My one-sided monologue continued.
“By the way, I’m not difficult to take care of!”
“……”
“I sleep early, wake up early.”
“……”
“I can help with studying and even assist my father with his work. I can be like the perfect friend’s daughter… Ouch.”
It happened then.
While I was enthusiastically showcasing my charms, I suddenly bumped my round forehead into his leg as the man stopped abruptly.
‘…Wow, it’s really hard.’
It’s not wood but steel. Are gardeners usually this fit?
As I absentmindedly touched my forehead, dazed by his surprisingly firm leg, he turned to me.
“You.”
The gardener spun around, knelt down, and stared at me.
Even though his face was still hidden under the robe, he seemed rather troubled.
“Did you act like this with others at the orphanage?”
“What do you mean?”
“Saying you’d become the king of mercenaries or that they wouldn’t regret choosing you. Things like that.”
“No, I only talk like this to people I think are worth it.”
I twinkled my eyes.
“Out of all the adults I’ve met, Mister Gardener is the best.”
And then, a bright smile.
It was a smile trained since childhood by spy Aisha, but instead of being charmed, the man sighed more deeply, as if he was even more troubled.
“Wait here in the hallway. The attendant will take you to the Duke’s office. Once there, don’t babble and just tell them the location of the young lady.”
“But I also have things I need to get.”
“There’s a viscount family among the Kreutz Duchy’s vassals that wants a child. It’s a knight family, so you’ll be well-protected. Isn’t that good enough?”
He placed his large hand on my shoulder.
But I think staying with you is better than with the viscount family.
“Got it?”
As my silence grew longer, his shadowed gaze became desperate.
“Alright, I understand.”
I had no choice.
As I nodded, the man let out a breath he had been holding and stood up.
“Then wait here.”
“Yes.”
Once the gardener disappeared, only the guard knight and I remained in the hallway.
“……”
I glanced at the knight.
“Ahem!”
The knight awkwardly cleared his throat and looked up at the ceiling.
He must have heard the entire conversation between me and the gardener.
‘A knight of the Kreutz Family.’
I started thinking again.
Knights can’t guarantee their safety in war, but the same goes for gardeners.
But a knight is stronger and gets paid more than Mister Gardener, right?
And being a knight of the Kreutz Family means his status is verified….
“Huh.”
At that moment.
As I was discreetly observing him like an owl, my eyes met the knight’s as he turned his gaze.
Mister Gardener said he would introduce me to someone, but you always need insurance.
Above all, there’s no guarantee that the promise of a commoner like Mister Gardener will be kept, right?
‘Gotcha, you rascal.’
I smiled and approached the knight.
“Excuse me, sir. Would you consider adopting a smart daughter?”
“Kid, this isn’t an orphanage.”
I couldn’t get closer because my feet suddenly lifted off the ground.
‘…Levitation?’
What is this? Is it Aisha’s hidden ability?
There was another odd thing.
When I came to my senses, the knight in front of me was standing at attention, looking pale.
“Your Grace the Duke! What brings you here… Anyway, greetings!”
…The Duke?
Frowning, I pondered.
If someone is called the Duke in the Kreutz Family, then it must be Duke Calypse, so….
“I was passing by and saw it seemed dangerous, so I stopped by. By the way, who is this kid?”
As I turned my head slightly, I met eyes with a black mask I had only imagined from the original description.
It was Duke Calypse.
* * *
“Your Grace. Good day, but… who is this child?”
“None of your business.”
Calypse effortlessly lifted me with one hand, like a sack of flour.
As we walked through the hallway, all the servants and knights we passed fixed their gazes on me and Calypse.
I was completely frozen. Calypse was described as extremely intimidating in the original novel.
I thought it was natural since he was the main antagonist, but…
‘…He’s scarier than I imagined.’
He’s bigger than I thought, much bigger.
185 cm? No, he’s over 190 cm.
Also, his voice was very deep, as if he was speaking alone in a cave.
“……”
Reincarnated as 5-year-old Aisha, but mentally 20 years old.
I had nothing to fear, nothing to lose.
But I was scared.
Sway, sway-
Every time his log-like arm moved, my body swung like it was on an aerial swing.
For the first time since reincarnating as Aisha, a cold sweat ran down my neck.
“Kid. Name.”
A low voice flowed over the top of my head.
“……”
“Are you dead? Why so silent?”
It was only then that I realized Calypse was asking me a question.
I quickly answered.
“…Ah, Aisha.”
“Were you always like this? I thought you were very noisy.”
Huh? What is he talking about?
It seemed like he was mumbling something, but it was too quiet to hear.
‘…Forget it. I miss Mister Gardener. There was no one as friendly as him.’
Thud-
But my trivial thoughts vanished at the sound of the door opening.
The cold draft was immediately blocked.
A cozy fireplace. A warm purple carpet.
This was the office.
“…What did you bring?”
A handsome young man with a monocle, who was checking a report, asked from inside the room.
It seemed to be Calypse’s aide, Knox.
“Kid. I’ll put you down, stand straight.”
Ignoring the curious Knox, Calypse put me down.
“She claims to know the location of the young lady.”
“…This kid does?”
“Yes. Now, speak up, kid. Where is the young lady?”
When I lifted my head at the voice resonating from above, I met eyes with a black mask.
A mask not flashy but intricately engraved in the form of a black panther.
Under the mask, the only visible red eyes gleamed with strange curiosity and wariness.
It felt like I was caught in a trap.
The man, slightly leaning his upper body, looked down at me without moving.
My mouth went dry.
‘Both Knox and Calypse…’
They’re too big.
Even from the perspective of my previous body, they would have been scary, but seeing them through the eyes of a 5-year-old made the fear even more overwhelming.
“…Could you give me paper and a pen?”
But I was a spy. That means I was trained to some extent.
Despite my fear, I hid my expression and asked calmly, to which the red eyes flicked toward Knox.
“Knox. Bring it.”
“I’m curious to see what you’ll draw.”
At Calypse’s command, Knox handed me paper and a pen.
‘Get a grip.’
I vaguely realized something while looking at the two men.
I am a spy. But at the same time, I am just a powerless 5-year-old kid.
So…
“Let’s write a contract first.”
“…What did you say?”
Calypse looked like he had misheard.
“Who are we writing a contract with now? And how old is that child?”
Knox seemed equally bewildered.
Scratch, scratch-
Ignoring their gazes as much as possible, I gripped the pen with my small hand and wrote down words.
“All done.”
Trying to write with little strength made my fingers ache. But I wrote everything I wanted to say.
Feeling proud, I stretched my tiny fingers wide, but Calypse frowned as he read the words.
“What did you write?”
“Let me see.”
Flash-
Knox took the paper, and the lens of his monocle gleamed as he lifted it.
Then.
“I don’t understand either.”
He answered confidently.
‘Ugh. These people.’
“I’ll explain.”
Despite that, my handwriting was better than that of an average 5-year-old.
Maybe it was because I had focused more on physical training, so my handwriting still needed more practice.
I pointed to the sentence with my finger.
“If I tell you the location of the young lady, Your Grace must fulfill the conditions written in this contract.”
“…….”
“The condition is to find me a legal guardian who will keep me safe until I become an adult.”
“If you can find the young lady,”
Calypse answered quietly, raising an eyebrow.
“I can give you a whole territory. So, quickly tell me the location of the young lady.”
“Please sign first.”
“Do you not trust the oath of the Kreutz Duchy?”
I shook my head.
From what I saw in the original story, Calypse was a man of honor who didn’t ignore his promises, even to a child.
However,
“Right now, what can help me is not someone’s oath, but a legally binding contract.”
I am alone.
Born to live as a spy. In the Kingdom of Duktia or the Kingdom of Frozen, I had no identification.
Even if I died, no one would know because I never existed in the first place.
“So please sign the contract.”
I am alone, and
“Then I’ll tell you the exact location of the young lady.”
All I can rely on is a contract.
As I crossed my arms and answered firmly, Calypse, who had been staring at me, sighed.
“Knox, bring the seal.”
“What? Isn’t it enough to just sign, why use the seal too?”
“Look at those fierce eyes. You think she’ll be satisfied with just a signature?”
“…Do as you wish.”
Ah, thank goodness.
Now, it seems there’s a way to survive.
It felt like the breath that had been stuck during the entire conversation with Calypse was finally released.
But suddenly, the pen I was holding vanished.
“In return, I have a condition too.”
Calypse, who had already taken the pen, wrote something on the paper.
“If we go to the place you tell us and the young lady isn’t there…”
