Dorothy slightly opens the wooden door. Through the small gap, she takes a peek inside the kitchen with the hope that there's no one inside. To her despair, her hope is so distant and illogical.
Since the palace owner is about to wake up, how could there be no people working in the palace kitchen?
Ultimately, she opted to wait for a while, until the number of staff in the kitchen is subsidized a bit.
Exactly after ten minutes of patiently waiting, Dorothy thought it was time. Slowly, she opened the door a bit more.
Creak—
The rusted door hinge creaked.
Her movement instantly stopped due to the unexpected sound produced. Once again, Dorothy takes a peek .
She sighed in relief.
The kitchen was too noisy with human activities to notice the creaking sound. For a second time, she pushes the door a bit more. Now, there's enough room for her body to go through.
Dorothy lowered her body close to the ground and started crawling in, a clear unbefitting for a spy like her. The agent advances into the kitchen smoothly.
'Great! Nobody notices me.' Dorothy was exhilarated on the inside. Tables, cabinets and kitchen items prevent them from seeing her figure...or so she thought.
As if a dark cloud blanketed the sky, her surroundings become darker. A woman's voice then called out for her, "Hey you!!"
'Oh, sh*t!' Dorothy trembled in shock with a slight sense of fear in her heart. Despite her uncertainty, she still chooses to slowly turn around and look upward.
A lady that is significantly older is looking down at her with arms akimbo, frowning at her. By observing the expensive red dress she wore and the aura of nobility she exuded, this woman isn't a maid.
Dorothy's face lost all its colour in a matter of seconds upon realizing her identity.
She, as an agent obviously memorizes the face of Princess Reina's personal attendant.
This woman is the maids' second highest in command.
"What are you doing sneaking around like a rat? The woman sternly asked. "I don't think this is how a palace maid should behave."
"I-I uhm..." Dorothy slowly stood up. She however kept eye contact between them as little as possible.
"My goodness, you look like a beggar. If you want extra bread, just take it. Nobody is going to reprimand you."
"Bread?" Her eyes quickly scan the area before spotting a basket of bread near her. "Ah, yes! I'm here for another bread."
Dorothy scratched her cheek and let out a dry laugh. The atmosphere around them becomes so awkward. Inwardly, she's hoping for this woman to leave her alone. And yet, she continues to stare at her.
"I don't think I have ever seen your face before. Are you the newest batch of maids we hired?"
"Yes, Lady uhm..." Dorothy feint her ignorance.
"Lady Matilda. What's your name?" She curiously asked.
Normally, she would not pay attention to a low-rank maid like Dorothy. They're replaceable manpower with low value. This girl however, intrigued her.
Never in her life seen a maid crawling in a kitchen. The scene was too impactful for her to forget.
"D-Dorothy, my lady."
"Dorothy, Dorothy, Dorothy..."
Matilda repeats the maid's name several times to imprint it in her memory. She needs to do this because Dorothy's entire existence is insignificant from her point of view. Her brain tends to forget unimportant people she met.
Meanwhile, Dorothy tries so hard to calm her breathing. Whether giving her name is beneficial for her mission or not, she will evaluate it later. The most important thing right now is to get out of here and safely store the intel. And she had a perfect excuse for that.
"Uhm...I'm sorry, my lady. I had to go now because the head maid is going to assign another job for today."
"Hm?!" Matilda raised her eyebrows. "Ah! You don't have to worry about that actually. The head maid is on sick leave today. So, I am in charge of all of you."
Dorothy responds with a polite smile.
It appears to her that she's going to stick with Matilda for the rest of the day.
....
A few hours later,
"Urgh...I finally succeeded in escaping from her. Did she hang up about me crawling in the kitchen?" Dorothy grumbles.
She escaped from Matilda's clutches the moment lunch break arrived and headed toward her room in the maid's quarters.
The agent was utterly thrown by the multiple tasks Matilda imposed on her. Thanks to Matilda, her body was sore all over the place.
Without any delay, she throws herself onto the bed before stretching her limbs. Like any other normal person, her exhaustion caught up with her and caused her eyelids to become heavier.
Before she completely fell asleep, Dorothy took out papers tied on her thigh.
Looking at the crumbled papers, she sighs once again. "Great! Now I have to rewrite it again."
As she had feared, the writing on the paper was blurred by her sweat. Albeit not to the point of illegibility, she still had to rewrite it neatly before sending them out.
Grabbing the extra papers she secretly brought with her, Dorothy spent the entire lunch break rewriting the intel she gained.
She drops her quill and then reorganizes the papers. The next thing to do is pass this intel to her superior outside.
To do so, she needs to get permission to go out. A maid like her isn't allowed to go in and out of the palace freely for various safety reasons. Unless she becomes a part of the food procurement team.
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
The doorknob was turned. Quickly, she hides the papers under her pillow before laying down in bed.
"Dorothy, are you okay? I noticed you headed directly to the room. You haven't had lunch yet, aren't you?"
Her roommate asked with concern. Her eyes filled with worries. She is even kind enough to bring Dorothy a plate of food to eat.
Dorothy shakes her head weakly. "Thank you. I guess I'm a bit stuffy lately."
Her hand reached for the food on the plate and took a small bite. This circumstance works well for her. "Say, didn't you have to go to the market tomorrow?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Can I go to your place instead? I want to take fresh air outside. Maybe it'll improve my health."
Sure!!" Her roommate smiles brightly. She was such an innocent and pure young girl. Dorothy did not have the heart to deceive her.
Nevertheless, a mission is a mission. An agent who's easily swayed by emotion isn't fit to be one.
"Thanks."
....
Early in the morning,
Dorothy and a few other maids from the procurement team headed towards the market to replenish their depleted stockpile of food.
Once a week, the merchants would expect them to come here. As such, they do their best to provide the highest quality products to the maids, in the hope to build a connection with the palace.
Who knows, they might attract the palace's interest and secure a large order.
After making sure nobody paid attention to her, Dorothy slipped out from the group and disappeared into the crowd. Later, she appears in front of a certain fruit stall.
"How much does this apple cost, old man?" Dorothy asked. Without waiting for his reply, she simply grabbed one and bit it.
"Welcome to my store, miss maid. Although you're a bit rude, I'll let it slide. Today's fruits are fresh as usual. Coming from the most fertile land in the south, planted by the most educated farmer and watered with spring water painstakingly taken from the Maneas mountain range..."
pαndα`noνɐ1~сoМ "Cut the crap, old man." Dorothy cut his words emotionlessly. She then continued chewing the unpaid apple.
"5 Bar."
"What the— What kind of apple is 5 Bar? Did my lifespan extend by consuming this? This is outrageous. Why don't you just stop being a merchant?"
"If you don't have money, you shouldn't think of having it. 5 Bar or anything equal." the old man Dunn was unmoved by her insult.
"I've something worth more than 5 Bar though." Dorothy took out a thick envelope.
"Ohh!! How can you be so sure? I'll give you a lot of fruits if it's really worth it."
"Take a look." She threw the envelope in his direction.
Just like Dorothy, he was stunned by the intel he read. "This..."
"How much is it worth, old man?"
"Take as much fruit as you want. I don't care. By the way, is this everything?"
Dorothy snorts, "Of course not. Do you think it is easy to collect information? I have a limited amount of time to check all the stuff there."
"Then, prioritize this and report it to me." Old man Dunn kept the paper safely in this pocket. "Anything else I need to know?"
"Apparently, I caught the interest of Lady Reina's personal attendant, Matilda. Should I proceed to form a connection with her? I do believe it's a bit early."
Old man Dunn thought for a moment, "I see this as an opportunity since she approached you first. So, you better grab this chance. My advice is to not push for any questions regarding Lady Reina. Let her bring up the topic of conversation on her own."
"I understand."
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