Only I Know the War Hero’s Secret Chapter 13

Richard briefly explained the investigation team’s objectives and duties without any unnecessary elaboration, then brought the project orientation to a close.

He didn’t even take questions.

It was an imperial decree, and the Imperial Secretary was sitting right there, watching everyone like a hawk while recording the minutes. No one would be foolish enough to raise unnecessary objections.

As soon as the first meeting ended, Richard returned to the Black Knights’ headquarters and made his way toward the terrace overlooking the capital.

He took a black case out of his uniform jacket and pulled out one of the cigarettes inside.

Then, keeping his gaze fixed in the direction of the Land of Chaos, he slowly brought the cigarette to his lips.

Before long, a hazy cloud of smoke spread through the air, accompanied by a strong herbal scent, like the roots of poisonous plants being burned.

The pungent smell dulled his malfunctioning sense of smell, and his nerves, which had been on edge, gradually settled.

‘……The Land of Chaos, huh.’

For a brief moment, he thought that a monster habitat might actually be preferable to a ballroom teeming with nobles who reeked of disgusting perfume.

Rejecting invitations from the nobility was a nuisance in itself. At least while he was in the Demonic Realm, he could escape that particular annoyance……

He was idly entertaining these thoughts as he exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke when—

“My lord, you’re already back? The meeting ended earlier than I expected.”

Louis, who had been assigned to the project’s escort team, approached him.

He was an outstanding swordsman with fiery red hair. Having once worked as a mercenary, he was also the most rebellious member of the knight order.

Richard, however, paid no heed to that and selected four of the Black Knights’ most elite members to escort the investigation team.

Keeping the researchers and healers safe was the official justification. In reality, those four were simply the people he worked best with.

“Was there any reason to drag it out? Everyone had already signed the confidentiality agreements before coming in.”

At Richard’s nonchalant response, Louis scratched his head roughly, looking thoroughly displeased.

“……But aren’t you bothered by this, my lord?”

“What is it you want to say?”

“How long has it been since you returned from the battlefield? And now you’re being sent to investigate a monster habitat?”

He grumbled.

The Emperor really was being unreasonable.

Entering the Demonic Realm wasn’t the knight order’s responsibility, yet His Majesty had gone and appointed his lord as the head of a special investigation team.

“It’s easy to call it an investigation team leader position, but doesn’t it just mean you have to enter the Demonic Realm and clear things out in advance until the cause of the rampages is discovered?”

“…….”

“However you look at it, this seems more like an even tougher extermination mission. Does sticking the title of investigation team leader on you make it any different?”

The even more frightening truth was that Richard, who had sliced through a rampaging monstrous bird with a single stroke, was perfectly capable of eliminating rampaging monsters before they could cross the border.

“This is just too much, honestly.”

Even if the Emperor was his uncle, he was practically squeezing every last drop out of his nephew. Louis was still grumbling when—

“Louis.”

Hugo, who had returned after collecting the top-secret documents, called him in a stern voice.

“Watch what you say. It’s an imperial decree.”

“But it’s true.”

“Not everything that’s true needs to be said aloud.”

“I see. So our battalion commander is always so quiet because he only ever says the right things.”

“Don’t play word games.”

“You always call it word games whenever you have nothing to say.”

Listening to their usual, tiresome bickering, Richard casually tapped the ash from his cigarette before speaking.

“Louis, if you don’t like this mission, I’ll take you off the team.”

“My lord! That’s not what I meant!”

Louis protested indignantly.

“I’m just frustrated, that’s all. I understand that the safety and peace of the Empire are important, but isn’t it asking too much of the commander to shoulder all the responsibility? From where I’m standing, this is a terrible deal.”

“It’s not a bad deal.”

Richard’s long, narrow eyes narrowed slightly.

Seeing his lord’s face, which seemed unusually pleased for once, Louis was taken aback.

“What did you get in return?”

“His Majesty has agreed to find her personally.”

“……W-wait. D-don’t tell me…… You mean that white-haired woman?”

“Yes.”

Good heavens.

Louis was inwardly quite surprised to see his usually indifferent lord displaying such intense obsession.

Since Richard had stopped searching for the white-haired woman over the past few days, Louis had assumed he had finally put the matter behind him. Who would have thought he’d struck a deal with the Emperor instead?

But…… once the Imperial Family became involved, the chances of failing to find someone would drop dramatically.

An imperial decree meant they could search anywhere in the Empire as they pleased.

And the Imperial Family’s intelligence network was on an entirely different level.

‘He’s willingly going into the Demonic Realm just because of a woman he met once.’

Thinking that late-blooming passion really was terrifying, Louis couldn’t help clicking his tongue inwardly.

***

 

After the first project meeting ended.

Before Mona had even recovered from her dazed state, she was summoned by an official dispatched from the Imperial Family.

The official handed her a stiff appointment letter decorated with gold leaf, along with a bundle of documents, and spoke.

“Accepting this appointment letter is equivalent to accepting an imperial decree. Therefore, you must carry out your duties with a strong sense of responsibility.”

“Yes……”

Mona glanced at the appointment letter with a heavy heart.

APPOINTMENT LETTER

Name: Mona Veloz

In accordance with the direct orders of the Imperial Family, you are hereby appointed as a researcher belonging to the Special Investigation Team.

– Appointment Period: From October 30, 664, Imperial Calendar, until the investigation is completed.

Perhaps it was because she had just reunited with a man who seemed almost unreal. Honestly, even looking at an official document like this, none of it felt real.

Mona roughly stuffed the appointment letter and project-related documents into her bag, then trudged down the hill from the old headquarters.

The stiff, starched corner of the appointment letter kept poking at the inside of her arm.

Adjusting her bag repeatedly, Mona boarded a shared carriage and stared out the window with a pale face all the way back to the dormitory.

“……Sigh.”

Only after opening the door to her dormitory did the tension that had been constricting her chest finally ease, allowing a long sigh to escape.

She casually kicked off her shoes and dropped the heavy bag full of documents onto her desk.

The appointment letter, adorned with elaborate gold patterns, and the thick bundle of documents spilled out across the desk.

“…….”

Mona hesitated for a moment before carefully picking up the bundle of documents.

Inside were a copy of the confidentiality agreement prohibiting the disclosure of any information about the project to outsiders, as well as details of the support the Imperial Family would provide to the investigation team.

Mona listlessly skimmed through the complicated agreement. But the moment her gaze landed on the section titled ‘Support Details,’ a glimmer of interest appeared in her eyes.

‘They’re giving us…… this much research funding?’

The amount was comparable to the monthly salary of a high-ranking government official.

Feeling somewhat bewildered, Mona pushed up her thick glasses and checked the figures again.

But no matter how many times she looked, she hadn’t misread the numbers.

‘And they’re giving us this money every month?’

She wondered whether she would have to pay it all back if she failed to produce results worthy of the funding, but there was no such clause.

Even more surprising, there was a separate activity allowance in addition to the research funds. Accommodation would also be provided, and any equipment required for the investigation would be supplied separately.

……So this was what it was like to work on a project run by the government.

Having barely scraped by on the meager research funds and scholarships provided by her department, Mona sniffled.

Was it because she was moved?

No.

‘If only that man, Richard, weren’t involved, I could have been genuinely happy…….’

Faced with such a perfect project, she was in such a desperate situation that she had even considered fleeing to another country. A few tears welled up in her eyes.

‘……What am I supposed to do?’

Working under that terrifying man carried far too much risk, but she couldn’t defy an imperial decree, either……

‘I’m completely trapped…….’

Mona bit her lip, feeling like a mouse cornered inside a jar. But the moment she checked the final item listed in the documents, she drew in a sharp breath.

4. Additional Support

– Authorization to access rare literary materials held in the Imperial Family’s collection.

R-rare literary materials from the Imperial Family……?

Her heart, which had only briefly skipped a beat at the sight of the generous research funds and allowances, suddenly began pounding like crazy.

Mona rarely gave a second thought to the latest fashionable items, and she wasn’t particularly interested in money, either.

But she had inherited her grandmother’s insatiable thirst for knowledge. Her grandmother had devoted her entire life to scholarship, and Mona herself was a bookworm who practically lived and breathed printed words. Whenever rare books were mentioned, her eyes would light up.

‘……I’m so curious about what they might have.’

Wasn’t it a universal truth that secret records were usually tucked away in the libraries of those in power?

Books related to monsters, in particular, had been heavily suppressed as forbidden texts, making them even harder to obtain through ordinary channels.

‘Perhaps I might find a book there that could help me complete my research.’

Despite everything she had suffered so far because of the perfume’s side effects, including incidents too embarrassing to even put into words, Mona still hadn’t given up on her ‘perfume that makes monsters become friends.’

Behind her glasses, a faint bluish glint of madness began to appear in her pale silver eyes.

Richard Cronell?

That man wasn’t important right now.

No, of course he was important.

……She just had to make sure he didn’t find out.

He seemed completely unaware that Mona was the woman in the white mask.

So all she had to do was avoid attracting his attention as much as possible.

“Isn’t life all about high risk, high reward?”

As long as she wasn’t discovered, she would receive magnificent rewards: an exciting expedition into the Land of Chaos, early graduation, generous research funding, and access to rare literary materials.

But if she was discovered……

……Well, she’d think about that later.