“Hmm, I didn’t know today was the day to bring your girlfriend to work.”

I quickly removed Yus’ hand and jumped out of the chair.

“Yus and I are just friends. I came here because I wanted to work here.”

Nick’s eyes, which had widened slightly in surprise, curved seductively again. He asked slowly, lowering his body to my eye level.

“You want to work? Do you want to know where this is and want to work?”

Even being a child had quite an advantage for the Assassination Guild. A child is small in size and can easily get away from investigations, so they arer well suited to take on all sorts of dirty work.

That’s why Yus made 60 Albons last year. He may be able to earn 100 Albons a year if he is determined and starts accepting requests earnestly.

But unlike Yus, I didn’t come here to work as an assassin.

Pretending to be naive, I widened my eyes and asked again.

“Isn’t this Uncle’s house? I came because Yus was running errands for a very rich family. Don’t you need a maid?”

“Maid? What to do? This is not Brother’s house.”

Ignoring the shamelessness of subtly calling himself ‘older brother’, I pretended to be slightly surprised.

“Ah, I see. However, the house is quite large, but it is not cleaned properly. The landlord is away. The police officers will think strangely if he does not hire a maid, right?”

Even in a slum, it was strange that a person who owned three rooms had no maids.

Maids, which were previously the exclusive property of the nobility, gradually spread to the lower classes as technology developed and commercialization began to accelerate.

Everyone tried to hire even one maid in order to feel treated, and a maid who took care of the housework was the default even in a house with a very small level of financial resources.

Nick’s eyes narrowed when I hinted at police, but it was out of interest, not of threat. That’s also because a commoner child like me has no right to report anything.

Even if I ran right away and reported this place to the officers, they could have kicked my butt, saying that my report bothered them.

Nick looked at me gently and asked in a soft voice.

“I wonder if your name is as cute as you are. Can I see your ID somewhere?”

“Here’s the ID.”

I took out half of the money I had saved up in lieu of an ID card. It was a bribe to hide my identity as it was not clear.

“My name is Margaret, and my nickname is Meg. I’m 16 years old, and I don’t really have a place to live because I just came out of St. Ursula Orphanage and am looking for a job.”

“Aha, I see. Nice to meet you, Miss Meg.”

“I am confident that I can do housework well as long as I am fed and can sleep here. If you are not sure, you can see for a few days and then decide. I am in no hurry.”

“If you come in here, you might not be able to leave.”

“That is okay. This is a secret, but I ran away after an accident while working as a maid at the house of my former employer.”

“I mean, I want to take care of you for about a year so that you can clean up your identity. Hmm, what should I do…….”

“I want to see Brother’s pretty face often, but does Brother not want to see me?”

When I said ‘Brother’ with particular force, the man’s mouth curled slightly like a satisfied cat.

“Perhaps the master will arrive today or tomorrow. You can stay until then.”

Then he took the money I gave him. It meant that he would refer a line to the guild leader.

I exchanged glances with Yus and smiled broadly.

***

After filling the sink with plenty of water, pouring the detergent to lather the bubbles, I soaked the old dirt-caked dishes. With just a few gentle rubs with my hands, the food residues stuck to the bowls were easily removed.

The washed dishes were piled up beside the sink, one after the other. Rinse them a couple more times, dry it, and put it in the cupboard.

It must have been half piled up, and Yus appeared out of nowhere again and disturbed me.

“I’m hurt, Meg.”

I was leading a peaceful life as Meg, not Betty.

This was possible because Nick’s twin sister Nina, who is the head of Black Hawk, an assassin’s guild that has recently been growing in the capital, is particularly vulnerable to cute little things.

It’s been a week since I became the only maid of the Black Hawk Guild. It seems short, but the days here are busy and fruitful.

I clean, cook, wash dishes, and help with simple first aid for the guild’s assassins. Even though I was busy working all day, my hands don’t seem to be enough.

In the meantime, Yus brought bread or cheese, even though he hadn’t come for a job, and was frantic and distraught no matter what I was doing.

I gave a cold reply to the fussy Yus.

“You’re not hurt.”

“No, give it to me. I’ll do it.”

“You don’t even know how to do it.”

“Why don’t I know. Here, look.”

Yus was completely ignorant of housework.