Ch.552Episode 20 – Who Threatened You with a Knife?

Frederick was leisurely watching the clouds drift by.

As with all surveillance and tailing, one shouldn’t fix their gaze too obviously on a single spot when keeping watch.

Even the slightest oddity that would normally pass unnoticed can become a clue to someone whose senses are heightened.

That’s why Frederick’s gaze never lingered in one place.

He would casually sweep his eyes across the entire park, then turn his head toward an ice cream stand, or observe passersby and citizens enjoying their outings on the grass.

“…Yaaawn.”

Frederick, leaning against the bench, let out a long yawn before smacking his lips and getting up.

With a neatly folded newspaper tucked under his arm, he rubbed his sleepy eyelids and shuffled away like an exhausted office worker, his steps lacking energy.

If anything could be called a habit, this was certainly one. A habit developed from earning his keep through espionage.

Why? Don’t we all know the type? Always tired and sleepy.

Grumbling when asked to do something, complaining about why they’re always the one being tasked.

The kind who needlessly looks around, or whose gaze is drawn to foreigners who stand out conspicuously among locals.

“Ah. Finally feeling alive…”

In Shizya’s park under the blazing sun.

Frederick, shielding his eyes from the dazzling sunlight with sunglasses, tucked the newspaper under his armpit inside his jacket and hastened his steps deeper into the park.

Episode 20 – Who Threatened You With a Knife

The man watched as ethereal streams of water unfolded from the Persian-style fountain.

Though he was neither a philosopher nor a romantic who enjoyed contemplation.

The exotic aura of the Timarshak Park fountain momentarily loosened his nerves, which had been soaked in anxiety and tension.

“……”

Short in stature with round glasses. His protruding belly brought to mind not someone who enjoyed exercise, but rather a good-natured middle-aged man who frequented fitness clubs just to meet people.

However, looking at his short but thick fingers, sturdy hands, and thick neck, anyone familiar with physical training would recognize him as a man of strength. Sigmund was indeed a man who lived up to such an image.

Swish, Sigmund swept his mustache askew once and cupped his chin with his hand.

Though it appeared as if he was simply resting his chin, a closer look at his face would reveal eyes darting busily between his narrow eyelids.

-Tick. Tick. Tick.

The sound of the second hand moving traveled up his wrist, and his gaze scanning left and right with metronome-like movements was noticeably faster than the ticking clock.

“……”

Just as the crowd’s noise and the ticking sound were mixing chaotically, a woman approached nearby, and his busy rolling eyes lowered.

It might be somewhat inappropriate for a married man to say, but the woman exuded a peculiar aura. He could tell instinctively.

The woman who had approached placed her shoulder bag on the bench and sat down.

Sigmund maintained his silence with his chin covered, and the woman seated diagonally behind him muttered quietly as if in passing.

“The sky is quite clear today.”

Though it was surely a self-directed mutter, Sigmund didn’t miss the woman’s words.

“Still, one should carry an umbrella. You never know when a sudden shower might fall.”

The brief self-talk that could hardly be called a conversation ended. The woman, covered head to toe in traditional clothing, turned to look at Sigmund as if by appointment.

Clothing that completely covered one’s body to hide the face had several meanings in Ashtistan. Roughly two.

Unlike the Lussari which revealed the face, the Niqab was mainly worn in households that shared strict family traditions. This was both a symbol of religious belief and a clue indicating a daughter from a conservative family.

Or else.

“Gray briefcase. Brown and beige wingtip shoes. Timarshak Park central fountain, 1 PM.”

“……”

“Are you Domovoy?”

Someone who absolutely needed to conceal their identity.

Leaning against the backrest, Sigmund exhaled a light sigh to calm himself.

And then he began speaking in Kiyen language with a very natural accent.

“You’ve come quite far from Petrograd.”

*

It had been barely two days since he’d contacted them about arriving in Shizya. Sigmund pushed the air out of his lungs.

“I only reached out to say hello, I didn’t expect to meet so soon.”

Have you arrived and unpacked?

Sigmund added the question casually. His attitude was that of someone addressing a long-lost acquaintance.

“I waited at the hotel.”

“I must have kept you waiting for a long time.”

The woman and Sigmund exchanged words.

Of course, the two were meeting for the first time today and were certainly not close enough to inquire about each other’s well-being. But neither Sigmund nor the woman was the type to care about such formalities.

The woman in niqab kept her gaze fixed forward and moved only her lips.

“I’m from the insurance company. You requested our help a week ago, didn’t you?”

Sigmund’s head shook slightly.

Up and down, down and up. Just once with a leisurely movement.

“Are you from the asset management team?”

“Claims adjustment.”

As Sigmund gently closed his eyes, his brain began translating the woman’s words.

‘Insurance company’ is a euphemistic expression representing the Imperial Guardian Office, the Kiyen Empire’s finest intelligence agency. The Guardian Office headquarters building in central Petrograd was originally owned by an insurance company.

Naturally, the Imperial Guardian Office was nicknamed the insurance company, and its internal departments were also given nicknames identical to those in an insurance company.

‘Asset management’ for the 2nd Bureau, responsible for foreign intelligence and covert operations abroad.

‘Claims adjustment’ for the 1st Bureau, handling domestic intelligence, counterespionage investigations, and industrial security.

Of course, these nicknames weren’t created by the Imperial Guardian Office itself. As with all intelligence agencies, within the Guardian Office and the Empire, names like “the company” or the name of the area where the headquarters was located were widely used.

Which meant…

“So you’re one of those scary spy catchers. Should I start getting nervous?”

“That’s up to you.”

This person is an employee of a foreign intelligence agency.

Just as Sigmund was smiling and saying “You’re quite bold” in response to the Imperial Guardian Office investigator’s smooth comeback…

Thud, an envelope dropped near his side.

“A warp gate ticket for a 2:30 PM departure to Petrograd, and a forged ID.”

After handing over the envelope, the woman continued in a quick and clear tone, enunciating each word.

“The passport you’re carrying risks being traced, so dispose of it and use the ID I just gave you. If you head straight east from the immigration office, you’ll find a subway station. Board the van with license plate 83L729-11. It will take you there. You should leave right away since you have a long journey ahead. We’ll collect and move your belongings from your lodging.”

“……”

“You’d better hurry. Uncle is waiting.”

With those final words, the woman began gathering her things.

Timarshak Park was an open space. Neither Domovoy nor she should linger here for long.

However, the woman who was hurrying to leave ultimately couldn’t move. More precisely, she couldn’t leave.

An unexpected variable had occurred.

“Impossible.”

“…What do you mean?”

The woman who was about to leave the fountain area slightly turned her head toward Sigmund.

“I asked what you mean by ‘impossible.'”

“My family is here with me.”

“…Family?”

Two eyes flashed through the niqab. Sigmund took the passport and ticket from the envelope and tossed them onto the bench with a thud. As if they were useless items.

The Imperial Guardian Office employee asked in an agitated voice.

“What nonsense is this suddenly? When we spoke yesterday, you clearly said you were alone.”

Sigmund silently nodded. Though he appeared relaxed, she realized this gesture was meant to avoid answering.

She was aware that Domovoy was married, but she had never heard that he would bring his family. Especially not when they had decided on the meeting place and time with Domovoy just yesterday.

The Imperial Guardian Office employee muttered irritably.

“You deceived us.”

The woman in niqab glared at Sigmund with suspicious eyes. And Sigmund raised both hands to show that he ‘freely admitted it.’

“Think what you will. Ah, but please don’t misunderstand, I had no ill intentions.”

“Your words are misleading.”

The Imperial Guardian Office employee snapped, “Are you saying you don’t trust us now?” but Sigmund calmly shook his head.

“If I didn’t trust you people, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place.”

“Then we’ll safely escort your family members, so please depart right now.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll decline.”

Sigmund said.

Take my family first.

“Please take care of my family first. I’ll depart as soon as I finish my business here.”

“What business?”

“There’s something I need to take with me. A gift that your superiors would be pleased to see, but the problem is I haven’t secured the evidence yet.”

The Imperial Guardian Office employee took a deep breath and exhaled.

“If you continue to be uncooperative, we’ll have no choice but to withdraw.”

“Do as you please. Just remember that I’ve been helping your handlers within the company quite sufficiently until now.”

“……”

Sigmund maintained a consistently confident attitude.

She suspected he might be intentionally inflating his value to seek asylum with his family, or that he might be wary of the Imperial Guardian Office. But the directive from the director was to “safely bring him to the Kiyen Empire.”

For one reason only. Because of “certain information” that Domovoy possessed.

Of course, no one knew exactly what this information was or how important it was. Only the director knew that.

But since the instruction was to “provide maximum convenience during the defection process and don’t worry about any costs incurred,” she had no other options.

“……”

Once her thoughts were organized, she spoke in a more subdued voice.

“Where is your family now?”

*

The two girls who wanted ice cream persistently begged their mother.

“Mom, Mom! Please buy us ice cream!”

“Again? Lucy, you just had some.”

“But it’s a flavor we’ve never tried before… Henya wants some too.”

To be precise, “the two girls who wanted new ice cream.”

They had just left the hotel, and their mother had already bought them ice cream due to their persistent begging. But they had devoured it all on the way to the park and were now asking for more.

That was why the mother briefly wore a troubled expression.

But how could she stop them from enjoying treats? No parent can resist their children. Seeing the children clinging to her skirt with sparkling eyes, the mother could only smile gently and lightly pinch the bridge of her nose.

“Ouch.”

“Choose whatever flavor you want. But don’t eat too much. You’ll get cavities and that hurts, okay?”

“Thank you, Mom!”

The two girls smiled broadly and were about to dash toward the ice cream stand.

Seeing this, the startled mother quickly grabbed the children who were about to run off.

“Wait a moment, children. Let’s go together.”

The reason the mother stopped her two daughters was quite simple. The two girls didn’t know the common language of the Moritani continent.

The common language of the Moritani continent was already difficult to learn. Like Arabic, it was notorious for its unique characters, difficult-to-pronounce sounds, complex grammar system, and notation. Moreover, Ashtistani, which belonged to a completely different language family than the common language of the Moritani continent, was even more unfamiliar.

Fortunately, she could speak some Kiyen. Though not as fluently as her native language, she sounded quite similar to a native speaker.

While the children weren’t as proficient as she was, they could at least understand when listening. That is, they could understand very simple sentences or words.

“……”

As the woman walked toward the stand, she began to carefully observe her surroundings.

She hadn’t encountered many Ashtistani people until now because she had been taking less crowded routes, but now she needed to be a bit more cautious.

The two daughters, who had been making a commotion earlier, became quiet as if nothing had happened and just walked to the ice cream stand, firmly holding their mother’s hands.

“What flavor would you like?”

The children silently pointed at the ice cream in the picture.

Just as the woman was about to speak to the Ashtistani person in quite fluent Kiyen…

“…?”

Henya, the girl holding her mother’s hand, suddenly tilted her head in confusion and began to whisper softly into Lucy’s ear.

“Sis, sis.”

“What is it?”

“Look at what that mister is holding.”

Lucy followed her sister’s gesture and looked, and Henya pointed at the object in the man’s hand.

“It looks exactly like what Dad has.”

“Wow…”

The two girls smiled brightly as if witnessing something fascinating.

Seeing the children’s smiles, the man waved at Henya and Lucy. He waved very enthusiastically.

That seemed quite amusing. The children also began to wave their hands vigorously toward the man.

The woman, who had been talking with the stand owner, belatedly noticed the children’s commotion and bowed her head apologetically toward the man.

“I’m sorry, sir. My children can be quite mischievous…”

“Not at all. They’re at that age, it’s natural.”

The man waved his hand dismissively and smiled.

“Kids will be kids.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

The man in the suit was speaking Kiyen quite fluently, even to her ears. He seemed to be from the Kiyen Empire. Without a doubt, it was perfect standard Kiyen.

“Are you here on vacation? With your family?”

“Yes.”

“That’s nice. Shizya has a lot to see. There are many festivals and events that children would enjoy. If you had visited a little earlier, you could have eaten various things as soon as the sun set. Because of the fasting period.”

Though her lips were smiling, her heart was racing rapidly. She worried about being compared.

If she were talking to Ashtistani people, it might not matter. But with a native speaker right beside her, her pronunciation or accent might be noticeably different.

She needed to just take the ice cream and leave quickly.

“Keep the change.”

The woman calmly handed over the bill and declined the change. A smile bloomed on the owner’s face.

The two girls politely greeted the owner. And the man as well.

“Thank you, children. If it’s alright with you, is there anything I can help you with?”

The man asked the woman if she needed help.

“I noticed you looking around earlier. I wondered if you needed assistance.”

The woman shook her head with a seemingly nonchalant expression.

She added firmly.

“No. Thank you, but I’ll pass. Take care, sir.”

The man, who was clearly not Ashtistani at first glance, dusted off his wrist that had been waving vigorously just moments ago.

Then, nodding his head, he replied.

“Well, it would be better if you accepted help when offered.”

Twirling his wrist a few times, the man put his PDA in his pocket and added.

“Don’t end up in prison here on espionage charges and make everyone suffer unnecessarily.”