Everyone but Me Is a Spy - Chapter 61

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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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Chapter 60
The Kingdom of Illite, situated in the northern reaches of the continent.
Even within it, Count Sejak’s Estate, positioned at the frozen northern end in fields of perpetual snow, maintained an atmosphere of warmth and harmony that belied the desolate, biting weather.
Whether aware or oblivious to the surveillance networks of other nations encircling them, young servant girls darted about the snow-covered back courtyard, playing Tag.
“Eek! You promised not to sharpen your blade! That’s cheating. I won’t let you off easy, really!”
“Well, you brought a gun loaded with live rounds instead of blanks yesterday.”
“You’re both cheating! Here I come!”
“Haha! What did you pack inside that snowball? It stings!”
To the watchers observing from afar through telescopes, the young servant girls laughing brightly as they hurled snowballs appeared merely cute and innocent. Though by now they understood that appearances were deceiving.
Beyond the tea room’s floor-to-ceiling windows, Count Sejak’s wife, Annaliel Sejak, gazed upon the scene with a contented smile. Her cold, sharp features harmonized perfectly with Illite’s frigid weather.
“The children are growing well. If things continue this way, in a few years I can entrust them with important errands.”
“It is all thanks to your generosity. These girls have escaped the orphanage and live healthily because of you.”
The head servant spoke with admiration as she poured tea.
Then a servant quietly entered the tea room and brought news.
“Madam. Nina has sent a parcel from Soltem.”
“Has she? Bring it here. I must open it at once.”
Annaliel Sejak flicked her gaze sideways and gestured lightly.
A servant who had been kneeling on a small rug nodded and rose, bringing the parcel.
“Here it is, madam.”
The servant lowered herself slightly and offered the parcel, her legs trembling, but she pressed the soles of her feet firmly and held her ground.
Seeing this admirable effort, Annaliel smiled knowingly and spoke kindly.
“Have the rug cleaned thoroughly, and go receive treatment. Next time, I trust you’ll be more careful about such basic mistakes.”
The servant’s face, tense with anxiety, bloomed instantly with relief.
“Th-thank you so much! You’re so merciful, madam. I won’t waste this second chance you’ve given me—I’ll serve you with all my devotion!”
“You’re spirited—that’s good to see. Now go.”
“Yes, madam!”
The servant, her skirt hem reddened with blood, gathered the rug she’d been kneeling on and withdrew from the tea room.
The rug, its surface rough and frozen from a mixture of shattered glass and snow, bristled with tiny ice shards like needles, yet no one seemed startled or disturbed.
Annaliel glanced expectantly at the parcel on the table.
The head servant, standing demurely nearby, drew out a knife—an essential tool for servant girls—and swiftly, cleanly opened the parcel.
“Heh heh heh. Our dear, sweet Nina. Still so naive and endearing.”
Annaliel, upon seeing Nina’s gift, couldn’t help but laugh aloud.
One would ordinarily expect gifts sent to one’s employer to be more refined and precious.
Yet what Nina had sent contained only spices, a handkerchief, and a single postcard.
She was certain it wasn’t that Nina had suddenly fallen for easy money and was being stingy.
Annaliel knew what kind of girl Nina truly was.
Years ago, she had remembered seeing her mistress’s satisfied expression after tasting a particularly exotic spice, and later Nina had gifted her a book comparing the spices of various nations across the continent.
That book still held an honored place on Annaliel’s bookshelf.
“Life in Soltem seems to suit her quite well.”
She gazed down at Nina’s postcard with an affectionate eye.
The writing was crooked from lack of education, yet every character bore the clear imprint of care and effort.
Looking at it, Annaliel suddenly grew melancholy and let out a small sigh.
“May and Heidi were such good, devoted girls as well…”
“Madam, please don’t sorrow so. Neither May nor Heidi will ever regret having served you.”
The head servant tried to comfort her mistress, taking pity on the servants with whom contact had been lost.
Annaliel patted her devoted servant’s hand and turned her eyes back to the postcard.
But there was a phrase in the middle of the postcard that caught her attention.
“Now that she’s left her position as a servant and reunited with her family, she feels as though she’s become the master of her own life?”
Her smile remained soft at the corners of her mouth, but her previously relaxed eyes sharpened slightly.
After all the care she’d taken to teach this gifted girl never to forget her place, no matter when or where, she found it curious that such a thought had taken root in her.
This could complicate matters when the time came to bring Nina back.
“It would be troublesome if she thought that leaving Count Sejak’s Estate suddenly made her the protagonist of her own story.”
“Still, if you call for Nina, she will come to you whenever you wish. Might it not be good to summon her and offer guidance at least once?”
“Hmm…”
Annaliel, who had been lost in thought while tracing her fingertips along the teacup’s rim, shook her head.
“It seems too early for now. The continent has been quiet, which suggests Nina hasn’t yet opened Lekita’s Vault, so I must wait a while longer.”
“You are wise, madam.”
The head servant promptly agreed with her mistress and lowered her gaze.
Then, keenly noticing a presence beyond the door, she went to welcome the visitor.
A man whose face was concealed beneath a pristine white robe like fresh snow entered with an unhurried gait, his long black hair flowing.
“Madam, Master Aman has arrived.”
“Master?”
At the head maid’s words, Annaliel Sejak’s sharp gaze softened.
She rose from her seat and greeted Aman warmly as the maid showed him in.
“I thought you’d arrive yesterday, but you’re a day late. Did something happen?”
“I left on schedule, but an intelligence agent I’d stationed in Soltem sent word that new surveillance has been established. There’s even monitoring on the shortcut that connects the estate to the Gorge now.”
“So they’re sealing off even the Gorge. Tiresome creatures.”
Concerned that Aman must have had to take a detour just to reach the estate, Annaliel ordered the maid to bring medicinal tea at once.
“I’m worried whether we can still trust the intelligence agent in Soltem. I don’t mean to doubt your judgment, Master, but that agent…”
“I understand your concern. He’s not an ordinary intelligence agent, that’s true. Still, didn’t he relay information about the new surveillance network quickly? For now, it’s acceptable.”
“Yes, if you say so, Master, then I can rest easy.”
Just then, the maid brought the medicinal tea.
The head maid moved to pour it, but Annaliel stopped her and poured the tea into Aman’s cup herself.
“How is the research progressing, Master?”
“It’s moving along smoothly enough, but…”
Aman took a sip of the medicinal tea and continued.
“There’s nothing more I can do until Lekita’s vault is opened.”
“One way or another, Nina is the vault’s owner now. I taught her humility and loyalty well, so once the vault is opened, she’ll return to my side. It’s only a matter of time—don’t worry.”
She spoke those words to reassure her master, but Annaliel found herself troubled by Nina’s postcard.
[Madam. Meeting such loving family and kind neighbors, I’ve come to understand something. Perhaps I truly can be the protagonist of my own life.]
‘…No. She was never one of my specially cherished servants anyway. Once she returns, she’ll slip back into her place soon enough.’
She deliberately pushed the thought away and turned her attention back to Aman.
“Your robe looks uncomfortable. Let me have it put away for you.”
“Yes, madam.”
The head maid took Aman’s pristine robe from him.
With the robe removed, Aman’s face appeared to be no more than twenty years old.

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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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