Ch.566Episode 20 – Who Threatened You with a Knife? (End)

If there’s a common culture that intelligence officers share, it would probably be chess.

A board game for two players. A mind sport requiring high-level strategy.

Some think chess is simply a game where you capture the King to win, but that’s not really the case. The essence of chess is moving various pieces within the given rules.

64 squares. 32 pieces. Different openings.

Depending on player choices, the possibilities converge toward infinity, and the two players constantly contemplate and struggle between their available options to find the key to victory.

That’s why chess is a game that demands logical thinking.

“Do you know what a gambit is?”

This isn’t much different from intelligence warfare.

“I know. It’s a chess strategy, right?”

“Correct. A move where you sacrifice a lower-value piece to gain a positional advantage. That’s a gambit.”

I nodded with a cigarette in my mouth.

“Siegmund, as you know, intelligence agency people really love chess. Regardless of era or nationality. Back in the day, whenever I met foreign colleagues, we’d always play chess while exchanging information.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

Siegmund urged me to get to the point.

“Tsk-“

With the cigarette between my fingers, I rubbed my eyelids. A bitter taste lingered in my dry mouth.

Gambit. A gambling move where you give your opponent a low-value piece to gain a favorable position.

To use an idiom, this strategy of “cutting flesh to reach bone” has several characteristics.

First, the opponent can accept the gambit, decline it, or propose a counter-gambit.

Second, the side proposing the gambit gains a temporary attacking advantage as compensation for sacrificing a piece.

Third, if the opponent accepts the gambit and successfully defends against all attacks, the initiative passes to the one who accepted the gambit.

Will you maintain the positional advantage gained by sacrificing a piece early on and carry it through to victory? Or will you face defense, lose your pieces, and struggle through a disadvantageous game?

A gambit isn’t necessarily advantageous to either side, which is why it’s often compared to a gamble that can lead to ruin if used incorrectly.

In other words,

“…I’m starting to see why that old man gave you up, my friend.”

Episode 20 – Who Threatened You With a Knife

This is all one big chess game.

A game where you sacrifice your own flesh to take your opponent’s bone, to capture a more valuable piece, to get closer to core secrets.

Someone threw an appetizing bait at me. And Siegmund is the piece that someone threw.

That’s what Frederick claimed.

“You’re saying I’m a pawn?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…”

Siegmund snorted as if it were a ridiculous notion.

“The Royal Intelligence Bureau didn’t know, and neither did Military Intelligence. Only the upper echelons of the Imperial Guard knew my identity.”

“……”

“How did information known only to one of the two competing national intelligence agencies leak to you?”

It wasn’t the intelligence bureau.

The Royal Intelligence Bureau only discovered Siegmund’s betrayal right after William, his contact, was arrested. Their response was swift and accurate, but that didn’t support Frederick’s claim.

Siegmund continued his speculation.

“Could it be the Inquisition? Perhaps. They’ve had friction with the Imperial Guard over Saint Veronica’s issue, and Laterano’s intelligence is based on faith. If someone within the Imperial Guard revealed my identity to them based on religious beliefs, it’s not entirely impossible.”

Of course, the actual possibility approaches zero.

The Imperial Guard’s biggest adversary is the Abbas intelligence agency, but the Inquisition is also a threat to the Empire.

It’s a known fact among intelligence agencies that religious zealots leak secrets to the Inquisition. The Imperial Guard has strictly managed access to information about Siegmund, regardless of rank, for anyone with religious affiliations.

This was something Siegmund knew, and Frederick had also guessed.

“I know. If information had flowed to Laterano, the Royal Intelligence Bureau would have noticed. They’re competent enough for that.”

“Indeed. But I wonder why you’re telling such a transparent lie…”

“But Siegmund, there’s one thing you’ve misunderstood.”

Grayish smoke rose.

Frederick dropped his cigarette and leaned his upper body forward.

“I never said where I heard that you were a spy. Nor did I claim the source was an intelligence agency.”

Siegmund furrowed his brow and tilted his head.

“…Then?”

“The source is Ashtistan. Not the Inquisition or any other intelligence agency.”

Siegmund’s eyes widened as he looked at Frederick.

He raised his eyelids, and deep wrinkles formed on his forehead above his eyebrows.

“That person told me. ‘Canicula Holdings, Wali Al-Dadun, Timarshah Park, 1 PM.’ Just those three things written on a note. I thought it was some kind of joke at first.”

While Siegmund sat quietly, Frederick rose from his seat with a soft exclamation.

He put his hands in his pockets, laughed incredulously, and began pacing around as if taking a stroll.

“They wanted to eliminate Commander Dariush. Ah, so that’s what it meant? I was worried I might have to take someone’s head.”

“…Who? Who told you the meeting place and time?”

Frederick looked at Siegmund.

“Does it matter?”

“……”

“What matters is that someone obtained the details of the agreement between you and the Imperial Guard. And passed it to me.”

Frederick didn’t know the specific circumstances of how that information was obtained. And neither would Siegmund.

“The agreement between you and the Imperial Guard leaked. Specifically, the meeting place and time. I don’t know where it leaked from, but what’s important is that it reached my ears and was also passed to the Royal Intelligence Bureau employees who were following you.”

That was all that mattered.

Nothing else was important.

“Don’t blame yourself too much. It’s not really because you or the Imperial Guard people were incompetent. This is more like…”

“……”

“Just a case of bad luck, to be precise.”

*

The footsteps wandering inside the safe house passed by Siegmund.

Siegmund stared into space without even glancing sideways.

Frederick, who had reached the window, clasped his hands behind his back and looked at the blue-tinted downtown.

In the distance, a palace stood tall against the backdrop of mountains wearing white caps.

“Your subordinates committed espionage by providing secrets to a foreign intelligence officer in exchange for financial gain, and the commander amassed illegal slush funds through immoral methods of generating illegal profits overseas.”

“……”

“Of course, the truth is that you, Siegmund, are a double agent who has been cooperating with the Imperial Guard for 16 years, and your ‘friends’ serving in the Law Enforcement Corps, police, and military have technically been helping the Empire… but who cares about that?”

After all, your official affiliation is as the counter-intelligence director of the Royal Intelligence Bureau.

As an intelligence officer who has been active here since the days of the Ashtistan ‘Kingdom’.

“No one will care. Especially not the Imperial Guard.”

It’s been less than a week since Alexandra Petrova was wiretapped by the Ashtistan Republic Security Committee.

An unfortunate incident experienced by the elder of the Smirnov royal family, the Grand Duke of the North, and a Grand Magician revered by magicians worldwide.

If it’s revealed here that Siegmund was a double agent for the Imperial Guard, the Ashtistan Republic gains leverage.

Diplomatic leverage to pressure the Kien Empire through legitimate and legal means.

“It would be a headache for the Imperial Guard. They might try to protect you, but they have no reason to care about the informants you were handling.”

“……”

“What about the Ashtistan Republic? The Law Enforcement Corps? Now that the Abbas government they so despise has exposed their arms trafficking shame and humiliated them in the international community. How would they react to learning that a high-ranking Royal Intelligence Bureau officer had planted informants throughout Shizya?”

Siegmund didn’t answer.

It was a future that could be predicted without having to say it out loud.

The identity of public officials bribed by Abbas intelligence agents has been revealed.

Siegmund’s informants existed throughout Shizya’s military, security, and intelligence sectors.

This could be interpreted as the Ashtistan Republic’s security being completely compromised by a foreign power.

If a fair investigation and trial were conducted, they might avoid severe punishment despite not escaping significant penalties.

However, the current situation was far from “fair.”

The investigative agencies would consider money received from an “enemy country’s” “spy” as “operational funds,” and communications between them would be recorded in the indictment as “preparing to overthrow the Republic.”

Even if the Imperial Guard revealed the truth, the situation couldn’t be resolved smoothly.

The Kien Foreign Ministry would immediately face protests from the Ashtistan Republic’s Foreign Ministry, and the Empire, which had been trying to pressure the Republic over the wiretapping scandal, would likely hold the Imperial Guard responsible.

Therefore, the Imperial Guard would not intervene under any circumstances.

They would quietly extract Siegmund, slip away, and just wait for all the truth to be buried.

And the Royal Intelligence Bureau…

“…They’ll abandon me.”

Siegmund spoke in a calm tone.

“Since it was done by a double agent, there’s no one to take responsibility. And they won’t try to hide it since revealing the truth would only embarrass the Imperial Guard.”

“They might lose face for not detecting a security breach for 16 years, but they can at least give the Imperial Guard personnel who will operate in Shizya in the future a hard time.”

“The picture looks fine. Everyone knows that imperial intelligence and republic intelligence have been operating against each other, don’t they?”

“It’s an open secret. That’s why the gentlemen in this neighborhood will have no problem suspecting the Imperial Guard.”

Of course, people in Shizya will also consider the possibility of black propaganda.

But even if Siegmund is a double agent, the fact that his informants leaked confidential information from the Ashtistan Republic doesn’t change, does it?

Nationality doesn’t matter. What matters is that public officials, at the instigation of foreign intelligence officers, leaked secrets to a foreign intelligence agency.

The world calls this espionage.

“What’s the sentence for espionage? I’m not familiar with Ashtistan Republic criminal law.”

“…Death.”

“Ah, right. Hanging, wasn’t it? I believe the Law Enforcement Corps carries it out. It’s quite strange—Law Enforcement Corps employees being executed by the Law Enforcement Corps themselves.”

Frederick continued speaking while leaning against the window.

It was a conversation about a future that both men understood.

“Since you said you had informants within the Law Enforcement Corps, Dariush Ismaelzahi won’t be able to escape responsibility either. As the commander of the Law Enforcement Corps, he’ll have to answer for his subordinates’ espionage activities. If he’s lucky, he might just be stripped of his uniform and return to civilian life, or if unlucky, he might lose all the wealth he’s accumulated.”

“……”

“Of course, even if he manages to shift the blame to someone else through clever politics, that bastard is destined to lose his position. You know why.”

“…Bribery, slush funds, and illegal wealth accumulation are dishonorable acts. And in this country, dishonor means social death.”

“In a way, it’s like social execution, isn’t it? In a place where the mayor of Shizya was impeached for watching girls dance and perform, a crime more dishonorable than attending a performance would mean living the rest of one’s life as if with all limbs amputated, barely breathing.”

Siegmund’s informants face physical execution.

Law Enforcement Corps Commander Dariush Ismaelzahi is set to face social execution for command responsibility and illegal wealth accumulation.

The second-in-command of the Ashtistan Republic?

That doesn’t mean anything.

There was someone else who wanted to take Dariush Ismaelzahi’s head.

“Me, a pawn?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…”

Siegmund laughed scornfully.

“The Royal Intelligence Bureau didn’t know, and neither did Military Intelligence. Only the upper echelons of the Imperial Guard knew my identity.”

“……”

“How did information known only to one of the two competing national intelligence agencies leak to you?”

It wasn’t the intelligence bureau.

The Royal Intelligence Bureau only discovered Siegmund’s betrayal right after William, his contact, was arrested. Their response was swift and accurate, but that didn’t support Frederick’s claim.

Siegmund continued his speculation.

“Could it be the Inquisition? Perhaps. They’ve had friction with the Imperial Guard over Saint Veronica’s issue, and Laterano’s intelligence is based on faith. If someone within the Imperial Guard revealed my identity to them based on religious beliefs, it’s not entirely impossible.”

Of course, the actual possibility approaches zero.

The Imperial Guard’s biggest adversary is the Abbas intelligence agency, but the Inquisition is also a threat to the Empire.

It’s a known fact among intelligence agencies that religious zealots leak secrets to the Inquisition. The Imperial Guard has strictly managed access to information about Siegmund, regardless of rank, for anyone with religious affiliations.

This was something Siegmund knew, and Frederick had also guessed.

“I know. If information had flowed to Laterano, the Royal Intelligence Bureau would have noticed. They’re competent enough for that.”

“Indeed. But I wonder why you’re telling such a transparent lie…”

“But Siegmund, there’s one thing you’ve misunderstood.”

Grayish smoke rose.

Frederick dropped his cigarette and leaned his upper body forward.

“I never said where I heard that you were a spy. Nor did I claim the source was an intelligence agency.”

Siegmund furrowed his brow and tilted his head.

“…Then?”

“The source is Ashtistan. Not the Inquisition or any other intelligence agency.”

Siegmund’s eyes widened as he looked at Frederick.

He raised his eyelids, and deep wrinkles formed on his forehead above his eyebrows.

“That person told me. ‘Canicula Holdings, Wali Al-Dadun, Timarshah Park, 1 PM.’ Just those three things written on a note. I thought it was some kind of joke at first.”

While Siegmund sat quietly, Frederick rose from his seat with a soft exclamation.

He put his hands in his pockets, laughed incredulously, and began pacing around as if taking a stroll.

“They wanted to eliminate Commander Dariush. Ah, so that’s what it meant? I was worried I might have to take someone’s head.”

“…Who? Who told you the meeting place and time?”

Frederick looked at Siegmund.

“Does it matter?”

“……”

“What matters is that someone obtained the details of the agreement between you and the Imperial Guard. And passed it to me.”

Frederick didn’t know the specific circumstances of how that information was obtained. And neither would Siegmund.

“The agreement between you and the Imperial Guard leaked. Specifically, the meeting place and time. I don’t know where it leaked from, but what’s important is that it reached my ears and was also passed to the Royal Intelligence Bureau employees who were following you.”

That was all that mattered.

Nothing else was important.

“Don’t blame yourself too much. It’s not really because you or the Imperial Guard people were incompetent. This is more like…”

“……”

“Just a case of bad luck, to be precise.”

*

The footsteps wandering inside the safe house passed by Siegmund.

Siegmund stared into space without even glancing sideways.

Frederick, who had reached the window, clasped his hands behind his back and looked at the blue-tinted downtown.

In the distance, a palace stood tall against the backdrop of mountains wearing white caps.

“Your subordinates committed espionage by providing secrets to a foreign intelligence officer in exchange for financial gain, and the commander amassed illegal slush funds through immoral methods of generating illegal profits overseas.”

“……”

“Of course, the truth is that you, Siegmund, are a double agent who has been cooperating with the Imperial Guard for 16 years, and your ‘friends’ serving in the Law Enforcement Corps, police, and military have technically been helping the Empire… but who cares about that?”

After all, your official affiliation is as the counter-intelligence director of the Royal Intelligence Bureau.

As an intelligence officer who has been active here since the days of the Ashtistan ‘Kingdom’.

“No one will care. Especially not the Imperial Guard.”

It’s been less than a week since Alexandra Petrova was wiretapped by the Ashtistan Republic Security Committee.

An unfortunate incident experienced by the elder of the Smirnov royal family, the Grand Duke of the North, and a Grand Magician revered by magicians worldwide.

If it’s revealed here that Siegmund was a double agent for the Imperial Guard, the Ashtistan Republic gains leverage.

Diplomatic leverage to pressure the Kien Empire through legitimate and legal means.

“It would be a headache for the Imperial Guard. They might try to protect you, but they have no reason to care about the informants you were handling.”

“……”

“What about the Ashtistan Republic? The Law Enforcement Corps? Now that the Abbas government they so despise has exposed their arms trafficking shame and humiliated them in the international community. How would they react to learning that a high-ranking Royal Intelligence Bureau officer had planted informants throughout Shizya?”

Siegmund didn’t answer.

It was a future that could be predicted without having to say it out loud.

The identity of public officials bribed by Abbas intelligence agents has been revealed.

Siegmund’s informants existed throughout Shizya’s military, security, and intelligence sectors.

This could be interpreted as the Ashtistan Republic’s security being completely compromised by a foreign power.

If a fair investigation and trial were conducted, they might avoid severe punishment despite not escaping significant penalties.

However, the current situation was far from “fair.”

The investigative agencies would consider money received from an “enemy country’s” “spy” as “operational funds,” and communications between them would be recorded in the indictment as “preparing to overthrow the Republic.”

Even if the Imperial Guard revealed the truth, the situation couldn’t be resolved smoothly.

The Kien Foreign Ministry would immediately face protests from the Ashtistan Republic’s Foreign Ministry, and the Empire, which had been trying to pressure the Republic over the wiretapping scandal, would likely hold the Imperial Guard responsible.

Therefore, the Imperial Guard would not intervene under any circumstances.

They would quietly extract Siegmund, slip away, and just wait for all the truth to be buried.

And the Royal Intelligence Bureau…

“…They’ll abandon me.”

Siegmund spoke in a calm tone.

“Since it was done by a double agent, there’s no one to take responsibility. And they won’t try to hide it since revealing the truth would only embarrass the Imperial Guard.”

“They might lose face for not detecting a security breach for 16 years, but they can at least give the Imperial Guard personnel who will operate in Shizya in the future a hard time.”

“The picture looks fine. Everyone knows that imperial intelligence and republic intelligence have been operating against each other, don’t they?”

“It’s an open secret. That’s why the gentlemen in this neighborhood will have no problem suspecting the Imperial Guard.”

Of course, people in Shizya will also consider the possibility of black propaganda.

But even if Siegmund is a double agent, the fact that his informants leaked confidential information from the Ashtistan Republic doesn’t change, does it?

Nationality doesn’t matter. What matters is that public officials, at the instigation of foreign intelligence officers, leaked secrets to a foreign intelligence agency.

The world calls this espionage.

“What’s the sentence for espionage? I’m not familiar with Ashtistan Republic criminal law.”

“…Death.”

“Ah, right. Hanging, wasn’t it? I believe the Law Enforcement Corps carries it out. It’s quite strange—Law Enforcement Corps employees being executed by the Law Enforcement Corps themselves.”

Frederick continued speaking while leaning against the window.

It was a conversation about a future that both men understood.

“Since you said you had informants within the Law Enforcement Corps, Dariush Ismaelzahi won’t be able to escape responsibility either. As the commander of the Law Enforcement Corps, he’ll have to answer for his subordinates’ espionage activities. If he’s lucky, he might just be stripped of his uniform and return to civilian life, or if unlucky, he might lose all the wealth he’s accumulated.”

“……”

“Of course, even if he manages to shift the blame to someone else through clever politics, that bastard is destined to lose his position. You know why.”

“…Bribery, slush funds, and illegal wealth accumulation are dishonorable acts. And in this country, dishonor means social death.”

“In a way, it’s like social execution, isn’t it? In a place where the mayor of Shizya was impeached for watching girls dance and perform, a crime more dishonorable than attending a performance would mean living the rest of one’s life as if with all limbs amputated, barely breathing.”

Siegmund’s informants face physical execution.

Law Enforcement Corps Commander Dariush Ismaelzahi is set to face social execution for command responsibility and illegal wealth accumulation.

The second-in-command of the Ashtistan Republic?

That doesn’t mean anything.

There was someone else who wanted to take Dariush Ismaelzahi’s head.

“This is interesting.”

“……”

“The Imperial Guard, struck by this bolt from the blue, won’t dare to step forward for fear of being reprimanded by the Grand Duke, who has a close relationship with the High Priest, asking ‘why did you cause unnecessary trouble?’ The Foreign Ministry will be in an uproar saying the intelligence agencies have made a mess again, and the military will probably try to use this opportunity to discipline the Imperial Guard.”

“Many will be in trouble.”

“Isn’t that how family fights always are? Well, the Imperial Guard will be too preoccupied to care about whatever happens in Shizya. Meanwhile, the Royal Intelligence Bureau will quickly finish its business and withdraw.”

Siegmund slightly turned his gaze over his shoulder.

Backlight cast a shadow where Frederick stood, obscuring his view, but he could clearly see his silhouette.

“…Did they say they would eliminate Dariush Ismaelzahi? The one who told you my meeting place and time.”

“Yes.”

“Do you really think they can? I know it’s a crazy, absurd claim.”

“I’m willing to bet on it if you’re confident.”

Someone’s mocking laughter cut through the air.

Frederick smoked his cigarette, and Siegmund laughed as he responded.

“Listen. You seem to believe something without knowing the full picture. The Law Enforcement Corps is one of the highest power institutions in this country. On par with the Kien Empire’s Imperial Guard and military.”

“I know.”

“You probably know who Dariush Ismaelzahi is. Do you also know that he is the political successor to ‘Menbashi’?”

Siegmund explained that Commander Dariush was set to lead the Ashtistan Republic after ‘Menbashi’.

His position as head of the highest power institution and political successor to ‘Menbashi’ supported this.

And Frederick,

“…Ah. So the King here was ‘Menbashi’? Wow, I didn’t know that!”

Burst into laughter.

He leaned against the window, laughing hysterically for a while before wiping away tears.

“I see now. I was wondering why that old man in the Citadel wanted to oust the Law Enforcement Corps commander. Ah, he had someone else he wanted to take down? How devious.”

“…Citadel?”

Siegmund turned his head slightly and muttered in a somewhat bewildered voice.

“Zeinab Eskander? The Al-Yabd High Priest?”

“Yes. That old lady.”

“…Why would my information be in the hands of the High Priest?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

Actually, I don’t even care.

Frederick, rising from the window, added:

“In fact, people here probably won’t care much about what the Abbas government says. Even if evidence of the Law Enforcement Corps illegally earning foreign currency is presented, they’ll think it’s propaganda fabricated by an enemy country.”

“……”

“But if the High Priest herself steps forward, that’s a different story, isn’t it?”

Honestly, I’m curious too.

How spectacularly will the gambit thrown by one of only two Grand Magicians in the world succeed?

Frederick spoke in a calm voice, taking his hands out of his pockets.

“Thank you so much, Siegmund. Thanks to you, I can get rid of all these troublesome people.”

“……”

“The Prime Minister’s Office has been insisting on taking Dariush’s head for a while now. And now I can feed the others to them as well.”

His eyes close.

Siegmund felt his eyelids growing heavy.

“…You’ll never find the rest of the information I’ve hidden. Including information about you.”

“I don’t need it. If I can’t find it, neither can they. If an ownerless object buried in the desert is forgotten by everyone, isn’t that enough?”

A chilling sensation touches his spine.

“You probably knew vaguely. That it would end like this someday.”

The cold wind brushes against the nape of his neck, and his fingers release the handle he had been gripping tightly.

“You called it an aesthetic choice?”

The intelligence officer said.

“I think so too.”

“……”

“But that doesn’t justify stabbing your trusted colleagues in the back.”

“…Betrayal is betrayal.”

“You know it well.”

“…Will you be alright? There will be talk at the company.”

“I don’t care. I’ll just report that I dealt with a double agent before he could run his mouth. If it really bothers me, I can always resign.”

The intelligence officer laughed.

“And don’t worry about me. I’ve done the same thing before.”

“……”

“But headquarters didn’t say much about it.”

It’s time now.

Morning has come to the dew-soaked city.

The intelligence officer took out his last Gauloises Caporal, put it in his mouth, and exhaled a sigh tinged with red.

“I’m tired.”

The intelligence agent who had been watching him spoke in a low voice.

The intelligence officer with the cigarette near his lips grinned.

And then.

A bright light momentarily illuminated the darkness.

*

Intelligence officers waiting in the hallway gathered chemicals, cleaning supplies, and plastic sheets before entering.

Going down to the entrance, Matt’s face came into view. He was leaning against the doorframe, smoking a cigarette.

Frederick opened the paper box Matt handed him, checked the Royal Intelligence Bureau’s confidential documents stacked neatly inside, and took them to the back alley.

-Whoosh!

A makeshift bonfire in what looked like a waste drum grew a little brighter. Frederick sighed with relief, rummaging through his pocket while muttering in a small voice.

“Even if the report is delayed because it’s not daytime, the police will arrive soon.”

“We’ll clean up and leave within 5 minutes.”

“The body needs to be found. It might seem like spoon-feeding, but it’s better than things going sideways at the last minute.”

As he was putting clothes into a black bag and changing into new ones,

Matt, who had been watching quietly, began to speak.

“What did you say to Siegmund? At the end, I mean. You two seemed to be talking about something.”

“……”

Frederick, changing his clothes, turned his head for a moment.

Morning had already dawned.

It must have rained during the night, as it was a bit cold.

Quite unlike the image of a desert country.

“…Nothing special.”

“Really?”

Frederick, who had paused speaking, brought a cigarette from his pocket to his lips.

Then he suddenly added:

“I’m not as philosophical as that gentleman… I just said what came to mind.”

Episode 20 – Who Threatened You With a Knife – END –