A Rising Businessman
A Rising Businessman
The moment Daniel offered him the first drink, Platt felt an unspeakable dread.
For a spy, nothing was more terrifying than having your true intentions seen through.
'But how...?'
How on earth did Daniel Steiner know the whiskey was poisoned?
'Was my acting clumsy?'
No, it wasn't that.
Platt was a veteran spy.
He'd never once had his identity exposed while working as an informant for the Imperial nobles.
So even Daniel Steiner shouldn't have noticed anything unusual.
'If that's the case...'
There might be someone inside the Palentia branch cooperating with Daniel Steiner.
If information had leaked out through that person, then Daniel Steiner's current words and behavior all made sense.
'Which son of a bitch could it be...!'
Platt racked his brain in anguish, but no particular person came to mind.
After all, the members of the Palentia branch were conducting espionage right in the Imperial Capital, the very heart of the Empire.
These were people who could bury their true feelings as deep as they wanted, so it was impossible to predict who the traitor was.
'Goddamn it...'
Platt bit his lip hard and tightened his grip on the glass.
'Who would have thought that trying to assassinate Daniel Steiner would turn out to be a blunder?'
Watching the golden whiskey slosh inside the glass, Platt smiled bitterly.
Ricin wasn't a fast-acting poison, but there was no antidote either. The moment he drank this, he'd be a dead man walking.
He could refuse the drink and beg for his life, but for Platt, who had sworn loyalty to the Allied Nations, that option didn't really exist.
'My life as a spy—whether you'd call it long or short—ends today.'
Platt slowly raised his head and looked at Daniel Steiner.
Staring into those abyss-like black eyes, Platt understood Daniel's intent.
Right now, Daniel Steiner was urging him.
If he didn't want to die drinking this poison, then confess the truth and swear obedience.
'I will never submit to you.'
Consumed by anger and grief, Platt ultimately chose to die for the Allied Nations.
Drawing a deep breath, Platt slowly lifted the glass that held his death.
Watching this, Daniel thought to himself.
'...Why is he acting like that?'
He'd brought an expensive liquor, so Daniel had let him have the first glass.
But the man had hesitated like someone seeing his life flash before his eyes, and now he was wearing an expression like some kind of martyr.
'Was it a lie that he liked alcohol?'
If so, it made perfect sense.
That particular whiskey had a fairly high alcohol content.
'He's probably afraid of drinking it straight instead of adding ice to lower the proof. If he can't hold his liquor, he should just say so, but he just has to put on a front.'
Letting out a sigh, Daniel grabbed Platt's wrist just as he was bringing the glass to his lips.
Platt's shoulders flinched.
He had been prepared for death, but when Daniel suddenly stopped him, it threw him into confusion.
"...Why are you stopping me?"
"No particular reason. You seemed like you couldn't drink, so I'm trying to dissuade you."
"Even if you show mercy like that, my heart will not change. For I have always lived prepared for death."
It was just a matter of drinking high-proof whiskey, but the man was talking about death. Thinking the man's posturing was absurd, Daniel let out a hollow laugh and played along.
"If you die like that, who's going to acknowledge it?"
"My homeland..."
"Cut the nonsense and just deliver a message to whoever told you to gift me this whiskey. Tell them never to send me this kind of bribe again."
There was no way that someone who couldn't even drink properly had personally selected a top-shelf whiskey as a gift.
Daniel said it because he figured there was definitely someone else who had picked out the gift.
To Platt, however, Daniel's words sounded like: 'Tell your superior not to attempt such a shoddy assassination again.'
Swallowing dryly, Platt slowly lowered the glass.
"...Even knowing everything, you're still going to spare my life?"
The look on Platt's face was so utterly bewildered and dead serious that Daniel couldn't help but laugh.
Thinking the man had quite the personality, Daniel nodded contentedly.
"Wouldn't it bring bad luck to have someone die on a day like today? So take this whiskey home and..."
Daniel paused to think for a moment, then snapped his fingers.
"That's it. Give it to the friend who told you to gift this to me. That friend would probably know the value of this liquor quite well."
With Daniel casually recommending suicide, Platt felt every hair on his body stand on end.
But unable to refuse, Platt nodded with great difficulty.
Seeing this, Daniel lightly patted Platt on the shoulder.
"Have a good day. And keep your inevitable lies to a minimum."
Platt opened his mouth to answer, but couldn't get the words out.
Because he felt an inexplicable awe toward Daniel Steiner, who not only spared the life of the man who had come to assassinate him but treated him normally on top of that.
'...Does that mean an assassination attempt of this level is nothing more than child's play to Daniel Steiner?'
As Platt let out a deflated sigh, Daniel turned and walked toward the center of the banquet hall.
Ernst had been calling him from there.
When Daniel approached, Ernst asked with a puzzled look.
"Who were you talking with for so long?"
"Ah. Vairam, I think he said? He claimed to be someone in charge of tailoring duties for the Imperial Household."
"Hmm. A low-ranking official, then. What business did he have approaching you?"
"He said he'd gotten his hands on a bottle of top-shelf whiskey and tried to gift it to me. Apparently, he was under the delusion that getting on my good side would get him a promotion."
"Whoa! Top-shelf whiskey!"
Ernst licked his lips and looked toward the table where Daniel had been sitting just moments ago.
Platt had already gathered up the whiskey bottle and was hurrying out of the banquet hall as if he had urgent business.
Seeing this, Ernst clicked his tongue.
"Tch. Why didn't you just accept it? These days, whiskey is worth its weight in gold—it's not easy to get any without a military supply."
"The moment I accept a bribe, trouble is bound to follow. I'm already getting dirty looks from all sorts of places as it is, so there's no point in making a scene unnecessarily."
"Well, living as a war hero can't be easy, I suppose. It's a shame to let go of top-shelf whiskey, but there's plenty of quality liquor here too, so it's not bad. And best of all..."
Ernst whistled, and a waiter approached and lowered his tray.
Ernst took two glasses of champagne from the tray and handed one to Daniel.
"Our Emperor, His Majesty, is generous, so all the drinks are free! How about it? Care to go all the way until dawn with me tonight?"
"Deputy Director. I do have a taste for drinking, but letting it lead into revelry and song is a bit..."
Daniel stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth.
Ernst was looking at him with desperately pleading eyes, and that was more of a burden than he had expected.
"...Did you perhaps have a marital fight recently?"
Nod.
"And so now if you go home early, you feel like you're going to get an earful, so you want to go back as late as possible?"
Nod nod.
"But if you say you were late because you were drinking alone, you won't get breakfast the next morning, so you're trying to use me as a shield?"
Nod nod nod.
At the nodding filled with all the joys and sorrows of married life, Daniel pondered for a moment before opening his mouth.
"...Alright. If not on a day like today, when else would I get to drink to my heart's content?"
At that, Ernst burst into hearty laughter and clapped Daniel on the back.
"Thank you! Thank you! You really are my best subordinate! Oh, right! There are quite a few general-grade officers who want to see you, so use this chance to broaden your connections! I'll introduce you to all of them!"
Letting out a sigh, Daniel nodded, and Ernst raised his hand and shouted loudly.
"Waiter! On a joyous day like today, it simply won't do to run short of liquor! If the liquor runs out, wouldn't that be smearing dirt on His Majesty the Emperor's face! So bring out more drinks, quickly now!"
Somehow, getting home early today seemed like it was going to be difficult.
*
Meanwhile, in the reception room of the textile factory where the Palentia branch was located, everyone was frantically busy preparing to receive a guest.
"Didn't I tell you to prepare the most expensive refreshments? Not this cheap stuff! The businessman coming here now is a big shot. We have to get a proper investment this time!"
At Branch Chief Theobald's orders, the spies disguised as employees moved in perfect unison.
Theobald watched his subordinates and folded his arms.
'If we receive a proper investment this time, we can keep the Palentia branch operational for a long time.'
The Palentia branch was essentially receiving funding from the Allied Nations, but being in the heart of the Empire meant it couldn't receive large sums of money all at once.
Because the larger the scale of the funds, the higher the probability of getting caught by the Empire's surveillance network.
So a portion of the espionage operating expenses was self-funded by the Palentia branch.
That meant operating the textile factory wasn't just for disguise.
They were running the Palentia branch on the factory's profits.
He'd been worried because those profits had recently decreased, and then, at just the right time, someone appeared who wanted to invest in the textile factory.
'I heard he's a businessman who relatively recently saw the light...'
Apparently, he was a figure who had invested heavily in the munitions industry before Daniel Steiner's total war speech—back when anti-war protests were boiling over and negative public opinion about the war was dominant.
He had invested virtually all his money in munitions, and when Daniel Steiner's total war speech exploded, the businessman raked in profits said to be dozens of times his initial investment.
After earning an enormous fortune, he had lain low for a while, and recently he had begun making octopus-like investments, spreading into various fields.
One of those tentacles happened to be the textile factory where the Palentia branch was located.
Unable to let such an opportunity slip, Theobald had personally invited the businessman.
Because holding a business presentation to secure as much investment as possible was the best course of action.
'Five minutes to go.'
Just as he gauged the time by looking at the wall clock, noise crackled from the radio transceiver he was carrying.
Startled, Theobald picked up the transceiver, and a familiar voice came from the other side.
— This is Blue Wall. The operation has failed. Daniel Steiner saw through my identity.
The codename Blue Wall referred to Platt.
— I intend to go into hiding and keep my head down for the time being. Branch Chief, you be careful as well. There's a possibility that Daniel Steiner knows the branch's identity. I'll explain in more detail later when I get the chance.
Having delivered his message cleanly, Platt cut off the transmission.
'Daniel Steiner knows the branch's identity?'
Panicked, Theobald pressed the transmit button.
"Blue Wall? Respond! What on earth does that mean?"
But there was no reply.
He must have changed the transceiver's frequency entirely, considering the risk of interception.
'There's no way Daniel Steiner knows the branch's identity. Lucy? No. That child hasn't completely betrayed the Allied Nations yet. She wouldn't have talked about the branch.'
Just as he thought Platt must have misunderstood something, one of his subordinates approached.
"The investor is arriving."
"...Alright."
For now, securing the investment came first.
Theobald changed the transceiver frequency, tucked it into his breast, and straightened his attire.
After waiting a moment, the door to the reception room opened, and a man wearing an expensive vest entered.
The man with dark skin wore a fedora on his head and a monocle.
A successful Black businessman in this era was not a common sight.
While Theobald was internally marveling at this, the man strode forward with long steps.
Approaching Theobald with a gait that was not frivolous but dignified, the man quietly extended his hand.
He was giving off an aura that made it impossible to refuse the handshake.
Theobald, who had hesitated for a moment, relaxed his stiffened body and took the man's hand.
"I'm Belter. I run the textile factory."
Hearing Theobald's alias, the man smiled gently and looked up.
"It is a pleasure to meet you. I operate various business ventures and am called..."
Narrowing both eyes sharply, the man continued in a flat, even voice.
"Hamtal."