Dorothy turned pale at the sight of me crying like a child.
It wasn’t so much that she was flustered as it was that she was at a loss for words.
“What have you done to be crying?!”
“Exactly. What have I done to be crying? I’m just so sorry to you, sister!”
Tears flowing like a storm.
Method acting that left the other person stunned was my specialty.
By the way, I had once received high praise from a notoriously tough acting instructor.
Why?
Maybe it’s because I have memories of my past life. I’m more expressive than other kids my age.
“Sis, when are you leaving!”
Acting is more effective when expressed with the body rather than just the face.
Thud-
As I fell to the floor, sobbing, Dorothy rolled her eyes and rubbed her forehead.
“Ha… Just be quiet for a moment.”
“But I’m so sorry—!”
A person as self-centered as Dorothy wouldn’t feel sympathy just because a child was crying.
“If you’re sorry, don’t just cry, do something! Do you want to see me get even more frustrated!?”
They blame the other person instead.
“I don’t know what to do—!”
“Ugh, how frustrating! Then do some work for me until I leave! You’re so useless!”
“Okay.”
Hearing the words I wanted, I immediately stopped crying.
Quickly, I rubbed my wet cheeks with the back of my hand and grabbed a cloth.
“I’ll clean your room because I’m so sorry, Dorothy.”
“…Do as you like. At least you have some sense.”
After cleaning the room.
“I’ll organize your belongings because I’m so sorry, Dorothy.”
I bowed my head, clasping my hands together.
Maybe she liked my submissive attitude.
Dorothy, slightly calmer, nodded silently with her arms crossed.
Rattle—
While Dorothy sat and rested in her chair, I stealthily opened her drawer.
Now the important part began.
Watching Dorothy’s movements carefully, I waited until she closed her eyes for a moment. Then, I quietly slipped a few items with her name on them into my pocket.
And then, with teary eyes, I clasped my hands again.
“Can I do your laundry because I’m so sorry, Dorothy?”
“Do it quickly and get out. I want to be alone.”
Dorothy, eyes closed, waved her hand dismissively. She didn’t seem to care about me anymore.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Ugh—
I picked up an armful of Dorothy’s clothes from the laundry basket and stumbled out of the room.
It was a success.
“Sigh. She’s so careless. Maybe it’s because I’m a child that she let her guard down.”
There was a reason I went through the trouble of stealing Dorothy’s belongings.
Dorothy was the only weakness of the Pose family.
At this point, revealing her identity as a spy would be advantageous for Calypse, who was about to head to the Ductia Kingdom.
Now, how to reveal Dorothy as a spy?
Reports.
Spies on missions periodically send progress reports to their masters. Revealing those reports would do the trick.
“Phew. This is heavy.”
I entered the laundry room and dragged a basin filled with icy water. I dumped the clothes into the basin.
Why was I doing laundry?
‘Spies don’t write reports on paper.’
Writing on paper is too obvious and likely to be discovered.
So, Pose family spies write their reports on their clothes.
Spraying a special potion with poison abilities on the fabric makes the writing invisible, and there’s a simple way to reveal it.
“Just soak it in ice water for over 30 minutes.”
This simple yet ingenious method ensured Pose family spies were never caught because of their reports.
Why?
…Because who would be dumb enough to wash clothes in ice water?
“Agh. This is so tiring.”
Now I just had to wait for 30 minutes.
I patted my arms to ease the strain from my efforts.
After 30 minutes,
Hoooom—
The clear ice water began to shimmer with a blue light.
It was like sunlight breaking through the clouds and rising from the ground.
The blue light spread in a pattern, forming letters on the fabric.
It was the report written by Dorothy.
“Alright. As I thought, the maid uniform was the report.”
I neatly folded the wet clothes and placed them in the basket.
Then, I placed the stolen items—an adult novel labeled “Touch and You Die,” a handkerchief with embroidered initials, and a pocket watch—on top of the fabric with the report.
In a few minutes, the maids would come to do the laundry and find the fabric.
With Dorothy’s name on all these items, they would surely realize who they belonged to.
“Sigh. I hope this is enough to survive. I really want to get out of the Pose family….”
I just wanted to live a normal life. But why did the standards for normalcy have to be so high?
Hoo. As I sighed and turned to leave.
“Who told you to do the laundry?”
“!”
A black robe swished into view.
It was the gardener.
“…What?”
How long had he been standing there?
I didn’t notice any presence at all.
‘…Is he really just a gardener?’
His presence was so quiet it sent chills down my spine.
I was flustered, but I instinctively stepped forward to shield the laundry. I swallowed hard as his gaze directed behind me.
It was strange.
I had been trained to notice people’s presence easily, but I didn’t notice this man at all.
“Come on. Let’s eat some sandwiches.”
Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t noticed the writing on the fabric.
“Yes, sir.”
I nodded, feeling relieved.
There was no time to let my guard down.
* * *
“Tell me the truth.”
“What?”
But the man who dragged me to the garden immediately shot me a sharp look.
Could it be that I was caught? So easily? Who was this man?
“…Did the maids tell you to do the laundry?”
“Oh. Whew.”
“Why are you sighing?”
Luckily, it seemed he hadn’t noticed anything.
“No, it’s just that life is so tough….”
Shaking my head with a sideways glance, I returned to the topic.
“Anyway, the maids didn’t tell me to do it.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“I have my reasons.”
“What reasons?”
“To make a good impression.”
“What kind of impression?”
“Like, please notice me~. You know?”
I gave him a highly trained cheerful wink, but he didn’t budge.
Instead, he sighed and placed his hands on his hips.
“Anyway, don’t do the laundry from now on.”
“Why?”
He frowned.
“How do you view the Kreutz Duchy? Do you think we make a five-year-old work for free?”
His tone was harsh, but I could sense the concern behind it.
Maybe he had heard the rumors about me.
Did he think I was actually bullied or scared into doing chores?
‘…At least he didn’t notice about Dorothy.’
But wait.
Isn’t this gardener kind of sweet?
So he brought me here because he was worried I might be mistreated by the maids?
…Actually, this works in my favor.
“Mister.”
“What?”
I clasped my hands together and shrugged.
“If you feel any pity for my situation, why not take this chance to become the savior of a poor child,”
“Shut your mouth.”
Oh, this is not easy.
“If you mention being a child or anything like that again, I’ll throw you out.”
“Tch.”
“Shut your mouth, that noisy mouth.”
He came over, looking like he was going to hit me, but instead, he lifted me up by my armpits and sat me on the bench.
Then he handed me a sandwich and orange juice from the outdoor table.
“Shut up and eat before you get in trouble.”
“Thank you.”
Wow, a sandwich and orange juice.
I might not have become his daughter today, but this was still a pretty good outcome.
I started munching on the sandwich absentmindedly.
“…?”
It was delicious.
Really delicious.
“You’re eating well. Have you been starving?”
No.
There were many days of starvation during spy training, but I’ve been eating three meals a day since coming here.
But this sandwich…!
Nom nom-
It’s so good. Too good!
As I devoured the sandwich, he clicked his tongue and pulled out a handkerchief from his robe.
“Eat slowly. There’s no point in eating if you choke.”
He skillfully wiped the crumbs from my mouth with the handkerchief. I kept munching away and answered.
“A nutritious meal full of carbs, protein, and fat is always welcome!”
“Carbs, protein, fat?”
“Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.”
“Why shorten perfectly fine words?”
“Why do you waste breath saying long words? Shortening them is quicker and better.”
“At this rate, we won’t even be able to communicate.”
“Hehe.”
I giggled at him shaking his head. My legs, dangling from the bench, swung cheerfully.
Even though I have memories up to when I was 20, having lived in a child’s body for two years, my body often reacted on its own when I was happy.
Of course, only around people I felt comfortable with.
‘But should I really be here?’
Chewing on the sandwich, I looked around.
I didn’t realize it at first, but this garden was a private garden where only immediate family and assigned gardeners could enter.
Come to think of it, Dorothy had mentioned something like that too.
“But Mister.”
“What?”
“When does the Duke usually come into this garden?”
It was a question I asked without much thought.
“…”
The smooth conversation suddenly hit a snag, like a rock in a stream.
“Mister?”
“…”
He didn’t answer even when I called him again.
Because of the hood covering his face, I couldn’t see his expression, but it seemed like his jaw tensed slightly.
“I don’t know.”
After a moment of staring at me, he turned his gaze to the garden.
“He probably comes when he wants to be alone. Personal gardens are off-limits to outsiders.”
“Hmm. I see….”
‘What’s this? He answered more seriously than I thought.’
I changed the direction of the conversation.
“Then, you probably don’t chat with the Duke much when you run into him.”
“Why?”
“You know what he’s like.”
“…What about the Duke’s personality?”
I responded curtly.
“It’s a secret. I don’t gossip.”
“…?”
He seemed momentarily taken aback, his lips parting slowly.
Maybe he finally understood what I meant. He suddenly turned his head sharply and retorted.
“Charismatic, silent, reserved. For a leader, that’s enough. What more do you want?”
Thank you for your hard work