Whoosh—
A chilly wind slapped my cheeks.
Only now did the suffocation seem to ease a little.
“Well, it’s not like I opened the window to clear my head, though.”
The poison on this handkerchief wasn’t a deadly toxin that could take a life in a short time.
However, it had the property of rapidly corroding things like paper or cotton, so it was very useful for disposing of evidence.
That was also why she had to build up a resistance.
‘B-but just in case……!’
I’m absolutely not doing this because I’m scared.
I just thought it might be bad for my body, so I’m just, um, airing the place out.
You understand what I mean?
Making excuses to no one in particular, I finally unfolded the handkerchief.
Flutter—
A sky-blue handkerchief with a simple embroidered pattern.
Except for Lilian’s name crookedly stitched in a different colored thread at the bottom, it was so ordinary that no other peculiarities could be found.
‘On the surface, that is.’
This was a kind of ‘contact signal.’
The embroidery pattern indicated coordinates, the handkerchief’s color indicated time, and the shape of the crookedly stitched name indicated the date.
If my interpretation wasn’t wrong, the contact date requested by the other side was……
“Tonight!”
I reflexively looked out the window.
The sun had already set and dusk was beginning to settle.
It meant there wasn’t much time left until the contact time.
‘No, why is this so urgent?’
I’m not even mentally prepared yet!
I stamped my feet habitually.
How to slip out of the Grand Ducal estate, and once there, how to act.
There was more than one or two things to worry about.
‘First…….’
I brought the handkerchief to the lamp on the desk.
Soon the lamp’s flame caught it.
Fwoosh—
Actually, this was something that would have disappeared by tomorrow even if left alone.
That’s why that poison was used.
So that even if it fell into someone else’s hands, it wouldn’t become evidence.
Or so that Lilian, a spy, wouldn’t leave unnecessary traces.
‘But still, ominous things like this should be disposed of quickly and cleanly.’
Indeed, most certainly.
Perhaps due to the poison’s effect, the handkerchief burned unusually fast.
I raised one arm to cover my nose and mouth against the smoke.
“Cough, cough!”
Smelling the acrid smoke, Lilian’s memories surfaced once again.
At the same time, a gradual rage welled up within me.
No, you kept feeding this to such a young child?
Regardless of whether she writhed on the floor in pain?
‘Is that something a human being would do?!’
According to the Grand Duke, Lilian was from a fallen noble family and had lived with the help of relatives.
If that information was true, there was a high possibility that Lilian’s relatives were involved in this spy business.
Directly or indirectly.
‘No, even if she chose this work herself…….’
Considering Lilian’s age in those memories, this was clearly abuse.
What would such a young child know to volunteer for spy work?
I felt a sense of kinship and pity for her, who must have been driven into such a situation one way or another.
Because I, too, was someone who had lost my parents and spent a wretched childhood.
‘A-all right, I’ll go out for now!’
If I go there, I should be able to meet the mastermind behind this spy work.
Tap, tap.
I shook my hand out the window.
The remaining ash disappeared into the wind.
I soon threw off the now stained gloves and resolved to myself.
I would definitely see the face of the person who made Lilian do this.
* * *
A deserted alley.
A woman in black quietly appeared.
Even as she moved quickly, she made no sound of footsteps.
Stop.
She halted in front of a certain shop.
An old shop that appeared to have already closed.
But the woman paid it no mind and opened the door.
Creeak—
An unpleasant door sound echoed through the shop.
As expected, no one was visible inside.
Having stepped inside, the woman briefly scanned her surroundings.
“……”
And then she slowly moved her feet.
Passing several tables with chairs placed on top.
Having walked to the center before she knew it, she subtly glanced at an empty table right beside her.
Then—
Thunk!!
She drove two daggers down at once.
Crack, the thick wooden table split.
Two daggers stuck at an angle—too vicious a result for a simple display.
Yet the woman who had done such a thing wore an indifferent face and lightly raised both hands.
As if showing that she no longer had any weapons on her.
At that moment.
Flap, flap—
Suddenly, figures wearing pitch-black light armor sprang out.
To an unknowing observer, it would look as though they had appeared out of thin air.
But the woman showed no sign of surprise and simply watched them quietly.
“……”
“……”
A suffocating war of nerves continued for a moment.
Soon, one of the armored figures approached her.
Thud, thud.
A man who looked dangerous at a glance closed the distance.
He was someone who exuded intimidation just by approaching.
One step.
He stopped, leaving exactly that much distance.
Then he bowed his head and spoke.
“We’ve been waiting for you.”
* * *
Right now…….
A man who looked about twice the size of Lilian’s body was bowing before me.
I looked down at him expressionlessly and thought.
‘I-I’m scaaaared—!!’
First of all, escaping the Grand Ducal estate went well enough.
The servants’ annex was relatively lax in security, and having grown accustomed to juggling multiple jobs, I had by now become quite skilled at suppressing my presence.
‘I-is it this way?’
It was my first time outside the estate, so I was a bit flustered, but I found the path well enough according to the coordinates.
Perhaps because Lilian had often had meetings like this, faint memories remained.
‘Now all that’s left…….’
Is for me to imitate the ‘real Lilian.’
Fortunately, quite a few memories had surfaced so far.
Of course, there was a gap between when she was doing her side job (maid) and her main job (spy), but it wasn’t impossible to follow.
‘Lilian was basically quiet and sparing with words, it seems.’
I just needed to keep my mouth shut.
I replayed my past experiences dealing with difficult customers and entered the contact point.
Creeak—
The interior was eerie enough that a ghost might pop out at any moment, but I maintained a poker face as if I were used to it and walked in.
The performance of ‘driving two daggers into the table with one hand,’ which I had secretly worried about, also succeeded without incident.
‘Finally, if I just do the disarmament gesture, I’m done!’
As expected, the beings hiding inside the shop revealed themselves all at once.
Dressed in dark clothing, befitting spies.
But then.
‘E-everyone’s eyes are…….’
Too bloodthirsty!
They looked like they could slash me to pieces in one breath.
‘No, it’s understandable given their profession. It is understandable, but…….’
Gulp.
Actually meeting Lilian’s ‘work colleagues’ (?) made my body freeze without my realizing it.
All I could do was nod with a stiff face, frozen in fear.
And so, the present.
I was following the scariest man down a dark basement staircase.
Creak, creak—
Even in the midst of this, the old wooden stairs made a creepy sound with every step.
It was a perfect combination to make a coward like me faint.
‘Ahh, seriously……!’
I swallowed the urge to scream and followed behind the man.
The one fortunate thing was that Lilian had good night vision.
Thanks to that, even in darkness where my original body wouldn’t have stood a chance, I could step down the stairs without hesitation.
As expected of a spy who operated in the shadows.
“This way.”
Before I knew it, the stairs ended and a corridor with faint flickering light appeared.
It was surprising that such a space existed underground, but I deliberately moved my feet as if it were nothing.
How long did we walk like that?
The man stopped in front of a certain door.
Then he glanced at me, who had followed, and soon knocked on the door.
