Tianren Star · Yateran Empire · Royal City · Rear Courtyard of the Royal Palace.
An elegant detached house stood amid fields of flowers. Farther away lay orderly woods and paths winding through them. Flocks of birds cleaned their feathers or searched for food in the freshwater lake ahead, while several hounds dozed among the flowers. One of them yawned wide, welcoming the dawn.
The detached house did not look very large, but after entering, one would discover that its interior was quite spacious. The first floor contained the servants' rooms, main kitchen, and other facilities. The second floor held the master bedroom, dining room, banquet hall, study, and more. The third floor was off-limits to others. Only the owner of this place, Ninth Princess Morey, and a limited number of maids she deeply trusted were allowed inside.
At that moment, in the washroom.
"Wala lala la, bleh~"
Wearing pajamas and still half-asleep, Morey spat out her mouthwash. The little maid beside her, holding a tray of toiletries, hesitated to speak. If the head maid saw Morey's shameless "wala lala la, bleh~," she would surely give her another scolding. Unfortunately, the head maid was absent, having been summoned to the palace's front hall by the Yateran Emperor—Morey's father—to participate in today's council.
It seemed somewhat inexplicable, but as the maid qualified to watch Ninth Princess Morey grow up, the head maid naturally had extraordinary qualities. According to rumors, she had once been the director of an orphanage. That orphanage was the infamous "Shrike's Nest" of the Eastern Federation, an assassination organization that left a mark on corpses after completing a job and hung the bodies up.
Assassination organizations and killer organizations were two different kinds of forces. The latter took money for lives and stayed as discreet as possible throughout.