Evening.
Nora finished dinner with the shop owner and Sister Sylvie.
As usual, the shop owner went into the study, while Sister Sylvie returned to the bar next door.
Nora cleared the dishes from the table, washed them in the kitchen, tidied up the living room, and did laundry in the bathroom.
After hanging the clothes to dry, Nora ran over to the bar next door to clean again—
even though she had already cleaned it once at noon.
She stayed busy until a little after six in the evening before finally returning to the first floor of Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop to officially start the night shift.
It was exhausting, but Nora enjoyed it. Every day felt full and meaningful.
There were very few customers at night.
Most people preferred to visit the flower shop during the day.
So in the evenings, Nora mostly spent her time reading. Whenever she didn't understand something, she would go upstairs to ask the shop owner.
"A woman's capital is her youthful body and beauty. On top of that, all she needs is a little initiative to easily capture a man's heart."
— The Viscountess's Rise Diary
Nora's face was burning red as she held the book, swaying left and right like a steaming kettle. Whenever she reached some especially bold passages, she couldn't help closing her eyes—
then immediately cracking one eye open to secretly keep reading.
This book had been one of the "good books" specially selected and gifted by the bookstore owner when Ron later went to buy more books.
Ron had flipped through it briefly and found the content to be nothing special—at least compared to the outrageous web novels from his previous world, The Viscountess's Rise Diary was downright tame.
In terms of "spicy content," it was still at a very primitive and innocent stage.
So Ron had put it back on the shelf and paid it no further attention.
Which was how Nora ended up picking it.
As if she had found a supreme secret manual, Nora secretly read this book every day and even took notes from time to time.
This was also the only book about which Nora never asked the shop owner questions.
After all, even if she really did have questions, how could she possibly bring herself to ask?
Was she supposed to ask something like,
"After bathing, if I walk past the study wrapped in a towel and accidentally drop it in front of a man, will that help me get him?"
While Nora was buried in The Viscountess's Rise Diary—which really ought to be called Three Hundred and Sixty-Five Ways to Seduce a Man—the flower shop door opened.
Still in a state of "secretly reading spicy content and terrified of being caught," Nora immediately looked up from behind the counter toward the entrance.
A petite figure wearing a white hood cautiously poked her head inside. A small, pink-cheeked face appeared, carrying a hint of shyness and hesitation. Her lips parted slightly as she spoke in a soft, pitiful voice that tugged at the heart:
"Um… is this Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop?"
"Ah—yes, yes it is!" Nora hurriedly snapped the book shut, stuffed it into the drawer under the counter, and jogged out. "How can I help you?"
"Umm…"
The petite figure stepped into the shop and timidly pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her chest. In a small voice, she asked,
"I saw this nearby… It says you're hiring staff. Is that true?"
"Huh?"
Nora took the paper and only then remembered—it was that notice the shop owner had written ages ago.
The recruitment notice had been posted in a small alley where almost no one ever saw it, so both Nora and Ron had completely forgotten about it.
However, the bar next door had just finished renovations and was indeed short on staff, so Nora didn't immediately refuse. Instead, she said:
"Please sit here for a moment. I'll go ask the shop owner."
The petite girl—only about 1.5 meters tall—obediently nodded and sat down on a chair by the tea table.
Watching Nora head upstairs, a sly glint flashed through the girl's eyes.
Once Nora was completely out of sight, the shy and helpless expression on her face vanished instantly, replaced by curiosity and amusement.
She looked around the flower shop's layout and furnishings, her behavior no longer resembling that of an innocent little girl at all.
Meanwhile, upstairs in the study, Ron had already received a system notification before Nora even came up—
[System: Temporary mission triggered.]
[Temporary Mission] — [Expose the Spy]:
[Objective: A spy sent by Emperor André III is attempting to infiltrate the shop. Expose their identity face-to-face.
Reward: Be grateful for the system's reminder.]
Before Ron could complain too much about that "reward," he heard Nora's footsteps as she hurried upstairs.
"Boss."
Nora knocked and poked her head inside. "Someone's here to apply for a job. Should we hire her?"
So the system really does give real-time updates…
Spies and assassins these days really have it rough. Ron thought to himself. He stood up and, as he spoke, extended his consciousness into the doll downstairs.
"She's downstairs?"
"Yes!"
As Ron asked, he was already seeing the "applicant" through the doll's eyes.
A little girl?
A petite build, wearing patched, low-quality cotton clothes. A hood over her head. A pink little face that wasn't very clean.
She looked exactly like a poor child from the slums.
Hmm. The disguise was actually pretty convincing.
If Ron weren't basically cheating, he really wouldn't have noticed anything wrong.
Judging from the system mission, his father sent a spy to the shop, probably just to keep tabs on him.
If he were being optimistic, maybe there was also an element of secret protection?
Ron shook his head.
His only impression of that so-called cheap dad came from the original owner's memories.
Even when Ron André lived in the palace, he barely saw Emperor André III a few times a month.
Going half a year without seeing him once was entirely normal.
So this spy was more likely here to monitor him.
Probably to probe how deep his connection with the Goddess of Harvest really went.
After weighing it in his mind, Ron followed Nora downstairs.
When the girl heard footsteps, she immediately reverted to her earlier timid, pitiful expression. Her eyes became watery, as if tears might fall at any moment.
But every change was clearly seen by the doll on the tea table.
If Yuna had looked closely, she might have noticed the eerie light deep within the doll's eyes.
"So, you're the one who wants to apply for a job?"
Ron withdrew his consciousness from the doll, plopped down in front of her, and asked.
Yuna seemed startled by Ron's movement. She clasped her hands to her chest like a frightened little animal and slowly nodded.
"…Mm."
Ron mentally gave her acting skills a thumbs-up and continued:
"Name?"
"Yu… Yuna."
"Yo-yo-na?"
"…Yuna."
"Oh~ Age?"
"Fourteen."
Ron didn't believe her at all, but still asked,
"Local to the City of Chaos?"
Yuna shook her head and whispered,
"I'm from Lunsocket County."
That was in the southeastern part of the empire, bordering the City of Chaos.
Where she was from didn't really matter anyway—Ron wasn't going to believe a spy's words regardless.
Everyone was just acting their part. The formalities still had to be observed.
"The flower shop isn't hiring anymore, but the bar next door still needs staff. Are you okay with that?" Ron asked.
"Weekly pay is five silver coins. Cleaning in the morning, business in the afternoon, and evening."
"Yes, yes!"
Yuna nodded repeatedly, looking like she'd take any job at all.
"Alright then. Come upstairs with me to sign the contract," Ron said, cutting straight to the point.