At the same time — Kingdom of Eldresia, Central Intelligence Bureau.
"…So it's true. The protest leaders were captured?"
Colonel Octavian Leopold, director of the Central Intelligence Bureau, stood before a massive map plastered on the wall, veins twitching in his temple. He was clearly trying to suppress his anger.
Before him, two of his top subordinates—Crispin, head of Strategic Analysis, and Phineas, head of Operations Execution—shifted uneasily, sweat forming at their brows.
Finally, Crispin spoke, his voice stiff.
"Unfortunately, yes. They broke under interrogation. Spilled everything."
Phineas followed with a grim nod.
"The Empire is exploiting it. They've labeled all anti-war voices as Allied puppets and launched a full-blown propaganda campaign."
The plan had failed.
What was meant to be a spark for mass civilian unrest had turned to ash. Even if the uprising was always doomed to be crushed, its true aim was psychological: corrode trust in the Empire's war machine, shake the military's legitimacy, and buy Eldresia time to regroup.
But with the ringleaders captured, that illusion crumbled.
Octavian let out a long sigh and turned a cold glare on his subordinates.
"Who ruined it?"
Crispin silently handed him a folder. Octavian opened it, and his expression twisted with rage.
"…Him again."
A photo.
Dark hair. Cold eyes like a wolf sizing up prey.
Captain Daniel Steiner.
Already infamous within Eldresian high command: the man who crushed their ambush in the Tebaita foothills. The one who killed Colonel Jeremy in a single shot during the retreat.
A wildcard. A growing menace. A marked target.
"He keeps interfering. Every. Single. Time."
Octavian's voice was low, but sharp enough to cut steel.
He couldn't reach Steiner. Not yet. But the urge to put a bullet between his eyes never faded.
"What do our 'allies' say about this?" he asked, biting down the word allies like poison.
Crispin hesitated.
"…They're blaming us. For launching unauthorized intel ops that only backfired."
"…Blaming us?" Octavian's voice rose. "Those idiots!"
Allied Nations had begged Eldresia to help. Now they were washing their hands of responsibility?
"The Kingdom did its part," Octavian snapped. "They never expected us to win. Our job was to tie down Imperial forces in the north. We did that."
He slammed the folder down.
"But what have they done? The Eastern Front is a disaster—stalemates, retreats, pyrrhic victories at best!"
Crispin and Phineas stayed silent under the storm.
After a pause, Octavian calmed—just enough to sound deadly.
"…There's only one card left to play. Unleash the hounds."
Phineas paled.
"Sir, if we do that, every embedded agent will be exposed. It'll be a massacre."
"They know that. Better to die striking than be boiled alive like frogs. If we're going to lose… let's break the Empire's fangs on the way down."
A heavy silence fell.
Then Phineas stood straighter, clenched his fists, and nodded.
"…Understood. I'll alert the agents. The decisive moment has come."
🔹The Next Morning — Imperial Military HQ
Was there ever a day I didn't dread work?
Lucy Emilia's deadpan question from yesterday—"Shall I execute the protesters?"—still haunted me. I couldn't shake the feeling she'd meant it.
But skipping work was suicide in a place like this. So I forced myself into uniform and dragged my body to headquarters.
Before heading to the operations room, I stopped by my office—and froze.
Lucy was already there.
Calmly sitting at the desk, sipping tea and eating a croissant. She stood and saluted crisply when I walked in.
"Good morning, Captain Daniel Steiner."
"…You're early. And that's a croissant?"
"Yes, sir. The one you brought yesterday was delicious, so I bought more. I also got some for you, if you're hungry."
"…I'm good."
I sat at my desk and opened my briefcase, but I could feel her gaze.
"…What is it?"
"I'm awaiting orders, sir."
"You'll get them in the operations room—"
"Chief Ernst said you could work from your personal office today."
What?
Lucy clarified with that same unnerving smile:
"He said, 'Captain Daniel earned another commendation yesterday. Since there's nothing else to reward him with, at least let him enjoy a quiet day.'"
Chief, please! Trapping me in a room with this woman is the opposite of peaceful!
Suppressing my horror, I nodded slowly.
"…Alright. Let's begin."
I handed her a pile of documents. "Start with these. They're low-priority reviews."
"Understood."
Lucy returned to her seat, crimson eyes calmly scanning the papers.
If I didn't know she was an elite spy… I might've complimented her.
But this was Lucy Emilia—a woman who despised traitors. If she ever caught wind of my plan to defect, I'd be dead before I finished explaining.
My only path to survival was to make her leave. For that, I needed to prove she was incompetent.
I'd give her a workload dense with military jargon—enough to trip up any new recruit.
Once she failed, I'd report her as unfit. Simple plan.
Enjoy yourself, Lucy. This is the beginning of your glorious downfall.
I leaned back and picked up a book, suppressing a devilish grin.
Four hours later.
"Captain Steiner, I've completed the review."
Wait. Already?
I grabbed the files, half expecting disaster.
But what I found instead made my blood run cold.
Her work was immaculate.
She didn't just check for errors. She cross-checked feasibility, legal compliance, resource distribution, even political optics. She included projections, risk assessments, and color-coded tables.
It was… perfect. Too perfect.
"…Impressive."
"Thank you, sir. In that case—"
"Not so fast. One more batch."
I opened a drawer and pulled out another stack.
"These are Level-2 classified. Review them and report back."
She hesitated.
"Sir, but it's already—"
"No complaints. Finish them before I return."
And with that, I walked out.
Operations Room, 20 minutes later.
I headed straight for the CCTV room.
If Lucy was truly a spy, she wouldn't be able to resist tampering with those files. And when she did, I'd catch her red-handed.
I greeted a few colleagues and knocked on Chief Ernst's door.
"Ah, Captain Daniel! Come in."
"Sir, may I borrow a moment of your time? I need you to check something on the office feed."
Ernst raised a brow. "The hidden cameras? Why?"
"You'll understand once you see it."
Ernst gave a long sigh.
"You do realize my home is more peaceful when my wife isn't there, right?"
"…Huh?"
"Never mind. Let's take a look."
We watched the feed in silence.
Lucy sat alone at my desk, calmly working through the documents. Flawlessly.
Twenty minutes passed. Nothing suspicious.
Then, Lucy put her pen down and stared at the desk. She parted her lips, muttering something.
"Can we zoom in?" I asked.
Ernst rewound the footage and enhanced the audio.
We watched her lips move.
"Should I kill him?"
I choked, nearly stumbling back.
Ernst burst out laughing.
"Come on. She's just venting! You dumped too much work on her."
You don't understand, Chief… She's not joking.
But all I could do was nod slowly.
"…I'll be more considerate next time."
"Yes, yes," Ernst said, patting my back. "See? She's dedicated. You're raising an excellent subordinate, Captain."
He smiled warmly.
Meanwhile, I was internally preparing my funeral.