I Was Mistaken as a Great War Commander

At the same time, in the Kingdom of Eldresia.
In the Director’s Office of the Central Intelligence Agency.

“…Is it true that the anti-war protest ringleaders have been apprehended?”

Standing before the massive world map adorning the wall, Colonel Octavian Leopold, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, spoke without concealing his irritated expression.

Reporting before the Director, the Head of Strategic Analysis, Crispin, and the Head of Operational Execution, Phineas, swallowed hard amid the tension.

Observing the Director’s demeanor, Crispin mustered the courage to speak.

“Unfortunately, it is true. They were unable to withstand the Imperial Military Police Corps’ interrogation and revealed everything.”

Phineas chimed in from the side.

“Furthermore, the Empire is seizing this opportunity to brand all those advocating for peace as Allied collaborators, waging a public opinion campaign.”

In other words, the Intelligence Agency’s plan to ignite a popular uprising using the anti-war protests had utterly backfired.

Of course, even if they had succeeded in inciting a popular uprising, it was evident it would be suppressed. The primary objective was to foster negative perceptions among the Empire’s citizens towards the war and the military.

As negative sentiments gradually accumulated, even the Imperial Court would eventually be unable to ignore them.

If that halted the Empire’s offensive, the Kingdom of Eldresia could buy time – time to rearm their defeated forces.

However, with the ringleaders apprehended, everything had gone up in smoke.

Sighing deeply, Director Octavian furrowed his brow as he regarded the department heads.

“Who. Who foiled our plan?”
“…This individual.”

Crispin extended a file he had been holding in his left hand towards the Director.

Accepting the file, Octavian frowned upon seeing the photograph at the top of the document containing personal information.

“This man again…!”

With black hair and black eyes.

While his appearance could be perceived as somewhat haggard, his wolf-like gaze seemed ever-prepared to pounce on prey and tear it apart.

[Imperial General Staff Headquarters Operational Planning First Lieutenant Daniel Steiner]

He had become notorious among the Kingdom’s leadership for perceiving the ambush operation in the Tevait Mountain foothills and instantly assassinating Colonel Jeremy, the Regimental Commander’s aide who had been retreating from the front lines.

Designated as a person of interest, this Imperial dark horse had even made it onto the secondary elimination list.

That was none other than Daniel Steiner.

“Constantly interfering, constantly!”

If he could, he would have shot that furrowed brow without hesitation.

However, for now, he could not harm Daniel Steiner.

Grinding his teeth, Octavian turned to face Crispin.

“What have the allied nations said about this situation?”
“Well… they’re condemning it as the result of an unauthorized intelligence operation that has only strengthened the Empire’s unity.”
“Condemning? Did you just say condemning? Those lunatics!”

When had they urged the Kingdom to join the Allied Nations, claiming they needed assistance? Now that it was no longer necessary, they intended to cast the Kingdom aside. It was utterly preposterous.

“The Kingdom faithfully performed its role! The allied nations should have known the Kingdom couldn’t defeat the Imperial forces! Our role was to divert the Empire’s strength to the northern front!”

Octavian flung the file he had been holding.

“The ones who failed to fulfill their roles are them! What have the Allied Nations been doing on the eastern front? Merely alternating between victory and defeat, wasting time like imbeciles!”

In the face of Octavian’s outburst, Crispin and Phineas could only bow their heads in silence.

Observing his subordinates, Octavian let out a low sigh and raised his hand.

Yes, his subordinates were not to blame. Wiping his face once, Octavian spoke with a solemn expression.

“…Damn it. Now there’s only one option left. Unleash the hounds on the Imperial Court.”

At those words, the Head of Operational Execution, Phineas, raised his head, breaking into a cold sweat.

“But, Your Majesty! Executing that operation will result in the slaughter of our agents planted within the Empire.”
“It was only a matter of time. They wouldn’t want to become boiled frogs, either. So, at the very least, we must break the Empire’s fangs.”

A brief silence fell between them.

Understanding the Director’s intentions, Phineas bowed his head with a grave expression.

“Yes. Then I shall inform our agents that the time for the final battle has come.”

…Would there be a day when I’d dread going to work like this?

Recalling Lucie’s emotionless request for summary execution, I still felt a chill run down my spine.

Yet, I couldn’t afford to be absent without leave, so I trudged my way to the General Staff Headquarters.

Before entering the Operational Planning room, I decided to prepare myself and headed to my office, where Lucie was present.

Lucie, who had been eating a croissant, immediately stood up upon noticing me and respectfully saluted.

“Good morning, First Lieutenant Daniel Steiner.”

Regarding her, I gave a casual nod.

“…You’re in early. And that’s a croissant, is it?”
“Yes. The ones you gave me yesterday were so delicious that I bought a few to offer you as well. Please help yourself if you’d like.”
“No, I’m alright.”

With that response, I walked over to my desk and pulled out a chair to sit.

However, Lucie remained standing, alternating her gaze between me and the floor.

After setting my briefcase on the desk, I asked with a puzzled expression.

“…Why are you doing that?”
“I’m awaiting your orders.”
“For that, we should go to the Operational Planning room…”
“The Chief of Operational Planning said you could work in your personal office for the day.”

…What? Why? Blinking in confusion, Lucie elaborated.

“The Chief of Operational Planning instructed me to inform you, ‘Since you accomplished another great feat yesterday, you should work comfortably in your office today, as there’s nothing suitable to reward you with at the moment.'”

Chief, please! Being alone in this office with her is the last thing I find comfortable!

Suppressing the urge to scream, I nodded.

“Very well. Then let’s get started.”

I retrieved a stack of documents from my bag and handed them to Lucie.

“These are the documents to review today. You take a look.”
“Understood.”

Replying calmly, Lucie approached me and accepted the document stack.

Returning to her seat, she opened the documents and began reviewing them.

Her composed demeanor, blinking her ruby eyes as she diligently examined the documents, exemplified an ideal aide.

Had I been unaware of her identity as a spy, I might have showered her with praise.

Furthermore, if my aide had been an ordinary spy instead of Lucie Emilia, I would have at least feigned praise in an attempt to establish rapport.

‘But this woman is Lucie Emilia.’

For reasons unknown, Lucie harbors an extreme loathing for traitors.

If I had approached her with, “I wish to defect, so let’s get along,” the likelihood of suffering dire consequences would have been high.

…In that regard, she seemed entirely unsuited for intelligence work, so why was she here?

While perplexed, my plan remained unchanged.

Removing Lucie from my office was the only way to ensure my safety.

‘In that case, the quickest method now is…’

I needed to inform the high command that Lucie’s work performance was subpar, leading to her being deemed unfit.

Conveniently, Lucie was currently reviewing documents.

I vividly remembered how overwhelmed I had felt when I first became an aide, tasked with understanding and organizing the military terminology used interchangeably across different regions.

Lucie was undoubtedly bound to make similar mistakes.

‘Let me make her experience a superior’s wrath to the fullest.’

Look forward to it, Lucie Emilia. I’ll provide so much criticism that you’ll voluntarily want to resign.

With that thought and a devilish smile, I read a book while waiting for Lucie to complete her document review.

After about four hours, Lucie brought the document stack and placed it on my desk.

“Document review completed, First Lieutenant Daniel Steiner.”

Hm? Already? That workload should have taken around eight hours, so she was excessively fast.

‘As expected. You’re still a helpless newcomer.’

She had undoubtedly overlooked something in her review.

To begin my critique, I accepted the documents and examined them.

And inadvertently found myself astonished.

Lucie’s document review abilities were shockingly flawless.

Not only had she comprehensively evaluated the accuracy of information, feasibility, resource planning, risk management, and legal and ethical compliance, but she had also ensured that the relevant requests properly reflected the high command’s opinions.

Going a step further, she had arithmetically calculated and recorded the expected effects of the operational outcomes, even creating an evaluation criteria table to allow superiors to grasp the contents of each request at a glance.

Honestly, it was perfect.

There was nothing to criticize – it was utterly flawless.

All the other documents had been reviewed with near-perfect meticulousness as well.

“Umm…”

Unable to fabricate any critiques, I nodded.

“Excellent work.”
“Thank you. Then, now…”
“No, there’s one more.”

I opened a drawer and retrieved another stack of documents.

“These are top-secret materials. Read through them all and report back to me.”
“First Lieutenant? But the current time is…”
“I won’t entertain any objections. Complete them before I return.”

Rising from my seat, I left Lucie alone in the office.

After leaving his office, Daniel headed to the Operational Planning room.

He intended to observe Lucie through the CCTV installed in the Chief of Operational Planning’s office.

The top-secret materials Daniel had just given Lucie contained detailed military deployment plans and specific unit movement information.

If she were a spy, she would undoubtedly exhibit suspicious behavior upon seeing such tantalizing data.

If he could capture that and inform Ernst, he could part ways with Lucie for good.

‘Excellent.’

Thinking this was finally his chance to succeed, Daniel entered the Operational Planning room.

“Oh? First Lieutenant Daniel Steiner?”
“Lieutenant! We saw the newspaper! You handled another big case yesterday.”

Giving casual nods to the soldiers and junior officers, Daniel knocked on the Chief of Operational Planning’s office door.

“Ah, First Lieutenant Daniel? Come in.”

Upon receiving permission, Daniel opened the door to find Ernst preparing to leave for the day.

Puzzled by this, Daniel saluted Ernst and then inquired.

“Chief. Are you leaving for the day?”
“Yes. There’s not much work today, and I have an appointment with a member of the Imperial Court.”

The timing was inopportune. Still, Daniel couldn’t let this opportunity slip away, so he spoke with a serious expression.

“My apologies for interrupting your preparations to leave, but could you please take a look at the CCTV footage of the Operational Planning officer’s office with me?”
“For what reason?”
“I believe you’ll understand once you see it. I understand the Chief’s desire to hurry and meet his wife, but please spare me a moment.”

Ernst tilted his head, his expression suggesting he didn’t quite comprehend.

“What are you talking about? The best times are when my wife isn’t home.”
“…?”

As Daniel remained silent in confusion, Ernst chuckled and spoke.

“Don’t tell my wife I said that. Anyway… very well. The CCTV footage of your office should be over there.”

Ernst pointed towards the edge of his office.

There, multiple screens displayed the personal offices of the staff members, part of the counterintelligence efforts to identify potential traitors.

Additionally, the CCTV cameras were cleverly concealed, making their locations unknown to newcomers.

“I’m not sure what you intend to show me, but since you’ve requested it, I’ll take a look.”

With a nod, Daniel joined Ernst in front of the CCTV screens.

Examining the footage of the Operational Planning officer’s office, they spotted Lucie diligently working.

For about twenty minutes, they observed her, but she showed no intention of transcribing or stealing any confidential information.

Just as Daniel began to think it was a false alarm, Lucie set down her pen and stared intently at Daniel’s desk.

‘Could she be trying to retrieve additional confidential materials?’

Since he had caught her accessing materials from the drawer, the possibility existed.

However, instead of standing up, Lucie quietly moved her lips.

What did she say? Wanting to confirm, Daniel turned to Ernst.

“Chief. May I request that you replay and enlarge the previous scene?”
“Of course. Do so if you wish.”

With Ernst’s permission, Daniel rewound the CCTV footage and pressed the replay button.

This allowed them to clearly discern the words Lucie had mouthed.

Kill.

Upon witnessing her lip movements, Daniel felt a chill run down his spine as he covered his mouth.

In contrast, Ernst chuckled in amusement.

“You’re the one at fault here. It’s almost lunchtime, yet you’re making her work, so of course she’d feel frustrated. Not to mention, that workload is overwhelming for a newcomer.”

Unaware that Lucie was a spy, Ernst had simply interpreted her ‘kill’ remark as an endearing display of frustration from a subordinate.

On the other hand, Daniel had felt a genuine threat to his life.

Nodding slowly with his mouth still covered, sweating profusely, Daniel replied.

“…I’ll be more mindful in the future.”

If only to avoid being killed, he would have to handle the work himself from now on. As Daniel stood there contemplating this, Ernst observed him intently and soon reached a subtle realization.

‘Ah, he wanted to show off how well his subordinate works by having me watch the CCTV footage. I had thought him to be cold and calculating, but he has this human side as well.’

It was truly admirable and endearing.

‘To have such a devoted heart for his subordinates, First Lieutenant Daniel will undoubtedly become a good superior in the future.’

Unaware of Daniel’s true sentiments, Ernst nodded with a satisfied smile.