A Dark Fantasy Spy

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As expected, the saint who called for me was Veronica.

“…Welcome, Colonel.”

She greeted me as usual, but there was no sign of warmth in her. She looked like someone who had just woken up after a heavy binge.

Her hair, once shining like black silk, was now a scruffy mess, and dark circles had long since invaded her cheekbones. Her eyelids were puffy as if she had been crying.

The once bright black eyes glittered with fatigue.

Looking at her so pitifully disheveled, I felt a pang of sympathy.

Veronica, appearing in such a state unworthy of a human, fell silent for a while.

After quietly staring at me for a moment, she pouted her lips and spoke bluntly.

“What are you doing? Come in already.”

—

Episode 14 – One Religion, One Faith, Two Saints

Even for those uninterested in religion, the name Altiora Cathedral must have been heard at least once in their lifetime. As the residence of the saints of the cult for generations, Altiora Cathedral consistently appeared in world history exams and international news.

Alongside Mediis Cathedral, which houses the Pope’s Holy See, Altiora Cathedral is one of the three great cathedrals of the cult.

Despite the historic moment that saw the birth of two saints, the rightful owner of Altiora Cathedral remained just one person.

58th Saint, Saint Veronica.

She was the youngest saint to be canonized among past saints, and simultaneously, she held the most powerful political position. After all, the Emperor of the Empire, a notorious dictator, claimed to be her backer.

The tragic woman, the brightest star of the cult—there were many words to describe Veronica.

However, in the realms of diplomacy and information sensitive to international affairs, there was only one term that symbolized her.

The Empire’s Lobbyist.

In ’85, negotiations for the rescue of a volunteer group kidnapped by armed groups.

In ’87, the dramatic conclusion of the Kien Empire-Cult’s trade agreement.

In ’88, contrary to everyone’s predictions, the Pope visited the Empire during an overseas tour.

In ’90, the easing of international magic research and international magic stone trading restrictions imposed by the cult.

In ’91, the lifting of economic sanctions against the cult by the Empire.

In ’92, the partial abolition of policies suppressing different religions in the dictatorship of the Mauritania Continent.

In ’94, the decision to dispatch troops to assist with the northern border dispute of the cult.

In ’96, formal declarations supporting the cult’s strong line in diplomatic matters with Eastern and Mauritania countries, and so on.

It was hard to find a significant diplomatic incident in modern history that didn’t pass through her hands.

Sometimes for the Emperor, sometimes for the Pope. Veronica always handled matters that others found difficult to tackle.

At the time, I had been serving as Colonel Clevenz’s aide at the headquarters, so I hadn’t been attuned to the Empire’s news. However, according to my older sister, Aida, who worked as a diplomat, I remembered her being quite astute.

How else could the lofty senior diplomats of the Empire consider her their ‘unofficial Minister of Foreign Affairs’?

Veronica held a significant position on the world stage, and that hadn’t changed even now.

“…”

She always appeared confident and self-assured in the media.

But now, less than a day later, the saint before me looked terribly haggard.

“What are you staring at? Do I have something on my face?”

“…No, not at all.”

Of course, her unabashed front remained unchanged.

“What’s so great about my face that you can’t tear your eyes away? Though, I guess I am somewhat pretty.”

“Your face just seems a bit…”

“Seems a bit what?”

“Damaged, I suppose. You look like someone who hasn’t slept.”

“Ah, that’s because I went all night. Don’t worry about it. Just a bit of a hangover; it won’t be a big deal.”

“…Is that how it is?”

“I won’t die from this. If my liver is damaged, so be it. I’ll just heal it.”

Veronica was still the same.

She nonchalantly tossed out meaningless jokes and continued with trivial conversations while praising herself, which was so typically Veronica.

I chuckled and nodded along repeatedly.

Although I didn’t show it, I was too tired to keep up with all of Veronica’s jokes at that moment.

Noticing my exhaustion, Veronica subtly asked.

“You seem quite tired, Colonel?”

“Ah, yes… not too much, just a little….”

“I see?”

With that, Veronica crossed her legs. Thanks to her tall stature, it made for a rather elegant posture.

Sitting sideways and crossing her legs, she rested her chin on one arm on the table. This pose felt oddly nostalgic to me, as if I had seen it somewhere before.

As I pondered, I was reminded of the first time we met.

On a night of heavy rain.

Veronica sat on a bench with an arrogant posture, waiting for me beneath the bridge.

Just like now.

“So, what brings you to find me at dawn?”

“……”

“Is there some problem?”

“No, not really…but….”

Haa.

With a deep sigh, Veronica’s body slumped as if all her strength had drained away.

“I don’t really know how to put this…Um, I just….”

Still with her legs crossed, she appeared to be choosing her words carefully.

Eventually, she dropped her head and mumbled strangely.

“I just wanted to call.”

—

I’ve had connections with many information agents, but Veronica stood out distinctly among them.

Her usual conduct and the way she treated me were anything but ordinary.

And even now, it was the same.

“…So, now that I’m saying I want to rest, the old fools are throwing a fit! There’s a coronation ceremony in two days, and they’re acting like it’s impossible to say I need to rest; they’re throwing tantrums as though they’re about to collapse on the office floor. Really….”

Having summoned me to the cathedral, Veronica led me to an unnamed room. Then, without warning, she brought out a bottle hidden in a drawer.

It was alcohol.

“This is the drink known as the famed brew of the Mauritania Continent, you know? It’s a distilled spirit….”

Her explanation about the liquor was brief. She seemed to think it better to take a sip than to chatter on.

Seeing is believing. She immediately grabbed a glass and filled it with the traditional local drink.

“Ugh…!”

Veronica downed the glass with gusto, wiping her lips with the back of her hand.

Clack! As soon as she put down the glass, a fist-sized piece of transparent ice rattled loudly. For a moment, liquid poured over the ice, and as the drink filled, Veronica began downing the glass again.

Gulp. Gulp. The liquor slid down her throat.

The sight of her lifting the filled glass to her lips looked exactly like that of a heavy drinker.

As if a traveler in the desert desperately gulping down water, Veronica tilted her head back, pouring the distilled spirit down her throat.

“Ah! Ugh, that’s good….”

“Geez….”

After drinking a hefty amount, Veronica began to wear a mischievous smile holding the bottle.

“Colonel, you should have a drink too!”

“…You want me to drink?”

“Of course!”

Despite my incredulous reaction, Veronica looked completely unfazed.

Perhaps it was a bit dull only to serve herself, she poured a full glass of liquor into the glass she was holding and urged me to partake.

“If we don’t drink on a day like today, when else will we?”

“…”

“Come on now, don’t be shy; just down it!”

In the end, I had to finish the drink she offered me.

The distilled spirit, over 40 degrees, was quite strong. While I couldn’t discern its distinctive flavor, the effect was definitely evident.

“So, how is it…?”

“…It’s quite strong.”

“Do you like it? It’s not flavorful, but when it comes to getting drunk quickly, nothing beats this.”

Veronica handed me the bottle, reaching out herself for another full glass. I naturally filled my glass, and she downed hers without hesitation.

The drink circled around once, but Veronica showed no signs of speaking up.

She surely had something to say when she called me here, but the true owner of the cathedral only continued to drink.

“Here, take this, Colonel. I’ll pour you another.”

I sighed silently and brought the drink to my lips.

Veronica seemed to have no intention of getting to the point right away. If that was the case, then it made sense to go along with her rhythm.

I gulped down the drink in one go and passed the glass back to Veronica. She also accepted it naturally, grinning.

“This is a perfect occasion for catching hepatitis. Isn’t it?”

“Do saints catch hepatitis too?”

“Of course! Aren’t saints just people? If you drink a lot, you get wasted, and if you binge drink, you catch hepatitis.”

“That’s not something to brag about.”

“No worries. I’m a heavy drinker!”

“Ugh….”

It was clear that the term ‘heavy drinker’ was not an exaggeration. Veronica downed several bottles right there, and my watching her while we drank became tiresome.

As time passed significantly, after several rounds of drinks,

We finally managed to have a somewhat meaningful conversation.

“Why did you call me?”

I set my glass down and lit a cigarette, moving straight to the point.

“You aren’t the type to call me for no reason.”

“Tch…do we really have to have a reason to meet? Lucia finally got canonized. We should at least celebrate with a drink, right?”

“I’ve been working non-stop since the canonization. As a defense attaché for Camila, I can’t just skip diplomatic events. I was just about to get some rest, and now you drag me out here. What do you expect?”

“…..”

Now it was late at night. Everyone should be fast asleep.

The canonization was over, but the coronation ceremony was yet to come. During this remaining period, I had duties to handle alongside preparations for the events.

“With work piling up like a mountain, is it fair to drag me out like this?”

I was subtly asking Veronica why she had summoned me there.

At that, Veronica, who had been glancing nervously, reluctantly began to speak.

“Alright, alright. I’ll just say it. The truth is…I wanted to continue our conversation that we couldn’t finish last time.”

“The conversation we couldn’t finish last time? Ah…maybe about your sisters….”

A rather serious topic emerged on the table.

The relationships involving Lucia and Francesca and I.

It was a connection I wanted to keep hidden especially from Veronica, but here it was, barely a year, and I had been found out. I had divulged the truth because I couldn’t withstand her threats when she had called me disguised as Lucia.

“……”

Honestly, had I resolved to lie, I could have easily gotten away with it.

But it was clear that if the lie was exposed, the aftermath would be dire. The conflict between informer and officer often escalates into betrayal.

If Veronica found out that I had deceived her concerning her dear sisters using shameless lies, she would likely be completely disappointed and move to sever her ties with me.

Sure, I was expected to smooth-talk an informer as an information officer, but Veronica was definitely not someone you could sway with words like that.

So, I decided to tell the truth.

About my relationship with Lucia. About my relationship with Francesca.

Somehow, I had also developed such a relationship with Veronica, but that was more of a chance encounter. My relationships with either Lucia or Francesca were unexpected accidents in their own right.

“Yeah, I get it. I trusted you, Colonel, but I never imagined you’d betray me! It feels like I’ve been stabbed in the back by the hatchet I completely trusted!”

“…I didn’t actually initiate anything first.”

“Ohhoo!”

Veronica slammed her hand on the table. It was strong enough to make me flinch, and I felt the sting in my ears. With her finger pointed, she raised her voice.

“What a cowardly excuse! How many times have I asked you? I said to take good care of my sisters. No matter what happens, you should’ve kept your promises!”

“Well, it’s just that….”

“What do you mean just?!!”

Burning criticism continued. Perhaps due to the drinks, she scolded me with a serious tone.

“Did they force you to interact with them, Colonel? Or did they drug you? All you had to do was drink a few cups and you couldn’t resist jumping in?!”

“……”

There were many potential responses, but all were weak excuses. They were cowardly justifications passing blame.

No matter how much I opened my mouth, I had nothing credible to say.

I bowed my head like a sinner, while Veronica raised her voice in reproach. The enjoyable atmosphere of drinking turned on a dime.

“I believed in you! I trusted you, Colonel…!”

“Cough….”

“How could you?! You and I, huh? And yet you’re going behind my back with Francesca while acting shamelessly!”

“I, well, drawing conclusions that we were having an affair….”

“What? An affair? How can you say something so outrageous?”

It was an undeniable statement.

I buried my head in shame, trembling slightly. Why on earth had I uttered the words about a relationship with Francesca?

No, reflecting on it, it was indeed something that needed to be said eventually. The only problem was the way I went about it.

After all, when I had just spent all night with Veronica, casually saying, “Oh, by the way, I not only get along with Lucia, but also with Francesca,” was rather inappropriate.

I thought that once Veronica calmed down, whatever I said would be forgiven, but that was a blatant miscalculation. Looking back, I would call that genuinely insane.

If it had been confidential, I’d have taken it to the grave instead of mentioning it so casually. I had underestimated the situation.

Though I prided myself on having navigated through all kinds of chaos, I had never shared a bed with an informant’s beloved sister, nor had I ever had entanglements with more than one woman. Matters of love triangles were never a subject of training for me.

“Are you just in heat or something!?”

“……”

“It doesn’t make sense otherwise! How could you be seeing two of my sisters, at the same time, no less! You’ve been dating Lucia, haven’t you? You were deceiving me all along, weren’t you?!”

“Dating is a….”

“Then you should have stayed away from Francesca! Are you dismissing Lucia?!”

Either because she had consumed a lot, or perhaps due to her anger, she was becoming increasingly rough in words. I was glad that punches weren’t flying like last time.

I quietly bowed my head, while Veronica banged her fist against her chest in exasperation.

“Right now, you must break up with my sisters!”

“Ah, no. That’s a bit….”

“Why? Is it really hard to break off with both? Then you should have done it right from the start!”

“……”

I found myself out of arguments again.

Having first received a confession from one sister and then wound up in an affair with another? That was, without a doubt, a trashy deed.

No matter how promiscuous the nobles were, openly taking on multiple partners drawn on such levels was bound to attract scorn. Even if one could fool around behind handles, a noble had to maintain appearances. Unless they were some sort of Casanova, a playboy would be met with disdain in any country.

The information agency was no exception. Rowdy romantic relationships were scrutinized by both oversight and espionage departments. And, importantly, there are evaluations from colleagues who observe closely.

Thus, to maintain a long career, avoiding scandal by ensuring neat romantic relationships was essential. Conversely, female employees also had to be cautious to avoid gossip regarding their own romantic dealings.

However, to be honest, I had no confidence in clearly severing my ties with Lucia and Francesca.

But Veronica was unyielding.

She adamantly demanded I break it off with both and took a strong stand.

“Break it off immediately. I’m serious about this.”

“……”

“Can’t you do that? Then stay away for a while.”

With her arms crossed, Veronica glared at me with a frosty gaze that sent shivers down my spine.

“From now on, your accommodation is here. Move your things from the hotel to the cathedral. Have someone help you move your luggage, and I’ll personally talk to the hero and your sisters.”

“……”

“I’d love to just lock you in a room, but… I need to find new allies, and there are plenty of foreign ministers waiting for me to resolve their disputes. So I’ll give you a special pass. You’ll be staying at Altiora Cathedral until the festival ends.”

She was effectively telling me she would tie me to her side and monitor me.

Being monitored by an informer while being treated as an officer was a peculiar situation I had never encountered.

Even couples wouldn’t go that far. To be worried that I might cheat and keep me locked up? That sounded distinctly like someone suffering from Oedipus Syndrome!

“……”

At that moment, a strange thought crossed my mind.

I became curious as to why Veronica was going so far for me.

It suddenly struck me. Considering her usual respect for the opinions of her beloved sisters, Veronica’s behavior at this moment was clearly odd.

Doubt crept in. So I wanted to ask.

While it felt a bit silly to bring up such a thing now, deep down, I had a burning desire to know.

Until now, there seemed to be no reason or need to ask, but…

“Veronica.”

“Oh, no. I’m not changing my mind about this. No matter what you say, I won’t budge on this, so just give up.”

“Do you perhaps have feelings for me?”

At that moment.

The thick glass tumbled loudly across the floor.

Veronica, holding her glass, momentarily dropped it. However, she seemed completely unaware of that fact. She stared at me with a blank expression.

Our gazes intertwined in the air, and I could finally see it.

Her cheeks glowed red like a ripe tomato, unbecoming for a heavy drinker.

And her ears flushed a deep crimson like autumn leaves.

Clearly flustered, Veronica hastily opened her mouth to refute.

“Wha, wha, wha, what…!”

“……”

“Who says I like you? What’s wrong with you! What on earth makes you think I’d love a man like you, huh?!”

Veronica.

Why?

I understand; go look in the mirror!

….

Veronica, ranting with her finger pointed and breathing heavily, retreated into the restroom.

One minute passed, then three, then five.

But Veronica didn’t come out of the bathroom.

—

Thirty minutes later.

“…Excuse me? Veronica?”

“……”

“If you’re alive, could you please respond?”

Veronica remained in the bathroom.

Instead of replying, she banged on the door.