For a moment, my mind went blank and my body froze like ice.
“…Then, I’ll be going.”
Mai seemed just as surprised by her own words, quickly bowing her head and hurriedly leaving the room.
A chilling silence weighed down on my shoulders.
“……”
Mai was right.
I was the one who broke the contract in the first place.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the study.
With the child’s sweet scent gone, the space had lost any remaining hint of playfulness.
Especially right after Aisha left.
Calypse’s eyes turned sharp as there was no longer any need to maintain a gentle expression.
The change was so sudden that even Knox, who had been angry earlier, flinched.
“You should know better than to say things in front of the child that shouldn’t be said.”
The stern question made Knox realize that Calypse had returned to his usual self.
Knox unconsciously stood at attention, which was actually a relief.
It meant His Grace wasn’t mad.
“That’s why I gave her strawberries and sent her away. Let me ask honestly, Your Grace. What do you see in that child?”
“What do you mean ‘see’? I just took in a child with nowhere else to go. How is that a big deal for the duchy?”
“If that were the case, you would have sent her to an orphanage or a noble family wanting a child. Like you said before, that’s the responsible thing to do.”
In truth, Aisha wasn’t the first orphan to enter the duchy.
Since the disappearance of the Young Masters and Young Lady, the kingdom’s people had been desperate to find them.
More accurately, they were desperate to create a Young Lady Kreutz.
While the faces of the Young Masters were well-known, the Young Lady had disappeared before the Duke could even see her.
All they knew was that she would have the same hair and eye color as either the Duke or the Duchess.
Orphanages and lower nobility went wild.
They tried to claim any child who vaguely resembled the Duke’s family as the lost Young Lady.
Calypse sent many of these children to good homes.
But as more people began to leave crying infants at the gates of the duchy, hoping to gain the Duke’s favor, it became a bitter affair for Calypse.
Knox knew how much the Duke had struggled with the loss of his children.
He wore a mask to hide his sorrow.
Knox understood what lay behind that mask and the emotions it concealed.
“What changed you, Your Grace?”
For this reason, Knox dared to speak boldly.
Calypse was a hero, but he was also human.
He could break.
He could make mistakes.
It was the aide’s job to support the Duke in such times.
“……”
A heavy silence followed.
Calypse, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, seemed deep in thought.
He looked like he was carefully choosing his words.
Finally, with a sigh, he spoke quietly.
“Nothing has changed.”
“Then why…”
“I had no other choice but to save that child. There were no other options left in my life.”
“…What?”
No other options. Saving her.
As Knox tried to make sense of these words, his eyes narrowed.
That meant…
If he hadn’t saved the child…
“…Your Grace!”
Knox’s face turned pale as he realized the meaning behind Calypse’s words.
Despite Knox’s shock, Calypse remained calm.
It was as if he had thought about this for a long time, his red eyes reflecting only a hint of fatigue.
“After all my struggles, all I got was a medal. What’s the point of living?”
“Was that why you asked for the death potion?”
Calypse closed his eyes.
“Figure it out yourself.”
“What do you mean ‘figure it out’! Your Grace, even if it means my own demise…”
“Ugh.”
This is why he didn’t want to talk about it.
Knox often cared more for Calypse than Calypse cared for himself.
Watching his master’s displeased expression, Knox sighed deeply.
In the end, he couldn’t drive away or acknowledge the child.
His only option was clear.
“…I’ll take responsibility for Aisha.”
“…What?”
Calypse, who had been covering his ears half-jokingly, opened his eyes slowly.
Knox nodded firmly, seeing his master’s surprised face.
He had to admit it.
That child had saved the Duke.
“I’ll watch over Aisha and make sure she’s truly given up being a spy.”
If the child was that important to his master, he needed to test her.
To see if she really had saved the Duke, or if she was preparing to betray him.
* * *
And so, unaware of these developments, I went into emergency mode.
‘I must earn their trust.’
Mai’s honest advice made me realize something important.
‘Being adopted wasn’t the end.’
Mister didn’t adopt me because he liked me. It was more out of pity.
If the only person who trusted me this much was in this state, what would others think of me?
I didn’t need to think deeply about it.
Knox was already tormenting me.
“Is it normal for a five-year-old’s cheeks to puff up like freshly baked bread when eating?”
“……”
While I was diligently chewing my steak, a long finger poked my cheek.
There it was again.
He was watching me.
‘Ignoring him is the best answer.’
I rolled my eyes away from his inquisitive gaze, as if he were studying a rare beast.
Knox, resting his chin on his hand, spoke dryly.
“Or maybe… because she’s a spy.”
“Eat your steak!”
I quickly shoved my fork into his mouth.
But-
“Hmm. Delicious.”
Indeed, the aide of Kreutz Duchy.
He wasn’t fazed by a former spy’s surprise attack.
Instead, he savored my steak.
‘Don’t let your guard down. He suspects me.’
For some reason, since that day, Knox had been watching me all day.
Knox Elias.
Calypse’s chief aide and the second son of the Marquis Elias, a vassal of Kreutz Duchy.
With his neatly tied long blue hair and monocle that enhanced his intellectual look, he was quite a handsome man.
But that was only on the surface.
In reality, he was a monster-obsessed, extreme T personality who enjoyed tormenting a five-year-old former spy.
Except for those quirks, he was quite a beauty.
‘The reason he opposed my execution wasn’t because he pitied me, but because he was worried about the duchy’s reputation.’
Knox’s perfect and intellectual image was all fabricated.
All for Kreutz Duchy.
‘I thought he wouldn’t care and would just go away, but he turned out to be so interested in me.’
Knox, tasting the steak for a long time, swallowed the food.
Then-
“…Aisha is a spy,”
“The man!”
“The little one is a spy,”
“Massage is a hobby!”
“…What’s Spider-Man, and what’s a spa massage?”
“They exist!”
He kept provoking me.
For one reason.
“Hmm. Even at five years old, your crisis management skills are excellent. Must be because you’re a spy.”
He was curious about my abilities.
I appreciated the praise, but I didn’t need the suspicion.
“And you, teasing a five-year-old, are excellent.”
“…Mister?”
At that moment.
Hearing the familiar voice, I turned to see the tall figure standing there.
“Come here, little one.”
“Yes! …Oh.”
Excited by his appearance, I tried to leap with my Frog Technique-
‘He adopted you out of pity, but he doesn’t trust you. You lied first, after all.’
The uncomfortable truth pierced my heart, and I hesitated.
“…Little one?”
Oh. Mister was calling me.
I hid my hesitation and forced a smile.
But Mister had already sensed something was wrong and knelt down in front of me.
His red eyes were level with mine as he opened his arms.
“……”
It looked like he wanted me to hug him.
“…Aisha.”
His voice, a mix of surprise and disappointment, urged me.
‘No, I can’t. If I don’t act cute now, my trust level will drop…’
I quickly shook my head and put on a bright smile.
And then.
“Aha, Mister~!”
In an overly cheerful tone, I winked at him.
Creak, creak-
Awkwardly, I walked over and leaned into his arms.
…More like I leaned my head against him?
“……”
Mister looked down at me, then looked up at Knox.
“Knox.”
“Yes.”
“Kneel.”
“What?”
