Steal an item from her room

"There's a brilliant blue quill on my desk," Alice said, coming up with a plan. "From the tailfeather of a Saragonian Eagle. Far from my most valuable possession, but I am quite fond of it regardless. Steal it, and bring it back to me as proof that you managed to bypass the palace's security measures. Obviously, if you are caught, I will deny any involvement, and you will be put to **** without a trial. Is that clear?"

"A bit of boring assignment, but I suppose it will serve as a decent demonstration," he replied. The palace would be a challenge, even for someone of his caliber. Only the most senior knights have the role of protecting it, and while their position is ceremonial in nature, their experience and skills cannot be understated. That, combined with the difficulty of either bypassing the main gate or scaling the walls and crossing the moat made for a very intricate puzzle that would need to be followed. Plus, even once he got in, he wouldn't actually know which room belonged to princess Alice anyways, so he'd be **** to either search the place top to bottom, or eavesdrop to get the information he needed. All in all, it was a tough ask, but it would certainly prove his skills beyond a shadow of a doubt.

"I agree with boring, but I can't exactly have you offing someone during a test run, now can I? Alice joked morbidly. "If you can get into my room and get out without being noticed, I'll take that as proof that you're as capable as you say you are. And I will repeat this one more time: do not harm anyone. My maid will be visiting my room quite often when I'm not present, and if you so much as touch a single hair on her body, I will make sure your end is a painful one."

"Of course, I try my best not to get on the bad sides of royals such as yourself," Kuro replied. "No deaths, no discovery, fetching a quill. Sounds simple enough. Any other special instructions? Want me to deliver you some flowers as well?"

"No, that will be all," Alice said curtly. "As far as payment goes-"

"Won't be necessary. You can pay me when you're actually hiring me for a hit," Kuro interrupted. "This is just a test, you said so yourself, right?"

Now it was Alice's turn to be taken aback. "Huh? A test this may be, but you're still risking your life, are you not? Yet you're willing to do this for free?" Alice asked, confused.

"Bah, it's not as big of a risk as you imagine. Worst case scenario: I get caught and escape like a coward, and you'll have to find another assassin. Realistically though, that won't happen. So no, I won't need your money for something so simple. Save it for a big job, maybe one of your brothers?" Kuro joked, though his eyes were dead serious.

"...If you say so, then so be it. I'm not foolish or prideful enough to reject charity," Alice acquiesces. "Then I hope to hear good news. Once you've succeeded in your objective, go through the main entrance and inform the steward that you're a guest of mine. Katherine will let you inside."

Negotiations done, Kuro got up, allowing Alice to leave the corner. By the time she pushed her way out and turned to say goodbye, the Easterner was already gone.