“Hmph, of course. If I fall asleep, I don’t know what kind of trouble a wicked assassin like you might cause.”
This was the usual kind of heavy-handed surveillance.
I had never experienced it before, so I had no idea how it felt.
I almost opened my mouth to ask her to step away just a little, but I stopped myself.
I wasn’t a guest here, and this was Perry’s job.
“Let’s just be content with the soft blankets and pillows given to me tonight!”
I quickly accepted the reality of the situation, and my mood lightened.
I turned to Perry and gave her a simple “good night.”
“Well then, good night, Perry. Since I’m not going anywhere, you can go to sleep whenever you’re tired.”
As expected, Perry didn’t respond.
I turned my body, lost in thought, and recalled the Emperor’s words.
“Try catching the mastermind yourself.”
“Does that mean… you’re giving me a chance?”
“That’s something we’ll have to see.”
It was strange.
I could’ve been thrown into prison right away, but he had made that offer to me instead.
Why?
I also thought about what Cat had said.
“It seems like you don’t plan to kill me. Or maybe you can’t?”
But it didn’t look like the Emperor had any positive feelings for me.
If anything, he seemed like a person who couldn’t vent his anger.
That’s probably why he only ever said such bitter words.
“If only clever Cheribel were here, she would have said something comforting.”
But I couldn’t suddenly become Cheribel.
So, I lay awake for hours, tossing and turning until eventually, I fell asleep.
***
The next morning, I woke up to a piercing scream.
“AAAHH!”
When did she even get on the bed?
Perry was lying next to me.
Her messy hair and the indentations on her face made it clear how well she had slept.
“When did I fall asleep? This can’t be happening!”
Perry clutched her hair in frustration, her face one step away from tears.
Though I was still in a groggy state, her panicked expression made it impossible not to ask.
“What’s going on this morning?”
“Breakfast! The boss said he wanted the servants in his room before breakfast…! I was supposed to wake you up and get you ready, but it’s too late now, isn’t it?”
At that moment, a knock sounded from outside the door.
Perry’s eyes widened in panic.
“They’re here! I haven’t prepared anything! What should I do? I’ve already messed up my first mission… The boss will be so disappointed in me…”
To be honest, from where I stood, it didn’t seem like a big deal.
If the people outside were the Emperor’s summoned servants, we could just head straight to breakfast.
Seeing Perry’s face crumple with worry, I carefully spoke up.
“Well, you could start getting ready now, right?”
“How? You look a mess, and you don’t even have clothes to wear!”
Her criticism this early in the morning almost made me feel bad.
But I understood how Perry felt; after all, I had messed up many precious missions myself, so I wasn’t completely unsympathetic.
“I haven’t been able to shower properly for days either… but isn’t it a bit weird for a criminal to look clean?”
“Is that so?”
“Of course, I can’t go wearing pajamas, so maybe you can lend me that maid outfit you’re wearing for a while.”
A glimmer of light shone in Perry’s eyes, which had been shadowed.
“Ah… that’s actually a pretty good idea.”
Just as she was about to take off her maid outfit to hand it over, she stopped abruptly, eyeing me with suspicion.
“Why are you being so nice to me? Are you trying to make me trust you and then tell the boss about it?”
‘This kid…’
I realized why she felt familiar.
She resembled Cherrybell.
To put it another way, she was like a version of Cherrybell without all the perfection.
To think such a deadly flaw could exist in the world—it was a surprising discovery.
“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to do it. I’m not sure how long the people outside will wait, but I could go find something else to wear while they wait.”
“Who said I didn’t want to?” Perry blurted out quickly.
With that, I put on the maid outfit Perry handed me and finished getting ready for breakfast.
Since it was the outfit she was wearing, the skirt was a little short on me, but at this point, it couldn’t be helped.
Just as I was about to leave the room, I heard a voice.
“1…”
I turned around, and Perry was biting her lip, looking conflicted.
After a moment of hesitation, she quickly turned her head away.
“Th-thank you for helping me.”
Her face was bright red.
I hadn’t noticed it before, but she was way cuter than Cherrybell in her own way.
As I left the room, I saw soldiers with the servants.
They all had stern expressions, and their gazes made it clear that they didn’t like me.
“…Follow me.”
An uncomfortable silence filled the air as we walked.
The distance to the dining hall felt endless, and it was a struggle just to keep going.
When we finally arrived at the dining hall, it was lavish, almost too much so.
Was this meant to be some kind of final supper?
I couldn’t shake off my displeasure toward the Emperor, and it showed in my attitude.
“Please sit here.”
Following the servant’s instructions, I sat in the chair right in front of me.
The Emperor looked at me, a crooked smile tugging at his lips.
“You’re a little late.”
“I overslept,” I replied.
The Emperor’s brow furrowed slightly as his gaze shifted toward my outfit.
“Your taste in clothing is quite different from what I expected.”
“Well, this is…,” I started. The top was too tight, and the already short skirt rode up to my thighs when I sat down. Thankfully, the Emperor was sitting in front of me, so he couldn’t see my legs.
It seemed to be of little concern to him, as he quickly lost interest and focused back on the meal.
“Anyway, let’s eat first.”
The Emperor grabbed his fork and knife, elegantly cutting into the steak on his plate.
His movements were flawless, each one as refined as you’d expect from royalty.
“I spent the whole night thinking about it. Why did you say those things to me?”
The steak, neatly cut into bite-sized pieces, disappeared into his mouth.
Although his eyes remained fixed on his meal, his voice was soft and inviting.
“Tell me, I’m listening.”
I paused for a moment, watching him, before responding.
“You came all the way to Medderland, publicly announcing a bounty on me as a top-class assassin, and then immediately locked me in a cell.”
I thought back to his words from the night before, about watching me.
For some reason, despite everything, he came to my rescue when I was in danger.
He checked my injuries and even called for a doctor to personally treat me.
“I don’t know why, but the fact is, Your Majesty, you need me.”
His expression seemed to show interest in what I was saying.
He put down his fork and knife and stared at me intently.
“An interesting hypothesis. So?”
The Emperor, being the ruler of Hamilton, must have already investigated me thoroughly.
Suspicious circumstances, evidence that looked like it had been carefully tampered with—everything screamed deceit.
But he still trusted me.
That was exactly me—someone who couldn’t be trusted easily.
“If you investigate me, you’ll find nothing strange. Because I’m not some extraordinary beastkin, I’m actually known as a failure, a defective member of the Slimela family.”
I wasn’t someone who couldn’t be objective about myself.
I came from a good family with capable and loving parents, but I always felt like I fell short in comparison to them.
It was a sad truth, but it was how I was seen by others.
“So, I’m the perfect person to use, right?”
He smiled faintly without saying anything.
“And honestly, that’s true. I’m not as smart as my younger sibling, and I don’t have the impressive abilities my parents have.”
As I spoke, the smile that had lingered on his face began to fade.
His eyes lost their warmth and became indifferent.
His lips tightened, and a cold tone slipped into his voice.
“Disappointing. I didn’t give you this time to hear such talk.”
His reprimand made me lower my gaze.
In the polished knife, I saw the reflection of a woman who seemed uncertain of herself.
But that was the truth.
Even if I wasn’t as capable as others expected me to be, I wasn’t one to sit idly by and wait for help.
I was the stubborn type from Medderland who, even when everyone said I couldn’t, would do it anyway.
“So what I want to say is… Your Majesty, I want you to use me.”
“Use you?”
“On the first night I was imprisoned, the client whose identity I didn’t know wanted to save me and take me alive, if possible.”
I had a strong feeling that this person was likely the one who orchestrated this whole thing.
If not, then perhaps someone else connected to it.
“I don’t know the exact reason, but it’s probably because there’s some use for me while I’m alive. If that’s the case, they might try to approach me again at some point.”
I looked directly at the Emperor.
Then, with my fist clenched tightly, I continued speaking.
“I will also become Your Majesty’s personal asset. So, please use me to catch the real mastermind behind this. Until then, feel free to throw me into danger, or sell me off to them if you must.”
In other words, I was offering myself as bait.
This meant I would undoubtedly face even greater dangers than before.
But I wanted to catch the people who framed me, even if it meant putting myself at risk.
“In return, if my innocence is proven later, then please restore my family’s tarnished honor…”
An old, unshakeable wish stirred within me.
It was the only thing I had ever wanted.
“Please set me free.”
“Ha.”
The stiff smile gradually curved into a beautiful, wide grin.
His blue eyes, which had been dark and heavy, now sparkled like sunlight reflecting on a rippling wave.
For the first time, the Emperor gave me a genuine smile.
“This is quite interesting.”