Chapter 114 – Assassination Order (4)

“It looks like an snake bite.”

Assassins gathered in the hideout nodded. It was because the viper hadn’t come all night. Mirage clicked her tongue and said.

“Sorry. He was a friend with potential for growth in his own way.”

The hound heard the mirage’s generous appraisal and nodded her head.

“Did you join us too? How about getting your hands off of this? Now that they’ve noticed the assassin’s presence, they’ll be even more vigilant.”

Hounds and bear traps said they were still preparing specific operations. Mirage shook her head at the Hound’s suggestion. This was because it was obvious that it was an operation planned by lovers of torture who did not even know basic culture.

“That’s something only amateurs worry about. Is it an assassin to pick and kill only those who are not wary of assassins? A real pro kills a target without a trace behind closed doors and comes out. Like, like a mirage seen in the desert.”

Mirage waved his hand as he said that. The hunting dog clicked his tongue at the grotesque hand movements reminiscent of flowers, and the bear trap just sat there in silence. The hound asked.

“So, what’s your plan?”

“Why did you get stuck while preparing the plan?”

“If it’s similar to your plan, it’s not something we need to revise. You will fail.”

Mirage frowned and the hound giggled as it reached for the bear trap. The bear trap stared at the palm held out to him, then slowly met his. The hound clicked his tongue and said.

“It’s so exciting.”

Mirage stroked her beard.

“There are rumors that the mansion maid is a slut who likes men very much, right? I heard rumors that she dragged all the local dignitaries into bed. These days, the mansion warned them, so they say they’re calm, but that disposition doesn’t go anywhere.”

“So, are you going to seduce her?”

The hound faced the mirage’s skinny body and decrepit face. Her tired face was better suited to win sympathy than to seduce a woman.

“With that body?”

“You don’t know what. There are a lot of people who judge people based on their appearance. Rather, it is easy for me to work with.”

“What?”

Mirage rose from her seat. She herself opened her bag and she took out a small makeup bag and a ragged hide. Startled as she pulls out her gear, she backs off the hounds and bear traps to watch as the mirage puts her mask on her face and puts on makeup.

She stretches her old hide, attaches it to her face, and powders it white. She pulled the awkwardly dangling hide as far as she could, and she moved as naturally as if it were her real skin. A man I had never seen before was moving her features while looking in the mirror. The hound was lost with his eyes wide open. The old man Mirage’s face was nowhere to be seen in the mirror.

It was a young man there. A grumpy-looking young man is looking in the mirror and smiling. Alternating his eyes, he winked and looked up.

“Appearances are meaningless. Let me show you how I work Evan’s obituary will be published within a week.”

Mirage left the hiding place, leaving the two people sitting blankly. The hound cleared his throat for a moment, looked at their plans, and then spoke to the bear trap.

“I also think that what is important to a person is what is inside.”

“It is terrible.”

The bear trap frowned.

*****

Early moning. The townsfolk cast curious glances at the handsome man drinking at the bar. The man had a soft smile as if drawn in a painting, and his features were as beautiful as if they had been carved.

“Hey, did you come alone?”

The bar waiter spoke to him in a shy tone. The man took a quick glance at the employee’s look, then nodded and said,

“Yes. I traveled alone, but there are still many places I don’t know about.”

The man had perfect voice too. The clean pronunciation and smooth, resonant voice that one would only hear in a play made the tavern employee’s face red. She looked around and fidgeted, then whispered as she held out her menu board.

“I, uh… ! Oh, could you please wait until after work today?”

The man laughed and delayed answering. Just seeing his eye smile made the waiter feel like his heart would burst. The way he clenched his chest tightly, put down the menu board, and then ran toward the kitchen was like a chick following its mother hen.

The man didn’t look at the menu. His gaze was directed out the window. The town square outside the window. He was waiting for someone to show up in the square. A man drinking coffee with his eyes closed. His gaze turned to the trail in the direction of the mansion.

Gradually, the figure of a woman walking leisurely with her basket on her back came into view. From white stockings to skirts with frills. Cute top and pink hair. The man looked at her face and distorted her face for a moment as if he was agitated, but he kept his smile again and cautiously got up from his seat.

“Oh, Burr, are you leaving already?”

The employee asked in a sad voice. The man could see the slice of cake in the hands of the waitress. That cake was something he had never ordered. The waiter said to the man, twisting his feet.

“I-over there… Sit here and take a moment to try this. Our boss especially… You made it… I-I forced myself to ask. Cow, I heard that the guest came on a trip alone. Hey, cheer me up…”

Cake topped with grapes. This village was famous for its vineyards. Said the man.

“I have a place to go. Can I eat this cake when I get back?”

“Ji, you have to eat it now, it’s delicious…”

The man opened the bar door and disappeared. As soon as the customers left, the bar lady shouted from the kitchen.

“Oh my, that pair of bastards. Throw away that cake! Unlucky!”

“Sir, no! Hey, you said you were coming later!”

“Oh my… ! Do it yourself You do it yourself.”

The man ignored the clear sound coming from beyond the door. He had a habit of ignoring these petty murmurs. It was because he didn’t want to spend a lot of energy on memories that would be forgotten if he changed his face. His goal was to enter the mansion safely, understand the structure and Evan’s lifestyle, and kill Evan by faking an accidental death.

“President! Please give me this!”

At the humorous snort, the boss smiled and added a few more fruits. Then she gave the woman a big smile and she said:

“Oh! President. Did you give me so many fruits to take care of me? President. Aren’t you scolding your wife for this? It’s sad when you get scolded because of me…”

It was like watching the art of changing masks. The man wearing the real mask realized that the woman is quite a pro. However, the boss didn’t notice that the woman’s appearance was false, and instead he smiled broadly and said:

“Oh no! No! Take it now! I’m giving you some of this! Don’t worry!”

“Oh! Boss the best! Thank you-!”

The man did not approach the woman first. The woman who used her appearance like that was because if there was a handsome man, she would talk to her first. He played the role of a stranger arriving in a strange place better than anyone else. Seeing her standing around with an awkward face, a woman in a maid’s uniform spoke to her.

“Oh, did you come here on a trip?”

The man nodded his head with a surprised look on his face.

“Ah yes. This is the first time I’ve been here, and I don’t know what’s cool here… Also, my wallet was stolen, so I couldn’t sleep at the inn. A little… It got me into trouble.”

The woman agreed with her as if she was really sorry.

“Ah, that’s right. What did you come here for? Traveling with your family? Or are you here for work?”

The man decided to make the most of her inclination. He recalled the most pitiful story in his mind, and his face took on the saddest expression he knew.

“I have no family. They all died in an accident when I was young. After working hard, I went on a trip once by collecting money, but the money was stolen… It’s hard because nothing really seems to be going on.”

A man knows that he looks good. The woman nodded her head in pity, and her tears welled up.

“Oops…”

The man here knew he couldn’t ask for it himself. After all, she had to be the one to invite her to stay. The man knew that this maid had been hired for quite some time. She was a horny woman who liked men very much, so she knew that if he was a handsome man, she would put her to bed under any pretext.

So he pretended to be perplexed and said:

“Oh, sorry. I brought out a very heavy story. I, that’s all… I had to find a place to sleep…”

And the man moved his body as if he were really about to leave. The man also knew that the woman would catch him.

“That… If you’ll excuse me, would you like to stay at our mansion?”

The woman said so with her face blushing. Her expression, shy and glancing at her, was so bewitching that she could easily be fooled. The man barely came to his senses and said.

“Oh that… Could it be that I am causing too much trouble?”

“Are you okay. The owner of our mansion is also kind, and it doesn’t show that one more person is staying. Oh that… This, please don’t think strangely! It’s because I’m giving you a separate room!”

Saying that, the woman shook her hand hurriedly. The man could not distinguish how far this woman was acting. The man said with a look that he was alive.

“Go, thank you. Then I’ll take care of you.”

“Then, since I need to unpack, please come with me. I have to tell my master and my wife right away.”

“Ah yes. All right.”

The woman sang her hum and led the way toward her mansion. The man followed the woman, thinking things were going better than she thought. For she could not read any hint of suspicion in the woman.

No one paid attention to the two men and women in this place where the vineyard peddlers were busily coming and going.

Before I knew it, the two stood in front of the iron gate of the mansion.

The woman asked the man.

“I told you to be alone now, right?”

“Yes? Yes. That’s right.”

The man couldn’t figure out why he was suddenly asking this question.

The iron door opened.

An ominous noise was heard, and the man instinctively felt threatened. His prey instincts were telling him he needed to get away right now. I don’t know why, but he had to get away from here right now.

The man pretended to search his body without changing his expression. The woman was staring at the man from inside the iron gate. The man rummaged through his body and opened the bag.

“Uh? Looks like you dropped your ID in the plaza? I’ll be back for a while.”

Saying that, the man tried to run away.

“With nothing to lose.”

But sooner than that, the woman’s hand clamped the man’s neck.

“Muh, what!”

As if a log was clamping itself, it was impossible to move. The woman’s tear-jerking mouth and bright red eyes made the man struggle even more.

“Damn it…! Kuk… ! Heck… !”

“If you wear a mask like this, you have no choice but to recognize it right away. Huh?”

The woman’s hand was ripping the man’s mask. Inside the distorted mask, Mirage’s face with the same expression as the mask was revealed.

“Damn… ! Kuk… !”

My breath was tight. The iron door screamed and closed as if to speak for him.

“Keep it off…! Knock…!”

The sound of dragging and closing the door.

And there was no one.

*****

“Hey! It’s deadline time! Let’s go!”

And late at night.

“…I mean you said you were coming.”

The waiter at the bar was counting the stars, rubbing his swollen eyes from crying too much.

For lost love.

For a cold cake.

“…Because I said I’d come.”