Ch.567Side Episode – A Lucky Day

The mist-shrouded desert city was dreamlike to the point of dizziness.

Beige-toned stone buildings stained with grime were apartments from the 1940s. Unraveled carpets, an old telephone in the corner of the room, and tattered fabric sofas were scattered about in disarray.

When the wind blew, the old-fashioned curtains exhaled the dust they had absorbed, and the worn carpet that looked like something from a grandmother’s house painfully spewed out creaking screams and turbid breaths.

Yellow lighting filtered through the windows, creating an eerie atmosphere.

Giorgi, who had been standing in front of the broken telephone, covered the receiver with his hand and looked up.

“…Our informant at the local police station confirmed it. There was a report of gunshots at an apartment near the slums before dawn, and they found a foreigner’s body there.”

“Did they confirm the identity?”

“That’s still unconfirmed, but they say he’s Caucasian. A white male in his 40s or 50s.”

The gazes of Sándor, who was wandering around the safe house, and Oksana, who was preparing biscuits in the kitchen, collided.

Kirill, who had been standing by the window looking down at the surroundings as if waiting for someone, turned his face with a complicated expression and approached the man sitting in the corner.

“You must be tired from your long journey. Let’s disperse for now.”

“Is the operation canceled?”

Asked the man who concealed his sturdy build under a shabby padded jacket.

Kirill concluded his answer with what was not quite a sigh.

“…Understood.”

When the man gestured, the people who had been quietly standing with folded arms began to pack their belongings one by one. They folded the short gunstocks, laid them on the floor, and stacked ammunition clips and rifle cartridges neatly on top.

Finally, after slinging gun cases over their shoulders, they stood up. The Imperial Guard operation team members took the IDs and communication devices handed to them by the Department 6 support officer, left a message saying they would “remain hidden in the safe house for a few days,” and then left the apartment.

“……”

After the bustling apartment suddenly fell silent.

Yekaterina, who had maintained her silence, slowly rested her head against the old sofa and closed her eyelids.

Side Episode – A Lucky Day

It failed.

The unique identifier “Domovoi” did not appear at the meeting place.

After shaking off his tail and disappearing somewhere, he was eventually found dead in an apartment in the slums.

Cause of death: gunshot.

A pistol bullet had hit the back of his head, penetrated his skull, and exited above his eyebrow, cutting off his breath.

Why had Domovoi fled? Who had killed him?

No one knew. With the subject dead, there was no way to uncover the truth behind his death.

The reason remained unknown.

*

Petrograd was beautiful that afternoon.

Yekaterina was as empty-handed as when she first left this place. Her empty hands pulled a tiny handle as she passed through the immigration office.

The sensation was vivid as her suitcase wobbled from side to side whenever it hit the bumps on the uneven road surface. This subtly uncomfortable swaying continued until a team member took over the handle.

“Team Leader, what happened?”

One of the investigation team staff who had come to meet her laid the groundwork to offer words of comfort, but contrary to expectations, no answer came.

Yekaterina, sitting in the back seat, didn’t utter a word, and her subordinate also took the wheel in silence.

Team Leader.

No, her superior who had now become a department head didn’t seem to be in the mood for trivial jokes or casual office talk.

As the official car began to speed along the asphalt.

The intelligence officer who had come from headquarters to meet Yekaterina finally broke the silence with difficulty.

“The company atmosphere has changed a lot while you were away on your business trip. You’ll soon find out yourself, Department Head.”

The defection of the double agent had come to nothing.

Siegmund had been shot dead, and the classified information he was supposed to deliver had vanished without a trace.

Failed operations were nothing new, but this was a painful loss even for the Imperial Guard. It was a complete failure, with no opportunity for proper interrogation.

“We’re investigating why, by whom, and how the defector trying to escape from the Royal Intelligence Service was killed. With help from Department 2 members of that branch.”

“……”

“But since the investigation authority lies with the Republic of Ashtistan, I don’t expect anything to come out soon. All their investigative agencies, from the Law Enforcement Corps to the Security Committee, are in turmoil right now.”

Siegmund’s death brought many changes. Mostly in negative directions.

A high-ranking official from an enemy intelligence agency had been found dead in the middle of the capital, shot to death.

Among the intelligence lines who had been completely unaware of his entry into the country, a dispute over responsibility was inevitable.

The Law Enforcement Corps purged many personnel from the Security Committee and intelligence departments. It was the result of shifting blame to other agencies, and their bomb-throwing seemed somewhat successful in the dispute over responsibility.

But the moment their decades of dirty work abroad was exposed to the world.

The goddess of victory, who had briefly seemed to raise her hand in their favor, closed her eyes instead.

“The staff downstairs say it’s like a battlefield. I wonder what they’ve all been up to… tsk.”

The team member who had been muttering to himself suddenly glanced at the rearview mirror. Yekaterina was still silently looking out the window.

“Where did the leak come from? Did the company, filled with rage, report the Corps?”

“Just bad luck, I suppose.”

“……”

A sigh from an unknown source followed quietly.

Yekaterina, who had been looking out the window, released her propped chin.

They had reached their destination.

The building that solemnly overlooked Dzerzhinsky Square.

The Imperial Guard Headquarters came into view.

*

“So that’s how it went.”

Near the end of the long debriefing.

Director Ilya began in a deep voice.

He had already seen the report from Shizuya four days ago. It was a dispatch reporting the failure of the operation along with news of Siegmund’s death.

The officer who wrote the report was Yekaterina, and she was now facing Director Ilya.

“Unbelievable news. That a legendary man who tormented everyone like a nightmare could pass so futilely.”

Known for his rare emotional expressions, the director was famous for being difficult to read.

Nevertheless, today Ilya seemed a little sad.

Sitting at his desk and muttering, he fell silent at some point.

He silently put down the report next to the blue cigarettes still in their unopened packaging, took out a bottle of “No. 21” vodka with a red label from a container with floating ice fragments, filled a glass, and took a sip.

“……”

Looking at his tightly closed lips, Yekaterina suddenly recalled that Siegmund had preferred certain tobacco and liquor.

Among vodkas, the No. 21 presented to the Imperial family. Gauloises Caporal, representing Frangia.

A faded Imperial Guard report described in detail Siegmund’s appearance with No. 21 and Gauloises Caporal. Along with familiar handwriting.

Director Ilya opened his mouth.

“They say this tobacco was found at the scene.”

He pointed to the blue cigarettes on his desk. And as far as Yekaterina knew, Director Ilya was a strict non-smoker.

When she nodded, the director naturally continued.

His voice was somewhat hoarse.

To the point of sounding tired.

“He must have smoked to his heart’s content at the end.”

The Gauloises Caporal was gently moved aside.

He filled a glass with No. 21 as a drop of water trickled down.

“…Siegmund was the man with the strongest convictions among all the intelligence officers I’ve ever seen. He could delay having beloved children for his country, and could live his entire life turning his back on that country if it went against his conscience.”

After emptying the full glass of spirits in one go.

Director Ilya refilled it.

“Others might think he sold secrets for money, but at least the Siegmund I knew was a man of a different caliber from such worthless scraps.”

“……”

“We haven’t simply lost a defector, we’ve lost a friend.”

Yekaterina said nothing.

Not because the operation had failed. Behind the numerous achievements of the Imperial Guard were even more failures.

Nor was it death that brought sadness. Victory and defeat always required a price, and blood was just one of those prices.

Just as the deaths of ten thousand gave birth to a great empire, the deaths of millions were merely statistical figures.

But because the death of one person is an unspeakable tragedy to someone.

The director opened his mouth in a heavy voice.

“To have walked the path to his own death. It was an uncharacteristically foolish decision for Siegmund.”

It was like a lamentation. No further words were needed.

“Ashtistan has become quite noisy. After the exposé came out, the Law Enforcement Corps was cornered. Commander Darius’s position is expected to become quite difficult.”

Or perhaps it had already become too difficult to remedy.

“If Darius, the supreme commander of the Law Enforcement Corps, disappears, the Republic will find it harder to pursue hardline policies. According to rumors, desert friends are already lurking in front of the Foreign Ministry’s entrance. Whoever is behind it has quite the skill. Western delegations will soon be visiting Shizuya.”

Whether it was internal political fighting in the Republic of Ashtistan or instigation by a foreign intelligence agency. It was all irrelevant to Yekaterina.

That wasn’t what mattered.

“There are many suspicious aspects to Domovoi’s death.”

“……”

“I sent a detailed report of his activities before and after his death. I also completed the debriefing the day before yesterday.”

“I’ve read the report you submitted. As well as all the interim reports submitted so far.”

Director Ilya continued in a calm tone.

“I should apologize first. There was a secret I didn’t reveal to you.”

Siegmund had sent him one final communication before his escape. Not through the Department 1 counter-espionage line, but through a contact channel used only by Ilya himself and Siegmund.

That’s when he learned about bringing the family.

“I didn’t spread it within Department 1 and only reported it to the Director General by wire. Siegmund was planning to pass information to us in exchange for ensuring his family’s safety.”

The Guard Director was initially concerned, he said.

In a situation where pursuit by the Royal Intelligence Service was expected, rescuing not only Siegmund himself but also his associates was beyond the Imperial Guard’s authority.

Aside from diplomatic and political aftermath, it would put too much pressure on the field officers conducting the high-difficulty operation.

But when he confirmed the information Siegmund had prepared. The Imperial Guard Director gave his approval without much deliberation.

“What was it? The information Domovoi was bringing.”

“……”

Director Ilya answered.

“Material about a person both you and I know.”

“……”

“I happened to meet Siegmund too. In Shizuya. He appeared at the very spa where you were.”

Clink, the ice clinked against the glass as it melted slightly.

She didn’t say anything this time either. It was a silence with a slightly different meaning.

Looking at Yekaterina, who was silently meeting his gaze, the director put down his glass and asked.

“There are two options.”

Two fingers spread out on the desk.

“One, return to the task of straightening out military discipline that I mentioned before. You are a person recommended by the Imperial family, so after handling this task, you can go anywhere. Whether to the internal investigation department or to an office upstairs.”

And the other.

“The other is to go home.”

The director who had spoken thus far gently picked up the glass he had put down.

“…Your Serbo ID that you used on your previous assignment is still valid, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

After emptying the last glass, he clasped his hands together.

And looking at her unwavering eyes, he briefly added.

“I don’t need to hear your answer.”

*

Wrapping up a grueling day.

Like a homecoming breadwinner, I returned to the hotel and was turning the key in the lock.

“…What’s this?”

But why is the entire room on fire?