Chapter: 01
I held my breath, hiding inside the thick vines.
‘They’re coming. Here they come.’
After waiting for a long time, the group I had been anticipating was finally approaching.
With their faces completely concealed by hoods, they moved without a sound, even in this rugged mountain terrain.
That was only natural, considering they were the infamous assassination guild, ‘Irregular.’
The lives that had vanished by their hands were countless.
A knight dubbed the strongest. A mage profoundly knowledgeable in ancient magic. Even an absolute ruler with unparalleled power.
The reason an ordinary kitchen maid—and a young girl like me—was waiting for them was simple.
‘I’m going to catch them.’
Steeling my resolve, I opened my eyes wide.
“Uaaah—!”
An involuntary, scream-like battle cry burst from my lips due to the terrifying fear that made my entire body tremble.
Then, bursting out from the pile of vines, I lunged at the man leading the pack…!
“Daddy—!”
I clung to him tightly.
“What did you say?”
“Daddy?!”
The members of Irregular following the man wore utterly aghast expressions.
Those who had drawn their weapons the moment they heard my scream also looked completely dazed.
Particularly the man whose leg I was currently gripping…
“…What are you?”
A chilling pressure suffocated my entire body. To make someone want to faint just from his voice alone—as expected of the leader of the continent’s greatest assassination guild.
Though my whole body shook violently, I clung to his leg like a leech.
“…I will serve you as my lord.”
“…”
“Please raise me.”
The members of Irregular stared at me as if I were a lunatic.
I felt like I was losing my mind myself, so I could only imagine how it looked to them.
‘But this man is my only way to survive.’
I am Eustea Andres.
A fifteen-year-old who possessed the body of a character in a game.
My life hadn’t always been so absurd that I had to desperately cling to the leader of an assassination guild from the very beginning.
My parents’ marriage was a political arrangement.
My father was a marquis leading a prestigious family. My mother was the owner of a massive merchant coalition.
My father needed funds, and my mother needed a powerful backing.
‘They got along well at first.’
Well, well enough to conceive me, at least.
‘Not that it was overflowing with affection, though.’
Since it was my father’s second marriage, I had a half-brother. My half-brother never showed any affection to my mother or me. My father was also incredibly strict, so much so that I would freeze up just seeing his shadow.
However, I was fine because I had my mother, who loved me unconditionally.
This balance shattered a few years ago.
‘Because my father’s first love appeared.’
He claimed he only realized what true love was after divorcing my half-brother’s mother. But they had to part ways due to the opposition of my late grandfather—because that first love was a mere maid.
But it turned out that first love had been raising my father’s child.
Meeting her again by chance, my father discovered the existence of his daughter.
‘And so, he brought that daughter into the mansion.’
The crack began right there.
My father was boundlessly strict with my half-brother and me. But he wasn’t like that with the maid’s daughter. He pitied her deeply for growing up on the streets, and she was naturally bright and full of charm, easily tearing down walls.
She tore down the walls of my father, and even my half-brother.
‘From then on, it was miserable.’
The maid’s daughter was an incredibly lucky child. She effortlessly befriended high-ranking nobles whom I couldn’t even get a glance from no matter how hard I tried. She even won the love of the First Prince, who had been my long-time unrequited crush.
Thanks to that, even the vassals doted on her, frequently comparing her to me.
‘My mother was heartbroken by it.’
She fought with my father every single day. She demanded he stop discriminating between me and that girl, and that he restrain the vassals.
But nothing changed.
‘But the worst part happened after that.’
The maid’s daughter accidentally ate something wrong and hovered between life and death. My father and half-brother, along with her grand friends, went utterly wild trying to find the culprit.
And the person pointed out as the culprit was none other than me.
“We found poison in Eustea’s room. The exact same poison that killed Stella.”
“How dare she…”
My mother tried to protect me, but it was futile. Everyone who loved the maid’s daughter banded together and stripped my mother of her merchant coalition. It was a move to strip away her voice.
And just like that, my mother and I were thrown out.
My mother worked tirelessly to raise me despite her fragile state from the shock. Eventually, she collapsed, lost consciousness, and still hadn’t recovered.
‘After that, it was a real struggle.’
While nursing my mother, I did just about any job to survive. As a noble lady, I washed dishes in restaurants and even hauled fish in the marketplace.
Yet, our living conditions didn’t improve.
‘Meanwhile, that damn father of mine even brought his first love into the mansion.’
Just thinking about it made my blood boil. But as someone struggling just to put food on the table, all I could do was work. I even helped catch tuna at the harbor.
While working there, I almost drowned and died.
‘But at that very moment between life and death…’
I remembered.
My past life living as a Korean.
And I realized:
‘This world is inside a game!’
The reason the maid’s daughter possessed such staggering luck and kept succeeding was simple: she was the protagonist of this game.
To make matters worse, as I recalled the game’s plot, I also learned how my own life would end.
‘An organ bank…’
When the protagonist, the maid’s daughter, falls into a fatal crisis, my role was to be the organ donor to save her. In the game, I willingly sell my organs in exchange for waking my mother up.
‘Organ trafficking is illegal, you know?!’
What a godforsaken game that only cares about the protagonist.
Of course, I could just choose not to sell my organs. But when the protagonist is in danger, would that damn protagonist faction (my father, half-brother, the First Prince, the high noble friends, etc.) just leave me alone?
In the game, it was my father who tracked me down in the first place. If I didn’t sell them willingly, they were the types to drag me away by force.
‘So, to protect my organs, I need a savior who can shield me from those bastards.’
Someone powerful who has no ties to the protagonist’s faction.
That was why I chose the assassination guild, ‘Irregular.’
We were currently inside a cave. This was a hideout used by Irregular when they carried out missions in this vicinity.
Right now, I was trembling, surrounded by the guild members. I looked exactly like a squirrel thrown into a beast’s den.
‘Well, not just regular members, but the elite squad is here too.’
Out of the entire Irregular guild, there were only seven members in the elite squad, including the leader. Two of them were present right here—the leader himself and a man named Antonio.
‘They say a single elite member can defeat a hundred soldiers…’
As I swallowed hard, Antonio, the elite member, stepped closer to me.
“Are you really not the leader’s daughter?”
At that, the other members burst into laughter.
“There’s no way the leader would have a daughter.”
“Who knows? Maybe he misplaced his ‘thing’ somewhere—Argh!”
Antonio, who had been chatting with the other members while grabbing my chin to inspect my face, suddenly screamed. A coin that had been in the leader’s hand flew and struck him squarely in the eye with a loud thwack!
‘Wow…’
How could a coin make a sound like that? He had merely flicked his finger, and it flew like a bullet.
‘Should I run away right now?’
But I shook my head vigorously.
‘The leader is my only answer.’
The leader stared down at me silently. I felt the blood in my entire body run cold. I had experience catching tuna, but the aura of a real, literal assassin was not something I could easily handle.
‘Let’s calm down.’
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Of course, I was scared to death. If I could, I wanted to just pass out on the spot. But I was someone who had done all kinds of rough labor after being kicked out of the Andres family. Plus, my fragile mother was waiting for me at home.
I couldn’t back down.
As I thought this, the leader slowly pulled down his hood.
For a moment, it felt like my breath was stolen away.
‘What is up with that face…?’
It was due to an incredibly handsome appearance that neither idols nor actors could even compete with. Even combining all the memories of my past life as a Korean, I had never seen a face like that.
Jet-black hair. Crimson eyes that looked like crystallized blood.
He was a man who pulled off those crimson eyes flawlessly. A sharp jawline, facial features perfectly sculpted by a god, and beautiful eyes framed by long eyelashes. Furthermore, the tightly fitted chest and broad shoulders visible beneath his cloak made him look like a model for some luxury brand.
Yet, a sinister, terrifying pressure existed that even his beauty couldn’t hide. The moment our eyes met, it felt like all the blood in my body was sinking into the floor.
‘There’s no turning back now. I’ve seen the face of the assassination guild’s leader.’
An entity whose face must never be known had revealed himself. In other words, if things went south, he could just kill me and leave.
The leader stared intently at my pale face.
“Who are you—”
“Eustea Andres, 15 years old! The daughter of the Marquis who was kicked out of the Andres Marquisate three years ago! My past work experience includes restaurant dishwashing, information disruption, debt collection in the marketplace, tuna fishing, and occasionally working as an assistant to herbalists! I was kicked out with my sick mother, whom I am currently taking care of, and our current residence is the basement of No. 115, A-Street, District 5…!”
“How did you find our location—”
“Based on the annihilation of the Gallego Count family last night, I deduced it was the work of Irregular! Irregular is the only group of skilled experts capable of secretly wiping out a Count’s estate in a single day! Considering the deployment of the Imperial Army, I concluded you would use this mountain! That is why I was waiting in ambush here…!”
“You—”
“Eustea Andres, 15 years old! Three years ago…!”
“I am not asking for your profile.”
“Hup.”
Having rattled everything off in sheer tension, I quickly covered my mouth with both hands.
At that, the members burst into laughter.
“She’s cute.”
“No way. How is that cute? Being cute is a word reserved for someone like me.”
“Her head isn’t bad. Shouldn’t we at least test her skills?”
“We don’t have time to test skills. We’re in a hurry to shake off the Imperial Army.”
Amidst the chattering members, the leader remained silent. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking, but for now, he showed absolutely no intention of accepting me.
“Ex-Excuse me.”
I timidly raised my hand.
“You don’t have to worry about the Imperial Army…”
The leader narrowed his eyes.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Something happened to the 3rd Unit, which is in charge of searching this area.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I made it happen…?”
I rummaged through my bag and pulled something out. It looked vaguely like a fern, but it was a specific herb used in this world.
Recognizing the herb, the members flinched.
“Betium?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Betium possessed an extraordinary effect on abdominal bloating and constipation caused by foreign substances. To put it simply, it was a powerful laxative.
“I mixed a ton of it into the military camp’s meals yesterday.”
Thunder must be roaring in their stomachs right about now. It would be miserable for them, but a bout of diarrhea wouldn’t normally stop a search operation.
However, the captain of the 3rd Unit searching this area was a man bloodshot with ambition for a promotion. He was a malicious boss who would force his soldiers out into the streets even if he himself was stuck in the restroom.
The members’ mouths fell open at my words.
Yet, there was still someone who doubted me. It was the only female member of Irregular, the one who had earlier shouted, ‘How is that cute!’
“That makes no sense. How could you sneak into the military camp’s kitchen?”
“Oh, that’s because I used to work in the military kitchen…”
“That was in the past. You don’t work there now, so why would the military just open the kitchen doors for you?”
“Uh, well, my cooking skills are so good that the commanders still welcome me…”
I smoothly pulled out the recommendation letters from the high-ranking officers of the Imperial Army, which I carried around to find work.
[★★★★★. Honestly, it’s better than home-cooked meals. – Lieutenant Colonel Duroty]
[Her cooking skills are spectacular. – Colonel Lagoni]
[I control my urge to assault my superiors through this child’s cooking. – Brigadier General Munoz]
“They were always begging me to come back. I felt bad, so whenever I didn’t have work, I would drop by and cook for them.”
“…Just how delicious is it?”
The members looked utterly dumbfounded.
‘Did I do something unnecessary?’
Maybe they had already prepared another method for their escape.
Gasps. If so, I just got in their way.
I asked, my spirit utterly crushed:
“Should I go back and give them the antidote?”
The leader thought for a moment, then spoke:
“Go check the movements of the Imperial Army to verify the truth.”
“Yes, sir.”
The commanded member vanished on the spot. He was so fast that it was hard to even track him with my eyes.
‘I guess I didn’t ruin their plans.’
The leader stood up.
“We rest.”
“What shall we do with that kid?”
“She doesn’t seem to have any intention of running away, so leave her be.”
I flinched at those words. This was my chance.
“Then, should I prepare lunch?”
“Huh?”
“May I check what ingredients you have?”
“The rations are over there…”
“Since I might tamper with the food, would you like to watch me from the side?”
“Y-Yeah, let’s do that.”
Watching me move briskly and efficiently, one of the members muttered to himself.
“…What on earth is this crazy situation?”
Aslan, the leader of Irregular, silently observed Eustea.
With one member practically glued to her side, Eustea began to cook. She skillfully built a campfire, stacked stones around it, and placed a large pot on top.
After pouring water into the pot, she hummed in thought.
“There are no vegetables.”
Antonio, the elite squad member who was attached to Eustea, replied:
“They spoil easily, so they aren’t suitable to carry as rations.”
“Still, without vegetables, the nutrition… Oh, right. Could you lend me a dagger?”
Borrowing a dagger, she dragged Antonio out with her.
About thirty minutes passed. Checking the time, the other members began to frown.
“Why are they taking so long? Did she run away?”
“Lord Antonio is with her, so there’s no way.”
“Her skill in handling Lord Antonio was no joke, she might have tricked him.”
Just as the members’ expressions turned murderous, Eustea and Antonio returned with their arms full. They had brought various vegetables and even fish.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. We were cleaning the ingredients by the river.”
“Leader, this is incredible! She extorted all of this from the mountain keeper!”
“I used to work in an extortion gang, so…”
While Antonio was excited and the other members were left bewildered, the cooking truly began.
Using a sword she had cleaned by the river, she roughly chopped the vegetables and tossed them into the pot. After making a vegetable broth, she prepared the fish and threw it in. She even used a knife hilt to crush dried meat from the ration pouches and added it.
Soon, the cave was filled with an appetite-inducing aroma.
Some members were already drooling. Even those who had been wary of Eustea slowly began to creep toward the pot.
“…Shouldn’t it be fully cooked by now?”
“You have to wait a bit longer. It tastes better when the turnips are thoroughly boiled.”
“It’s been a while since we’ve eaten vegetables…”
“Is that so? Then I’ll make sure to scoop plenty of vegetables for you.”
Pushing back the drooling members, she insisted on boiling it for another ten minutes. Once finished, she ladled the food into bowls one by one.
And upon tasting it, the members recalled the recommendation letters scribbled by the colonels and lieutenant colonels.
‘Her cooking skills are spectacular.’
It was true. Her cooking skills were indeed spectacular!
From then on, they began to wolf down the food like a pack of starved hounds.
One of the members, who looked ready to lick his bowl clean, suddenly snapped back to his senses. He cautiously extended a bowl toward Aslan.
“Leader, there doesn’t seem to be any problem with the food.”
“…If there was, you’d all be dead by now.”
Considering how much they had shoved down their throats.
With a sigh, the leader tasted the soup. It was delicious enough to make him understand why the members had eaten so frantically.
‘I see.’
The members were losing their minds.
“Put that ladle down. You’re already on your second bowl.”
“You move your hands away from the pot first.”
“I’m still on my first bowl!”
Just as a fight was about to break out, Eustea stealthily approached the leader.
‘Is she trying to attack me while everyone is distracted by food?’
Laughable. A pair of thin, bony hands that looked like skin over bone could never pose a threat.
At that moment, Eustea quickly pulled something out from her chest.
Just as the leader was about to incapacitate her, Eustea smoothly offered it forward.
“I made this secretly… A sausage.”
“…”
Just what was this child?
However, there was one thing he knew for certain, judging by the shouting behind him:
“That bastard is running away with the pot!”
“You’re dead when I catch you!”
…This sausage was going to taste absolutely magnificent.
Aslan accepted the sausage.
