As I sat on the window sill with a melancholic expression on my face, people passing by stopped to ask if I was okay.
“…Aisha, what are you doing?”
“I’m just feeling the afterglow.”
The more I dug, the more endless the achievements and charms of my predecessor boss came to light.
She built a foundation with her own hard word, and flew to the pinnacle of the dragon’s point.
How could she be so cool? I wish I could learn from her as soon as possible.
It wasn’t long before I was swinging my arms and legs with a ‘Hyah!’
‘Why did she have to die so early?’
Suddenly, I fell into thoughts of regret and suspicion.
Apparently, the Duchess died of worsening pneumonia.
But if it was a bacterial or viral infection like pneumonia, it could’ve been purified in the early stages.
‘Of course, it’s not easy to borrow the power of the temple.’
In order to use the power of an enlightened priest or saint, it cost an astronomical amount and they still had to be on a waiting list with countless others.
But what kind of house was this? Wasn’t this the House of Bastion?
A descendant of the fallen demon god Noir, who was considered evil by the Holy Kingdom and the temple, but that didn’t mean they could ignore the Duke, who was from a founding family of the Amanta Empire.
If he’d used a large amount of money or talked to the Emperor, who would have yelled at them to send out a priest. They would have sent as many priests as the Duke wanted.
‘It’s like every winter subjugation, the Holy Lands would send support personnel to the Monster Dam.’
So, why?
Why did the noble Duchess of Bastion die in vain?
“I can’t even ask things like this.”
I weakly stood up from the window sill with a groan.
Apart from finding out how to fight as a good married couple from the previous boss, information about her was not easily obtained.
I couldn’t believe that she had been wearing a mask and a wig.
In fact, I was going to sneakily imitate her appearance.
I know it was a shallow and a low-level move, but it wasn’t the time for me to worry about that.
“Should I wear a mask…”
No, I couldn’t do something that was too direct.
I squinted my eyes, and stared at a distant point.
It was Levi’s room that I wasn’t even able to get close to.
I tried rushing in again, just to be sure, but I was still pulled back to my original position by the servant who appeared in a flash.
“Ah!”
There was no point in wearing a mask if we were never able to meet.
Even if I squatted in the hallway and stared hard, that tightly closed door wouldn’t open.
By the way, the dust was very disgusting.
If it was noisy outside, he should come out…
“Right?”
I smiled and laughed, then I hurried away so that the servant wouldn’t see me.
Anyway, I stared out the darkened window.
“Hehehehe.”
It was time for a good child to go to bed.
However, as a good adult, I enjoyed the perfect quietness and headed to the yard at the back instead of my room.
Unlike the interior of the mansion, which had servants everywhere, only sentries passed by the yard every once in a while.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Thanks for your support, Aisha.”
When I wandered over and saluted them, they laughed and greeted me, then disappeared without a second thought.
Waiting for their backs to disappear in the distance, I reverently picked up some pebbles.
In particular, I picked up only the prettiest ones like myself, and aimed very carefully.
Where?
The balcony off of Levi’s room.
Right. If I couldn’t invade…
“Hup!”
I can make him come out!
The pebble I threw with all my might hit it’s mark with a clatter.
It was an impeccably nice shot, but the cheeky balcony window didn’t budge.
He’s already asleep? Then get up. What if he doesn’t come out even if I do this? Huh? Even like this?
It was time to throw pebbles over and over again, with the feeling that she would win.
No sooner had the 38th pebble left my hand, then the window finally opened and he appeared.
“Hyuk.”
He was going to get hit!
As I freaked out, Levi easily caught the pebble that was flying at his face.
Oh. That was a relief, but I was also a little disappointed.
Levi looked at the tiny pebble in his hand, the pile of pebbles on the balcony, and then at me downstairs one by one.
Even at this point, his face was emotionless and bored.
Of course, he was still handsome.
‘It’s a masterpiece.’
Not only his face, but the situation as well.
…Bright moonlight, a second floor balcony, a man and woman facing each other.
With my arms wide open, I immediately transmitted the lines that came to my mind.
“Oh, Levi! Why for art thou named Levi!”
“Because my mother gave it to me.”
I see. That’s a precious name. Not that I was really curious about the origin of his name.
While I was scratching the back of my neck, Levi tried to close the window just like that.
But it just opened!
“Hey!”
“….”
“Oh, no. Wait a minute. Hold on!”
I called out to him urgently, and looked around.
Just in time, I noticed a tree that touched the balcony off of Levi’s room.
…Was it God’s way of telling me to do it right, to do the imitation correctly? Yes, it was about climbing a tree to get to the beauty!
“Wait a minute!”
I hurried up the tree like a caterpillar, climbing up it as quickly as possible.
The balcony was on the second floor, and the floor height of the mansion was high, so the climb up to Levi’s room was quite long.
“Almost there. Huh, I’m tired. The air above is so clean.”
I thought I would have arrived by this time, so I looked around.
After all that hard work, I was only 5cm above the ground? That’s absurd.
As I looked like a cicada attached to an old tree with a tearful face, I suddenly heard a very faint sound on the wind.
Was that the sound of laughter?
For some reason, I raised my head, which caused me to slip and land on my butt.
“Ow, my tailbone.”
While I rubbed my tingling butt, his presence disappeared with a clicking sound.
Levi had closed the window, and gone back inside.
Hey, that sh*t. If I asked if I could be flattered, would there be something wrong with that?
After huffing and puffing, I ran away as soon as another guard patrol appeared from afar.
It would be difficult if I was caught, and this method was blocked.
The next day and the next day, I secretly knocked on the balcony at the same time.
There were various ways of knocking. I could adjust the intensity, and create the rhythm of the song to my heart’s content.
Sometimes, instead of pebbles, I threw candies that I’d received from my maid sisters.
However, no matter what I did, Levi hadn’t even shown his nose since the first day.
Time went by like that for a while, and it had been a week since the nighttime serenade.
It was the day that two-thirds of the spring vacation had passed.
I left.
***
On a sunny morning in Wolfgang’s office.
“…Is she gone?”
“Yes. The maids close to the room said that the diligent young lady hasn’t been seen since dawn.”
Wolfgang, irritated by his low-blood pressure and the absence of his wake-up call, frowned.
An ordinary person would’ve been frightened by that alone, but the veteran assistant of the Bastion family calmly continued.
“Shall we search for her?”
Wolfgang closed his eyes instead of answering.
He focused on the energy he’d felt strangely well up when he first met her.
White, bright, and noisy, just like it’s owner.
Soon after, he opened his eyes and said,
“I really don’t think that’s necessary.”
“But what if…”
“She could’ve been a spy.”
She’d finally completed her mission, and ran away.
Benjamin couldn’t argue against what Duke Wolfgang muttered, and his mouth just hung open.
In reality, it was a reasonable guess.
The child, who’d suddenly appeared, wandered around the house as if it were her own, and even trained people were easily won over to her side.
In addition, for whatever reason, she tried to dig up trivial information.
The situation here in Bastion was not so easy for them to understand and accept the existence of a child without thinking about it.
But
“You’ll get kicked for saying hateful things that aren’t true.”
“….”
“Madam always said this.”
Wolfgang chuckled with a look that said, ‘I suppose so.’
The image of a woman wearing a mask and glaring at him with malevolent eyes, as if she was about to pounce on him was clear in his mind.
He knew. He couldn’t believe that a girl like her, who’s every emotion showed on her face, was a spy. It was just ridiculous.
Such doubts were held for only for a short time by the experienced servants and Wolfgang, who’d picked her up, but were abandoned in less than a day of the child’s stay.
It was easier because they’d already had an established history with Kathryn.
Coincidental meeting, a miracle, destiny.
Such useless and tantalizing words were surprisingly close to the House of Bastion.
In the first place, their long history was all made up of coincidental meetings, miracles, and destiny between a god and a human.
Although, it was clear that all kinds of secrets were hidden in that small head, even if she wasn’t a spy. She also has a strange talent for attracting people.
Kathryn and Aisha.
Although their appearances and personalities were different, they were similar in that they both modified and adapted others to their alien theories as drastically as if they had fallen from another world.
If Kathryn were alive, she would’ve been quite taken with Aisha. Wolfgang would think this from time to time.
No, more like often.
“I don’t think anything very dangerous happened…”
“That’s a relief.”
“Do you want to play hide-and-seek?”
“I’ll have to work hard to find her for you.”
“Well, there might be someone else who wants to play.”
The eyes of the men moved at the same time.
Just upstairs, the master of the stiflingly quiet room stared at the balcony window, as if he could sense their gazes.
“…May I open the window for you, Young Master?”
The servant, who was trying to deliver a simple morning breakfast, asked just in case.
There was no answer, which meant it was up to the servant to decide whether he wanted it opened or not.
The man carefully opened the large window. The mild spring sunshine poured in.
Wasn’t this the first time he’d opened the window when the young master was here?
The servant tilted his head, and was soon convinced.
‘Yes, that’s right. When ventilation was needed, only small windows were opened.’
Since Levi doesn’t seem to like the view of the mansion very much, he stopped opening this large window at some point.
However, the servant guessed that something was different today, and doubted his eyes for a moment.
“No, why would there be rocks… Candies too?”
The balcony was full of junk that someone had thrown up with determination.
What was going on?
It was time to put his shock aside, and roll up his sleeves to clean it up.
From behind, he resembled his father as the young master placed the cup of tea down that he drank every morning.
The clicking noise sounded like a sword being pulled out of a sheath.
As I sat on the window sill with a melancholic expression on my face, people passing by stopped to ask if I was okay.
“…Aisha, what are you doing?”
“I’m just feeling the afterglow.”
The more I dug, the more endless the achievements and charms of my predecessor boss came to light.
She built a foundation with her own hard word, and flew to the pinnacle of the dragon’s point.
How could she be so cool? I wish I could learn from her as soon as possible.
It wasn’t long before I was swinging my arms and legs with a ‘Hyah!’
‘Why did she have to die so early?’
Suddenly, I fell into thoughts of regret and suspicion.
Apparently, the Duchess died of worsening pneumonia.
But if it was a bacterial or viral infection like pneumonia, it could’ve been purified in the early stages.
‘Of course, it’s not easy to borrow the power of the temple.’
In order to use the power of an enlightened priest or saint, it cost an astronomical amount and they still had to be on a waiting list with countless others.
But what kind of house was this? Wasn’t this the House of Bastion?
A descendant of the fallen demon god Noir, who was considered evil by the Holy Kingdom and the temple, but that didn’t mean they could ignore the Duke, who was from a founding family of the Amanta Empire.
If he’d used a large amount of money or talked to the Emperor, who would have yelled at them to send out a priest. They would have sent as many priests as the Duke wanted.
‘It’s like every winter subjugation, the Holy Lands would send support personnel to the Monster Dam.’
So, why?
Why did the noble Duchess of Bastion die in vain?
“I can’t even ask things like this.”
I weakly stood up from the window sill with a groan.
Apart from finding out how to fight as a good married couple from the previous boss, information about her was not easily obtained.
I couldn’t believe that she had been wearing a mask and a wig.
In fact, I was going to sneakily imitate her appearance.
I know it was a shallow and a low-level move, but it wasn’t the time for me to worry about that.
“Should I wear a mask…”
No, I couldn’t do something that was too direct.
I squinted my eyes, and stared at a distant point.
It was Levi’s room that I wasn’t even able to get close to.
I tried rushing in again, just to be sure, but I was still pulled back to my original position by the servant who appeared in a flash.
“Ah!”
There was no point in wearing a mask if we were never able to meet.
Even if I squatted in the hallway and stared hard, that tightly closed door wouldn’t open.
By the way, the dust was very disgusting.
If it was noisy outside, he should come out…
“Right?”
I smiled and laughed, then I hurried away so that the servant wouldn’t see me.
Anyway, I stared out the darkened window.
“Hehehehe.”
It was time for a good child to go to bed.
However, as a good adult, I enjoyed the perfect quietness and headed to the yard at the back instead of my room.
Unlike the interior of the mansion, which had servants everywhere, only sentries passed by the yard every once in a while.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Thanks for your support, Aisha.”
When I wandered over and saluted them, they laughed and greeted me, then disappeared without a second thought.
Waiting for their backs to disappear in the distance, I reverently picked up some pebbles.
In particular, I picked up only the prettiest ones like myself, and aimed very carefully.
Where?
The balcony off of Levi’s room.
Right. If I couldn’t invade…
“Hup!”
I can make him come out!
The pebble I threw with all my might hit it’s mark with a clatter.
It was an impeccably nice shot, but the cheeky balcony window didn’t budge.
He’s already asleep? Then get up. What if he doesn’t come out even if I do this? Huh? Even like this?
It was time to throw pebbles over and over again, with the feeling that she would win.
No sooner had the 38th pebble left my hand, then the window finally opened and he appeared.
“Hyuk.”
He was going to get hit!
As I freaked out, Levi easily caught the pebble that was flying at his face.
Oh. That was a relief, but I was also a little disappointed.
Levi looked at the tiny pebble in his hand, the pile of pebbles on the balcony, and then at me downstairs one by one.
Even at this point, his face was emotionless and bored.
Of course, he was still handsome.
‘It’s a masterpiece.’
Not only his face, but the situation as well.
…Bright moonlight, a second floor balcony, a man and woman facing each other.
With my arms wide open, I immediately transmitted the lines that came to my mind.
“Oh, Levi! Why for art thou named Levi!”
“Because my mother gave it to me.”
I see. That’s a precious name. Not that I was really curious about the origin of his name.
While I was scratching the back of my neck, Levi tried to close the window just like that.
But it just opened!
“Hey!”
“….”
“Oh, no. Wait a minute. Hold on!”
I called out to him urgently, and looked around.
Just in time, I noticed a tree that touched the balcony off of Levi’s room.
…Was it God’s way of telling me to do it right, to do the imitation correctly? Yes, it was about climbing a tree to get to the beauty!
“Wait a minute!”
I hurried up the tree like a caterpillar, climbing up it as quickly as possible.
The balcony was on the second floor, and the floor height of the mansion was high, so the climb up to Levi’s room was quite long.
“Almost there. Huh, I’m tired. The air above is so clean.”
I thought I would have arrived by this time, so I looked around.
After all that hard work, I was only 5cm above the ground? That’s absurd.
As I looked like a cicada attached to an old tree with a tearful face, I suddenly heard a very faint sound on the wind.
Was that the sound of laughter?
For some reason, I raised my head, which caused me to slip and land on my butt.
“Ow, my tailbone.”
While I rubbed my tingling butt, his presence disappeared with a clicking sound.
Levi had closed the window, and gone back inside.
Hey, that sh*t. If I asked if I could be flattered, would there be something wrong with that?
After huffing and puffing, I ran away as soon as another guard patrol appeared from afar.
It would be difficult if I was caught, and this method was blocked.
The next day and the next day, I secretly knocked on the balcony at the same time.
There were various ways of knocking. I could adjust the intensity, and create the rhythm of the song to my heart’s content.
Sometimes, instead of pebbles, I threw candies that I’d received from my maid sisters.
However, no matter what I did, Levi hadn’t even shown his nose since the first day.
Time went by like that for a while, and it had been a week since the nighttime serenade.
It was the day that two-thirds of the spring vacation had passed.
I left.
***
On a sunny morning in Wolfgang’s office.
“…Is she gone?”
“Yes. The maids close to the room said that the diligent young lady hasn’t been seen since dawn.”
Wolfgang, irritated by his low-blood pressure and the absence of his wake-up call, frowned.
An ordinary person would’ve been frightened by that alone, but the veteran assistant of the Bastion family calmly continued.
“Shall we search for her?”
Wolfgang closed his eyes instead of answering.
He focused on the energy he’d felt strangely well up when he first met her.
White, bright, and noisy, just like it’s owner.
Soon after, he opened his eyes and said,
“I really don’t think that’s necessary.”
“But what if…”
“She could’ve been a spy.”
She’d finally completed her mission, and ran away.
Benjamin couldn’t argue against what Duke Wolfgang muttered, and his mouth just hung open.
In reality, it was a reasonable guess.
The child, who’d suddenly appeared, wandered around the house as if it were her own, and even trained people were easily won over to her side.
In addition, for whatever reason, she tried to dig up trivial information.
The situation here in Bastion was not so easy for them to understand and accept the existence of a child without thinking about it.
But
“You’ll get kicked for saying hateful things that aren’t true.”
“….”
“Madam always said this.”
Wolfgang chuckled with a look that said, ‘I suppose so.’
The image of a woman wearing a mask and glaring at him with malevolent eyes, as if she was about to pounce on him was clear in his mind.
He knew. He couldn’t believe that a girl like her, who’s every emotion showed on her face, was a spy. It was just ridiculous.
Such doubts were held for only for a short time by the experienced servants and Wolfgang, who’d picked her up, but were abandoned in less than a day of the child’s stay.
It was easier because they’d already had an established history with Kathryn.
Coincidental meeting, a miracle, destiny.
Such useless and tantalizing words were surprisingly close to the House of Bastion.
In the first place, their long history was all made up of coincidental meetings, miracles, and destiny between a god and a human.
Although, it was clear that all kinds of secrets were hidden in that small head, even if she wasn’t a spy. She also has a strange talent for attracting people.
Kathryn and Aisha.
Although their appearances and personalities were different, they were similar in that they both modified and adapted others to their alien theories as drastically as if they had fallen from another world.
If Kathryn were alive, she would’ve been quite taken with Aisha. Wolfgang would think this from time to time.
No, more like often.
“I don’t think anything very dangerous happened…”
“That’s a relief.”
“Do you want to play hide-and-seek?”
“I’ll have to work hard to find her for you.”
“Well, there might be someone else who wants to play.”
The eyes of the men moved at the same time.
Just upstairs, the master of the stiflingly quiet room stared at the balcony window, as if he could sense their gazes.
“…May I open the window for you, Young Master?”
The servant, who was trying to deliver a simple morning breakfast, asked just in case.
There was no answer, which meant it was up to the servant to decide whether he wanted it opened or not.
The man carefully opened the large window. The mild spring sunshine poured in.
Wasn’t this the first time he’d opened the window when the young master was here?
The servant tilted his head, and was soon convinced.
‘Yes, that’s right. When ventilation was needed, only small windows were opened.’
Since Levi doesn’t seem to like the view of the mansion very much, he stopped opening this large window at some point.
However, the servant guessed that something was different today, and doubted his eyes for a moment.
“No, why would there be rocks… Candies too?”
The balcony was full of junk that someone had thrown up with determination.
What was going on?
It was time to put his shock aside, and roll up his sleeves to clean it up.
From behind, he resembled his father as the young master placed the cup of tea down that he drank every morning.
The clicking noise sounded like a sword being pulled out of a sheath.
