The Assassin In Twisted Wonderland

Cannot Deny

"He gives off a sense that he needs to protect me. I can see that he is a gentleman. But unfortunately, I don't need to be protected which is why I sat beside you," Tokaku said monotonously.

Epel giggled at her words. "You are getting used to his strictness, aren't you?"

"Well, I must or else I will be stuck here with him as my watcher for a month as he said," Tokaku replied.

"You better do," Epel said.

"Now, shall I continue to tutor you?" Tokaku asked.

"Sure, you can," Epel nodded.

Tokaku continued to tutor Epel with his Math homework. At night, there was a gathering consisting of Vil, Rook, Epel, and Tokaku after dinner as the Pomefiore house warden ordered. The said people gathered in the lounge where there were no students passing by. Vil, with his right leg upon his left, stared at Tokaku as she sat alone on a sofa in front of him, Rook, and Epel. Tokaku wore her academy uniform at that time since she was not allowed to wear her Octavinelle uniform.

"Do you know this is a daily gathering of me with my vice house warden and freshman?" Vil asked her.

"I do not know," the blue-eyed girl said.

"You have to get used to the routines and rules here since you are grounded here for the entire month. This gathering is one of the examples of the routines here, but only you, Epel, and Rook are invited. When I declared this gathering, it meant I wanted to educate you about manners and etiquette. So let's start with you verbally," Vil explained. He began a formal verbal lesson while assisted by Rook. Epel joined the lesson as he must practice silencing his mother's accent and adapt to his voice formally.

The lessons took less time as Tokaku was capable of speaking formally. This made Vil surprised and curious as the girl only spoke coldly in her monotonous voice, he thought.

"Bien joué, Mer Blue Lady. You speak quite flawlessly, and you did not stammer even for a second," Rook praised the blue-eyed girl.

"You speak in formal verbal quite professionally as if you had been practiced before," he said.

"I was raised as the last heir and the only heiress of my prosperous family. Subsequently, I was trained to speak formally as a part of my early education during my childhood, the same with mannerisms and etiquette," Tokaku explained.

"That explains my question. I have underestimated you for your cold expression," Vil said.

Surely, you did, Tokaku thought.

"Today, you passed this lesson with flying colors, but please don't be too proud. Tomorrow, you will be having a lesson about etiquette. I'm expecting you to be prepared for what will come next," Vil said before he turned to Epel. "Epel, I want you to learn with Tokaku so I won't be pissed off tomorrow. I hate it when my mood is ruined all the time. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yes, house warden," Epel replied with his head bowed.

"That is all for tonight. You two go back to your room and sleep," Vil announced, dismissing the lesson of the night.

Tokaku and Epel obeyed what he ordered them and left the lounge. Along the hallway to their dorm rooms, the two friends were walking when Epel started to praise his girl.

"Golly gee, girl. You speak like you are a rich girl coming from a noble family," he beamed.

"I am, but I come from a notorious assassin family," Tokaku replied.

"Are assassins rich?" Epel questioned.

"Do you think how much we are paid to assassinate a soul?" Tokaku said.

"For a thousand trademarks?" Epel guessed.

"Multiple that number by a thousand more," Tokaku added.

"A million?! So are you a millionaire?" Epel was surprised.

"My grandmother was before she died. She eliminated a lot of targets so her income was quite substantial, totaling almost a billion. With her income, I was able to get a taste of wealth, knives, and guns," Tokaku explained.

"Woah, I thought you were from a common rank despite how mature you are," Epel said.

"That's what differs between wealthy normies and moneyed assassins. We are not the type who get spoiled and keep ourselves blending with our richness. We disguise ourselves as if we are simple commoners when we are not. Besides, assassins are neither commoners nor we are noble. We are just shadows displayed under people's rankings," Tokaku explained, which made the lilac-haired freshman feel bad for her. So he changed the subject of their chat.

"Forget what you just said. Let's talk about tomorrow's lessons. There will be a lesson on how to walk properly. I already passed the lesson, but I know you don't need my help," Epel said.

"Yes, I've been taught since I started to become the heiress of my family," Tokaku replied.

Epel sighed. "You are fortunate to be born into a rich family and educated in the manner of a noble."

"You don't sound like you're complaining about my status with yours," Tokaku said as she could detect the slightest scent of her buddy's feelings immediately.

"You read me. That is because I have a grudge against rich people after how those young villagers left and abandoned my village to live in the busy city life in the capital city of Shaftlands. You see, they became arrogant and prideful like peacocks, as if they forgot their homeland. They turned out to be disrespectful to their elderly and families once they were successful. How ungrateful they are!" Epel explained and complained at the end.

Tokaku listened to her buddy and she understood him as Epel is a boy who knows how to be grateful. "Can't deny. That is how people can become depending on their choices in life. They want to live so they have to act how they want to do it. That life circle includes all living people, even assassins like me."

"Tokaku, do you want to live as an assassin?" Epel questioned her.

"It was not my choice before. But now, perhaps I do not want to, but sometimes I feel like that status is still trapped inside my mind and my soul," Tokaku answered.

"Why is that?" Epel asked.

"My bloodline is an ancient bloodline that came from my ancestors who turned out to be assassins during archaic times. Therefore, it is most likely our fate that we are destined to become assassins since we are born. We are trained to wield a knife as our early education and learn to slay a target when we grow up as preteens. When we have completely mastered the arts of assassination, finally, we went hunting for human souls and earn money for our living," Tokaku explained.

"Woah, I did not know you have to live like that because of your bloodline," Epel sympathized.

"You've never been in my shoes, so it is obvious that you don't know," Tokaku said.

The conversation between the Octavinelle girl and the Pomefiore freshman ended when they arrived at Epel's room.

"Okay, see you tomorrow," Epel said, waving at his girl and entering his room.

The girl waved back at him. When he shut his door, she walked away along the hallway to her Pomefiore room at the end of the row.

She entered her room and shut the door. Then, she lay on her bed as she needed to sleep in order to wake up in the middle of the night to study at 4 in the morning. The clock struck 8:30 in the evening. So after 4 hours, at 12:30, she would open her eyes for her night practice, continue to sleep after 2 hours of practice, and wake up again at 4 in the morning. Her routines may be complicated, but she was used to them since she has been balancing her time working at the Mostro Lounge and studying. She must balance her time for study, work, and training because she hated to be left behind.

Her average sleep hours are 4 hours per night, as assassins need to sleep less than normal people do. This is because they must be alert for any incoming danger and be ready for assassination at any time, especially when they are targeted mostly at night.

Tokaku was lying on her bed and was about to close her eyes. As she did, Tokaku snored softly, dozing on the mattress.