Chapter 8

“Hey, you know Dorothy? Turns out she was a spy from the Pose family.”

“What? Dorothy? The one I know? The one who never lent out her adult novel and read it all by herself?”

“Yeah. That Dorothy.”

“My goodness. I never would have guessed.”

“Right? The war hasn’t even been over that long, and a spy....”

Things unfolded exactly as I had expected.

The moment Dorothy’s maid uniform with the report written on it was discovered, the Kreutz estate fell into chaos.

Now Calypse will be able to bring escort knights when he visits the Kingdom of Doctia, right?

It was obvious.

Just uncovering a spy was serious enough to reignite a war. Which meant the one who now had to beg and grovel had become Duke Pose.

Even if Calypse shows up with a hundred knights, they won’t dare say a word.

Serves him right.

Pop—

Lying on the bed, I raised my big toe in victory.

Things had gone well. Now, if Calypse just brought back the young lady, I might be able to escape from Duke Pose.

“Until then, I’ll just take a nap—”

Bang!

“Aisha. His Grace has ordered you to come to the office.”

“...O-okay?”

I was just about to nap....

My leg, which had been lifted lazily in the air, froze in place.

***

As I followed the knight out the door—

A scream from not far away struck my ears.

“If you’re taking me, take that brat Aisha too! That little thing is a spy as well!”

It was Dorothy.

She was being dragged by no less than two knights, yet she was so strong that she was barely holding her ground in the corridor, thrashing wildly.

“I’m telling you, that brat Aisha is a spy too! Why are you only taking me?!”

Her eyes, blood vessels burst, were far from normal. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

She had probably been preparing to leave the Kreutz estate by now. Being suddenly arrested and taken to prison must have been impossible for her to accept.

“Oh—Aisha?”

At that moment—

A flicker of hope appeared on Dorothy’s face when she spotted me.

“You’re taking her too, right? Right?”

No way. Had I been exposed too?

I looked up at the knights, slightly tense, but they didn’t even pretend to listen.

“Knights, please take that woman away quickly.”

Instead, one of the maids muttered with a displeased expression.

“Resa, trust me and try soaking that brat’s clothes in ice water. Okay? We were close, weren’t we?”

Recognizing a familiar face, Dorothy suddenly lowered her brows pitifully and pleaded in a desperate tone.

Since things weren’t going her way, she seemed to be trying to act polite now.

“It’s true. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but... we were plotting together just yesterday. A spy plot meeting. So you have to expose that child as a spy too. Okay?”

But unfortunately for her, the maid called Resa didn’t even pretend to listen.

“Take her away already. I’m ashamed that I was ever close to her.”

“.......”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll just leave.”

Resa even left the corridor, as if she didn’t want to remain in the same space as Dorothy.

Wow. So that’s the end of a failed spy.

A spy builds connections during their mission, no matter the intent.

And naturally, when those around them learn they are a spy, all the blame and condemnation must be borne by the spy alone.

“...Were spies always that pathetic?”

The servants who had gathered nearby whispered among themselves at Dorothy’s outburst.

“Seriously. And dragging a child into it too....”

“That child is the one who found the young lady’s whereabouts. What do you mean she’s a spy?”

“But how did she even know that? It is a bit suspicious.”

I almost flinched at that, but the words that followed let me relax.

“Even so. There’s no way the Pose family would send a five-year-old as a spy, right?”

Actually, they did.

Feeling their gazes pierce into me, I quietly hid behind the knight’s back.

Still, one thing had become certain. Duke Pose’s intuition had been correct—people would easily dismiss suspicion toward a five-year-old child.

“Ignore that woman’s nonsense. Let’s go.”

The knight also ignored Dorothy and spoke kindly to me.

So it wasn’t suspicion—it really was just that His Grace had summoned me.

Only then did I feel relieved and answered brightly.

“Yes.”

As I passed by Dorothy following the knight—

“You! How long do you think you can hide what you are?!”

Dorothy, who had gone eerily quiet, suddenly started screaming again.

“If you cling to this side and that side like a bat, no one will ever acknowledge you—you’ll just be discarded! Pick a side and act accordingly!”

“.......”

“And you found it while washing my clothes, didn’t you?! You did that on purpose!”

...I found it?

Among the insults I had been ignoring, there was something I couldn’t just brush aside.

I paused for about half a second, then kept walking without showing it.

Something felt off.

It was true that Dorothy had been exposed because of me.

But I had never directly shown her report to anyone, nor had I personally revealed her identity.

“.......”

Which meant someone I didn’t know had seen what I did.

“Your Grace. Aisha has been brought.”

My thoughts were tangled, my fists clenched tight.

At the knight’s respectful knock and words, a low voice came from beyond the door.

“Enter.”

When the door opened and I stepped inside, Duke Calypse Kreutz was standing there.

“Leave the brat here and wait outside.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The knight gave me a subtle farewell glance and quietly closed the door behind him like a shadow.

Before I knew it, only Duke Calypse Kreutz and I remained in the office.

Calm down, Aisha.

Come to think of it, why had the Duke called me at this point?

“...Y-Your Grace.”

I greeted him, trying to act normal, but I was so tense my voice nearly split in three.

The air around me felt heavy, pressing down on my shoulders like lead.

I didn’t know why, but something inside me kept signaling that something had gone wrong.

I looked at Duke Calypse Kreutz, as always wearing his mask.

On the luxurious oak desk, his long, straight fingers tapped—tap, tap—in a steady rhythm.

A private audience. No escort knights, not even Knox. Just the two of us.

The moment his visible eyes focused entirely on me, tension filled the room.

And just as I lost that strange silent standoff and blinked—

“!”

The black mask suddenly appeared right in front of me.

“.......”

I flinched in shock.

I had only blinked once, but Duke Calypse Kreutz had already moved in front of me, bending his knees to meet my gaze.

When... how...

And then, the question I had wanted to ask—

“How.”

He spoke first.

“How can you be so calm?”

Along with a question I didn’t understand.

“A normal child would have fainted or burst into tears by now. Even an adult would struggle to lift their eyes.”

His tone remained utterly composed.

“.......”

Behind the black mask, those vivid blood-red eyes were observing me.

After studying me for a long moment as if peering inside, he explained what he meant.

“It means that right now, I am releasing that much killing intent toward a brat like you.”

He was close enough that I could feel his breath.

Though he had bent down to meet my gaze, his size was overwhelming, as if he could devour me whole.

Resting his elbow on his knee, he looked like a crouched predator.

“So you’re not afraid at all.”

A trace of amusement crept into his low voice.

Only then did I manage to answer, my voice breaking.

“I am.”

“Then are you pretending not to be afraid despite being afraid?”

“Yes.”

“I see. That’s what they taught you. In the Pose family.”

“!”

At his casual words, my eyes shook violently.

He already knew?

I couldn’t believe it. I had thought no one could possibly know.

There was no way Duke Calypse Kreutz could have found proof that I was a spy.

Sure, he might have noticed I was smarter than an ordinary five-year-old—but beyond that, what had I shown him?

“H-how did you....”

My voice trembled.

Under his sharp gaze, the emotions I had hidden behind my mask were exposed.

“...Now you’re acting like a normal five-year-old.”

Watching me in fear, Calypse muttered quietly.

For some reason—

Though I didn’t understand why, he seemed slightly relieved that I was acting like an ordinary five-year-old.

But I was too busy being overwhelmed by the fact that my identity had been exposed.

“A-are you going to kill me?”

At my own question, my fingers spread out like a web in fear.

“......?”

The frozen edge of his gaze twisted from that moment.

“Where did a child learn to say something like that?”

“Uh... from the Pose family.”

“Stop talking about that damned—no, that family. Just answer my questions from now on.”

“Yes.”

Snapping to attention, I stood stiffly.

Though my trembling legs barely held me up.

“How many young spies like you are there in that family?”

“I’m the first to receive a spy mission at the age of five—”

That was when—

“Haa—.”

Before I could finish, the Duke suddenly sighed.

W-what did I do wrong? Get it together, Aisha!

“!”

As I forced my shaking legs to steady, the Duke abruptly grabbed me under the arms again, as if something displeased him.

I squeezed my eyes shut from the tension, and felt myself being moved somewhere. Soon, something soft—a sofa—touched my backside.

This touch... I’ve felt it somewhere before.

“A child who doesn’t know gratitude can’t come into the garden. Get out.”

“...Mister gardener?”

“What?”

Both the Duke’s eyes and mine widened at the same time.

“...Ah.”

The word slipped out before I could stop it. I quickly covered my mouth, but it was already too late.