Everyone but Me Is a Spy - Chapter 18

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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 18
After distributing the wages she owed the servants and accounting for what remained, Nina lingered by the balcony.
‘Has he still not recovered? And I haven’t seen Gugu either…….’
Joel hadn’t appeared on the balcony since he’d left yesterday.
He’d promised to come find her once his condition improved, armed with a harpoon gun, but she couldn’t say when that would be.
Nina plucked at the rope connected to the balcony with her fingertip.
For the first time in her life, she’d formed a bond with a neighbor, and the initial thrill of it had curdled into longing.
It felt different from waiting at the Orphanage for family members whose very existence she couldn’t be sure of.
There was a fragile hope mixed into her yearning—the belief that if she waited, she might see them again.
‘I mustn’t grow melancholy. Things will improve before the day we’re meant to help with the research.’
If she missed a neighbor she’d only just met, how much more would she ache for her family?
They’d come together after so much difficulty, and the thought of losing even one of them brought tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.
‘No one will leave. I can’t keep them confined, so I’ll give them such a happy, peaceful life that they’ll have no reason to go anywhere.’
So for now, she resolved to focus on these family members who had already become so dear to her.
‘But what are they all doing? I didn’t see anyone while I was walking through the house.’
Nina closed the glass door of the balcony and headed downstairs.
The family members who had been nowhere in sight moments earlier were now gathered in the Lobby, huddled together in hushed conversation.
Though they stood close, their expressions and the atmosphere suggested they might be quarreling.
Not wanting to intrude, she approached quietly and noticed that only Chayson and Natalisha were dressed for going out.
“Where are you all heading?”
At Nina’s curious question, all four of them turned in startlement.
‘When did she get here?’
‘I didn’t hear a sound.’
‘Truly Rikita’s granddaughter…….’
‘Like a ghost.’
Clearing his throat, Chayson spoke first.
“Natalisha and I were just about to head to the Theater, and these two were seeing us off.”
“My, you’re going to the Theater?”
Envy flickered across Nina’s face, and Natalisha stepped closer to ask.
“Exsi and I have been waiting for a play to open, and we’ve arranged to go see it together. Do you like theater, Nina?”
“I’m ashamed to say I’ve never seen one, so it’s difficult to answer.”
“You’ve never been to a Theater at all?”
Chayson’s tone grew serious as he asked, and Nina’s cheeks flushed.
“I’ve waited nearby while my mistress and young master attended performances, but I was never allowed inside.”
“Come with us.”
Chayson’s impulsive suggestion made the family pause.
“……Uncle Chayson?”
“Uncle……?”
“This is unexpected.”
Today’s outing wasn’t actually about watching a play.
They were meant to meet an Informant secretly inside the Theater, but Chayson had suddenly decided to bring Nina along.
Chayson had been momentarily startled by his own impulse, but he showed no sign of reconsidering.
“Shouldn’t family members have outings together from time to time?”
“I’m perfectly fine, really.”
Nina didn’t want to complicate matters for her family, so she declined the offer.
But her rose-tinted eyes betrayed her, sparkling with barely concealed anticipation.
Chayson genuinely wanted to take Nina to the Theater. It wouldn’t interfere with his mission at all.
In fact, it would seem far more suspicious if a new family member didn’t venture out with them at least once.
‘The trained Espionage agents will handle meeting the Informant discreetly on their own.’
Natalisha, meanwhile, was convinced Chayson had developed a serious problem.
‘He’s letting sentiment sway him after all. I’ll need to report that he should be removed from active duty soon.’
She was just pondering how to leave Nina behind at home
when Kathari, having received some signal from a servant, stepped forward.
“Nina. Go with your uncle as he says. You haven’t had a proper chance to see Soltum.”
“That may be so, but…….”
Nina hesitated, then turned to Natalisha with a careful question.
“Are you truly certain I may join you?”
“……Of course, Nina.”
Natalisha, reading Kathari’s signal, finally nodded in agreement.
At that, Nina broke into a radiant smile and bounced on her heels.
“Wow! This is so exciting! Going out with family……!”
Nina exhaled happily at the dreamlike outing, then belatedly realized something and glanced back and forth between Chayson and Natalisha.
“My goodness. But were you two planning to go out without any escort?”
“An escort? What would we need that for? Soltum is a safe place.”
At Natalisha’s words, Nina shook her head with a grave expression.
“Look here. It frightens me that people who see the world so beautifully they can’t sense danger go out unprotected.”
“I wonder who’s talking to whom about that.”
……
Chayson pressed his forehead as if exasperated, while Natalisha fanned herself languidly and curved her lips upward.
“With you going along, we feel reassured too.”
“Have a good time.”
While Kathari ushered the three out, Exsi shook his head and withdrew into the shadows.
“A complete mess.”
* * *
“I’m so excited to go out together in a carriage. Next time, I hope the whole family can go out together.”
Nina walked out through the front door, cupping her cheeks with an elated expression.
“This is our first time going out with you, so we’re looking forward to showing you all sorts of things. Where did the coachman go?”
Natalisha glanced around and gestured, and from somewhere the coachman appeared with a somersault. He too was a spy.
“Shall we depart at once?”
“Yes.”
He spoke in a gravelly voice while roughly stroking the mane of the horse that stood dozing where it stood.
“Maximus! Wake up and get moving!”
With a tap, Maximus opened his eyes and neighed eagerly.
“Neigh!”
Thrilled that his chance to shine had finally come, Maximus drove the carriage at a perfectly ordinary, unremarkable pace. He had to make sure no one noticed he was an exceptional horse.
Nina gazed at the scenery flowing past the window and laughed brightly.
“Soltum really has beautiful weather. The whole city sparkles with sunlight washing over it—it’s so pretty.”
The Illete Kingdom where Nina had lived was a place of low temperatures and heavy snow.
The architecture was designed to withstand the weight of snow and bitter cold, so the entire city had a barren, dark appearance.
By contrast, Soltum, true to its name, was a place where sunlight warmly embraced every building.
Colorful windows decorated with stained glass and tiles on the outer walls of buildings sparkled beautifully in the light.
Thanks to the shade of broad-leafed trees lined up beside them, it wasn’t dazzling or hot.
Nina chuckled upon seeing a cat lying leisurely in the shade.
“Grandmother had good reason to settle in Soltum.”
“Indeed. It’s warm and the food is delicious.”
“It’s a good place to live, so there are many immigrants.”
Chayson and Natalisha also grew lost in memory, recalling the moment they first arrived in Soltum.
‘It was the day we blew up an entire building to prevent a secret meeting. The smoke and flames that burst up in a tulip shape, just as planned, were beautiful.’
‘It was the day I hit a target beyond four narrow window gaps. I remember every detail of that day’s wind speed, wind direction, temperature, and humidity.’
The carriage that had been running came to a stop on the boulevard.
The coachman tapped the carriage to signal arrival, and Maximus neighed contentedly.
The townhouse was located not far from the city center, so they arrived quickly.
“My goodness. How can a street be so cheerful?”
Nina descended from the carriage, her cheeks flushed, and sighed in wonder.
Wherever she turned her eyes, there were pretty shops and people radiating warmth.
“Since the way into Soltum from Illete comes from the north, you would never have come this way. Most of Soltum’s famous shops are concentrated on this street.”
Natalisha guided Nina through the street with the ease of someone who had lived in Soltum for years.
“The theater is over there, so let’s walk and see the street from here.”
“Yes!”
Nina was busy capturing the street in her sparkling eyes.
Chayson, who had been giving instructions to the coachman, hurried to join the two women.
Boom!
The theater visible at the far end of the boulevard suddenly exploded.

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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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