I was done for.
I had just called the head of a ducal house a garden-man.
This was grounds for the charge of insulting nobility. I had no defense whatsoever.
Even Calypse himself looked taken aback, his eyes flickering with something uncertain.
As a result, my short, useless legs dangled helplessly in midair, trembling with no ground beneath them.
“I… the garden-man used to hold me like this too.”
“……”
“P-people from House Krost are all so kind and wonderful and tall and strong, aren’t they.”
“……”
“Heheh.”
I was ruined.
The smile I’d forced onto my face was going into convulsions. Cold sweat was about to burst from the top of my head.
I would almost have preferred if he’d been furious.
Was he so stunned he’d been struck speechless?
Well. I did just call a duke a garden-man.
Surely he’d have me thrown in the dungeon now.
Or maybe he’d just deal with me on the spot.
I refuse to die like this again. I just want to live peacefully into old age and die a natural death— is that so much to ask?!
Unable to hold out any longer against the pressure, I squeezed my eyes shut—
“Garden-man? You must have misspoken.”
A heavy sigh came from across the room instead.
“What?”
I cracked one eye open.
Calypse had somehow produced a single sheet of paper from nowhere— or perhaps in the blink of an eye— and held it out to me.
Then he settled into the sofa across from me.
A strange thing, that.
Any ordinary duke would have returned to his desk. Yet he sat across from me, as though dealing with an equal.
“…This is…”
I puzzled over it as I took the paper he offered.
It was the contract from before.
“The contract is still valid, little one.”
“What?”
“So there’s no need for you to tremble and assume the worst. Bring me the direct-line daughter, and I’ll have you adopted into a viscount family. That was the agreement.”
His words made my eyes slowly widen.
“…But I’m a spy from House Foss.”
“I know.”
“And you’re still being kind to me?”
“You wanted to live, didn’t you? That’s why you exposed Dorothy as a spy in the first place.”
“W-well…”
So… was it the Duke who had been the source of the story that I was the one who uncovered Dorothy?
“Your Grace.”
“What.”
I needed to stay calm— especially now.
“…Your Grace is my salvation.”
The words came out on their own. Not what I had intended to say at all.
The red irises behind his mask, which had been still and quiet, slowly widened.
“……”
A beat of silence.
He seemed, just barely, caught off guard. His gaze wandered from me to the paper in his hands—
“Enough of that. Go rest.”
By the time he walked back to his desk, he was the Duke of House Krost again— composed, commanding, untouchable.
“Yes, sir!”
I answered brightly and left the study.
He had seemed a little surprised by what I said.
Or maybe I was imagining things. Perhaps it had just been my wishful thinking.
________________________________________
✶ ‧₊˚ ☆ ✶ ‧₊˚
________________________________________
That evening.
“You know, sir— I’ve been thinking. Duke Calypse isn’t as bad a person as I thought he was. If anything, I think I may have misjudged him.”
My short legs swung cheerfully in the air.
The garden-man watched me with a steady gaze as I chattered on happily.
Ever since I’d eaten that sandwich, I had fallen into the habit of coming here for meals. Visiting the garden at mealtimes had become part of my daily routine.
He was resting his elbow on the outdoor table, fingers brushing his temple, when he reached for his handkerchief.
“Is that so? In what way?”
He dabbed at the breadcrumbs around my mouth as he asked.
That had also become part of my routine.
I told him everything that had happened that afternoon, in as much detail as I could muster.
“—And so I called him ‘garden-man,’ and he let it go. And even beyond that— even though I did something truly terrible— he still chose to trust me.”
“Something terrible?”
He had been listening without interruption, and now he tilted his head gently.
“What did you do?”
“It’s a secret! It’s between the Duke and me. I can’t tell you, even if you’re you, sir.”
I crossed my arms and answered with great primness.
Of course, I couldn’t just announce that I was a spy. I wanted to tell the garden-man— we’d grown close enough for that— but some things simply were not to be said.
“…I see.”
“Yes. A secret. Classified.”
“Well, if it’s a secret between you and the Duke, there’s nothing to be done about it.”
To my surprise, he let it go without pressing further.
Maybe I was imagining things.
But I could have sworn— the moment I said it was a secret between the Duke and me— his lips had curved, just faintly, into a smile.
________________________________________
After that, things moved quickly.
When word of Dorothy’s discovery reached the Duke of Foss, he denied all knowledge of her— claimed she was no spy of his.
It wasn’t until House Krost sent her body back along with the cloth bearing the encoded message that a formal letter of apology finally arrived.
With that, Calypse declared he could no longer place trust in House Foss, and announced he would be traveling to the Kingdom of Doctia— with fifty knights at his side.
This was not a request. It was a show of force.
The Duke of Foss had not dared to breathe a word in protest against Calypse’s unilateral announcement.
And so, after Calypse departed—
“You’re the one called Aisha? Are you hungry?”
Word spread that I had been the one to expose Dorothy, and the attitude of the household staff began to shift.
When word got out that I had even been called privately before the Duke, they became warmer still.
Before long, I had grown close enough to the maid sisters that they would occasionally slip me slices of strawberry tart.
“Is the garden-man not here again today?”
But the trouble was—
“No, dear. He’s on leave again today, apparently.”
“Again?”
“I don’t think he’ll be back anytime soon, honestly. Why don’t you stay indoors for now?”
After Calypse left, the garden-man had vanished right along with him.
The same verdict as always. My shoulders drooped.
If you were going to take an extended leave, you could have at least told me first!
I had come hoping to have lunch with him.
Without noticing when it had happened, the garden-man had become someone who mattered to me— deeply, quietly, and without warning.
He had been the first adult to help me in this life. And after my possession, he had become the only person who was something close to a friend.
But he probably doesn’t feel the same way. To him, I might just be another face that passed through his life.
My footsteps were heavy. My eyes went flat.
“…The young lady must have it so good. A father who’s turning the whole world upside down looking for her. I’ve never had a parent like that.”
Not in my past life. Not in this one.
I had never had parents like that. Never had a family like that.
A hollow kind of loneliness settled over me, and I shuddered it off before retreating to my room and eating my sandwich alone.
Things have been going fine, haven’t they.
So why do I feel so gloomy?
“Change of mood! Change of mood!”
I smacked my forehead and forced myself to focus, then reached for the nearest newspaper.
I didn’t have the luxury of moping over the garden-man. Today was an important day.
Today is the day I get adopted into Viscount Frizia’s family!
I fixed the paper with a laser-sharp stare and began reviewing everything I had compiled.
I had been quietly collecting newspapers discarded by the maids, and they’d turned out to be a surprisingly good source of information on the Frizia viscountcy.
This is what separates a prepared daughter from an unprepared one.
While the maids braided my hair, I mentally sorted through everything I’d learned about House Frizia.
And a short while later—
“What a pleasure to meet you. Your name is Aisha, yes? His Grace spoke of you as a bright young girl, and we’ve been looking forward to meeting you very much. We came hoping to share a meal together.”
Right on schedule, Viscount and Viscountess Frizia arrived.
“Oh— yes, sir!”
“What a lovely name. It’s truly wonderful to meet you.”
Their warmth seemed genuine.
As soon as she took her seat, the Viscountess reached out to offer a handshake, and the tips of her fingers trembled faintly.
Calm brown hair. Green eyes.
Not just her appearance, but her smile too— soft and gracious, a pair who gave off an air of inherent kindness at first glance.
Scan complete.
Under the table, I quietly balled my small hands into fists.
Here it was: the chance to live under the care of a wealthy, loving legal guardian.
I could not let this slip by.
“…It’s a pleasure to meet you, Viscount Frizia. And Viscountess.”
I rose from my seat, took their hands, and lifted the hem of my dress in a proper curtsy.
Of course. Aristocratic etiquette had been part of my spy training— drilled in thoroughly.
“She’s already been taught noble manners?”
“I haven’t had formal lessons, but I studied on my own in preparation for meeting you both.”
I answered with bright, earnest eyes, and the Viscount looked genuinely impressed.
“His Grace did say you were sharp as a pin— and he was right. Come now, don’t stand on ceremony. Do sit down.”
“Yes, sir.”
Phew. First impression— passing marks.
I settled the frantic thumping in my chest and took my seat.
“How old are you?”
“I’m five years old.”
“Is that right? Have you heard of House Frizia?”
Ah. The formal interview has begun.
“Yes. Of course.”
I’ve been collecting information on your family for an entire month, precisely for this moment.
I arranged my face into the polished smile that adults seemed to like best.
“House Frizia was the first family in the Kingdom of Frozen to be granted noble rank from common birth, and it was Duke Calypse himself who bestowed the title along with a personal land grant.”
“My goodness.”
“The territory, known as Frendia, is a fertile agricultural region embracing the riverside, and I understand the primary export is wheat.”
“…Oh my.”
The Viscount and Viscountess stared as I delivered one detail after another like links in a chain.
Was that enough to pass?
No— I needed to drive the point home.
I kept my smile in place all the way to the end.
“If I were to be adopted, I would like to learn swordsmanship within House Frizia. My original goal was to become a mercenary, but if you’ll permit it, I’ve been thinking as far ahead as becoming a knight commander. I also fully intend to marry in service of House Frizia’s honor, of course.”
“……?”
“But all of this is simply my personal plan for becoming House Frizia’s golden wheat. If you have any input or guidance, please feel free to share it with me.”
Sip.
I drank my milk as I might drink tea, and smiled pleasantly.
“Goals, after all, are always subject to revision.”
“……”
A brief silence settled over them.
Then the Viscount leaned toward his wife and murmured, barely audible:
“…Do you think His Grace had already decided to raise her himself, but introduced her to us out of pity because we had no children of our own?”
“…I was thinking the same thing.”
A compliment spoken in secret is almost always genuine.
It looks like I’ll have a peaceful life in House Frizia after all.
Just then, a knock at the door— and a maid stepped in and bowed.
“Forgive the interruption, Viscount. His Grace has returned. We thought perhaps you might wish to greet him.”
“What? Already?”
“When His Grace departed for the Kingdom of Doctia, the Kingdom would not permit portal use, so he traveled overland. But the return journey to the Kingdom of Frozen—”
The maid inclined her head and continued.
“He traveled by portal, which is why he arrived so quickly.”
“I see. So he’s returned with the young lady?”
The Viscount rose from his seat. I straightened my back, a small knot forming in my stomach.
The maid seemed on the verge of answering— but she went quiet instead.
A long pause.
She drew a slow breath, eyes lowered, and bowed deeply.
“The young lady… was not with him.”
…What?
The fork slipped from my fingers.
The original story had gone off the rails.
________________________________________
