YOWV~21

Chapter 21

Using every ounce of strength her milk-fed little body could muster, she yanked hard on his ankle.

Lucas gave a startled yelp and promptly crashed face-first onto the floor.

“Ugh—!”

He shot upright, his forehead now bright red from the impact.

For a moment, he stared blankly, rubbing at it, before his smooth brow twisted into a fierce scowl.

“You…!”

He jabbed an accusing finger at her.

“When I asked if you were a spy earlier, you couldn’t even answer! That means you are one! If you weren’t, why couldn’t you say so?!”

The question pierced straight through her heart like an arrow.

She shook her head violently.

“I’m not a spy!”

That was technically a lie.

But…

“Even if I was born to be one, if I don’t want to be a spy, then I don’t have to be!”

That part, at least, was the absolute truth.

“I’m gonna change my own life!”

Lucas’s mouth fell slightly open, his eyes widening at the raw sincerity that burst out of her.

All the days she had endured flashed through her mind.

All the things she had done to escape being a spy.

All the things she had forced herself to do.

“Hic…!”

Especially that moment—

When her identity had nearly been exposed, and she had chosen death for herself instead.

How terrifying that had been.

Then she remembered Calypse.

The hand he had reached out to her.

And suddenly, something hot welled up in her eyes.

That jerk.

She’d only tried so hard to save Lucas because his face looked a little like Calypse’s.

But his personality?

Nothing alike.

“Ugh…”

She clenched her teeth so hard her jaw trembled, trying desperately to hold it in.

But in the end—

“I DON’T WANNA BE A SPIIIY— WAAAAAH!”

Her tiny body collapsed under the weight of all that sorrow.

Rationally, she didn’t want to cry.

But once the grief broke through, there was no stopping it.

This small body had endured far too much.

Buried far too many fears.

“W-Wait, hey…! Why are you crying?!”

Lucas’s wary expression gradually crumbled.

Flustered, he awkwardly crouched down in front of her.

“No, I mean… then just say you’re not a spy!”

He even reached a hand toward her.

But perhaps comforting someone was too unfamiliar for him—

His hand hovered stiffly in the air near her shoulder, fluttering uselessly like it had hit an invisible barrier.

“Why are you making people misunderstand and then causing a scene?!”

Still bawling, she shouted back.

“I AM a spy! But I saved you because I’m trying NOT to do this anymore!”

“So are you not a spy or are you?!”

“I AM, you idiot!”

“Stop crying—ugh. Gross! Snot!”

“…What?”

Excuse me?

He looked like he hadn’t bathed in over a month.

“Lucas, you’re grosser!”

Deeply wounded, she shoved him hard.

“Ah—I didn’t mean it like that! That’s not what I meant…!”

Lucas, who let himself be pushed back without resistance, flailed his hands in panic, his face turning bright red.

After a long moment of visibly wrestling with himself, he suddenly shouted—

“Hey!”

Then, without warning, his rough little hands grabbed both her cheeks.

“?”

Her eyes went wide.

“You’ve got snot. I’m wiping it off, so stop crying already.”

Muttering grumpily, Lucas furrowed his brows and wiped her nose.

An eight-year-old wiping someone’s nose.

How embarrassing.

…Though she was technically five right now, so maybe it was acceptable.

“Haaah… snff.”

Having wiped away her snot with his bare hand, Lucas stared at his palm like it was a cursed object before aggressively smearing it all over his own shirt.

But then—

Drip.

“…I’ve got more.”

She pointed solemnly at her nose.

“Damn it! My hand’s already disgusting!”

Lucas’s face turned even redder.

Oh.

So he blushes when he panics.

“It’s okay. I’ll just use your shirt.”

Sniffling dramatically, she grabbed his shirtfront.

Lucas jolted—

But he didn’t move away.

“HONK!”

“……”

And thanks to that, she blew her nose thoroughly.

Lucas’s expression somehow worsened even further.

“…Still.”

She sneaked a glance at him.

He had comforted her earlier, hadn’t he?

Even if he talked like a delinquent, she clearly remembered that hand patting her back when she’d had nightmares.

…Maybe he was actually kind of nice.

And he’d wiped her snot, too.

Feeling a little awkward as she looked at his now-filthy shirt, she scooted over and crouched beside him.

Silence settled between them.

Maybe it was because she had cried so violently, but the quiet afterward felt strangely clean and peaceful.

Just like her head.

‘Okay. Think again. How do I get Lucas out of here?’

Now that she had calmed down, her mind immediately returned to the problem.

Sneaking out alone to tell Knox?

No way.

He already hadn’t believed her when she failed to find the young lady.

If she suddenly claimed she’d found the young master this time, he’d never buy it.

Then what?

As she sank into thought—

“Hey.”

Lucas, who had been glancing sideways at her, finally spoke.

“…You said you came to save me because you want to quit being a spy, right?”

She looked up.

Still crouching, Lucas scratched awkwardly at his forehead with one finger.

“…Yeah.”

So he was finally willing to talk properly.

Fidgeting with her stubby little fingers, she nodded.

“Then… are you basically a runaway?”

“….”

That question made her freeze again.

Not exactly.

Technically, she wasn’t a runaway.

‘Your father adopted me, after all.’

But there was no way he’d believe that right now.

So she decided to keep the adoption part to herself for now.

“I’m… still thinking about that.”

“Yeah, well. You can think about that later.”

With a casual shrug, Lucas suddenly stood up as though he’d made up his mind.

Then he thrust out his hand toward her.

“If you’re done crying, get up.”

“…Why?”

“We’re getting out of here. We can’t stay forever.”

…That was exactly what she’d been thinking this whole time.

True, she still didn’t have a plan—

But sitting here forever definitely wasn’t one either.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Determined, she grabbed his hand and stood.

“Just trust me and follow my lead!”

“Trust you? Yeah, right…”

But instead of arguing, Lucas immediately pulled her behind him.

“I’m taking point. Stay behind me.”

“What? But I came here to save you—”

“Who exactly is saving who?”

The moment he said that, her eyes widened.

Ice crystals began to shimmer around him.

“I’ve got my power suppressor off now. That’s enough.”

…Right.

Of course.

Why had she been worrying so much about smuggling him out?

Lucas was the young master of House Crost.

He had abilities.

“Alright then—let’s go!”

She dramatically wiped away her still-running nose with the back of her hand.

“In that case, use lots and lots of ice.”

Lucas snorted.

“Look at you changing your attitude so fast. You look like a dandelion puffball…”

“Huh? What was that?”

She leaned forward, not catching his mutter.

Lucas abruptly turned his head away, his face flushing again.

“N-Nothing! Let’s just go already!”

Seriously.

This boy couldn’t say one nice thing properly.

Still—

That didn’t matter right now.

With her unexpectedly reliable little companion leading the way, she reached for the warehouse door.

The air around them began to frost over.

“Time to show off the skills I’ve honed for five years.”

Meanwhile, at Ahilly’s Circus—

“…Damn it. I lost her.”

Knox was still searching frantically.

He had practically been monitoring her by the scruff of her neck to keep this exact thing from happening—

And yet, he’d still lost her.

The audience gathered for the illegal monster show had atrocious manners.

“Aisha!”

“WAAAAAH!”

“Move! Out of the way!”

Shoving through the swarm of people like a man fighting ants, Knox finally reached the top of the spectator stands and slipped on his monocle.

Please.

Please.

She was such a noticeable child—he’d thought finding her would be easy.

But the blonde girl with twin pigtails was nowhere to be seen.

And even if he did find her—

‘At this point, I’ll just be grateful if she hasn’t been trampled to death.’

Even if she had come here on a spy mission, the circus was packed beyond reason.

To reach the meeting point, that tiny child would have had to somehow push through this sea of bodies.

“….”

A chill ran down his spine.

After losing his family, Calypse had lived his life behind a mask—

And that child had finally made him reveal his real face again.

The spy issue still didn’t sit right with Knox.

But regardless—

She was the child who had saved the collapsing head of House Crost.

As he stared out at the endless crowd, Knox recalled Calypse’s words.

‘Saving that child… was the only choice I had left in life.’

No matter what—

He had to save her.

Even if she really was a spy.

Even if it meant locking her in prison afterward.

At the very least—

He had to bring her before his lord.

“Please… just don’t let her get trampled…”

Praying under his breath, Knox scanned the area again.

And then—

As if his desperation had finally been heard—

He spotted a door tucked away in a far corner.

[Staff Storage Room]

At first glance, it looked meaningless.

Probably just a place for storing supplies.

He was about to pass it by—

When suddenly—

Ahilly’s Circus. Midnight. Staff Storage Room.

Knox’s polished shoe came to an abrupt halt.