Dmitri's lips moved, but no sound ca out.
"The Usar Union no longer needs the 'ally' that is the Royal Research Institute in this war."
When she said this, a certain warmth appeared in her tone for the first ti.
"And—"
She tilted her head slightly.
"I don't want our researchers to continue being tainted by this kind of thing."
"Thirteen souls are sealed within that Soul-Eater Sword, Dmitri Andreyevich."
"Not thirteen'samples,' not thirteen sets of 'data.'"
"It's thirteen people."
"They have nas, families, and mories. They were swallowed by a sword in the night at Kaldburg, then locked inside—living, feeling, yet unable to speak, move, or die."
"And you call this the 'most precious sample in the field of research.'"
The corners of her mouth curled slightly.
It wasn't a smile.
"So I sent it back."
"Rather than letting this hot potato stay in our hands and satisfying their increasingly overstepping demands, it's better to throw this bomb back to Victoria."
"The Soul-Eater Sword returns to the Empire's territory via the hands of Marquis Hohenheim."
"The Hornheim family is close to the Army General Staff and doesn't get along with the Royal Research Institute."
"How could an experintal weapon that should have been in the Imperial armory appear on the Usar battlefield? How could it be 'captured' by Usar? Every link in between points to the sa conclusion—"
"The Royal Research Institute is colluding with the enemy."
Dmitri's face turned ashen in the light of the kerosene lamp.
"You... you are—"
"Causing internal strife in Victoria."
She finished for him. "The pro-war and pro-peace factions were already evenly matched; every war budget vote was a gamble on a knife's edge. Now that the pro-peace faction has the 'Royal Research Institute colluding with the enemy' ace in their hand, what do you think will happen next in the Imperial Council?"
Dmitri did not answer.
He didn't need to.
They both knew what would happen.
The silence lasted a long ti.
Thunder rolled in the distance outside the window, like the earth turning over. The rain had lessened, but the wind grew stronger, making the window fras rattle.
Dmitri slowly straightened up.
His expression recovered from the shock, re-solidifying into sothing he was more familiar with—authority.
"I don't care what your reasons are."
His voice lowered, becoming steady and powerful, the kind of voice used when making resolutions at the Military Science Committee.
"In my capacity as the Vice Chairman of the Usar Union Military Science Committee, I order you to imdiately recover the Soul-Eater Sword through all available channels."
"The research on human souls cannot be interrupted; it concerns the Usar Union's—"
"Dmitri Andreyevich Volkov."
She called his full na again.
But this ti, the previous laziness was gone from her voice.
Clean.
Calm.
Like the mont before a blade falls.
She sat up straight in her chair.
Although not completely straight, it was enough for Dmitri to notice one thing: this young woman, who looked like she might slide off the chair at any mont, actually kept her back straight.
She reached out and pulled open the drawer on the right side of the desk.
The drawer was deep, stuffed with various docunts and odds and ends.
Her hand reached the bottom, her fingertips pausing at a certain spot before pulling out a stack of docunts tied with thin black string.
The docunts were tossed onto the desktop.
A "thwack" sound, not heavy, but exceptionally clear in the gaps between the thunder.
Dmitri looked down.
The header of the top page was in the standard format of the Usar Union Ministry of Internal Affairs, stamped with red seals from three different departnts.
His pupils contracted.
"In the autumn of Imperial Year 399, you established your first contact with the Third Branch of the Victoria Royal Research Institute through the private channels of a neutral country's diplomat."
Her voice was unhurried, as if reading a shopping list.
"In the spring of Imperial Year 400, in the na of 'academic exchange,' you provided the Royal Research Institute with the complete design blueprints for the Usar Union's second-generation Spinal Probe technology. In return, you received a sum of money transferred through three shell companies, equivalent to approximately—"
She turned a page.
"One million one hundred and twenty thousand."
Dmitri's hands began to shake.
"In Imperial Year 401, you sent the troop deploynt maps of the Usar Union's western defense line to a designated relay station of the Royal Research Institute in the form of an encrypted telegram."
"In the winter of the sa year, the Victorian Empire launched a surprise attack on the western defense line. Three of our divisions were caught off guard, with casualties exceeding four thousand."
She turned another page.
"In Imperial Year 402, you began serving as the 'Chief Liaison' for the Royal Research Institute in the Usar Union. The plan to 'capture' the Soul-Eater Sword was finalized during this period."
"You were responsible for arranging the 'accidental loss' route on the front lines, ensuring the Soul-Eater Sword fell into the hands of our designated troops."
She closed the file.
"From Imperial Year 399 to 403. Four years."
Gray-blue eyes looked up, calmly watching Dmitri.
"You are not just the Vice Chairman of the Usar Union Military Science Committee, Dmitri Andreyevich. You are also the highest-level asset planted by the Victoria Royal Research Institute in the Usar Union."
"A double agent, playing both sides between Victoria and Usar."
"Taking money from the Royal Research Institute to do their bidding; taking power from the Usar Union to pave your own way."
She lightly tapped the stack of docunts with her fingertip.
"Inside are transfer records, original and decrypted copies of encrypted telegrams, addresses of relay stations and lists of contacts, and the tis, locations, and witness testimonies for your six secret etings with the head of the Royal Research Institute's Third Branch."
"Every single entry has been cross-verified by at least two independent sources."
Dmitri's lips thinned into a pale line.
His gaze moved from the docunts to the woman's face, then from the woman's face back to the docunts, three tis back and forth.
He laughed.
It was a twisted laugh, the kind born of trying to find one last straw in a desperate situation.
"You think arresting will solve the problem?"
His voice changed, no longer the steady tone of the Vice Chairman of the Military Science Committee, but sothing sharper, more urgent.
"That crazy woman—Lovelace—she only left Victoria a few days ago!"
He grabbed a report from the desk, the paper crinkling harshly in his hand.
"Flying cha! She's created Flying cha! Do you know what that ans? Air superiority! We can't even scrape together decent anti-air firepower. Once her Flying cha are deployed in actual combat—"
He slamd the report back onto the desk.
"Without the technical support of the Royal Research Institute, without the Return Power research data they provide, we will soon have zero chance of winning on the battlefield!"
"You sent the Soul-Eater Sword back and blew up our channel with the Royal Research Institute. Are you going to make the soldiers on the front line use their flesh and blood to block steam cannonballs?"
His chest heaved violently, his dals clinking.
The room was quiet for a few seconds.
The wind rushed in, and the fla of the kerosene lamp flickered sharply, casting a distorted shadow on the wall.
The woman laughed too, a hearty, sowhat mischievous laugh.
As if she had heard a decent joke.
"How do you know—"
She stood up from her chair.
The movent was slow and casual, as if she were stretching while standing up.
Her military overcoat slipped halfway off her shoulders, but she didn't bother with it.
"—that we have zero chance of winning?"
User Comments
0 comments from readers