Everyone but Me Is a Spy - Chapter 56

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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 56
“Oh my, Joel? You’re up early today?”
Nina spotted Joel on the Balcony and waved at him.
He started to wave back reflexively, but the moment he saw Nina’s cheeks flushed sweet as peaches and Ryan standing beside her, he froze.
“Why are you both in the same room? What are you doing together?”
The words came out jagged, as if he’d suffered some terrible shock.
This strange emotion, felt for the first time, sent ice through his fingertips while heat flooded his mind.
Watching Joel stand motionless like a broken Magical Artifact, Ryan swallowed hard and approached the railing.
“Good morning, sir.”
“…….”
“I came to check the safety of the rope connected to your Balcony, so I’ll be examining you shortly.”
“Joel! Perfect timing!”
As Joel’s cold gaze shifted from Ryan to Nina, it softened at once.
“Did you need me? I can go over immediately.”
“How thoughtful of you. But that won’t be necessary. I just wanted to let you know that we have a guest visiting today, so I won’t have time to look after the Film.”
Joel’s eyes turned cold as he watched Ryan again as Nina laughed softly.
“Pardon? Surely you don’t mean you’ll be together all day? With your physician?”
Seeing that look in his eyes, Nina thought he disapproved of her spending time with his doctor and felt flustered.
Yet since she still hadn’t worked up the courage to open the next Film, Ryan made for a perfectly convenient excuse.
“Well, it’s not exactly that, but it could turn out that way, couldn’t it?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Other pressing matters might come up. And while I’m helping Ryan, I might get tired and want to rest…….”
Nina’s cheeks flushed again as she leaned on exhaustion as an excuse once more.
Joel stared at her reddened cheeks, feeling his mind go blank, and he clenched his fists so hard his nails bit into his palms.
“Then I’ll look forward to tomorrow. Early in the morning.”
“No. Tomorrow might be busy too, so let’s put it off for now. I’ll ask you in advance when I’m able to watch the Film.”
“……Very well.”
Joel’s shoulders sagged as he gave a strained nod and left the Balcony.
Then he hid himself behind the curtains and pulled out a Telescope.
The sight of Nina and Ryan leaning close together as they inspected the ropes on the Balcony felt strangely bitter to him.
‘Nina. He’s a fake.’
He found himself doubting whether Ryan’s honeypot trap was truly necessary for this mission.
If Nina’s emotional state underwent a drastic shift, wouldn’t the data he’d compiled so far become useless—causing greater damage to the mission overall?
Joel told himself that his anger and twisted feeling toward Ryan stemmed from exactly that.
What other reason could there possibly be?
‘I haven’t yet created a perfect Magical Artifact that suits Nina. To make one that’s truly perfect, I need to understand her better.’
He worked the Telescope’s zoom in and out repeatedly, keeping a close watch to ensure Ryan didn’t overstep.
……Even though overstepping was essentially Ryan’s profession.
* * *
After that day, Ryan continued to visit Nina regularly.
Since most of his visits were ostensibly about Joel’s health, Nina cooperated willingly.
And thanks to Ryan’s daily calls, she found ample excuse to keep postponing the other Films.
She worried about her family, but since learning her grandmother had been a Spy, she dreaded what shocking revelations might await in the next Film.
‘If Grandmother set another trap that could kill me…….’
Nina couldn’t imagine how she’d bear such devastation.
She shook her head to drive away thoughts she didn’t want to entertain and descended to the first floor.
Today again, Juger Number 4 had come to announce a visitor’s arrival, and she was heading to the Lobby.
“Welcome, Ryan. What brings you by today?”
Nina greeted the expected visitor with a deliberate smile.
Ryan let out a pleasant laugh, his fist covering his mouth.
“Haha. Actually, I’ve come to see Lady Natalisha today, not Miss Nina.”
“Oh my! Is that so? I’ll take you to Natalisha right away. This way, please.”
Embarrassed at her mistake, Nina rubbed her flushed cheeks and made her way to the Back Entrance Terrace where Natalisha was.
“Aunt. How is the tea?”
“Nina, you came. It tastes absolutely lovely.”
Natalisha had recently brought in Holitch Tea especially, having complained that all the varieties arriving in Soltem lately had overwhelmingly strong fragrances that left her feeling unsettled.
Setting down her cup, Natalisha lifted her trembling lips into a smile and posed the question she’d repeated for several days.
“Nina. Surely today we can finally watch the Film?”
“I have something I must do today! Besides, a guest has come to see you.”
“Another errand…….”
Natalisha shut her eyes tight, then opened them again, struggling to suppress her irritation at the sight of Nina’s forced brightness as she avoided meeting her gaze.
Only then did the guest Nina had mentioned belatedly come into view.
“Ryan?”
“Good morning, Lady Bonds.”
“……Just call me Natalisha.”
“Very well, Natalisha.”
As Ryan bowed with meticulous courtesy, Natalisha received him while concealing her reluctance.
“You’ve come again. But today as my guest, no less? I’m curious what brings you. Do tell.”
“Indeed. It is that…….”
Seeing Ryan hesitate, Nina decided tactfully to slip away.
“Please, both of you talk. I’ll let them know in the Dining Room to bring your tea, Ryan.”
After stepping into the Dining Room, Nina made not for her own quarters but toward the locked rooms she still hadn’t properly examined.
Thanks to Ryan bringing his business each day, she could barely manage to avoid the Film, but that alone wasn’t enough.
Since he wasn’t with her all day, she spent her afternoons investigating the locked rooms.
Ever since learning her grandmother was a Spy, everything had grown more bewildering, yet she felt she ought to know what the rooms in the building she now owned actually looked like.
After spending her days so busily occupied, Ryan without fail would appear again.
“I’ve come to call on Miss Nina today.”
This time too, he presented a Bouquet.
Nina never ceased to marvel at the care he took, preparing a different arrangement each time.
“They’re truly beautiful. Thanks to you, the house has become so fragrant and cheerful lately.”
“I’m glad it pleases you. Might I ask if you could do me a favor?”
Ryan’s eyes seemed deeper today, his hair gleaming with an unusual sheen.
The shirt he always buttoned firmly to the collar now hung loose and open, releasing a cool yet appropriately weighty fragrance.
The man who ordinarily exuded nothing but measured composure now appeared with three buttons undone, and it struck her as somewhat unfamiliar.
“Mr. Ryan. What sort of help do you need?”
“The truth is, I wish to give Master Joel a Self-defense Item as a gift, but I’m uncertain what would suit him best. Would you be so kind as to help me choose?”
Nina’s eyes lit up and she clapped her hands together.
“A Self-defense Item for the frail young master! What a splendid idea. Is it to be a surprise?”
“Indeed. I plan to prepare it in secret and delight him with the surprise.”
As Ryan nodded with a loose smile, Nina called for Juger Number 4 and informed him she would be going out.
Then she boarded a carriage with Ryan, heading toward the Shopping District.
“Thank you for agreeing to accompany me, Miss Nina.”
“Don’t mention it. I was actually hoping to pick up a gift myself, so the timing works perfectly.”
“Might I ask whose gift you’re shopping for, Miss Nina?”
“I want to send a gift to a lady I once served.”
“Ah. A lady. I see.”
Ryan’s eyes gleamed with meaning as he withdrew something from his pocket.
He began recording with a Magical Artifact resembling a pocket watch, drawing up his next operation with grim determination.
‘There’s no target I’ve failed to seduce. Today, I’ll make my approach in earnest.’

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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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