I Am the 5-Year-Old Spy Who Kidnapped the Villain

After what felt like a deeply satisfying and long sleep, Aisha slowly became aware of her surroundings, as if she was gently floating back from the depths of unconsciousness. Her white fingers, neatly resting on the bed, twitched slightly. As the sensation in her fingers returned, she began to hear voices around her.

“…soon…”
“…Royal family… magic, perhaps…”

What were they talking about for so long? She wanted to sleep just a little bit more. ‘Just a bit longer,’ she thought, pretending not to hear anything and trying to drift back to sleep. But then—

“I won’t allow it!”
“Huh?”

A loud voice pierced through the drowsiness, forcing her eyes open wide.

“W-Where am I…?”

‘Where is this? Who am I?’ she wondered, looking around like a startled meerkat.

“…Aisha?”
“Oh! Sir Lucas! …Why are you crying?”

Lucas, who seemed to have been crying hard, looked at her with swollen eyes, shocked at her awakening.

“…Aisha.”
“Mister?”

Next to him, the Duke—looking like he hadn’t slept at all—had dark circles under his eyes.

Thud—

“Oh my, the Lady…”

And there was an elderly man, someone Aisha didn’t recognize, who had dropped the herbs he was holding.

“W-What’s wrong with everyone?”

Aisha couldn’t figure out what was happening and tilted her head in confusion.

“Aisha!”

Suddenly, Lucas burst into tears and hugged her tightly.

“No, she’s still recovering, Lucas!”
“Let me check her pulse! This is a miracle!”

“Ah!”

Lucas’ sudden movement startled her as the Duke and the elderly man rushed to the bed. Frightened by the chaotic scene, Aisha let out a scream.

What in the world is going on?!

* * *

“Her bruises remain, but her health is astonishingly stable. This… this is truly a miracle!” said Delta, a man who introduced himself as a physician, shaking his head in amazement.

Lucas, once again, clung to Aisha, and this time, the Duke didn’t stop him. Instead, the Duke watched her intently, covering his face with his hands, his eyes shimmering as if tears were threatening to fall.

A few days passed after that chaotic day. During that time, Aisha was advised to rest and recover in the infirmary.

She learned that before she fainted, she had nearly died, and the fact that she had survived was nothing short of a miracle. Although she felt perfectly healthy and wondered if she really needed to rest, Delta insisted otherwise, glancing nervously at Calypse and Lucas who were glaring at him.

‘I’ll rest here for a week then!’ she declared, trying to comfort the worried Delta.

Maybe I’ve possessed a hero instead of a spy, she mused. After all, she had already saved a few lives in just a few days. But still, it was curious how she felt so healthy despite everything.

She had nearly died protecting Lucas from a blunt object aimed at his head, yet her head, though still slightly bruised, felt fine.

‘There’s not even a single place that hurts.’

How did I come back to life? Is it some sort of blessing for those who have possessed a character in a novel?

“Hmm…”

No matter how much she turned her body around, everything seemed perfectly fine.

“Well, whatever. I guess I should just be thankful for it.”

It must be because she’s a character in a fantasy novel—such tropes are common in these stories. Perhaps all the suffering she endured at the Pose Duchy over the past five years was finally being rewarded.

‘I’ll have to look into it later.’

But for now, there was something else bothering her.

In the very beginning, when she fainted after being captured by the circus staff, she had a nightmare.

‘You’ve brought back something interesting after visiting the Duke’s residence.’

In the dream, there was no clear background or face of the person speaking. She could only remember a sinister set of teeth, grinning at her from the shadows in a dark place.

“…What kind of memory was that?”

She had been possessing Aisha’s body ever since the child started forming her consciousness, but there had been no such experience in the past.

The memory was as vivid as a photograph, clear but deeply unsettling.

As she was lost in these thoughts, the door suddenly flew open without a knock.

“Dandelion!”

Lucas burst into the room, his eyes wide like a rabbit’s, holding flowers so hastily that some of the petals fluttered to the floor.

“Sir Lucas?”

Lucas was shocked at her formal address.

“Sir Lucas? My father told me you’ve been adopted into our family!”

Ah, so that’s why he came running.

‘Well, if I had returned home after five years only to find out that some kid had become my sibling, I would be shocked too.’

Perhaps she should have told him earlier at the circus. Feeling a bit guilty, she spoke up.

“Yes, that’s right. You must be surprised. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,”

“Does that mean I’m your brother now?!”

He cut her off, almost shouting. Seeing the excitement on his face, Aisha quickly nodded.

“Yes!”

“Then, you can’t call me ‘Sir Lucas’ anymore!”

“Huh?”

Confused, she asked him again, but Lucas only looked at her with shining eyes, as if expecting something from her.

‘What is it? What does he want?’

Aisha squinted her eyes and stroked her chin thoughtfully, then suddenly noticed the few remaining petals in his hand.

“Wow, did you pick these flowers for me? Thank you, they’re so pretty!”

“…That’s not it.”

Lucas quickly dismissed her guess.

“Huh?”

“That…call me…”

“What should I call you?”

“Call me ‘brother’ from now on!”

Lucas’s face turned bright red as he almost shouted the words, starting to huff and puff with determination.

‘Ah, so that’s what this is about.’

“So, I should call you ‘Brother Lucas.’ Thank you.”

Feeling somewhat proud, she gave him the response he was hoping for. His ears turned even redder as he poured water into a vase.

“Ahem. That’s right. I’m your brother now.”

“Interesting.”

“And you’re my little sister. We’re siblings. Family. Ahem!”

As he kept repeating these words, a soft smile tugged at the corners of his lips. But just as he was about to relax—

“Ahem!”

He cleared his throat again and sat down on the small chair next to her bed, pulling out a sketchbook.

“What’s this?”

“It’s my daily schedule. Now that I’m back at the Duke’s estate, I have a lot to do. Even though I’m only eight, I’m still the Duke’s son.”

“Interesting!”

It seemed that Lucas wanted to show off what he’d been doing while they hadn’t seen each other. It was such a typical thing for kids his age to do that Aisha found it endearing.

The sketchbook had a circular chart drawn with blue crayon.

“Tell me about your daily routine, Brother!”

“Of course.”

Pleased by her interest, Lucas’s dark eyebrows shot up proudly. His finger pointed to the lunchtime slot.

“Lunchtime is at 12:30. After using up energy in the morning, you need to recharge for the afternoon, so they usually give you a lot of bread and meat. I’ll come to your room around that time, so be ready,”

His unexpected words widened Aisha’s eyes.

“Are we going to eat together?”

“Of course. We’re siblings now.”

“Interesting…”

“And dinner is at 6:30. It varies, but we usually have something simple like meat and vegetables.”

After explaining all that, Lucas narrowed his eyes as if he was about to reveal a huge secret.

“The important part comes now.”

“Gasp.”

His voice became hushed, and Aisha pursed her lips in anticipation.

‘What is it? Some sort of intense training? An initiation ceremony for becoming a direct descendant?’

She waited anxiously for his next words. After looking around as if to make sure no one was listening, he whispered.

“Between lunch and dinner.”

“Yes!”

“…There’s also dessert time.”

“D-Dessert time…?”

Excuse me?

“Dessert?”

Thinking she must have heard wrong, she asked again. Lucas nodded with his eyebrows furrowed in determination.

“Yes. It’s something you absolutely can’t miss. The strawberry cake is delicious.”

“Oh…”

Lucas…seems a bit simple-minded, doesn’t he?

As she was pondering that, someone interrupted.

“If you’re done with your announcement, step out for a moment.”

The door creaked open, and a tall man entered the room. He had just returned from somewhere, as the cold scent of the outdoors clung to him.

It was the Duke.

“Uncle!”

“Kiddo.”

As the Duke smiled faintly, Lucas’s face turned into a frown.

“I’m not done yet!”

“Enough. You promised to only stay for thirty minutes, and it’s already been an hour. That’s more than enough.”

“Then let me stay longer.”

Calypse glared at Lucas, who looked just like him, and then burst into laughter.

“The chef made strawberry cake for you. Are you not going to eat it?”

Boom!

It was as if thunder had struck somewhere.

Faced with his father’s offer, Lucas looked as if he had encountered the greatest dilemma since arriving at Kreutz’s estate.

Sister or strawberry cake.

‘This is where a generous sister is needed!’

Honestly, Lucas, you’re a bit noisy—!

Waving her hand, Aisha encouraged Lucas.

“Go ahead, Brother.”

“…Brother?”

But then, the Duke squinted his eyes.

“He’s your brother…and I’m just your uncle? Not even your father?”

“…Huh?”

Oh no, the topic has shifted again.