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Chapter: 14
The duke’s objective was simple.
Secure evidence of Count Frederic’s corruption as quietly as possible.
Which meant that, if things went well, combat might not even be necessary.
The House of Count Frederic was known as one of the most militarily powerful vassal families under the Duke of Batius.
Clashing head-on with such a house would be no different from suicide.
No matter how carefully selected these gifted children were, chosen by the duke himself, they were still just kids—none of them older than twelve on average.
And besides…
“If you are discovered by the Frederic family during the mission, you must never reveal that you are adopted children of the ducal house. Should you break this rule, you’d be better off remaining behind as hostages of the count’s family.”
That was the chilling notice Eric had delivered.
Even if they were discovered during the mission, the ducal house would take no action. They were warned to keep all information about the duke strictly secret.
Which meant that, all the more, they absolutely could not confront the count’s family directly.
Isaac’s team would surely be taking this into consideration as well.
Still, the gap in strength was obvious. If an unexpected fight broke out, Isaac’s team would inevitably have the advantage.
“Then why don’t we ask them to reshuffle the teams? This is way too unfair!”
Ignoring Isabella’s whining, Karina—lost in thought—turned to Albin.
“How do you think we should clear this test?”
It was a question meant to gauge whether Albin was truly a capable talent.
She’d thrown it out with nothing to lose, but Albin answered with surprising seriousness.
“W–we only have one combatant on our side. Karina. A–and even then, based on what I’ve observed so far, it’s h–hard to measure your strength precisely.”
Oh? He’s been watching me?
“U–unlike Team One, everyone on our team e–except me is female. Th–that could be a weakness, but it c–could also become a strength.”
“A strength?”
“Yes. S–since ancient times, many spies sent into enemy nations or strongholds were w–women. Humans instinctively p–perceive women as weak, as beings that need to be protected. By e–exploiting that subconscious bias, we can make them let their guard down. O–of course, this doesn’t mean women are inherently weak. It’s j–just about taking advantage of human perception.”
Ohhh…
Long-winded, but convincing.
“Then what’s the method you consider the top priority?”
Albin was a child who had survived all five tests through meticulous calculation. Among them, he was the most likely to have a solid idea.
And he didn’t disappoint her.
“W–we go in as maids.”
“Maids?”
Ariel, who had been listening quietly, clapped her hands together.
“That sounds like a good idea! Male servants usually need to do heavy labor, so they hire adults—but maids can be young girls.”
From a young age, they were taught sewing, cooking, and cleaning so they could attend to nobles.
At that moment, Isabella—who had been listening in silence—finally frowned as if she couldn’t take it anymore.
“You make it sound so easy. Noble families don’t just take in anyone as a servant. The head maid and chief butler carefully screen applicants through interviews!”
“That’s true. Normally.”
Karina smiled faintly as she looked at Isabella.
“Are you just wearing your ability as decoration?”
“What?”
Seeing that Isabella still didn’t get it, Karina sighed and cut straight to the point.
“The advantage of fragrance is that it can blur people’s perception and stimulate desire.”
“I–I know that much.”
“Good. Then you just need to captivate the head maid with it. Make sure she can’t evaluate you properly.”
“I—I’ve never done anything like that…”
“You have to. If you can’t even make use of the strengths of your own ability, you don’t deserve to become an adopted child of the ducal house.”
At Karina’s cold words, Isabella shut her mouth tight.
Clenching her fists, head lowered, Isabella soon spoke in a quiet voice.
“Then I’ll do it.”
Ariel looked genuinely surprised at Isabella’s unusually compliant response.
Then, as if something occurred to her, she rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.
“But what about Albin? Even if we go in as maids, Albin…”
Anyone could see that frail, scrawny Albin would never be accepted as a servant.
Even if Isabella’s pheromonal scent worked during the interview, they would surely find fault with him later.
As Karina pondered this, Albin scratched his head with a dejected expression.
“I–I’d just get in the way if I went in with you. I–I’ll have to stay outside and wait…”
Then, as if talking to himself, he muttered,
“If I had the materials, I c–could make an artifact to communicate from outside…”
Karina’s ears perked up.
“Communicate from outside?”
“Ah, y–yes. I can make a c–communication artifact. A–also, it’s more efficient if one person secures an escape route outside and handles what can be done externally depending on the situation.”
Communication.
In truth, she could use sound transmission, but ordinary people without inner power could only hear, not respond—making two-way communication inefficient.
On top of that, sound transmission had limits in distance and duration depending on one’s inner power, making it highly restrictive at the moment.
She was also reluctant to reveal sound transmission as a trump card just for this team mission.
But now he was saying he could make something to replace it?
That artifact or whatever—it sounded pretty amazing.
“What materials do you need to make the artifact?”
“M–magic stones. They’re expensive, b–but communication artifacts don’t need much functionality, so with a small amount, I c–could make several.”
“Magic stones?”
At Karina’s reaction—clearly hearing it for the first time—Ariel added an explanation.
“They’re stones infused with mana. Depending on the density, some are worth more than diamonds.”
“Now that you mention it, I heard the Red Hawk Mercenary Group used to take a lot of missions involving magic stones.”
At Isabella’s offhand comment, Karina curled her lips into a smile.
“Oh, is that so…?”
* * *
[Ah—ah. Can you hear me?]
[Y–yes, I hear you, Ariel.]
[Wow, this is amazing!]
[Keep your voice down! If you talk that loudly, there’s no point in secret communication!]
Listening to Ariel, Albin, and Isabella talking through the communication artifacts, Karina found herself marveling anew.
Being able to communicate over long distances without inner power…
Of course, unlike sound transmission, they had to speak out loud, which was inconvenient—but this was more than sufficient.
For the record, the magic stones had been “acquired” from Largo, the Iron-Blooded Demon Lord.
“Sob… sob… Take my liver too while you’re at it, Cult Leader!”
He’d wailed that it was a year’s worth of salary, but she persuaded—no, threatened—him by promising to repay him double later.
[Karina, can you hear us too?]
Pretending to adjust her hair, Karina touched the small earring-shaped artifact and murmured,
“I hear you.”
With Karina’s response, Albin reiterated the plan.
[S–soon, the head maid will start the interviews. I–Isabella, please follow the plan.]
[Just leave it to me. Stop telling me what to do.]
“A–alright. Sorry.”
The timid Albin immediately backed down.
Well, they were a creaky team in many ways, but as long as everyone did their job, it would be fine.
To enter the House of Count Frederic as maids, around fifteen girls aged ten or older were waiting.
For poor commoner girls, there was no job more desirable than serving a noble household—regular meals and a steady wage guaranteed.
“All of you, go inside. The head maid is waiting.”
It seemed they wouldn’t be interviewed one by one. Instead, they lined the children up together for inspection.
Soon, the group of girls shuffled into the room.
Inside stood the head maid, holding a switch, her expression stern.
The girls lined up before her wore tense expressions.
Using the long stick like a pointer, the head maid examined the children’s bodies here and there, firing off various questions.
Some girls presented what looked like letters of recommendation. Upon checking the seals stamped on them, the head maid passed those girls without complaint.
And then, at last, the head maid stopped in front of Isabella.
