Chapter 52
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BANG!
King Arjen slammed his fist onto his desk, his knuckles turning white.
He had never felt so betrayed in his life.
He had secretly disposed of the body as the Duke of Pose requested, but during their secret dealings, there had been one absolute condition.
Do not bring a ‘spy’ into the royal castle.
Do not plant a ‘spy’ on anyone residing in the royal castle, and specifically, do not attach a ‘spy’ to anyone associated with the royal family even if they leave the kingdom.
And yet.
“How could you do this, Duke of Pose? You’ve already broken my one and only condition!”
BANG!
King Arjen slammed the desk again, his face flushing crimson with rage.
In truth, he desperately needed to maintain relations with the King of Doctia to foster harmony between the Frozen Kingdom and the Doctia Kingdom, whose relationship was currently on thin ice.
However, the reason he had reached out to the Duke of Pose first was simple.
Jealousy toward Duke Calips.
He wanted to tarnish Duke Calips’s reputation and fill that void himself.
That was all.
“Please, listen to me for a moment, Your Majesty. This… even I did not expect this.”
Standing across from him, the Duke of Pose let out a low groan and pressed his hand to his forehead.
“What? You didn’t expect it? You didn’t expect your spy to get caught?”
“No. I did not plant a spy in the royal castle, just as Your Majesty commanded.”
“But didn’t you identify the body as a spy from the House of Pose yourself!”
“That is precisely why I find it so questioning.”
“……?”
“Your Majesty.”
A moment of silence fell over the room.
The Duke of Pose stared at King Arjen with his pale gray eyes.
His gaze held no trace of fear, only deep bewilderment.
“If I had truly planted a spy, would I have confessed to Your Majesty that the corpse belonged to me?”
“……?”
At the Duke’s words, King Arjen’s chest, which had been heaving with fury, began to settle.
As his reason finally returned, he fell into quiet thought.
No. He wouldn’t have.
A spy from the House of Pose would never carry anything that would give away their identity in the first place.
As the saying goes, a spy’s final mission is to be buried in silence, unknown to anyone.
‘There was no evidence, so he could have easily lied.’
But he hadn’t.
And if the Duke of Pose had intended to bring in a spy…
‘He wouldn’t have let a dead spy be discovered by the royal knights. Spies are far too thorough for that.’
Only then did King Arjen slowly lower himself onto the sofa.
“First… let’s talk. Sit down.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The Duke of Pose bowed his head at Arjen’s command and finally took a seat.
The Duke was already in a foul mood due to the events in the North.
The monster berserk symptoms, which he thought would take days to resolve, had been suppressed by the House of Crost in a single day.
Because of this, the Duke of Pose began to doubt the effectiveness of the Berserk Potion, while King Arjen had to fume at the sight of Calips’s face on the front page of the newspapers, hailed as a ‘hero.’
‘I was already in the position of having to walk on eggshells around Arjen because of that, and now this spy business out of nowhere.’
The Duke of Pose narrowed his eyes.
The body he had seen in the morgue was someone who had originally been operating in the North.
His defining feature was his narrow, slit-like eyes.
He couldn’t recall the man’s name—he had never bothered to give him one—but he had ordered him to secretly sell illegal potions at a front called ‘Percus’s Bookstore.’
If he had stayed at ‘Percus’s Bookstore,’ that spy would still be alive. So why did he leave a safe base and come all the way to the royal castle?
His mind raced.
As the head of a family of spies, he had dealt with countless accidents, both large and small.
And then—
‘…Aisha.’
One of the spies the Duke of Pose currently favored most.
The clever child who had managed to secure the position of an immediate daughter to Duke Calips.
‘She said she was coming to the royal castle.’
This was the most likely possibility. The dead spy had followed Aisha to the castle. And Aisha…
‘Disappeared without even seeing the King.’
Of course, they claimed she was moved via portal due to some accident, but this was the royal castle. What kind of accident could possibly happen here?
Unless a spy was up against another spy… something like this shouldn’t…
‘Is something happening to Aisha?’
“I sincerely apologize to Your Majesty for the discourtesy caused by this incident.”
“…Ahem!”
The Duke of Pose bowed so deeply his crown was visible, but Arjen only let out an uncomfortable cough.
He had expected as much.
The Duke raised his head and offered the most groveling smile he could muster.
“The least I can do for Your Majesty is to uncover the truth of why our spy came to the royal castle and died….”
“…….”
“But I realize that alone will not satisfy you. Therefore, I intend to reveal a Class 1 secret of the House of Pose. I believe it is a secret that will pique Your Majesty’s interest.”
At those words, King Arjen, who had been pretending not to listen, perked up his ears.
‘So simple-minded.’
But simple was good.
Strictly speaking, King Arjen wasn’t an ally; he was a tool to be used and discarded once his sweetness was sucked dry.
The Duke of Pose clicked his tongue inwardly and continued.
“The House of Crost caused quite a stir recently by adopting an orphan as an immediate daughter.”
King Arjen replied curtly.
“Indeed. What of it?”
“An orphan becoming an immediate daughter of the duchy…. It sounds like something out of a fairy tale, does it not?”
“What are you trying to say?”
“…….”
The Duke of Pose intentionally stopped talking, a smile playing on his lips.
Arjen’s head slowly turned toward the Duke. Soon, unable to contain his curiosity, he leaned his elbows on the table.
‘That’s it. Wait until you hear this.’
Satisfied, the Duke of Pose finally spoke.
“That fairy tale was actually entirely planned by us. The child named ‘Aisha,’ who went from orphan to daughter of the Duke, is our spy.”
“…What?”
Arjen’s mouth fell open.
He rubbed his jaw as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but the look of shock remained etched on his face.
“Is that true? Word is that Duke Calips dotes on that girl tremendously.”
“That is the caliber of a spy from the House of Pose.”
“…My god.”
Arjen stood up and began pacing in circles, overwhelmed by the revelation.
“The daughter of the house is a spy…. And Duke Calips has no idea.”
“Yes. I also desire the total destruction of the House of Crost, so Aisha, with her title as the Duke’s daughter, is my trump card.”
“A trump card…?”
“Your Majesty. Imagine a father’s heart breaking when he realizes the child he cherished so dearly is a spy for a rival family.”
“!”
Arjen’s eyes widened at the Duke’s words.
‘The Berserk Potion operation failed, but….’
The Duke of Pose was truly something else.
He had been preparing measures to bring down the House of Crost from multiple angles for a long time.
“You really are something. What a brilliant idea!”
“Thank you.”
“If you need anything during the process, just say the word. I will support you in any way I can.”
The Duke of Pose smiled faintly at King Arjen’s praise.
‘Now that I’ve soothed that fool of a king, I know what needs to be done.’
He would have to send in a new spy.
He needed to know what was happening in the House of Crost.
And he needed to find out what Aisha was up to, as her reports had been sparse lately.
A few days later.
The cat woke up in a familiar cage and was momentarily confused.
‘Am I back at Ahili’s Circus?’
She was terrified that the circus staff might have harmed Aisha.
Sniff, sniff.
The cat sniffed the pile of blankets that were as soft as a bed.
The smell of food. The smell of snow. The scent of someone’s hands.
Various scents were mixed together, and among them was the faint, lingering scent of Aisha.