Battle Divorce! - Chapter 4

Chapter 2.2

Of course, they weren’t actually father and daughter.

“How did you find me?”

They stepped out of the chapel, and once Daisy made sure no one was around, she demanded an answer from Count Therese.

“Hey, is that any way to speak to your dad?”

“Who said I’d call you ‘Dad’?”

“You know my skills. Information is my bread and butter. There’s no way I wouldn’t be able to find you.”

Count Therese shrugged as if it were no big deal, but Daisy was thoroughly annoyed. She had gone to great lengths to hide, only to be discovered anyway.

Whether she glared at him or not, Count Therese just kept smiling.

“Don’t look at me like that. What kind of father wouldn’t worry if his daughter never came back home? And seriously, Easy, what’s all this? Did you have a change of heart while I wasn’t watching?”

As Count Therese reached out to touch the cross necklace hanging around Daisy’s neck, she smacked his hand away.

“I wrote you a letter. I’m retiring, so don’t bother looking for me.”

“I don’t recall receiving any such letter.”

It had been more of a ‘one-sided notice,’ but she’d made it clear she was retiring. She had sworn off killing, so she couldn’t return to that line of work.

“Still, your skills haven’t faded. I’ll admit, tracking you down was hard. Took me a year—I didn’t expect that.”

“Why must you say such hurtful things?”

My Lord, your child is about to commit one last unavoidable act of violence.

Daisy removed her hairpin, and her hair twisted free from its neat bun, cascading down her back like a waterfall. In the blink of an eye, she precisely aimed the sharp end of her hairpin at Count Therese’s carotid artery.

“Skills like these don’t fade so easily.”

“Whoa, Easy, I get it. Calm down.”

“It seems to me that someone got a bit too cocky coming here alone.”

“There’s no need for the long explanation. You’ve rested long enough. Time to get back to work.”

“I’m not doing it.”

Daisy flatly refused.

“Why didn’t you tell me the target had a child?”

“I didn’t leave that part out on purpose. Seems like our intel guy missed it. I apologize for that.”

Count Therese admitted his mistake, placing a hand on his chest and slightly bowing his head in an exaggerated display of apology.

“But Easy, those royalist dogs still need to be cleaned out. Whether they have a child or not doesn’t change the mission.”

“….”

“You’re really growing soft.”

Seeing her remain silent, he clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“It doesn’t matter; I’m done with that. From now on, I just want to live normally—fall in love, work a regular job, and live a simple, peaceful life. So, please, just leave me alone.”

“You know the rules, Easy. Disobeying orders means execution. No exceptions.”

“Then go ahead. Kill me.”

“Still as stubborn as ever.”

Count Therese let out a long sigh before continuing.

“So, if assassinations are off the table, there’s something else I need from you.”

“What are you getting at?”

Daisy frowned.

What other option could an assassin have if not killing targets?

“It’s a simple mission. From now on, you’re my secret daughter. Just take on the role of a bride, get paid, and soon after, you’ll be free.”

“Marriage and freedom don’t exactly go together.”

“They do in this case. Your husband will be heading off to war as cannon fodder. He’ll die before you even have time to consummate the marriage. You’ll be a widow before you know it.”

Business must be really slow. Assassinations must not be selling, so now he’s trying his hand at matchmaking.

Daisy looked at him in disbelief, but Count Therese raised his eyebrows, unfazed, and continued.

“Your husband’s name is Maxim von Waldeck.”

“I’m not interested, so leave while I’m still letting you walk away.”

She pulled the hairpin away from his neck and shoved Count Therese back.

“The reward is one million gold.”

Daisy’s eyes widened at the staggering amount.

“A special retirement gift I’ve arranged just for you, my daughter. If you’re not interested, I’ll find someone else.”

“So you’re saying… I can actually retire after this?”

“Of course. As long as you complete this mission, I’ll grant you your wish.”

To be honest, the offer was tempting.

The small convent was struggling to make ends meet. There were no substantial donors, and some of the orphans were sick. They couldn’t even afford food, let alone medical care.

She couldn’t deny that they desperately needed the money.

With enough funds, the children could receive the medical treatment they needed and grow up healthy. They could study and become much greater people than she had ever hoped to be…

“One million gold, and I still get a separate retirement fund. Right, ‘Father’?”

Easy and Daisy loved money. In this harsh world, money was the only thing she could rely on. But at that moment, she had no idea that her husband and final target, Maxim von Waldeck, would turn out to be the most dangerous man she’d ever faced.