The woman Edward had referred to had been working under the alias of Mia Harvell for nearly three years in the household of Earl Osmond Bridge.
Mia was wrapping up her tasks for the day, organizing a mountain of documents and tidying up her desk.
“How did the bookkeeping go, Mia?” Earl Bridge asked.
“Everything’s perfectly balanced. No discrepancies at all.”
“I’d expect nothing less from you. Since you started helping, the work has progressed so much more smoothly.”
“Thank you. My father’s training back home has proven quite useful.”
“Your father was a civil servant at the palace, wasn’t he? Hiring you as a tutor for my daughters only to discover your bookkeeping skills felt like striking gold!”
Mia offered an elegant smile and bowed.
“I’ll be heading to the royal capital next week. You shall accompany me,” Earl Bridge said.
“Very well.”
It’s taken nearly three years, but the end is finally in sight. All I need is some solid evidence, and this mission will be over.
Although her boss, Edward Asher, had tasked Mia with infiltrating the Bridge household, uncovering the earl’s illicit activities had been difficult. Her fruitless days had been filled with frustration, but just recently, she’d begun to piece together his shady dealings.
Earl Bridge frequently traveled to the kingdom of Randall. Although his personal visits had decreased as of late, he’d taken to sending his servants in his place. Even though Randall was closer to the earl’s domain than the capital city of Ashbury, Edward Asher had deemed these trips suspicious.
“It must be something too sensitive to communicate through letters,” he’d said.
When questioned, the earl claimed those trips were for trade negotiations. However, the primary products his territory dealt with were wheat and vegetables. Mia knew from his books that neither were being exported.
Her investigations suggested the earl was actually selling the locations of Ashbury’s communication-network bases.
Each base was manned by only two couriers. If a base was attacked by a larger force, it would be wiped out entirely.
And if all the bases in Earl Bridge’s domain were destroyed, the flow of intelligence arriving from Randall would come to a halt.
Although Edward Asher frequently changed the locations of his bases for security reasons, the earl and his servants always visited Randall shortly after the change. It seemed highly likely the earl was informing someone in Randall of the new locations.
This time, one of his Randallish partners is coming to Ashbury. It’ll be a rare opportunity to see their face. I need to memorize their features and ensure my allies capture them.
However, the day before their departure for the capital, a new maid joined the earl’s household. She carried some tea into the room where Mia and Osmond were working.
“I’ve brought you some tea.”
“Thank you. You may leave it there,” Mia said without looking up.
The earl, however, raised his head from his documents to glance at the maid.
“You must be new here. What’s your name?”
“I’m Ines.”
Mia quickly turned to the stranger, her breath catching in her throat. The new maid, who had been staring at the floor, glanced up and widened her eyes when she saw Mia. Then she loudly exclaimed, “Luna! Luna, is that you? What are you doing here? I heard you got married! Are you working here now?!”
The maid was none other than Ines, a childhood friend of Mia’s from her hometown.
They had often played together, and Ines had been like a sister to her during their youth. She approached Mia with a delighted smile. Mia’s mind raced as she plastered on a smile and replied, “It has been a long time, Ines. But we mustn’t chat in front of the earl.”
“Oh! My apologies, my lord.”
“It’s fine, Ines. So you hail from the same hometown as Mia? Mia, why did she call you Luna? Your identification papers listed you as Mia Harvell.”
“My lord, the truth is I’m divorced. I had to change my name to escape an abusive husband. I deeply apologize for deceiving you, but I had to do so to protect myself.” Mia quickly rose to her feet and gave a deep bow to the earl.
Was that excuse too hasty to be believed?
She put a hesitant expression on her face and feigned embarrassment as she bowed repeatedly. The earl studied her with interest but said nothing. Mia’s heart pounded, and a cold sweat trickled down her back.
If he calls for the guards, I’ll be killed. Should I take him out first? After all, he’s committing a serious crime. He’ll face execution eventually.
But Ines was right there. If she killed the earl in front of her, she would have to silence her friend as well.
What should I do? What’s the best move?
Ines had been like a sister to her, and Mia just couldn’t bring herself to harm her. But to her relief, the earl seemed to accept Mia’s story and gave a casual nod.
“I see. I wasn’t aware of your circumstances, Mia. Ines, I expect you to do your best. Mia, we’ll leave for the capital at sunrise tomorrow.”
“Yes, my lord.”
The earl is shrewd… Should I be happy or suspicious he seems to have believed me?
Her instincts had been honed through experience, and they screamed in her mind, He knows you’re lying!
She’d been drilled repeatedly at the academy on how to handle situations like this. The protocol was clear: Flee on your own.
There’s nothing else to be done. It’s a shame that I was so close to getting the proof I needed, but I need to make my exit immediately.
However, as she moved to pull open her bedroom curtains, Mia stopped abruptly. She’d intended on slipping out through the second-floor window, but there were guards stationed all throughout the garden, armed and patrolling with lanterns. The vast grounds of the estate were illuminated to the very last corner.
Is this to stop me from escaping?
Mia placed her ear against the door leading to the hallway; she could sense someone standing just outside. Even if she managed to take down the person at the door, there was no way she could fight off all the guards and make it out alive.
I have no choice but to escape during the journey to the capital.
Mia made up her mind and boarded the carriage the next morning. Unfortunately, however, the carriage was surrounded by mounted guards who were escorting the earl.
To make matters worse, Ines was also accompanying them to the capital; this was highly unusual for a new employee.
The earl chattered away cheerfully inside the carriage. “Where was it you were from again, Ines?”
“Near the western edge of the kingdom, close to the Subartu forest. My ancestors were part of a pioneer settlement there.”
“I see.”
Mia’s heart pounded. She’d claimed to have been born and raised in the capital, but this conversation had just exposed her as a liar, not only regarding her name but also where she grew up. She maintained a calm facade as turmoil mounted inside her.
After a weeklong journey, they finally reached the capital and checked into a fancy hotel. But the earl expressed his intention to head out again without even taking a moment to relax. Just as they were about to leave, Mia noticed Ines was nowhere to be seen.
“My lord, Ines isn’t here.”
“Oh, she went on ahead of us. We’ll be heading to the same place shortly.”
“All right.”
Ines left ahead of her master? That’s strange. Something’s definitely going on.
Alarm bells rang in her head, but now wasn’t the time to run. She couldn’t bring herself to abandon Ines.
They boarded another carriage and arrived at a warehouse district. The earl opened the door to one of the buildings and stepped inside. Mia cautiously followed, but as soon as she entered the building, a bag came down over her head, and something struck her on the back of her skull.