SNM 14🏞️

Chapter 14

Whooo—

A chilly wind brushed against my cheeks. At last, the suffocating heaviness inside me felt like it was lifting a little.

“Well, it’s not like I opened the window to clear my mood.”

The poison on this handkerchief wasn’t strong enough to kill instantly.

Instead, it had the property of quickly corroding materials like paper and cloth, making it extremely useful for disposing of incriminating evidence. That was also why she had been forced to build up resistance to it.

‘S-still… just in case!’

It’s not because I’m scared, okay? It’s just—it seemed bad for my health, so I’m, you know, airing out the room. You get it, right?

Muttering excuses to no one in particular, I finally unfolded the handkerchief.

Flap—

A plain sky-blue handkerchief embroidered with a simple pattern.

Aside from the awkwardly stitched name “Lillian” at the bottom, nothing about it seemed remarkable.

‘On the surface, that is.’

This was a kind of signal for a rendezvous.

The embroidery pattern indicated coordinates.
The color of the handkerchief signified the time.
The sloppy stitches forming the name determined the date.

If my interpretation wasn’t wrong, then the date requested for this meeting was—

“Tonight!”

Instinctively, I looked out the window. The sun had already begun to sink, and dusk was creeping in. Not much time left until the rendezvous.

‘Why so soon?!’

I wasn’t even mentally prepared yet!

I stomped my feet anxiously. How was I supposed to sneak out of the duke’s estate? And once I got there, how should I act? There were too many things to worry about.

First things first…

I held the handkerchief over the lamp on my desk. Soon enough, the flame caught.

Fwoosh—

Of course, even if I’d left it alone, the handkerchief would have disintegrated by tomorrow. That was the reason for the poison in the first place.

Even if it had fallen into someone else’s hands, it would never serve as evidence. Nor would it leave behind traces that might expose Lillian as a spy.

‘Still, items this ominous… better to destroy them fast.’

Naturally.

The poison made the fabric burn away even faster. Smoke curled up as I raised my arm to cover my nose and mouth.

“Cough, cough!”

The acrid stench brought back Lillian’s memories—and with them, a rising tide of fury.

How could they feed such poison to a child? Let her writhe in pain on the floor?

‘Is that something a human being should ever do?!’

According to the duke, Lillian had been a fallen noble’s daughter who survived thanks to distant relatives.

If that was true, then it was very likely those very relatives had been involved in this spy business—directly or indirectly.

‘Even if she had chosen this path herself…’

Considering how young Lillian had been in those memories, this was nothing short of abuse.

How could a child know enough to willingly throw herself into espionage? Clearly, she had been forced into it. And because of that, I felt a deep sense of empathy and pity.

After all, I too had lost my parents and endured a harsh childhood.

‘Fine then. I’ll go.’

If I went to this meeting, I could confront whoever was behind it all.

Tap, tap.

I dusted the ashes out the window. They vanished with the breeze.

Then, pulling off the stained gloves, I made a vow:

I would see with my own eyes the face of the one who had forced Lillian into this life.

* * *

A deserted alley.

A woman in black silently emerged from the shadows. She moved quickly, not a single footstep sounding on the ground.

Halt.

She stopped before an old shop, its appearance shabby and long closed.

Unfazed, the woman pushed open the door.

Creeeak—

The grating sound of the hinges echoed through the empty interior.

As expected, no one was visible inside.

She entered and swept her gaze around.

“……”

Then, with slow steps, she moved forward.

Past tables stacked with chairs. Into the center of the shop.

Her eyes flicked to a nearby table.

And then—

CRASH!!

Two daggers slammed down at once.

Crack! Deep splits tore through the thick wood. The result was far too violent for a simple display of force.

The woman, however, raised her empty hands calmly, as if to show she carried no further weapons.

At that moment—

Whoosh—

Figures clad in pitch-black armor burst forth, as if conjured from the air.

Anyone else might have been shocked, but she only stared at them coolly.

“……”
“……”

A suffocating silence followed.

Finally, one of the armored men approached her.

Step, step.

He radiated danger with every stride, pressing down with sheer presence alone.

Stopping just one pace away, he lowered his head.

“We have been waiting for you.”

* * *

Right now…

A man easily twice the size of Lillian’s body was bowing his head to me.

I stared down at him with a blank face, but inside I thought:

‘I-I’m terrified!!’

Sneaking out of the duke’s estate had gone well enough.

The servants’ wing was poorly guarded, and thanks to all my “double life” experience, I had gotten quite good at hiding my presence.

‘Th-this way, right?’

It was my first time outside the mansion, so I was a little flustered. But I managed to follow the coordinates.

Apparently Lillian had done this kind of meeting often enough that the memories were imprinted faintly in her mind.

Now all that was left was…

To play the part of the real Lillian.

Thankfully, plenty of memories had surfaced by now. There was a clear contrast between her “day job” as a maid and her “true job” as a spy, but it wasn’t beyond imitation.

‘Lillian was naturally quiet, didn’t talk much… so if I just keep my mouth shut, I’ll be fine.’

Recalling the time I’d dealt with a troublesome patron, I walked into the rendezvous spot.

Creeeak—

The place looked creepy enough for a ghost story, but I forced myself to maintain a poker face.

Even the “slam two daggers with one hand” performance succeeded without issue.

‘Just one last thing: the “disarm gesture”… and I’m done!’

As expected, figures in dark clothes revealed themselves all at once. Fellow spies, clearly.

But—

‘T-their eyes…’

Too terrifying!

The kind of eyes that could cut me down without hesitation.

Sure, it was part of the job… but still.

Gulp.

Faced with Lillian’s colleagues, I froze. All I could do was nod stiffly, trying to mask my fear behind silence.

And so—

I now followed the scariest of them down a pitch-dark underground staircase.

Creak, creeak—

The old wooden steps groaned underfoot, a sound that made my skin crawl. The perfect setting for me, a coward, to faint.

‘Ugh, seriously…!’

Biting back the urge to scream, I stayed close behind him.

At least Lillian had good night vision. Thanks to that, I could descend easily despite the suffocating darkness.

As expected of a spy.

“This way.”

At last, the staircase ended in a dimly lit corridor. A strange thing to find underground, but I acted as if it were perfectly ordinary.

We walked for some time until he finally stopped in front of a door.

Glancing at me, he knocked.