†††
I slipped out of the mansion on days I had training scheduled with Rick, always careful of Art. Sia replaced me at the mansion. I always received a report from her about everything that happened while I was gone, no matter how trivial. If I didn’t, the inconsistencies would add up until my lies were discovered.
In addition to the training I agreed on with Rick, I quietly did training in the mansion when everyone went to sleep.
I had been away from the job for some time, but my instincts quickly came back to me. The hardest part was, unsurprisingly, this weakling body. I never would’ve gotten so worn out from basic training.
After half a year of training, I finally reached a level I could use in an actual fight.
Rick gave me a job then, almost like he’d been waiting for the moment I was ready. My first job was to assassinate a certain baron family. The target was both the baron and his family. He had a son and a daughter. The son was fourteen, and the daughter was twelve.
“If it’s money you’re after, I’ll pay you anything!” said the baron, trembling, begging for his life as he thrust enough money at me that it spilled from his two cupped hands. It was always nobles that got assassinated. And they always offered money to save themselves. It was the same in my previous world.
I couldn’t help laughing when I realized that.
“What’s so funny?” shouted the baron, forgetting the situation he was in the moment something he didn’t like happened. That was also the same in my previous world. I’d heard nobles were a cut above the masses, but they were all fools. I never understood what was so special about them.
“Your life is rather cheap, despite all the bragging you may do that you’re special,” I said.
“What?” The baron’s face turned red with anger. It seemed he took that as an insult. He really didn’t understand where he stood right now. He didn’t have any right to be angry.
Let’s finish this.
I started with the baron’s wife, who tried to slip away while the baron was ranting and raving. She must have assumed I was distracted by the baron, but would I really let her escape during that? Of course not. Fools like that were quickly removed from this world where kill or be killed was a matter of course.
Blood sprayed as she fell because I slit her carotid artery. Her husband’s face was half painted in red. I pointed my blade at him as if to say, “You’re next.”
“Eek, w-wait,” he said.
Wait?
He makes no sense. His future isn’t going to change with a little waiting.
“Instead of me, take my daughter or my son! Whichever you prefer. Actually, no, both! Take both! Just spare my life, please,” he begged.
“F-Father…”
“What are you saying, Father?”
“B-Be quiet! You have no right to speak back to me. Worthless brats like you are only valuable because you’re useful for your parents!” ranted the baron.
He’s a complete and utter fool.
I raised my blade. “There’s no such thing as true value in this world. Who cares that you’re a noble? Who cares that you’re a parent? Because you contribute to the country? Because you change history? It doesn’t matter. Everyone dies in the end. If life truly has value, then why would our creator take it away? The answer is obvious: nothing actually has value.”
I swung my blade down. Blood gushed from the baron’s neck, and he collapsed. Nobles and kids from the slums were exactly alike when this happened. They all became nothing but a corpse.
“See. You weren’t valuable at all,” I said.
If he was valuable, he wouldn’t die so easily. He would remain in this world forever, so long as he was still valuable. Being eliminated so easily is a reflection of what he truly amounted to. Humans and livestock are equally worthless.
I killed the remaining people, the baron’s son and daughter, then set the mansion on fire.
“The fact that a human life is worthless is proved the moment it can be exchanged for money,” I said to myself. “Nobles are so ridiculous, deciding for themselves how valuable they are then getting angry when someone points out the truth.”
I vaulted the walls surrounding my mansion, making sure no one noticed me, then entered my room through the window. Sia, disguised as me, noticed someone was in the room and approached the window.
“Anything to report?” I asked.
“Your father, Art Violette, came to visit several times.”
“Huh.”
He must be thinking of engaging with me as much as possible. And yet, it’d be perfectly fine if he didn’t follow through on that. Art couldn’t remain in the mansion at all times because of his work, but he was trying to interact with me as much as possible when he was here.
“Please just go traveling abroad again. Now,” I muttered.
It would be best if he never came home again. He was just an annoyance to me, but I did have something convenient that allowed me to evade him: Rosemary.
She would regularly approach him with a smile, saying, “Father, please pay attention to me, too.” I would use that as a good opportunity to push Rosemary on Art and run.
Art took an inoffensive attitude with Rosemary. He generally treated her like his own daughter, but Rosemary could also tell that Art didn’t truly care for her. She didn’t let that stop her, and frankly, her enthusiasm towards Art deserves admiration.
The days like that continued for a while, but it quickly became time for Art to travel abroad again for work. I was relieved—there was one less annoyance for me to deal with—as Amaryllis, Rosemary, and I gathered in the mansion’s entrance hall to see Art off.
He smiled at me when I came in. That smile looked to me like he was trying to hold something back. “Selena,” he said, “If you ever feel this place becomes difficult for you to live in, just let me know. I will do everything in my power to find an environment easy for you to live in.”
And then he hugged me.
I learned something when I was reincarnated: human bodies are warmer than I imagined. That fact itself isn’t uncomfortable, but it was uncomfortable to be hugged. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that sensation. But a daughter can’t very well refuse her father, so I endured it.
“Father, please hug me as well. Please?” pestered Rosemary.
“Oh, the time, I really should be going,” said Art. “Amaryllis, if you find yourself in any trouble or are uncertain about anything, write me a letter right away. I’ll write to you.”
Art hugged Amaryllis, then patted Rosemary on the head as she repeated, “Please hug me,” and set off on his journey with Howard.