So she gave a direct hint. Emily Seton, the mother of Joy’s friend, was right behind her. She had married the only son of ‘Seton Bank’ and had a son Kevin who was the same age as Joy. Thinking of her nephew’s future, it wouldn’t be bad to build friendship with that family.

“Oh my, Emily!”

“Hello, Catherine.”

“I’m so happy to meet you here. Did you come shopping?”

Sometimes spy training was helpful in daily life too. Nothing required as much concentration as being alert and carefully observing surroundings. Dahlia smiled slightly at the employee who brought new shoes.

“Sister is meeting someone she knows for a moment. She’ll be back soon.”

From what she could hear, they seemed to be finishing up talking about Brighton’s birthday present.

“Then see you again tomorrow, Emily.”

“Take care, Catherine.”

When Catherine returned, the employee took out shoes with bead decorations and put them on her. From Catherine’s back as she looked in the mirror, a different satisfaction than before could be felt.

“It’s still amazing when I think about it. How on earth did you see her, Lia?”

“I saw her by chance.”

“But it’s still amazing. It wasn’t even that close a distance.”

Dahlia just smiled brightly without saying anything. Just so Catherine could think she had a sister who was suspiciously good at spotting people she knew, it was an innocently bright smile without room for doubt.

“Hmm. I’ll take these shoes.”

“Yes. I’ll calculate and send them to your home.”

Dahlia watched her sister moving away to the cashier and thought. For her, who had received countless such training, it was natural. Sister probably would never know for her entire life.

⁕⁕⁕

Mister Bent welcomed Dahlia as she came out of the department store. He tried to carry Dahlia’s small handbag for her, but she shook her head.

“I’m going to have dinner at my sister’s place. While shopping, I also bought toys for the kids.”

Bent saw shopping bags with the department store logo being loaded into Catherine’s carriage. Shoes and gloves were delivered to their respective homes, but she did that because the children would want the toys right away.

“Ah, then……”

“Honey came back from a business trip, so he must be tired. Tell him not to worry and rest comfortably.”

There was no need for James to go to Catherine’s house and have dinner too. He would actually be tired from the business trip, but there was another more important reason. Dahlia needed time without Bent. She wanted time to breathe, even if just briefly.

Like husbands who make emergency funds. There was no way someone as thorough as James would leave her alone. Married life with James was definitely affluent without lacking anything. However, as the price for living with someone she loved for life, she had to live under his surveillance.

“Yes. I will tell the master that.”

“Thank you.”

Catherine smiled brightly at Bent. He was the coachman James had assigned when Dahlia got married, but somehow he was subtly annoying. It felt like he was protecting her sister excessively. James too, he watched and wrapped around Dahlia too much. Although Dahlia was much younger than James, there was no one as decisive as her. She wasn’t a three-year-old child, and there should be times when they let her handle things herself.

“It’s been a while.”

“It’s been a while, madam.”

Catherine led Dahlia toward her carriage. Dahlia was slightly flustered but got into the carriage at Catherine’s whisper to get in first. She thought she could eavesdrop on their conversation by opening the window slightly.

“Tell my brother-in-law that Lia will be sent home in our family carriage later, so don’t worry too much.”

“Yes, I’ll tell him that.”

The conversation between the two ended more blandly than expected. Dahlia closed the window so no more cold wind could enter. Catherine, who got into the carriage, spread out a large shawl and wrapped it around her sister. She took care of and cherished Dahlia. Even more than her own sister.

Dahlia was a ‘Corellin’ before she was a ‘Luperton.’

And she was a ‘Falls’ before she was a ‘Corellin.’

“The kids are waiting for you so much. They keep asking when Aunt Lia is coming again.”

“It’s because the kids are sweet. I don’t even treat them that well.”

“Writing handwritten letters every birthday and making cakes isn’t ordinary work? Where else in the world would you find such an aunt?”

From the moment they first met, Catherine devoted herself to a strange girl who wasn’t even blood-related. The Corellin couple was the same. They gave her the new name ‘Dahlia’ and dressed her in expensive clothes. They put effort into education no less than their own children and even had a new family portrait painted with Dahlia in it. What Dahlia now did for her sister’s kids couldn’t compare. Their affection was far more magnificent and abundant than her own.

But Dahlia had never considered them ‘real family.’ A spy shouldn’t have people precious to them. She shouldn’t have family, of course, nor friends she could open her heart to. Due to that irresistible rule, she had lived keeping distance from the Corellin family and surrounding people without giving them affection. But now that she had quit being a spy, she only felt sorry for her past mindset. Because of that guilt, it had become a contradictory relationship where she tried harder to treat them better.

“Is brother-in-law still busy these days?”

“He seems frantic from the promotion. But we should be able to have dinner together.”

Why treat a sister so well when you don’t know what she’s thinking inside? Dahlia pulled back the curtain to soothe her frustrated feelings. The scenery outside was dimly visible through the streetlight illumination. Between the people and carriages busily coming and going, Dahlia’s face reflected in the glass window. Her hardened face was clearly visible.

Just as Dahlia was trying to force a faint smile, she saw someone familiar. Like at the department store, it wasn’t someone she simply knew by face.

Chloe.

“I’m sorry, madam. The road is blocked, so we’ll have to go slowly.”

“That’s fine.”

The carriage stopped on the congested road. Thanks to that, she could see Chloe better. Her former workplace colleague looked healthy, fortunately. She heard she had returned to work last year, but was she okay now? Dahlia, who had been pressed against the window looking at Chloe, suddenly frowned. Memories of that day she wanted to erase forever from her mind came up on their own.

“Red! Get it together! We need to get out of here right now.”

“Cece, why are you here……”

Chloe lifted up Dahlia, who had collapsed in the middle of the square. A bomb had exploded during the operation. Why had things turned out this way? Why was Chloe, who wasn’t even field personnel, here? The confusion she felt that day was also revived intact.

“Can you get up?”

With Chloe’s support, Dahlia tried to get up, but her legs had no strength. Looking down, blood was flowing from her left leg. It seemed she was hurt by shrapnel. Looking around, everything was a mess from the explosion.

Boom boom boom.

Not long after, there was a second explosion. Her ears hurt as if they would tear. The sound of Chloe collapsing beside her was more terrible than people’s screams. Even now, when she recalled that time, she could smell blood.

“No.”

Dahlia covered her head with both hands. Then she collapsed from the chair to the carriage floor. Instantly, her head became dizzy and she felt nauseous. The carriage began to pick up speed again.

“Lia, are you okay? What’s wrong? Lia!”

She couldn’t answer. She couldn’t say anything. Her breathing became rapid. Catherine held her sister, who was gasping and couldn’t breathe properly, supporting her well. Then she brought a paper bag to her mouth and nose. She had prepared it because of the children’s motion sickness, but she didn’t know it would be used like this.

“Lia, breathe. Slowly, Lia.”

“Huh…… ugh.”

“Slowly. Slowly.”

Dahlia, who had been in pain, gradually began to breathe steadily. The bag moved rhythmically, and her breathing sounded calm. Catherine brushed back Dahlia’s disheveled hair as she checked her complexion.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m okay…… I suddenly had a headache.”

Dahlia slowly got up, gripping the chair. Even though the carriage had picked up speed, she could stand well enough if she kept her balance. Her breathing had barely returned to stability, but the headache still remained slightly. Catherine opened the window a little.

“How severely did it hurt for this to happen? Should I call Doctor Jones?”

Dahlia closed her eyes tightly and raised her hand. It meant she was declining, saying it wasn’t necessary.

“No. I’m really okay, sister. Don’t do that.”

“Lia.”

“The kids and brother-in-law will worry. And it’s my body. I know it well.”

It wasn’t something to make a fuss about enough to call the family doctor. Even if she called him, there was nothing he could do. She couldn’t reveal in front of them that just thinking about that past incident made her physical condition this bad. Dahlia tried to think of other things quickly. At times like this, she recalled when she first went to spend summer at the seaside villa with her siblings.

Her brothers playing ball in the blue sea and her sister building a large sandcastle on the sandy beach. The waves crashing loudly were scary and she worried about sand getting on her pure white dress. Still, the sea breeze passing coolly through her hair felt good.

“I should just eat dinner and go right back.”

“It can’t be helped. If you’re still sick tomorrow, tell me right away. I’ll come to nurse you.”

The carriage entered ‘Downtown Robenty.’ Soon, the mansion with the sky blue roof would be visible. Dahlia quietly leaned her head against the window. She needed to pull herself together, even briefly, to play well with the little ones she would meet soon.

⁕⁕⁕