[Bad Maids] 44 - Hyena hunt

Trudy's face glowed with an irresistible greed. She had never seen such a huge amount of money before in her life.

Even when Trudy informed the hyena that Yulia had gone out alone, she only received a couple of gold coins.

"I will keep it a secret as well."

Yulia said in a singing tone. That's definitely how it sounded to the nervous Trudy even though she was speaking plainly without much emotion.

"I'll keep it a secret that I found out your identity. After becoming my exclusive maid, you can give them the information they want from time to time. Of course you have to do what I tell you to do."

"Then... will you forgive me if I do as you say?"

"Forgive you?"

Yulia laughed. Her laugh was as dry as the desert.

"It's just a deal, Trudy."

"A deal?"

"You give only as much information as I allow, and I give you gold coins in return. If you're clever, I can give double of what they give you."

Trudy nodded as if bewitched by Yulia's neat explanation. If that was the case, she would do whatever she was told and would bow her head as many times as needed.

Trudy was quick-witted and dexterous.

After learning that Yulia had the habit of waking up early, she would wake up earlier than usual to help her prepare breakfast, and when Yulia ate, she would stand close to her and observe her eating habits.

It was like seeing a noble lady and her servant.

It would be natural to feel displeased with having a master-servant relationship with a commoner, but Trudy didn't mind at all.

The other maids, unaware that Yulia had discovered her weakness, praised her for being a good-natured child.

"I have to report to the official of the Department of the Royal Household once a month. What happens in the Prince's palace, the relationship between the Prince and the maids of honor, the guests who frequently visit... It's mainly about those things."

"What about the hyenas?"

"The hyenas ask for information about when Lady Yulia goes out, who you meet, and if so, where."

"You've only been here for a few days, so there is about a month left before you have to report, right?"

"I can contact them when there's an urgent matter, or when an important event has occurred. It's because maids go to the Department of the Royal Household when they want to move to a different palace or quit their job."

"The hyenas will contact you soon."

"Pardon?"

Trudy said with an awkward smile. No matter how bold she was, even she seemed reluctant to come in contact with the assassins.

Yulia said nonchalantly.

"They failed to kill me, so they'll want to know how I'm doing. When they approach you, say this."

"What should I say?"

"Lady Yulia seems to be scared and is trying to take a personal escort. Lady Coco was strongly opposed to it, but His Highness the Prince Lewicia generously allowed it. She said she would hire an escort from outside since she can't use royal personnel as a commoner."

"Should I really say that? Then the hyenas will try to hide their identity and come in to become your escort..."

"That's precisely what I want."

The time to wipe out the troublesome hyenas had finally come.

Yulia's gaze was cold. Trudy swallowed involuntarily, and nodded quickly.

*****

Trudy did exactly as Yulia told her. And a few days later, two men came in to be her personal escorts.

They both had credible identities. One was a retired mercenary, and the other had a career as a royal guard.

Yulia didn't believe any of it. As hyenas, they would have stolen and forged someone else's identity.

"I will hire both of you. I don't need an escort when I'm inside the palace, so get an accommodation nearby and be on standby."

"Understood."

Then, she went to find Maxwell. As usual, he visited the palace pretending to be sent by Yulia's sponsor. She told him that she had hired two escorts she presumed to be hyenas.

"I knew that you were fearless, but... aren't you going to far? You're playing around with the hyenas who are trying to kill you."

"Can you track them? It would be nice if we could find their hideout and catch all of them at once."

"Of course. Just give me a few days."

Maxwell went back, and tracked the two men hired by Yulia.

They didn't move from the inn in front of the palace for several days, but they couldn't avoid the meticulous eyes of the shadow informant.

"I found their hideout. However, since it is an assassination guild run as a point organization, I couldn’t figure out where the boss was."

Maxwell, who reappeared a few days later, told Yulia that he had found the hyenas' hideout.

"Leave it to us. Your sponsor will take care of it."

"Are you talking about Sir Carus?"

"I reported it to him on the way back, and he said he would attack right away. Bavaslov was also there... he was contemplating whether to come with an ax or a mace."

Is it okay to have such noble people hunt mere hyenas?

Yulia thought about that for a moment, then nodded with a puzzled face. It was because Maxwell said the following with a sly smile.

"Leave it to him. That guy is very talented at taking care of bad guys. It's obvious that Bavaslov will want to come, and I'm also tagging along, so there's nothing to worry about. No. It's those bastards who should be worried."

"Rather than worried..."

"It would be nice if we could get a testimony or find evidence that they're connected to the Marquis of Marjoram."

That's unlikely to happen. Yulia was skeptical. In her previous life, and in her lives before that, the hyenas thoroughly erased their traces no matter what.

"I will go out tomorrow afternoon."

"We will be waiting."

Maxwell shrugged his shoulders in excitement and withdrew. Then, Yulia contacted the two escorts at the inn through Trudy, asking them to accompany her tomorrow afternoon.

The next day at the appointed time arrived. The two escorts waiting in front of the palace secretly exchanged glances with each other after confirming that Yulia was alone in the carriage.

Not even the most daring hyena could commit a murder right in front of the royal palace. They sat on the coachman's bench and waited for the carriage to pull away from the palace.

To be honest, after they failed killing her three times in a row, they felt humiliated. A woman without any power, a commoner orphan who had no one to take care of her. This request was no different from hunting flies.

However, Yulia Arte escaped from their clutches like a mudfish every time as if she had been blessed by the god of luck.

As soon as they leave the square in front of the palace and enter a quiet alley, this pesky request will come to an end. They must quickly bring proof of the woman's death to the Marquis. The money is important, but it was also difficult to continuously endure the pressure of the Marquis.

With that in mind, they drove the carriage.

But as soon as they left the square, three men on horseback appeared and followed closely next to the carriage.

It was Carus, Maxwell, and Bavaslov.

"Get out of the way! What you're doing is dangerous..."

"Ah, don’t worry. We are friends with the lady inside the carriage. We came to accompany her."

"What?"

The man with shaggy hair, Maxwell, said with a smirk.

"Why, are you afraid of fighting us? I didn't know hyenas were scaredy cats."

"What did you say?"

"H.Y.E.N.A." 

Maxwell said each letter clearly while opening and stretching his mouth.

They got caught.

The two hyenas drew their weapons in an instant.

The carriage was no longer important to them. They threw away the reins, took up their weapons and started moving. Then, the man in the black cloak, Carus, moved to the carriage from his horse as if performing acrobatic tricks.

And the last man, who was gauging the best time to attack, gritted his teeth and said.

"Hey, tell me right now. Did you harass our lucky charm?"

It was Bavaslov.

The ax and mace moved simultaneously in his hands. Bavaslov, holding an ax in one hand and a mace in the other, lunged at the hyenas with a terrifying sound.

The two hyenas couldn't fight back properly and were captured. Bavaslov's enraged fists beat them to the point of breaking their noses and knocking out their front teeth. Then, they were tied up and put into the carriage.

"Where is your hideout?"

Carus put one foot on top of their heads.

The hyenas did not answer.

There were three things assassins should never reveal even when facing death or torture - their hideout, their client's identity, and their real name.

Carus' feet gradually gained strength. As the wounds were pressed against the floor of the carriage, a painful groan came out of the hyenas' mouths.

Carus looked down at them with a bored expression, then said in a nonchalant way.

"The hideout is on top of a hill on the other side of the beach from here. Was it a dry meat warehouse? The client must be the Marquis of Marjoram. I don't care about your names."

How did he know ? The hyenas looked at Carus in disbelief.

"If you find one hideout, someone will expose the next one. If you keep doing that over and over again, you will eventually be able to meet the boss."

"Euaargh...!"

"I will say this."

Carus' dark eyes slightly curved.

"The hyenas of Ortega dared to harm His Majesty’s second knight, Carus Lankea, the hero of the Baikan Empire."

- Pearl's notes: I will be taking a break next week!