Knock, knock.
Following the light knock, permission to enter came from inside.
“Please, go in.”
The man opened the door and stepped aside.
At that, I reflexively swallowed the thanks that almost escaped me and stepped inside.
‘Finally…….’
I’m about to see the face of the person who ordered this spy work.
My heart, which had briefly calmed, began pounding wildly.
It felt like my heart might leap out of my mouth.
The first thing that caught my eye was two guards standing with swords at their sides.
And between them, someone was seated.
Probably the mastermind behind all this.
But when I raised my gaze to confirm his identity, I was left dumbfounded.
‘Huh……?’
A semi-transparent cloth hung down to around his waist in front of him.
At this rate, I could barely make out even his form, let alone his face.
“Tsk, you’re late.”
……At least it’s a man.
Okay, that narrows down half the suspects.
I deliberately spun a positive train of thought and bowed my head toward the barely visible figure.
“I apologize.”
At that, the man clicked his tongue once more as if displeased.
Then he soon shifted the topic.
“I received the report that you succeeded in infiltrating. Well, whether it’s a real success or not remains to be seen—”
“……”
“Still, managing to secure the position of personal maid is quite impressive.”
Pardon?
It was praise I truly hadn’t expected.
I’d assumed I was summoned because my reports had been so unsatisfactory lately.
‘I even came prepared to be chewed out…….’
The response was far more favorable than I’d anticipated.
Which made it all the more bewildering.
Whether I cared or not, the man kept talking on his own.
“Do you have any idea how much we’ve lost because of that one Grand Duke?
Anyone who seemed useful ended up dead, and those who remain are stuck disposing of corpses…….
Pathetic, all of them!”
Ah, so that was it.
There had never been a spy who got as close to the Grand Duke as I had.
Because they were all caught and disposed of beforehand.
Should I be grateful to the Grand Duke for this—
‘W-wait a moment!’
But I hadn’t sent a secret letter in days, so how did he know I’d become a personal maid?
‘Don’t tell me it’s the intruder who stuck a knife in Lilian’s room and vanished?
Or is there another informant?’
……Either way, it was chilling.
While I was resolving to be more careful within the Grand Ducal estate, Lilian’s superior, who had been huffing on his own, seemed to have calmed down somewhat.
“Thanks to inserting you, we’ve confirmed it for certain.
To think our great war hero’s tastes were this way!”
Judging by that nonsense, he had.
I could feel his gaze sweeping over Lilian through the cloth.
Watching him chuckle while doing so made my fists tremble on their own.
In my past life, the manager who harassed part-timers every other day was exactly like that.
‘Phew, I must endure…….’
This is a world without a labor board.
No, to begin with, a spy couldn’t possibly be protected by the law.
Just then, Lilian’s superior spoke in a voice still tinged with laughter.
“In any case, ‘that person’ was extremely pleased.
You’re the first to show proper results against the Grand Duke.”
Huh?
That person?
‘Does that mean there’s a “true mastermind” separate from this man?’
Judging by how fixated he was on the Grand Duke, this didn’t seem like a simple intelligence organization.
Unless he had a personal grudge—
“Did the Grand Duke say anything in particular?”
The sudden question cut off my train of thought.
I struggled to hide my flinching body and answered like the spy Lilian.
“No, he doesn’t seem like someone who easily opens up.”
“I’m sure. He’s the kind who clawed his way back alive even from a battlefield he was sent to die on.”
He muttered in a sneering tone.
His animosity toward the Grand Duke could be felt even from here.
After that, he continued throwing questions related to the Grand Duke, and each time, I gave only answers that wouldn’t grate on him.
When the conversation had died down, I spoke first for the first time.
“Then…… should I continue doing just as I have been from now on?”
“For the time being.”
Then he added.
“Ah, I’ll let the recent poor reports slide.”
Sting.
S-so he really wasn’t happy with them.
But that was the best I could do!
I hurriedly pressed my lips together as they threatened to pout on their own.
That was when.
“If you handle this mission well, I’ll release your family as promised.”
“……!!”
I unconsciously looked at him.
‘Family…….’
So that was Lilian’s weakness.
Suddenly, I couldn’t control my expression well.
I bit the inside of my mouth and bowed my head again.
But perhaps he had already noticed the waver in my behavior, as he whispered to me in an insinuating voice.
“The Grand Duke is a thoroughly vicious and tenacious man.
Don’t let your guard down just because you’ve gotten close, and hold your position to the very end.”
“……”
“Until ‘that person’ gives the order.”
So that was what he meant earlier by ‘for the time being.’
I don’t know who ‘that person’ is, but I really hope no further orders come.
Just forcing out observation reports on the Grand Duke every time is already a headache.
They call me a personal maid, but I’m just—
‘No, that’s not it.’
Regardless, I am a personal maid, aren’t I?
Something no one but Lilian has managed to achieve.
If so, then this might be…… an opportunity!
Suppressing my pounding heart once more, I calmly broached the subject.
“As you said, the Grand Duke is a sensitive and suspicious man.
I, too, nearly got caught while tailing him for reports.”
“What—!”
The semi-transparent cloth shook greatly from his agitation.
If he knew I hadn’t just nearly been caught but actually was caught, he’d throw an even bigger fit, but that wasn’t what mattered right now.
I shamelessly continued.
“Of course, I managed to smooth it over with quick thinking, but I can’t guarantee something like that won’t happen again.”
“And so?”
“Until I’ve firmly gained the Grand Duke’s trust, I think it would be best to refrain from any actions within the estate that might draw suspicion.
For example—”
Like exchanging secret letters.
A moment of silence fell.
This time, even he didn’t answer immediately and shut his mouth.
It must have been quite a bold proposal in the world of spies.
Drip.
I felt cold sweat running down my back.
Not just Lilian’s superior, but even the guards standing beside him seemed to be glaring at me.
‘Sh-should I back off now?’
I’d gotten carried away with this so-called opportunity and now I was about to get stabbed on the spot.
Just as I was racking my brain to salvage the situation—
“Hmm…….”
He opened his mouth.
* * *
After Lilian left.
The man who had given her various instructions immediately began smoking where he sat.
“Phew…….”
The acrid smoke slowly spread through the underground space.
Even though it was right after hearing the audacious proposal to stop reporting for a while, his mood didn’t seem all that bad.
“Your Excellency.”
No. 9, who had been watching, cautiously opened his mouth.
“Will this be all right?”
“What will?”
“The promise to release her family.”
Having lived his entire life as a spy, he asked in his characteristic stiff tone, but within it, a strange unease could be felt.
But the Marquis only smiled sinisterly.
“Since the mission is what it is, shouldn’t I offer at least that much as a reward?”
“However, that is……”
Bang—!!
The Marquis slammed his hand roughly on the table beside him.
“You dare try to lecture me!”
No. 9 hurriedly bent his knee.
It was an almost spinal reflex, without passing through thought.
“I apologize.”
Even though he bowed his head and begged forgiveness, the Marquis’s anger didn’t seem to subside, as he roughly set down the smoking pipe he had been holding.
Then he approached No. 9 and grabbed him by the collar.
“Your thoughts don’t matter.
You just move as I command. Understood?”
It was a thoroughly insulting thing to say.
But No. 9, as if accustomed to it, answered with the same impassive face.
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
