I Became the Assassin Family's Foster Daughter (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 5
Dercedion Rodwick.
He was Blake’s only son.
A child who received overflowing love yet knew nothing of love.
A child who knew nothing of love because he had never been loved.
‘Those two are in the same mansion, you say….’
Blake, deep in thought, crumpled the paper on his desk and wrote a single name on a fresh sheet.
“My lord?”
“Jed, take this to the butler.”
He then handed Jed the envelope containing the paper.
“Tell him to deliver it to the child tomorrow morning. And instruct no one to open the envelope until then.”
“Is it the little one’s name?”
“For now.”
At Jed’s question, Blake gave a meaningful smile.
It was the expression he sometimes wore when scheming.
“If the child reads that name, it shall be his. If not, you may choose a suitable name yourself.”
“You mean… you’ll give it to the child only if he can read it…?”
Jed was skeptical.
Requiring literacy just to receive a name?
In this world, reading and writing were part of higher education. It was utterly implausible that a child who had barely scraped by day to day could read.
Blake himself surely knew this from the reports he’d received so far—
‘He’s never acted like this before. Why the sudden pettiness? Ugh. Is he dumping the task of naming the child on me?’
Though utterly baffled by Blake’s intentions, Jed realized he’d likely be the one naming the child.
Given that he’d just assured the child of a changed life, Jed felt the weight of great responsibility.
‘I must carefully consider a name worthy of that adorable little one.’
At Blake’s dismissive gesture, Jed bowed slightly and turned to leave.
From behind, as Jed exited the room, Blake spoke.
“And once the child receives the name, have him visit his maternal uncle once more.”
“Sir?”
“They say he’s fond of money, don’t they? Best offer him generous compensation. He’ll probably never work again for the rest of his life.”
At Blake’s words, Jed grinned knowingly.
“Of course. Once the child receives the name, he’ll be one of the Rodwicks.”
[This is the timeline separator]Late at night.
“Let’s sleep together in my room tonight. It’s a double, but I’ve been using it alone.”
Agnes was in Anna’s quarters.
She’d initially offered to sleep on the floor but, after a scolding from Anna, now lay on the bed.
‘So even an assassin family can be surprisingly kind-hearted.’
To offer a bed even to a slave…
She’d expected to sleep in a corner of the stable or storeroom.
The soft, pleasantly scented bed felt strange. Agnes wiggled her toes under the covers.
On the bed against the opposite wall, Anna slept soundly.
“And… you must wake me immediately if anything happens?”
Why had she said that earlier?
Agnes stared up at the shadowed ceiling.
Though she’d been lying down for quite a while, sleep wouldn’t come.
Partly due to the unfamiliar surroundings, but more so because of what Jed had told her earlier.
‘A new life, different from before….’
The past two days had been too vivid to be a dream.
Thus, Agnes decided to accept her current circumstances as reality.
Whether this was divine providence from the god she’d sought before death, or something else entirely—
She didn’t know for certain, but an opportunity had been given to her.
And soon, a new name as well.
‘What name will I receive?’
Agnes recalled Blake’s face.
He looked far too young to be considered a father and was undeniably handsome.
His aura and dignity were anything but ordinary.
Whatever name such a man chose would surely be impressive—even if it belonged to a slave.
Agnes’s heart fluttered.
‘I hope it’s a strong-sounding name.’
Perhaps then, she could become strong enough to avoid suffering.
As Agnes imagined various names, she sensed an odd presence.
Though her eyes hadn’t been closed, she hadn’t noticed when he’d arrived.
The boy stood right beside the bed, looking down at her.
Judging by the slightly open window letting in a breeze, he must have entered through it.
‘Ah, the Duke of Rodwick’s son.’
Their eyes met.
Cold red eyes stared at Agnes, while her own silvery eyes stared back at Deon.
Anna continued sleeping soundly, and the two remained locked in silent tension for a while.
Deon spoke first.
“Hey. Pup.”
“…Pup?”
“Your hair looks like dog fur.”
“…”
Agnes unconsciously pouted.
Before her bath, perhaps—but now, thanks to Anna’s efforts, her hair gleamed distinctly even in the dark.
Calling it dog fur was practically dismissing Anna’s hard work.
Fixing her gaze on Deon, Agnes opened her mouth.
“It’s not dog fur.”
Out of defiance, the polite “…sir” trailed slightly behind.
At least she’d used honorifics, so she hadn’t outright disrespected the master’s son.
Deon stared at her with an utterly incredulous expression.
“Aren’t you afraid of me?”
Agnes almost said, “I’m not afraid,” but bit her tongue.
‘…Should I be scared here?’
Deon seemed far too young to intimidate her—after all, mentally, she was nineteen.
Still, playing along might salvage their rocky first meeting.
After a brief hesitation, Agnes moved her lips softly.
“Wow. I’m scared.”
“…”
Then she realized—she had no talent for acting. And worse, she’d even slipped into informal speech with Deon.
Her well-intentioned performance clearly failed to impress him.
Thinking she was mocking him, Deon’s expression turned fierce.
“Don’t you know I’m a Rodwick?”
From somewhere, he produced a sword and pointed it at Agnes’s throat.
“I can kill you right now, without a sound.”
“…Will you kill me?”
“Yes.”
A lie.
Agnes knew the aura of killers when they harbored intent to kill.
A vivid crimson, as if ready to incinerate everything.
But Deon’s aura remained its usual black—unchanged.
‘If he doesn’t intend to kill me, why say such things?’
Moonlight glinted off the blade in Agnes’s eyes.
She hated swords. Back when her escape attempts reached double digits, Duke Gerwer had permitted his knights to threaten her with blades.
Ever since, Agnes had lost even the dream of freedom.
Until her final breath, her world had been the dungeon cell of the Gerwer estate.
“…”
Memories of those days flooded back vividly at the sight of the sword.
Wiping her sweaty palms on the bedsheets, Agnes feigned calmness and asked Deon,
“Will you stab me with that sword?”
“What do you think I’ll do?”
“I hope you won’t. Please.”
Deon looked down at Agnes lying on the bed.
The small child was pleading.
Other playmates his father had brought home had done the same.
When he’d appeared in the dead of night to frighten them, they’d begged tearfully for their lives.
“…”
With practiced ease, Deon sheathed his sword.
A few strands of Agnes’s silver hair, severed by the blade, drifted into the air.
“Then leave this place first thing tomorrow.”
Though her tearless face unsettled him slightly, he assumed she’d flee the mansion by morning like the others.
Deon turned without hesitation. A soft voice from the bed briefly halted his steps.
“…Why?”
Deon turned his head to look at Agnes.
In the boy’s red eyes now burned clear hostility, unlike before.
“Because I hate humans.”
[This is the timeline separator]‘Why does he hate humans?’
She’d pondered Deon’s words right up until falling asleep, and again from the moment she woke until now—but still couldn’t fathom the reason.
The most plausible guess was, ‘Does he hate humans because he’s a gifted one?’
But if that were true, it would mean Blake hated humans too—and she hoped that wasn’t the case.
“Go ahead and open it.”
The butler’s gentle voice broke Agnes from her thoughts.
Morning sunlight streamed through the window.
She stood in the butler’s office, holding the envelope just handed to her.
Thanks to Jed intercepting her on her way to breakfast and bringing her here.
“His lordship has given you a name! Aren’t you excited?”
Two pairs of eyes watched intently as Agnes opened the envelope.
Neither the butler nor Jed had seen the name written on the paper yet.
Finally, the paper unfolded, and all three read the name.
‘Ah, I knew His Lordship secretly enjoys pranks. Now, what name did he give this little one? I was torn between Rose and Sophia. Hmm.’
Certain the child couldn’t read, Jed assumed Blake was playing a joke.
Thus, the name he’d chosen would become the child’s.
While Jed weighed his options, the butler beside him had other thoughts.
‘…This name?’
Outwardly composed, the butler was inwardly flustered.
Blake’s chosen name for the child was utterly unexpected.
If the child received this name, her future would be…
‘…No. His Lordship said she must read it herself to receive it.’
Recalling Blake’s words, the butler calmed his confusion.
After all, the child surely couldn’t read—so there was nothing to worry about.
The child, who’d been staring fixedly at the paper, finally looked up.
She was truly adorable—as he’d thought yesterday. Especially when meeting those silvery eyes and hair, all worries seemed to melt away.
Unlike the butler, who felt warm satisfaction, the child handed him the paper with a deeply troubled expression.
“Butler.”
“…Can’t you read it?”
“It seems you’ve given me the wrong one.”
“I assure you, I didn’t give it to you by mistake.”
“But…”
The child hesitated briefly.
Then, as if carefully pointing out the butler’s error, she glanced uneasily at the paper and spoke cautiously.
“It says here… Tuariche Rodwick…”
“…!”
“Huh?! Kid, you can read?!”
The butler was speechless; Jed gaped at her in shock.
“Yes.”
“Really…?”
Jed looked as if his world had collapsed—crushed by the trivial fact that his chosen name, Rose, had vanished into thin air.
Unaware of this, Agnes grew flustered, thinking she’d made another mistake.
She’d briefly debated whether to reveal her literacy, but the name she’d received was so shocking she couldn’t dwell on it.
‘Rodwick?’
Sharing a surname meant family, didn’t it? At least, that’s what she understood.
‘This must be a mistake.’
Agnes was certain.
That name wasn’t meant for her. It surely belonged to someone else—someone of very noble blood.
The paper in her hand felt heavy. Though just paper, it pressed down on her with unspeakable weight.
She wished the butler would quickly take it from her.
But after studying her with inscrutable eyes, the butler soon smiled gently and said,
“Tuariche Rodwick. It suits you well.”
“…Huh?”
“Congratulations on your new status, my lady.”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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At least that will make her discovered sooner by her new family.
Oh no! An enemy. How did she get discovered so fast?