Chapter 54

In the small room for regular reports, Victoria was surprised by Mike's report.

"A fifth son of a duke in the Eagar Kingdom? Gunther? He looked more like a soldier than a duke's son."

"We already have a letter that confirms this. According to Gunther, he infiltrated the castle to protect Lady Delphine."

"So, Gunther wasn't involved in the attempted poisoning?"

"Yes. Gunther's father is the brother of the King of Eagar and the leader of the royalist faction. They would be in trouble if Lady Delphine were to die."

"In that case, I should apologize to Gunther for knocking him out."

"Gunther was also following you, suspecting you to be an assassin. It's mutual, so there's no need to worry."

I couldn't help but look at Mike twice at his cool, casual response.

Indeed, there was a possibility that I could have been killed. If Gunther wasn't an agent, he might have accidentally killed me by losing control.

Yeah, I agree with Mike. Let's just call it even.

"Even reducing the number of suspicious people is a big gain, Mike."

"That's true. Also, I received a response from someone in Eagar regarding the task you asked me to do."

"Already? That's quick."

"We have a communication network devised by my superior. According to the response, there's a suspicious situation at Ellie's family home. Ellie's family is a viscount of the royalist faction, but they have a large debt for some reason. The reason for the debt is still under investigation. They might have been exploited by the anti-royalist faction."

"Did Ellie have to carry out the poisoning of Lady Delphine because of her family's debt? If so, it doesn't make sense for Ellie to ingest the poison herself."

"That's the point. Why did Ellie collapse from the poison twice..."

I recalled Ellie's expression when talking about Lady Delphine. Ellie seemed to genuinely care for Lady Delphine. There was no lie in her expression or tone.

"Mike, I think it's strange that it didn't result in death both times. If the first poisoning attempt failed, the second one would usually be with a stronger poison or a different method. Besides, if the poison made her feel ill immediately, Lady Delphine wouldn't have eaten the dish. Why was the poison not lethal both times? Who put the poison in? We need to re-investigate the people around her."

"You're right. But, please prioritize your role as a shadow. Here, take this. It's a blonde wig."

I took the wig from the small bag. It was a perfect match for Lady Delphine's hair color. I tried it on without a net, and the size was just right.

"I'll use this. Also, it might be safer for Lady Delphine to wear a hat with a net soon."

After informing Mike, I returned to my small room.

A maid was there to relieve me, so I spoke to her.

"Thank you, Nina."

"Are you done already? Kate, have you had enough rest?"

"Yes, I've slept well, so I'm fine."

"I'm relieved to hear that."

Once alone, I checked if anything in the room had been tampered with. I had left a strand of my hair on the drawer as a seal. If the drawer had been opened, the hair would have fallen off. The drawer was untouched.

I got into bed and organized the information I had heard from Mike, thinking about who might have a reason to poison Lady Delphine's food.

"If it was Ellie's own doing, what was her purpose?"

There wasn't enough information to make a judgment.

Perhaps because it was my first shadow work in a long time, I was on edge and didn't feel tired at all. But I might feel exhausted once I get home.

I'm already thirty-three. It's about time I start thinking about retirement.

"Yeah, maybe it's time to seriously consider living on a sheep farm."

Nona will probably get married in a few years.

Living a peaceful life as a shepherd with Jeffrey would be nice. Spinning yarn, dyeing it in my favorite colors, and knitting sweaters for Jeffrey and Nona.

It would be fun to knit a blanket for Nona's future baby.

Thinking about these things, I had a dream about my family.

Jeffrey and I were drinking tea while looking at the sheep farm, holding Nona's baby, and chatting with Nona.

I woke up at four in the morning. It was still dark, but I felt very happy.

Lady Delphine is a mother of two and has a good relationship with Prince Conrad. She is a kind and loving mother.

If there is happiness that I can protect as a shadow, I will definitely accomplish it.

※...※...※

Jeffrey was visiting his brother Edward's house.

"Mother, you look much better."

"Thanks to Nona, I feel much better. You have a wonderful daughter."

"Yes, Nona is a treasure to Victoria and me."

"Hehehe."

The relaxed laughter came from Nona.

Nona and Jeffrey's mother, Courtney, were sitting side by side on a two-seater sofa.

Before Nona came, Courtney spent most of her days in bed. When she was awake, she would sit in a rocking chair and gaze at the garden. Today, she had changed her clothes and was sitting up straight on the sofa. That was a big improvement.

"Father, Mother will be back in a month."

"Yes, it's soon."

"Yep, it's soon. She'll be back just in time for the Saint Floren Festival, right? It would be nice to go with her."

"Yes."

But on that day, Victoria would be busy with her biggest mission and wouldn't be able to come back. Jeffrey tried not to show it in his face as he replied.

"Nona, listen to Aunt Blythe."

"I know. I'll be good, right? Right, Lady Blythe?"

"Yes, Nona is a well-behaved little lady. Don't worry, Jeffrey."

It seemed like a peaceful and heartwarming family gathering. Jeffrey was happy about the unexpected positive effect of Nona living with her mother.

However, Nona had a secret, and Edward knew about it.

The secret was:

Nona would sneak out of her room at night.

Chester, the liaison of the Third Knights, would wait for her.

Chester would train with Nona every night.

All of this was happening under Edward's control, but Nona didn't know.

That night, at ten o'clock when everyone was asleep, Nona quietly opened her window.

She pushed the window open and stood on the window frame.

She wore leather gloves that exposed her fingertips, black riding pants, and a navy blue hand-knitted sweater by Victoria. She had on soft, short leather boots. Her long golden braid was tucked inside the sweater.

"I'm glad Mother likes navy blue."

Muttering to herself, she swung her arms and kicked the window frame hard, landing safely on a branch of the linden tree in the garden. The leaves rustled.

Nona stayed still for a while, curling up like part of the tree to hide her presence. She wasn't noticed by the guards of the Asher family.

"Okay, okay, okay. I'm off."

Sliding down the trunk, she ran across the garden and quickly climbed over the stone wall.

As usual, a horse was waiting outside the wall. Chester was on the horse. Their destination was Chester's house, the house next to Lady Yolana's residence.