Change of Plans
Change of Plans
His heart hammered, and his breathing grew ragged.
Though he forced a calm expression, the corners of his mouth trembled faintly.
'Calm down! Think of an excuse!'
If he failed to answer now, Daniel's suspicion might harden into certainty.
After racing through a hundred possibilities in an instant, Alistair barely managed to open his mouth.
"......Ah. Did something like that happen? They were selling it without any trouble when I went, so I had no idea there'd been an incident."
This was the answer Alistair had settled on after considerable thought.
Since Daniel had joined the General Headquarters straight out of the military academy, he had judged that Daniel would not have visited Jack's Restaurant the year before.
It was, so to speak, a deception exploiting a gap in information.
"Hmm. You had no idea such an incident occurred......."
Daniel leisurely tapped the banquet table. Tok. Tok.
That small gesture and its faint noise planted unease in the already tense Alistair.
Alistair could feel it prickling his skin—Daniel suspected him.
Daniel, for his part, wasn't thinking anything in particular.
'......Did they start selling it again last year?'
It was a delicious dessert, so the owner might not have given up on it.
After all, it wasn't the restaurant's fault that a customer with an allergy had mistakenly ordered it in the first place.
Thinking it was probably something like that, Daniel nodded once and looked at Alistair.
"It seems they've started selling Apfelstrudel again. Of course, you'd have to ask Jack's Restaurant to know for sure. Ah. And one more thing I wanted to ask......."
Just as Daniel was about to ask his question, classical music from the orchestra filled the banquet hall.
Simultaneously, everyone in the hall began to applaud, so both their gazes naturally turned away.
Descending slowly from the third floor, the imperial family members held onto the stair railings.
It meant that the main event Philip had mentioned would soon begin.
Daniel, too, as an officer of the Empire, had a duty to pay his respects to the imperial family, so he could no longer continue the conversation.
"Oh dear. Time's up, it seems. I suppose we'll have to end our talk here."
Daniel smiled, picked up his uniform cap from the table, and stood.
"I hope you have a pleasant time."
With a slight nod, Daniel walked toward the crowd, his uniform cap tucked under his arm.
Thanks to that, Alistair felt his breathing ease.
'Thank goodness. If I'd been interrogated just a little longer, I might have been caught.......'
Relieved, Alistair turned to look at Daniel—and froze.
Because he could see Daniel talking to someone who appeared to be the Deputy Chief of Operations Staff, and occasionally glancing back at him.
'Shit......!'
As expected, Daniel still hadn't set aside his suspicions.
He was clearly telling the Deputy Chief of Operations Staff, 'That person is suspicious.'
In a cold sweat, Alistair hurriedly rose from his seat and walked toward the restroom.
After entering the restroom and making sure no one else was around, Alistair raised his wrist and pressed the transmit button on the ultra-compact radio disguised as a wristwatch.
"Speaker, respond! This is Photo Studio!"
After a brief wait, a reply came through the radio.
─ What is it? Is it time to report the list?
Alistair shook his head.
"No! I'm under suspicion right now! They've probably tightened security with a high probability. So cancel Operation Mad Dog immediately! Disperse the agents into the old town! We have to go with Plan B!"
─ You're under suspicion? The identity forgery was perfect. Your disguise, too, should be at a level the Imperial Army can't detect.
"The situation was bad. The one suspecting me right now is none other than Daniel Steiner."
Daniel Steiner. The name carried considerable weight.
The response came a moment later.
─ Understood. Withdrawing the existing operation and changing to Plan B. I'll relay it to all agents. Good luck.
The transmission cut off abruptly.
Alistair stared down at his wristwatch for a moment, then pressed his hand to his forehead.
'Damn. We have no choice but to go with Plan B.......'
Unlike the original operation, Plan B's failure rate skyrocketed.
Even if the operation succeeded, not only would the agents be annihilated, but it would be as good as handing the Empire the justification to start an expansionist war.
But there was no other way.
As long as Daniel Steiner suspected him, the original plan would not work.
Alistair wiped his face once, then brought his hands together and murmured reverently.
"God......."
Please watch over us.
*
"He's heading to the restroom. That new friend you made, I mean."
"Hmm. He must have been in a hurry."
I shrugged once as I watched Alistair disappear into the restroom.
Seeing me do that, Ernst let out a hearty laugh.
"Let's leave talk of your hometown friend aside for now and focus on the ball."
"......The ball, you say?"
"Ah. Come to think of it, this is your first Imperial banquet, isn't it? Usually, when the banquet is in full swing, the imperial family members come out and enjoy the court dance. It's a way of upholding the legitimacy passed down from the past."
I wondered what on earth the relationship was between dancing and legitimacy, but I had no desire to quibble over the imperial family's culture.
After nodding vaguely and turning my gaze to the central hall where the imperial family was preparing for the court dance, the first person I saw was Selvia, wearing a purple evening dress.
It was a dress with a daringly open back, but the blue-tinted necklace and earrings drew the gaze, lending the ensemble an antique air rather than a provocative one.
To be honest, she seemed completely different from when I met her in the north.
Was it because she was wearing light makeup? Looking closer, I soon realized why Selvia's mood was so different.
'She seems to hate being here.'
Selvia wasn't smiling.
The mischievous, triumphant smile she'd worn in the north was gone.
Well, thinking about it from her point of view, I could understand.
If I had to dress up in the name of imperial tradition and dance in front of people I didn't even want watching, I would hate it too.
But regardless of Selvia's feelings, the lighting in the banquet hall dimmed a notch, and the piece announcing the court dance began to play.
Once the performance started, the imperial family members each smiled and began dancing with members of the opposite sex.
Selvia was no exception, but the one difference was that she remained expressionless the entire time.
Of course, even that utter lack of expression was quite charming to me.
I tend to consider myself a fairly rational person, but it seemed my reason was at too low a level to transcend lookism.
If someone else had worn such a sulky expression, I probably would have told them to fix their face, but because the beautiful Selvia was doing it, even that looked like a scene from a painting.
Truly, lookism was terrifying in this way. It was something to be wary of.
So, as I stood there with my arms crossed, watching as impassively as possible, the court dance ended before I knew it, and the lights brightened.
Immediately after, everyone sent a round of applause toward the imperial family members, as if they had all agreed upon it in advance.
Selvia, receiving the applause from these pseudo-gallery members, shifted her gaze around as if bored—and then her eyes met mine.
Selvia's eyes widened slightly. It was right when I, thinking 'uh-oh,' was about to clap.
─ Don't.
Selvia's mouth shape stopped my praise.
Thanks to that, I remained frozen in an awkward posture as the high-ranking officials of the banquet hall approached the imperial family members, each striking up a conversation.
Selvia was no exception.
As I stared blankly at Selvia, who was smiling and chatting with the high-ranking officials, I tilted my head.
'Did I do something wrong?'
Would clapping when our eyes met be a breach of imperial protocol or something?
Amid overlapping curiosity and puzzlement, Selvia politely excused herself from the high-ranking officials and made her way through the crowd.
Selvia was coming toward me, so I stepped aside to give way.
But Selvia was still heading toward me.
Standing right in front of me, Selvia looked up and smiled faintly.
"It's been a while. Daniel...... should I call you Captain now?"
So she really had come to me. Briefly bewildered, I nodded.
"Yes. I've been promoted to Captain."
"I see. Well, you've accumulated a lot of merit, so it's only natural. More importantly, you've changed your hairstyle?"
"That's right. I didn't want to, but my superior was so vehement......."
Selvia gave a soft laugh.
"I should give that vehement superior of yours an award. It suits you well. You look more mature, too."
"I was already an adult......."
"Getting older doesn't automatically make you an adult, you know? Especially when I look at those people."
Selvia glanced back at the men who had been approaching her.
"They all think the Empire should wage an expansionist war. Without even giving the slightest thought to what kind of repercussions it would cause in the international community."
Hmm. Actually, in this era, such thinking was perfectly natural.
Wasn't the modern world full of people who saw turning civilizations less advanced than their own into colonies as a form of business—or salvation?
That meant Selvia was the enlightened one, not that those people were ignorant.
"It can't be helped. Since the Empire has gained the upper hand, advocating for war is the natural trend. Not everyone can act as wisely as Your Highness the Princess......."
I stopped mid-sentence and shut my mouth.
Because my hometown friend, who had gone to the restroom, was running toward me.
With a very grim face, no less.
Just as I was wondering what was going on, he reached into his coat.
Judging the situation dangerous in an instant, I flipped open my holster and drew my revolver.
The moment he was about to throw something, I pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The bullet blew his head apart.
However, the unidentified object that had left the man's hand was already flying toward us.
"Your Highness!"
Sensing danger, I grabbed Selvia's wrist and pulled her close.
Pulling Selvia into my arms, I instinctively turned my body and shut my eyes.
And then—
Flash─
A blinding light swallowed every direction.
*
......I steadied my breathing and slowly opened my eyes.
My vision was dark. This was not the banquet hall where I had stood moments ago.
Amid the silence all around, I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness.
It would be problematic if I moved rashly and made a sound.
"Daniel......."
"Quiet."
After quieting Selvia's squirming and waiting a moment, the interior of where we were became visible.
'A hotel?'
I was in a spacious living room decorated with luxurious furnishings.
Glancing back, I saw a cityscape stretching out below a glass wall.
Only then could I identify the object the man had thrown.
'An Etherium Shift Grenade.'
It was a disruption grenade that literally shifted the location of the person directly hit by it.
Since it was expensive and you could not control where the target ended up, it wasn't in high demand.
I had occasionally heard of it being used for special operations, but to think I would be the one on the receiving end.......
"Excuse me......."
"I told you to be quiet."
"That's not it......."
Squirm. Selvia's hand moved as if trying to push me away.
Only then did I realize I was still holding Selvia tightly.
Tension had made me slow to recognize the rudeness of my actions.
"Ah."
When I released her, Selvia stepped back.
For some reason, Selvia's ears, as she looked at me disapprovingly, were dyed a deep red.
Her breathing seemed a little rougher as well.
"My apologies."
When I offered my apology, Selvia replied, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"I understand you were trying to protect me. But be more careful from now on. And......."
Selvia's eyes sharpened and she ducked behind a nearby sofa.
"They're coming up. I can hear footsteps. Seven, no. Maybe eight."
She could hear footsteps? I hid beside Selvia and strained my ears; sure enough, I could hear footsteps close by.
It seemed they didn't know our exact location, but were searching, thinking we were nearby.
A sigh escaped me.
"......Things have gotten considerably more complicated, but for now I will protect you as best I can."
"There's no need."
Selvia lifted the hem of her evening dress.
Revealing a pistol strapped to her thigh.
Seeing that, I let out a deflated sigh.
"Do you always carry a pistol around like that?"
"You never know when something might happen."
"It seems the mature one here isn't me, but Your Highness the Princess after all."
Selvia, having drawn the pistol from her thigh, smiled faintly.
"Let's just say we both are."
"Fine. Then......."
The footsteps were getting closer.
I said, watching the door.
"Let's both act like adults and protect ourselves."
Cheolkeok─
Selvia, having loaded her pistol, answered with a triumphant air.
"That's exactly what I wanted."
So this was what they meant by iron-blooded.
To be honest, I couldn't have asked for anyone more reassuring.