Everyone but Me Is a Spy - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 10
The family members weren’t merely shocked—they froze in place, their expressions hardening as the weight of her words sank in.
Nina exhaled deeply, as though she’d expected exactly this response.
“I knew your hearts were gentle and your spirits tender, so I’ve been wrestling with whether to tell you this at all…….”
“……Tender?”
“……Gentle?”
The family members exchanged bewildered glances, muttering to one another. They’d never heard such descriptions of themselves, not even as children.
Nina, having built up her resolve, pressed forward.
“They say there shouldn’t be secrets between family, right? So I thought it would be better to be honest with you.”
“W-well, sometimes it’s better to keep things private, don’t you think?”
Even at Cheyson’s objection, Nina shook her head firmly.
“Even so, I don’t want to keep secrets from family I’ve only just met.”
She gazed around at her relatives, already feeling a tender affection for them despite knowing them so briefly.
“You’ve all been so kind to me—Uncle, Aunt, Sister, Brother—so I want to be equally genuine with you. You mean everything to me, and I’m so grateful for you.”
Nina’s cheeks flushed as she smiled through glistening eyes, her voice soft and sincere.
Her precious family sat frozen, their expressions darkening. A conscience they’d almost forgotten suddenly stirred, pricking them from within.
‘Is she serious? Why is she so fond of us when we’re just family?’
Natalisha, growing uncomfortable, glanced at the others’ faces to confirm she wasn’t alone in feeling this way.
Yet Cheyson sat with a moved expression, his hand pressed to his chest as though he might weep.
Unable to bear it, Natalisha stamped hard on his little toe beneath the table, causing him to leap up with a yelp.
“Ugh……!”
“U-Uncle?”
“I, *ahem*.”
Cheyson cleared his throat, stifling whatever emotion threatened to spill over, and steered back to the original concern.
“Your feelings are clear, but the idea that someone’s spying on our home seems far-fetched.”
“Surely that can’t be right, Nina?”
When Natalisha nodded in agreement, Nina heaved another long sigh, as though she’d foreseen their skepticism.
“I thought as much—with your noble character and upright morals, you couldn’t even imagine such things.”
“…….”
All four of them fell silent, their chests suddenly heavy as guilt gnawed at them anew.
「It seems everyone’s throats are tight. Don’t just eat bread—drink some water. At this rate, you’ll all choke.」
Jugger Number 4 began circulating around the table, filling glasses with water.
Unbothered by the strained atmosphere, Nina placed something on the table with a decisive gesture.
“Look at these.”
In an instant, the family’s eyes sharpened with alarm.
Spread before them were two Intruder Detection Devices.
‘She found them. Impressive.’
‘But why are there two?’
‘One is mine. The other…….’
‘It can’t be……!’
The four exchanged glances, their minds immediately turning to the intruder they’d caught the night before—the one who’d installed the second device.
‘It must have been that intruder from last night.’
Just like the Intruder Detection Device Exsi had installed, this one showed no signs of use, and its blue magical circuits were pristine—fortunately suggesting it hadn’t been placed there long ago.
Natalisha turned to her niece with concern in her voice.
“Nina, have you found any other signs of surveillance? Any feeling that someone’s watching or listening?”
“When I walk down the hallway, I do feel like someone’s watching me or listening to what I say……. But that’s probably just because the house is still unfamiliar to me, right? Once I get more accustomed to it, I’ll be able to tell for certain.”
With each word from Nina, the four felt their shoulders twitch.
“I, I see.”
Cheyson gestured dismissively at the devices on the table, as though they were something distasteful.
“Nina, you’re already busy and tired adjusting to Soltem—don’t concern yourself with this.”
“We’ll handle it. Why don’t you go explore the town instead?”
When Exsi even pulled out his wallet and handed her spending money, Nina’s eyes widened.
“Good heavens……. I knew you were naive, but you’re all like newborn chicks!”
“……You don’t have a prejudiced bone in your body. If there’s a newborn chick here, it’s you.”
At Cheyson’s sigh, Natalisha stamped on his foot again.
“What your brother means is that experience and years cannot be dismissed. Please don’t underestimate the years we’ve spent protecting this Townhouse.”
“Don’t worry about anything. Just relax and enjoy yourself, alright?”
Kathari flashed Nina an attractive wink before reaching for the detection device.
In that instant, the intruder’s device erupted in a blinding blue light. It seemed a massive explosion might occur at any second.
“Sister! Be careful!”
Nina yanked Kathari behind her in a single motion, then spun the knife in her grip and sliced through the device’s circuitry with a sharp *crackle*.
The bubbling blue light and oppressive heat dissipated instantly.
It had been designed to detonate at the slightest mishandling.
As her family stood frozen, Nina set the knife down with deliberate care and spoke gravely.
“To reach for dangerous objects without thought… Perhaps I should hang warning labels about sharp things?”
“That won’t be necessary…!”
Kathari’s voice rose in spite of herself; she caught it and instead bit down on her handkerchief.
Cheyson, who’d been staring slack-jawed at the explosive device, felt his blood run cold.
The bomb was bad enough, but Nina—Nina was something else entirely.
He’d suspected she handled a blade with uncommon skill, but what he’d just witnessed…
It went far beyond mere proficiency with a knife.
How could anyone sever a bomb’s circuitry while it detonated without their hands trembling even once?
“Nina. Where did you learn such bladework?”
“I picked it up naturally while working as a maid. I was one of the servants favored by the Countess.”
The family’s confusion deepened at her matter-of-fact tone.
What on earth happened within Count Sejak’s Estate that would teach someone such things?
There was no avoiding it—they had to ask Nina directly.
“Nina. What was Count Sejak’s Estate like? Your aunt is curious about the place where you lived.”
“Well, the Count and Countess were very devoted to each other, and Young Master Sejak was both intelligent and cheerful. Watching them made me wish for a harmonious family of my own—it was truly a warm household.”
“A warm household, and yet they taught you to handle a knife?”
“At the time, knowing how to maintain the Estate with whatever came to hand was an important skill. Circumstances don’t always unfold in our favor, after all.”
Nina answered with an innocent, clear smile.
Kathari narrowed her eyes, murmuring to herself.
‘Suspicious. Triply suspicious. I think I need to visit Count Sejak’s Estate in person.’
Exsi decided the conversation needed redirecting.
“First, we should eat. Nina, what’s on your schedule today?”
“I’m going to repay Joel for the Harpoon Gun.”
As Nina answered and sat in her chair, she tucked the damaged device away. Natalisha asked urgently.
“Why are you keeping that? Surely you’re not planning to show it to Joel?”
“Oh, Auntie. I do know that one resolves the faults of one’s own household behind closed doors.”
Cheyson repeated, his voice uncertain.
“F-faults?”
“No matter how lacking this household is in trained professionals, to permit the installation of such a device… As a former maid, I can’t imagine a greater fault. It’s truly regrettable.”
Nina expressed genuine concern for the household’s reputation, while four highly trained professional spies felt their pride thoroughly shattered.
‘Faults? Faaaaaaults?!’
* * *
Nina ascended to her room and stepped onto the balcony, peering across at the neighboring one.
‘Even if we’re next-door neighbors, it would be rude to visit without permission, wouldn’t it?’
She wanted to give Joel some notice before calling on him.
But though she waited and watched, he never appeared on the balcony.
‘He said he likes to sit out here and watch the world.’
After deliberating, Nina plucked a small pebble from a potted cactus and tossed it across.
The moment the pebble landed on the neighboring railing—
“Grrrrrrrrgh.”
A creature’s eyes flashed with deadly light from the shadows of the balcony, and a pigeon wielding a blade came charging out with tremendous force.
Enraged, it even kicked the pebble beyond the railing.
Startled, Nina clapped her hands at the familiar intruder’s appearance.
“My goodness? Guguguard? But you were supposed to rest for several days?”
“Coo?!”
Guguguard recognized who’d thrown the pebble and froze mid-charge.
“Coo, grrrrrrgh…”
Then, abruptly, it threw down the blade, stuck out its tongue, and collapsed.
“Guguguard, Guguguard!”
Without hesitation, Nina rushed to her wardrobe, drew out the Harpoon Gun, and fired it across to the neighboring balcony.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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