Why was I sharing an office with a spy from the enemy nation?
If I had my way, I would have wanted to inform the Head of Operations Staff that this woman was a spy, but without any evidence, it would have been easy to be labeled as crazy.
So for now, I had no choice but to act naturally.
Taking a deep breath to calm my chaotic thoughts, I opened the office door.
I shrugged my shoulders at Lucy, who was looking at me strangely.
“Did you hear that? The sound of the door hinge is odd. I should call a repairman soon.”
I had opened and closed the door merely to check the state of the hinges.
Having presented a somewhat reasonable logic for a makeshift explanation, I walked up to the desk and pulled out a chair to sit down.
“So, what is your name?”
After placing the bread bag on the desk and adjusting my posture, Lucy saluted sharply.
“I am Second Lieutenant Lucy Emilia, assigned as the deputy to the Operations Staff. I consider it a great honor to take on the duties of the busy Operations Staff Officer. I am prepared to faithfully carry out my assigned mission so that that honor does not fade.”
It was a straightforward assignment report.
I noticed she was using her real name.
After all, even within the Allied forces, there were only a handful of people who knew Lucy’s real name, so she might have thought there was no need to use a pseudonym.
Regardless of the reason, the woman with this striking appearance was a spy for the Allies.
Of course, the act of spying within the Empire wasn’t a significant concern to me.
I had no patriotism for the Empire after all.
The problem was that the person who would eventually be called the Empire’s nightmare was my deputy and a spy.
I am not a person of great patience who can keep a ticking time bomb as a deputy.
‘So she must be dismissed.’
Somehow, I had to make the higher-ups conclude that Lucy Emilia was unfit for the position of operations staff deputy.
‘Then I need to create a justification…’
As I tapped my fingers on the desk with a serious expression, an idea bulb lit up 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 Staff Headquarters.’
If I use this well, I might be able to separate Lucy from me.
Suppressing a small smirk, I acknowledged Lucy’s salute.
Immediately after, I looked at her as she assumed a standing attention pose and spoke somewhat solemnly.
“Very well. Second Lieutenant Lucy Emilia. Did you not just say you would faithfully carry out the mission you were just given?”
“Yes, I did.”
“That’s a bold answer. Then I will assign you a task to determine whether your capabilities are suitable for my deputy. Go outside and suppress the demonstrators.”
Seemingly taken aback, Lucy paused for a moment before responding.
“…The demonstrators, you say?”
“Yes. To be precise, they are lawbreakers conducting an illegal demonstration without reporting to the Imperial Family. Initially, I left them alone because their numbers were small, but it seems they have been gaining momentum recently.”
“I am aware of that, but isn’t that under the jurisdiction of the military police?”
“The demonstration occurring in front of the Staff Headquarters is also within our jurisdiction. According to the wartime public safety law, the officials of the Empire have the right to punish subversive elements within their own jurisdictions.”
Lucy nodded as if she understood.
“Your words are correct. I will comply with your orders.”
“Good. Then you may proceed to carry out the mission. Report back once you have completed it.”
“Understood. But may I make one request?”
“What request?”
Lucy raised her hand and pointed her index finger at me.
“Bread.”
…What? Is she suggesting she will shoot me with a gun?
Feeling tense from her ambiguous actions, Lucy blinked and continued speaking.
“Didn’t you say you would share the bread when you first came in? If you allow me, I would like to take a piece of bread with me.”
Ah. It was that bread.
“Fine. Take one with you.”
As I subtly pushed the bread bag on the desk toward her, Lucy stepped closer and took out a croissant.
After nodding her head slightly toward me, she turned and left the office.
Watching her go, I let out a low sigh and leaned back in my chair.
As the tension eased, I felt my body growing heavier.
‘For now…’
I had laid the foundation for creating a justification.
Telling her to suppress the demonstrators alone was an impossible task, even to myself.
How could she singlehandedly suppress those enraged citizens?
So, I could just wait comfortably here until Lucy came back after failing her mission, then use that as a pretext to declare her unfit.
Of course, this wouldn’t be resolved at once, but it was important to slowly stack the reasons.
Feeling a little relieved that things were going according to plan, I began reviewing the documents I’d pulled out of my drawer.
I couldn’t just sit around doing nothing until Lucy returned.
After reviewing a few documents, I was then interrupted.
Bang─!
The sound of gunfire from outside made my shoulders jerk.
Terrorism? No. If it were a shooting due to terrorism, it wouldn’t come in such isolated bursts.
Moreover, the gunfire was coming from a nearby direction.
Almost as if it was coming from right in front of the Staff Headquarters—
Bang!
A second shot rang out, causing my mind to freeze.
‘Could it be…?’
Had Lucy fired her gun?
As the thought crossed my mind, I hurriedly stood up.
It was no time to be sitting idly in the office.
*
“All five of the ringleaders of the demonstration have been captured. Well done.”
Sergeant Bendelin, an interrogator from the military police, blankly stared at the woman before him.
Swallowing once, Bendelin recalled the events of just a few minutes prior.
The woman who introduced herself as “Captain Daniel Steiner’s deputy” had surveyed the police mobile unit facing off against the demonstrators and then pulled out a revolver, firing two shots into the air.
Startled by the sudden gunfire, the demonstrators had fled in disarray, and the woman asking for cooperation from the mobile unit then skillfully subdued the five ringleaders.
In essence, the mobile unit hadn’t really done anything except assist in the arrests.
It was around this time that both the mobile unit and Sergeant Bendelin were at a loss for words due to the absurdity of the situation.
“What is going on?”
Startled by the voice, Bendelin turned toward the source to find Daniel Steiner approaching.
With his officer coat billowing and wearing his cap, there was a palpable sense of pressure about him.
Thinking he must not be displeased with me, Bendelin scanned the surroundings and shouted loudly.
“What are you doing! Attention, everyone!”
At Bendelin’s shout, the thirty mobile unit members around straightened up.
As Daniel approached, he cast a cold glance at Lucy.
“Explain the situation.”
With the blunt command, Lucy saluted and spoke.
“Following the orders of the Operations Staff Officer, I conducted warning shots while suppressing the violent demonstrators. As a result, I managed to disband the illegal demonstrators and arrested five ringleaders.”
Realizing the situation for the first time, Bendelin nodded his head.
‘So it was Captain Daniel’s order? Of course, it would be like that.’
There was no way a newly commissioned second lieutenant would take such audacious action.
On the other hand, Daniel’s inner thoughts felt like they were smoldering.
‘When did I order warning shots?’
He wanted to ask, but according to the wartime public safety law, Lucy was not at fault.
So instead of reprimanding Lucy, Daniel extended his hand.
Immediately understanding, Lucy drew the revolver from its holster and handed it to Daniel.
When Daniel opened the chamber of the revolver to check, he found that indeed, two shots had been fired.
Stunned into a weak laugh, Lucy spoke up.
“Captain. These are rioters who have violated the vagrancy law and the wartime public safety law. They have committed three offenses under the wartime public safety law, one of which includes ‘attacking soldiers dispatched to maintain order without just cause.’ If you give the order, I can execute them immediately.”
Daniel stared at Lucy, momentarily questioning whether he had misheard.
Were the ringleaders of the anti-war demonstration not supposed to be on the same side?
‘Are we really going to kill members of our own team? Why?’
…No. If he thought about it coldly, it was conceivable that to evade suspicion from the Empire, she might thoroughly support the Empire’s forces.
‘What a heartless woman! Doesn’t she feel pity for these people?’
If he had his way, he would have liked to lecture her on morality, but there were far too many eyes on them at that moment.
In addition to Bendelin and the mobile unit, numerous citizens had gathered to watch, and not far away were even reporters taking photographs.
In this situation, he had no choice but to display a demeanor befitting an officer of the Empire.
“No.”
With a click, Daniel closed the revolver’s chamber and handed the revolver back to Lucy.
“They are not worth killing. Sergeant Bendelin.”
Called by name, Bendelin flinched and replied.
“Yes! Captain Daniel Steiner!”
“Interrogate them to find out the reasons for their leading the demonstration. You must uncover the sort of insidious ideology they harbor to insult the Imperial Family and instigate the citizens.”
“Understood!”
Bendelin, highly tense, began issuing various orders to the soldiers.
As the soldiers moved in formation, they began to lift the ringleaders of the demonstration.
Watching all of this quietly, Daniel secretly shut his eyes tight.
‘Ha…’
A catastrophic failure in creating a justification.
*
The next morning.
Waking up to my alarm, I walked to the kitchen as usual to have coffee.
I took coffee grounds from the shelf, brewed the coffee, and poured it into a mug.
Then I naturally walked to the front door to pick up the newspaper that had fallen through the drop slot, returning to the kitchen afterward.
Sitting at the table with the mug of coffee, I took a sip.
The simple yet vintage flavor delighted my palate.
‘Indeed, morning coffee is wonderful.’
Feeling satisfied, I opened the newspaper, only to freeze in place.
My picture was on the front page, rendered in black and white.
To make matters worse, it was a scene where I was looking at the chamber of a revolver while standing before five ringleaders kneeling.
Anyone looking at it might interpret it as me contemplating whether to kill them or not.
Breaking out in a cold sweat, I checked the headline and gasped.
【Captain Daniel Steiner Arrests Illegal Demonstration Ringleaders!】
The headline was alarming, but the content was even more outrageous.
『…As a result of interrogating the ringleaders by the military police, it has been revealed that three of them were working for the Allies in exchange for money. The moment suspicion that the besieged Allies were orchestrating the anti-war demonstration transforms into certainty. In this regard, Sergeant Bendelin mentioned that Captain Daniel Steiner was instrumental…』
After reading this far, I folded the newspaper and picked up my mug.
After taking a deep breath to calm myself, I took a sip of coffee, but for some reason, it no longer tasted good.
I felt dizzy, really…
