(Laura’s POV)
I sat on my bed, dressed in my sleeping clothes. The magic light is still on. Ah, I’m tired. It has been two weeks since I last met Shadow and have been taking care of the moles in my circle of aides. I got rid of only some of them, but I already have some in my sight. I need a discreet method of taking care of them.
Suddenly, I felt gentle hands on my shoulders, massaging efficiently. It hurt a bit at the start, but in it soon turned better. I groaned, saying:
(Laura): “Shadow… please, it’s already the fourth time that you sneak in my room. Are the guards that easy to go through?”
(Yozora): “You know me, Lady Laura. The guards can’t see me if I don’t want them to. So, how are things going?”
He asked the usual as he massages my shoulders, helping me to relax. He’s so good at this… he’s like a massaging pro! He comes here to get updates in the things about the moles. He even got rid of the ones that I found. The most impressive thing is that there weren’t even bodies left behind.
(Laura): “I’ve found three more. However, I still need to prepare for their disappearance, at least for the two of them. I need you to get rid of one of them.”
(Yozora): “As you wish. Please, lay down with you belly down.”
I follow his directions, and he massages my back with his elbows and hands. I sigh, relaxing. After a few minutes being massaged, I ask:
(Laura): “Why are you so good at this? Weren’t you supposed to be an assassin?”
He chuckled.
(Yozora): “The art of assassination is being in the right places in the right time where your target doesn’t expect you. Infiltrate where the target is frequently and get rid of them when the bodyguards are not around. Your magic barrier that filters the people that can enter this room is good enough. Thanks for letting me in.”
(Laura): “Don’t worry. Your life is your craft, right? While you’re under my wing, you’re free to come and go.”
He laughed. He started massaging my feet. They cracked, hurting a little, but soon the comfort came and I started to enjoy it.
(Yozora): “On that note, I can also act, juggle, sing, dance and several other stuff as well. I can even cook to the professional level.”
(Laura): “Wow, you’re handy, aren’t you?”
(Yozora): “Thank you. After all, assassination isn’t that common anyway, so I have to find other ways of making a living without dedicating myself completely to it.”
I smile. After a few minutes in silence, he finished the massage. I sat again in the bed, felling relaxed this time, as if the whole day of work simply dissolved away. Standing in front of me is Shadow.
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(Laura): “That was amazing, thank you.”
(Yozora): “Don’t mind it. having Milady rested and ready for more work also benefits me, as the information and targets come out earlier than expected as well. If you’re interested, I could also warm your bed.”
I blush, saying a bit louder than expected:
(Laura): “What the hell are you talking about?!”
As his mask is down, I can see the sincere smile on his face as he says:
(Yozora): “Sex. After all, I had some woman targets, and my master made sure to train me well to be irresistible in bed, since she had the policy that a good assassin is an assassin that you can’t see, even if you are looking at them in the eyes.”
W-w-w-w-what the hell is he talking about?! Although it’s true that I’m not a virgin at all, but I also barely had any relation with my husband, and that my children can be considered miracles since they were born each from one lay on the bed…
Anyway, I’m a married noble woman, not someone that can be easily done like this! Also, by looking at his face, I don’t see the lusty eyes of the other man that usually talk to me. He seems to sincerely be offering a pleasant night, so I don’t feel like I can scold him for that.
After all, after talking to him a few times, I figured that he isn’t normal at all. Not only he doesn’t have any delicacy, he is also someone that doesn’t have any regard for human life.
(Laura): “I-I’ll pass. Thank you for the offering.”
(Yozora): “Shame. I was looking forward to it.”
He said, pouting. I blush, my face getting hot.
(Laura): “A-anyway, come here tomorrow to get the information of the next target. Did you find anything on the streets?”
(Yozora): “I’ve learned of some criminal organizations operating in the slums, but none of them is truly big. They lack an overwhelming force, so it’s highly unlikely that you will have trouble with them. I found no connection with the bandits that captured you and surprisingly, they don’t communicate that much with people outside the town.
They mostly deal with scams and kidnapping for slavery. They kidnap mostly on the slums, and kidnappers in the areas where the guards are being almost impossible. They have quite the sense of self-preservation.”
I nod. This is useful information, even if it doesn’t seem much. My husband wasn’t someone that was that good at managing the territory, and after I took over, I didn’t have all the connections that most nobles have with the criminal world. Even if I’m against crime, I admit that it’s a part of human nature. I’m no fool.
(Laura): “Did you find the leaders?”
(Yozora): “Only two out of the five, the other three are rats that like to grovel in the dirt, they hide really well. The other two are just two idiots, the bands that they lead are thugs that cover ‘protection’ for merchants. They just trust their swords, so if you want I could get their heads.”
Umm… tempting offer, but I need more time. I might be able to use these guys later on.
(Laura): “You don’t need to right now, but I’d like a written report on them to plan my moves.”
He nodded.
(Yozora): “So, what about the guy that I have to take down?”
(Laura): “He’s a minor noble that spends most of his time here on Faye and neglects his territory to the east. Most of his time is wasted on brothels and drinks. He also is tied to several illegal slave trades, but he needs to die if I want to pull out the roots.”
He nodded, saying:
(Yozora): “Alright, how do you want it to happen?”
(Laura): “You’re free to take him out whatever way you want, but I guess that you would like to do is break in his mansion-“
He rose his hand, smiling while interrupting me. He then covered his face with both his hands, massaging it a bit. When he uncovered his face, it was different! It looks like he molded his face into a more womanly version of himself. He then cleared his throat, making a few vocal exercises, and approached me saying with a mature woman’s voice:
(Yozora): “Customer! Would you like to come with me in my first night in this brothel?”
He asked as if he was a newly added prostitute. And surprisingly, I was convinced that he was one. He then said to me with his voice still different, almost impossible to relate to his original voice.
(Yozora): “Well, I’m not using this method, but I’ll do something similar. I’ll just sneak some poison on him when he’s away from his bodyguards.”
(Laura): “When are you going to do it?”
(Yozora): “As soon as you give me the brothel that he goes to, as well the nights that e goes.”
I nodded, taking some papers from the table and giving to him. The details that I have on the noble that I want him to kill. Taking the papers, he gives me goodbye and good night, and simply vanishes.
Two nights later, the noble was found dead on his bedroom, apparently from a heart attack, even if he was a healthy young man that’s 20 years old. No traces of poison were found. Dammit, Shadow is too efficient!