I adored Lancome like an older brother and respected him as my boss. And yet he’d hidden my family’s death from me for two whole years.

I’d found out about it a year ago.

After finishing a mission, for the first time in eighteen years, I’d decided to visit the town where I grew up. I wanted to at least catch a glimpse of my family home—no, of my family—from afar. I put on a disguise and went to look at their house, but all I saw there was a deserted lot.

I was shocked. After some investigating, I discovered the house had burned down in a fire two years ago. The district official should have immediately contacted the noble who was my employer on paper. Then that noble, in turn, would’ve contacted the organization and informed them of my family’s death. Those were the rules, so it was impossible that Lancome didn’t know. I’d witnessed other spies learn of their family members’ deaths before.

I see. So that’s how it is.

He knew how much my family meant to me. I’d told him that time and again over my eighteen long years of working for him.

After that, I continued working as if nothing had happened, giving Lancome packages after my payday to send to my parents’ house, just as I always did. Then one evening, I followed him after work. He didn’t take the package to the post office in the capital.

He didn’t notice me tailing him. Honestly, I was disappointed at how much his skills had deteriorated.

Eventually, he entered a high-class apartment complex with guards in fancy uniforms posted outside; this wasn’t the dormitory where high-ranking officials lived. I next saw curtains being pulled back and a window opening on the third floor. Lancome was letting in some fresh air.

There he is.

I waited for him to come out of the building. Under the cover of night, I climbed up to the third floor from a second-floor terrace, using small protrusions in the wall as my footholds. First, I sneaked into a separate apartment that had no lights on, then headed into his apartment.

I used my tools to pick the lock and get inside. There, sitting in the corner of the room, was a pile of the twenty-five packages I’d given him.

The moment I saw the packages, my emotions threatened to explode, but I quickly managed to get ahold of them.

I opened up all the packages and confiscated the money I’d stashed inside them without leaving even a single coin behind. I even stole the silver cutlery from the kitchen and the golden candlesticks. I wanted Lancome to think this was the work of a thief. On the way home, I threw anything belonging to him in the river.

I was wrong about him. He’s exactly the kind of person to climb the ranks of the spy organization.

From that day forward, I continued business as usual.

Every month, I would ask Lancome to send a package home to my family the day after I got paid. I lived as I always had, but my heart had changed. My family was no longer in this world, and I no longer trusted Lancome.

In between missions, I began investigating him and discovered that he was going to marry one of my colleagues. I made sure to use that information to my advantage.

“My ideal man is someone like the chief.”

I wasn’t romantically interested in Lancome even one bit, but I began dropping hints here and there to my other colleagues that I had fallen for him. At some point, he would have to go public about his marriage. All this was part of my long con to make people think I’d be so shocked at the revelation that I’d take my own life.

I began restricting my food intake the day Lancome and Mary announced their marriage. Two months later, people were already noticing how haggard I looked.

When anyone would ask why, I’d contort my face in sadness and bite my lip, then say, “It’s nothing…” with my eyes full of tears. Everyone would give me looks of pity. The sole exception was Mary, who had to try very hard to conceal the triumphant expression on her face.

So why had I gone to such lengths to defect from the organization?

Because I was excellent at what I did.

For many years, I’d been the top spy in Hagl. If I actually expressed a desire to quit, it was obvious that no one would roll over and say, “Fine, go ahead.”

I’d had my future planned out already. I wouldn’t marry. I would work in my current position until I was in my forties, then spend the rest of my life training the next generation. Lancome himself had recommended that path for me.

But now that I’d lost my parents and Emily, I had neither the desire nor obligation to devote my life to the organization. I no longer cared about gaining Lancome’s approval.

However, the entire time I’d been planning my disappearance, part of me was waiting for Lancome to say, “I’ve been meaning to tell you this, Chloe, but…” up until the very last morning.

But he never did let me know that my family had died. And now it had been three years since the fire. He’d had plenty of opportunities to admit the truth and never did.

Lancome saw me as neither a younger sister nor or a cherished employee. I was nothing but a pawn for him to use as he pleased. This whole time, the person I thought he’d been was merely a figment of my imagination, so laughable now that I could hardly stand it.

Chapter One

When I Met the Girl

“Well, I suppose I’ll wander around town for a bit now.”

Deciding to wear something inconspicuous, I put on a long navy-blue skirt that would be easy to walk in and an ivory blouse, then left my hotel room.

“Have a nice day,” the person at the front desk called out after me cheerfully.

I exited the hotel and headed downtown where the shops were.

The capital of Ashbury was roughly divided into north, south, east, and west quarters with a castle at its center. My hotel was in the southern quarter, and the neighborhood was bustling with many shops, markets, and offices. According to my research, this area had the largest immigrant population.

The restaurants and food stalls here sold dishes from many countries. All sorts of delicious smells wafted from here and there as I walked down the street. Even though I’d eaten a late and filling breakfast, I felt my stomach growl a little. I bought a fresh pastry from a bakery and munched on it as I looked around town.

“Hmm?”

Just then, I spotted a little girl who looked quite upset sitting on a bench in the plaza. I wondered if she was waiting for someone, so I watched her from afar for a while, but it didn’t seem like anyone was coming for her.

What if some bad guy tries to kidnap her?

She wasn’t crying—just sitting there, staring off into space. Something didn’t feel right about this. I couldn’t simply gawk and do nothing, so I walked over to her.

“What’s wrong? Are you lost?”

“I’m not lost.”

“What’s your name?”

“Nonna.”

“Where is your family, Nonna?”

“Mom told me to wait right here.”

“Do you know how long ago that was?”

“Right before the bell chimed ten times.”

It was now past two in the afternoon. If the little girl had been waiting here for her mother for more than four hours, I wondered if she’d been abandoned. Her hair was a bit unkempt, and her skin and dress were slightly dirty.

“Are you hungry? I can buy you something to eat. Then I’ll wait for your mother with you.”

The girl nodded, so I took her hand and pulled her up, then we both walked over to the food stalls. Nonna seemed very thirsty, so I bought her some water infused with orange juice called “fruit water,” and she drank it all in one gulp.

I bought her another one, then got us two sandwiches stuffed with grilled meat and cucumbers. We walked back over to the bench.

Just as Nonna opened her mouth to dig in, her eyes widened, as though she was remembering something. “Thank you,” she said, before she began devouring her food.

I wonder what happened.

Her mother hadn’t shown up yet. Nonna seemed rather polite, so she must’ve been raised with some level of care. Maybe her mother went broke or got a new boyfriend who didn’t want anything to do with Nonna.

I asked about Nonna’s father, but she didn’t seem to have one.

“Try to eat a little slower so you don’t choke, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I have another bottle of water for you. Drink that while you eat.”

“Okay.”

“How old are you, Nonna?”

“Six.”

I had only been eight years old when my father’s business went bankrupt. I’d been about to be sent to work as a live-in servant when Lancome found me and took me in.

Though, I suppose it would be more accurate to say that my parents had sold me off to him. But they’d had no other choice, so I never held it against them. In fact, I was glad that I’d been of some help to my family.

Once Nonna was finished eating her sandwich, she began nodding off.

“Poor thing. You’ve been waiting here for a long time.”

She was fast asleep with her head in my lap. Although a bit dirty, she was clearly a very pretty little girl, with blond hair and blue-gray eyes. Precisely the kind of girl someone with nefarious intentions wouldn’t hesitate to abduct.

I was so glad I’d found her first.

We stayed there until dusk, but her mother never showed up.