Chapter 14
<15화>
“So, what exactly is going on here?”
CRACK—!
A sudden flash of lightning outside turned the windows stark white for a split second.
Simultaneously, the fake plant headband atop his head quivered, adding a layer of gloom to the atmosphere.
“What is that headband?”
Calips asked.
“A disguise. I’ve been hiding in the office’s flowerpot since last night because I was curious about the brat’s true identity.”
Wow. That’s actually impressive.
I gave him a thumbs-up in genuine admiration.
“You have amazing skills. You should be a spy, Knox!”
“I’m not the type to be swayed by such flattery—”
Fidget—
Knox’s expressionless face flushed slightly as he stopped mid-sentence to adjust the headband.
“For the record, I made this myself. Anyway—”
Thud.
“…It was shocking enough that you adopted a little con artist, but for that child to be a spy from the House of Pose?”
He set the removed headband on the table and stared at me.
Having shed the bizarre disguise, Knox was once again the quintessential aide of the Crost Duchy.
“…….”
His blue eyes, devoid of emotion, clung to me as if they were trying to rummage through my very thoughts.
Only then did it click.
I’d noticed someone had been missing for the past few days.
‘That was Knox!’
I finally realized that the long-haired figure I’d spotted by the window was also him.
‘Thinking back, the maids have a rule about wearing their hair in buns. Knox is the only one in the entire Duke’s Castle with a ponytail!’
Regardless of my realization, Knox continued indifferently.
“At any rate, there will be an uproar if people find out about this.”
“Then keep it hidden.”
“Do you really think it can be kept hidden?”
“It will be, as long as you keep your mouth shut.”
“Keep my mouth shut?”
I turned my head back and forth, following the two men’s conversation, before clamping my jaw shut.
Not everyone in the Duke’s Castle needed to know my identity.
However, Knox was Calips’s closest confidant.
On top of that, he was a sharp-witted, capable aide who had suspected me from the very beginning.
I’d naturally assumed Calips would have told him.
‘It looks like they need to have a talk.’
I reached out and gave Calips’s chest a subtle poke.
Calips, who had been glaring with sharp eyes, leaned down toward me.
“What.”
I leaned in and whispered into his ear.
“Mister. Are you telling me you’re the only one who knows I’m a spy?”
“I didn’t think you’d get caught.”
“…Excuse me?”
He didn’t think I’d get caught?
Coming from the man who ruled the North, he didn’t think I’d get caught!
“…Didn’t you have everything prepared before you adopted me?”
“I told you before. I never had any intention of adopting you in the first place—”
Calips stopped abruptly, covering his mouth with his hand.
It was as if he’d almost let his true thoughts slip out unintentionally.
“Pardon?”
What was that? What was he about to say?
“…Mister?”
When I tilted my head in curiosity—
“Don’t worry. Uncle Knox might look like that, but he’s my subordinate. He listens to me.”
A large palm ruffled my hair roughly. By the time I managed to open my eyes again, Calips had returned to the adult I knew.
“My, aren’t we playing the doting father.”
It was then.
Clap, clap, clap.
As if he’d heard enough, Knox stood up with a dry round of applause that cut through our conversation.
“I don’t know if our fake Lady has cast a spell on Your Excellency or what, but she’s doing a hell of a job as a spy. To think I was actually worried.”
He glared at Calips with a hint of resentment before—
“Guards!”
He suddenly flung the door open and began to shout.
“There is a spy here from the House of Pose—!”
But Knox’s shout was cut short.
“Squeak?”
At the same time, Jjikjjigi, who had been sitting peacefully, suddenly flew through the air.
It was because I, holding Jjikjjigi, had made a massive leap in a semi-circle.
The so-called ‘Frog-Squirrel Technique.’
Leap like a frog, soar like a flying squirrel.
“Wait a moment!”
I landed perfectly on Knox’s shoulder.
“What is this! Get off me!”
A horrified Knox reached out to grab the scruff of my neck.
I wouldn’t have leaped in the first place if I were that easy to catch.
Scurry—
Perched on his shoulder, I crawled down his back like a lizard climbing a tree.
“What on earth—don’t touch my butt!”
“I’m sorry, it was the only thing I could grab…”
“This brat…!”
As a flustered Knox bent his upper body forward—
‘Hup!’
Transforming into a little monkey this time, I jumped back up onto his shoulder.
“…Ha, huff.”
Knox’s blue eyes widened in shock.
I could tell by his expression. This round was my victory.
‘Is it over already?’
Looking at the aide’s soul-leached face, I felt a bit awkward.
This man, Knox. He has absolutely zero athletic reflexes; he must have reached the position of aide purely through studying.
“Are you okay?”
I scratched the back of my neck, feeling a bit guilty.
“Look at this! Anyone can see she’s a trained spy! Those aren’t the reflexes of a five-year-old!”
Knox shouted sharply in anger.
My hair bristled at his words, but I tried to calm my racing heart.
‘Stay calm, Aisha.’
Now that I’d been caught, I couldn’t just let it slide.
To be acknowledged by Knox, I had to prove my worth somehow.
“…I can say this because I’m a five-year-old spy.”
“What?”
Perhaps because I’d mumbled, Knox asked me to repeat myself.
I grabbed the hem of his shirt and yelled at the top of my lungs.
“I’m a trained five-year-old! So I’ll prove my utility to you, Knox!”
“…….”
Silence followed.
Taking a deep breath, I looked around.
Knox seemed stunned by my words, frozen like a statue while still holding the doorknob.
Calips was the same.
He was in an awkward half-standing, half-sitting position on the sofa.
His red eyes were uncharacteristically wide, as if he were truly shocked.
‘Good. I’ve got their attention.’
It wasn’t quite the atmosphere I’d expected, but I pushed forward with my argument.
“I’ll act as a double agent. Then the House of Pose will keep sending telegrams, and those telegrams will surely contain classified information…”
It was then.
“Who told a five-year-old…”
I wasn’t sure which of the two men spoke first.
“…to prove her utility?”
“…to think we want utility?”
But by the time I snapped out of it.
I was suddenly dangling in the air, held by both Calips and Knox.
Blue eyes and red eyes.
The two men, who had answered simultaneously like twins, were looking at me with displeased expressions.
“A five-year-old…”
And—
“…who on earth says things like that at your age?”
“…shouldn’t be saying things like that.”
Their voices overlapped again.
“…Huh?”
What was this?
Confused by the situation, I blinked slowly.
“We’re on the same page for once.”
“Like master, like subordinate.”
“Forget it. I’m just going to stuff this brat’s mouth with strawberries.”
“Now that sounds like the Duke Calips I know.”
The two men, suddenly as synchronized as best friends of ten years, handed me over to May, the head maid.
The punishment I received was eating strawberry cake.
“…Mister?”
It was a shocking punishment: keep your mouth shut and just eat cake.
A little while later.
‘Forget it. I’m just going to stuff this brat’s mouth with strawberries.’
‘Stuff this brat’s mouth with strawberries…’
‘Stuff her mouth with strawberries…’
Grit—
My teeth marks were left on the fork I was biting.
May’s eyes went round at my ferocious display, but I wasn’t in the mood to care about what others thought.
The Duke’s insulting words were still ringing in my head!
‘Am I really that unreliable? I can do everything!’
In the midst of all this, there was the matter of the real Lady’s whereabouts! And the successor’s test!
My head felt like it was going to explode from all the unresolved problems.
As I narrowed my eyes and chewed on the cake, I felt May’s gaze from across the room.
Stare—
The moment our gazes met in mid-air.
“…….”
Fear filled May’s face, which had previously looked like she was just praying for time to pass.
She glanced at me tentatively before bowing her head and backing away.
“Well, since I’ve delivered the cake, I shall take my leave…”
“Head Maid May.”
When I called out to her in a desperate voice, her footsteps came to a heavy halt.
“Yes, Lady Aisha.”
Still glaring, I asked almost as if I were shouting.
“Does the Duke find me that unreliable?!”
“…….”
Oops. A slip of the tongue.
I quickly covered my mouth with my small hands, but the words were already out.
I’d spoken out of frustration in the heat of the moment.
Knox might have found out I was a spy, but it was a secret from everyone else. I shouldn’t be living so recklessly!
“May, I’m sorry! What I just said was…”
“It is because you broke the contract.”
But then.
“He adopted you out of pity, but he wouldn’t trust you. You were the one who lied first, my Lady.”
The head maid murmured with a cold expression.
