Chapter 45

Carina Valpenera, the Head of the Third Intelligence Division of the Laurencia Public Security Department, parted the blinds of her office window with her fingers and looked outside.

Many people were busily moving about in the inner courtyard of the royal palace.

They were the administrative staff who handled the kingdom’s affairs, and while Carina had not the slightest doubt about their competence or loyalty, her position required her to understand one truth about human nature… that everyone has unexpected sides.

So, even when she learned that some of them were secretly maintaining two or even three households without their spouses’ knowledge, or that they were discussing disturbingly detailed plans to murder their superiors in bars after work, or that they attended clubs at the weekend to share hobbies they couldn’t talk about publicly, she was able to accept it with tolerance.

Of course, in the last case, only if the gatherings weren’t hostile to the royal family.

In any case, Carina prided herself on accepting the information her subordinates brought her without prejudice.

And now, she was in danger of losing that strength.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Conroy. Are you seriously telling me to believe that?”

“Huh? Is there something wrong with my report?”

“Wrong? Do you even have to ask?”

Carina snapped at her subordinate, Conroy.

“How can someone’s name be ‘Nice Goodman’?!”

“……”

Conroy looked wronged, but Carina began to suspect this might be a new form of harassment or sabotage against a superior.

Fortunately, before that suspicion reached its peak, a neatly dressed man standing beside her leaned in and whispered discreetly.

He was a personal secretary assigned by the Valpenera family.

“Lady Carina, that’s probably a fake name.”

“A fake name?”

“It’s obviously too blatant. Nice Goodman? Even a passing dog would laugh at that.”

“Then you’re saying he deceived us?”

“Not so much deceived… more like a light show of confidence. Something like, ‘No matter how hard you try, you’ll never find out who I really am, so just go with this’.”

After thinking over his words carefully, Carina said,

“Actually, I was thinking the same thing.”

“Really?”

“Shut your mouth, Conroy. Anyway, you’re telling me caraphine really was being manufactured? And right in the heart of the capital, at the Royal Academy?”

“Yes. According to the analysis results commissioned from a lab under the Magic Department, the measured caraphine concentration was an astounding 65 percent.”

“This is crazy.”

Carina picked up the incriminating evidence wrapped in thick cloth that was carefully brought in by her subordinate with gloved hands and examined it.

A soft, iridescent glow shimmered from the stick.

Carina murmured, as if she was mesmerized by the light.

“So you’re saying, with just this, I could pick someone I don’t like and send them on a one-way express to heaven? Say, for example, the Head of the Second Intelligence Division…”

“Lady Carina.”

“Head!”

“I’m joking. Damn it, I said I was joking! I get it; I get what you all think of me, so would you please fix your expressions?”

Carina felt the urge to throw something or anything at the two of them but restrained herself, remembering just how dangerous the item in her hand was.

“They say just one of these sticks can demolish an entire building. If you had a dozen, you could probably bring down a section of the city wall. Those lunatic mages… what were they thinking, putting something like this out into the world?”

“Caraphine itself is actually an extremely useful substance. It’s indispensable for maintaining urban infrastructure and everyday life. In fact, it’s also used as the power source in the kinetoscope you received as a gift for your fifteenth birthday. If I recall correctly, you begged the family head for it, even skipping meals to get it.”

“Bray, for the love of everything, shut that mouth. And you, you came by every single day after my birthday begging to see it, didn’t you?”

“You never once let me, though. Stingy.”

“What? You’re still holding a grudge over that? Never mind…let’s not get into this. Conroy looks like he wants to disappear.”

Ignoring the lingering bitterness in the gaze of her cousin who was also her age, Carina turned back to her subordinate.

“So, do we have any idea how many caraphine sticks were manufactured at the Academy?”

“Yes. According to the internal whistleblower, twelve samples had already been produced in the lab where he worked. And quite some time has passed since we made contact with him, so there are likely even more by now.”

“This is a nightmare. I don’t know exactly what they plan to use the caraphine for, but I doubt they went to all that trouble just to throw a rooftop barbecue party on a sunny day. We can’t let even a single one of those bombs circulate within the capital. Shouldn’t we raid the Academy now and confiscate the caraphine? Hmm, Bray?”

Carina turned to the side naturally, as if used to consulting him, and Bray gave a short pause before responding.

“Our Third Division is tasked with monitoring all acts of treason within the capital, Lambart. So, we could theoretically invoke our official authority to dispatch an investigative team to the Academy. However… I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Because what we’re after is likely no longer there.”

“The Heptagram Society, was it? You think they’ve already smuggled the caraphine out?”

“Since the whistleblower’s existence has been exposed, they’ve probably realized we’re watching the Academy. That man calling himself ‘Nice Goodman’ also said as much. Hoping that any evidence still remains would be too naive.”

“They can hide the evidence, but they can’t get rid of the people so easily. There must be individuals who helped produce the caraphine. What about arresting them and interrogating them?”

“Impossible. The Academy’s faculty members have immunity from arrest. Without the headmaster’s consent or unless they’re caught in the act, we can’t touch them.”

“That privilege only applies on campus, right? We just wait until they leave and snatch them up quietly, without anyone knowing.”

“As someone wielding the public authority of the kingdom, please don’t use words like ‘snatch them up.’ That said, the method you mentioned is worth considering… but it will come with serious backlash.”

“Backlash?”

“Yes. The picture won’t look good. Like you just said, it’ll look like a kidnapping. There’s no guarantee the interrogation will succeed, and the Academy will be frothing at the mouth, screaming that the Public Security Department is fabricating crimes and abusing its authority just to expand its influence.”

“Come on, the Academy is a paper tiger. We can just strong-arm them, can’t we?”

“It’s true the Royal Academy itself doesn’t hold much direct power, but there are many government branches with financial interests tied to it. I’d bet at least thirty letters of protest will land on your desk by tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll just ignore them.”

“And double that number will be sent to the head of the Valpenera family.”

“Ugh, damn it.”

Carina’s position as the head of the Intelligence Department at such a young age was both because of her family and thanks to it.

Either way, she couldn’t escape the influence of her lineage, and Carina Valpenera frowned.

“Can’t do this, can’t do that. Then what exactly am I supposed to do?”

After some deliberation, Bray finally spoke.

“Baron Winter Winslet. He might know where the caraphine is.”

“Baron Winslet?”

“Yes. According to the information Nice Goodman passed on to us, he’s an undercover agent who intentionally infiltrated the Heptagram Society to leak information. Reaching out to him could be one way forward.”

Carina tapped the desk lightly with her finger before speaking.

“But he said he’s wary of possible Heptagram Society members inside the royal court. Besides, I’m not sure I can fully trust Baron Winslet.”

“You still suspect him?”

“That’s right. Wasn’t Winter Winslet the first one the Academy whistleblower named as the mastermind behind the production of caraphine? And no one else at the Magic Department has the power to mobilize the personnel and resources needed to make caraphine. Nice Goodman claims it was all a misunderstanding, but we still haven’t confirmed whether he’s really an agent working for the Empire. I’m not going to take the word of someone whose identity we don’t even know at face value.”

“Ooh.”

“Don’t act impressed like it’s unexpected. I’m capable of basic reasoning, you know. Didn’t you bring it up because you thought I’d figure as much?”

“Well, yes, that’s true.”

“Go on, then.”

“I share your thoughts, Lady Carina. Before we try to make contact with Winter Winslet, we need to verify whether Nice Goodman is someone we can actually trust.”

“All right, it’s decided. Conroy! Get in touch with that guy…Nice Goodman, or Nice Guy, or whatever his name is. Tell him I want to meet him.”

“Um… that’s not possible.”

“Why not?”

“He never gave us a way to contact him. He said he’d show up when needed, so we shouldn’t worry about it.”

“What? Arrogant little bastard! So we’re not even worth his attention? What does he think I am? Bray!”

“Yes.”

Carina pulled a seal bearing her personal name from her desk drawer and tossed it to Bray.

“You’ll be handling my duties for a while.”

“Where are you headed this time?”

“Starting now, I’m on an extended field assignment. I’m going to track down that guy calling himself Nice Goodman myself. In the meantime, send someone to the Imperial Embassy and try to dig up anything you can.”

“Understood.”

“And Conroy!”

“Yes?”

“You’re coming with me.”

“Why me?”

“Because you at least remember what the guy looked like! Sure, he had a mask on, but his build, voice, and stride, those are all clues. You’ll be helping me find him. Don’t tell me you were just planning to sit around staring at rooftops like a dog that lost its toy.”

Conroy replied in a hesitant tone.

“Even if we wander around aimlessly, it’s not like he’s going to just show up in front of us.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ve got a pretty sharp intuition. Besides, running around suits me better than sitting at a desk and overthinking everything.”

“My vacation days expire at the end of the month if I don’t use them…”

“Oh? Do you want a real break that badly? I could arrange for you to take a permanent one.”

“Sniff… you’re so cruel.”

Once Conroy reluctantly agreed to tag along, Carina grinned while baring her teeth.

“Whoever that guy is, he picked the wrong division to mess with. No one disrespects Laurencia’s Intelligence Department. Let’s go see that bastard’s face for ourselves.”