~Chapter 6~
Dorothy went pale at the sight of me crying like a little child.
It wasn’t so much shock as sheer disbelief—she looked completely at a loss for words.
“What did you do to cry like that!”
“Exactly! What did I do to cry? I… I’m just sorry to you, eeehh!”
Tears poured out in a whirlwind.
Method acting that leaves the other person speechless was my specialty.
For the record, I had once been highly praised by a notoriously cold-hearted acting instructor.
Why?
Probably because I remembered my past life. Compared to kids my age, I was more expressive with my emotions.
“Ugh, sister! When are you leaving already!”
In acting, expressing emotions through the body rather than the face creates a more dramatic effect.
Plop—
I collapsed face-first onto the floor in a wailing fit. Dorothy rolled her eyes and pressed a hand to her forehead.
“Ha… you’re noisy. Just stay still.”
“But I’m sorry!”
Self-centered people like Dorothy don’t feel sympathy just because a child cries.
“If you’re sorry, don’t just whimper—do something! Do you want me to see you lose your composure!?”
She blamed me instead.
“I don’t know what to do!”
“Ugh, you’re hopeless! Then at least do something for me before you leave! Don’t be this useless!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Hearing what she wanted, I immediately stopped crying.
Quickly rubbing my wet cheeks with the back of my hand, I scrambled to my feet and grabbed a rag.
“I-I’m sorry, so I’ll clean your room, Dorothy.”
“…Fine. At least you have some sense.”
After finishing cleaning her room:
“…I’m sorry, so I’ll also organize your things, Dorothy.”
I bowed my head with my hands neatly folded.
Perhaps she liked the way I was acting submissive. Dorothy’s anger seemed to soften slightly, and she just nodded silently, crossing her arms.
Click—
While Dorothy sat on her chair to rest, I quietly opened her drawer.
Now came the important part.
I carefully watched her, and when she briefly closed her eyes, I slipped a few items labeled with her name into my pocket.
Then, with reddened eyes, I looked back at her and clasped my hands together.
“I’m sorry. May I do your laundry too, Dorothy?”
“Do it quickly and scram. I want to be alone.”
Dorothy waved her hand without opening her eyes, clearly ignoring me now.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I carefully balanced a bundle of her clothes from the laundry basket and waddled out of the room.
Success.
“Phew. She’s so unguarded. Probably because I’m a kid, she let her guard down.”
There was a reason I went through the trouble of stealing Dorothy’s items.
Dorothy was the only weak point in the Pose Ducal household.
If we revealed she was a spy at this point, it would give Calipse an advantage in heading to the Doctia Kingdom.
Now, how would I reveal that Dorothy was a spy?
A report.
It was a record of mission progress that spies on assignment sent to their master. That was all I had to expose.
“Ugh, it’s heavy.”
Entering the laundry room, I groaned as I dragged a basin filled with cold ice water and dumped her clothes in.
Why am I suddenly doing laundry?
‘Spies don’t write reports on paper.’
Writing on paper was too obvious and risky; I could get caught.
So the spies of the Pose Ducal household wrote their reports on the clothes they wore.
Sprinkle the mixture with a poison potion that erased the ink, and the writing disappeared. But the method to reveal it was simple.
“Just soak it in ice water for over 30 minutes.”
With this simple but ingenious trick, the Pose Ducal spies never got exposed due to their reports.
Because… who’d be foolish enough to soak clothes in ice water otherwise?
“Ah, I’m exhausted.”
Now I just had to wait 30 minutes.
I patted my arms in pride at my own effort.
After 30 minutes,
Glug—
The once-clear ice water began to shimmer with a blue glow.
It was as if sunlight pierced the clouds and shone upward from the ground.
The blue light spread, then began stitching words onto the fabric with a steady rhythm.
It was Dorothy’s report.
“Good. So her maid uniform was actually a report.”
I folded the wet clothes neatly into a basket.
Then, I arranged the items I had secretly stolen—an adult novel with “Touch and Die” written on it, a handkerchief with her name embroidered, and a pocket watch—on top of the fabric with the report.
In a few minutes, the maids coming to do the laundry would discover the clothes.
All the items bore Dorothy’s name, so they would immediately recognize the owner.
“Haa… I think I’ve done enough to survive. I really want to get out of the Pose Ducal household…”
I wanted a normal life. But why was the standard for ‘normal’ so high?
I sighed and turned to leave.
“Who made you do the laundry?”
“!”
A black robe appeared in my line of sight.
The gardener.
“…Excuse me?”
Since when was he standing there? I hadn’t sensed him at all.
‘…Is he really just an ordinary gardener?’
His presence was so quiet it sent chills down my spine.
Flustered, I instinctively stepped forward to shield the laundry. Seeing him glance behind me, I swallowed hard.
Strange.
I had been trained to detect the presence of most people easily, but I hadn’t noticed he was there at all.
“Come out. Time for a sandwich.”
Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t noticed the writing on the clothes.
“Yes, sir.”
I nodded and silently breathed a sigh of relief.
I could never let my guard down, not even for a moment.
“Tell me the truth.”
“Excuse me?”
But as he led me out to the garden, his eyes sharpened like daggers.
Had he noticed? This easily? Who exactly was this man?
“…The maids made you do the laundry?”
“Ah… phew—.”
“What, a sigh? Don’t sigh.”
Luckily, he didn’t seem to notice.
“No, it’s just… life is hard…”
I shook my head and returned to the main topic.
“The maids didn’t make me do it, anyway.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“To appeal, of course.”
“What appeal?”
“To make them look at me favorably! You know, an appeal.”
I gave a perfectly practiced innocent wink, but he didn’t budge.
Instead, he sighed and placed a hand on his waist.
“Anyway, no more laundry from now on.”
“Why not?”
He frowned.
“How do you see the Pose Ducal household? Do they seem like people who’d make a five-year-old work for free?”
His tone was cold, but worry lingered beneath it.
Had he also heard about my troubles?
He must have thought I was being bullied or nervously doing chores.
‘…At least Dorothy’s stuff wasn’t discovered.’
But wait.
Even here, he’s showing some sweetness.
So the reason he brought me here was to protect me from being scolded by the maids, right?
…Not bad.
“Sir.”
“Yes?”
I rubbed my hands together like a little fly and shrugged.
“If you feel any sympathy for my situation, perhaps this is your chance to become the savior of a poor little child—”
“Shut your mouth.”
Ah, this isn’t easy.
“One more time with that kid nonsense, and you’re out.”
“Tch.”
“Shut your mouth. That mouth of yours.”
His large hand approached as if to smack me, but instead lifted me gently by my armpits.
Grumbling, he set me down on a bench.
He handed me a sandwich and orange juice that had been on the outdoor table.
“Shut your mouth and eat. Before you get scolded.”
“Thank you.”
A sandwich and orange juice!
Although becoming his daughter today was out of the question, at least I had some decent gain.
I mindlessly chewed the sandwich.
“……?”
It tastes good.
Really good.
“You eat well. Did they starve you?”
No.
During spy training, I often went hungry, but since coming here I had three proper meals a day.
But this sandwich…!
Munch-munch—
It was delicious, so delicious!
As I hurriedly finished the sandwich, he clicked his tongue and took a handkerchief from inside his robe.
“Eat slowly. If you choke, it defeats the purpose.”
He skillfully wiped the crumbs from my mouth. But I kept eating and replied,
“Nutritious meals with carbs, protein, and fats are always welcome!”
“Carbs, protein, and fats?”
“Yes. Carbohydrate, protein, fat.”
“Why shorten proper words?”
“Then why do you bother speaking at length? Short is faster and better.”
“This conversation might go nowhere.”
“Hehe.”
I laughed lightly, watching him shake his head. My legs swung lightly from the bench.
Even with memories of my past life, after living two years in this young body, my body reacted naturally when I felt good.
Of course, only around people I was comfortable with.
‘By the way… should I even be here?’
I glanced around as I munched the sandwich.
On the first day I didn’t notice, but this garden was private—only family and the assigned gardener could enter.
Now that I thought about it, Dorothy had said something similar.
“But, sir.”
“Yes?”
“When do you enter this garden?”
I asked without much thought.
“…….”
The conversation, which had been flowing smoothly, suddenly hit a wall.
“Sir?”
“…….”
Even when I called again, he remained silent.
His hood hid his expression, but the jaw looked tense.
“Probably when I want to be alone. The private garden forbids outsiders.”
“I see…”
‘Huh? He answered seriously.’
I changed the subject.
“Then if you happen to meet the Duke, you wouldn’t chat casually, right?”
“Why?”
“You can tell by the Duke’s personality.”
“…The Duke’s personality?”
I spoke primly.
“It’s a secret. I don’t gossip.”
“……?”
His lips parted slowly as if realizing my meaning.
Perhaps now understanding, the usually silent man suddenly snapped,
“Charismatic, quiet, trustworthy. If the leader’s personality is like that, what more do you want?”
