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~Chapter 8~
“You know Dorothy? Turns out she was a spy for Duke Poz.”
“What? Dorothy? You mean the Dorothy who never lent me her adult novels and hogged them all for herself?”
“Yeah. That Dorothy was a spy.”
“Oh my god. I never saw that coming.”
“Right? The war barely ended, and now this… a spy…”
Just as I had expected, things unfolded perfectly.
The moment Dorothy’s maid uniform—with the hidden report sewn inside—was discovered, the Crost Duchy exploded into chaos.
Now Calypse will finally be able to bring knight escorts when he visits the Kingdom of Doctia, right?
It was obvious.
Finding a spy was serious enough to reignite war itself. Which meant the one who’d be forced to bow and scrape was now Duke Poz.
Even if Calypse brought a hundred knights with him, Duke Poz wouldn’t dare say a word.
Hmph. Serves him right.
Boing—
Lying on my bed, I proudly raised my big toe in triumph.
Everything was going smoothly. Now if Calypse just brought back the young lady, I might finally be able to escape Duke Poz’s clutches.
“Until then, I should just enjoy my nap—”
BANG!
“Aisha. His Grace commands you to come to his office.”
“…Huh?”
But… my nap…
Frozen midair with one leg still awkwardly raised, I stiffened.
* * *
The moment I stepped outside with the knight—
A shrill scream tore through the hallway.
“If you’re taking me away, then take that brat Aisha too! She’s a spy too!”
It was Dorothy.
She was being dragged away by not one, but two knights, yet somehow she was still thrashing wildly in the corridor with terrifying strength.
“That little brat Aisha is a spy too! Why am I the only one being taken?!”
The blood vessels in her eyes had practically burst.
She’d probably been preparing to quietly leave Crost by now, so being suddenly hauled off to prison by knights must have shattered her sanity.
“Oh—Aisha?”
The second she spotted me, her face lit up.
“You’re taking her too, right? Right?!”
Wait. Did they find me out too?
Tense, I glanced at the knights—but they ignored her entirely.
“Knights, please hurry and take that woman away.”
Instead, one maid muttered irritably.
“Resa! Trust me, soak that brat’s clothes in ice water. Okay? We were close, remember?”
Realizing things weren’t going her way, Dorothy suddenly switched to a pitiful tone, lowering her brows dramatically as she pleaded.
“Really. I hate to say this, but we were plotting together just yesterday. Spy plotting! So you need to expose her too. Okay?”
Unfortunately for Dorothy, the maid named Resa didn’t even blink.
“Please take her away quickly. It’s humiliating enough that I was ever friends with her.”
“……”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll just leave.”
Resa stormed off the hallway as though merely sharing oxygen with Dorothy was unbearable.
Wow. So this is the miserable end of a failed spy.
A spy, regardless of their reasons, builds relationships while carrying out missions.
And naturally, when those people discover the truth…
All the blame, disgust, and betrayal falls squarely on the spy alone.
“…Are spies always this pathetic?”
“Seriously. And dragging a child into this?”
“That kid’s the one who found the young lady’s whereabouts, isn’t she? How could she be a spy?”
“Though… how did she know? That is a little suspicious.”
At those words, I nearly flinched—
But the next comment saved me.
“Come on. No matter what, there’s no way Duke Poz would send a five-year-old as a spy.”
…Except he absolutely did.
Unable to bear their stares, I quietly hid behind the knight’s back.
Still, one thing was now certain:
Duke Poz’s instincts had been correct.
No one would easily suspect a five-year-old child of being a spy.
“Ignore that woman’s nonsense. Let’s go.”
Even the knight dismissed Dorothy and spoke gently to me.
So… His Grace really had summoned me for something else?
Not because they suspected me?
Only then did I answer confidently.
“Yes, sir.”
And just as I passed Dorothy—
“You! How long do you think you can keep hiding who you are?!”
Dorothy, who’d briefly gone silent, screamed again.
“If you keep clinging to both sides like a bat, no one will ever acknowledge you! You’ll just be discarded! Pick a side already!”
“……”
“And you said you found it while washing my clothes?! You did that on purpose!”
…I found it?
Among all her insults, one phrase snagged in my mind.
I paused for barely half a second before continuing.
Something was off.
Yes, I had caused Dorothy’s identity to be exposed.
But I had never personally shown anyone her report.
Nor had I directly revealed her identity.
“……”
Which meant—
Someone else knew what I had done.
“Aisha has arrived, Your Grace.”
As my thoughts spiraled, the knight knocked politely.
“Enter.”
A low voice answered from beyond the door.
When I stepped inside—
Calypse, the Duke of Crost, stood waiting.
“Leave the brat. Wait outside.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
With a subtle glance of encouragement, the knight vanished, quietly shutting the door behind him.
And just like that—
Only Calypse and I remained.
Calm down, Aisha.
But… why had he summoned me now?
“…G-Greetings, Your Grace.”
I tried to sound composed.
Instead, my voice nearly cracked into three separate pieces.
The atmosphere around me felt heavy—like molten lead pressing onto my shoulders.
Something was wrong.
Deep in my gut, alarm bells were screaming.
I stared up at Calypse’s masked face.
His long fingers tapped against the oak desk.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
No guards.
Not even Knox.
Just me and him.
His crimson eyes—the only visible part of his face—locked entirely onto me.
The tension was suffocating.
And the moment I blinked—
“!”
The black mask was suddenly right in front of me.
I nearly jumped.
I’d only blinked once.
But somehow, Calypse had crossed the entire room and crouched down to meet my gaze.
When—how—?!
Then he asked first—
“How…”
His voice was low.
“How are you able to stay so calm?”
“……”
“A normal child would have fainted or burst into tears by now. Even most adults wouldn’t dare meet my eyes.”
His tone remained frighteningly casual.
“I’m currently releasing enough bloodlust to crush someone like you.”
At point-blank range.
He crouched to match my height, but his frame was still massive—
Like a predator folding itself down before devouring prey.
“Doesn’t it scare you?”
There was amusement in his voice.
Only then did I barely manage to answer.
“I’m scared.”
“Then are you pretending not to be?”
“Yes.”
“I see. So that’s how they trained you in the Poz household.”
“!”
My eyes shook violently.
He already knew?
Impossible.
There was no evidence.
Sure, maybe he’d realized I was smarter than most five-year-olds—
But how could he know that?
“H-How did you…?”
My voice trembled.
For the first time, my carefully crafted mask cracked.
“…Now you finally look like an ordinary five-year-old.”
Oddly enough—
Calypse almost seemed relieved.
But I was too busy drowning in panic.
“Are… are you going to kill me?”
The moment I asked, my fingers spread stiffly like spider legs.
“…?”
For the first time, the coldness in his eyes shifted.
“Where did a child even learn to say something like that?”
“Uh… from the Poz household.”
“…For the love of—forget that damned family. From now on, just answer my questions.”
“Yes, sir.”
I snapped to attention.
Though my trembling legs were barely holding me upright.
“How many child spies like you does that family have?”
“I’m the first five-year-old assigned a spy mission—”
“Haa…”
Before I could finish, he let out a long sigh.
W-What did I do wrong?!
Then suddenly—
“!”
He grabbed me under the arms.
My whole body tensed.
For a second, I thought I was doomed—
But instead…
He lifted me up and plopped me onto the sofa.
…Wait.
This feeling.
I knew this grip.
“Ungrateful children aren’t allowed in the garden. Get out.”
“…Gardener mister?”
“What?”
Both our eyes widened at the exact same time.
“…Gasp.”
I slapped my hands over my mouth—
Too late.
The damage was already done.
