I Didn't Mean to Help
I Didn't Mean to Help
Imperial General Headquarters.
Daniel Steiner's personal office.
Sarak─
In the empty office, Lucy was attending to her duties.
Lucy, who had been reviewing documents and organizing them by importance as usual, lifted her head.
'Footsteps....'
The sound of footsteps was coming from the corridor.
'Is it Daniel?'
Today was the day Daniel was supposed to return, having said he would forfeit his leave and come back.
She felt her mood lift for no reason, thinking she wouldn't have to work overtime anymore once Daniel arrived.
Lucy, who had been pricking up her ears with anticipation, soon shook her head.
'No.'
It was not Daniel's footsteps.
Judging by the sound, the stride of the feet and the weight pressing down on the floor were different.
'Then who on earth....'
Just as she was wondering if it might be the Operations Staff Vice Chief, Ernst, the office door opened.
Beyond the door, which had opened without a knock, a person in a navy-blue police uniform slowly entered.
Seeing this, Lucy's hand flinched.
Because that middle-aged man was someone Lucy knew well.
'Kartman Schulz....'
He was a Senior Inspector belonging to the Security Bureau.
She couldn't not know him, since she had once dined with him at a restaurant while in disguise.
"Hm?"
Kartman, who had been peering at the empty office desk with puzzlement, turned his head.
When his eyes met Lucy's, Kartman was silent for a moment before soon flashing an awkward smile.
"Ah. Are you Major Daniel's adjutant?"
Lucy hesitated to answer.
Because it could be disastrous if Kartman, a Security Bureau police officer, became suspicious of her.
'But clearly, back then....'
Not only had she concealed her appearance with a wig and sunglasses, but she hadn't made a sound, either.
Thinking a brief conversation would be fine, Lucy rose from her seat and spoke nonchalantly.
"Yes. What business brings you all the way from the Security Bureau to the General Headquarters?"
"Hmm. There are various circumstances, but to put it simply...."
Kartman, who had been scratching his head, suddenly fixed his gaze on Lucy.
"Rooting out a spy."
For a moment, silence hung between them.
The suspicion glazing Kartman's sleepy eyes felt chilling.
However, being subjected to suspicion was also a familiar thing for Lucy.
With absolutely no change in her expression, Lucy accepted Kartman's words.
"Are you saying there is a spy within the General Headquarters?"
At Lucy's words, Kartman let out a hollow laugh.
Usually, people would say something like 'Are you suspecting me?' and end up ensnaring themselves, but Lucy, ever so shrewdly, had deflected Kartman's suspicion onto the entire General Headquarters.
Thinking she was no easy opponent, Kartman shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, this is a problem. I don't wish to suspect those who work hard for the Empire here at the General Headquarters either. But having conducted my own investigation, I've come across some circumstances regarding Major Daniel that arouse suspicion, you see."
"Circumstances that arouse suspicion?"
"Here's the thing. Sometime ago, I had the great honor of dining with Major Daniel at a restaurant. However, on that occasion, there was a woman accompanying the Major."
A rather distinctive person, she was. Kartman, who had been stroking his chin and pretending to be lost in thought, snapped his fingers with a Tak!
"Ah! She said she had been serving as a military doctor on the Eastern Front before being wounded in the eye by enemy soldiers. I couldn't see her eyes because she was wearing sunglasses, but she had very lovely brown hair."
Kartman looked at Lucy and grinned slyly.
"She was close to my ideal type. So I secretly did a little investigating. I wondered, just how many people serving as military doctors on the Eastern Front were wounded in the eye by enemy soldiers?"
Kartman, wiping the smile from his face, raised his hand and spread his fingers.
"Five. Among the relatively young ones, there were five military doctors who survived despite being wounded in the eye. Here, I thought to myself again. How many of them had brown hair?"
Kartman folded three fingers down.
"Two. There were exactly two with brown hair. Now then, which of those brown-haired military doctors wounded in the eye ended up completely mute due to aphasia?"
Kartman clenched his fist.
"There was none. Regrettably."
Kartman, who had been staring fixedly at Lucy, lowered his hand.
"Isn't it strange? That the military doctor Major Daniel spoke of does not, in fact, exist? That would make it a lie, then. Why would he have lied?"
Kartman tilted his head slightly and then widened his eyes.
"Could it be that the woman he was with was a spy, and so he hid her from a Security Bureau officer like myself?"
It was an accurate deduction for a shot in the dark, but Lucy didn't so much as blink.
Rather, she merely furrowed her brow as if displeased.
"Are you currently attempting to frame my superior, Major Daniel, on charges of colluding with a spy?"
When Lucy came on strong, Kartman, who had fallen silent for a moment, let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.
"Not at all. As of yet, it is nothing but my foolish delusion. I am also desperately hoping it remains a delusion. But there's no harm in making sure, is there? In that sense...."
Kartman began fumbling for something inside his coat.
It was a sunglasses case.
When Kartman opened the case, inside were sunglasses with the exact same design as the ones Lucy had worn at the time.
"Would you mind putting these on for a moment? I'm not exactly suspecting Second Lieutenant Lucy in particular, but if the woman I met back then is definitely a spy, I thought she might be operating here inside the General Headquarters."
He meant that he was having others try them on too, so she should as well.
Because of this, Lucy secretly broke out in a cold sweat.
The moment she picked up and put on the sunglasses Kartman was offering, his suspicion would amplify.
She could make the excuse that they merely looked similar, but once Kartman's persistent investigation began, she wouldn't be able to hold out for long.
Yet refusing to put on the sunglasses would also be suspicious.
Cornered on all sides, Lucy took a deep breath and reached for the sunglasses.
She thought that, as she had no other choice for now, complying with Kartman's demand was the best course.
It was then.
"What the hell do you think you're doing."
Daniel's voice made Lucy's hand stop.
Reflexively turning her head, Lucy was able to see Daniel looking at her from the entrance of the office.
At this unexpected appearance, Lucy, forgetting even to salute, just blinked quietly.
Kartman, also drawn by the voice, turned his head and spotted Daniel.
"Ah. Major Daniel. It's nothing, just...."
The tail of Kartman's words, which had begun calmly, gradually faded away.
Because Daniel, who had approached closer, was now looking down at him as if he wanted to eat him alive.
The pressure exerted by his tall stature and sharp gaze was truly immense.
"Explain to me what on earth this is."
A voice edged with menace was shrinking Kartman down.
However, Kartman, who was in no position to back down, spoke up.
"Explanation, you say? I am merely doing what I have to do. Since my superiors granted me access authority to the General Headquarters...."
"In that case, did you receive an Internal Security Surveillance Warrant?"
Kartman had no choice but to shut his mouth.
An Internal Security Surveillance Warrant was a document that superseded access authority.
No matter how powerful the Security Bureau was, they did not issue such warrants without concrete evidence.
As Kartman remained silent, Daniel furrowed his brow.
"You don't mean to say you barged in here without even a warrant? And on top of that, you made things difficult for my adjutant."
"Major Daniel. This is a misunderstanding. Furthermore, this is solely for the sake of national interest. Therefore, I did not make your adjutant's life difficult, I—"
"Kartman Schulz."
Daniel, having cut Kartman off, inclined his head lightly.
"You don't seem to understand what I'm saying, so I'll say it again."
With their eyes now locked, Kartman was able to see it.
Daniel, snarling like a ferocious wolf.
"Get the fuck out of here. Right now."
A cold sweat trickled down.
Feeling a certain kind of terror, Kartman nodded and fled the office as if escaping.
Only after confirming that Kartman had left did Daniel sigh in relief.
'I knew Duke Belvar would make a move, but to think he'd send someone this soon.'
No matter how he looked at it, it had been Belvar who had granted Kartman access authority to the General Headquarters.
'Seeing Security Bureau police wandering around the General Headquarters....'
It could be interpreted as them being frantic to find evidence.
'For now, it's a relief. If Lucy had put on those sunglasses, things could have gotten complicated.'
If Lucy were suspected of being a spy, Daniel, as her superior, wouldn't be safe either.
In the worst case, he could be convicted of colluding with a spy and sentenced to death.
That was why he had used every ounce of his energy to kick Kartman out.
But this was only a temporary measure at best.
'Belvar will keep pressuring me. In that case....'
He had to cripple their very will to fight so they couldn't pressure him anymore.
At present, Daniel possessed the strength and ability to do just that.
"Adjutant."
Having finished his thoughts, Daniel turned to look at Lucy.
"I am going to meet Her Highness the Imperial Princess now. You guard the General Headquarters. Also, do not go anywhere near the Security Bureau for the rest of the day. Understood?"
Lucy, who had been staring blankly up at Daniel, gave a small nod of her head.
Seeing that, Daniel hastily moved his feet and exited the office.
Lucy, who had been vacantly gazing at the spot where Daniel had left, let out a long breath.
'Why....'
She could not understand Daniel, who had made an enemy of the Security Bureau police officer who had been pressuring her.
From Lucy's point of view, it was the same as Daniel having risked his life and jumped in to save her, who was under suspicion of being a spy.
Lucy, who had been lost in thought for some time, opened her eyes halfway and placed a hand over her chest.
"......."
The pounding of her heart was transmitted through her fingertips.