Mystic - EN version

Chapter 17 : Spy

Catherine walked quickly through the dark corridors of the Duke's mansion. He had woken her in the middle of the night to talk to her about something important. She was now following him, hurrying so as not to lose sight of him at the first crossroads.

They passed doors from which bursts of laughter and the sound of breaking glass could be heard. By now, all Duke Arthur's guests had returned to their suites to drink hard liquor and sometimes do other, more intimate things.

But that wasn't the point at the moment. Catherine suspected that the Duke had not woken her to tell her about the debaucheries of his guests, but rather about the young amnesiac maid he had left with his sister who had created a storm in his office. Clave. Moreover, Catherine still didn't know what her master had seen on the servant's shoulder.

The maid no longer understood anything. And even if she had, there wasn't much she could have done, in any way, shape or form. She was just a little maid with no power, no magic.

Duke Arthur stopped in front of his old office, which he had left after the golden storm, not because it had been damaged, which it hadn't, but because there was a great concentration of royal magical energy here, interfering with his own.

– Okay, not here, he murmured.

He continued on his way, the little ginger maid not far behind.

She and the princess seemed close. Close enough for what I want to do with her. She'll finally be good for something! She's very discreet, she'll be perfect for this mission,' Arthur reflected.

This time, he stopped in front of a small, smoky boudoir, far enough away from the guests' rooms for them to be able to relax. Arthur let the maid pass and locked the door behind him.

– What did you want to talk to me about, Sir Arthur? asked Catherine, worried, even though she tried not to let it show.

– Surely you remember that maid who created a storm in my old office?

Catherine hesitated for a moment before nodding gently.

– Very well, then. I'm not going to beat around the bush, I want you to spy on her for me.

The ginger did her best to hide her surprise and let her master continue.

– I've entrusted her to my sister, but I don't want her to spoil her. I need her for a very important project.

Catherine thought for a long time. On the one hand, she was going to see the only friend she really appreciated, but on the other, she was in a way betraying her.

– And what if I refuse?

– Oh, but you have no choice! Unless you never want to see your little brother Thomas again?

The ginger widened her eyes in horror.

– No... No! What have you done to him?

– Nothing yet...

The maid looked as if she wanted to strangle Duke Arthur with her own hands. He sat down quietly on a black leather corner sofa.

– I've built a recording function into a maid's collar. All you have to do to activate it is to tap it three times, he explained. Got it?

Catherine nodded slowly, as tense and upright as a stick.

The Duke rose to leave the room and, on his way out, laid a hand on the maid's shoulder.

– I'm counting on you, Catherine. Think of your brother, I'm sure you'd like to see him alive and in one piece again, he whispered, handing her the famous collar.