Chapter 12: Bridget

The trail begins to flatten out, giving the two of us an opportunity to catch our breath.

“So,” Bridget says, once she’s recovered, “who’s this Genevieve?”

“She’s my childhood friend from the orphanage where I grew up. Fortunately for her she was adopted early on, so I’m sure she’s living a cushy life in some noble family’s mansion.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I mean, isn’t that how it usually works? Most people dream about getting picked up by a noble family, and the servants who came to pick her up on the day she was adopted were wearing super expensive clothing.”

“That is true, however joining a noble’s family isn’t always a good thing.”

“Really?”

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad life. You get three meals a day and a roof over your head.

“However, speaking as someone who worked for a noble family for almost two years, unless you have a coveted title like Hero or Saint, joining a noble’s family isn’t as luxurious as you might imagine. Most of the time, you’re less of a family member and more of an employee. In other words, you still have to work to earn your keep.

“And, like commoners, there are good nobles and bad nobles. Working for a good noble is like working for a good boss, but working for a bad noble is hell on earth.

“You are required to sign a contract when you join a noble’s family. The contents of the contract change depending on your title and the family, but in general, they all make similar demands.

“In my case, the contract I signed made the following demands. In exchange for unrestricted access to my title and the skills the came with it, the Heart Family, my employers, agreed to give me room and board. In addition, I had to agree to work as a member of the household staff for the duration of my stay.

“Both parties were free to terminate the contract at any time. However, this arrangement isn’t as fair as it might seem at first glance.

“In reality, all of the power is in the employer’s hands.

“The world of nobility is small, so unless you have a highly coveted title, if you terminate your contract, even for a valid reason like assault, it will be difficult to get accepted by another family. And, if you get fired for any reason, it becomes impossible to land another job.

“The nobles know this, and many of them use this knowledge to exploit their title holders.

“The title holders put up with it, because their only alternative is to live on the streets or become an Adventurer.

“This exploitation is particularly pervasive for female title holders. I was lucky, because my employer, Lord Heart, was exceedingly kind. However, I’ve heard horror stories about some of the situations other female title holders were forced to endure.”

We walk in silence for several minutes, each of us lost in our own thoughts. The only sound is the whistling of the wind across the barren mountainside and the crunching of rocks underneath our feet.

Finally, I break the silence.

“Um. If you don’t mind me asking, what is your title?”

Ahead of me, Bridget comes to a stop, her shoulders tense.

After seeing her response, I quickly backtrack.

“Actually, I’m sorry for asking. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s not a problem,” Bridget says, turning to face me, “I was just a little surprised.

“My title is… Assassin.”

Assassin. The title of a person who’s sole purpose in life is to take the lives of others. Despite being about as common as Knight or Warrior, Assassin is a title that is highly coveted by the nobility.

Unlike other title holders, most Assassins are hired through secret deals instead of the usual bidding process.

Assassins are like ballistic missile submarines from my previous life. It is rumored that every powerful noble family has at least one of them, but unless they are taking out a target they remain undercover and undetected.

Because everyone’s titles are announced to the public at the Measuring Ceremony, everyone knows which individuals hold the Assassin title. The secret deals give the assassin’s handlers plausible deniability, in the event that an assassin is caught.

After all, if no one knows who hired the assassin in the first place, it’s not a problem for the assassin’s employer if they are caught.

However, I’ve never heard of an Assassin being released. Most of the time, employers would rather silence their Assassins rather than risk them getting picked up by another noble later on.

So, why is Bridget standing here today? Why did her employer decide to release her?

I mean, she is super clumsy. Maybe they didn’t see her as a threat?

It’s definitely a mystery.

“Do you find my title to be repulsive?” Bridget asks, her voice tentative.

“No, not at all. I was just thinking that the Assassin title really doesn’t suit you.”

“Yes, that is what Lord Heart thought as well. Instead of bringing me on as an Assassin, he hired me as a bodyguard for Lady Heart. Unfortunately, I struggled to learn martial arts, so I never actually took up my position. "

I see. That’s why they were able to release her. Since she wasn’t hired as an Assassin, there was no danger of her leaking top secret information.

Also, if she worked at the Heart Family’s estate for almost two years, then she’s at least two years older than I am. And, since Wolf spent time in the army before becoming an Adventurer, I’m the youngest member in the Bootcamp.

Phew, now I feel a little better. I’m not lagging behind the others because I’m a failure, I’m lagging behind them because I’m younger.

It was inevitable. There is nothing I could have done. Age is too great of a barrier.

Yay, that takes a load off of my shoulders. Now I can feel better about myself.

“By the way, earlier you told me that your employer was kind, but didn’t they fire you for breaking a vase?”

“Yes, their official reason was the vase. However, in reality the vase was merely the last straw.”

As we walk, Bridget begins to tell me about her past.

“I grew up on a farm on the southern border of the Empire. The region where my family lived was fertile, so the harvests were always good, but this good fortune was a double edged sword, because the neighboring kingdom coveted our lands.

“To combat this threat, The Empire maintained a strong military presence on the border. It wasn’t unheard of for there to be more than 50,000 troops stationed at the nearest garrison during periods of heightened tensions.

“However, while this helped to keep the region secure, it took a toll on its citizens.

“Day and night, the soldiers ran the town. They drank, fought, and partied constantly, turning the garrison town into one continuous festival. My family’s farm was located near the garrison, and we could often hear the raucous festivities while we tended the fields.

“However, underneath this festive atmosphere, dark shadows lurked. Crime was rampant, and assaults were common. It was so bad that unless they had urgent business outside, most of the residents of the town stayed indoors as much as possible.

“While the military police tried their best to keep the soldiers in check, there were always incidents that fell through the cracks. And to make things worse, citizens often chose not to report incidents to the police, because they feared retaliation from the soldiers.

“My parents wanted a different life for me. They wanted to give me a life where I could walk around outside at night without fearing for my safety. They wanted me to be able to go on errands without being harassed at every corner.

“As time passed, they came to believe that the only way for me to experience these things was to move far away. So, when I received the coveted Assassin title, and the countless offers for employment that came with it, they were overjoyed.

“Because of my title, I was forced to sift through the job offers myself. I received many different offers, some more lucrative than others, but in the end I ended up picking the one from the Heart Family.

“I picked the Heart Family’s offer because of the way it was presented to me. Unlike the other noble families who sent their offers using anonymous couriers, Lord Heart delivered the Heart Family’s offer himself.

“That gesture, coupled with the fact that I would be employed not as an assassin, but as a bodyguard, made my decision for me.

“Immediately after I arrived at the Heart Family’s mansion, I was thrust into training. During the day, I learned about my duties as a member of the household staff, while at night I was taught martial arts.

“Unfortunately, as I said earlier, even though my title was Assassin, I struggled to pick up martial arts. I was clumsy during physical training, and I couldn’t find a weapon that suited me.

“During the two years I stayed at the Heart Family’s estate, I had forty five different weapons instructors. “Each one of them specialized in a different weapon, and not a single one of them lasted for more than a month.

“When they left, each one said the same thing. She’s a Cursed. You should give up on trying to make her into an assassin.

“Do you know what a Cursed is?”

I shake my head.

“I see. I’m not surprised. I didn’t know what a Cursed was before I heard the term either.

“Cursed are people who can’t make full use of their title for whatever reason. Sometimes this is because they were born with a disability. Other times it happens for no apparent reason.

“Because I failed to pick up any kind of martial arts, a necessary skill for an assassin, my instructors labeled me as Cursed. After all, an Assassin who can’t fight is like a guard dog without teeth.

“Despite all of my failings, Lord Heart continued to believe in me. Even when my instructors told him he should give up, he always told them that I just needed more time.

“Whenever my martial arts instructors quit, he simply hired a new one. Whenever I spilled water on the floor, he helped me clean it up.

“He never gave up on me, and as time passed both my domestic and combat skills slowly began to improve.

“While this was happening, the domestic situation in the Heart Family’s estate began to deteriorate. Seeing how kind Lord Heart was to the household staff, Lady Heart became jealous.

“Starting from the bottom, Lady Heart began a systematic purge of the female servants. She kept a watchful eye on them at all times, and whenever they made even the smallest mistake, she’d use it as an excuse to fire them.

“Lord Heart tried his best to help the servants who were fired. Behind the scenes, he gave them generous severance packages, and set up jobs for them with other noble families. However, he wasn’t able to stop Lady Heart’s rampage, because standing up for the servants in public would turn him into the villain.

“The purge started shortly after I arrived, and went on for the entirety of my stay. During that time, nearly all of the female servants were let go.

“The only thing that kept me from being purged right at the beginning was my title. Because people with the Assassin title were in high demand, she couldn’t fire me for a small mistake like she could with the servants who possessed titles that were easier to replace.

“Once she figured this out, Lady Heart began to look for ways to make my life miserable. Whenever I made a mistake, she’d call me out in front of the household staff and humiliate me. While I was working, she’d watch me over my shoulder and point out everything I did wrong.

“Towards the end of my stay, she even began to attend my nightly training sessions, so she could ridicule me as I struggled and failed to learn new skills.

“The only thing that kept me going was Lord Heart. He apologized to me for his wife’s behavior, and did his best to keep her away from me as much as he could, but he was a busy man with many obligations, so whenever he was away Lady Heart spent her free time harassing me.

“One day, I was carrying a bucket of water down the hall, when I tripped over something and stumbled into a side table. Normally, this wouldn’t have been a big deal, but that day Lady Heart’s prized vase was sitting on the table.

“The vase, which had been given to Lady Heart by the Emperor himself as a wedding present, was made out of porcelain the color of snow. Inlaid into the side of the vase in platinum, was a silhouette of Lord and Lady Heart kissing, and surrounding the silhouette were golden birds and mithril flowers.

“This vase, which was meant to symbolize Lord and Lady Heart’s perfect love, was usually kept safely in the Lord and Lady’s bedchamber. However, earlier that day Lady Heart had order that the vase be brought downstairs and displayed in the hall, so everyone could witness the strength of their love.

“With a resounding crash, the vase fell to the floor and shattered into a million pieces. Everyone in the house, including Lord and Lady Heart came running at the commotion.

“When she saw the vase, Lady Heart exploded. She ordered that I be taken to the dungeon, and announced to everyone that I would be executed the next day.

“My last memory of Lady Heart was the victorious sneer she wore as I was escorted off to the manor’s dungeon. The smile of a woman who had finally won.

“That night, Lord Heart came down to the dungeon. He gave me a bag filled with a spare change of clothes and fifty gold pieces, then ordered one of his personal carriages to take me to the capital city.

“As you can see, Lord Heart was a kind man. If it wasn’t for him, I would already be dead.”

“I’m sorry you had to listen to such a downer of a story.”

“No,” I say. “I’m glad you decided to share it with me.

“Thanks for listening,” Bridget says. “It feels good to get that off my chest.”

The trail begins to climb again, and the two of us turn our attention to our feet.

Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. I focus on taking one step at a time, trying to ignore my aching legs.

Suddenly, Bridge comes to a stop in front of me, causing me to run into her back.

“Sorry,” I say, quickly taking several steps back down the trail.

“No problem,” Bridget says, kneeling down and fiddling with her shoes.

After several seconds, Bridget glances up at me.

“Um, Sage. Would you mind helping me untie my shoe? For some reason, I can’t get the knot undone.

Oh, right. I totally forgot. Only I can untie the shoelaces I tie with my skill.

Honestly, that’s kind of inconvenient.

I jog over to Bridget and quickly untie both of her shoes.

Once I’m done, she pulls them off and dumps several rocks onto the ground.

“Thanks,” she says, wiggling her toes. “That feels much better.”

“Yeah, I’m so sorry. I totally forgot that I’m the only one who can untie the shoelaces I tie with my skill. Maybe you should tie your own shoelaces from now on.”

“Alright,” Bridget says, pulling her shoes back on, “I’ll do my best.

“Oh, look,” Bridget says, pointing up the trail. “Isn’t that Samantha?”

“Yeah, it sure is. I wonder what she’s trying to tell us.”

“I don’t know, but she doesn’t look very happy.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out. Are you ready?”

“I’m ready.”

“Okay then, let’s go.”