Imperial Corps Headquarters – Military Security Division

First Basement Floor, Temporary Records Room

“It’s already been ten hours since Major Daniel Steiner went into the records room. Don’t you think we should check on him?”

The soldier guarding the entrance spoke anxiously, but Sergeant Salodam of the security division shook his head.

“He told us not to go in, didn’t he? Said he needed to look around the records room alone and ordered us not to disturb him. Don’t even think about disobeying—if you get us both killed, I’ll make sure to haunt you.”
“Ki—killed? What do you mean, Sergeant?”
“You really don’t get it, do you? Major Daniel Steiner can do whatever he wants in the security division because the corps commander personally granted him the authority. Do you understand what that means?”

In short, defying Daniel Steiner’s orders was equivalent to defying the corps commander’s orders.

The soldier turned pale and broke into a nervous sweat before snapping to attention without warning.

Sergeant Salodam couldn’t help but chuckle at the reaction.

“Look at you, scared stiff. With nerves like that, how do you expect to fight the Kingdom’s soldiers? Not that we’ll ever see combat ourselves…”
“Se—Sergeant!”

The soldier trembled and threw a side glance at Salodam.

Annoyed, Salodam turned to look—and immediately froze, his face draining of color just like the soldier’s.

Lieutenant Colonel Carl Fren, the corps commander’s aide, was standing a short distance away, observing them.

Salodam practically saluted out of reflex.

“C-Colonel! What brings you here…?”

Carl Fren clasped his hands behind his back, offering a warm smile.

“I’m just making a surprise inspection and checking in to see how Major Steiner is doing. I hope this old man didn’t interrupt your lively conversation.”

Though his tone was friendly, the words carried an undeniable sting.

To paraphrase—“The guards posted at the records room couldn’t even notice someone approaching and were busy chatting instead?”

The soldier mistook Carl Fren’s comment for encouragement and let his guard down.

But Salodam, having caught the underlying tone, remained frozen, unable to lower his salute.

“Don’t worry—I’m not here to give you trouble,” Carl Fren added. “Now then, where’s Major Steiner?”

Snapping out of his daze, Salodam stammered.

“Oh, uh… He’s been inside the records room for about ten hours now.”
“Today too? Didn’t he spend most of yesterday in there as well?”
“Yes, sir. He said the negotiations are only four days away, so he’s pressed for time…”

Hearing this, Carl Fren couldn’t help but be impressed.

He had expected Daniel to either reject the assignment outright or, at best, do the bare minimum to save face.

Instead, Daniel was throwing himself into the task with remarkable dedication.

‘The rumors about him giving his all in everything he does weren’t wrong.’

If a talented individual combined skill with relentless effort, their potential could become limitless.

As Carl Fren reflected on Daniel Steiner’s character, a light knock sounded from the metal door guarded by the soldiers.

It was the signal that someone inside wanted to exit.

The door couldn’t be opened from within, so this was the standard protocol.

“One moment, sir!”

The soldier unlocked the door, and Daniel Steiner emerged.

He looked exhausted, but his sharp, wolf-like eyes stared straight ahead with unwavering focus.

The intensity in his gaze made even the sergeant flinch.

Locking eyes with Carl Fren for a moment, Daniel offered a formal salute.

“Colonel. What brings you down here?”

His voice was firm, yet still conveyed proper respect for his superior.

Carl Fren returned the salute and replied, feeling an odd tension in the air.

“…The corps commander wanted me to check if you needed anything while preparing for your task. Are you sure you’re all right? You look like you haven’t slept.”
“I’m fine, sir. But if you could step aside, I need to finalize the negotiation plans.”

Realizing he was blocking the way, Carl Fren quickly moved aside.

Nodding politely, Daniel walked past him and headed up the stairs.

Watching Daniel’s retreating figure, Carl Fren let out a faint sigh.

‘He’s relentless. I can see the determination to make these negotiations succeed.’

Yet, with the Emperor’s stubbornness, the odds of reaching an agreement were practically zero.

‘Unless… has he found a way to turn the tables?’

Though uncertain, Carl Fren couldn’t help but see a glimmer of hope in Daniel’s tireless resolve.

Perhaps—just perhaps—this man might actually pull off the impossible and save countless lives.

*****

Daniel let out a quiet sigh of relief as he walked down the corridor, confirming that no one was following him.

‘…I thought I was caught.’

When the steel door opened and Carl Fren, the corps commander’s aide, was standing there, Daniel had nearly felt his heart drop.

He’d been terrified that the aide had caught him sneaking classified information out of the records room in his notebook.

‘If Fren had noticed my attempt to smuggle out secrets, things would’ve taken a disastrous turn.’

In the worst-case scenario, he could have been branded a traitor and executed.

But, fortunately, the aide had only come to check in on him, nothing more.

Thanks to that, Daniel managed to keep the notebook filled with classified data intact.

‘Now, I just need to compile this into documents…’

All that was left was to hand the information to the Kingdom’s foreign minister during tomorrow’s peace negotiations and request asylum.

No matter how much the Empire hailed Daniel as a hero, the Kingdom wouldn’t doubt his sincerity if he handed over second-tier military secrets.

‘I’m finally escaping this damned Empire.’

Imagining the bright future that awaited him, Daniel’s steps grew lighter.

He suppressed a grin as he walked—until he suddenly froze.

Lucy was approaching him from the opposite end of the hallway.

As she drew closer, the scent of expensive perfume wafted through the air, tickling his nose.

Daniel found himself puzzled. Why is she wearing perfume?

Before he could make sense of it, Lucy stopped just a step away and gave a slight nod.

“Major. So this is where you were.”
“...Were you looking for me? Did the corps commander call for me?”
“No, it’s not that. I just…”

Lucy hesitated.

Wearing perfume to seduce Daniel had seemed like a good idea at first.

But now, how was she supposed to naturally continue the conversation?

What did “seduction” even mean? When it came to winning someone’s heart, Lucy’s knowledge was practically nonexistent.

Earlier that morning, she had frantically skimmed through a book on romance.

Taking a deep breath, Lucy looked Daniel in the eye and spoke.

“...I was wondering about your plans for tonight.”
“I need to finalize the negotiation strategy. I’ve got most of the framework in place, so I plan to leave work early. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, um…”

She needed to be confident. It was embarrassing, but this was an assignment.

“If you’re free this evening, would you… join me for dinner?”

Her words faltered.

She’d read about flirtatious phrases in the book, but actually saying them out loud was a completely different matter.

“So, just the two of us…”

Before she could finish, Daniel’s thoughts started racing.

Unsteady eye contact, slightly heavy breathing, and a request to meet alone?

Running through the possibilities in his head, Daniel reached one conclusion.

‘…An assassination?’

Had the Allied Nations issued an order to have him killed? He’d always suspected something like this might happen, but the timing felt too soon.

‘No, wait. It’s too soon.’

He began to second-guess himself. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding.

Then Lucy suddenly looked at him with renewed determination.

‘The book said to give him a subtle smile to be more alluring…’

But what exactly did “subtle smile” mean?

For Lucy, who had never managed even a normal smile, let alone a subtle one, the advice felt overwhelming.

Still, as an intelligence agent, she had no choice but to follow the Allied Nations’ orders to “seduce Daniel Steiner.”

After battling her inner turmoil several times, Lucy finally forced herself to smile at Daniel.

The moment Daniel saw her smile, he involuntarily drew in a sharp breath.

Her narrowed eyes, combined with the thin, upturned corners of her lips, looked exactly like a killer’s smile.

It was the kind of expression a predator wore while watching its prey moments before the kill.

The sheer pressure made the air feel heavier.

‘This is 100 percent an assassination attempt…!’

Completely oblivious to Lucy’s true intentions, Daniel broke into a cough.

He immediately decided that the best course of action was to distance himself from her as naturally as possible.

“Lieutenant? It seems I’ll need to work late tonight after all.”
“…Excuse me? But you just said you were leaving early.”
“Something urgent came up. Anyway, I’ll be off…”

About to walk past her, Daniel suddenly stopped and turned back as if something had just occurred to him.

“By the way, isn’t your perfume a bit too strong? Perfume is usually used to mask one’s natural scent, but I can’t imagine why you’d need it.”
“Oh, I just…”
“Your skin doesn’t have any odor—if anything, it’s pleasant. So there’s no need to rely on luxury items like perfume.”

After lightly patting Lucy on the shoulder, Daniel resumed walking.

‘Good. We had a normal conversation, so she won’t suspect that I caught on to the assassination attempt.’

As Daniel let out a sigh of relief, Lucy, who remained rooted in place, felt her ears burn red.

Daniel’s casual compliment had unknowingly embarrassed her.

She couldn’t even tell exactly what kind of embarrassment it was.

Leaning against the window, Lucy let out a low sigh.

‘I’m such an idiot…’

At that moment, both the superiors who had issued the bizarre order and herself for obeying it felt utterly foolish.

Yet, orders were orders. At some point, she would have to seduce Daniel.

The task felt like an impossible hurdle.

Looking down at her toes and biting her lower lip, Lucy pushed aside her embarrassment and slowly began walking again.

Her first thought was to return to her room and scrub off the perfume scent.