Mistaken for a War Hero

Chapter 31
The Suspicious Saintess

Knock, knock—

Cedric, who was eating a sandwich while working in his office, looked up.

He glanced at the wall clock, and the hour hand was already pointing to 5 p.m.

‘…Then it must be Captain Daniel Steiner knocking.’

Around lunchtime, Daniel had requested a meeting to discuss the Northern Front support operation.

Cedric had been wanting to see him anyway, so he had told him to come at 5 p.m., and Daniel had arrived precisely on time.

“Come in.”

As Cedric granted permission, Daniel opened the office door.

Daniel, seeing the interior of the Deputy Chief of Operations’ office for the first time, was struck by a strange sense of intimidation.

The office was unusually devoid of unnecessary items.

No matter how much he looked around, all he could see were a coat rack, bookshelves, a fountain pen, a telephone, a desk, and various documents.

Usually, people would have at least one item related to their hobbies, like golf balls or stamps, but there was no such trace here.

Only countless classified documents were neatly filed in the bookshelves on both sides of the walls.

“You’ve arrived.”

His voice was low but sharp.

Cedric, sitting in front of a luxurious mahogany desk, glanced at Daniel and continued eating his sandwich.

Daniel, observing him, felt a sense of nervousness and walked to the center of the office, saluting.

“I apologize for interrupting your meal. However, I have an urgent matter to discuss, so I came to see you despite the intrusion.”

Cedric finished his sandwich, took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands, and then looked at Daniel.

His eyes with a white sclera asked silently in the quiet room, What’s the matter?

“…I don’t want to waste your precious time, so I’ll be straightforward. I would like you to withdraw the deployment of my adjutant, Second Lieutenant Lucy, and Cadet Frienne to the Northern Front.”

From Daniel’s perspective, both of them were unsettling individuals, so he wanted to keep them as far away as possible.

However, Cedric, unable to understand Daniel’s true intentions, couldn’t help but be puzzled.

He swallowed the last bite of his sandwich and asked,

“Why?”

If only he could say, “Lucy is a spy, and Frienne is out of her mind.”

Daniel sighed inwardly and came up with a plausible excuse.

“My adjutant and Cadet Frienne have just come of age. I can’t take them to a dangerous battlefield when they haven’t even shed their girlishness.”

“While I understand your concern for Lieutenant Lucy, I believe you’ve already taken Cadet Frienne to the battlefield when she was a soldier.”

“Back then, it was an operation to defend our territory. Compared to this Northern Front operation, which requires going deep into enemy territory, it was a relatively low-risk mission.”

Cedric blinked, surprised by the unexpected answer.

‘Unexpected.’

He had thought Daniel was cold-blooded enough to overlook minor issues as long as it meant a promotion.

Seeing him step up to protect his subordinates showed a surprisingly human side.

‘Even a hedgehog considers its young to be soft.’

Caring for one’s subordinates was an essential quality of a commander.

Although he liked Daniel even more now, Cedric couldn’t grant his request.

“I refuse. The Empire’s principle is reward and punishment, with a focus on equality of opportunity. Therefore, not sending them to the battlefield because they are young women goes against the Empire’s ideals.”

Daniel had anticipated this response.

“Then, I ask that at least Frienne be removed from my unit. She is a cadet undergoing training at the military academy. I see no reason to bring a cadet with me.”

There was no need to deploy an untrained cadet to the unit. It was a valid argument.

However, Cedric saw infinite potential in Frienne’s ‘uniqueness.’

“Captain Daniel, she is not just any cadet. You must know this since you’ve experienced battle with her. Frienne’s mana has a ‘color,’ unlike that of ordinary soldiers.”

Daniel couldn’t deny it. Frienne had been right next to him during the operation to assassinate Colonel Jeremy, imbuing bullets with mana and firing.

“Frienne’s mana is black, impenetrable to light. Considering that ordinary mana is transparent or has a faint blue hue, this is a very unusual phenomenon. A kind of mutation, you could say.”

Cedric took off his monocle and placed it on the desk.

“Let’s digress for a moment. Black has always been an ominous sign. A symbol of the devil. That’s where the superstition that black cats or crows bring bad luck comes from.”

Cedric placed his hands on the desk and clasped them together.

“Of course, it’s just a superstition. In this day and age, if someone criticizes you for having black hair or black eyes like you, they would be considered crazy. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Indeed.”

“But mana is different. Especially if a child born into a religious family exhibits black mana? They would inevitably face religious persecution.”

Daniel, understanding what he was getting at, nodded.

“So Cadet Frienne didn’t volunteer for the military. There must have been external pressure.”

“I’m glad you understand quickly. Yes, Cadet Frienne was abandoned by her family. They forced her into the military, telling her to prove she wasn’t a child of Satan by showing patriotism. It’s practically the same as sending her to die fighting the enemy.”

“Why are you telling me this…?”

Cedric opened his drawer and took out a letter.

It was Frienne’s application for the Northern Front Army.

“Cadet Frienne, who had been trying to deny that she was abandoned by her family and her clan, has found someone new to rely on. It seems that person is you.”

“Sir? I am by no means someone Frienne can rely on.”

“Is that so? According to this letter, you comforted Cadet Frienne in the detention center and didn’t discriminate against her for using black mana during the operation in the north.”

Daniel was dumbfounded.

He had only chatted with her to pass the time in the detention center, and he wasn’t surprised by her black mana because he already knew about it from his knowledge of the game.

However, Cedric didn’t care about Daniel’s feelings on the matter.

“Captain Daniel Steiner, let me be clear. Black mana might be condemned religiously, but it deserves praise in the military. Because it has strategic value in itself. Do you understand?”

Black mana, which didn’t allow light to pass through, could be used to easily conceal oneself just by scattering it around.

Therefore, he was telling him to train Cadet Frienne into a soldier suitable for the battlefield due to her high strategic value.

‘Why me?’

Daniel wanted to refuse, saying that they should assign someone else more capable, but Cedric’s gaze was firm.

If he argued any further, he might incur Cedric’s wrath.

In the end, Daniel reluctantly saluted.

“I will follow your orders, sir.”

Cedric, satisfied, returned the salute.

“Good. You may leave now that your business is concluded.”

Daniel lowered his hand, turned around, opened the door, and left the office.

Cedric leaned back in his chair and chuckled softly.

‘He reminds me of the former Chief of Staff. Nervous in front of his superior, yet still saying everything he wants to say.’

Cedric knew that such people would never be swayed by authority.

It had been a long time since he had met someone he wanted to nurture this much.

***

Meanwhile, Frienne and Lucy were gathered in Daniel’s private office.

Lucy was there to organize documents as it was nearing closing time.

And Frienne? Daniel had told her to wait in his office because he would meet with the Deputy Chief of Operations and inform her of the results.

Rustle—

Frienne, leaning against the wall, glanced at Lucy.

She felt a pang of envy seeing Lucy skillfully organizing documents at her desk.

‘That should have been my position, as Captain Daniel’s adjutant…’

She felt a sense of injustice, as if her position had been stolen.

Sensing her gaze, Lucy looked up from her work.

Their eyes met.

“…”

“…”

In the strange silence, Lucy was the first to speak.

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

Frienne replied curtly to her businesslike tone.

“Just wondering why Lieutenant Lucy applied for the position of Captain Daniel’s adjutant.”

“There’s no particular reason. If I had to come up with one, it would be for the glory of the Empire.”

It was a prompt answer.

The truth was that she applied because this position was ideal for her espionage activities, but she couldn’t say that out loud.

Although Lucy had perfectly concealed her true intentions, Frienne couldn’t help but tilt her head.

She felt like Lucy was lying.

It was more of a gut feeling than intuition.

It was Frienne’s unique sense of discernment, which, although not always accurate, was usually right.

“Lieutenant Lucy? I grew up with my father, who is a priest. So I attended worship every day. After the service, those who wanted to confess their sins would stay behind. They would go into the confessional with my father.”

Lucy, wondering what she was talking about, stopped organizing the documents.

“So when I was young, I used to play a game of guessing who among the people attending the service would go to confession. My accuracy was quite high. No matter how devoutly and sincerely they prayed, those who were hiding sins had a shadow cast over their faces.”

Thud. Lucy closed the document and stared at Frienne.

Frienne met her gaze without flinching.

Tick-tock—

After a silence so profound that the ticking of the wall clock was clearly audible, Frienne walked over to where Lucy was sitting and placed her hand on the desk.

“But it’s strange, isn’t it?”

Slowly lowering her head, Frienne stared intently at Lucy’s face.

Their emotionless gazes met, and the air froze.

In that icy atmosphere, Frienne quietly moved her lips.

“The shadow cast over your face, Lieutenant.”

—————

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