We arrived at the San Miguel estate earlier than expected.
There was an underground passage not far from where we had lunch.
It seemed that the members of the unit used this route to discreetly enter and exit the estate.
Although the path was short, I overheard a few things along the way.
Only the marquis, the lord of San Miguel, knew the true identity of the irregular. The retainers and staff did not.
For that reason, the members used false identities within San Miguel Castle.
Among them, the elite unit were knights, while the unit leader disguised himself as a military strategist.
And the fourth…
"So these are all Tekari-made weapons. Look, it even says it here—'Tekari'."
The members proudly held up their weapons, grinning.
I spoke quietly.
"…It says 'head'."
"What?"
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
"…It literally says 'head'."
Immediately, the members fell silent.
And even on the way to the estate, they glared fiercely at their weapons, which they had previously treated like sacred treasures.
"This damn blacksmith old man…""How dare he deceive us?""We won't let this slide!"
The members threw down their packs and charged forward like the wind.
Yes.
This was the fourth point.
'The literacy rate among the members is low.'
So, it made sense that they had to leave the ledger to Antonio.
Out of all of them, Antonio was the only one who could read and write.
Even Antonio, despite his determination, looked ready to storm off and confront that old blacksmith.
'Tekari is a difficult word,' I thought.
They had used archaic writing instead of common script to make it look fancy.
Just then, a member returned after escorting the unit leader and the marquis of San Miguel somewhere.
"The deputy commander requests your presence."
Antonio paused.
He clicked his tongue and said to me,
"Wait here. I'll go see the deputy commander, take down that old blacksmith, and then show you the real Tekari-made weapons."
Then the member added,
"The deputy commander requests that your lady accompany you as well."
"Eustea? Why?"
"The reason was not disclosed."
Antonio shrugged.
"Maybe to pay you a wage."
That made me remember my own situation.
'I was supposed to just accompany as a laborer.'
So why did the deputy commander want to see me in person?
If it were just payment, another employee could deliver it.
Thinking this, I followed the member with Antonio.
On the way, we chatted quietly.
"Damn that yellowhead. How dare he cheat?""Perhaps you should learn to read. Then you won't be deceived again.""Imperial language is hard—common, formal, archaic… why are there so many scripts?""You only need to remember the 'Te'. The archaic script is pictographic, so it's hard to read, but it's actually derived from a picture.""A picture?""'Tekari' means forged by a typhoon. 'Te' means typhoon. See? Like this…"
I took out my notebook from my bag and wrote the character 'Te' for him.
"This part is a house. This part is wind. Look at it this way—it seems like the house is being blown away by the wind, right?"
"Ah, I see."
With that, we arrived at the Knights' Command Room.
The deputy commander's false identity seemed to be that of a knight commander.
When the member knocked, a low voice came from inside.
"Enter."
Antonio and I stepped into the command room.
We faced the deputy commander sitting behind the desk and were immediately taken aback.
'Did they select the elite unit purely based on looks?'
His striking appearance left a strong impression.
He had narrow, slanted eyes, a high-bridged nose, and a sophisticated urban mask of a face.
Black hair and gray eyes.
A pure and ascetic aura—the embodiment of a knight.
'Anyone who doesn't know him would never suspect he's an assassin.'
The deputy commander fixed his gaze on the documents and asked,
"You're the daughter who was expelled from Andres?"
It seemed he had already been briefed by the members.
His eyes were sharp.
Now I understood why he wanted to give the wage personally.
He was suspicious of a laborer from a marquis family who had suddenly joined the unit.
I clasped my hands nervously.
"I'm Eustea. Nice to meet you. I know this is sudden, but could I perhaps get a job in the castle instead of just a wage…?"
"Foolish."
"…!"
The deputy commander's gray, icy gaze pierced me like an arrow.
"The daughter expelled from a marquis family. Who would employ you if you weren't desperate to be noticed?"
I was speechless.
Indeed, a place like the assassination unit, which was highly security-conscious, would never employ me otherwise.
'I thought maybe the members liked me enough that I'd get a chance.'
Seeing me quiet, Antonio's face stiffened.
"Information control is the deputy commander's specialty. If he does that…"
"To control information for a mere laborer? What a waste of money."
"This girl is competent. She's a good worker."
Yet the deputy commander stood up without emotion.
He strode over to me.
"I can see you're clever. You've handled Antonio well."
"…."
"That makes me even less inclined to let you go."
"…."
I quietly bowed my head.
Seeing this, Antonio stepped in, blocking the deputy commander.
"She worked hard. The whole way to the headquarters, she didn't sleep. She woke early to prepare meals, and even while we ate and rested, she mended her clothes and kept watch over the commander."
"Any competent person would do that much in that situation."
"Deputy commander!"
"He has seen the headquarters of the irregular and the faces of the members. Do you realize how dangerous the information she possesses is?"
"Are you saying you'd kill her?"
"The most certain and clean method."
"This man is really…!"
Antonio shouted in frustration, throwing etiquette aside.
I lifted my head suddenly.
"Thank you!"
"…What?"
"…?"
They both looked at me.
I scratched my head sheepishly.
"If I were the deputy commander, I'd have handled it immediately upon your arrival, without calling you here."
The reason they were arguing in front of me was clear.
"You're telling me to keep my mouth shut if I want to survive, right?"
Antonio looked incredulous.
"The deputy commander threatened you. How is that something to be thankful for?"
"He didn't mention my mother."
"…."
"Even though he knows the best way to scare me is through a hostage."
Since being expelled from my family, countless people had threatened to kill me.
The cruel ones even threatened my mother.
I spent nights protecting her.
It was one thing if I died, but the thought of my innocent mother dying because of me was unbearably frightening.
"Not touching the weakest point is a kindness."
"…."
"…."
The deputy commander and Antonio fell silent.
I bowed deeply again.
"Thank you for everything so far."
There was nothing I could do.
Since the deputy commander was firm, I would have to give up on working in the castle.
Instead, I'd find a job near the castle.
The deputy commander watched Eustea leave through the window.
'Strange girl.'
Thanking me for not killing her after threatening? Ridiculous.
If she truly deserved gratitude, he would have thanked her first for safely bringing the commander and members to the estate.
This mission wasn't easy.
They were tasked with annihilating a noble family entirely.
Yet, the exhausted members were lively.
Eustea must have cared for them that well.
'She must feel wronged after being threatened like that.'
The deputy commander sighed and looked away.
His eyes met Antonio's, who was sitting slouched on the sofa.
A very displeased look.
"Do humans have hearts?"
"Stop with the nonsense and bring me the ledger."
Antonio clicked his tongue and threw the ledger.
The deputy commander caught it effortlessly with one hand and sat back at his desk.
'It must be a mess.'
Compared to the other members, Antonio was slightly better, so he was given the ledger.
But it was surprisingly tidy.
Costs, vendors, items, quantities, amounts, and purchase reasons were neatly organized.
Receipts and contact info included.
Even a well-designed layout made it easy to understand at a glance.
'A divine worker's touch?'
The deputy commander looked at Antonio.
"What is this?"
"A ledger."
"I'm not asking what it is. Who made this?"
It would have been impossible for me, the laborer, to have this skill naturally.
"Oh. Eustea made it."
"That girl…?"
A sudden desire to grab her surged.
It must have been difficult to manage irregulars who only knew manual labor.
San Miguel was under control, but there were no skilled workers in the meager city.
Good talent had gone to noble families.
'Calm down.'
Grasping my throbbing head over the precious ledger, I looked at Antonio.
"You're not expected to know this much. At least learn the letters well enough to record the items."
"To that yellowhead? Ew, no way."
"He's the only teacher we could find who can teach someone connected to the assassination unit."
"Still, I hate him. He's so arrogant, I have to restrain myself—ugh—"
Thunk!
The deputy commander threw a book at Antonio.
"Ouch!"
"So that's why you broke his leg instead of his neck?"
The tuition for breaking a leg went from 10 gold to 20 gold.
20 gold could feed a unit for a couple of months.
"You're an elite. If the commander enters noble society, you must support him on the front lines."
Even if it angered me inside, I had to pay 20 gold.
Antonio rubbed his head, grumbling.
"Yellowhead can't even teach properly. Eustea learned in five minutes what he struggles with—"
Why was Eustea mentioned again?
The deputy commander gave Antonio a look that said, What are you talking about?
"She even teaches archaic script."
"Archaic script? He can't even do common script."
"She really knows it, okay?"
Flustered, Antonio pointed at the deputy commander's shield on the wall.
"See? It's 'Te'."
"…!"
The deputy commander glanced at the shield, then stiffly turned back to Antonio.
"You're not saying this knowing it's Tekari-made?"
Antonio puffed up and jumped up.
He rifled through papers on the desk and found a character.
"This is 'Basa'. It means tiger."
"…."
"It's used to describe men like me."
Antonio proudly lifted his chin.
The deputy commander examined the character with wide eyes.
Indeed, it was correct.
"Did… that girl really teach this?"
"Yes."
A good teacher could teach me well.
The previous eleven teachers had failed because they couldn't teach.
Antonio smiled arrogantly.
The deputy commander remained frozen, recalling the process when the teachers resigned.
From common to formal to archaic script.
Teachers sent by the irregular's informants were stuck at common script.
They treated Antonio, who didn't follow instructions, like a pest and got hit.
When the deputy commander went to manage the situation…
"Eek!""Please, don't hurt me. Please!"
Terrified, they begged for their resignations to be accepted.
'And she taught archaic script in such a short time?'
That was when it hit me.
Bang!
The deputy commander dashed outside, calling out in desperation.
"Where is the teacher?"
Information control is hard?
She'll manage it.
Only Eustea could teach that fool.
…Was it a dream?
I stared blankly at the San Miguel estate employees smiling gently.
Just an hour ago, I had been expelled.
Of course, I hadn't given up.
'If I can't work in the castle, I'll find a job in the nearby town.'
But…
I was called back to the castle.
And the employees, who seemed fairly high-ranking, were even offering me a dress.
"The Knight Commander sent it."
The deputy commander?
I was dazed but took the dress as the employee held it out again.
'Wow, what a nice dress.'
Light and soft material.
A lovely design that girls my age would adore.
'Why are they giving me such a nice dress?'
Instead of a wage?
But it's too much for just a wage.
'Are they telling me to leave the city entirely by giving this?'
Anxiously, I asked the employee,
"Did the commander say anything?"
"He received an urgent call and had to leave temporarily. He instructed us to take care of the guest until he returned."
That made me even more uneasy.
Then, suddenly…
"Didn't the commander prepare a dress?"
A bright, clear voice spoke.
A girl with flowing blonde hair entered, her expression excited.
She stopped when she saw the dress in my hands.
"Why are you holding that dress?"
"Oh, that's…"
Before I could respond, she strode over and snatched the dress.
Then she yelled at the employees,
"Why is such a precious dress in those filthy hands?"
My hands were stained from handling ingredients, making them look dirty.
'Only looks dirty—I washed them properly.'
The girl glared at the employees with annoyance.
"Be grateful I'm in a good mood. Otherwise, I would have told my uncle and gotten you scolded."
She draped the dress over herself.
"The commander is thoughtful. He prepared this dress, and you might not even know it's for me?"
She laughed and hugged the dress.
"You pretend it doesn't matter, but actually, the lord's niece was worried."
Then I realized her identity.
'She's the marquis of San Miguel's niece.'
The one the marquis recommended as the commander's adopted daughter.
But…
'Hmm.'
This dress was given to me by the deputy commander.
The employees clearly said, "The Knight Commander sent it."
Yet she seemed to think it was hers.
And judging from her awareness, she knows about the irregular.
No wonder she wants to become the adopted daughter of the commander as the lord's niece.
'If I leave it be, it'll be embarrassing.'
The marquis's niece smiled.
"I need to try it on."
I carefully approached her and whispered,
"This is a dress I received from the commander."
She looked at me.
I added to avoid further embarrassment.
"The commander probably prepared a similar dress for you. You might have misunderstood…"
At that moment…
Thud!
She shoved my shoulder hard.
I fell, landing on my tailbone. Pain brought tears to my eyes.
"Ugh…"
"You filthy little rat. You dare deceive anyone? Do you think this dress suits you?"
The employees flinched at the marquis's niece shouting.
"What's happening?"
The deputy commander's voice rang out.