Chapter 5

“Don’t you think that condition is a bit too harsh... for a child?”

The next day. A peaceful afternoon in the office.

Knox, who had been thinking about it all day, finally spoke to Calypse, who was seated and working.

“What part?”

“I personally don’t mind, but if it becomes known that Your Grace made that kind of contract with a five-year-old... it may harm your public image.”

“Ah.”

Calypse replied indifferently.

“Beheading?”

“...I was trying to phrase it gently. If you say it that bluntly, it’s terrifying.”

“Who is?”

“Me.”

Behind his monocle, Knox’s blue eye widened.

It was true.

The additional condition Calypse had proposed to a five-year-old was: if the young lady of the main line is not found, she will be executed by beheading.

It was not a condition befitting the protector of the Frozen Kingdom, the head of the Kreutz family.

“It wasn’t even a serious contract to begin with. Don’t be so stiff.”

“Then it was a joke?”

Calypse answered without emotion.

“I just went along with her.”

“And what if the child was lying? Were you really going to carry out the execution?”

“I have no intention of cutting off the head of a child who still smells of milk. I only wanted to see her reaction.”

“Her reaction?”

“That child.”

He spoke as if it meant nothing.

“If it were a lie, she would have backed out of the contract out of fear. I only tested her.”

His tone was casual, but behind the mask, his red eyes were cold.

In the end, Aisha had not even flinched at his condition.

Her small hand may have trembled slightly, but her expression said she had already prepared herself for that much when facing Duke Calypse Kreutz.

That was the problem.

She wasn’t joking.

If what she said was true, then Eve would currently be in the Kingdom of Doctia.

More precisely, at an orphanage near the Andra Swamp in Duke Pose’s territory.

Just thinking about it made his temples throb.

Originally, the two kingdoms had signed a peace treaty against their common enemy—monsters.

The Kreutz family had raised a massive ice barrier with their power of ice to block the monsters’ advance.

But—

Lately, the Kingdom of Doctia had been acting strangely.

They crossed into the Frozen Kingdom’s borders without permission, and even released bandits into small villages, as if testing its defenses.

The peace treaty, made to eliminate monsters, was beginning to crack under Doctia’s constant provocations.

And in that situation, he had no choice but to send a letter of visitation to the Kingdom of Doctia.

“I’ll send word first.”

There were problems on every side, but he had no real choice, so he sent a private message to Duke Pose.

A few days later—

“This is absurd.”

Knox frowned as he read the reply.

“They say we may come to Duke Pose’s territory, but we must bring absolutely no escort knights, and only two attendants. And in exchange, they demand we hand over the Crime Plains.”

“Bastards.”

Calypse let out a low scoff, his gaze darkening.

The Crime Plains were territory the Kreutz family had defended ten years ago in a territorial war against Doctia.

But even so, he had no choice but to accept terms that were clearly disadvantageous.

Because a child mattered far more than land.

“Tell them I’ll visit in a week.”

Knox was horrified.

“...Your Grace? Please reconsider. Forget the territory—asking a noble to come without escort knights is the same as telling you to walk into a tiger’s den alone.”

“Tell them I’ll visit.”

Calypse cut him off firmly, as if the discussion was over, and rose from his seat.

Or rather, he was about to.

“Oh, and that child.”

“The child?”

“Yes. That one—Aisha. Look into her background. She said she was in the same orphanage as the young lady, but it’s strange how she ended up here.”

“Finally, an order I can appreciate.”

At last hearing something reasonable, Knox let out a sigh of relief—

“No.”

“...Pardon?”

Calypse suddenly stood and put on a robe.

It was the robe he used when walking in the garden—the only time he removed his mask.

“I’ll look into it myself.”

A child was still a child.

Rather than having knights interrogate her or conduct a background check, it might be faster to approach her disguised as a gardener.

“W-What?! Your Grace!”

Bang!

Knox rushed after him, but all he found was a closed door.

“...He’s perfect in every way, except when it comes to his children...”

Rubbing his face with dry hands, Knox let out a long sigh.

In truth, everyone knew—except Calypse.

His missing children were already dead.

***

A peaceful afternoon. A separate wing of the Kreutz estate.

The bread in my mouth stopped mid-chew.

“That child is the one who told His Grace where the young lady is, right?”

“Yeah. And now His Grace is making a fuss about charging into the Kingdom of Doctia without escort knights.”

“Good heavens. Isn’t that basically walking to his death?”

“I just hope His Grace doesn’t get swept up in such nonsense. The monster subjugation only just ended.”

In this peaceful afternoon.

Under this clear sky.

“...All because of that child.”

The maids sighed as they glanced at me and passed by.

This is driving me crazy.

It’s not even gossip behind my back—they’re saying it right in front of me. I don’t even know how to react.

And the worst part was—they weren’t wrong.

I sat there stiffly, as if on pins and needles. At this point, even eating bread felt like a crime.

Ever since I made that contract with Duke Calypse Kreutz—

the rumor that I knew the location of the young lady of the main line had spread instantly. The problem was, the servants did not want that to be true.

This is a disaster. I thought they’d be happy.

Now that I thought about it, relations between the Frozen Kingdom and the Kingdom of Doctia were already bad.

And with Calypse now insisting on visiting Doctia without escort knights... of course the atmosphere in the estate would be tense.

But I had my own complaints too.

Does Duke Calypse not think things through? Why is his first idea to march straight into the Kingdom of Doctia?

I bit into the bread with a glare.

He should think carefully first!

Find Doctia’s weakness!

Then use that as leverage to negotiate!

Normally, Calypse would have done exactly that.

But I had underestimated just how obsessed he was with his children.

Now there was no helping it.

Until I actually find the young lady, I’ll just have to lie low like a dead mouse.

So, current objective:

Ignore the maids’ sharp stares and pretend not to notice until I find the young lady.

Good. Stay like a shadow.

Just as I shifted my body toward a less noticeable patch of shade—

“Well, well~ what’s this little thing doing? Doesn’t she have an assigned maid?”

Tap—

Along with a familiar voice, something hooked around my leg.

What is that?

Cold sweat trickled down as I looked around.

A maid’s leg was hooked beside me.

When I looked up—

“If no one’s in charge of this child, I’ll take her~”

Dorothy stood there with one hand on her hip, looking down at me like a predator eyeing its prey.

I’m doomed.

Completely doomed.

“Ah!”

“Quiet, child.”

A rough hand suddenly grabbed the back of my neck, and a short scream slipped out.

I had rushed in focused only on my goal—

but now that I thought about it, there were too many things to consider after entering the Kreutz estate.

Duke Calypse’s condition. The atmosphere of the estate.

And Dorothy—the spy who had infiltrated long ago.

Is this really the life of a five-year-old? Isn’t this child abuse?

I wanted to protest to whoever wrote the original novel.

No—better yet, to whatever god had thrown me into this world as a spy extra.

What do you even want from me? What did I do wrong?!

“Ugh!”

Thrown into her empty quarters, I landed hard on the floor. A sharp laugh followed.

“You really pulled something cute, didn’t you? Duke Pose must be thrilled.”

My poor backside has really been through it today.

Rubbing the ache, I struggled to stand—

or tried to.

“Thanks to your little stunt, I’ve become a kite with its string cut.”

Tap—

Her finger flicked my forehead, and I dropped back down.

“...?”

I frowned up at her.

“What do you mean?”

“It means a rolling stone pushes out the one that’s settled. Didn’t they teach you basic metaphors in spy training?”

“Ah, yes, I know that—but if Duke Pose succeeds, isn’t that good for you too?”

The mission was practically over. She could return to the Pose family and be rewarded for her work as a spy.

Thud!

But Dorothy stomped her foot in disbelief.

“Duke Pose ordered me to return! Think about Duke Calypse’s position—do you really think he’d agree so easily to such a ridiculous deal?”

Ah.

My eyes widened at the implication.

...Now I understand what’s happening.

As I grasped the situation, I swallowed dryly.

The Pose family must be celebrating right now. After all, Calypse had agreed to come to their territory without escort knights.

But there was a problem.

There was still time before that visit.

Which means Duke Pose will try to eliminate any weaknesses during that time.

For example—

a spy who had been infiltrating the Kreutz family for six years.

A spy...

If Dorothy gets exposed as their spy in this situation, it would be a loss for them. So they’re trying to pull her out quickly.

Underhanded—but that was exactly how the Pose family had survived this long.

It made sense.

Wait.

Then something occurred to me.

I stared at Dorothy with wide eyes.

But that weakness is standing right in front of me.

Dorothy flinched as she felt my gaze.

“What are you looking at?”

“......”

“I said, what are you looking at, brat?!”

“Oh, nothing.”

I just found a very nice piece of prey.

I swallowed the rest of that thought and clenched my small fist.

And then—

“I—I think it’s all my fault... I’m so, so sorry... waaah!”

“...What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?!”

I burst into tears with disturbingly convincing acting, and Dorothy grabbed her head in confusion.

You think I’m supposed to lie low like a dead mouse right now?

No.

That objective just changed.

My goal now is to expose Dorothy.