Chapter 37
37. Spy Genius2022.01.06.
The Marquis peered into the intelligence slip sent by Reina with a grave look in his eyes. 【 ― Sir Arthur is picky about mushrooms. 】
“…….”
The Marchioness sat on the sofa, her face flushed red with anger as she huffed and puffed.
“Those two are toying with me as a pair? ……Do they think I’m a joke?!”
“…….”
Doctor Lorenson was taking her pulse and checking her blood pressure beside her, while Mrs. Hurst handed her a glass of cold water.
“…….”
Reina. The maid currently playing the role of Sir Arthur’s wife in place of Christina. The Marquis, Antonio Julius, had begun remembering that maid’s name a few days ago. Starting from the moment she had saved House Julius from crisis when ‘that knight’ appeared in the gazette. 【 Lady Christina visits families of fallen soldiers alongside Sir Arthur; belated revelation becomes the talk of the town! 】 ― I didn’t know she was Lady Christina. ― She came with Sir Arthur and quietly wept from behind……
“…….”
A few days ago, the incident where he had slapped a knight named Lionel had blown up, nearly sending House Julius’s reputation crashing down. More decisive in reviving House Julius than the hard-won ‘interview with Arthur’—which had cost them so much blood—was that very incident. The belated revelation that ‘Lady Christina’ had visited families of fallen soldiers had become the talk of the town.
“…….”
Crying behind Sir Arthur while he visited the families? If it had been Christina, it would have been utterly laughable. That event had left a deep impression on the Marquis. Thanks to that maid being at Sir Arthur’s side, they had reaped an unexpected gain. It was far better for the maid to act the part than to have his actual daughter there. Thanks to her, the Marquis’s evaluation of Reina had softened. It was probably the most generous assessment a father-in-law could have toward his son-in-law’s mistress. At first, he had been bewildered and furious, but now he even felt relieved that the one Sir Arthur had by his side was her. At the very least, right now, it felt far more reliable to have that maid pretending to be Christina at Sir Arthur’s side. She wouldn’t cause any major incidents, knowing how precious her own life was. It was a sensitive time, and his daughter was spoiled rotten with absolutely no cautious bone in her body. Honestly, the Marquis even wanted to entrust her with Christina’s role for a bit longer, as long as she kept doing this well. Until his position as Elector stabilized and House Julius’s reputation solidified—just a little more.
“…….”
On top of that, he wanted to use the time to straighten out his daughter’s manners. If only it weren’t for the Crown Prince or Lord Rembrandt…… The Marquis quietly gazed at the intelligence slip brought by that girl, ‘the maid Reina.’ 【 ― Sir Arthur is picky about mushrooms. 】
“…….”
Unconsciously, a vague expectation had formed in the Marquis’s mind that this girl would do something plausible and valuable. She was useful. Far more than his own daughter. The Marquis examined the slip closely before muttering softly.
“……Could this mean something else?”
The Marchioness, who had been huffing in excitement, clutched her head and glared at him sharply.
“What other meaning?!”
“…….”
The Marquis narrowed his eyes and spoke.
“Think about why he’d be picky about mushrooms.”
She nearly shouted that she didn’t care about mushrooms or whatever reason that bastard’s son had for being picky, but the Marquis continued.
“Like a serious allergy?”
“!”
The Marchioness’s eyes widened in an instant. The Marquis stroked his chin, glaring at the slip before muttering.
“An allergy that could endanger his life would definitely be a major weakness.”
“!”
Seeing the change in the Marchioness’s expression at his words, the Marquis clicked his tongue reproachfully as he looked at her.
“……But thanks to you, Arthur will have guessed that the maid is watching him, so if he has such an allergy, he’ll be doing everything to keep it from being discovered.”
“……!”
The Marquis continued, increasingly convinced by his own words.
“So she has no way to confirm whether it’s an allergy or not. She can only observe.”
Finally, having reached a firm conclusion, the Marquis pointed decisively at the slip on the table.
“There’s a chance Sir Arthur has a mushroom allergy, so she sent this to tell us to verify it.”
“!”
The Marquis stroked his chin meaningfully. And this content…… 【 ― Sir Arthur is picky about mushrooms. 】
“She probably wrote it this way to disguise it as something harmless even if the slip is discovered.”
“!”
The Marquis realized Reina’s meticulousness and marveled at it. A genius at intelligence, wasn’t she? If he truly had a severe mushroom allergy, this was valuable information. Of course, it might not be a critical weakness…… But if in just a week she had noticed the circumstances of Sir Arthur avoiding mushrooms and astutely considered the possibility of an allergy, asking us to help confirm it for him—then this maid had achieved quite respectable results in a short time. And in an environment where everyone around her was aware of and hostile toward her intelligence activities. Keen observation. Excellent insight. Meticulous handling. Innate talent, wasn’t it? The Marquis smiled in satisfaction, interlocking his fingers over his knee and crossing his legs.
“That Reina girl is pretty useful, isn’t she?”
He chuckled mockingly at his wife, as if to say she couldn’t even grasp this clear implication despite the capable maid bringing such information.
“You’re right. She was worth keeping alive.”
With an arrogant glint in his eyes, the Marquis commanded Mrs. Hurst.
“Check if Sir Arthur has a mushroom allergy. Ah, but it might be dangerous, so be careful not to feed him too many mushrooms.”
He added rather generously.
“Just confirm it.”
He couldn’t afford to accidentally kill his precious son-in-law. The Marquis lifted his chin confidently, as if he already had Sir Arthur’s life in his grasp. * * * Upon returning, Sir Arthur received a report from Lionel about how Reina had been during his absence.
“She slept in her dress. She woke up later than usual.”
“…….”
Only then did Sir Arthur realize he had forgotten to ask a maid to help Reina change her clothes. He hadn’t been in his right mind. As Sir Arthur listened silently, Lionel’s report continued.
“She didn’t seem to be in poor condition. After changing clothes, the family physician she had been waiting for examined the wound on her forehead. He said the dressing was the last for today. The wound has fully healed.”
“……Is that so?”
“Yes. He said it healed well without a scar. However…….”
Lionel’s voice continued.
“The conversation with the family physician afterward concerns me a bit. It might be nothing…….”
Sir Arthur leaned back in his chair, urging him with his eyes to continue.
“The physician mentioned he has an out-of-town lecture next week and will send his son in his place.”
Sir Arthur’s expression subtly shifted.
“…….”
A gaze telling him to go on. The report continued.
“He said his son would visit to check on the lady in his absence and to give thanks. He mentioned you gave his son a new job but hadn’t had a chance to express gratitude. He said he met him yesterday and that his son is adapting well.”
“…….”
Sir Arthur smirked and put a cigar in his mouth.
“What did my wife say?”
As Sir Arthur lit the cigar while looking at him, Lionel continued the report.
“She said it was a relief. She asked if there were any difficulties. The physician replied that the patient is healthy, always treats him kindly, and it’s not hard work. They had that kind of conversation.”
“…….”
Sir Arthur quietly exhaled the cigar smoke. Lionel’s report went on.
“After that, she drank her herbal tea as usual, and the physician left.”
“…….”
Sir Arthur slowly finished burning one cigar there. Then, with a pat on Lionel’s shoulder as thanks, he flashed a grin and entered the bridal chamber. * * *
“…….”
“…….”
Honestly, Reina had no expertise in makeup. She vaguely sensed that Marina’s makeup was an impressive skill, but that was it. Like most impressive skills, it looked easy when a professional did it, but trying to imitate it herself never came out right.
“…….”
But even Reina, with no eye for it, knew this wasn’t it.
“……Brody?”
“S-Sorry!”
Brody was desperately layering and rubbing things on, putting in effort, but it just wasn’t coming together. Far from that, even the moderately clean, fresh ‘ordinarily pretty’ look Brody usually gave her wasn’t appearing. The highlight on her nose bridge made it look like a gleaming staircase railing, the excessive blush on her cheeks like she’d been slapped, the eyelids densely coated with golden pearl shimmer like a silkworm dusted in gold powder, and the lips with red rouge that didn’t match the gold—overdone. Panicking because she thought she’d applied too much blush, Brody tried to lightly rub it off her cheeks, but the clumped powder started smearing and cracking. The more she touched it in panic, the worse it got.
“…….”
“…….”
Reina thought she needed to stop Brody now.
“Brody, this is…….”
Clunk. At that moment, the door opened, and Sir Arthur and Lionel entered. Gasp. Brody, who had been reapplying blush to Reina’s cheeks, inhaled sharply and froze.
“…….”
Sir Arthur’s gaze turned to Reina through the mirror.
“…….”
Sir Lionel, seeing Reina’s face behind Sir Arthur, flinched and drew in a breath.
“…….”
Reina instinctively covered the lower half of her face with her hand.
“…….”
Brody already knew something was wrong. Trembling violently, she dropped the puff and prostrated herself, voice choking with tears.
“I-I’m sorry, miss!”
The flustered Reina looked down at the prostrated Brody.
“P-Please don’t abandon me.”
Reina hurriedly lifted her up.
“I-It’s okay. It’s okay. No one’s perfect all the time. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes…….”
Even as she spoke, Reina glanced nervously at Sir Arthur. Is it okay for me to comfort Brody like this in front of them? Christina would never have let it slide…… But Sir Arthur, Sir Lionel, and Brody all knew she wasn’t Christina, so she couldn’t channel Christina and hurl an ashtray at Brody in some method-acting possession. Whatever. She didn’t care anymore. She wanted to cry too. Sweating bullets, Reina comforted Brody.
“It’s okay. I like it! It’s unique.”
Ahem. Behind them, Sir Lionel cleared his throat awkwardly, stifling a laugh. Then he averted his gaze, bowed his head, and bit his lip. Reina’s face was avant-garde enough to test even a stern knight’s composure.
“…….”
Sir Arthur signaled with his eyes for Lionel to leave. After Lionel bowed and withdrew, he entered the room alone.
“Good work. You can go now.”
Even Brody received the dismissal.
“Y-Yes, but, miss’s makeup…….”
Brody stammered tearfully about her unfinished task. Sir Arthur smiled brightly.
“It’s fine. Go on out. I’ll do it.”
What? Do what? Sir Arthur nodded toward the door.
“Out.”
“…….”
Both Reina and Brody were stunned, but Brody couldn’t insist further. Ever since the dinner incident a few days ago, Brody and Marina had been a bit afraid of Sir Arthur. Brody slinked away from him while giving Reina a desperate look. Don’t abandon me……
“…….”
She bowed and backed out of the room.
“…….”
“…….”
Now only the two of them remained in the room. In front of Reina, who was at a loss with her ridiculous makeup and one hand covering the bottom half of her face, Sir Arthur silently removed his gloves.
“…….”
Sitting at the vanity, Reina avoided Sir Arthur’s gaze. She wanted to wipe off this embarrassing makeup quickly. Drag. Sir Arthur pulled up a chair and sat right in front of her, close enough that their knees nearly overlapped. Reina looked at him awkwardly, tense.
