Now we were considering what we should do with the still paralysed assassin in the middle of the forest.
Obviously, the choice of killing him was there but that might also incite the rest of his family to come after us.
On the other hand, he now knows who I am and I don’t want him spreading this knowledge around either.
Sure, this secret can’t stay secret forever, but I’d like to at least be able to go around without people recognizing me for my family name instead of who I am.
In the end, I decided not to kill him, not because I forgave him but because Katsuki still has a knife stuck in her abdomen with several cuts and bruises all around her body. Seeking medical attention for her right now should be top priority for me.
If only I had received Iatromancy on my last birthday, then I would have been able to heal her right now.
Also, I believe that killing him like this is a little unsatisfying. The bastard hurt Katsuki in more ways than one, simply chopping off his head was too easy ofa fate for a trash like him.
That’s why, despite me saying I wasn’t going to kill him, I did not let the bastard go scott free.
I had gone ahead to sever his achilles tendons with the [Assassin’s Dagger], let’s see him try to crawl back to safety while monsters are around here in the night. Maybe some goblins will find him and sodomise him or something, or maybe it’ll be a Hell Wolf.
And even if he somehow manages to get away, unless he finds a top tier healer, his career as an assassin would probably be over.
Once I had recovered enough, I immediately told Katsuki I would be flying her back to the mansion where I know for sure there would be healers.
I then carried her underneath me while I took to the skies, flying back to the mansion as fast as I could.
“Would it be a problem for me not to go through the gate but fly over it?” I asked when the city walls came into view, the place still bathed in the darkness of night.
“Normally… It would be, Mistress…” Katsuki gasped, obviously in pain after her adrenaline had worn off. “But the Nilm family has a… Free pass… Which means it’s fine… For Mistress…”
“Ok, ok. Save your energy, Katsuki. You are going to be fine.”
“Ufu… This is nothing, Mistress… Something like this… Is not enough to–“
“I know, Katsuki. Save your energy. I will be very upset if you hurt yourself anymore than this.”
“Yes… Mistress…”
I sped over the first outer wall, letting out a sigh of relief when nothing stopped me from going over it.
Flying over the second and third walls also posed no problems and I was back at the front door of the mansion in less than a minute.
I switched Katsuki into a princess carry and shouldered the door open, fully prepared to shout out for help.
Unexpectedly, Mary was already there waiting for us with Fia, the Rizzie maid. They even had what looks like a hospital gurney prepared.
“Welcome back, Mistress,” Mary greeted before immediately moving to take Katsuki off my hands. “Please allow us to tend to her wounds.”
“You knew?” I asked.
Mary shook her head while depositing Katsuki on the gurney, “Not at all, Mistress. But I had made preparations for the worst.”
“And… What is the worst?”
“That Mistress comes home alone.”
Oh… Err… That’s the worst? But I almost died though? Unless there was something I don’t know about that prevents me from dying? She didn’t even consider the possibility that I would be the one dying?
All those thoughts were discarded from my head when I saw Fia fly over and inspected Katsuki’s wounds.
“The knife needs to be extracted, Head Maid.”
Mary nodded and went ahead to grab the handle of the knife.
I thought she would at least brace herself or even offer Katsuki some words of encouragement but instead, the Head Maid just pulled it out without any fanfare.
Katsuki did not scream, though she did let out a groan of pain, either because she was already used to this level of pain or she didn’t even have the energy for that anymore.
Fia quickly placed her hand over the wound.
“Flesh to flesh, knit and repair, heal and cleanse the wounds, return the flesh to its pristine form. [Close Wounds]!”
Oh, so Fia has the Iatromancy magic skill huh? That’s a little surprising to be honest. Maybe I can get her to teach me after I get it?
I watched as Katsuki’s flesh knit back together and, very thankfully, there were no traces of the injury. It would be a complete shame if that were to leave a mark on her beautiful skin.
“Will she be alright?” I asked.
Fia bowed to me, “It is not a fatal wound, Mistress so you need not worry about it. Though she would still need to spend some time to recuperate before she is able to return to her duties again.”
I nodded, the most important thing was that she was ok.
Katsuki turned to me with a weak smile, “Forgive me… For needing to take a break… Mistress…”
I’m starting to think that she’s actually a workaholic or something.
I reached out and patted her head, “It’s ok now, you worked hard for me.”
She blushed, “Umm… I… I would also like to apologise…”
“Hmm? For what?”
“For… For taking Mistress’s first kiss…”
…
Oh…
I was so focused on that bastard hurting Katsuki that I actually forgot that was technically my first kiss in this World.
Of course I’m not some blushing virgin since I do have experience in the other World, but I did kiss Katsuki here…
Wait, no, she kissed me, so that’s fine right? And it was a matter of life and death thing so there’s no problem!
I giggled, “Oh my, you’re so cute, Katsuki! Did you enjoy my lips though? If you’d like, I can give you one more after you recover?”
Her face turned even redder and hid her face behind her hands.
She’s so cute~
“Fufufu~ I suppose we should let Katsuki rest now. Could you bring her to the infirmary, Ria?”
The Rizzie maid bowed, “Right away, Head Maid.”
It was quite funny to see a fairy that was less than half my size pushing the gurney into the mansion, leaving me alone with Mary.
Once they were gone, Mary turned to me, “Mistress, if I may be so bold as to ask, who is it that hurt Katsuki so?”
My brows lifted in surprise, “Eh? I thought for sure you would know.”
“Unfortunately not, Mistress, as it is not my place to pry into such matters. Although we are well aware of the fight that Mistress and Katsuki had gotten involved in outside the city.”
I knew it, they definitely had someone follow us along from the start. I’m pretty sure that if Katsuki had failed in getting the antidote, they would have stepped in as well.
“That man is Katsuki’s father. He’s supposed to be some assassin who trained her and discarded her after he felt that she wasn’t performing as well as he hoped. In other words, a useless man.”
“I see… And Mistress killed him?”
“Eh? No, I did not.”
“Could I ask why?”
I pursed my lips, Not wanting to admit that I most likely gave him a fate worse than death.
“I’m… Err… Not exactly that comfortable in taking another person’s life yet…”
“Even though he was completely ready to take yours?”
“I guess the fact that he was Katsuki’s father played a part in that too.”
“But doesn’t Mistress kill monsters frequently?”
“This and that are two different things, Mary…”
She shook her head, “There are people out there who are worse than monsters, Mistress.”
Oh, I know that very well. Considering the people I’ve met so far, I’ve already had a glimpse of how bad this World could be to the weak and helpless inhabitants.
I’m pretty sure that even within this city that was supposed to be the ‘Crown of Mahun civilization’, if I were to head down to the lower parts of the city there would be heinous crimes being committed frequently.
This entire kingdom has slaves as one of its main imports for crying out loud.
I looked back at Mary, “I can’t say for sure but… I believe that if I feel my life were to be threatened by someone else and I had to make the decision to kill someone, I will do it.”
Mary chuckled, “Fufufu~ I was not intending to convince you of that, Mistress. I merely just wanted to tell you that fact. Katsuki is your personal maid, she will be both your sword and your shield should you desire her to be so. Just like how I am Madam’s hands and feet as well. Mistress is not yet ready to know, but the Nilm Family does have its darker side too.”
“Err… Yeah, I saw the underground dungeons where you train the maids to engage in those kinds of play…”
“Oh, not that, Mistress. It goes even deeper than that. Madam did not show you the entire mansion that day. Perhaps she only intends for you to know when you are older.”
Right… I can already fashion a guess from the fact that Mary possesses a tier three in her assassination skill… Even Katsuki’s father was a tier three and he’s a professional in that business.
I suppose I should just feel glad that I’m on this side of the family then…
With that said, if that bastard comes back again, I’m definitely cutting his head off!
“Speaking of which,” Mary continued with a knowing smile. “I have the sweets prepared in your room, Mistress. Feel free to enjoy them before your bath.”
Sweets!! Me want!!