chapter_0130

129 – On the Way Home

129 – On the Way Home

Late at night.

“Another wasted day…”

Sighing, Lucy entered the park and deactivated her optical camouflage.

Currently, Lucy was wearing civilian clothes with a wig, a disguise to collect data related to the ‘Lucy Project’ concerning biological experiments.

However, the results had not been very good.

Over the past few weeks, she had infiltrated the research facilities in the Imperial City that she suspected were involved in biological experiments, but she had found nothing.

“What if the biological experiments were actually conducted by the Allied Nations and not the Empire…?”

In that case, she truly wouldn’t know what choice to make.

As she walked with a complicated heart, Lucy spotted a familiar figure across the street.

The man moving slowly under the streetlight was dressed neatly in military uniform.

At first, she thought she might be mistaken, but when she saw the black eyes beneath the cap half-closed, Lucy froze.

“…Daniel Steiner?”

The man was none other than Daniel Steiner, her superior and a hero of the Empire.

One strange thing was that his steps were slow, and his gaze seemed unfocused.

Moreover, his aimless wandering lacked the usual vigor he possessed.

“Is he drunk?”

He must have attended the banquet after the coronation and surely drank heavily there.

A mix of anger and worry filled her.

After confirming that there was no one around, Lucy decided to follow Daniel.

Unaware that Lucy was trailing him, Daniel trudged toward a nearby bench and slumped down as if he were about to collapse.

“Ah. I’m dizzy…”

Muttering while holding his forehead, Daniel suddenly began to nod off.

Watching Daniel from behind a tree, Lucy broke out in a cold sweat.

“Is he planning to sleep here?”

If he were to sleep outside in such cold weather, he would catch a cold.

“Even if he doesn’t catch a cold…”

If the citizens of the Imperial City witnessed Daniel Steiner sleeping rough, the rumors would surely spread like wildfire.

In the worst-case scenario, he could fall victim to a robber looking for valuables and meet an untimely end.

Anxiously fidgeting, Lucy thought she had no choice and approached Daniel.

She figured she had to at least prevent him from being homeless.

“Excuse me…”

As Lucy got closer and spoke, Daniel’s shoulders flinched.

Slowly lifting his head, Daniel saw Lucy and momentarily wore a dazed expression before speaking.

“Why is a lady like you out at such a late hour…?”

Perhaps due to his drunkenness, Daniel did not recognize the disguised Lucy.

Thinking it unnecessary to reveal her identity, Lucy offered no explanation.

“I stopped by the park for a class assignment and got lost. What about you?”

“You seem to be an undergraduate from a nearby university. I attended the banquet after His Majesty the Emperor’s coronation, and I couldn’t resist my superior’s invitation to drink heavily…”

Daniel shrugged as if to say it was pointless to explain further.

Thanks to Daniel’s tall stature, Lucy had no choice but to look up at him.

“I’ll take you to the exit. It’s dangerous for a woman to walk alone.”

“Ah…”

Daniel’s kind words felt oddly awkward to Lucy.

Though he usually spoke informally, he had a more formal tone with her as his subordinate, but now there was no formality in his speech.

“I don’t know if it’s because he’s drunk or if he thinks I’m just an undergraduate…”

Thinking it wasn’t bad, Lucy nodded.

“I won’t refuse.”

Daniel, who chuckled, started walking first.

“Follow me. It’s not far to the exit. But…”

As he noticed Lucy walking beside him, Daniel casually remarked, “You kind of resemble my subordinate. The atmosphere and the way you speak.”

Lucy’s eyes widened in surprise, wondering if she had been found out.

However, Daniel was merely wearing a relaxed smile, as if he could melt away at any moment.

“I smell alcohol…”

Thinking she couldn’t have been caught, Lucy let out a nervous laugh.

“It must be just my imagination.”

“Is that so? Well, my subordinate wouldn’t approach me as warmly as you do. He’s really scary. He often glares at me, and it makes my blood run cold.”

Lucy looked at Daniel with a frown.

Hearing Daniel gossip about his subordinate to someone he had just met (or not met) didn’t sit well with her.

But in the next moment, Lucy couldn’t help but change her mind.

“These days, he looks more pitiful than scary. It turns out he had a very dark past. So, how should I put it…”

A bitter smile appeared on Daniel’s lips.

“I guess I feel concerned.”

Lucy, who had been watching Daniel from the side, felt her lips part slightly.

She had never thought that Daniel would be concerned about her.

Feeling a subtle sense of guilt, Lucy placed her hand over her heart.

The pounding of her heart was transmitted through her fingertips.

To dispel her embarrassment, Lucy took a deep breath and turned to Daniel.

“Um, speaking of which…”

Her voice unintentionally cracked.

Clearing her throat, Lucy finally spoke again.

“…How have things been at work lately? Since you’re a war hero, I thought it must be tough for you.”

Work. It couldn’t possibly be going well, and Daniel shook his head.

“It’s the worst. I’m trying my best, but things keep getting tangled. Moreover, there are plenty of people around me who dislike me, so it’s not easy. Sometimes I wonder if I’ve drunk some potion that makes me hated.”

Daniel was smiling as he spoke, but there was no strength in his voice.

Perhaps because of his voice, the dark circles under his eyes seemed particularly pronounced today.

As Lucy watched Daniel with a twinge of sympathy, a loud bang echoed from behind them.

“…!”

Instinctively turning her body, Lucy reached into her coat without hesitation.

Just as she was about to pull out her gun to retaliate, she hesitated.

The explosion sound was not an enemy attack.

“Wow. Is it fireworks?”

As Daniel said, fireworks were bursting in the sky.

Fireworks exploding above the Imperial Palace banquet hall painted the night sky in vibrant colors.

Lucy sighed as she watched Daniel’s innocent profile gazing up at the fireworks.

“I thought I was caught…”

Relieved, Lucy put her half-drawn gun back into her coat pocket.

“Even if Daniel knows I’m a spy for the Allied Nations, it wouldn’t matter much…”

But if Daniel found out that she had approached him in disguise, it would likely cause her a lot of trouble.

So it was best not to reveal her identity for now.

“I should act like an ordinary undergraduate.”

Glancing at Daniel, Lucy looked up at the sky adorned with fireworks.

“An ordinary undergraduate would be amazed by the fireworks…”

Lucy’s thoughts stopped there.

She became entranced by the spectacle of fireworks soaring high and bursting in the sky.

For Lucy, who was more accustomed to the dimness of a closed room than the outside, the fireworks, made of light, were more beautiful than anything in the world.

Watching the fireworks like a child, Lucy stayed until the last firework exploded.

“Beautiful…”

Murmuring unconsciously, Lucy turned to the side and was startled.

Daniel was looking down at her with a relaxed gaze.

“It seems like it’s your first time seeing them.”

“…What?”

“The fireworks, I mean.”

It was indeed her first time, but saying so felt somehow prideful.

As Lucy bit her lip in silence, Daniel chuckled and started walking.

“Let’s go. We’re almost at the exit.”

“…Understood.”

Feeling inexplicably sulky, Lucy followed Daniel without saying much.

After walking for about five minutes, the two arrived at the park’s exit.

Perhaps the alcohol had worn off a bit, as Daniel took a deep breath and turned to Lucy.

“Well then, I’ll take my leave. You should head back to your accommodation quickly.”

Waving his hand as if to say goodbye, Daniel walked down the path.

Watching his back quietly, Lucy felt an inexplicable sense of anxiety.

Perhaps it was because of the conversation she had just had with Daniel, but his figure looked particularly forlorn today.

Thinking she couldn’t just let him go, Lucy quickened her pace.

Catching up to Daniel, Lucy reached out her hand.

Her hand hesitated in the air for a moment before mustering the courage to grab Daniel’s sleeve.

Feeling that touch, Daniel turned around, and Lucy, blushing without realizing it, opened her mouth.

“Not everyone dislikes you, Colonel Daniel. So…”

After a brief silence, Lucy lowered her gaze and bit her lip.

Feeling very embarrassed, the flush on her face spread from her cheeks to her ears.

“At least one person…”

The rest of her words didn’t come out.

Realizing it wouldn’t work, Lucy bowed her head and turned to walk away.

Watching Lucy’s retreating figure, Daniel wore an inscrutable smile.

“How clumsy. It was as if she was asking me to recognize her disguise…”

Whether that clumsiness was a thoroughly planned seduction, Daniel wasn’t sure, but he felt it was a rather dangerous confession.

“If I hadn’t known that was a seduction…”

He might have foolishly fallen for it.