Mistaken for a War Hero

Chapter 76
Half-Truths
『 Translator – Divinity 』

The next morning.

Lucy arrived at the General Staff Headquarters and paused with her hand on the doorknob of the Operations Staff Officer’s private office.

It was her usual commute, but ever since she received the order to “eliminate Daniel Steiner,” everything felt different.

“……”

After a deep breath, Lucy finally opened the door.

There, she saw Daniel sitting at his desk, reading the newspaper.

It was an ordinary sight.

“Hmm? Ah.”

Daniel folded the newspaper as he noticed her enter.

“You’re here. You seem a bit late today.”

“I apologize. I couldn’t sleep well last night…”

“No need to apologize. As long as you’re not late, it doesn’t really matter.”

Daniel folded the newspaper once more and placed it on the edge of his desk, then opened a drawer.

“By the way, I have some good news for you today.”

“…Good news, sir?”

Daniel took out a box from the drawer and placed it on the desk.

Lucy recognized the box wrapped in the Imperial flag.

As her eyes fixed on the box, Daniel tapped it playfully.

“Congratulations. It seems your contributions have been recognized in the special promotion review.”

Lucy didn’t react.

She was going to leave the Empire after killing Daniel today anyway.

Therefore, being promoted to First Lieutenant wouldn’t make much difference.

‘Look at her.’

Daniel, misinterpreting Lucy’s indifferent expression, smiled to himself.

‘She’s trying to act like she doesn’t care. But she must be cursing me inwardly.’

He knew better than anyone the frustration and anger that came with an unwanted promotion.

Thinking that Lucy must be feeling the same way, Daniel stood up.

“Let me change your insignia myself.”

He unfolded the flag and opened the box, revealing the First Lieutenant’s badge.

Walking over to Lucy, he personally replaced her badge.

With practiced movements, he attached the First Lieutenant’s insignia to both shoulders of her uniform and smiled with satisfaction.

“Congratulations on becoming a First Lieutenant. Continue to fulfill your duties as my adjutant.”

Lucy hesitated before she could reflexively respond.

Daniel was going to die today.

Therefore, there would be no “future” for Daniel.

“…Adjutant?”

Daniel, puzzled by her silence, called out to her, and Lucy, snapping back to reality, replied,

“It’s an honor to be promoted early. I’ll continue to do my best.”

Daniel stared at Lucy, who had been slow to respond, then nodded casually.

She seemed to be hiding something, but he couldn’t ask her directly.

***

After finishing her work as usual, Lucy began preparing for the assassination.

She memorized the map of the area around Daniel’s quarters, planned her infiltration and escape routes, and changed into her combat uniform.

She inserted a bulletproof plate and even packed anti-magic rounds, which were said to be priceless, in case Daniel Steiner fought back.

After completing all her preparations, Lucy activated her optical camouflage and headed to Daniel’s quarters during the deserted hours of dawn.

Arriving at his doorstep, she gently turned the doorknob, but as expected, it was locked.

Naturally, she knelt on one knee and took out a lockpick from her pocket, starting to pick the lock.

Click—

Hearing the lock disengage, Lucy turned the doorknob and gently opened the door.

Confirming that the door was open, she put the lockpick back in her pocket and stood up.

After taking a deep breath, Lucy opened the door, stepped inside, and immediately closed it behind her.

Glancing around the living room, Lucy paused.

She saw Daniel sitting on the sofa, his back to her.

‘Don’t tell me…’

Had he sensed her presence and stayed awake?

She didn’t think it was possible, but this was Daniel Steiner.

Just in case, Lucy drew her pistol and slowly approached him.

As she walked towards Daniel, aiming her pistol, she soon felt relieved.

From the side, she could see Daniel leaning back on the sofa with his eyes closed.

His breathing was steady, and his head was slightly tilted, indicating that he was asleep.

Lucy exhaled softly and took out a silencer from her pocket, attaching it to the muzzle of her pistol.

After expertly attaching the silencer, she deactivated her optical camouflage and aimed at Daniel’s head.

Now all she had to do was pull the trigger, kill Daniel, and escape the Empire.

Killing the hero of the Empire would undoubtedly lead to a massive manhunt once the body was discovered in the morning, but that was a problem for later.

‘The important thing is…’

…to be loyal to the orders of Count Caledra, who had shown her kindness.

Therefore, Lucy had to kill Daniel Steiner.

She placed her finger on the trigger and held her breath to steady her aim.

All she had to do was shoot.

But for some reason, her finger wouldn’t move.

As the assassination was delayed by an unknown hesitation, Lucy noticed something in her peripheral vision.

She reflexively turned her head and saw Daniel’s officer’s coat draped over the back of the sofa.

An old piece of paper was sticking out of the inside pocket of the overturned coat.

“…”

Curious about the paper, Lucy lowered her gun and checked the pocket.

She found a piece of paper, folded in half and scorched by fire, and an old photograph.

Lucy looked at the photograph first.

‘This is…’

It was a picture of Daniel with the orphans from the monastery.

A younger Daniel was smiling in the center, surrounded by the orphans clinging to him and vying for his attention.

Being popular with children meant he was inevitably a good person.

Lucy glanced at Daniel’s sleeping face, then shook her head.

Whether he was a good person or not was irrelevant to her mission.

Putting the photo aside, Lucy unfolded the paper.

As she read the contents, feeling the rough texture of the old paper, her hand paused.

『…According to recent data provided by the Allied Nations, there is a subject who has successfully undergone the experiment.』

‘Allied Nations?’

Lucy couldn’t believe that the Allied Nations had conducted human experiments.

But what was even more unbelievable was the next sentence.

『Currently, this is the only one, and their magical enhancement far exceeds expectations. Therefore, our research team expresses our respect to the Allied Nations and names the next project after this subject, the Lucy Project.』

The Lucy Project.

According to the paper, the name of the subject who had successfully undergone the experiment in the Allied Nations was none other than Lucy.

Lucy’s hands trembled as she denied reality.

‘That’s impossible.’

It was the Empire, not the Allied Nations, that conducted the experiment.

‘It was Count Caledra who saved me from the Empire’s human experiments.’

Therefore, this document was a lie.

But for some reason, the paper looked quite old.

For the surface of the paper to become this rough, it would have had to be exposed to air for a long time.

It didn’t look like a hastily fabricated document.

Confused, Lucy’s gaze fell upon Daniel.

She couldn’t understand how he had this paper.

What was even more perplexing was Daniel’s attitude; he didn’t react outwardly despite knowing the contents of the paper.

Although this document wouldn’t be enough to prove she was a spy, it could certainly raise suspicions.

Yet, Daniel didn’t show any suspicion and treated her as usual.

‘Moreover…’

He even stepped in to protect her when the Security Bureau came to investigate.

Recalling that incident, Lucy’s breath hitched.

‘Even though he knew I was a spy…’

Daniel had risked his life to confront the Security Bureau.

Why? No matter how much she thought about it, Lucy couldn’t understand.

Unable to grasp the situation, she gripped her pistol tightly.

—Lucy, those who don’t repay kindness are no different from beasts. Also, everything except the words that come out of my mouth is a lie.

The words Count Caledra always told her came to mind.

‘The contents of the paper are a lie.’

Therefore, all she had to do was remain loyal to Count Caledra and the Allied Nations as usual.

Lucy, holding the pistol to kill Daniel, steadied her ragged breathing.

All she had to do was kill Daniel here and return to the Allied Nations.

She narrowed her eyes, her finger on the trigger.

But she couldn’t bring herself to pull it.

For some reason, the words Daniel had spoken to her echoed in her mind.

—Just admiring your beauty today.

Her finger on the trigger wouldn’t move.

—Your skin doesn’t have any odor. It’s actually quite fragrant. So don’t rely on such luxuries as perfume.

She bit her lower lip.

—Don’t harass my adjutant.

Her breathing, which had calmed down, became erratic again as confusion grew.

—If possible, I hope we can both reach greater heights together.

Lucy closed her eyes tightly, tears welling up.

Her hands trembled slightly as she felt an unprecedented emotion amidst her recollection.

‘Even if the contents of the paper are a lie…’

This meant Daniel knew she was a spy.

But he hadn’t told anyone.

Instead, he had risked his own life to protect her from the Security Bureau.

Lucy was indebted to him.

And those who didn’t repay kindness were no different from beasts.

Lucy couldn’t bring herself to kill Daniel.

Amidst her intense internal conflict, she finally lowered her gun.

Her head throbbed.

Exhaling shakily in the silence, Lucy realized,

‘Right now, I…’

…could never kill Daniel.