Chapter 1

“So. What’s the situation with the Kreutz family?”

The room was so quiet that even the sound of breathing felt dangerous. A man with a tense expression swallowed dryly before reporting to his superior.

“The spy we sent six years ago is still undercover, but due to their brutal security, he hasn’t even managed to get a proper look at the Duke.”

“Then make him lower his guard.”

“How exactly...?”

“Send someone no one would ever suspect of being a spy.”

A confident, low voice cut him off.

“With that one, they won’t suspect a thing.”

A thick, wrinkled finger pointed somewhere.

The unpleasant-looking man, squat like a toad, rested his chin on his hand as he gestured lazily.

“Come here, Aisha.”

At his command, a pair of small legs in neat little shoes stepped out from the shadows.

“Your Grace, Duke Pose.”

The one who emerged was none other than a five-year-old girl.

As the child tilted her head up to look at the much taller Duke Pose, the attendant hurriedly masked his expression.

“...What could a child like that possibly accomplish?”

“Why? Are you worried?”

“...She’s only five...? Spy missions are usually assigned to children no younger than twelve.”

“Haha! Exactly!”

Duke Pose smirked and greedily stroked his chin.

“That’s why we’re sending a five-year-old. There’s no way they’d ever imagine a brat like this is a spy.”

But that also means the chances of failure—and her death—are high.

The attendant swallowed the thought along with his breath.

At present, the Kingdom of Doctia’s greatest interest was absorbing the Frozen Kingdom.

However, they didn’t even dare consider invading it.

Because of the monsters.

The creatures beyond the northern frontier, known as “the end of the world.”

The only reason humanity still stood was because the Kreutz ducal house of the Frozen Kingdom guarded that place like a pillar.

With the inherited power of ice passed down through generations, they had erected an impenetrable wall.

But our Pose family has finally achieved it.

A power even stronger than ice.

Which meant they no longer needed to watch the Frozen Kingdom’s reactions.

We’ll begin by slowly bringing down the Kreutz family.

Greed gleamed in Duke Pose’s eyes as he reviewed his plan.

While the Kreutz family protected the kingdom from monsters, Duke Pose had devoted himself to raising countless spies for this very moment.

This—

was the result.

“Aisha. Listen carefully.”

Aisha was an A-class among the five-year-old children trained as spies.

Because she was the most obedient.

If she were to infiltrate the Kreutz family and get caught?

There would be no risk of exposing her backers. The child would take her own life without hesitation.

“Aisha. Your first mission. Become the missing daughter of Duke Calypse Kreutz.”

His greedy gaze seemed as though it might burn her alive.

“The Duke who protects the kingdom couldn’t even protect his own children. That is his weakness. You will exploit it. You will become the daughter he cherishes more than anything. And then—”

Crash—

The whiskey glass in his hand shattered.

“When the time comes, I’ll give you further instructions. You are to bring Duke Kreutz to that place. Understood?”

Sharp shards of glass scattered as if they might pierce the girl’s shoes, but Aisha didn’t flinch.

“Yes, I understand.”

“Good.”

The Duke gave one final command.

“Now show me a smile that anyone would find adorable.”

At those words, the child—expressionless until now—began to smile.

A bright, harmless grin spread across her face.

Soft, pale cheeks like kneaded dough, made even rounder by the smile.

Eyes the color of the sea, shining between gently curved lids.

Hair tied neatly on both sides, designed to sway charmingly with even the slightest movement.

“Yes, Your Grace!”

“Good. Smile exactly like that in front of Duke Kreutz. Like an innocent child!”

“Yes!”

As Aisha’s previously blank face transformed in an instant into that of an ordinary five-year-old, her cheerful grin filled the office.

Duke Pose let out a grotesquely satisfied laugh.

“As expected, raising them as spies from such a young age pays off!”

“Thank you.”

And so, the five-year-old girl sent by the Pose family would soon become °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the spy who would shake the Kreutz household.

***

“They say youth is meant to suffer.”

Living as the perfect example of an overworked office employee in Korea—working overtime as if it were routine—I eventually fell ill from exhaustion and died.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in the body of a child.

Plump little hands like maple leaves.

Eyes as blue as sapphires—something you’d never see in Korea.

As a reader of fantasy romance novels, I immediately realized what had happened.

Reincarnation.

And not just that—a ridiculously cute child. At this rate, shouldn’t the original story be a childcare story?

A rich, handsome father. Rich, handsome older brothers. And eventually, even a rich, handsome male lead who only seems pitiful at first.

“...So this is my reward for working myself to death...!”

I widened my round eyes, bracing myself to meet all these handsome men—

For about five seconds.

Then I realized my fate.

People who work... keep working forever.

“A spy must maintain a poker face, even if someone throws trash at you.”

“Yes.”

“I will now throw trash. Maintain your composure.”

“...What?”

Why couldn’t I have woken up in an orphanage instead?

A saint. A knight. A maid. An orphan. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Out of all those roles, why did I have to become a spy?!

“You failed to control your expression. In a real situation, you would have already been exposed. What should you do in that case?”

“...End my life before I’m discovered.”

“Correct.”

Not only that—but a spy forced to train every single day, as relentlessly as overtime, and prepared to die at any moment...!

It had been three years since I was reborn as Aisha.

Instead of rolling around like a baby panda, I was subjected to intense training in this tiny body.

And finally—the day of my first mission.

“Aisha. Your first mission. Become the missing daughter of Duke Calypse Kreutz.”

“...Kreutz?”

The moment the name “Kreutz” left Duke Pose’s mouth, I realized it.

My terrible fate was repeating itself.

I had a bad feeling when I heard the name Aisha... I didn’t think it would actually be true.

I had been reincarnated into a growth-focused fantasy novel with zero romance.

Its title:

The Sword of Judgment.

A world where the Kingdom of Doctia and the Frozen Kingdom, both wielders of supernatural powers, stood in opposition.

The story followed a male protagonist—an illegitimate son of the Pose family—who endured persecution and trials, grew stronger, and ultimately united the two kingdoms.

But the male lead didn’t matter right now.

Because I was an extra who dies before he even appears.

More precisely—

A spy who pretends to be the fake daughter of the main antagonist, Duke Kreutz, gets exposed, cast out, and killed.

If in my previous life I died from overwork?

In this one, I was destined to die while pretending to be the daughter of Duke Calypse Kreutz.

Why is the difficulty level of my life increasing?!

Duke Calypse Kreutz.

The antagonist who stands against the male lead.

If I had to describe him—he’s the kind of villain who isn’t the protagonist, but is insanely popular anyway.

Head of the Kreutz family, responsible for the Frozen Kingdom’s security.

The kingdom’s pillar. A massive wall. An unbreakable shield.

Every grand title imaginable belonged to him.

But that strength cracked when he lost his wife and three children.

During the five-year war, his children disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

The Duchess as well—gone without a trace.

In the end, Calypse protected the kingdom, but failed to protect his own family.

He searched desperately for his missing children but failed, and to hide the expression of a man slowly breaking apart, he began wearing a black mask.

His heart twisted.

He stopped protecting the kingdom—and began protecting only the Kreutz family.

And that made him the greatest obstacle to the male lead’s dream of unification.

And I—

had to enter the home of a man like that and pretend to be his daughter.

And now—

“So you’re claiming to be Duke Kreutz’s lost daughter?”

After being forced into a carriage, I arrived at the gates of the Kreutz estate.

Duke Pose had tossed me some shabby clothes and a few emergency potions before leaving.

And among those emergency items—

was an essential tool for any spy.

A vial of poison for suicide.