Chapter 25

My gut was telling me something.

Today, something big was going to happen with Lucy.

Not to brag, but my gut instincts were usually spot-on.

So I kept a close eye on Lucy all day, but contrary to my expectations, she just quietly worked like any other day.

“Time to head home, Captain.”

In the private office, Lucy turned around after tidying up her documents and spoke.

‘…Is it already time to go home?’

I glanced at the wall clock after looking away from Lucy—it was 6 PM.

After standing there dazed for a moment, I cleared my throat and stood up.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

After packing a few documents into my briefcase, I left the office with Lucy following closely behind.

As we descended the central staircase and exited the General Staff Headquarters…

“Uh, Captain.”

I turned to see what was up, and Lucy handed me an umbrella.

“It’s the umbrella you lent me before. Thanks to it, I could avoid the rain. I originally planned to return it earlier, but since you’ve been so busy lately, I couldn’t find the right moment.”

Ah, that’s right—I did lend her an umbrella.

“Glad to hear you put it to good use.”

As I took the umbrella, Lucy blinked her red eyes while looking up at me.

“And congratulations on receiving the National Order of Goryeo Medal. With this recognition from higher-ups, your promotion to major is only a matter of time.”

…What? Is this some kind of threat?

Since I couldn’t figure out her intent, I froze, prompting Lucy to bow slightly.

“Well, I have prior engagements, so I’ll be heading off first.”

With that, Lucy walked ahead.

Was my gut instinct wrong? Nothing seemed to happen.

As I stared blankly at Lucy’s retreating back, I opened my briefcase and put the umbrella inside.

‘Well, no harm done, right?’

Closing the bag, I glanced up at the sky—it was perfectly clear without a single cloud.

‘So it’s officially summer now.’

Judging by how the sun hadn’t set yet despite it being 6 PM.

The warm breeze blowing felt pretty pleasant.

Taking a deep breath, I started walking casually.

‘There’s supposed to be a new dessert shop on the outskirts. Maybe I should check it out.’

Lately, I’ve been caught up in one mess after another, so I really needed some relaxation.

*

“Boss, looks like we can start distributing our goods in Raven Street No. 23. We bribed the local police more than usual, and they said they’d look the other way for now.”

Inside the room where the old ventilation fan rattled, Mafia boss Nickel smirked in satisfaction.

“You see? That’s what I’ve been saying. If they refuse bribes, just give them more money—it works every time! Now let’s keep expanding our routes step by step and build a solid network.”

Nickel placed a cigar in his mouth, and a subordinate rushed over to light it for him.

After puffing a few times, Nickel blew out the smoke, and the subordinate stepped back.

Tapping the ash from his burning cigar into the ashtray, Nickel spoke.

“Today, I have a meeting with the customs inspector, so tell everyone to wear their suits and prepare accordingly. We need to grease the wheels a bit so smuggling opium will become even easier.”

“Yes, sir!”

The subordinate saluted energetically, and Nickel waved his hand dismissively.

The subordinate opened the door and left.

Watching this, Nickel puffed on his cigar a few more times before standing up with a creak.

Pushing back his heavy chair, he walked over to the full-length mirror to adjust his appearance.

His body was adorned with expensive clothes, and several gold rings gleamed on his fingers.

Looking proudly at himself surrounded by pricey items, Nickel grinned greedily.

‘This is too easy… far too easy!’

Nickel used to be a spy for the Allied Nations.

The opium trade had initially started as a way to raise funds locally.

But as the operation grew larger and he amassed around thirty underlings, loyalty to his homeland began to fade while his desire for wealth grew stronger.

That’s why he betrayed his country and organization.

Living a life of luxury in the Empire by dealing opium was far more comfortable and prosperous than risking his life doing espionage work.

It had been over a year since he ignored contact from his homeland, and he didn’t feel a shred of guilt.

‘Besides, my own country treated me like expendable trash…’

There was no longer any reason to stay loyal.

After rationalizing this to himself, just as Nickel was about to turn around to meet the customs inspector…

Click—

A chilling sensation pressed against the back of his skull.

Before he could react, the space behind him in the mirror began distorting.

‘Optical camouflage…!’

This high-level technique bent and reflected light using mana to make the user appear transparent.

Very few people in both the Empire and the Allied Nations could use optical camouflage.

So who was the person disabling it now? As cold sweat trickled down his forehead, a woman with red eyes slowly revealed herself.

“…”

The moment Nickel saw her, his heart raced violently.

He’d heard rumors. There was supposedly a “Red-Eyed Reaper” who executed traitors to the homeland.

But wasn’t that just an urban legend? As Nickel hesitated, trying to open his eyes wider, Lucy slowly moved her lips.

“Nickel Meyer. Your homeland gave you countless opportunities. Yet you rejected them repeatedly.”

Her icy tone froze him in place.

His eyes darted around frantically as Nickel stammered.

“H-Hold on! Keeping me alive would benefit the Allied Nations! I’m flooding the Empire with opium! Even though I betrayed you, I’m not doing anything that helps the Empire!”

“That’s not a valid excuse.”

“P-Please! How about this— I’ll give you all the money I’ve accumulated—”

Lucy pulled the trigger.

Bang—

A muffled gunshot rang out, followed by splatters of blood.

Nickel’s bulky body wobbled for a moment before crashing to the floor with a loud thud.

“…”

Lucy coldly stared down at the fallen Nickel, shook her hand clean, and opened the window.

Though it was three stories high, it wasn’t an issue for Lucy.

Leaping down like a cat, she landed gracefully on the ground and slipped into a nearby alleyway.

Avoiding beggars as she wandered through various alleys, Lucy finally found one deserted enough to change her clothes.

Now all she had to do was switch outfits, and the mission would be complete.

Relieved, Lucy retrieved a pair of sunglasses from her coat pocket and put them on.

Red eyes always drew attention, so it was best to conceal them as much as possible.

After adjusting her wig, Lucy absentmindedly turned her head while taking off her blood-stained coat—and froze.

She had made eye contact with an Imperial soldier rounding the corner of the alley.

At first, she thought it was just bad luck adding to her workload, but when she examined the soldier’s features, Lucy was genuinely taken aback.

“…Daniel Steiner?”

The black-haired soldier with sharp wolf-like eyes was none other than Daniel Steiner.

This caused a crack to appear in Lucy’s usually emotionless expression.

‘Dangerous.’

Who was Daniel Steiner? A man who had accomplished countless feats, excelled at identifying and interrogating spies, and possessed formidable combat skills.

Take, for example, his one-hit kill of Colonel Jeremy in the northern front or his victory against seven soldiers. Everyone knew about those.

And during the recent rescue of the princess, Daniel personally eliminated eight Allied agents.

‘Of course…’

If Daniel only knew how to use neural acceleration, then overpowering him wouldn’t be impossible.

However, Daniel was meticulous, calculating, cold-blooded, and devious.

There was also a chance he possessed other techniques besides neural acceleration that remained undisclosed.

Even if she managed to kill Daniel here, escaping the Empire’s investigation net would be impossible.

Not just any soldier, Daniel was an elite among elites, having received the National Order of Goryeo directly from the Emperor and marked for early promotion.

If his corpse were found in an alley, a massive investigation would ensue, and Lucy would likely end up arrested during the process.

‘Then…’

The only option was to somehow sweep this situation under the rug.

Fortunately, Lucy currently wore a wig and sunglasses.

Pretending to be someone else and fooling Daniel might allow her to escape alive.

The worst-case scenario would be if Daniel had been tracking her specifically and entered the alley intentionally, but she decided not to act rashly until things became clearer.

Meanwhile, Daniel was thinking along similar lines.

“I was just heading to the dessert shop and got lost…”

Turning the corner led him straight to Lucy, who had blood on her coat. Worst timing ever.

There was a reason Daniel was certain this woman was Lucy.

He had seen her distinctive red eyes flashing just before she put on her sunglasses after entering the alley.

‘She must have been on a covert mission when we crossed paths.’

Headache-inducing. If Lucy realized he noticed her as a spy, a bullet might instantly pierce his forehead.

But the chances of that happening were slim.

Any sane person would try to get out of this situation unscathed, right?

Especially since Lucy was already disguised with a wig and sunglasses.

That meant she would most likely pretend to be someone else.

‘Then there’s only one option.’

Both parties, trying to calm their racing hearts, stared silently at each other.

At that moment, their thoughts were eerily aligned.

‘I have to thoroughly deceive Daniel.’

‘I need to grit my teeth and play along.’

Ironically, their minds converged at an unexpected point.

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