Ch.550Episode 20 – Who Threatened You with a Knife?

# A Night of Falling Starlight

A night of falling starlight. A tense atmosphere enveloped Shizya.

The air in Azadi Palace was heavier than ever before.

Despite the late hour, cabinet officials of the Ashtistan Republic had entered the palace. Diplomatic officials from the Kiyen Empire, who had reportedly come from the embassy, watched them with expressionless gazes.

Gone were the friendly greetings they used to exchange during occasional palace visits, and the security committee members who regularly exchanged pleasantries with imperial diplomats had all disappeared somewhere.

The intuition honed through years of palace life warned the court people that ‘this is a time when even breathing should be done carefully.’ It was an instinctive alarm, and now the palace staff were even walking with cautious steps.

Amidst the uncomfortable currents carried by the west wind echoing through the palace corridors.

The person responsible for all this commotion, Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrova, was sharing refreshments with an infinitely serene expression.

“The wind is cold.”

Zeynab Eskander, sitting across from her, gently pulled in her chin. With her head bowed, supporting her chin with one hand, she softly closed her half-open eyes.

“Because it’s night.”

“Quite a tumultuous night, isn’t it?”

“Tranquility only visits Shizya at dawn.”

Alexandra Petrova savored the aroma offered by the tea. As always, the fragrance was excellent. Of course, the taste was also exquisite.

The Archmage, slowly tasting it, set down her teacup with a clink. Then, as if understanding, she resumed the conversation.

“Then that dawn should come quickly. This commotion needs to settle soon.”

The Priestess held back an embarrassed smile.

“I’m sorry, Sasha. You came after so long, and our preparations seem to have been inadequate.”

“It’s fine. What is there to quibble about between you and me? I only hope that problems like today’s don’t arise in the future.”

“Of course. They won’t.”

Though no clear method was proposed, that was enough. When the sun rose, everything would return to its proper place.

The punishment for those who caused the incident, and efforts to prevent recurrence—all depended on Zeynab, who led the Ashtistan Republic. The problem was as good as solved.

“It was truly unfortunate. Why should we both have to blush? Knowing the relationship between you and me, yet causing a disturbance and embarrassing people, tsk…”

“Sasha. Are you angry?”

“Angry? Not at all.”

“Then are you upset?”

“I’m just frustrated. Frustrated.”

The Grand Duchess let out a sigh with a bland smile and shook her head. Who would have thought the security committee would cause such an incident?

“Abbas and Ashtistan…”

Caressing the teacup, the Grand Duchess began to mutter quietly to herself. In truth, she had sensed the circumstances to some extent. Why the security committee had wiretapped Kamila.

They weren’t wary of Kamila but were watching the person beside her disciple. Abbas Kingdom and Ashtistan Republic were enemies, after all. It was reasonable to monitor someone with a military background.

But this incident was out of line.

No matter the hostile relationship, to monitor a guest she had brought? Couldn’t this be interpreted as the Ashtistan Republic government not trusting her?

The Grand Duchess carefully folded her arms while tracing the rim of her teacup.

“What did the Abbas Foreign Ministry say?”

“Nothing.”

The Priestess of the Ashtistan Republic responded. With her chin propped up, gazing at the window where darkness had fallen, Zeynab Eskander answered indifferently.

To this, the Grand Duchess of the Kiyen Empire nodded as if relieved.

“I hope there won’t be any problems. If there’s anything I can help with, I’ll do whatever I can.”

“Thank you. But I’ll just accept your goodwill.”

The hand supporting her chin was removed. Zeynab Eskander gazed at Alexandra Petrova’s face.

With a generous and satisfied smile.

She conveyed her gratitude to her old friend.

“Your presence here is enough, Sasha.”

## Episode 20 – Who Threatened You with a Knife?

After the stormy dawn passed, the morning that followed was nothing but quiet.

The hotel, which had been bustling with crowds like a flea market, regained its peace, and my mind and body also entered a state of stability.

Right after waking up in a half-asleep state, I sluggishly got out of bed, prepared countermeasures against wiretapping, and found interesting breaking news on the company network I accessed through my PDA.

“I have good news.”

“What is it?”

“He got fired. That security committee chairman guy, Jahandar or whatever.”

Kamila, eating breakfast at the buffet, blinked her wide-open eyes. As the egg on her fork slid down, I placed my PDA on the table and looked around, adding a small explanation.

“I intercepted an official document this morning.”

“COMINT?”

“Yes. Sent from Azadi Palace, received at the Security Committee headquarters on Labdari Street. The content was simple.”

1. Immediately remove the Inspection Committee Chairman and subordinate inspectors from duty.

This could be a temporary measure, but the context was important.

And the following words attached to the document provided a very good clue to gauge that context.

2. Wait at home until further notice.

Indefinite standby orders. Moreover, an order to wait at home.

At first glance, it might seem like consideration to rest at home, but it was actually equivalent to severe disciplinary action. An order to wait at home essentially meant not to leave home.

Suddenly removing all inspection department staff from duty and confining them to their homes? Anyone could see it wasn’t a good sign.

Of course, only from their perspective.

“Putting them on standby without any position is tantamount to a purge. It’s a method typically used when deliberately sending someone to an insignificant post or stripping them of their position entirely.”

I bet these gentlemen would all be forced to resign soon.

“Hmm… That might really be the case. No, even I think they’ve clearly been pushed out.”

Kamila agreed on this point as well.

As she cracked her eggs, she pinpointed the most important and central context.

“You said it was a personnel order from Azadi Palace, right? That means it was a direct order from the Priestess. By the authority of the head of state.”

“That’s right.”

“And the personnel authority of most intelligence agencies lies with the head of state or government.”

“Yes, that’s correct too.”

In other words, this was equivalent to the U.S. President dismissing the CIA Inspector General.

For reference, since only the U.S. President can appoint the CIA Inspector General, being fired from there is essentially the same as falling out of favor with the President.

The same applies here.

Therefore, the news that the inspection department of the Ashtistan Security Committee was being completely overhauled was clearly good news.

“Ah… sweet, so sweet.”

I raised a toast with the coffee I’d gotten from the breakfast buffet. It was delicious enough to elicit an exclamation, and my good mood made it taste twice as good.

“Aren’t you being too happy about this? It’s extremely obvious.”

“Who cares? What can those bastards do now?”

At my blatant gloating, Kamila shook her head as if she couldn’t help it. But facts were facts, so she didn’t say anything more.

Having shared this good news, we were able to start our day in a good mood.

Although my planned operation had been scrapped, I had achieved a decent harvest in unexpected areas. This was a satisfactory result even for the Military Intelligence Agency.

Kamila, who had put down her butter knife while breaking bread and spreading jam, took a bite of well-baked traditional Ashtistan-style bread and asked a question.

“Do you have a next plan? With the personnel gap, we might find an opportunity to infiltrate if we play it right.”

“You’ve really become a spy now. Talking about work while eating.”

“Pfft.”

“What’s so funny…”

I felt like I was looking at something creepy as I watched her smiling to herself.

Did she take it as a compliment? No, seriously, who in the world would be happy about being called a spy? (Fact: He’s a spy himself)

While Kamila, unable to suppress her smile, pulled out a tissue to wipe her mouth, I muttered in a flowing voice as I finished the rest of my breakfast.

“I do have a plan, but I need more preparation to get approval from headquarters.”

“So we’ll just wait like this for the time being?”

“Probably?”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Since there are no immediate orders from above. I guess we’ll just have to slack off for a while.”

“Ah.”

Kamila, who had been dabbing her mouth, gave a mischievous smile.

“You’re going to be a salary thief?”

“Shut up, Kamila.”

“As a taxpayer, I can’t just watch as tax money leaks…”

“Wait. You’re British to begin with?”

“What’s all this commotion in the morning?”

While we were bickering, the Grand Duchess suddenly appeared and entered the buffet. With a very solemn atmosphere.

What’s this? Has she come to end the war? Her arms are still intact though.

“Professor!”

“Yes, dear.”

“Where were you? You weren’t in your room.”

Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrova smiled and stroked Kamila’s hair. “Awawawang-” Some strange sound flowed from her mouth as she was shaken left and right.

“I just went out for a walk.”

Kamila suggested she eat breakfast, but the Grand Duchess waved her hand, saying she had already eaten.

She took the seat next to Kamila and then placed an envelope on the table.

After staring at the envelope for a moment, I exchanged glances with Kamila. Wondering if it was meant for me.

“What is this?”

“I was asked to deliver it to you. I don’t know the contents myself.”

Before opening the envelope, I examined the exterior front and back.

There were no markings to identify the owner, but the material of the envelope was very luxurious. Above all, this magical power.

Even I, not particularly familiar with magic, could clearly feel the strong magical power imbued in the envelope. And that became a clue to infer the identity of the sender.

The only person who could infuse such vast magical power into an object and simultaneously ask an Archmage to deliver a letter.

The Priestess of Al-Yabd.

Zeynab Eskander.

“……”

I removed the envelope, which opened without resistance, and slowly began to read its contents.

And then.

“…I need to make a phone call.”

I stood up, taking out the secure mobile phone that had been sleeping in my pocket.