Ch.193Episode 10 – Turn Your Course to the North-Northwest

# The day after Camilla and her party visited the Kiyen Empire.

The Imperial Guard was having its usual busy day.

Dealing with enemies from both East and West, inside and outside the empire, days without incidents were rare, but today was particularly chaotic from the morning.

The source of the commotion was the parking lot.

“Hey, what’s this? What happened to the bumper?”

“Wow, it’s completely wrecked. The repair costs will be huge. It’s practically ready for the junkyard.”

“Which team’s vehicle is it?”

The Imperial Guard employees gathered around one vehicle, whispering among themselves. The car with its severely damaged bumper could fairly be considered ready for the scrapyard just by looking at the front.

The problem was that this was an official vehicle.

“Isn’t it someone’s personal car? Who would treat a company vehicle like this?”

“What kind of lunatic would come to work in a car with a crushed bumper? It must be a company vehicle.”

“Oh my… Accounting is going to raise hell again. Whoever’s team it is, I feel sorry for them. They’ll be coughing up repair costs for sure, tsk tsk.”

Just then, someone unlocked the car door with a key and got in. The intelligence officer bent down to check under the driver’s and passenger’s seats, then pulled out a radio.

One of the employees chatting amicably recognized her.

“Yekaterina. Don’t tell me this is your team’s vehicle?”

The intelligence officer closed the door with a cool demeanor and replied while organizing the radio.

“Yes.”

## Episode 10 – Change Course to North-Northwest

“This is bad. Really bad. What are we going to do? How did this happen?”

“During work.”

“Work?”

Yekaterina simply nodded in response.

“This is insane… Yekaterina, are your team members okay? No one got hurt?”

“Fortunately, they’re fine.”

“And you?”

“I’m fine too.”

Similar to Slavic culture, in the Kiyen Empire, it’s considered proper etiquette to address someone using both their name and patronymic. This is especially true in formal settings like the workplace.

However, the employee called her by her first name without formality. This was possible because they had known each other long enough to be on such familiar terms.

After enjoying this rare spectacle, the employees realized that work hours were approaching and hurriedly left the parking lot.

The employee continued chatting with Yekaterina as they passed through the main entrance, holding their ID badges.

After catching an elevator, the employee pressed the button for the floor where their office was located. Yekaterina, who worked on the same floor, also got on.

“Who were you in charge of this time that got the company car wrecked? A spy? A drug dealer? A terrorist?”

“A spy.”

“You’ve got it rough. I’m exhausted from monitoring some professor.”

“A professor? Isn’t that supposed to be easy?”

“You wouldn’t say that if you saw me cooped up in a lab for over a week. I was stuck in a car for five days straight, couldn’t even go to the bathroom. Missed a date and got dumped by my boyfriend because of it.”

“Just accept it. Or request a transfer to a desk job.”

Just then, the elevator stopped. The two crossed the hallway toward their respective offices.

“See you later! Let’s have lunch together.”

“Are you working in-office today?”

“Yes.”

I see.

She nodded, and the employee opened the door to their office and went in. Yekaterina headed to the office located right next to it.

When she held her ID badge against the magical scanner, a green light came on. The sound of the lock disengaging was heard, and as she was about to open the door while gathering her radio…

“Ms. Yekaterina Andreyevna.”

A man in a suit, usually only seen on the upper floors, appeared before her.

“What is it?”

“The Director wants to see you.”

The man in the suit glanced at the radio in her hand.

And added:

“Right now.”

*

The Imperial Guard is the Kiyen Empire’s intelligence agency.

Despite its notorious reputation as a security agency, it also collects foreign intelligence and actively conducts overseas operations. Therefore, the Imperial Guard is not just an intelligence agency but an intelligence investigation agency.

The First Directorate of the Imperial Guard handles domestic affairs.

They deal with various types of people, from foreign intelligence agents operating within the empire, terrorists, industrial spies, and international criminal organizations,

to unregistered magicians, illegal immigrant non-humans, and smugglers.

Of course, they’re famous for cracking down on thought criminals and political prisoners, but that’s just one of the many duties of the First Directorate.

And the person in charge of the First Directorate is none other than Ilya Nikolayevich Kutuzov.

“Director Ilya Nikolayevich, Yekaterina Andreyevna is here.”

At the suited man’s voice, an instruction to enter came from inside. The man in the suit opened the door slightly in a businesslike manner and ushered Yekaterina through the narrow gap.

Yekaterina, who had been on her way to her office, now found herself in the Director’s office.

She rolled her eyes to examine the furniture, books, and plants arranged in the office.

“……”

Scratch. Scratch.

The faint sound of writing reached Yekaterina’s ears. Despite her entry, the Director did not look up from the documents he was reviewing.

In the uncomfortable silence as Yekaterina waited, the Director signed his name in the signature field, closed the cap of his fountain pen, and carefully set it down.

“Yekaterina Andreyevna.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Do you know why you’re here this morning?”

It was a question that wasn’t really a question.

Therefore, Yekaterina answered the Director’s query honestly.

“I do.”

Director Ilya Nikolayevich leaned back in his chair and took a slightly askew posture.

In fact, he was just sitting upright with one arm slightly resting on the edge of the desk, so it wasn’t that askew, but considering the Director’s usual demeanor, it was quite a tilted posture.

The Director, staring at Yekaterina through his office glasses, spoke.

“You used a company vehicle without permission. There wasn’t even a report.”

“……”

“Do I need to continue with the rest?”

“No, Director.”

Yekaterina answered in detail the questions the Director might be curious about. In fact, both of them knew that he wasn’t really interested in the details of the incident, but still.

“I used our team’s vehicle for surveillance starting at 21:00 last night. And an accident occurred during the process.”

“Who were you monitoring?”

“A foreign military attaché stationed in our country.”

“Is this military attaché-“

Thud. A file was placed on the edge of the desk.

“This person?”

“……”

Yekaterina lowered her gaze to read the file. A photo of a man in uniform, likely taken when he was first commissioned, was clipped to it, showing his upper body.

After confirming the face of the man in the photo, Yekaterina looked straight ahead again.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

The Director took the file, adjusted his glasses, and asked her a question. This time it was a genuine question out of curiosity.

“I don’t recall ordering you to monitor a foreign military attaché, nor do I remember receiving a report from you about monitoring one.”

“……”

“Why are you harassing this man?”

Yekaterina answered. It was an answer without hesitation.

“Because he’s a spy, isn’t he?”

“……”

Director Ilya Nikolayevich’s gaze lingered on the file. The Director flipped the photo and read aloud from the document, which bore the clear anti-forgery mark of the Imperial Guard.

“Fredrik Nostrum. 28-year-old male. Second son of the Nostrum family, graduate of the Royal Military Academy. Served on the front lines as a second lieutenant.”

“……”

“Received a medal of valor for participating in counter-espionage operations and served as a staff officer at the rear command. Later chosen as a companion to the Hero according to prophecy. Served as a military attaché to the Church and the Magic Tower, and as of yesterday, appointed as a military attaché to the Abas Embassy in our country.”

The Director tapped the file with his finger.

“What makes you think this attaché is an intelligence officer?”

“…He is presumed to be an intelligence officer.”

In the corner of the document was a note stating that he was presumed to be an intelligence officer for the Military Intelligence Service. The Director examined that phrase carefully, then questioned Yekaterina.

“Do you have evidence?”

“Yes. I-“

“If you’re going to tell me about being interrogated by him at the Church, I’ve heard it hundreds of times already. Don’t you even remember properly what happened back then?”

“……”

It was true.

Due to amnesia, there was a gap in Yekaterina’s memory. Considering her physical and mental state at the time, doctors judged that it could also be a case of repression.

In other words, it was nonsense.

“You don’t know the building where you were interrogated, or even the area, and there’s no trace of torture. The only evidence is your memory.”

“…I heard he was present at the prisoner exchange negotiations.”

“Of course he was. Every military attaché stationed at the Abas Embassy in the Church attended.”

“But-“

Yekaterina tried to refute, but seeing the Director raise his finger, she had to keep her mouth shut.

“I know he’s a military attaché affiliated with the Military Intelligence Service. But aren’t all military attachés sent abroad by the Abas Ministry of Defense managed by the Military Intelligence Service?”

“……”

“You’ve served in the military, so you should know? Even military officers not affiliated with intelligence units can apply to be attachés.”

The Director sighed lightly and tapped the photo.

“Who this person is doesn’t matter. The problem is that he’s a diplomat. And a Hero’s companion at that.”

“I know.”

“And yet you chase him with a vehicle? Who was at the scene yesterday?”

“One of my team members and a junior colleague.”

“Junior colleague?”

“Yes, a junior from the military.”

The Director leaned back in his chair and interlocked his fingers.

“So you’re saying you monitored a foreign diplomat using company assets, personnel, and an outsider without permission.”

Yekaterina spoke. Instead of denying it shamefully, she affirmed it.

“That’s correct. If you wish to punish me, I’ll accept it. But please let our team continue monitoring the attaché.”

“Your job isn’t to monitor attachés but to catch spies. I believe I assigned you to a different case a few weeks ago, so what are you talking about now?”

“……”

Yekaterina’s mouth closed. The Director heaved a deep sigh.

“I understand your dedication to the empire, but monitoring diplomats isn’t your role. You’re someone who catches spies. And you’re doing it well enough.”

“……”

“Write an incident report. Since the Abas Embassy hasn’t raised an issue, I won’t escalate this either.”

“What if he really is a spy?”

The Director raised his head to look at Yekaterina.

But Yekaterina didn’t back down and met the Director’s gaze.

“Do you have evidence?”

“Not yet, but I think it will come soon. I’ve been investigating something.”

“Bring it.”

Yekaterina went down to her office, gathered some documents, and returned to the Director’s office.

Then she took out one of the documents and placed it on the Director’s desk.

“This is an analysis of the movements of key individuals the attaché contacted at the event yesterday. Based on the premise that the attaché is an intelligence officer, I’ve sorted out individuals who might be worth recruiting.”

“……”

“And among the key individuals, I identified those who have shown unusual behavior recently, and one person stood out.”

“Who is that?”

Yekaterina turned the cover page.

“Vasili Vladimirovich Karachev. He’s a policy advisor to a three-term congressman from the ruling party. The congressman is a former military general and currently serves as the secretary of the Defense Committee.”

The Director flipped through the document. Yekaterina continued her explanation.

“Looking at his recent financial transactions, there’s evidence that he tried to send a large sum to an overseas account but failed. Through a contact at the tax office, I found out that he tried to move the money without reporting it.”

“Could it be tax evasion?”

“He’s been a diligent taxpayer for 30 years while working as a military civil servant and congressional advisor. Even this year, he accurately reported his comprehensive income tax. Why would he suddenly need to move a large sum?”

It was certainly suspicious.

People usually either evade taxes or pay them, but it’s rare to see someone who both pays taxes diligently and tries to evade them.

Yekaterina pointed out another aspect.

“When inquiring about people around him, I heard that he frequently uses expensive appliances and luxury items. Especially gifts for his wife and children, which seemed to be amounts difficult to manage on an advisor’s salary.”

“Did you check if he might have borrowed from loan sharks and spent extravagantly?”

“Based on checks with the postal service, he hasn’t received any collection notices, so it doesn’t seem like he’s involved with private financing. However, he recently dabbled in foreign stocks and suffered significant losses.”

The evidence didn’t end there. Official documents from government departments were placed one by one in front of the Director, along with photos taken for field evidence.

Since she hadn’t even received permission to monitor the foreign attaché, these pieces of evidence were also collected without a warrant.

Of course, the Imperial Guard doesn’t care about such things. It was a company that routinely wiretapped without warrants.

What’s important is that Yekaterina’s suspicions seemed reasonable at first glance.

“He’s a civil servant who worked at the Ministry of Defense for 14 years and a policy advisor to a three-term senior congressman who serves as the secretary of the Defense Committee. How many contacts does he have in the Defense Ministry and Congress, and how much classified information can he access?”

The domestic intelligence officer said.

“If this advisor has really been recruited by a foreign intelligence agency, he must have been active for quite a long time. At least several years.”

“Are you saying there’s a higher-level handler?”

A foreign military attaché who just arrived yesterday contacted the policy advisor to the secretary of the Defense Committee. Although he was just one of hundreds of people at the event, there was something unsettling about the situation that couldn’t be dismissed as ordinary.

If Yekaterina’s speculation was true, the advisor who contacted the attaché would be an asset managed by another intelligence officer.

Yekaterina nodded.

“Didn’t we recently expel a large number of diplomats? Both official and unofficial covers are lying low, so they probably sent someone with military attaché status who could still operate. My personal guess is that, assuming the advisor is an informant for the Abas intelligence agency, the intelligence officer who was handling the advisor has likely returned to their home country.”

“When did you investigate all this?”

“Since yesterday.”

“Since yesterday?”

“Yes.”

The Director removed his office glasses and rubbed his chin.

He closed his eyes slightly as if deep in thought, then put his glasses back on and straightened his posture.

The Director said.

“What do you want?”

“Let me and my team members monitor this man.”

“Alright.”

The Director granted permission.

Ilya Nikolayevich assigned a new mission to Yekaterina’s team through an internal call. It happened in an instant.

The Director said.

“I’ll grant permission since you seem determined, but if there are no results, withdraw without hesitation. We have employees who specialize in monitoring foreign attachés, so I’ll assign it to them.”

“Yes, Director.”

“You may go.”

*

After that day, Yekaterina led her team in simultaneously monitoring Fredrik and Advisor Vasili.

The team members protested about dropping their existing case to take on a new one, but

as with any intelligence agency, following orders from above was the natural order of things.

“Ah, we’ve already gathered all the intelligence and just need to make a final assessment. Why start all over again…”

“Shut up.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

At Yekaterina’s cold voice, the team member closed his mouth and looked through his binoculars.

Of course, both of them knew it was a joke, so neither took it to heart.

A team member rustling a bread bag swallowed what was in his mouth and spoke.

“But Team Leader.”

“What.”

“Is it possible for a military attaché not to undergo attaché training before going abroad? According to the data, he didn’t receive any separate training from the Ministry of Defense or Foreign Affairs.”

“Why are you asking me? Am I from Abas?”

The team member looking through binoculars muttered.

“The Deputy Team Leader seems to be in a bad mood these days. Must have lost money investing in stocks.”

“Again? How much did he lose this time?”

“Well, I heard it was about the price of two cars…?”

“I told him not to mess with stocks.”

“Ah. The advisor is coming out.”

“Let me see.”

Yekaterina took the binoculars to check the entrance of the National Assembly building. The advisor they had been tailing for days was just leaving the building.

She sent team members to visit the congressman’s office. The team members registered their visit and went to the office.

“Hello everyone. Where are you from?”

“We’re from the Ministry of Defense. We came to see Advisor Vasili Vladimirovich. Is he in by any chance?”

“Vasili Vladimirovich? He just stepped out for some external business… What should we do? Should I try contacting him?”

“No need. It’s not urgent, so we can wait. Where should we wait?”

“I’ll guide you to the office. Please follow me.”

The Imperial Guard intelligence officers boldly entered Vasili’s office.

With Ministry of Defense IDs and National Assembly visitor passes created by their agency, and even documents related to defense policy that Vasili was in charge of, no one questioned their identity.

While one intelligence officer searched the office, the other kept the other advisors occupied outside, discussing Vasili.

And thirty minutes later.

They left the congressman’s office saying “something urgent came up, we’ll come back later” and returned to their vehicle.

“How did it go?”

Yekaterina questioned the returning team members.

A team member spoke.

“The other advisors in the same office said he suddenly took leave. He said he’s going on a family trip before his daughter graduates from the academy.”

“A trip? Destination?”

“They didn’t know exactly, but there was talk that it might be abroad. Apparently, he suddenly became interested in foreign travel a few months ago.”

“Oh, and.”

The team member who had searched the office handed Yekaterina an envelope he had discreetly taken.

“I found this in the advisor’s office.”

Yekaterina opened the envelope.

The contents of the envelope spilled onto the floor.

“Hey, didn’t the advisor say he was going on a foreign trip with his family?”

“Yes, Team Leader.”

“Then why does this bastard have so much cash stashed in his office?”

It was bundles of cash.

The team members blinked at the sudden spill of foreign currency, as if dizzy from the sight. One team member muttered, “Is he actually not a spy but a money exchanger?”

Indeed, it was an enormous amount for a family trip.

“Hmm…”

Yekaterina narrowed her eyes and picked up one bundle of cash, examining it carefully.

Then she parted her lips and issued new instructions.

“You guys go to the office now, put this back where it belongs, and come back.”

“Understood. What about you, Team Leader?”

Yekaterina took out her phone. It was a phone with encryption features issued to employees by the Imperial Guard.

“I’m going to report to the Director.”

*

As soon as the discovery of large amounts of cash with no record of withdrawal was reported, a warrant was issued.

Yekaterina sent team members to banks and the academy to gather necessary documents, and using support personnel requested from the Director, she secured the schedules of Vasili and his family.

“Team Leader.”

A team member called Yekaterina.

“Did you find something?”

“Yes, the daughter is taking vacation classes at the Academy’s Magic Department. Her attendance rate is not bad, and her teachers and friends testified that she’s behaving as usual. But there’s something strange about the advisor and his wife?”

“What’s strange about them?”

The team member tilted his head.

“Recently, his wife gave gifts to relatives and acquaintances. She gave away some furniture and appliances she had been using. Apparently, these were items the wife had been quite fond of.”

“Is there something wrong with the wife?”

“No. She’s healthy both physically and mentally, and has been actively socializing until recently without issues. However, according to a close neighbor, she has suddenly become less talkative and her complexion has deteriorated recently.”

“That’s not the attitude of someone going on a trip. What about the advisor? What seems suspicious?”

“You mentioned he recently invested in foreign stocks and suffered big losses, right?”

“Yes.”

“But it turns out it wasn’t stocks but derivatives. The Deputy Team Leader looked into the bid prices and trading volumes of those items. And it’s quite strange?”

The team member holding a memo tilted his head. It seemed he didn’t understand well.

“He repeatedly bought and sold several items in a short period. All of them had almost no trading volume and weren’t large amounts. The Deputy Team Leader also doesn’t understand why he would invest in such places…”

Yekaterina took that data and went to find a colleague. A friend who had worked in the economic counterintelligence department.

By the way, it was the office right next door.

The intelligence officer who had been laughing and chatting in the elevator a few days ago was sitting at her desk eating delivery food. She was slurping noodles with a fork when she saw Yekaterina visiting her office and waved.

“Oh! Yekaterina. What brings you here?”

“Can you take a look at this data?”

“Let me see!”

The intelligence officer snatched the paper and put down her delivery food container. She rested her chin on her hand while reading the document, and suddenly started making strange noises.

“Hmm… hmm…”

“What’s wrong? Don’t you understand it?”

“Yekaterina, where did you get this from?”

The intelligence officer gently waved the paper Yekaterina had handed her.

“I think this case should be transferred to the economic department rather than your division?”

“What are you talking about? Why is the economic counterintelligence department suddenly involved?”

“This. It’s one of the methods used to funnel funds abroad.”

“…What?”

“Ah! Sit down.”

The intelligence officer sat Yekaterina down and picked up a pen. She drew a ladder-like rectangle on the paper and began her explanation.

“Look. Here we have person A and person B. Let’s say these two people trade together in the derivatives market. Do you know what derivatives are?”

“No.”

“It’s a concept similar to futures or options, but simply put, you can understand it as items being bought and sold. Do you understand so far?”

“Yes.”

The intelligence officer wrote the names A and B at the top and bottom of the ladder, respectively.

“See the top? Mr. A places orders at expensive prices, and conversely, Mr. B places orders at the bottom. At very cheap prices.”

At that moment, the name C was written on the paper. It was in the middle part of the ladder.

“Now, what happens if person C buys Mr. A’s orders at expensive prices and sells them to Mr. B at very cheap prices?”

“Who would do such a crazy thing? You’d just lose money.”

“What if accounts A, B, and C are all owned by the same person?”

“……”

The colleague said.

She was an elite among elites who had been dealing with economic criminals for many years.

“It’s a method frequently used when laundering money abroad. It’s a classic method, and due to the nature of derivatives, large amounts can be traded in a short period, so major economic criminals favor it. It’s also extremely difficult to trace!”

“……”

“But the amounts here are seriously small? What’s going on…?”

Yekaterina thought. This is no ordinary matter.

As soon as circumstances suggesting money laundering of an amount close to his entire fortune were detected, Yekaterina reported to her superiors.

It seemed that,

The advisor was trying to defect.