Chapter 31

Knock knock─

Cedric, who was eating a sandwich and handling paperwork in his office, looked up.

The wall clock showed that the hour hand was already at 5 PM.

‘…Then the person knocking now must be Captain Daniel Steiner.’

Around lunchtime, Daniel had requested a meeting, saying he wanted to consult about Northern Operations Support.

Since Cedric was also looking forward to seeing him, he’d asked Daniel to come by at 5 PM. It seemed Daniel had arrived right on time.

“Come in.”

As Cedric gave permission, Daniel opened the door to the office.

Upon seeing the interior of the Deputy of the Operations Staff Office for the first time, Daniel felt an odd sense of intimidation.

There were no unnecessary items in the room—it was bizarrely minimalistic.

No matter where he looked, all he could see were essentials: a coat rack, bookshelves, fountain pens, telephones, desks, endless piles of documents.

Normally, there’d be something like a golf ball or a stamp collection—a small token of personal interest—but nothing of the sort was present here.

All that existed were rows of classified files filling the bookshelves on either side of the walls.

“You’re here.”

A somewhat low but sharp voice.

Seated at the mahogany desk, Cedric glanced at Daniel once before finishing his sandwich.

Seeing this, Daniel walked to the center of the office with some inner tension and saluted.

“I apologize for interrupting your meal. However, I’ve come despite knowing it’s rude because I have urgent matters to discuss.”

Having finished chewing, Cedric took out a napkin, wiped his hands, and looked at Daniel.

His sharp gaze silently demanded an explanation.

“…I don’t want to waste your valuable time, so I’ll get straight to the point. I request that both Lieutenant Lucy and Cadet Prien be withdrawn from Northern support duties.”

From Daniel’s perspective, both of them were uneasy presences he wanted to keep as far away as possible.

But since Cedric couldn’t discern Daniel’s true thoughts, he naturally felt puzzled.

After swallowing the rest of his sandwich, Cedric asked,

“Why?”

If only Daniel could simply say, “Lucy is a spy and Prien is insane,” how easy would this be?

Sighing inwardly, Daniel came up with a plausible excuse.

“My aide-de-camp and Cadet Prien are barely adults. I can’t take young women who still retain their girlhood innocence into dangerous battlefields.”

“But didn’t you personally take Cadet Prien along during her soldier days?”

“That was for national defense operations. Compared to this current mission—deep behind enemy lines—it was relatively low-risk.”

That unexpected response made Cedric blink once.

‘Unexpected.’

Daniel seemed like someone who wouldn’t care about trivial issues if it meant advancing in rank.

Yet seeing him stand up for his subordinates revealed a more human side.

‘Hedgehogs may be prickly, but they love their babies too.’

Protecting one’s subordinates was an important virtue in a commander.

While Daniel was growing on Cedric, this particular request couldn’t be granted.

“I decline. The Empire’s ideology is strict impartiality. Focusing on equality of opportunity, we cannot exclude young women from the battlefield just because of their age—it goes against Imperial principles.”

This much Daniel had anticipated.

“In that case, please at least exempt Cadet Prien from my unit’s deployment. She’s still undergoing training at the Military Academy. I fail to see why I should drag around a mere cadet.”

It was reasonable to argue against including a cadet who hadn’t completed proper training.

However, Cedric saw infinite potential in Prien’s uniqueness.

“Captain Daniel, she isn’t just any cadet. You’ve fought alongside her before; surely you know her magic has a ‘color’ unlike ordinary soldiers.”

Daniel couldn’t deny it. During the assassination attempt on Colonel Jeremy, Prien had imbued bullets with her magic while sitting right next to him.

“Her magic is black—a color that blocks light entirely. Compared to the transparent or faint blue hues of normal magic, it’s an incredibly alien phenomenon. A kind of mutation, you might say.”

Cedric removed his monocle and placed it on the desk.

“Let me digress slightly. Historically, black has been seen as an omen of misfortune—associated with demons. Superstitions like black cats or ravens bringing bad luck stem from this belief.”

Leaning his elbows on the desk, Cedric interlaced his fingers.

“Of course, these are just superstitions. In today’s world, if someone said anything about your dark hair or eyes, they’d be laughed off as crazy, right? Isn’t that true?”

“Yes.”

“But magic is different. Especially when a child born into a priestly family exhibits black magic—they’re bound to face religious condemnation.”

Daniel nodded, understanding what Cedric was implying.

“Cadet Prien wasn’t a voluntary enlistee, was she? There must have been external pressure involved.”

“Good insight. Yes, Cadet Prien was abandoned by her family. They sent her to the military to prove she wasn’t a child of Satan through acts of patriotism. Essentially, they sent her to die fighting enemies.”

“Why are you telling me this suddenly…?”

Cedric pulled out a letter from a drawer.

Prien’s Northern Deployment papers.

“The cadet, trying hard to deny being abandoned by her family, found someone new to rely on. That someone seems to be you.”

“Sir? I’m certainly not someone Cadet Prien should depend on.”

“Is that so? From what I’ve read in the letters, you comforted her quite a bit in the holding cell and didn’t discriminate against her use of black magic during the Northern operation.”

Daniel found this somewhat absurd.

He’d just chatted idly with her in the holding cell out of boredom, and the reason he didn’t react strangely to her black magic was because of his prior game knowledge.

But Cedric didn’t care much about Daniel’s intentions.

“Listen carefully, Captain Daniel Steiner. While black magic may draw religious criticism, it deserves praise in the military due to its strategic value. Do you understand what I mean?”

Black magic, which blocked light, could easily provide cover simply by being dispersed around, making it highly valuable strategically.

In other words, it was an order to develop Cadet Prien into a battlefield asset based on this strategic merit.

‘Why me?’

Daniel wanted to reject it outright, thinking someone else more capable should handle it, but Cedric’s gaze was resolute.

Engaging further might provoke Cedric’s anger unnecessarily.

Ultimately, Daniel reluctantly saluted.

“I will follow your orders, sir.”

Satisfied, Cedric returned the salute.

“Good. Now that we’re done, you may leave.”

As Daniel turned and walked toward the door, Cedric leaned back in his chair and chuckled softly.

“You remind me of the old Chief of Staff. Despite the tension in front of superiors, you still manage to speak your mind fully.”

Cedric knew well that such individuals never bend to power.

It had been a long time since he’d encountered someone worth nurturing like this.

*

At the same time, Prien and Lucy were gathered in Daniel’s private office.

Since it was nearing quitting time, Lucy had come to tidy up some documents.

And Prien? Daniel had told her to wait here after his meeting with the deputy chief to hear the results.

Rustle—

Prien, leaning against the wall, subtly glanced sideways.

Watching Lucy skillfully organize documents at her desk filled Prien with an inexplicable envy.

‘Daniel should have been mine…’

She felt like her rightful place had been taken, leaving her in a sour mood.

Sensing this, Lucy paused her work and looked up.

Their gazes met.

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence ensued until Lucy broke it.

“What deep thoughts are you lost in?”

In a businesslike tone, Prien curtly replied.

“Just wondering why Lieutenant Lucy applied for the position of Daniel’s aide-de-camp.”

“There’s no special reason. If I must give one, it’s for the glory of the Empire.”

That was direct.

Truthfully, she’d taken the job as a cover for espionage, but she obviously couldn’t reveal that.

Though Lucy successfully hid her true intentions, Prien couldn’t help but frown.

For some reason, Lucy felt like she was lying.

It wasn’t intuition as much as a sixth sense.

Not entirely accurate but usually reliable in Prien’s experience.

“I grew up under Father, a priest, so I attended daily worship services. Afterward, those wishing to confess their sins would stay behind to enter the confessional with Father.”

Hearing this unexpected story, Lucy stopped organizing her documents.

“When I was younger, I used to play a game guessing who among the worshippers would go to confession. I was surprisingly accurate. Even if someone prayed devoutly, those hiding sins always carried a shadow on their faces.”

Click.

Lucy closed her file and stared at Prien.

Prien, unfazed, met her gaze.

Tick-tock—

In the heavy silence punctuated only by the ticking of the wall clock, Prien approached Lucy’s desk and rested her hands on it.

“Strangely enough, I can see it.”

Slowly lowering her head, Prien fixed her unemotional eyes on Lucy.

The frozen atmosphere thickened as their gazes locked.

Breaking the ice-like tension, Prien quietly whispered.

“The shadow on your face.”