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Chapter 5
“About that condition… don’t you think it’s a bit excessive for a child?”
The next day.
In the peaceful afternoon quiet of the study, Knox—who had apparently spent the entire day agonizing over this—finally voiced his concern to Calypse, who was seated calmly behind his desk, reviewing documents.
“What condition?”
Knox adjusted his monocle and frowned.
“I personally don’t care, but if word gets out that Your Grace made this kind of contract with a five-year-old… I imagine your public image may suffer.”
“Ah.”
Calypse responded indifferently.
“You mean the beheading?”
“…I was trying to phrase that delicately, but hearing you say it so bluntly is honestly terrifying.”
“Who’s terrified?”
“I am.”
Knox’s blue eye visibly magnified behind his lens.
Yes.
The additional clause Calypse had offered five-year-old Aisha was simple:
If she failed to find the true young lady, she would be executed by beheading.
It was hardly a fitting condition for the guardian duke of the Frozen Kingdom.
“That contract was never written seriously in the first place. You’re awfully dull.”
“…So it was a joke?”
Calypse leaned back lazily.
“I was humoring her.”
“And what if the brat was lying? Were you really going to carry out an execution?”
“I have no intention of cutting off the head of a child whose baby teeth haven’t even all fallen out.”
His voice remained casual.
“I just wanted to see how she’d react.”
“…React?”
“That brat.”
Though his tone was lazy, the crimson eyes hidden behind his mask were cold.
“If this were all some childish prank, fear would’ve made her back out of the contract. I just poked her a little.”
But that was the problem.
Aisha hadn’t backed down.
Sure, her tiny fingers had twitched.
But beyond that?
Nothing.
She had looked at him as though she had already prepared herself for that much.
Which meant…
She wasn’t joking.
And if what she said was true…
Then Eve was currently in the Kingdom of Dochtia.
More specifically… in an orphanage near the Andra Swamp, within Duke Poz’s territory.
Just imagining it made Calypse’s temples throb.
Originally, the two kingdoms had signed a peace treaty because they shared a common enemy:
Monsters.
House Crost’s ice powers had erected a colossal frozen wall, sealing off monster invasions.
But lately…
Dochtia’s behavior had become suspicious.
Unauthorized border crossings.
Bandits mysteriously appearing in Frozen Kingdom villages—as if testing their defenses.
The peace treaty, once forged to eradicate monsters, was steadily cracking under Dochtia’s increasingly blatant provocations.
And now…
He had no choice.
“I’ll send a message first.”
Though every option was problematic, Calypse sent a private missive to Duke Poz.
Several days later—
“This is absurd.”
Knox scowled as he read the reply.
“They say Your Grace may visit Poz territory… but only without escort knights. You may bring exactly two attendants. And in exchange, they demand Crime Plain.”
“Those bastards.”
Calypse’s mocking laugh was low and dangerous.
Crime Plain was land House Crost had defended with blood during the territorial war with Dochtia ten years ago.
Yet despite the outrageous demand…
He had no real choice.
Territory mattered less than his child.
“Tell them I’ll arrive in one week.”
Knox nearly choked.
“…Excuse me?! Please reconsider! Forget the land—what noble visits enemy territory without knights? That’s no different from walking alone into a tiger’s den!”
“Tell them I’m coming.”
Calypse rose from his seat, making it clear the conversation was over.
Or rather—
He was about to leave when he paused.
“Oh. And that brat.”
“…The brat?”
“Yes. That child, Aisha.”
His crimson gaze flicked sideways.
“She claimed she was from the same orphanage as the young lady. Investigate her. I find it strange she made it all the way here.”
At last, Knox sighed in relief.
“Ah… finally, an order I can appreciate.”
But then—
“No.”
“…What?”
Calypse draped a black robe over himself.
It was the robe he only wore when strolling through the garden maskless.
“I’ll investigate personally.”
After all…
She was just a brat.
Interrogation by knights would only put her on guard.
But a disguised gardener?
That might be faster.
“W-WHAT?! Y-Your Grace!”
SLAM!
By the time Knox scrambled after him, all he found was a firmly shut door.
“…Everything about him is admirable except for the fact that he completely loses his mind when it comes to his children…”
Dragging a dry hand down his face, Knox sighed heavily.
Truthfully…
Everyone but Calypse had already accepted it.
The missing children were probably dead.
Peaceful afternoon.
Crost Ducal Estate, annex building.
My jaw froze mid-chew as I nibbled on bread.
“That child’s the one who told His Grace where the young lady is, right?”
“Yeah. And now His Grace is apparently causing chaos because he’s planning to storm into Dochtia without escort knights.”
“Good heavens. Isn’t that basically suicide?”
“I just wish His Grace hadn’t gotten dragged into such nonsense. The monster subjugation campaign only recently ended.”
Under this peaceful sky.
On this perfectly lovely afternoon.
“…Seriously, because of that kid…”
The maids sighed loudly while glancing directly at me as they passed.
This was unbearable.
This isn’t even backtalk anymore. This is front-talk. How am I supposed to react when they insult me directly to my face?
Worse…
They weren’t wrong.
I sat there stiffly, feeling like I was perched on a bed of nails.
At this point, even eating bread felt like a crime.
After signing the contract with Duke Calypse, rumors had spread like wildfire that I knew the true young lady’s whereabouts.
The problem?
The staff absolutely hated it.
I’m doomed. I thought they’d all be thrilled.
But in hindsight…
Frozen Kingdom and Dochtia were practically on hostile terms.
And now Duke Calypse was insisting on visiting enemy territory alone.
Of course the castle atmosphere was awful.
Still…
I had my complaints too.
Seriously, does Duke Calypse not think before acting?! Why is his first instinct to charge straight into Dochtia?!
I bit viciously into my bread.
Shouldn’t he carefully evaluate things first?!
Find Dochtia’s weaknesses first!
Then negotiate using leverage?!
Normally, Calypse probably would have.
But I had underestimated just how completely insane he was when it came to his children.
At this point…
There was only one option.
Until I find the real young lady, I need to stay as quiet as a dead mouse.
Current mission:
Ignore the maids’ murderous stares.
Good. Become one with the shadows.
Determined, I subtly scooted my butt toward a less noticeable shady corner.
Then—
“Ahem~ Well, what’s this? Why is this little brat sitting here all alone? No assigned maid?”
Tap.
Something blocked my escape route.
…What now?
Cold sweat rolled down my back.
I glanced sideways.
A maid’s leg.
Blocking me.
Slowly, I looked up.
“If no one’s assigned to this child… then I suppose I’ll take charge~”
Dorothy stood there with one hand on her hip, looking exactly like a predator who had just found lunch.
…I was doomed.
Completely doomed.
“Eek!”
“Quiet, brat.”
A brutal grip seized the back of my neck.
At first, I’d barged into House Crost focused only on survival.
But now?
There were too many things I’d failed to consider.
Duke Calypse’s mental state.
The castle’s atmosphere.
And Dorothy—the spy who had infiltrated years before me.
Is this really the life of a five-year-old? Isn’t this child abuse?!
I wanted to file a formal complaint against the author of the original novel.
No—
I wanted to complain directly to whatever god had thrown me into this extra spy role.
What do you even want from me?! What did I do so wrong?!
“Urk!”
I was hurled into Dorothy’s private quarters and landed hard on my backside.
Honestly, my poor butt was working overtime lately.
“You really pulled something adorable, didn’t you?”
Dorothy’s sharp laugh sliced through the room.
“Duke Poz is absolutely delighted right now.”
Rubbing my aching rear, I struggled to stand.
Or tried to.
“Thanks to your little stunt… I’ve become a kite with a snapped string.”
Tap.
Her finger flicked my forehead.
I dropped right back down.
“…?”
I glared up at her.
“What does that mean?”
“It means a rolling stone kicked out the embedded one. Didn’t they teach you basic metaphor during spy training?”
“Oh… I know the saying.”
I blinked.
“But if Duke Poz benefits, isn’t that good for you too?”
After all, her mission was practically complete.
She’d return home.
Receive credit.
Get rewarded.
THUD!
Dorothy stomped hard enough to shake the floor.
“Duke Poz ordered me to return!”
…Ah.
My eyes widened.
“Think about Calypse’s position. Do you really think he’d easily agree to such an outrageous deal?”
And just like that…
I understood.
Right now, Duke Poz’s estate was probably celebrating.
After all, Calypse was willingly walking into enemy territory alone.
But—
There was still time before that visit.
Which meant…
Duke Poz intends to erase every possible weakness before then.
For example—
A spy who had been infiltrating House Crost for six years.
…Like Dorothy.
If House Crost discovers she’s a spy before Calypse arrives, Poz loses leverage. So they’re recalling her immediately.
Underhanded.
Sneaky.
But effective.
No wonder House Poz had survived so long.
Then…
A thought struck me.
I stared at Dorothy with wide, innocent eyes.
But wait… that weakness is literally standing right in front of me.
Dorothy flinched.
“What are you looking at?”
“……”
“I said what are you looking at, brat?!”
“Oh… nothing.”
Just thinking I found a very useful hunting target.
Quietly swallowing that thought, I clenched my tiny fists.
And then—
“WAAAAAAAHHH! If it’s all because of me that unnie ended up like this… I-I’m so, so sorry… WAAAAAH!”
“…What the hell?! Why are you crying all of a sudden?!”
With the acting skills of a possessed child genius, I burst into dramatic sobs.
Dorothy immediately panicked and started yanking at her own hair.
My job right now is to stay quiet?
No.
Not anymore.
My goal had changed.
My new mission…
Was to expose Do-rage-thy for the lunatic spy she really was.
