Chapter 17
People walking by would occasionally stop and ask me, as I sat on the windowsill with a wistful expression.
“…Asha, what are you doing?”
“I’m savoring the afterglow.”
The more I dug, the more I discovered the endless accomplishments and charm of the former boss.
To finish with a flying kick after building momentum with her back—what a perfect move.
How could anyone be that cool? I needed to emulate her as soon as possible.
“Hi-yah!” I shouted, swinging my short limbs back and forth—but only for a moment.
‘Why did she die so young?’
A mixture of regret and curiosity crept in.
I heard the duchess had died of pneumonia.
But if it was something like pneumonia—an illness caused by bacteria or viruses—wasn’t there a chance it could have been purified early on?
‘Of course, it’s not easy to borrow the power of the temple…’
Hiring a priest or paladin with awakened power personally would cost a fortune, and even before that, you’d need to win a bunch of waitlist lotteries.
But this family… This was the prestigious Duchy of Bastion.
Though considered evil by the Holy Nation and temple for being descendants of the fallen dark god Noir, they were still a founding family of the Amanta Empire—untouchable.
Money? Waitlist? They could chew through both. If they had demanded a priest, they’d have gotten one, no questions asked.
‘Just like how the Holy Nation sends support staff to dam the monster floods every winter.’
So why?
Why did the Duchess of Bastion have to die so meaninglessly?
“This isn’t something I can just go around asking…”
Groaning softly, I got down from the windowsill.
Aside from figuring out her impressive method of winning arguments with her husband, I hadn’t learned much about her as a person.
They said she always wore a mask and wig. Seriously.
I had hoped to imitate her appearance a bit, but oh well.
Sure, it was a shallow and petty idea—but this wasn’t the time to worry about things like that.
“Should I wear a mask too…?”
No. Something so obvious would backfire.
Narrowing my eyes, I stared at a door far down the hallway.
It was Levi’s room. A place I couldn’t even approach.
I’d already tried to run over in desperation, but a servant had appeared out of nowhere and grabbed me by the collar before I even got close.
“Ugh!”
Mask or whatever—what use was any of it if I couldn’t even meet him?
I slumped in the hallway, glaring fiercely at the tightly shut door, but it didn’t budge.
Still, he was unbelievable.
If it was noisy outside, wouldn’t most people come out to look…?
“…Heh?”
I smirked, and the servant scurried off as if he had seen something horrible.
Whatever. I just stared out at the darkening window.
“Hehehehehe.”
For a good little kid, it would be bedtime by now.
But I was a good adult, and this calm stillness felt perfect—so I headed not to my room, but to the back garden.
Unlike the mansion crawling with servants, the back garden was quiet, with only the occasional guard patrolling by.
“Whew, thanks for your service!”
“You too, Lady Asha.”
I casually gave a lazy salute. The guards chuckled and returned the gesture before wandering off, unbothered.
Once their silhouettes faded, I solemnly picked up a few pebbles.
Carefully selected—only the prettiest, roundest ones like myself—and took careful aim.
At what?
Levi’s balcony.
Yes. If I couldn’t barge in…
“Huff!”
…I’d make him come out!
The pebble flew and hit the target with a crisp thunk.
A perfect shot—except the irritating balcony window didn’t move a muscle.
Asleep already? Then wake up. Still not coming out? Huh? Not even now?
I kept throwing pebble after pebble in defiance.
And then, on the thirty-eighth throw, whish!
The window suddenly flung open—and there he was.
“Gasp.”
I’m gonna get hit!
But Levi calmly caught the pebble midair, right before it smacked him in the face.
Ohhh. A relief… though also a bit disappointing.
He looked at the pebble in his hand, then the pile of stones on the balcony, then down at me.
He had every reason to be baffled—but his face remained indifferent and disinterested.
Not to mention, insanely handsome.
A masterpiece.
Not just his face, but the whole setup.
Glorious moonlight. A second-story balcony. Two people facing each other.
Spreading my arms wide, I recited the first line that popped into my head.
“Oh, Levi! Why must your name be Levi?!”
“My mother gave it to me.”
I see. A precious name, then. Not that I really cared about the backstory.
As I scratched my head awkwardly, Levi moved to shut the window again.
What?! I just got you to open it!
“Hey!”
“…”
“Wait—just a moment! Just a minute!”
Frantically trying to stop him, I glanced around.
And spotted a tree close enough to his window.
Was this a sign from the gods to go all in on the dramatic reenactment?
Fine. To win the beauty, I’d climb a tree!
“Hold on!”
Clumsily, I stepped on the tree and began inching upward like a caterpillar.
Second floor? Pfft. Thanks to the mansion’s high ceilings, the way up to Levi’s room was no joke.
“Almost there! Whew… the air up here is so fresh.”
Feeling like I’d finally arrived, I looked around…
And realized I’d barely gotten five centimeters off the ground.
No way. This is ridiculous.
Clinging to the tree like a cicada with a tearful face, I suddenly heard the faintest breeze.
Wait—was that… laughter?
I lifted my head to look—and promptly slipped, landing flat on my butt.
“Ow—my tailbone…”
As I rubbed my sore rear, I heard a click—and the sense of presence vanished.
Levi had actually closed the window and gone inside.
That jerk. Couldn’t he at least ask if I was okay, even as a formality?
Fuming, I saw more guards in the distance and scrambled away.
Couldn’t risk getting caught and having this method taken away too.
The next day—and the next—I returned at the same time to knock on the balcony.
I used different techniques: rhythm games, adjusting strength, even matching the beat of a song.
Sometimes I threw candies instead of pebbles—generously gifted by the maids.
But no matter what I tried, Levi didn’t show his face again after that first day…
And so, time passed, my nightly serenade continuing into the seventh day.
Two-thirds of spring break had gone by.
And then, I left.
* * *
A bright morning, in Wolfgang’s office.
“…She disappeared?”
“Yes. The maids in nearby rooms say the ever-diligent young lady hasn’t been seen since early dawn.”
Wolfgang, cranky from low blood pressure and a lack of morning calls, furrowed his brow.
Anyone else would’ve trembled in fear, but Bastion’s veteran butler continued unbothered.
“Shall we begin a search?”
Instead of answering, Wolfgang closed his eyes.
He focused on the presence he had sensed so clearly since their first meeting.
A sacred energy—white, bright, and loud—just like its owner.
He soon opened his eyes and spoke.
“She’s really gone.”
“Could something have happened…?”
“She could’ve been a spy.”
Maybe she completed her mission and fled.
Benjamin didn’t dare refute Wolfgang’s muttering. The assumption wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
That child had roamed the mansion like it was her own and easily won over even trained personnel.
She even tried to gather little pieces of intel here and there.
This place—Bastion—wasn’t the kind of place where you could just accept someone blindly.
But—
“Why go out of your way to say something that’s not true just to sound mean?”
“…”
“The madam used to say that all the time.”
Wolfgang smirked, as if remembering.
He could clearly picture that woman glaring fiercely from behind her mask, ready to pounce.
He knew. Someone so expressive and transparent couldn’t be a spy. Ridiculous.
Any suspicions—from himself or the veteran staff—had vanished within a day of her arrival.
Especially given the history with Kathrine, it had been easy to believe.
Coincidence. Miracle. Destiny.
Those sentimental words actually suited Bastion surprisingly well.
After all, their long history began with a chance meeting, miracle, and destiny between a god and a human.
Of course, she might not be a spy, but there were definitely secrets hidden in that small head of hers. She had a strange talent for winning people over.
Kathrine and Asha.
They looked and acted differently, but both came out of nowhere, disrupted everything, and effortlessly changed people around them.
If Kathrine were still alive, Wolfgang sometimes thought, she and Asha would’ve gotten along splendidly.
Actually—maybe not just sometimes.
“…At least it doesn’t seem like she was in any danger.”
“That’s some relief, at least.”
“Is she playing hide-and-seek or what?”
“We’ll have to find her properly.”
“Hmph. She probably has someone specific in mind to be the seeker.”
The men in the office all turned their eyes simultaneously.
Upstairs, in a stiflingly quiet room, the one they looked to stared silently at the balcony window.
“…Shall I open the window for you, young master?”
The servant, who had just finished delivering a light breakfast, asked hesitantly.
No answer. Which meant—do as you wish.
The servant quietly pushed open the large window. Soft spring sunlight poured in.
Come to think of it—wasn’t this the first time he’d opened this window with the young master present?
Tilting his head, the servant soon nodded in certainty.
‘Right, that’s it. Usually, only the small windows were opened for air.’
It seemed Levi didn’t like being able to see the entire mansion from here—so eventually, they stopped opening the big one altogether.
But today… something seemed different.
Then the servant blinked in disbelief.
“…Stones? And candy?”
The balcony was littered with junk—clearly thrown on purpose by someone.
What on earth…?
Setting aside the questions, he rolled up his sleeves to clean it.
Just then, behind him, the young master—grumpy in the mornings like his father—set down his teacup with a clack.
A sound that somehow resembled a sword being drawn from its sheath.
