Ch.630Episode 23 – The Spy Who Returned from the Cold Country

“There are no new messages from Grand Duchess Anastasia.”

The military intelligence officer’s voice broke the silence over the pile of documents.

In the grand conference room with a round table, a small area had been partitioned off as a modest lounge space. Only a few people were present.

Leoni and Klevins, along with the Director of Military Intelligence, were among the highest-ranking attendees.

“……”

The Director merely stared at the table without looking at anyone. His lips remained firmly sealed like bedrock, not moving until he deliberately chose to do so.

“Is there a possibility she noticed that our intelligence officer contacted Elizaveta?”

“Realistically, the possibility is small. She might have suspicions, but unless Anastasia herself has intelligence capabilities exceeding the security police, our analysis department believes she cannot be certain.”

“Understood. Let’s take a short break and continue later.”

The Director leaned forward from his backrest and pressed the speaker button, instructing to stop recording.

The magic crystal orbs filming the conference room and the recording devices stopped instantly.

The attendees rose from their seats one by one, passing through the doorframe painted with yellow and black double patterns, and out through the black glass door separating the inside and outside of the conference room.

As soon as the last attendee left, a security officer wearing a cape approached and closed the glass door.

Looking around the empty conference room, the Director sank deep into his chair with a slightly weary sigh.

“…Leoni, Klevins.”

“Yes, Director.”

“When Grand Duchess Anastasia first attempted to contact our field staff, the route she chose was the Kiyen Foreign Ministry, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“And what about Grand Duchess Elizaveta?”

Leoni gazed at Klevins sitting across from her. Klevins also stared back at Leoni with an impassive gaze.

“She didn’t notify us separately; the Grand Duchess approached us directly. However, Frederick mentioned that he was under surveillance by security forces in the Empire.”

“When Frederick was in contact with Elizaveta, we determined that the Kiyen Foreign Ministry showed no unusual movements. Unlike with Grand Duchess Anastasia, the Empire’s diplomatic missions in our country didn’t send any prior official communications.”

The Director, who had been sitting quietly, stood up and walked to the edge of the conference room.

He murmured while looking at the black glass window.

“As our field staff said, it’s strange when you think about it.”

“……”

“The Foreign Ministry, of all places, took the side of the least powerful figure.”

Episode 23 – The Spy Who Returned from the Cold Country

Life is full of surprises.

Sometimes you’re on duty one day and sent abroad on a business trip the next, or you find yourself having confidential conversations with power-hungry officials two days in a row.

Being a person of great generosity, I could understand all of this as part of life’s natural progression.

Isn’t that just how life goes? Some days are like this, others like that?

But what I absolutely couldn’t tolerate was a 100-year-old woman throwing a tantrum and doing a breakdance because I supposedly left her home without saying hello.

“Yaaawn…”

It was a bright day with the sky full of dark clouds.

Dragged into her office, I faced the Grand Duchess’s lecture, which was terribly boring and sleep-inducing.

“Look at you. You’re yawning before I’ve even started?”

“I was on duty the day before yesterday…”

Alexandra Petrovna’s face showed clear disapproval. Her expression suggested I should be able to fight off drowsiness.

Sure enough, she clicked her tongue and shook her head.

“Too many excuses. When I was on the battlefield, day and night-“

“Yes, I’ve heard that before. So what am I supposed to listen to now?”

“……”

“What?”

What did I do wrong?

When I stood my ground with confidence, even the Grand Magician seemed at a loss for words. Or perhaps she just missed her timing to respond.

Anyway.

“…Such attitude toward a mentor who even gave you Birbana.”

She mumbled awkwardly, pursing her lips, and cleared her throat with a “Ahem!” to ease the awkwardness.

“The reason I called you separately is not simply to discuss your lack of etiquette. It would be more accurate to say I called you to reprimand your careless conduct.”

“My conduct?”

The Grand Duchess nodded with a rather serious expression.

“You met Stasha with me.”

“Yes. Your Highness guided me.”

“And not even a day later, you met Liza at the Grand Ducal residence in the imperial capital.”

“……”

“Is there anything incorrect in what I’ve said?”

There wasn’t.

It was all true.

I readily admitted it. After all, Grand Duchess Elizaveta’s stated purpose for visiting was to pay respects to the Grand Duchess.

It would have been strange if Alexandra Petrovna hadn’t known about our contact.

Perched on her desk, the Grand Duchess looked out the window with a frown, seemingly lost in thought.

“Exercise restraint.”

Ironically, the first words from her lips were a request.

“While I can hardly blame you for meeting people in the course of your official duties, I must ask that from today onward, you refrain from meeting with members of the imperial family.”

“…You know better than anyone that this wasn’t something I could control.”

“Indeed I do.”

When I expressed my awkward situation somewhat indirectly, Alexandra Petrovna gave a light chuckle. It was a genuine, untroubled laugh.

“As your guide, I helped arrange your meeting with Stasha. How could I not know?”

“Yet you’re telling me this.”

“……”

“Why?”

She didn’t reveal her reason.

But both I who asked and she who was questioned already knew the answer.

“I want those children to be well.”

Alexandra Petrovna stood by the office window, looking outside.

With her hands behind her back, her gaze fixed steadily toward the imperial palace.

“Just as I cherished my brother, the late Emperor, and my nephew Kolya, and then cherished my nephew’s children. I truly hope that brother and sister will value each other and be pillars of support for one another.”

“……”

“Being human, I couldn’t care for everyone equally, but I’ve tried my best to do so, and that remains true today.”

The Grand Magician, lost in her monologue, suddenly gave a small laugh. She turned her head briefly toward me, her back to the window.

“Of course, even looking after one foal is quite overwhelming these days.”

“Raising children isn’t easy. There’s a reason they say education is a hundred-year plan.”

“We’ll discuss how to correct a wayward disciple later.”

The point I wish to make to you today is this.

The Grand Duchess returned to face me, sitting down in her chair as she continued.

“As an elder of the imperial family, I sincerely wish for my nephew’s children to maintain amicable relations without severe conflict.”

“……”

“But if you form private friendships with children like Stasha, Liza, or Rita, what delusions might take root in their hearts? And what impure thoughts might be encouraged by those around them?”

Silence fell.

I didn’t answer. It was a question that should never be answered hastily.

After careful consideration, I opened my lips with emotions more calm and refined than ever before.

“…Grand Duchess.”

And the response I revealed to her was of a most displeased nature.

“With all due respect, despite your being Camilla’s mentor and having a personal acquaintance with me, I find your recent statement difficult to overlook from my position.”

“……”

“The Abbas Royal Family and Cabinet have neither reason nor plan to interfere in Kiyen Empire’s internal affairs.”

To be honest, I didn’t think the Grand Duchess had detected the content of the confidential conversations between me and the Grand Duchesses and was issuing this warning.

That much was evident just from looking at her eyes.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t let this pass without a firm rebuttal.

Aside from the fact that not objecting would seem suspicious as the party concerned.

The person expressing concern was none other than Alexandra Petrovna. A slightly embarrassed voice flowed from her lips, sounding somewhat bitter.

“I know. As if such a thing could possibly happen… but I can’t help worrying about unnecessary rumors circulating.”

“You’re positively mountain-high with worry.”

“Mmm…”

They say worries increase with age, and that seems to be true.

Deep furrows formed on the 100-year-old woman’s brow as she muttered a self-deprecating joke. Judging by how she was pressing her forehead, it seemed embarrassment was belatedly catching up with her.

Sure enough.

The Grand Duchess, looking troubled and deflated, suddenly looked at me and said:

“Could you pretend you didn’t hear what I just said?”

“That might cost you quite a bit.”

“…Fine. I shouldn’t have called you in.”

As her palm wavered and the furrows in her brow deepened further.

After spending some time calming her troubled mind, Alexandra Petrovna’s head finally rested against the chair, and her blue eyes began staring at the ceiling.

I watched her for a while.

After a moment.

I posed a personal question to the Grand Magician lost in thought.

“Why do you care so much about Nicholas VI’s children?”

She answered.

“They’re family.”

“Even if they’re related by blood, they’re not your own children, Your Highness.”

Looking at the family tree, she and the imperial family members were distant relatives at best.

Nicholas VI himself was the son of her late brother, the previous Emperor. The children of her nephew were even more distantly related, and moreover, the Crown Prince and Grand Duchesses were proper adults capable of taking care of themselves.

To this, Alexandra Petrovna said:

“Is Camilla then a child I bore from my own womb?”

Without particular deliberation.

That’s why it felt like a sincere answer.

Her untroubled smile remained the same.

“So, I hope you’ll help ensure my worries remain unfounded. In return, I’ll grant you one wish.”

“…A wish?”

“Yes, a wish. If that feels burdensome, you can simply think of it as a bet.”

As I listened quietly to her answer, my expression turned ambiguous.

That sight must have been quite noticeable, as the Grand Duchess, uncharacteristically, tilted her head with a puzzled look and asked:

“Is there a problem?”

“I was just wondering if this might constitute bribery or improper solicitation. I’m considering whether it’s okay to accept.”

“……”

“……”

“You have a habit of asking for punishment, just like my disciple.”

*

At the same time.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”

“Good heavens!”

Camilla, who had been eavesdropping outside the door, fell on her backside after hearing a blood-curdling scream that could have come straight out of a horror movie.

*

Some time had passed since the extraordinary experience of getting a knuckle rap from a 100-year-old Grand Magician.

What was meant to be a day trip for receiving a foreign guest had turned into an indefinite extended stay, already several days long.

I was practically half-settled in the Grand Ducal residence.

I came initially as an overnight guest, but somehow found myself continuing to stay here.

It had gotten to the point where Camilla, whom I met every morning, would greet me like this:

“Still not going back home today?”

“Would you prefer I disappear soon?”

“Hmm- that’s not what I meant! Why don’t you stay a bit longer? If possible.”

She smiled broadly as she wrapped a robe around her shoulders that had flown in from the end of the corridor. Though I saw this sight every day, it remained a strange spectacle I couldn’t get used to.

Of course, I wasn’t staying at the Grand Ducal residence because I wanted to.

There was a good reason for my continued wait here.

“By the way, the professor said tomorrow will be difficult too.”

“Again?”

“What can we do?”

Camilla pouted her lips as if she too was upset about it.

“Her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess finds it difficult to schedule a meeting.”

That was it.

The reason I couldn’t return to my country and continued to stay here was none other than Grand Duchess Anastasia postponing our contact day after day.

“The official reason being communicated is that her chronic illness has worsened…”

“Sounds suspicious, doesn’t it?”

“I’ve never heard any information about her having a chronic illness. When I saw her last time, there was no sign of any condition.”

No matter how much we searched, nothing came up.

And it’s not like we could take her to a hospital directly or demand her medical information. There was no better excuse for putting someone off.

Could she really have a chronic illness?

Judging by the Grand Duchess’s worried reaction, she didn’t seem to know Anastasia’s situation perfectly either…

With things going this way, Alexandra Petrovna couldn’t just sit idle. The Grand Duchess said, “Since you’ve come all the way to the Empire, take a rest,” and allowed me to stay at the Grand Ducal residence until the meeting was arranged.

Did it end there? Not quite.

Promising to show me interesting things, she took me to the scenic northern river cliffs in the morning, and claiming to show me something fascinating, she took me to the opera house in the evening…

Anyone watching would think she was a tour guide. Though it seemed the Grand Duchess, Camilla, and the priest who joined us midway were enjoying themselves more than I was.

After some time had passed like this.

The news I had been waiting for finally arrived.

*

“…Grand Duchess, did you just say a ball?”

With an unexpected event.