Everyone but Me Is a Spy - Chapter 14

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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 14
“…….”
Cheyson found himself at a loss for words.
The life of an orphan maid, drifting through the streets in search of menial work.
Cheyson could see that Nina had always lived in the supporting role, never quite stepping into the spotlight, and that she had grown accustomed to it.
Yet something about it left him with an inexplicable unease that words alone couldn’t explain.
“Is that what they taught you at the Sejak Estate?”
“Yes, I was fortunate enough to receive such precious instruction from the lady of the house.”
At Nina’s bright response, Cheyson’s fist clenched beneath the table.
“Are you truly content with that?”
“Hmm? What would be wrong with it?”
Nina blinked her round eyes and tilted her head in confusion.
Cheyson said nothing, running both hands over his face.
He felt a peculiar frustration that it was he, of all people, who had descended to the Reception Room with Nina.
Any of the other three would not have felt this awkward unease.
They would never have committed such foolishness as asking about Nina’s thoughts, unrelated as it was to the mission.

The bitter words of a training academy classmate, promoted to management years ago, came back to him now.
As a specialist in Bomb Installation and Removal, he’d managed to survive with his sentimental nature precisely because his work kept him far from the sort of assignments that required deceiving people and extracting information.
But that advantage was wearing thin.
Once he crossed into his forties, the agency would likely hesitate to deploy him in the field.
Promotion was awkward; they’d simply assign him safer work and gradually ease him into retirement.
He understood the romance of explosives better than anyone. He didn’t care about promotion—he wanted to keep doing this work.
For that, he needed to prove himself, seasoned by age and experience, with quiet confidence.
‘This assignment was hard-won. I can’t afford to fail this time.’
Cheyson steeled himself and tried to focus on the suspicious points.
“Nina. You’re certain you’ve properly left your position as a maid at the Sejak Estate?”
“Since I’ve left that place, I’m no longer a maid. Though the lady did say I could return anytime.”
With that unhesitating answer, the interview in the Reception Room drew to a close.
Cheyson rose from his seat as if nothing were amiss, but that spotless, crystalline expression troubled him deeply.
* * *
Lifting her skirt slightly, Nina started toward the Staircase but paused and glanced back toward the Garden.
After leaving the Reception Room, her uncle Cheyson had headed to the Garden, saying he needed to smoke.
‘Why did Uncle ask me that?’
The sense of bewilderment hadn’t faded since they’d left the Reception Room.
‘He asked what I was thinking. Come to think of it, the family asked me what I wanted to do on my very first day here, didn’t they?’
Such questions were foreign to Nina. Especially ones about her thoughts or feelings.
During all those years running errands through the shopping district, sweeping the floors of an inn, and later tending to the cleanliness of the mansion as a maid, no one had ever asked about her thoughts or feelings.
It seemed natural. Why would anyone care what a maid was feeling?
‘I never even wondered about my own feelings.’
Yet her uncle kept asking what she thought.
It startled her, but it didn’t feel bad.
‘Did he get curious because I stopped being a maid? Or…….’
Nina took a step forward up the Staircase, where the rest of the family was waiting with Joel.
‘Is that what family is? They let you taste, even if only for a moment, the feeling of being the main character?’
At that thought, her steps felt lighter, and a warm, inexplicable glow seemed to spread through her chest.
She climbed the Staircase with a cheerful pace and stood before the door.
‘There’s family inside there. How strange.’
Nina knocked gently on the door so as not to startle them.
“I’m here.”
“N-Nina?”
There came a loud clattering sound, and Natalisha half-opened the door.
“You’re back quickly, Nina. Where did your uncle go? Did you come alone?”
She looked tired for some reason, but her tone was as gentle as always.
“My uncle said he needed to smoke and went to the Garden. Since he’s not even a smoker, I thought he needed time for reflection. Or perhaps he’s thinking of taking up cigarettes today.”
At Nina’s casual remark, Natalisha flinched and raised her Fan to cover her mouth.
“How did you know your uncle isn’t a smoker?”
“There are no ashtrays anywhere in this house. Not even on the garden side table. The only Cigarette Case here is the ornamental one your grandmother keeps.”
“You have sharp observation skills.”
“That, too, is the quality of a maid.”
When Nina answered with a bright smile, Natalisha stared at her for a long moment before finally opening the door wider.
The moment Nina stepped into the room, she froze, her hand flying to her mouth in shock.
“Good heavens! Jo—Joel?”
“You’ve arrived, Nina.”
Joel sat with his hair disheveled, blood dripping steadily from his nose.
“What on earth happened? Did you suddenly fall ill?”
“It appears so. This is merely a nosebleed from Poor Condition—nothing to be concerned about.”
Joel wiped the blood away with his sleeve.
The bleeding had only just begun, yet the front of his robe was already damp with it.
“What am I to do? I should have brought you downstairs before visiting the Reception Room.”
Feeling guilty for having brought such a frail person so far, Nina scooped him up without ceremony.
“Wait. Nina.”
Joel’s gentle protest fell on deaf ears once again.
“I’ll bring the Harpoon Gun to your residence once my condition improves.”
Nina adjusted him in her arms and carried him forward to face Natalisha and Excy.
“Aunt. Excy. Joel. Shall we exchange proper greetings? My uncle taught me that’s what guests do.”
…….
Joel squeezed his eyes shut as if desperate to deny reality, gripping his robe closed as it threatened to fall open.
“I fear I have caused considerable trouble today.”
Excy abandoned the attempt to look at anything and clenched both eyes firmly shut.
“I strongly encourage an early departure.”
“Go on then, Joel. Safe travels.”
Natalisha held her fan before her face and managed to speak in a tone that was barely courteous.
“But wait—where has Kathari gone?”
Only then noticing her absence, Nina glanced around the room.
With each turn, the hem of Joel’s robe fluttered precariously, and his hands grew more frantic trying to hold it in place.
Just then, Kathari pulled herself over the Balcony railing and climbed back up.
“Sister? What were you doing out there?”
“A new hobby of mine. Hehe. Pay it no mind.”
Kathari’s voice trembled with barely suppressed rage as she spoke, and a thin cut marked her cheek.
“How careless—to injure yourself while climbing railings for recreation. You are far more delicate than I thought, Sister.”
“I mean to enjoy it once more.”
Seething with fury, Kathari threw herself back down over the railing rather than give Nina an earful.
“Then I shall see Joel home and return.”
Nina bent her knees slightly in a customary bow to Natalisha before turning toward the door.
Joel, thoroughly alarmed, pointed toward the Balcony.
“Nina. The rope is over there.”
“My uncle taught me that guests must use a proper entrance.”
“I believe a balcony can be a proper entrance as well. What is the definition of an entrance? Isn’t it simply any opening through which one can enter and exit?”
Joel spoke urgently, but Nina had already swept from the room and was descending the Staircase.
“Don’t worry. It’s nothing difficult—just seeing a sickly young master home.”
Nina passed through the servants with a gentle, reassuring smile.
…….
Joel closed his eyes again, unable to bear witnessing the shock on their faces any longer.
‘To modify my skeletal structure so that someone of Nina’s build could lift me so effortlessly, I would need to incorporate Magic Stones into—.’line>
And he turned his mind to other calculations.

「Mysterious guest of unknown arrival, farewell. Next time, please use the front entrance. And wear intact clothing. Should you come again like this, I will… take… action.」
Escorted by Juger Number 4’s warm farewell, Joel reached his residence almost before he knew it.
Nina set him down gently and handed him a Handkerchief. The nosebleed had stopped, though it seemed right that he should have one regardless.
“I’m sorry for all the trouble, Joel.”
“It was not an unpleasant experience. I gained something from it as well.”
“You’re kind, Joel.”
As Nina let out a long sigh, he spoke with sudden seriousness.
“I have a request, Nina.”
“Say what you need.”
“I would like your help with my research.”
“You mean Magical Artifact Research?”
Joel gazed at her intently, his eyes bright with fervor.
“Yes. It is very intricately designed Magical Artifact Research.”

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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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