They both tightened their grip on the box and thus began the most dignified tug-of-war in servant history.

Agatha pulled but Mikael pulled back.

The box slid between them a few inches then stopped.

Agatha leaned her weight backward, Mikael adjusted his footing as the package creaked ominously.

Both of them froze as they stared at the box.

Then slowly loosened their pull just enough to prevent whatever fragile—and extremely suspicious—contents were inside from breaking.

They resumed pulling.

"Let go," Agatha hissed.

"Ladies first," Mikael replied pleasantly. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

She yanked harder.

He didn’t move.

Instead he leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"You do realize," he said, "that a mysterious drone delivering a package directly to My Lady’s balcony is a little suspicious."

Agatha’s expression did not change.

"I have no idea what you’re talking about."

He gently tugged the box toward himself.

She jerked it back immediately.

"Really?" Mikael continued. "Because from where I’m standing, it looks very much like you were trying to intercept this delivery."

"I’m protecting the Lady’s belongings."

"From whom?"

"You."

He smiled. "That hurts, Agatha."

She kicked his shin.

He hopped back slightly but still refused to release the box.

The package wobbled again, both of them freezing.

Agatha inhaled slowly. "Listen carefully," she said through clenched teeth. "Give. Me. The. Box."

Mikael tilted his head. "Why?"

"Because the Lady ordered it."

Mikael paused. For a moment, he seemed to consider that then he suddenly lifted both hands.

"Okay, fine."

He released the box but Agatha didn’t relax.

Not even slightly.

Because Mikael saying ’okay fine’ was about as trustworthy as a fox guarding a chicken coop.

And sure enough, his other hand moved.

A small, thin blade flashed between his fingers like it had been waiting there the entire time.

Shhk.

The blade sliced across the box in one clean motion.

Agatha’s eyes widened when the cardboard ripped open instantly.

The contents spilled out, fabrics tumbling onto the floor.

Silk, lace, ribbons, suspiciously delicate sleeves, another ribbon. All in dark bold colors.

"..."

"..."

Agatha and Mikael are now staring at the floor which was now covered in...

Women’s clothing.

Lots of it.

Blouses. Dresses. Underlayers. And one very frilly piece that neither of them acknowledged out loud.

Agatha slowly looked up then she smiled sweetly and dangerously. "Oh?" she said in the gentlest voice possible.

Mikael’s smile twitched.

"Now what do you want to see again, Mikael?" Agatha asked, clasping her hands behind her back.

Her tone was sugary but her eyes were shooting knives at him. "Should I report this to the Master?"

Mikael did not move.

Agatha took one slow step forward. "What do you think would happen to you, hmmm?"

Her smile widened. "For opening a package containing the Lady’s private belongings?"

"..."

For the first time since he entered the room...

Mikael’s perfectly calm smile cracked.

His eyes flicked down to the pile of clothing then back to Agatha and just like that, his composure snapped back into place.

"Oh look!" Mikael suddenly said brightly as he bent down beside the sofa. "The Master’s belonging was here all along!"

He reached underneath the sofa and pulled something out.

A small metallic glint appeared in his hand.

A men’s brooch.

Agatha stared at the item for a while then her eye twitched.

’Reasons.’

There were only two possibilities.

Either:

She had somehow missed it while cleaning earlier.

Which was impossible.

Or—

Mikael had planted it there.

Which was absolutely something he would do.

She was ninety-nine percent certain it was the second option... Possibly one hundred percent.

Mikael dusted the brooch lightly against his sleeve like he had just rescued it from a tragic cleaning oversight. "Well," he said cheerfully. "Mission accomplished."

Agatha’s glare could have melted steel but Mikael ignored her.

"I’ll be taking my leave now." He walked towards the door then glanced back at her and smiled. "Have a lovely day, Agatha."

He stepped out and closed the door behind him.

Click.

The room finally fell quiet.

Agatha stood there for a moment then she slowly exhaled. "...That bastard."

She rubbed her temples. ’The master must have sent Mikael.’

If there was anyone capable of snooping around without looking suspicious, it was Mikael.

Which meant one thing, master had been curious about the Lady’s deliveries.

Agatha finally let out a sigh. Master must have been the one who sent Mikael here to investigate what the Lady’s package was.

Agatha crouched down and quickly gathered the scattered clothes, stuffing them back into the ruined box.

She had just finished tying the torn cardboard shut when—

BZZZZZZ.

Agatha froze.

A familiar mechanical hum echoed outside the balcony again.

Her eye twitched. "...You have got to be kidding me."

The drone beeped as the compartment opened beneath it, dropping a box neatly onto the balcony floor.

Then, without ceremony, the drone zipped away into the sky like it wanted absolutely nothing to do with whatever chaos was happening in this household.

Agatha stared at the package then she let out a long, exhausted sigh. "...Of course."

She walked out onto the balcony and picked up the box. She already knew what it was before opening it but still, she carefully peeled back the lid just enough to peek inside.

Ten energy stones glowed softly within the protective foam.

Agatha closed the lid again as another sigh escaped her. Honestly, the Lady should have warned her first.

She had just spent the last several minutes fighting that insufferable snake of a man, dodging kicks, saving furniture, and defending a decoy package like her life depended on it—

Only to discover the real package hadn’t even arrived yet.

Agatha pinched the bridge of her nose. "That cute, grumpy, chubby cat..."

Still, she had to admit, the Lady was clever ordering a decoy first. If Mikael had opened the real package earlier, the situation would have been far worse.

Instead, he walked away thinking he had exposed something embarrassing rather than suspicious.

Now came the real problem.

Leaving it here would be foolish. If Mikael returned, or worse, if the Master suddenly decided to come here again, the stones would be discovered instantly.

No, that wouldn’t do.

Agatha lifted the box and quietly left the Lady’s room, closing the door behind her before scanning the hallway to see that no one was roaming around.

She then walked calmly towards her quarter like nothing unusual was happening.

Anyone who passed her would simply assume she was carrying cleaning supplies.

Once inside her own room, she locked the door.

Then she placed the box on the table and looked up at the ceiling.

There was a small, nearly invisible seam between two wooden panels.

She dragged a chair beneath it, climbed up, and pushed the panel aside.

Click.

A hidden space opened above the ceiling beams.

Agatha carefully lifted the box and slid it inside the hollow space. She pushed the panel back into place and stepped down from the chair then dusted off her hands.

"There."

Much better.

The energy stones would stay here for now.

Far away from curious master, nosy butler, and especially far away from Mikael’s irritating smile.

She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.

"I’ll return them to the Lady later," she murmured.

Once the coast was clear, preferably when Mikael was on the other side of the estate.

Or unconscious.

Either option would be acceptable.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Once we were done eating, Soren carried me upstairs like I was a very fluffy trophy he had just won at a festival.

I had long since accepted my fate.

Walking was apparently not an option when Soren was around.

The moment we entered his room, he put me down as he walked straight toward his walk-in closet

"I didn’t manage to give you the mechanical arm I made yesterday," he said, sounding mildly annoyed with himself. "because I was immediately summoned to the imperial palace."

He gestured toward the bed. "But I’ll be giving it toda—"

He stopped then looked back again, his eyes landing on the mattress, where the mechanical arm should have been.

Soren slowly turned his head, settling his gaze directly towards me. "...I’m guessing you took it already?"

I blinked innocently. "Nyang?"

Translation: Yes...?

The tone of my voice clearly said ’please don’t ask further questions.’

He stared at me for a moment then he walked over and gently placed me on the bed.

"So," he said, crossing his arms slightly, "did you use it?"

Uh oh.

"Where did you test it?"

"Can I see your work?"

"Did you have energy stones to work on?"

My brain immediately went into emergency excuse generation mode as warning alarms started blaring in my head. I quickly opened my OmniSync and began typing.

The message appeared on the holographic screen.

"I was excited to try it on, so I sneaked in here yesterday.

But I didn’t manage to test it yet.

I only wore it to check if the fingers and tools were working."

Every single word I wrote were premium quality lies

Soren read the message slowly then looked at me again although he didn’t say anything, which was far worse.

Like a confused little leopard who definitely had not been sneaking around doing suspicious activities.

Inside my head, however, my brain was already crashing.

Critical error!

System overheating!

Lies.exe has stopped working.