Series: The Princess’s Guard is the Assassin Aiming for Her Life
“…Kill on the last day?”
“Yep. That kid just entered your room to observe you at first.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. Al never told me any of this. So before he made a bet with me… he wasn’t even planning to kill me for a while?
“Why would there be such a condition…?”
“Who knows? It’s something the client decided on. I never got to hear why since it wasn’t a difficult condition to fulfill. It’s just good manners not to pry.”
I thought assassins didn’t have manners? But, more importantly… just what was Cattleya thinking…?
“You’ve got a lot to think about.”
“……”
It irritated me for her to say that like it was someone else’s problem. Err, actually, it was someone else’s problem. I highly doubted she cared whether I lived or died.
I took a deep breath to calm down.
I couldn’t help but wonder about Cattleya’s intentions now. Why would she attach that sort of condition to an assassination request?
What will Al do?
…Will Al choose to kill me?
From what I heard of his past, it seemed like his trauma ran deep. But I wanted to believe Master’s words that he hasn’t killed anyone outside of his job in this life.
“…Actually… is it okay for me to have heard Al’s past from you?”
“It’s a little late for that.”
“Well, it feels like something he should tell me himself.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. It’s not like that kid told me all this because he trusted me.”
“Then why?”
“…That kid is starting to forget his past life.”
I remembered him telling me the same thing before. Just like how you forget dreams, the memories become foggy and you forget all the finer details.
…I already couldn’t remember the faces of my family and friends. Since Al regained his memories far sooner than I did, it was probably worse for him.
“That’s why he wanted to tell someone before he forgot completely. He said he would be nothing more than a lunatic if he forgot. I laughed and asked if he didn’t think he was already a lunatic.”
“……”
Maybe I wasn’t mature enough to understand why that was funny to her.
“Well, anyways. Because he wants someone to remember, I thought I should probably find someone else to tell this story to. I’m getting to be about that age, after all.”
“No way, you’re obviously still young.”
No matter how I looked at her, she couldn’t have been older than her late twenties.
But Master just laughed in amusement. “Oh, haven’t you heard? About my magic.”
“Ah.”
That’s right. She’s the one who made youth magic.
“I’m already over seventy years old.”
“Eeeeeh!?”
She was much older than I thought. I didn’t realize she was a 70+ year old granny….!!
“T-that’s some amazing magic.”
“It sure is. But my stamina has been decreasing. It was already pretty difficult to sneak in here.”
“Infiltrating a duke’s residence isn’t something seventy-year-olds can usually do…”
“I do so hate compliments like that. I might just take my knife out.”
Please don’t…
“That kid seems pretty good at using magic too. He looks like a cute boy from a glance.”
“Sure does… But his eye color does change back a lot.”
Master showed the most shocked expression she had that night at my words. “They change back a lot?”
“Well, in front of me at least. Doesn’t that happen when he’s feeling bloodthirsty?”
“…Ah, I see. That’s how you see it, huh? Well, that kid also thinks the same thing, so it’s no surprise.”
“Huh?”
“That kid’s eye color actually changes when he feels a big shift in his emotions.”
“A big shift in his emotions?”
…Come to think of it, I did wonder why he felt so bloodthirsty all the time. I guess maybe it wasn’t just that he was feeling?
“That kid is usually pretty indifferent about his job. Most of the time, the magic doesn’t come undone during his jobs, even after killing the target. The only times I’ve seen his eyes change was when he got a job to kill a good man and his son, a job he didn’t feel comfortable doing… Also when he was talking about his past.”
“So it has nothing to do with… bloodthirst?”
“I pointed it out during his first assassination request, so he probably thinks it has something to do with his intent to kill. Well, it could be that he was just moved by the fact that it was his first job in this life. Those were just the few exceptions. That kid is really good at using magic.”
“Eh…? B-but there were so many times…”
Just how many times in these past few weeks had I seen his eyes turn blue?
Master shrugged after I trailed off. “If you’ve seen his magic come undone so many times, that just goes to show how much you shake up that kid’s heart.”
My face heated up.
To think that that odd assassin was surprised and shaken so much by me… I started to realize it at the end, but to think it was that way since the beginning…
“Oh man, I totally forgot the whole reason I came here.” Master shook her head and pulled out a piece of paper. “That kid has been avoiding me. He probably doesn’t want to accept this. So I’ll be giving it to you, young lady. If you want to live, be sure to show it to that kid as soon as he shows up.”
“Eh, this is…” I opened the paper to see a contract. “…This is the contract for my assassination request?”
“Right on.”
I could clearly see that it said they wanted me dead a month after the start of the contract. However, a large “CANCELED” was stamped over a lot of the text.
“Canceled?”
“It happened as soon as you came to this mansion. The client took down their request.”
…They took it down?
There was no way Cattleya didn’t know that I went to stay with Lord Celosia. I thought she would be mad with rage, so why would she cancel my assassination request?
“Why?”
“I don’t know. They didn’t ask for their advance payment back, so I didn’t have any complaints.”
Who would cancel a request without asking for their money back? Maybe she just gave up after seeing that I’m being protected by a lot of female knights?
But while I did feel relieved, I also felt crushing discouragement.
“…So that means Al won’t…”
He won’t come for me…
“Yep, but that kid hasn’t received his order to stand down. I know he will come.”
“…On the last day?”
“That kid hasn’t failed any jobs before.”
With those final words, Master disappeared the second I looked down at the contract.
“…She’s amazing for a seventy-year-old,” I muttered before I could stop myself.
I closed my eyes, lying down on the soft bed. I didn’t feel sleepy. I already had frequent insomnia, but it was just impossible after that conversation.
“…Some sort of way of life other than working as an assassin, huh?”
It was a nice thing to say, but I didn’t know what would actually be good.
Al made a name for himself as an assassin. Of course, there weren’t a lot that knew what he looked like, but retirement would probably be difficult.
Unlike in modern Japan, there were no laws to judge him. Of course, if the military got evidence or the nobles threw a fuss it would be a different matter, but from seeing Al and his master, I doubted he would make a mistake like that. He could return to being a normal civilian if he wished for it.
There was the problem of morals, but… there were a lot of people in this world who didn’t care for such a thing. There were many people, including nobles and royalty, who had taken lives in one way or another. Even if they didn’t dirty their own hands.
Commoners were no exception.
That’s just the kind of world this was.
Assassins were feared for their professional killing skills and because they served as a sign of the underworld, but they were also respected for their strength. I’m sure there would be lots of people willing to hire him if they knew his abilities, even if he was an ex-assassin… I wouldn’t be surprised if people have already tried to recruit him in the past.
“…So then the problem is… me…”
I was attracted to everything about him. I liked the thought of him standing in the night. I didn’t think being an assassin was a healthy profession, and it might get me killed, but I still liked the thought of him as one.
But there was no way a princess could get together with an assassin.
Even if I’m able to get away with not marrying Lord Celosia, I was going to be married off one day. Even if he was the best of the best, there was no way the king would let me marry an assassin.
“I can’t really imagine Al as something other than an assassin…”
He said it himself; he didn’t have skills in any other field.
If I had to say so, I think he could make good money as a mercenary, hunting monsters and doing requests for nobles, but he would still be an ordinary citizen. At least if he proved himself as a knight, he would be able to be close to me, but…
“That doesn’t really suit him…”
Al, a knight?
I doubted he would be able to work as a group.
I could see him as a secret operative of some sort, but I didn’t think he would be able to make any public achievements there.
That means I’ll have to tread down the hard path.
I was worried about the hard life of commoners in this world, but if it meant being with Al… I was willing to throw away my title as a princess.
“…Actually, there are other things I should confirm first.”
From what I’ve seen and heard so far, I knew that Al probably liked me too. But I honestly didn’t know if he even wanted to be in a relationship with me.
“If I’m to believe Master’s words, just because Al likes me doesn’t mean he’s going to kill me…”
The blue eyes he showed me didn’t necessarily mean he wanted to kill me.
I would also need to work hard so he could believe my words without feeling the need to kill me.
…That is, if he wanted me to live and to be with me too.
“First, I need to make sure he doesn’t kill me when we meet again… All I can do is pray that he gives me the time to explain…”
It was a little scary that he would rather kill me than see me marry Lord Celosia. If Al was serious, he could probably kill me before I even realized it.
…All I could do was trust in him.
Trust that he wouldn’t want to kill me without some answers.
Trust that he wanted to hear the reason behind all the stupid things I’ve done…
All I could do was wait now.
The fateful day finally arrived. It was the very last day of the bet I made with Al. It was also the very last day of the deadline written on the contract I read.
It was nine PM. Just three hours until the cut off time for the deadline.
A crescent moon graced the dark sky. I stood on the second floor balcony after selfishly asking to see the night garden.
“Your Highness, please return inside soon. You never know when another assassin could attack,” a female knight warned me.
I nodded, but apologized inside my head.
I wanted to see that assassin, but I didn’t know where he would come from.
I was sure he would give me the time to talk, but he also had a creed not to let his targets suffer. There was a chance he would prioritize the latter. There was a chance I would die before I could tell him how I felt.
So I was searching for him in a spot with a good view. As soon as I saw him, I was going to tell him my feelings.
“Your Highness Princess Iberis.” I could hear a low voice behind me.
The knight with me stepped back, making room for Lord Celosia. Because the duke was always gone, he was acting lord of this mansion. I couldn’t refuse his visit, even this late at night.
Especially because I was seen as his fiancé.
“Lord Celosia…”
“I could see you from the window of my room. Just what are you doing at this late hour?”
“…I just wanted to look at the garden for a bit.”
“I am humbled that you’re interested in the garden we take such pride in. I’m sure our gardener is also delighted.”
I couldn’t read the meaning behind his smile.
“Shall I have light magicians light up the garden? I can do at least that much even without my father here.”
“No, you don’t need to… The light from the moon is plenty.”
The sky was clear of clouds. The moonlight lit the garden up well.
Sure, the garden looked nice and all, but since I couldn’t say the real reason I was out here, all I could do was smile softly. But that probably gave away my estranged mood.
Lord Celosia turned to the knights behind him. “Leave us alone for a while.”
“But…”
“I will call for you if something happens. I don’t mind if you want to leave the windows and door open. I want to speak with Her Highness alone.”
“Understood.”
The knights entered into the connecting room. From the open door, I could see them take up positions by the hallway. It must be so they could run straight here if something happened.
In addition, they also kept an eye out to make sure nothing happened between us before we were properly married. Of course, Maia, whose primary duty was to keep an eye on me, was also there watching with sparkling eyes.
“…Please rest assured. I have no intentions of doing anything so uncouth that would cause your head maid heartache.”
“I believe you.”
I couldn’t help but smile as he raised his hands in defense.
“…You finally smiled.”
“My, I thought I was always smiling? It’s because Lord Celosia and everyone at this mansion… you all treat me so well.”
“Those words alone are an immense honor. But you’ve looked tense all day today.”
I shut my mouth before I could ask if he really did notice.
Today was the last day. I didn’t think he would come until night, but I was restless all day long at the possibility that he would come sooner.
Lord Celosia took my silence as agreement. It was too late to deny it.
I looked up at the moon, searching for some path of escape. Placing his hands on the balcony railing, Lord Celosia looked up at the moon too.
“Such a beautiful crescent moon.”
“Yes, it really-“
“Are you waiting for someone?”
I didn’t expect him to ask that. He interrupted what I was saying, getting to the main point.
So I wasn’t able to respond.
I should have played innocent and asked for clarification, but I couldn’t form the words.
It seemed like that was all Lord Celosia needed to confirm his suspicions.
“It’s just as I thought. That boy is the cleaner.”
Merry Bad End Translations 
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