“Again, this is just an advance payment. I will give you twice this amount if you successfully complete the task.”
said Michael triumphantly. The feeling of being able to refuse even like this was shown on his face.
Max hardened his face as he seemed to have already accepted it.
– No matter how much money you have, it’s nothing compared to your life. I’ll just go
It was too much money to say… Enough to live the rest of your life in peace if you receive all of your down payment and balance.
‘I’m going crazy.’
If the request had been an assassination, he would have refused without hesitation for a second. But at best, isn’t it to the extent that it bothers me that I can’t sleep.
There was almost no risk of getting caught, and even if it was, it would have been worth trying if Michael would protect it.
The whipping could not be avoided, but it was cheap for playing a prank on a noble.
“…All right. I will do as you say, Bocchan.”
“Good idea.”
At Max’s answer, Michael showed his teeth and laughed. The risk is low and the cost is high, but will it not come over or be exhausted?
“However, even if I take care of not being caught during work, everyone will think it strange if I, the warehouse keeper, wander around the hallways.”
“do not worry. I’ll tell you about that part.”
It’s enough if you say that you ordered the kind of errands that you often go back and forth around the hallway. Everyone knows that Max is close to Michael.
“I’ll tell you in advance, if you want to get the balance, don’t get caught. It’s just an extra reward when you succeed.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
Even if I didn’t say it, I had no intention of getting caught. No matter how life-threatening it is, I don’t want to be beaten with a whip.
After Max disappeared, Michael, who was left alone in the room, thought of Luke.
‘Hey, let’s see.’
It wasn’t just for pranks that Max was given the job, even for a considerable amount of money.
As Michael found out, Luke had already built up considerable trust within the family.
Then, I thought to start by destroying that trust first.
‘If you become mad, will others really believe you like before?’
Unidentified noise, sleep deprivation, and suspicious circumstances. But what if the tail is not caught until the end?
No matter how sane a person is, he gradually loses his reason.
It doesn’t matter if you hold your spirit until the end. It’s enough to drive people to hallucinations or mental illness when they complain of pain.
At that point, trust will gradually disappear and only the image of a bastard suffering from madness will remain.
‘It must be two months at the most. Should I wait patiently?’
Although Max was tough, he was a master of this kind of behind-the-scenes work.
If you wait like this, you will get satisfactory results.
****
Even if they are loyal vassals, they don’t stick to their lord’s side all day. No matter how loyal you are, a knight is also a person.
Without adequate sleep and leisure time, I could not survive. In the first place, I didn’t receive that much salary just to save money.
Usually, the knights had a holiday set according to the circumstances of their master, and on that day, they would take a good rest without any work. So was Bruno.
“Good job for a month. Here is your salary.”
After receiving the jingling bag of gold coins, Bruno licked his lips. The amount has not changed at all, but only the giver has changed.
“Can’t we just receive it directly from His Excellency the Count? That’s more comfortable.”
“What are you talking about? I’m giving you a salary, why are you taking it from your father?”
“That’s it… uhh, that’s it.”
Luke’s giving of his salary was just a courtesy, but Bruno understood how important it was.
Originally, cause doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it has a pretty big meaning.
Didn’t Bruno become Luke’s vassal instead of the Count’s vassal with that simple act?
“Now that you’ve received your salary, are you going out for a drink?”
“of course. I couldn’t even open my mouth these days because I was protecting my lord.”
“It’s just fine. Run errands for me.”
“If you ask a servant to do that…”
“I’ll give you a little more for a drink.”
“Please do anything.”
Laughing at the quick stance change, Luke handed over the note.
“Buy some of the things written here. A week’s worth should be enough.”
“Let’s see. Prickly lotus, water chestnut, and black herb? What is all this?”
“What, they are used as medicinal herbs.”
To be precise, it is a herb whose recipe is not yet known. It is now considered only as an ornamental plant or as a condiment for stews.
However, when you combine the above herbs in the correct amounts, they become quite powerful sleeping pills.
It has almost no side effects and has a good sleep-inducing effect, so it was used quite often among nobles.
“I’d like to buy it as a medicine if possible, but I’m the only one who knows the recipe right now. You have to make it yourself and eat it.”
“Suddenly, sleeping pills, why? Have you ever had insomnia?”
“no. I think I will need it in the future.”
Luke grinned as he turned to the warehouse.
“It’s when someone who will disturb your sleep comes.”
****
Three days later, Max decided to carry out the operation. Just in time to hear from Michael that the recruitment of servants was over.
Max, fully prepared, walked silently down the dark hallway.
“Hey, who’s there! Why at this time… Mr. Max?”
“Yes, it is me. Master Michael ran an errand for you.”
“Ahh. I said yes.”
There were one or two people I ran into from time to time, but I was able to pass without a doubt because I had already finished the preliminary work.
When we arrived at Luke’s room, only one maid stood guarding the door.
Max tossed the small iron ball aside with a contemplative smile.
clink
“what!?”
Startled by the sudden noise, the maid turned around. At the same time, Max slipped into Luke’s room, mingled with the sound of the metal marbles.
It’s a door that barely makes a sound when it opens or closes in the first place. When combined with Max’s technology, it was possible to open and close it almost silently.
‘Okay, it’s been a while, but my skills haven’t died yet.’
From noble mtl dot com
Congratulating himself, Max glanced back at Luke’s bed. Luke was sleeping soundly without knowing the world.
Max carefully crawled under the bed. Then, he tapped right under the pillow where Luke was sleeping.
‘Let’s start by waking up lightly.’
The noise caused by vibration can only be heard by people close to it. It is more effective if you attach the prepared piece of iron and tap it.
When I first woke up, I thought it was because of my mood, so I would lie down again. That was when the real work began.
Ching Ching Ching
‘Sounds good!’
Max smiled at the sound of metal snapping. If you tap it a few more times like this, it will be noisy and it will jump up.
Twenty minutes had passed since Max expected that.
‘He’s not waking up.’
I knocked like this, but it didn’t wake up. Later, I hit a piece of metal so hard that I almost heard it outside.
It sounds like thunder from the point of view of the person who sticks to it, but he sleeps so well?
‘What the hell happened?’
Unbearable, Max got out of bed. It was a very risky move, but I couldn’t help but check it out.
And the moment I saw Luke’s face, I was speechless.
newbie, newbie
“…You sleep really well.”
Max was dumbfounded when he saw Luke’s face. He was sleeping so well that no one knew who was carrying him.
If someone with the real purpose of assassination had come, they would have simply killed him.
‘Patience. What should I do?’
There was nothing Max could do if he didn’t respond with sound. It was obvious that if he touched his body directly, he would be executed as Michael’s defense.
With a deep sigh, Max gave up on the day’s operation and left the room again.
It’s a long-term operation anyway. Today is not the only day, so aim for the next one.
****
A week later, Max cried out alone in the warehouse.
“Damn it, does it make sense for humans to sleep so well!?”
At first, I thought it was the only day I was particularly tired. But it wasn’t. The next day and the day after that, Luke fell asleep completely.
It’s been a week already. Now, far from driving Luke crazy, it drove Max crazy.
‘What if I don’t wake up at the sound of a teacup breaking right in front of me!’
On the sixth day, Max couldn’t stand it and pushed a nearby teacup and dropped it. I did this because I thought this would happen.
but it didn’t happen Even when the maid rushed in in surprise, she slept soundly.
When nothing came of it, Michael called Max back and reprimanded him.
“When the hell are you going to start working? Do you intend to start when he is about to die of old age!”
“I… actually started right away.”
“what? But why is there no news?”
“There is a problem. That youngster is so good at sleeping.”
“What bullsh*t is that!”
In Michael’s exasperation, Max shrugged and explained the circumstances. Once you start sleeping, you won’t even know who is carrying it.
No matter how loud you make it, it doesn’t respond. Even the fact that there is no way to wake him up unless he touches his body directly.
“Honestly, I wonder if I will wake up though. It is the first time in the world that a human being sleeps so well without the help of drugs.”
“Is that so…?”
After thinking for a moment, a smile soon appeared on Michael’s lips.
“Then it’s a change of plan.”
“If you say change…?”
“If it doesn’t happen no matter what you do, there’s no need to threaten with sound. The visual threat is even more terrifying.”
Max tilted his head, unable to comprehend the words, and Michael pulled out a dagger from a nearby drawer.
“Take it.”
“Why are you giving me the dagger all of a sudden?”
“Put that bastard next to his pillow and come. Would that be possible?”
“yes!?”
Max was horrified. Isn’t that the assassin itself that can’t even be removed!
“I can’t! Absolutely not!”
“Did I tell you to kill me? Just stick it next to your pillow and come.”
“The risk is out of the question!”
If you catch the noise, you can move on to the prank the boy ordered, but you die the moment you get caught.
Even if they didn’t cut it right away, it was obvious that they would be tortured for who was behind it.
‘And then you’ll pretend you don’t know!’
It’s not a level that can be passed on to the brother’s pranks. If Max gets caught, 9 out of 10 Michaels will cut off his tail.
I couldn’t take that level of risk.
Michael clicked his tongue and suggested a new condition, as if he had noticed his strong will.
“I’ll pay you five times the balance. And I just need to finish this job. I won’t let you do this again.”
“…!”
Max’s eyes widened at Michael’s words. Five times that amount if you take the risk just once?
Even if I tried to reject it right away, it was a condition that inadvertently hesitated.
“Didn’t you tell me? I don’t know if I can go up. If so, just do it once. After all, you won’t get caught once, won’t you?”
That’s it. Even if a building collapses right next to you, you don’t know if it will happen.
After all, the first attempt won’t go unnoticed anyway.
And with just one attempt to go unnoticed, I was able to get all the money.
“Only once.”
“Yes, that once is enough.”
Max sighed at Michael’s confirmation. Thinking of leaving the mansion as soon as I get the money.
****
That night, Max entered Luke’s room as usual. Luke was still asleep, oblivious to the world.
Max put on a mask just in case and removed the dagger from his belt.
A situation where anyone who sees it screams that he is an assassin. But Max wasn’t worried.
‘How can a boy who sleeps so well just wake up today?’
Just stick a dagger next to it and bounce right away. Max, who cautiously approached the bed, noticed something strange.
‘huh? But why is the sword by the bed? I didn’t usually…’
It was as if the enemy were prepared to repel them whenever they came. Max shook his head, saying it was overthinking, and was about to stick the dagger into the pillow.
“…”
“…”
Luke and Max opened their eyes and met each other’s gaze. Looking at the frozen Max, Luke said in a loud voice.
“cancer! fat! ruler!”
“No, no! Not that!”
Before Max could finish his excuses, Luke picked up his sword.