I Am the 5-Year-Old Spy Who Kidnapped the Villain - Chapter 9

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【Chapter 9】

I’m screwed.

To call the head of a ducal family a gardener.

This was a situation where I couldn’t complain even if I were punished for insulting nobility.

Callipus also seemed caught off guard, his eyes slightly wavering as if he hadn’t expected this.

Eventually, my short legs, unable to find anywhere to go, trembled in the air.

“…Well, the gardener uncle also held me like this.”

“….”

“I guess everyone from the Crosht Ducal Family is kind and cool and tall and strong.”

“….”

“Hehe.”

I’m screwed.

My awkwardly raised lips were on the verge of cramping. Cold sweat began to explode from the top of my head.

It would be better if he got angry instead.

Is he so dumbfounded that he can’t even speak?

‘Well, I did call a duke a gardener.’

Now the duke will send me to prison, right?

Or maybe? Will he execute me on the spot?

‘I don’t want to die like this again. My dream is just to live until I become a grandma and die naturally!’

Eventually, unable to bear the pressure, I squeezed my eyes shut.

“What gardener, you must have misspoken.”

Contrary to my expectations, a deep sigh came from across the room.

“Huh?”

“Get your head straight and look at this paper.”

When I carefully opened my tightly shut eyes-

Callipus handed me a piece of paper that he had gotten from somewhere in the blink of an eye.

Then, he sat down on the sofa across from me.

It was quite strange.

A normal duke would have sat in his own seat, but he was treating me as if I were an equal.

“…This is…”

With that thought, I checked the paper he handed me.

This was the contract I had written before.

“The contract is still valid, kid.”

“Huh?”

“So you don’t need to get scared and tremble on your own. Just bring me a direct princess and I’ll have you adopted as a daughter into a baronial family.”

At his words, my eyes gradually widened.

“…But I’m a spy from the Pose Duchy?”

“I know.”

“But you’re treating me this well?”

“You wanted to live, didn’t you? That’s why you revealed Dorothy’s identity as a spy.”

“Uh, um…”

Then… did the story about me revealing Dorothy’s identity also come from the duke’s mouth?

“Your Grace.”

“What.”

I should stay calm at times like this.

“…Your Grace is my savior.”

Contrary to my intention, my mouth moved on its own.

Then the quiet red eyes behind the mask slowly widened.

“….”

For a moment, he was speechless.

Slightly flustered, his lost gaze turned toward me, then looked down at the paper-

“Stop talking nonsense and go rest now.”

Returning to the desk in the study, he had transformed back into the head of the Crosht Ducal Family.

“Yes!”

I answered energetically and left the study.

He seemed a little surprised by my words.

Or maybe not. It was probably just my imagination.

* * *

That evening.

“Uncle, you know what? Duke Callipus doesn’t seem to be as bad a person as I thought. I think I might have misunderstood him.”

My legs dangling in the air swayed cheerfully.

The gardener uncle stared intently at me as I spoke excitedly.

Since getting that sandwich last time, I often ate with him. Now it had become my daily routine to visit the garden at mealtime.

Leaning his elbow on the outdoor table and fiddling with his temple, he picked up a handkerchief.

“Really? In what way.”

Him wiping the bread crumbs from the corner of my mouth with his handkerchief had also become routine.

I told him all about what happened in the afternoon.

“-So, I called him gardener uncle but he let it slide. And even though I made a huge mistake, he trusted me.”

“A huge mistake?”

He, who had been quietly listening to me without interruption, asked casually.

“What huge mistake?”

“It’s a secret! That’s a secret between the duke and me. No matter how much I like you, uncle, I can’t tell you.”

I crossed my arms and answered primly.

Of course, talking about being a spy was taboo. I wanted to tell the gardener uncle since we were close, but still, what’s forbidden is forbidden.

“…Really?”

“Yes. Secret. Secret.”

“If it’s a secret with the duke, then I guess it can’t be helped.”

Surprisingly, the gardener uncle didn’t pry any further.

Was it my imagination?

Rather, the moment I mentioned it was a ‘secret’ with the duke, it seemed like he smiled faintly.

* * *

After that, things progressed quickly.

When Pose Duke heard the news that Dorothy had been discovered, he denied that she was his spy.

Finally, only after the Crosht Duke’s side sent her corpse along with the fabric with letters carved on it, did an official message of apology arrive.

Thanks to this, Callipus decided to head to the Kingdom of Odtia with 50 knights under the pretext that the Pose family couldn’t be trusted.

This wasn’t permission but a kind of threat.

Pose Duke couldn’t make a peep even at Callipus’s unilateral message.

After Callipus left like that.

“You’re Aisha, aren’t you? Aren’t you hungry?”

As rumors spread that I had revealed Dorothy’s identity, the servants’ attitudes began to change.

Especially after hearing that I had been personally summoned by the duke, they became even more friendly.

Thanks to this, I became close enough with the maid sisters to occasionally get strawberry tarts from them.

“Is the gardener uncle not here today either?”

But the problem was.

“Yeah. He’s on vacation again today.”

“Again?”

“I don’t think he’ll be back anytime soon… Just stay indoors.”

After Callipus left, the gardener uncle had disappeared too.

My shoulders drooped at the dismissal I heard once again without fail.

‘Come on, if you’re going on a long vacation, at least tell me before you go!’

I came to have lunch together.

Before I knew it, the gardener had become quite a special person to me.

He was the first adult to help me, and the only person who had become something like a friend since my possession.

‘But he probably doesn’t feel the same way. To him, I might just be one of many passing people.’

Trudge trudge-

My disappointed eyes drooped horizontally.

“…The princess is lucky. She has a father who’s turning the whole world upside down to find his daughter. I’ve never had parents like that.”

Not in my previous life, not in this one. I never had such parents or family.

Shivering from the unnecessary feeling of emptiness, I went into my room and ate my sandwich alone.

No. Things worked out well.

So why am I feeling so gloomy?

“Cheer up, cheer up!”

Slapping my forehead to snap out of it, I spread out a newspaper that was nearby.

I didn’t have time to be depressed because of the gardener. Today was an important day.

‘The day I get adopted by the Marquis of Frisia!’

I read through the newspapers I had collected so far with eyes that seemed ready to shoot lasers.

I had been collecting newspapers that the maid sisters had thrown away after reading, and they contained quite useful information about the marquis’s family.

‘Isn’t this the basic quality of a prepared daughter?’

While the maid sisters braided my hair, I roughly grasped information about the Marquis of Frisia’s family.

And a little while later-

“Nice to meet you. Your name is Aisha, right? His Grace introduced you as a bright child, so I’ve been wanting to meet you. I came to have lunch together.”

As promised, the Marquis and Marchioness of Frisia came to visit.

“Ah, yes!”

“What a pretty name. I’m really happy to meet you.”

Their goodwill seemed genuine.

The marchioness’s fingertips trembled slightly as she carefully offered a handshake as soon as we sat down.

Calm brown hair. Green eyes.

Not only their appearance but even their smiles were gentle, giving them a kind impression at first glance.

Rustle-

After quickly scanning their impressions, I clenched my small fist under the table.

An opportunity to live with wealthy and loving legal guardians had come.

I couldn’t let this slip away.

“…Hello, Prisia Duke. Duchess.”

After exchanging handshakes first, I stood up and lifted the hem of my dress.

Of course, I had thoroughly learned noble etiquette during spy training.

“Have you already taught her noble etiquette?”

“I haven’t learned it separately, but I studied hard in preparation for meeting you and the duchess.”

When I spoke with sparkling eyes, the marquis was impressed.

“His Grace said you were clever, and it’s really true. Don’t just stand there, sit down quickly.”

“Yes.”

Phew. Did I pass the first impression test?

I sat down while calming my pounding heart.

“How old are you?”

“I’m 5 years old.”

“I see. Have you heard about the Marquis of Frisia’s family?”

The real interview was beginning.

“Yes. Of course.”

‘I’ve been collecting information about the marquis’s family for a month in preparation for this moment.’

I smiled the kind of polite smile that adults would like.

“The Marquis of Frisia’s family was the first in the Frozen Kingdom where a commoner received a noble title, and Callipus personally granted them territory as well.”

“Oh my.”

“The territory called Frendia is a fertile farming area surrounding a river. I understand that the main export is wheat.”

“…Oh ho.”

The marquis couple’s eyes widened at my words flowing like linked sausages.

Would this be enough to pass the interview?

No. I need to drive the final nail in.

I didn’t lose my smile until the end.

“If I were to be adopted, I would like to learn swordsmanship at the Marquis of Frisia’s family. Originally I aimed to be a mercenary, but if you both permit it, I’m even considering becoming a knight commander. Of course, I’m also thinking of marriage for the glory of the Marquis of Frisia’s family.”

“…?”

“But all of this is just my personal plan to become Frisia’s golden wheat, so if you have any suggestions, please feel free to tell me.”

Slurp.

I drank milk like tea and smiled brightly.

“Goals are meant to change anytime.”

“…”

Then the marquis, who had been silent, looked at me curiously and whispered to his wife.

“…At this level, didn’t His Grace want to raise her himself but introduced her to us because he felt sorry for us having no children?”

“…That’s what I’m thinking.”

Secret praise is usually truthful. It seemed like I would be able to live peacefully at the Marquis of Frisia’s family from now on.

That’s when it happened.

There was a knock, and soon a maid who entered bowed her head.

“My lord. I’m sorry to interrupt during your meal, but His Grace has returned and I thought you might want to greet him.”

“What? Already?”

“When he went to the Kingdom of Odtia, he went directly because the Kingdom of Odtia didn’t permit portal use, but…”

The maid continued while bowing her head.

“When coming here to the Frozen Kingdom, he took a portal and arrived quickly.”

“I see. So did he come with the princess?”

The marquis stood up from his seat. I also straightened my back, feeling a bit tense.

The maid, who seemed about to answer immediately, unexpectedly remained silent.

After a moment.

The maid, who had been closing her eyes tightly, bowed her head.

“The princess… was not with him.”

…What?

I dropped the fork I was holding.

The original story had gone off track.

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