
‘Because someone was following us!’
This was the movement of trained assassins.