A Realization Blooming Amidst Loss
A Realization Blooming Amidst Loss
After leaving General Headquarters, Lucy activated her optical camouflage in a deserted alley.
Lucy made her way on foot to the textile factory on the outskirts of the capital.
As she passed through the main gate, she saw workers toiling diligently.
'No....'
It would be more accurate to call them spies disguised as laborers.
After surveying them, Lucy deactivated her optical camouflage.
The spies moving about the factory interior stopped in their tracks, startled.
After a brief hesitation, one of them drew a pistol hidden inside his coat and aimed it at Lucy.
The sudden appearance of a person from empty space was bewildering enough, but the fact that she was wearing an Imperial officer's uniform made it only natural for them to be on guard.
"Identify yourself! How did you get here!?"
At the shout from the man at the very front, Lucy opened her mouth as if annoyed.
"The eagle soaring high in the sky never knows the affairs beneath the earth."
This was an internal cipher of the Allied Nations Intelligence Department.
Realizing that Lucy was one of their own, the man lowered his pistol.
"......What business brings you here? I hadn't heard there was a report scheduled for this hour."
"I have business with the branch chief. Please show me the way."
"What kind of nonsense is that... Do you think the branch chief is someone you can see just because you feel like it?"
Lucy let out a low sigh and half-opened her red eyes.
"Tell him that the Red Thread has arrived. Then he will grant permission."
At the words "Red Thread," the man swallowed hard, flustered.
That was because, as far as the man knew, there was only one woman in the entire Allied Nations who used the codename Red Thread.
'I know her as the legend who carried out countless assassination orders and Count Kaledra's confidant....'
Unable to believe such a prominent figure had come, the man pulled a radio from his chest.
"Wait a moment."
The man, thinking he had to verify her identity, exchanged words with someone over the radio.
During the conversation, the man looked somewhat surprised and then bowed his head to the unseen party on the other end.
"Yes. Understood."
After answering the person on the other end of the radio with deference, the man turned back to Lucy.
The man, who blinked a few times with a dumbfounded expression, cleared his throat and spoke.
"The branch chief says to come in. I will guide you."
Lucy simply nodded, and the man walked toward the fabric dyeing machine.
He manipulated a few buttons there, then pulled a lever, causing a loud 'Kung!' to ring out.
Following that, the noisy sound of gears turning spread out, and the fabric dyeing machine slid to the side.
Once the fabric dyeing machine had completely moved aside, a staircase leading underground revealed itself.
"You may descend through here."
Lucy answered with a nod instead of words and went down the stairs.
When she opened the iron door located at the end of the stairs and stepped inside, concrete outer walls stretched before her.
In the massive bunker-like space, the first thing to catch the eye was a map of the capital hung on one wall.
On both sides of the map, radar screens and surveillance equipment were lined up, and in front of them, numerous spies were operating electronic devices.
'So this is the Palentia Branch....'
She had known they established a base and operated in the heart of the Empire, but this was her first time visiting in person.
As she looked around at the scale, which was larger than expected, she saw a man approaching from afar, accompanied by a secretary.
Sensing the presence, Lucy turned her gaze and identified the man.
It was Theobald Berno, the Chief of the Palentia Branch of the Allied Nations Intelligence Department.
Though it was her first visit to the branch, she had met Theobald several times before on business.
However, she had no desire to pretend to be familiar.
As Lucy stood still and waited, Theobald, who had approached, stopped his steps.
"Lucy Emilia. What business do you have here? I have no time, so just state your purpose."
His businesslike tone drove away even the slightest hint of intimacy.
Thinking that pleasantries were unnecessary, Lucy got straight to the point.
"I have come to ask a question. Was it the Allied Nations that attacked the diplomatic vessel Daniel Steiner was aboard?"
Theobald was silent for a moment.
He was deliberating whether it was permissible to reveal this fact to Lucy.
After much deliberation, Theobald concluded that it was only a matter of time before Lucy uncovered the full story of the incident, and he nodded.
"It is so. It was judged to be a necessary action for the Allied Nations, and thus it was carried out."
Upon hearing the confirmation, Lucy's hand trembled faintly.
Amid emotions she had never felt before, Lucy, who had been silent for a while, met Theobald's gaze.
"......Was sinking a ship carrying civilians truly a necessary act for the Allied Nations? Furthermore, I cannot understand why headquarters has concealed all of this from me."
The subtle fury latent in Lucy's voice grated on Theobald's nerves.
Theobald openly frowned.
"This unfortunate incident would not have happened if you had eliminated Daniel Steiner sooner. Besides, why must headquarters tell you everything? Do you think you've become something special just because you enjoy the patronage of Count Kaledra?"
Lucy clenched her fist tightly.
"......I have carried out countless assassination operations under the orders of the Allied Nations. Therefore, when it comes to assassination operations, I believed the Allied Nations would trust me."
"Lucy."
"The person to assassinate Daniel Steiner was none other than myself. It was a matter for me to judge and execute. Then why did the Allied Nations not trust me?"
"Lucy Emilia."
"Yes. Naturally, considering various circumstances, there could be reasons not to trust me. But in that case, you should have at least informed me that the mission had changed! But the Allied Nations─"
Theobald slapped Lucy across the cheek.
Slap─
The sound of skin striking skin echoed loudly in the confined space.
As Lucy, struck on the cheek, exhaled a few breaths, Theobald spoke.
"Do not get worked up and listen. The Allied Nations are merely advancing for the Great Cause. So do not raise doubts and return to standby status for your mission."
Ordinarily, Lucy would have nodded, turned around, and walked out, but she did not do so this time.
"......Did you say not to raise doubts."
Lucy's voice came out as small as a whisper.
It is for the nation. It is for the Great Cause. It is for the people. It is for the world. It is for peace. It is for revenge. It is for balance.
These were the words the Allied Nations—Count Kaledra—had spoken to her every time she raised a doubt.
Even knowing that it did not constitute a valid reason, Lucy had agreed without a single complaint.
Because the Allied Nations were good and the Empire was evil.
But could the Allied Nations—who had brought about Daniel Steiner's death along with civilians—truly be defined as good?
Especially an Allied Nations that had not said a single word to her, despite the countless acts of loyalty she had shown them.
"Just how long......."
Looking at Theobald, Lucy ground her teeth.
"Must I refrain from raising questions."
The pent-up anger in her heart began to flare up.
He knew he shouldn't let her anger run wild, but Theobald had nothing to say to her.
As he maintained his silence, Lucy, in a fit of rage, spun on her heel.
Theobald did not stop her, and Lucy simply went up the stairs and walked outside.
Theobald let out a low sigh and turned to the secretary beside him.
"Report to Count Kaledra. Tell him that the sole successful subject, Test Subject 187...... No."
Theobald, staring at the spot where Lucy had left, felt a headache coming on and spoke.
"Tell him that Lucy Emilia may have had a change of heart."
*
......Once outside the branch, Lucy walked wherever her heart led her.
She had hoped that this time, the Allied Nations would give her a proper explanation, but the fact that it had all come to naught left a void in her heart.
Rubbing the cheek Theobald had struck, Lucy, who had been walking aimlessly with dead eyes, felt the light entering her vision gradually increasing.
The sound of citizens' voices tinged with laughter reached her ears.
Absentmindedly raising her head, Lucy realized she had passed through the alleyway and emerged onto the main street.
Amidst a cool breeze, Lucy's gaze drifted across the road.
[Golden Rose Patisserie]
That shop with the splendid sign was where Lucy had eaten an Imperial dessert for the very first time.
As if bewitched, Lucy crossed the road and walked toward the patisserie.
In the meantime, raindrops began to fall, one by one, from the dark clouds covering the sky.
Citizens who felt the raindrops falling opened their umbrellas, but Lucy did not.
She merely moved her feet as if approaching the patisserie was her sole objective in life.
Arriving in front of the patisserie like that, Lucy spotted a man and woman eating dessert by the window.
The man was laughing playfully, and the woman, looking hesitant yet willing, was raising a parfait to her lips.
In that sight, Lucy could not help but project the image of Daniel and herself, who had eaten dessert here in the past.
"......."
As the rain began to pour down harder, it started to soak Lucy's officer cap and coat.
Passersby walking along the street glanced strangely at Lucy, standing blankly in the rain, and passed her by.
But Lucy, paying no mind to the gazes of others, was simply retracing the past.
─ How is it? Does the dessert suit your taste?
The words Daniel had offered her in that shop vividly surfaced in her mind.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Lucy's lips as she recalled the taste of the parfait she had eaten back then.
However, the smile soon vanished, and all that remained in the end was emptiness.
'Did you say we should eat Stollen on Christmas.'
He was a truly foolish and pitiful person.
Also, he was a bad guy who made promises he couldn't keep, not knowing when he himself might die.
'And....'
He was also a person she was grateful to, who had risked his life to fight the Security Bureau to protect his adjutant.
But now she could no longer see him.
Because he had vanished from this world along with the diplomatic vessel.
At this absurd fact, Lucy let out a low laugh.
It was ridiculous that a man who never seemed like he'd shed a single drop of blood had died so suddenly.
'A foolish person....'
Thus, Lucy's laughter, which had been mocking Daniel, abruptly changed into a sob.
With both eyes closed and her bottom lip bitten hard, tears began to well up at the corners of Lucy's eyes.
Under the pouring rain, Lucy, who raised the back of her hand to wipe the corners of her eyes, let out a chilled breath.
Ironic as it was, only now, in a world without Daniel Steiner, could Lucy realize.
'I...... about Daniel Steiner.......'
That she had been genuinely fond of him deep in her heart.