I Was Mistaken for a Great General of War

---

At the same time, in the Eldreshia Kingdom.

In the office of the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

“…Is it true that the leaders of the anti-war protests have been captured?”

Colonel Octavian Leopold, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, said with a displeased expression in front of a huge world map hanging on the wall.

Strategic Analysis Department Head Krispin and Operations Execution Department Head Phineas, who stood before the Director to report, swallowed hard in tension.

Krispin, glancing at the Director, finally managed to speak.

“Unfortunately, it is true. They couldn’t withstand the interrogation by the Imperial Military Police and confessed everything.”

Phineas chimed in from the side.

“Moreover, the Empire is using this opportunity to label all those advocating for a reversal as agents of the enemy coalition, waging a war of public opinion.”

This meant that the Intelligence Department’s plan to incite a popular uprising using the anti-war protests had been completely thwarted.

Of course, it was clear that any popular uprising would be suppressed quickly, but the primary goal was to shift the citizens’ negative perceptions of the war and the military.

As negative opinions began to accumulate, even the Imperial family would have no choice but to take notice.

If that were to halt the Imperial offensive, the Eldreshia Kingdom would gain precious time.

Time to rearm the defeated army.

But with the leaders captured, everything went down the drain.

Director Octavian let out a deep sigh and frowned as he looked at his department heads.

“Who is it? Who the hell has thwarted our plans?”

“…It’s this person.”

Krispin lifted a folder in his left hand and presented it to the Director.

Octavian took the folder and grimaced at the photo located at the top of the document with various personal details.

“Is it this guy again…!”

Black hair and black eyes.

A face that might appear emaciated at first glance, but with a wolf-like gaze that seemed ready to pounce on its prey at any moment.

Captain Daniel Steiner, Deputy Operations Staff of the Imperial General Staff Headquarters.

He was a figure well-known among the kingdom’s high command for having anticipated the ambush operation in the Tevaitha Mountains and assassinating Colonel Jeremy, the legate’s aide, during the retreat from enemy territory.

He had been designated as a person of concern and was on the Imperial Army’s hit list as a dark horse.

That was Daniel Steiner.

“He interferes with everything. Everything!”

In his heart, Octavian wished he could shoot this guy right between the eyes.

But right now, he couldn’t afford to hurt Daniel Steiner.

Grinding his teeth, Octavian turned to Krispin.

“What have our allies said about this situation?”

“Well… they claim it’s the result of undiscussed intelligence activities that have only bolstered the Empire’s cohesiveness.”

“Condemn? Did you just say condemn? Those lunatics!”

When they had needed help and suggested joining the alliance, now that it was no longer needed, they wanted to cast them aside. It was absurd.

“The kingdom has fulfilled its role diligently! The allies must not have thought we could win against the Imperial Army! Our role was to divide the Empire’s forces to the north!”

Octavian threw the folder he was holding aside.

“The ones who have failed to perform their role are them! What is the coalition doing on the eastern front? Just wasting time floundering between victories and defeats like a bunch of fools!”

Krispin and Phineas could do nothing but bow their heads silently at Octavian’s shouts.

Looking at his subordinates, Octavian lowered his voice and lifted his hand.

Right. It wasn’t their fault. After wiping his face, Octavian spoke with a serious expression.

“…Damn it. There’s only one option left. Release the hounds on the Imperial family.”

At those words, Operations Execution Department Head Phineas raised his head, breaking into a cold sweat.

“But Sir! If we execute that operation, our agents planted in the Empire will be slaughtered.”

“It’s just a matter of time. They wouldn’t want to be the frogs dying in boiling water either. So we must at least break a few of the Empire’s teeth.”

A short silence passed between them.

Understanding the Director’s intent, Phineas nodded grimly.

“Yes. Then I will inform the agents that the time for decisive action has come.”

*

…Is there a day when I don’t dread going to work like today?

Thinking of Lucy, who had requested immediate action without any change in expression, still sent chills down my spine.

But I couldn’t simply skip work, so I trudged my way to the General Staff Headquarters.

Before entering the operations room, I wanted to prepare, so I stepped into my office and found Lucy there.

Eating a croissant, Lucy stood up immediately when she spotted me and saluted sharply.

“Good morning, Captain Daniel Steiner.”

I nodded absentmindedly while looking at Lucy.

“…You’ve come in early. By the way, is that a croissant?”

“Yes. The one you bought yesterday was extremely delicious. I bought a few more for you, so feel free to eat if you’re hungry.”

“No. I’m fine.”

As I walked over to my desk in response, I pulled out my chair and sat down.

However, Lucy didn’t take her seat; she just stood there staring at me blankly.

I was puzzled as I placed my briefcase on the desk and asked, “…What’s wrong?”

“I’m waiting for you to give me a mission.”

“That’s supposed to be done in the Operations Staff office…”

“The Head of the Operations Staff said it’s fine for today if you want to work in your personal office.”

…What? Why? I blinked in confusion as Lucy elaborated.

“The Head of the Operations Staff said, ‘Yesterday, Captain Daniel achieved a great feat again, and since there’s nothing he can do for him now, let him spend the day comfortably.'”

Director, please! It’s not at all comfortable being alone in this office with this woman!

Suppressing the urge to scream, I nodded reluctantly.

“Alright. Then let’s get to work.”

I pulled out a pile of documents from my briefcase and handed them to Lucy.

“These are the documents for you to review today. You can start with these.”

“Understood.”

Lucy answered dully as she approached and took the pile from me.

Once back in her seat, Lucy unfurled the documents and began reviewing them.

The sight of her calmly flicking her red eyes while examining the documents was indeed that of a model aide.

Had I not known Lucy was a spy, I might have lavished her with compliments.

Moreover, if the aide in front of me wasn’t Lucy but a regular spy, I would have certainly lavished her with compliments to befriend her.

‘But this girl is Lucy Emilia.’

For some reason, Lucy has an extreme hatred for traitors.

If I were to say to her, ‘I’m planning to defect, let’s be friends,’ the chances of me ending up in bad shape would be quite high.

…In that regard, she was completely unsuited for espionage. Why was she doing this?

I had my doubts, but my plan wouldn’t change.

The only way to ensure my safety was to drive Lucy out of my office.

‘Then what’s the quickest way now…’

I needed to inform higher-ups that Lucy’s work was subpar to ensure she received an unfavorable evaluation.

Now, Lucy was reviewing the documents.

I remembered it was quite the struggle for me when I first assumed the aide position, just understanding and organizing the military terminology used in the region.

Surely, Lucy would make the same mistake.

‘I will make her feel the fear of a superior deeply.’

You can look forward to it, Lucy Emilia. I’ll make sure my criticisms make you want to resign voluntarily.

Thinking this, I wore a devilish smile as I read a book while waiting for Lucy to finish her document review.

About four hours later, Lucy approached with a stack of documents and placed them on my desk.

“I’ve finished the review, Captain Daniel Steiner.”

Huh? Already? I had expected it to take about eight hours, but that was too quick.

‘As expected, you are still an unavoidable rookie.’

She must have surely missed something in her review.

To get started on my critique, I took the documents from her and inspected them inside.

And I was taken aback unknowingly.

Lucy’s document review skills were astonishingly perfect.

She comprehensively checked for accuracy of information, feasibility, resource planning, risk management, and legal and ethical compliance, all the while examining whether the request adequately reflected the opinions of upper management.

To top it off, she went above and beyond, providing a quantitative estimate of the expected effects of the operation and even creating evaluation criteria to make it easy for superiors to grasp the request at a glance.

To be honest, it was perfect.

There was nothing to critique.

Looking at other documents also showed they were reviewed to an almost perfect degree.

“Hmm….”

Since I couldn’t even feign a critique, I nodded.

“Excellent work.”

“Thank you. So now…”

“No. There’s one more thing.”

I opened my drawer and pulled out another stack of documents.

“These are classified materials. Read them all and report back to me.”

“Captain? But the time is…”

“I won’t hear any objections. Finish everything before I return.”

I stood up, leaving Lucy in the office and stepped out.

*

Daniel headed toward the Operations Staff office.

He planned to watch Lucy through the CCTV set up in the office of the Operations Staff Director.

The classified materials he just gave to Lucy contained military deployment plans and specific unit movement information.

If she were a spy, it would undoubtedly be materials she’d salivate over, and she would surely act suspiciously.

If he could capture that behavior and inform Ernst, it would mean a permanent farewell to Lucy.

‘Alright.’

This time, I truly felt it would be a successful plan, and Daniel entered the operations room.

“Huh? Captain Daniel Steiner?”

“Captain! I saw the newspaper! You handled another big case yesterday.”

Nodding to the soldiers and junior officers, Daniel knocked on the door of the Operations Staff office.

“Oh, it’s Captain Daniel? Come in.”

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

Surprised, Daniel saluted and then posed a question.

“Director, are you heading home?”

“Yeah. I have a meeting scheduled with royal family members and not much work today.”

The timing couldn’t be worse. Still, Daniel couldn’t let this opportunity slip by, so he spoke with a serious expression.

“Excuse me while you’re preparing to leave, but could you please take a look at the operations staff office CCTV with me?”

“For what reason?”

“I believe you will understand upon seeing it. While I comprehend your desire to see your wife as soon as possible, could you spare me just a moment?”

Ernst tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

“What do you mean? The time when my wife’s not home is the best time.”

“…?”

Daniel remained silent as Ernst chuckled softly.

“Don’t tell my wife I said this. Anyway… Yes, the CCTV for your office is over there.”

Ernst pointed to the edge of the director’s office with his hand.

There, several screens displayed the personal offices of the staff, part of counterintelligence activities aimed at detecting potential traitors.

Additionally, the CCTV had been hidden cleverly, so a rookie wouldn’t know where it was.

“I don’t know what you intend to show me, but since it’s your request, I guess I can take a look.”

Nodding, Daniel and Ernst approached the CCTV screen.

As they observed the operations staff office, they spotted Lucy busily working.

After watching for about twenty minutes, they saw no intention of her transcribing or embezzling confidential information.

Just when Daniel thought it was a waste of time, Lucy set down her pen and stared fixedly at Daniel’s desk.

‘Is she trying to take other confidential materials or something?’

Having confirmed she was pulling out classified documents from the drawer, it was indeed a possibility.

But instead of getting up, Lucy quietly mouthed something.

What did she just say? Daniel turned to Ernst, eager to clarify.

“Director, may I request to enlarge and replay that scene?”

“Of course. If you want, go ahead.”

Having received permission, Daniel rewound the CCTV and pressed play again.

Thanks to that, he could clearly hear what Lucy had said.

Should I kill him?

Upon seeing her lips form those words, Daniel felt goosebumps all over and covered his mouth.

In contrast, Ernst chuckled as if amused.

“You messed up. It’s almost lunchtime, and you’re making her work, so it’s no wonder she’d be irritated. Besides, that workload is excessive for a rookie.”

Not knowing Lucy was a spy, Ernst simply thought that ‘Should I kill him?’ was just a cute joke from a junior employee.

On the other hand, Daniel had felt a genuine life-threatening danger.

Covering his mouth and sweating coldly, Daniel slowly nodded.

“…I’ll be more cautious from now on.”

To avoid dying, I would have to do the work myself from now on. While Daniel was lost in those thoughts, Ernst gazed at him, soon realizing something.

‘So, he wants to show off how well his subordinate is doing by watching the CCTV. I thought he was only cold-hearted, but he has a personable side as well.’

It was indeed a proud and heartwarming revelation.

‘How dedicated he is to his subordinate, Captain Daniel will become a good superior in the future.’

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