Chapter 19

At the same time, in the Eldreshia Kingdom.

Office of the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency of the Kingdom.

“…Is it true that the leaders of the anti-war protests have been captured?”

In front of a massive world map hanging on the wall, Colonel Octavian Leopold, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, spoke without bothering to hide his irritated expression.

Tension filled the air as Krispin, Head of Strategic Analysis Department, and Phineas, Head of Operations Execution Department, standing before the director to deliver their report, swallowed hard.

After gauging the director’s mood, Krispin finally managed to speak up.

“Unfortunately, it’s true. They couldn’t withstand the interrogation by the Imperial Military Police and spilled everything.”

Phineas chimed in from beside him.

“Furthermore, the Empire is using this opportunity to label all anti-war advocates as agents of the Allied Nations and is conducting a propaganda campaign.”

This meant that the intelligence department’s plan to spark a popular uprising using the anti-war protests as a catalyst had failed miserably.

Of course, even if they had managed to incite an uprising, it would have been easily suppressed. However, the primary goal was to make the citizens of the Empire view the war and the military negatively.

As negative public opinion began to accumulate, it would become something the royal family of the Empire could no longer ignore.

If that could halt the Empire’s offensive, the Eldreshia Kingdom could buy some time…

Time to rearm their defeated army…

But now, with the leaders captured, everything had come to naught.

Director Octavian sighed deeply, furrowing his brow as he looked at the department heads.

“Who? Who thwarted our plans?”

“…This person.”

Krispin held out a document folder in his left hand and extended it toward the director.

Upon receiving the folder, Octavian frowned as he looked at the photograph located at the top of the document filled with personal details.

“Not this guy again…!”

Black hair, black eyes…

A face that might seem gaunt depending on how you look at it, and wolf-like eyes that appeared ready to pounce on prey at any moment.

[Captain Daniel Steiner, Deputy Operations Staff of the Imperial General Staff Headquarters]

The individual who had uncovered the surprise attack on the Tebaita mountain ridge and assassinated Colonel Jeremy, aide-de-camp to the retreating army commander, had become well-known among the kingdom’s high command.

A dark horse of the Imperial Army selected as a person of interest and placed on the secondary elimination list.

That was none other than Daniel Steiner.

“He keeps interfering with everything! Everything!”

Octavian wanted nothing more than to shoot this guy right between the eyes.

However, for the time being, there was no way to harm Daniel Steiner.

Grinding his teeth, Octavian turned his head to look at Krispin.

“What did the allied nations say about this situation?”

“That… they criticized us, saying that unauthorized intelligence operations have only strengthened the Empire’s unity.”

“Criticized? Did you just say criticized? What a bunch of lunatics!”

When we needed help, we urged them to join the United Nations, but now that they don’t need us anymore, they’re kicking us out? It was absurd.

“The kingdom has faithfully performed its role! The allied nations surely didn’t think we could defeat the Imperial Army either! Our role was to divide the Empire’s strength to the north!”

Octavian threw the document folder he was holding.

“The ones not doing their job properly are those bastards! What exactly are the allied nations doing on the eastern front? They’re just dragging things out like fools, alternating between victories and defeats!”

With Octavian’s shouting, Krispin and Phineas could do nothing but lower their heads silently.

Looking at his subordinates, Octavian let out a low grunt and raised his hand.

Yeah. It wasn’t their fault. After brushing his face, Octavian spoke seriously.

“Damn it. Now there’s only one option left. Unleash the dogs into the Imperial Royal Family.”

At these words, Phineus, Head of Operations Execution Department, broke out in cold sweat and lifted his head.

“But sir! If we execute this operation, the agents we’ve planted within the Empire will be wiped out en masse!”

“It’s only a matter of time anyway. They won’t want to end up like frogs boiling in hot water. So at least let’s break some of the Empire’s teeth, wouldn’t you say?”

A brief silence passed between the two.

Having understood the director’s intent, Phineus bowed solemnly.

“Yes. I’ll inform the agents that the hour of decisive battle has come.”

*

…Is there ever a day when I don’t want to come to work like today?

Just thinking about Lucy, who requests immediate executions without batting an eye, still gives me goosebumps all over my body.

Still, I can’t just skip work, so I trudged my way to the general staff headquarters.

Before entering the operations office, I went into my own office to prepare first—only to find Lucy already there.

Lucy, who had been eating a croissant, immediately stood up straight upon noticing me and saluted crisply.

“Good morning, Captain Daniel Steiner.”

Looking at Lucy, I gave a casual nod.

“…You came early. By the way, that’s a croissant, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Since the one you bought me yesterday was so delicious, I bought a few to give to you too. Please feel free to eat one if you’re hungry.”

“No, I’m fine.”

As I replied and walked over to my desk, I pulled out a chair and sat down.

However, Lucy remained standing, staring at me blankly.

I looked up curiously after placing my briefcase on the desk.

“…What is it?”

“I’m waiting for you to assign me a task.”

“That should be done in the operations office…”

“The Head of the Operations Staff said it’s okay for you to work in your personal office today.”

“…Huh? Why? As I blinked in confusion, Lucy added,

“The Head of the Operations Staff said, ‘Daniel established great merit yesterday again, and since there’s nothing specific for him to do right now, let him relax a bit.'”

Director, please! I’m telling you, it’s not relaxing having this woman here alone with me in the office!

I gritted my teeth and restrained myself from screaming, then nodded.

“Alright. Let’s get to work then.”

I took out a pile of documents from my bag and handed them to Lucy.

“These are the documents we need to review today. Go ahead and take a look.”

“Understood.”

Responding calmly, Lucy approached me and took the stack of documents.

Returning to her seat, Lucy opened the documents and began reviewing them.

Her calm red eyes blinking steadily while reviewing the documents made her the epitome of an exemplary aide-de-camp.

If I hadn’t known Lucy was a spy, I might have showered her with praise.

Even more so, if the aide-de-camp sitting in front of me wasn’t Lucy but an ordinary spy, I might have praised her repeatedly just to get closer to her.

‘But this woman is Lucy Emilia.’

For reasons unknown, Lucy detests traitors intensely.

If I were to approach her with something like ‘Hey, I’m planning to defect; let’s be friends,’ I’d likely end up in a bad state.

…In that sense, she’s completely unsuited for espionage activities, yet why is she here doing this?

Though doubts arose, my plan doesn’t change.

The only way to ensure safety was to drive Lucy out of my office.

‘Then the fastest method now is…’

I needed to inform the higher-ups that Lucy’s work performance was inadequate, ensuring she received an unsuitable evaluation.

Right now, Lucy was reviewing documents.

When I first took on the role of aide-de-camp, just understanding and organizing the military terms mixed regionally was overwhelming.

Surely Lucy would make the same mistake.

‘Let her experience the fear of her superior officer.’

Feel free to expect it, Lucy Emilia. I’ll criticize you enough that you’ll voluntarily decide to quit.

With that thought, I smiled wickedly and read a book until Lucy finished reviewing all the documents.

About four hours later, Lucy brought the stack of documents back and placed them on my desk.

“Review complete, Captain Daniel Steiner.”

Huh? Already? It should have taken around eight hours—this is too fast.

‘So, you’re also just another rookie, huh?’

There’s no doubt she must have missed something in the review.

Preparing to start pointing out flaws, I took the documents and glanced inside.

And I froze in surprise without realizing it.

Lucy’s document review ability was astonishingly perfect.

Not only did she comprehensively check the accuracy of information, feasibility, resource planning, risk management, legal and ethical compliance, but she also scrutinized whether the request forms reflected the opinions of the upper management.

On top of that, she calculated the expected effects of the operation arithmetically and created an evaluation criteria table so that the superiors could grasp the contents of the request forms at a glance.

Honestly speaking, it’s a perfect score.

There’s nothing to criticize—it’s impeccable.

Even after checking other documents, almost all of them had been reviewed perfectly.

“Hmm…”

Since there was no way to falsely point out issues, I nodded.

“Excellent work.”

“Thank you. Then, shall we…”

“Not yet. There’s one more thing.”

I opened the drawer and took out another stack of documents.

“These are classified materials. Read them all and report back to me.”

“Captain? But the current time is…”

“I won’t accept objections. Finish everything before I return.”

Standing up from my seat, I left Lucy behind in the office and stepped out.

*

After leaving the office, Daniel headed to the operations staff office.

He intended to monitor Lucy through the CCTV installed in the Head of Operations Staff’s office.

The classified materials Daniel had just given her contained detailed military deployment plans and specific unit movement information.

These were drool-worthy materials for any spy, so she would undoubtedly exhibit suspicious behavior.

If he caught her in the act and informed Ernst, he could finally bid farewell to Lucy forever.

‘Great.’

Thinking this time his plan would succeed, Daniel entered the staff office.

“Uh? Captain Daniel Steiner?”

“Captain! I saw the news! You handled another big case yesterday, didn’t you?”

Daniel casually nodded at the soldiers and junior officers and knocked on the door of the Head of Operations Staff’s office.

“Ah. Is that Daniel Captain? Come in.”

Upon receiving permission, Daniel opened the door to see Ernst preparing to leave for the day.

It was inconvenient timing, but Daniel couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity, so he spoke earnestly.

“Sorry to interrupt your departure preparations, sir, but would you mind watching the CCTV footage of my office with me?”

“For what reason?”

“I believe you’ll understand once you see it. I know you’re eager to go see your wife quickly, but could you spare a moment?”

Ernst tilted his head in greater confusion.

“What nonsense is this? My wife is best enjoyed when she’s not around.”

“…”

Confused, Daniel stayed silent as Ernst chuckled and said,

“Don’t tell my wife I said that. Anyway… alright. If it’s your office CCTV screen, it’s over there.”

Ernst pointed to the edge of the office.

Several screens installed there showed the personal offices of the staff personnel, part of an anti-espionage activity to detect potential traitors.

Additionally, the CCTV cameras were cleverly hidden, making it impossible for rookies to know their locations.

“I don’t know what you intend to show me, but since it’s your request, I’ll take a look.”

Nodding, Daniel walked with Ernst to the CCTV screens.

As they looked at the operations staff office screen, they found Lucy diligently working.

After watching for about twenty minutes, there was no sign of her copying or stealing classified information.

Just when it seemed like a wasted effort, Lucy put down her pen and stared intently at Daniel’s desk.

‘Might she be trying to grab more classified materials?’

It was possible since she had confirmed that the classified materials were stored in the drawer.

However, instead of getting up, Lucy quietly moved her lips.

What did she say? Wanting to confirm clearly, Daniel turned to Ernst.

“Director, may I request to replay and zoom in on the scene just now?”

“Of course. If you wish, go ahead and do it.”

Having received permission, Daniel rewound the CCTV footage and pressed play again.

Thanks to this, they could clearly see what Lucy had said.

[Should I kill him?]

Recognizing the lip movements, Daniel felt goosebumps all over his body and clamped his mouth shut.

On the other hand, Ernst was laughing pleasantly.

“This is your fault. You’re keeping her busy past lunchtime, so it’s natural for her frustration to explode. Besides, that workload is too much for a rookie to handle.”

Unaware that Lucy was a spy, Ernst interpreted her “Should I kill him?” as merely a cute quirk of a subordinate.

Meanwhile, Daniel felt as though his life was just threatened.

Clutching his mouth and sweating cold beads, Daniel slowly nodded.

“…I’ll be more careful from next time.”

To avoid dying, I guess I’ll have to do the work myself going forward. Thinking this, Daniel’s profile was closely observed by Ernst.

Soon, Ernst reached a quiet realization.

‘This guy suggested watching the CCTV because he wanted to boast about how capable his subordinate is. I thought he was just cold-blooded, but he has such a human side too.’

It was truly admirable and commendable.

‘That his concern for his subordinate is so earnest means Captain Daniel will make a great superior officer in the future.’

Unaware of Daniel’s true thoughts, Ernst smiled warmly and nodded approvingly.