Operation
Operation
At noon, Lucy was escorted by the maid Namelias.
It was because Count Kaledra had summoned Lucy at the appointed time.
"Young lady. This way......."
Following Namelias, they arrived at a courtyard garden inside the mansion.
Under the brilliant sunlight, birds welcoming summer perched on branches and chirped.
It was an idyllic landscape, but Lucy felt no sentiment whatsoever toward it.
Rather, like a stone thrown into water, a faint displeasure rippled within her heart.
'Count Kaledra.......'
Because the man she had once called father and trusted and followed was sitting at a table in the center of the garden.
Lucy felt an unknown impulse, but she did not show it outwardly.
Lucy, who had clenched her fist and then released it, took a deep breath and approached Kaledra's side.
Sensing a presence, Kaledra, who had been reading a newspaper, turned his head.
Despite meeting after such a long time, Kaledra folded the newspaper without the slightest agitation.
"Sit."
Lucy did so.
Seated in her place, Lucy looked at the numerous dishes arranged on the table.
Clearly prepared by a first-class chef, every dish was made with expensive ingredients.
The oily, glossy surfaces of the dishes showed that they had been properly seasoned.
However, she had no appetite.
As she stared blankly down at the food, Kaledra folded the newspaper and picked up his utensils.
"Eat. It's all been prepared for you. Didn't you want to eat this kind of food so badly when you were young?"
"......Did you know?"
Silence settled between them.
Deliberately avoiding Kaledra's gaze, Lucy's lips quivered.
"Did you know that I liked these kinds of foods?"
She was asking why, even though he had known, he had never once encouraged her to eat them when she was young.
Because the only food Lucy had eaten while living with Count Kaledra was health food with no seasoning whatsoever.
It was food not much different from what she had eaten at the research institute.
Even on Lucy's birthday, that diet did not change.
So even though Lucy had eaten meals in the same space as Kaledra, she had always eaten different food.
Kaledra, who had been staring quietly at Lucy as she poured out the sorrow of those days, picked up a knife and began slicing the meat.
"Are you planning to throw a tantrum over food at this point? You should be old enough to know by now. That everything was for your sake."
What a convenient excuse it was.
Lucy, who had unknowingly let out a hollow laugh, slowly raised her head.
"Was carrying out experiments that bordered on torture at the research institute also for my sake?"
Kaledra's hand, which had been slicing the meat, stopped.
Setting down his utensils, Kaledra met Lucy's eyes.
The resentment that had entered her red eyes was more plainly visible than anything else.
"......Did you see it? Or did Daniel Steiner tell you?"
Now that Lucy had realized the truth, there was no longer any need to lie.
"I admit it. It wasn't for your sake. But it was for the Allied Nations."
"......Then why didn't you tell me the truth? Why did you deceive me all this time, saying that those who carried out the experiments on me were the Imperial Army?"
"I don't know what ulterior motive you have in asking when you already know. I simply thought you wouldn't follow me if I told you the truth."
Lucy's eyes widened.
She hated Kaledra.
She could not forgive him.
But somewhere deep in her heart, she had been hoping Kaledra would make an excuse.
She had wanted to find even the smallest possibility of being able to forgive Kaledra.
However, the Kaledra before her eyes now was trampling even those shattered possibilities.
"Lucy Emilia. Do I look like a demon? Or do I feel like a hypocrite? I have no intention of interfering with your emotions, but good and evil are ambiguous in this world. I have no hobby of tormenting a young girl. But this cruel world always forces its choices upon me."
Kaledra's face showed no trace of regret.
"If you're going to browbeat me into admitting my sins, I'll admit them. Objectively, I am trash. I have committed unforgivable sins. But even if I went back to the past, I would do the same things. Because I know it was for the sake of this nation."
Lucy, who had been looking at Kaledra as if she could not understand, suddenly sprang up from her seat.
"......."
"......."
In the heavy silence, Lucy, who had been looking down at Kaledra, turned and walked away.
She had decided the conversation was meaningless.
Watching Lucy's retreating figure, Kaledra raised a hand and pressed his forehead.
He felt a headache.
Perhaps, in his anger over the fact that Lucy had spared Daniel's life, he had spoken recklessly.
As he remained with his eyes closed, groaning for a while, someone approached his side.
It was Colonel Sampe, one of the commanders of the assault unit.
He gave a salute.
"Your Excellency the Count! As of this hour, the target city of Penbark has been completely retaken! The estimated number of enemies killed is approximately 320, and we have secured 58 prisoners! Furthermore......."
Kaledra raised a hand and cut off Sampe's words.
Letting out a low sigh, Kaledra glared at Sampe.
"Daniel Steiner? Where is that bastard?"
The atmosphere seemed to freeze over.
Breaking into a cold sweat, Sampe spoke.
"We are accelerating the search, but we have yet to find him."
"So he fled. If we can't capture that bastard, what meaning is there in all of this......."
As Kaledra ground his teeth, Sampe swallowed dryly and then opened his mouth.
"Your Excellency. It doesn't seem to be without meaning. Haven't we achieved our first victory against Daniel Steiner, who is called the Devil of the Empire? Furthermore, it is assessed that the routed enemy, having realized the troop disparity, will seek to abandon Penbark."
Hearing Sampe's words, Kaledra raised his head.
"Daniel Steiner abandons Penbark? You're spouting nonsense."
Kaledra's eyes narrowed like a snake's in disbelief.
"That bastard will definitely return."
*
At the same moment, an operational meeting was in full swing inside the brigade command tent.
"So what you're saying is......."
Pelf, the intelligence staff officer, spoke with a look of disbelief.
"......you intend to abandon the bridge?"
The expressions of the other staff officers were not much different.
However, Daniel nodded with conviction.
"They have succeeded in driving us out of the city. Once they finish mopping up the city, there is a high probability they will move to reclaim the bridge. With their morale at its peak and superiority in troops, securing a strategic point is only natural."
Daniel picked up the command baton and tapped the bridge drawn on the operations map atop the command table.
"Leading their forces to the bridge, they will discover that the Imperial Army is not there. It will look as though we have abandoned the bridgehead and completely withdrawn. From the Allied Forces' perspective, what do you think they will make of this?"
"Naturally, they will conclude that the Imperial Army has retreated across the river."
"Would they then attempt to pursue that Imperial Army?"
"There is no way they would. The enemy is wary of you, Brigade Commander. They will not advance but will instead construct positions around the bridge in preparation for a possible counterattack or ambush."
The operations staff officer interjected with a bewildered expression.
"Brigade Commander. If my understanding is correct, are you suggesting we abandon the bridge and simply retreat?"
"No."
It was an immediate answer.
Shifting the command baton, Daniel pointed to the northern forested area.
"While they are establishing all their defenses near the bridge, wary of our army that isn't even there, we will be here."
It was a type of deception operation.
It made sense, but the operations staff officer, thinking it was too dangerous, spoke up.
"It's not impossible, but we cannot keep the Allied Forces wary of the area beyond the bridge indefinitely. They will certainly conduct aerial reconnaissance, and the moment they realize there is no enemy across the bridge, won't they redeploy their forces?"
The moment they realized that Daniel Steiner's brigade was not beyond the bridge, there was a possibility that the Allied Forces would conduct all-directional reconnaissance.
If that happened, it would only be a matter of time before our forces hiding in the northern forested area were discovered.
However, Daniel had not failed to anticipate that either.
"I will request support from General Staff Headquarters. I'll ask them to install inflatable tank models and dummy artillery positions in a forest located 200km beyond the bridge. I have already selected a location easily detectable by aerial reconnaissance, so they will certainly discover this 'fake unit' and return."
As a stir arose among the staff officers, Daniel continued speaking.
"Furthermore, to completely deceive the enemy, this fake unit will maintain communications with headquarters. It would be best to use a communication frequency easily intercepted by the enemy. If the Allied Forces side overhears that information, they will recognize this fake unit as the real one."
Daniel withdrew the command baton.
"Meanwhile, we will cut off all communications and move independently into the northern forest. Once troop movement is complete and all preparations are finished, General Staff Headquarters will announce that reinforcements have been sent to the fake unit."
The Allied Forces, who would be intercepting communications, would judge that they must launch a preemptive strike before reinforcements could join Daniel Steiner's brigade.
A large-scale force would clearly cross the bridge and set out to attack Daniel Steiner's brigade.
"At that moment, we will blow up the floodgates upstream."
If the floodgates were destroyed and the river overflowed, the Allied Forces could be prevented from returning to the city.
Even if the Allied Forces belatedly identified the 'fake unit,' their way back would be blocked.
Naturally, the city would be left empty.
Daniel Steiner intended to seize that moment and lead the entire brigade's forces to advance on Penbark.
"The time required for all operations to be carried out: 15 days."
As the staff officers listened with reverence, Daniel quietly continued speaking.
"In a fortnight, we will......."
Daniel Steiner's eyes narrowed sharply.
"......turn the Penbark occupied by Count Kaledra into hell."
