Being Wary and Hostile Isn't Always the Best Course
Being Wary and Hostile Isn't Always the Best Course
The soft breath that escaped her parted lips dissolved into a chill.
Inside her confused mind, memories of Daniel treating her kindly surfaced without permission.
They had spent two seasons together.
Lucy, who had been sifting through memories now plentiful enough to be called reminiscences, abruptly shook her head.
'The essence doesn't change.'
Lucy was a spy for the Allied Nations.
No matter how kindly Daniel had treated her, the fact that he was an 'enemy' did not change.
Espionage during wartime was no joke.
She must not be swayed by emotions.
Because there could be no such thing as a kind war where you spared someone simply because they were a good person.
'Only.......'
At this moment, with doubts festering in her heart, she could not bring herself to harm Daniel.
'What if the contents written on that paper were true?'
If it was the Allied Nations, not the Empire, that had conducted the human experimentation, then Count Kaledra had been lying to Lucy all along.
Lucy wanted to believe that Kaledra, who was like a father to her, would never have lied to her, but the contents of the paper kept stirring her suspicion.
'So, until what is written in this document is confirmed to be false.......'
It was right to defer killing Daniel.
Having made her decision, Lucy put away her pistol.
Lucy slid the pistol into the holster on her belt and returned the document and photo to the inner pocket of the officer's coat.
Immediately after, Lucy stepped back one pace, and with her eyes half-open, she let the moonlight filtering through the window wash over her.
Amidst inexplicable emotions, Lucy, who had been watching Daniel for a while, turned away.
After erasing the traces of her intrusion, Lucy walked to the front door and looked back at Daniel one last time.
Watching Daniel from behind amidst a swirl of thoughts, Lucy soon activated her optical camouflage and opened the front door.
Lucy stepped out into the corridor and closed the door.
Thus left alone, Daniel slowly opened his eyes while leaning back against the sofa.
'......Has she gone?'
He opened his eyes to slits and scanned his surroundings; Lucy was nowhere to be seen.
Daniel, wondering if she had really left, only let out a sigh of relief after checking the front door.
Once he confirmed his survival, the tension drained away, and all strength seemed to leave his body.
'I thought Lucy's attitude seemed a bit strange yesterday.......'
When she had swapped his rank insignia for him in the office, Daniel had seen Lucy showing guilt, even if just for a moment.
Why had she felt guilt instead of suppressing anger? Mulling it over while working, Daniel had reached the conclusion that he might be assassinated.
It was only natural for affection to bloom for a pet raised even for half a year. If you had spent over half a year with a person, a degree of fondness was bound to develop.
In such a state, if she received an order from higher-ups to eliminate an assassination target, even the most hardened spy, being human, could not help but show guilt.
Thinking that Lucy was the same, Daniel had not gone to sleep after arriving at his quarters but had spent the night awake on the sofa.
In doing so, he had placed his officer's coat over the back of the sofa and made the 'Lucy Project' document stick out of its inner pocket.
So that if Lucy came to assassinate him, she would inevitably be forced to search the officer's coat.
After that, while he had been sitting on the sofa killing time, he had heard the sound of someone unlocking the front door with a lockpick.
Concluding that Lucy had arrived, Daniel had leaned back against the sofa and pretended to be asleep.
There was also the option of staying awake and handing her the paper directly, but the likelihood that Lucy would then judge that Daniel had 'forged the document to stay alive' was extremely high.
'Seeing as how she's loyal to the Allied Nations even though she's their test subject, she must have been brainwashed without realizing it.'
Therefore, Daniel had aimed for a situation where Lucy would 'accidentally' discover the document while he pretended to be asleep.
Because that was the only way Lucy would have greater trust in the document.
If Lucy, thinking the document's contents might be real, began to harbor confused feelings, his survival probability would increase exponentially.
This was because Lucy's fundamental reason for obeying the Allied Nations' commands was rooted in her belief that 'the Allied Nations were not involved in biological experiments.'
Thus, even just a small crack in that firm belief would cause Lucy to doubt her own judgment.
Fortunately, Lucy, once she had come close, moved exactly as Daniel had expected.
From a broader perspective, it was also true that Daniel had protected Lucy from the Security Bureau, and it was also true that he had been tolerating her despite knowing she was a spy.
Furthermore, this tactic had worked because Lucy was not a person who was blindly and fanatically loyal to the Allied Nations.
'But.......'
Whether Lucy would continue to hesitate in the assassination was, honestly, an unknown variable.
This meant that such a life-threatening situation could occur again at any time.
'Then again, I'm not in a position to request an investigation from the Security Bureau either.......'
Currently, Daniel was at odds with the Security Bureau due to pressuring a Security Bureau Inspector at the General Headquarters.
Also, a single piece of paper whose contents could not be proven had no validity as evidence, and if one's adjutant was a spy, the superior officer would also be subject to investigation—it was effectively suicide.
If the investigation process even uncovered the fact that he had been hiding Lucy despite knowing she was a spy, things would get incredibly difficult.
'In that case.......'
The only course of action Daniel had right now was to secure proof that the Allied Nations had carried out biological experiments on Lucy.
'If I could secure and show her evidence proving the Lucy Project.......'
Lucy would no longer follow the Allied Nations' orders, freeing him from the threat of assassination.
And that wasn't even the only benefit. He might even end up with a human weapon, capable of taking on a single battalion alone, as an ally.
'But how on earth.......'
Daniel, who had been racking his brains for a way to make Lucy turn, shook his head.
No brilliant solution would come just from agonizing over it.
Then, a spy movie he had seen long ago suddenly came to mind.
It was a film about a spy who falls in love with their assassination target and ultimately betrays their home country's orders.
Recalling the plot, Daniel let out a laugh of disbelief, thinking even he found it absurd.
'As if that bloodless, tearless woman would ever fall in love with me.'
It would be faster to just overpower Lucy with force.
Deeming it a preposterous notion, Daniel shook off his idle thoughts and rose from his seat.
Having preserved his life, he intended to celebrate with a glass of whiskey.
*
At the same time, the Imperial Eisenkrone Palace.
The bedchamber of Princess Selvia.
"Let's see. The budget allocated for next year's State Propaganda Department is......."
Selvia, dressed in luxurious silk pajamas, was examining various documents.
Recently, as she had taken on the regency, the same reports that went to the current emperor were also being sent to Selvia, the next emperor, and processing them made even her sleep time feel precious.
Just as she was reading through the documents, she heard a knock.
As she turned her head, wondering who it was, the door opened without her permission.
Beyond the door stood a noblewoman with golden hair and blue eyes, smiling.
Mariant von Amberg.
She was Selvia's mother, the Empress, wife of the Emperor who ruled this empire.
"Hard at work until dawn, I see. You could still lean on your father for now, you know."
As Mariant approached and spoke, Selvia shook her head.
"I can't become Emperor just by leaning on others. If I don't get used to it now, I won't be able to properly manage state affairs later, so it's right that I make the effort."
"As expected of my daughter, you are admirable."
Letting out a soft laugh, Mariant sat down beside Selvia.
Sensing the situation, Selvia tidied up the documents, moved them aside, and looked at Mariant.
"......But, Mother. Did you have something to say?"
"Indeed. Actually, I came to offer some advice after overhearing the conversation you had with that man the other day."
"Advice?"
When Selvia asked back, Mariant nodded.
"Yes. Daniel Steiner, was it? The young officer who successfully led the speech this time. Being curious, this mother did a little digging, and it seems he has the ambition and ability to rise steadily and climb to a high position."
Mariant lightly took hold of Selvia's hand.
"Daughter. That man says you should be wary and hostile toward that officer named Daniel, but my thoughts are a little different. If you truly wish to leash Daniel Steiner, there is a more humane method."
"......A more humane method?"
"You know well that a man who has much to lose and values his honor is all the more bound by responsibility. So, if Daniel ever becomes a pillar of the Empire and refuses to listen, use the weapon only a woman possesses."
Selvia, not understanding, furrowed her brow.
"A weapon only a woman possesses? There's no such thing."
"There is. Because I used it to capture your father and give birth to you."
"What on earth......."
Trailing off, Selvia's eyes went wide.
As she stared at Selvia, who was too shocked to speak, Mariant withdrew her hand.
"This mother doesn't know much about politics, but I do know that being wary and hostile is not the only way. Of course, you must never be hasty. I am merely suggesting this as one of many methods."
Selvia was still frozen solid.
After affectionately gazing at her daughter, who couldn't pull herself out of the shock, Mariant rose from her seat.
"Selvia. Keep this in mind. No matter how outstanding a man is, he turns into a fool in the face of lust."
Having delivered her meaningful words, Mariant stepped away and left the bedchamber.
Only then did Selvia let out an unintelligible moan, her face flushing red.
She could not understand her mother.
'Why did she suddenly come to me and say such scandalous things.......'
Shaking her head vigorously, Selvia picked up the documents.
She tried to refocus on state affairs, but she could not concentrate at all, as the words Mariant had left behind swirled freely through her mind.
Then, having unintentionally ended up in bizarre daydreams, Selvia buried her face in both hands.
The hands covering her face trembled uncontrollably, against her will.
'Get a hold of yourself, Selvia. Please.......'
Honestly speaking, she felt like she could die of embarrassment.