chapter_0019

18 – I Don’t Want to Get Close

18 – I Don’t Want to Get Close

Why did I have to share an office with a spy from the enemy nation?

I wanted to report this woman to the Chief of Operations for being a spy, but doing so without any evidence would only make me sound crazy.

So, I had no choice but to act natural for now.

I took a deep breath to calm my chaotic mind and opened the office door.

Then, I shrugged at Lucy, who was looking at me strangely.

“Did you hear that too? The door hinge sounds strange. I should call a repairman soon.”

Opening and closing the door was solely to check the condition of the hinge.

I presented a reasonably plausible excuse, considering it was improvised, and walked to my desk, pulling out the chair to sit down.

“So, what’s your name?”

After placing the bread bag on the desk and settling in, Lucy gave a sharp salute.

“I am Second Lieutenant Lucy Emilia, newly assigned to the General Staff Headquarters as an aide to the Chief of Operations. I consider it a great honor to serve as the aide to the busy Chief of Operations. I am prepared to faithfully carry out my assigned duties so that this honor does not fade.”

It was a concise assignment report.

So, she’s using her real name.

Well, only a handful of people within the Allied Nations know Lucy’s real name, so she might have thought there was no need to use a pseudonym.

Whatever the reason, this woman with the beautiful appearance in front of me was a spy for the Allied Nations.

Of course, I don’t particularly care about her spying in the Empire.

It’s not like I have any patriotism for the Empire.

The problem was that the one who would later be called the nightmare of the Empire was my aide and a spy.

I am not patient enough to have a time bomb as my aide.

‘So, I have to get rid of her.’

I had to somehow make the higher-ups judge Lucy Emilia as unfit to be the aide to the Chief of Operations.

‘Then I need to create a reason…’

As I tapped my desk with a serious expression, an idea lightbulb appeared above my head.

‘Wait a minute. Now that I think about it, when I went outside, there was a human rights group preparing an anti-war demonstration in front of the General Staff Headquarters.’

If I use this well, I might be able to separate Lucy from me.

I smiled inwardly and accepted Lucy’s salute.

As I watched Lucy stand at ease, I said somewhat sternly.

“Good. Second Lieutenant Lucy Emilia. Did you just say you would faithfully carry out your assigned duties?”

“Yes, sir.”

“A bold answer. Then, to see if your abilities are suitable as my aide, I will give you a mission. Go outside and suppress the protesters.”

Perhaps flustered, Lucy paused for a moment before answering.

“…The protesters, sir?”

“Yes. To be precise, they are lawbreakers holding an illegal demonstration without reporting to the Imperial Family. At first, their scale was small, so we left them alone, but recently their momentum has become unusual.”

“I am aware, but isn’t that the responsibility of the military police?”

“A demonstration in front of the General Staff Headquarters is also our responsibility. According to the Wartime Public Order Act, Imperial officials have the right to punish subversive forces within their jurisdiction.”

Lucy nodded as if she understood.

“You are not wrong, sir. I will follow your orders.”

“Good. Then go out and carry out your mission. Report back when you have completed it.”

“Understood. But may I make one request?”

“What request?”

Lucy raised her hand and pointed at me with her index finger.

“Bread.”

…What? Is this an implication that she’s going to shoot me with a gun?

As I tensed up at the unknown action, Lucy blinked once and continued.

“Didn’t you say you would share the bread when you first came in? If you allow it, Captain, I would like to take one.”

Ah. That bread.

“Alright. Take one.”

As I slid the bread bag on the desk towards her, Lucy approached and took out a croissant.

After bowing to me, she turned and left the office.

Watching her, I let out a low breath and leaned back in my chair.

As the tension eased, I felt my body becoming languid.

‘For now…’

I laid the foundation for creating a reason.

Suppressing the protesters alone was an impossible mission, even by my standards.

How could she suppress those angry citizens with her own strength?

So, I could just wait here comfortably, and when Lucy returned after failing her mission, I could use that as an excuse to issue an unqualified judgment.

Of course, things wouldn’t be resolved in one go, but slowly building up the stack was important.

Feeling relieved that things were going according to plan, I took out documents from the drawer and began reviewing them.

I couldn’t just rest until Lucy returned.

It was around the time I had reviewed several documents.

Bang!

My shoulders flinched at the sound of a gunshot from outside.

Terrorism? No. If it were a gunshot from terrorism, it wouldn’t be heard in such a single burst.

Moreover, the direction of the gunshot was close.

It sounded like it was coming from in front of the General Staff Headquarters—

Bang!

My thoughts were paralyzed by the sound of another gunshot.

‘Could it be…’

Did Lucy fire the gun?

With that thought in mind, I quickly got up from my seat.

It wasn’t the time to be in the office doing paperwork.

*

“You’ve arrested all five protest leaders. You’ve worked hard.”

Military Police Sergeant Wendelin stared blankly at the woman in front of him.

Swallowing hard, Wendelin recalled what had happened just a few minutes ago.

The woman, who introduced herself as “Captain Daniel Steiner’s aide,” glanced around at the riot police facing the protesters and pulled out a revolver, firing two shots into the sky.

As the protesters scattered in panic at the sudden gunshots, the woman asked the riot police for cooperation and then subdued the five protest leaders with very familiar movements.

In fact, the riot police had done little more than help with the arrest.

The fact that the riot police, as well as Sergeant Wendelin, were so embarrassed that they couldn’t say anything.

“What’s the commotion?”

Startled, Wendelin turned to the source of the voice and saw Daniel Steiner walking over.

There was a sense of intimidation in his appearance as he walked, wearing his peaked cap and fluttering his Officer’s coat.

Thinking that he shouldn’t get on Daniel’s bad side, Wendelin looked around and shouted loudly.

“What are you doing! Everyone, attention!”

At Wendelin’s shout, the thirty riot police officers stationed around him stood at attention.

Daniel, who had approached while scanning them, looked at Lucy with a cold gaze.

“Explain the situation.”

At the direct order, Lucy saluted and said.

“As per your orders, sir, I fired a warning shot in the process of suppressing the protesters who were using violence. As a result, I dispersed the citizens who were carrying out an illegal demonstration and arrested five leaders.”

Wendelin, who had been listening to the story from the side, nodded as if he finally understood.

‘It was Captain Daniel’s order? Well, that’s what I thought.’

There was no way a newly commissioned Second Lieutenant would do such a bold thing.

On the other hand, Daniel’s heart felt like it was burning.

‘When did I tell her to fire a warning shot?’

He wanted to ask back, but according to the Wartime Public Order Act, Lucy was not at fault.

So, instead of scolding Lucy, Daniel held out his hand.

Lucy, who immediately understood, took the revolver out of her holster and placed it in Daniel’s hand.

When Daniel opened the cylinder of the revolver to check, there were indeed two bullets missing.

As he was laughing in disbelief, Lucy began to speak.

“Captain, these are rioters who have violated the Gypsy Act and the Wartime Public Order Act. They have violated three Wartime Public Order Acts, including ‘attacking soldiers dispatched to maintain public order without just cause.’ If you give the order, I will execute them immediately.”

Daniel looked at Lucy, wondering if he had misheard.

The leaders of the anti-war protest, no matter how you looked at it, weren’t they on the same team?

‘She’s going to kill the same team now? Why?’

…No. If you think about it calmly, she could be thoroughly siding with the Imperial Army to avoid suspicion from the Empire.

‘This heartless woman! Doesn’t she feel sorry for these people?’

He wanted to give her a moral lecture, but there were too many eyes watching here now.

In addition to Wendelin and the riot police, many citizens were watching, and there were even reporters taking pictures not far away.

He had no choice but to show the image of an Imperial Officer here.

“No.”

Click, thud.

Daniel closed the cylinder of the revolver and handed the revolver to Lucy, saying.

“They are not worth killing. Sergeant Wendelin.”

Wendelin, who was called out, was startled and answered.

“Yes! Captain Daniel Steiner!”

“Interrogate them to find out why they led the protest. You must find out what kind of subversive ideology they have that led them to insult the Imperial Family and incite the citizens.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Wendelin, who was very nervous, gave various orders to the soldiers.

Then the soldiers began to raise the protest leaders in an orderly manner.

Daniel, who was watching the scene quietly, secretly closed his eyes tightly.

‘Haa…’

A complete failure to build a reason.

*

The next morning.

I woke up to the alarm and walked to the kitchen to drink coffee as usual.

I took out the coffee grounds from the shelf, brewed the coffee, and poured it into a mug.

Then, I naturally walked to the front door, picked up the newspaper that had fallen through the newspaper slot, and returned to the kitchen.

I sat diagonally on the chair in front of the table and took a sip of the coffee in the mug.

The simple yet elegant taste pleased my mouth.

‘Morning coffee is delicious after all.’

Feeling satisfied, I opened the newspaper and froze.

My photo was on the front page of the newspaper in black and white.

It was a scene of me holding a revolver and checking the cylinder in front of five protest leaders who were kneeling.

Anyone who saw it would think I was kneeling them down and wondering whether to kill them or not.

Sweating, I looked at the title and was shocked.

【Captain Daniel Steiner Arrests Illegal Protest Leaders!】

The title was the title, but the content was even more spectacular.

『…As a result of the military police interrogating the protest leaders, it was revealed that three of them were working with money from the Allied Nations. The suspicion that the Allied Nations, driven into a corner, is leading anti-war protests is turning into a certainty. In this regard, Sergeant Wendelin mentioned that Captain Daniel Steiner was of great help…』

I folded the newspaper after reading this far and picked up the mug.

I took a deep breath as calmly as possible and drank the coffee, but for some reason, the coffee was no longer delicious.

I’m dizzy, really…