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Chapter 48
Just because you’re a spy doesn’t mean you can always act kind and righteous. That would actually be even more suspicious.
You’re not a priest preaching love and mercy. To pass as a normal maid, you need to look human and natural.
Since this is a long-term infiltration, I had expected she wouldn’t act overly fake just to conserve mental energy.
‘As expected.’
Just like I thought, one of her hardest-to-hide flaws was starting to show.
Hinde—meaning Tara, the former head maid of Count Torto’s estate—not only disliked me, but also looked at Rayleigh with the same contempt.
She probably hated how a girl who lived like a commoner suddenly became a count’s daughter just because of her bloodline.
└ [Wow, her mindset is peak noble faction]
└ [Isn’t she not even a noble herself?]
└ [Seems like she dumped her identity on Trot…]
There were some people like her who believed being close to a count made them better than low-ranking nobles.
To be fair, some truly loyal retainers were rewarded with the status others lost, so it’s not entirely wrong.
Anyway, Hinde can’t stand it when someone “above their station” does well—especially if they do better than her.
“A child like this as an assistant? What could that possibly mean?”
So she couldn’t help but latch onto the child’s comment and dig in.
Hearing our conversation, Sage stepped in to answer calmly.
“Lady Hestina probably said that. She was just playing along.”
“Ohh, Lady Hestina? That would be Lord Damian’s mother… So Miss Rose is just playing assistant?”
“Playing? Is this play too?”
“Of course. How could a child be a real assistant?”
Her tone and expression were gentle, but her eyes weren’t smiling at all.
I had no intention of arguing back. My goal was to make an impression on her. Time to back down.
“Hestina said so… but I think you’re right too, sis!”
Sage shook her head at my flip-flopping attitude.
“Looks like Rose really wants to be friends with you. Kids are like that—they try to show off their best stuff to impress people.”
“Mhm. Hinde, you look like a pretty witch from a picture book.”
She must’ve liked that, because Hinde smiled and patted my head.
└ [Ugh, don’t pat her]
└ [Even villainous types don’t deserve this parenting subplot]
└ [Feels like the title of a parenting novel…]
“Really? If you ever want to see me, come find me. I’ll make you some milk tea.”
└ [Ew, get lost]
└ [But I kinda want that milk tea tho]
└ [Just bring the milk tea and then leave]
The fae might reject all her approaches, but I am the one who gets to decide.
“Yes! I’d love that.”
To a spy, I must seem like a very promising mark.
I’m close to the people in the ducal house, I’m young and talkative, and I show her nothing but warmth.
Wouldn’t I just spill whatever she wanted with the slightest nudge?
‘Now it’s a battle of information.’
If I can’t get her kicked out right away, I’ll just make sure she only gets the intel I want to give.
And I’ll gladly be the bait to make that happen.
* * *
‘Good. They’re in the middle of tea lessons again.’
From the garden, I glanced toward the kitchen where Hinde and the other maids had gathered.
The kitchen had large windows for ventilation, so it was easy to see inside from the outside—which also meant they could see out just as easily.
Once I confirmed the distance was enough for them to notice, I tossed the hairpin I’d brought with me onto a tree branch that I couldn’t reach.
‘Hooked!’
└ [Rose has great aim again today…]
└ [Future baseball star in the making]
└ [Would be handy for throwing rocks at Trot too]
This wasn’t assassination practice—it was a casted fishing line.
‘The duke should be walking through here soon.’
Due to habits from his time as a knight commander, Duke Valent followed a very fixed schedule unless something unusual came up.
If he went out in the morning, he’d return for afternoon duties. If he went out in the afternoon, he left after morning business was done.
Even when he stayed in, he didn’t just sit at his desk. He often dropped by the training grounds to stretch his body.
Either way, he always passed through this path leading to his office at this time of day.
‘He’s here!’
Recognizing the familiar, steady footsteps, I looked up at the branch and waited.
I didn’t even have to call out—Kin, who was walking with the duke, noticed me first.
“Miss Rose, what are you doing?”
“My hairpin’s stuck up in that tree, and I can’t reach it.”
“How did your hairpin get way up there…?”
“Well, I was clicking it like this, and it just pinged up there!”
Kin looked up at the pin, hanging just out of reach, then glanced around.
“If we use a long stick to shake the branch, maybe it’ll fall down.”
“But what if the stick gets stuck too? Hmm… I think I can reach it if someone lifts me up.”
“Shall I help you?”
“You, Mr. Kin? You’d have to lift me really high!”
I looked pointedly at his arms, which looked like they’d only ever held pens.
Even though I’m just a five-year-old, I doubted he could lift me easily.
Kin must’ve noticed my stare and stepped back with a sigh.
“…Miss Rose, you’re surprisingly blunt.”
└ [Rose dissing people is becoming a habit LOL]
└ [She should become a rapper]
Sorry, but you’re not the one I need right now.
“Could you help, Duke?”
I looked up at the duke with pleading eyes.
He silently looked between me and the hairpin.
“I’ll get it—”
“No! I want to do it!”
Just as he raised his arm to get it for me, I quickly grabbed his pant leg.
‘I threw it as high as I could, but he’s so tall he can still reach it!’
He looked down at me in confusion. It must’ve seemed odd—asking for help and then stopping him.
But this wasn’t the image I wanted.
‘For someone who listens well… it’s time for a logic attack.’
Before he could grab the pin, I hurriedly spilled out my words.
“I already tried all sorts of ways to get it down! If you just grab it, it’s like everything I did was pointless. Shouldn’t I get a chance to succeed too?”
└ [She really is turning into a rapper]
└ [Kin’s brain probably overheating again LOL]
Kin… I can’t help it. If I’m going to do business with Hestina, I won’t be able to hide my intellect completely.
The duke lowered the hand he had raised.
Suddenly, I felt a firm grip under my arms, and then my feet slowly lifted off the ground.
“Let me know when you find it.”
“Thank you! Please go slow—it’s kinda scary…”
I quickly turned toward the kitchen window.
Perfect. They can see us clearly.
“Whoa! It’s high! Don’t drop me, please!”
I reached up and raised my voice slightly. That got the attention of the people inside the kitchen.
Several maids looked wide-eyed, shocked to see the duke playing with a child.
└ [We asked for a parenting subplot and it got delivered—to the maids instead of us]
└ [Anyone watching this would assume it’s a parenting story]
└ [Is this like… third-person parenting drama?]
Even Hinde turned her head to look this way.
That’s good enough. The plan’s a success.
“I got the pin! You can put me down now!”
The duke lowered me gently, like handling a plush toy.
“Thank you!”
“Being with a child is quite effective, isn’t it? Maybe we should bring Miss Rose on the next inspection too.”
“…Let’s go back to the office.”
The duke brushed off Kin’s comment and resumed his stride.
His tone and demeanor were as stiff as ever, but when I lost my balance a bit while getting down, he caught me without hesitation.
└ [See? He’s actually a softie, I told you!!!]
└ [Now we know why Lady Hestina chose him 🥹]
└ [Took me long enough, but I accept him as our duke-dad.]
‘But then why do all the rumors make him sound so scary?’
He might have been ruthless on the battlefield as a knight.
But in daily life, he’s nothing like the frightening man the rumors made him out to be.
I walked slowly back toward the maids’ quarters, remembering the pre-regression him—
—and already thinking about spreading rumors of a very different kind.
* * *
Maybe she found today’s events memorable.
That evening, Hinde invited me to her room.
“These are postcards from the south, where I used to work. Pretty, aren’t they?”
“Wow! They look like real flowers, not drawings!”
“How many do you want? Can you write letters?”
“Yes! I send letters to my friend sometimes.”
So she’s pretending she worked in the south? But the Torto estate is in the west…
As I focused on the postcards, she must’ve thought I’d let my guard down—because she finally got to the point.
“You’re under Lady Hestina’s guardianship, right?”
“Yes. I was actually going to ask the duke, but…”
“He turned you down?”
“Not exactly, but Lady Hestina stepped in first.”
“He seemed very kind to you today.”
She must be trying to assess how close I am to the duke. The closer I am, the more important I become to her.
I pretended to speak carelessly while slipping in some fabricated details.
“Yes! He’s super nice. He even brought me here himself.”
Sure, he told me to go home several times—but technically, he did bring me.
“He really listens closely when I talk.”
Probably because he’s analyzing everything logically.
“He said I can visit his office whenever I want.”
Okay, Kin said that—not the duke.
Hinde seemed pleased with my answers and patted my head again.
“I haven’t been here long, so I don’t know much about this place yet. Could you teach me a lot so I can work here a long time?”
“Yes! I hope I get to see you for a long time too!”
She took the bait—hook, line, and sinker. She believes I’m “a child the duke cherishes dearly.”
