Chapter 994

Huh?

After hurrying back to the first floor, the female manager stared at the slender woman pacing outside the duty room, her face filled with hesitation, and asked curiously:

“Miss Lela? Aren’t you supposed to be helping out at Doug’s Restaurant? Why are you back so early?”

“I… I’m sorry…”

Hearing the question behind her, the woman—around twenty-six or twenty-seven, dressed in an old velvet dress—stiffened slightly, then turned around, her face flushed with embarrassment:

“I just… got fired by that boss over there…”

“…”

Fired again?

The female manager blinked in surprise, then sighed helplessly:

“Miss Lela, if I remember correctly, this is already your third firing this week, isn’t it?”

“I’m sorry… but I really didn’t mean to…”

Facing the kind woman who had helped her secure three jobs—only for her to mess up all three—the slender woman, covered in coffee stains, lowered her head in shame and explained:

“This morning, when I was stewing beet soup, I ran out of sour cream, so I went to the storage room to get another jar. But as soon as I turned the doorknob, I saw the head chef and Jenny… the restaurant’s waitress… they were… they were…”

“…Doing that?”

“Mm…”

“…”

“Then… I lost my job…”

Amid the manager’s odd expression, the pretty-faced woman clutched her burned arm and spoke bitterly:

“I was shocked, and immediately swore I hadn’t seen anything and wouldn’t say a word. But this afternoon, when Jenny was serving coffee to customers, she accidentally bumped into me. [20] I tried to steady her, but the entire pot of freshly boiled coffee spilled straight onto the guests’ heads. The head chef stormed out of the kitchen and yelled at me, saying I’d always been clumsy in the back, that food always went missing when it passed through my hands—so Doug fired me…”

I just gave a little help, but a full pot of freshly brewed hot coffee spilled right onto the guests’ heads, then the head chef stormed out of the kitchen and yelled at me, saying I… saying I’m clumsy back there, that food always goes missing after it passes through my hands, so Boss Doug sent me packing…」

“Then you—”

“I was framed…”

The slender woman, eyes red, pleaded:

“I truly valued that job. For the past two days, I worked over ten hours daily—did twice the work of others—and never stole ingredients. I only took leftover meals from customers, which had always been permitted. [25] But the head chef framed me, and no one dared speak up for me. He’s punishing me for stumbling upon him and Jenny. I didn’t steal anything—I swear it! Please believe me!”

But… but the head chef came out and framed me, and no one dared speak up for me—he… he’s just retaliating because I caught him with Jenny! I didn’t steal anything, please believe me!’

“Lela, don’t panic…”

Seeing the nearly broken woman, the manager gently comforted her, then sighed helplessly:

“I know what kind of person you are—that’s why I kept helping you find jobs. But… how do you keep running into these things?”

Recalling Lela’s misfortunes over the past two weeks, the manager gave her a strange look:

“Your last job, cooking for the construction crew—you were doing fine until you used a scrap of paper to prop up the soup pot… and it turned out to be the foreman’s falsified cost estimates. [31] Before that, you worked as a hotel attendant: you slipped while cleaning a room, accidentally barged into the next suite, and caught the owner bribing a city councilor. Now this—again, you stumbled upon the chef and waitress… Is this… just too much of a coincidence?”

Then you, as the inn’s attendant, slipped while cleaning a room and accidentally bumped into the next private chamber, just happening to see the boss bribing a city councilor—and now you’ve stumbled upon the head chef and the waitress doing that again… isn’t this… just a little too convenient?’

“I… I don’t know why…”

The slender woman wiped her tears:

“Since childhood, I’ve always been unlucky. I keep stumbling upon things people don’t want found: at home, I saw my stepmother and the neighbor having an affair; at school, I saw the principal taking bribes; even as a maid at Lane Manor, I still ran into… [35] In short… I never meant to. I never dared expose anyone. Even when bullied and kicked out, I never spoke up. I just want a job—to support myself and my brother. But why… why does it always… Wu … Why is it so hard to just live?”

I… I swear I never meant any of it! I never dared expose anyone, and even when bullied and kicked out, I never spoke up. I just wanted a job, to support myself and my brother—but why… why does it always… Wu … why is it so hard to just live properly!’

“Sigh…”

Watching the slender woman recount her string of misfortunes until she finally broke down sobbing, the manager felt both amused and heartbroken.

“Cry. It’ll make you feel better.”

Taking out her handkerchief, she approached Lela, tended to her burned arm, then gently patted her back, soothing her:

“This isn’t your fault. Don’t rush. I’ll think of another way to help you find work… Don’t worry. No one stays this unlucky forever.”

…

No. She would likely remain this “unlucky” forever.

Standing on the second-floor staircase, having heard every word exchanged between the manager and “Miss Lela,” Li Ang stared at the inspection form in his hand and fell into deep thought.

【Name: Lela Roberts】

【Crime: Espionage, Leakage of Kingdom Secrets】

【Punishment: Arrest, interrogation, then secret execution by hanging】

【File: Suspected elite foreign spy. Since six years ago, this individual has repeatedly appeared at key events, resulting in the loss of numerous classified documents and evidence. [48] After investigating 29 locations, reviewing 571 personnel lists, and conducting a 19-month surveillance, the Secret Investigation Bureau finally identified this deeply hidden spy. Secret documents and evidence were recovered from her apartment, listed below: [49] The secretly signed “Confidential Price Control Document for Supplementary Grain” with the Oleson Kingdom, neatly folded and placed beneath a wobbly dining table; [50] A fragment of the “Seventeen-Point Joint Defense Agreement” signed with the Black Forest Duchy’s secret envoy, cut and disguised as a book cover, text facing inward, wrapped around a copy of “Children’s Picture Stories”; [51] The ceremonial porcelain vase gifted between the former Duke of Lane and the Kuko family to seal their secret alliance against the Crown—now chipped and cracked, with a bunch of slightly wilted wild lilies stuck in it, placed on the apartment windowsill…】

After investigating 29 locations, reviewing a total of 571 personnel entry-exit lists, and conducting a 19-month-long surveillance, the Secret Investigation Bureau finally pinpointed this deeply hidden spy, and found a small portion of the missing classified documents and evidence in her apartment; the specific list is as follows:

The secretly signed document, “Confidential Price Control Agreement for Supplementary Grain” with the Kingdom of Oleson, was neatly folded and placed beneath a wobbly table leg;

The fragmented remnants of the “Seventeen-Point Mutual Defense Agreement” signed with the secret envoy of the Duchy of Hessen, after being cut and disguised as a book cover, with the agreement text facing inward, were fitted over the outside of a book titled “Children’s Picture Stories”;

The ceremonial porcelain vase, once exchanged in secret between the former Duke of Lane and the Kuco family as part of their alliance to oppose the royal house, now chipped and broken, with a bunch of slightly withered wild lilies stuck in it, sat on the apartment’s windowsill…

【Objection: This file was reviewed by Acting Bureau Chief Isa Hill, who questioned the espionage charge. Classified as suspected “Special Case #3” and forwarded to the Police Department’s Cleanup Bureau for re-evaluation.】

【Cleanup Bureau Review Opinion: …】

“…”

My review opinion: The policewoman was right—this woman does carry an anomaly.

Looking at the long list of classified documents and evidence in the file—and their strangely mundane handling—Li Ang’s face mirrored the manager’s odd expression.

Such coincidences are implausible. This Miss Lela must possess an anomaly that causes her to stumble upon secrets—the more something is meant to be hidden, the more likely she is to uncover it.

As for the stolen secret documents…

If I’m not mistaken, she’s likely impoverished, like me, and has developed a habit of reusing waste. Combined with possible illiteracy or limited reading ability, she collected all these deadly items without realizing their value.

For instance, that Lane family ceremonial vase—perhaps another servant broke it and secretly discarded it. She found it, took it home, and used it as a flower vase…

【Confirmed as Anomaly Bearer】

Spreading the inspection form on the staircase railing, Li Ang scribbled his preliminary judgment with charcoal, then frowned in thought.

This Miss Lela does carry an anomaly—she fully meets the Bureau’s recruitment criteria. But the question is: is someone like her suitable for the job of a Cleanup Agent?