How to Survive as a Genius Spy in the Game Chapter 104 - Orhen (2)

“Things have gotten complicated.”

Duke Brusek, Chief of Intelligence of Haisen, tapped his desk with his fingers and let out a frustrated sigh.

It had gotten terribly complicated. He didn’t even suspect Derek was a traitor.

And that wasn’t all. The atmosphere was strange so he investigated and found out some of those in the north had also betrayed them.

Disguised as deaths during their missions, after brutal interrogations, he found out they had heard the devil’s voice.

They called it a sacred revelation but to Duke Brusek it was merely a deluded voice.

He couldn’t even guess how far the roots of corruption had spread within the intelligence agency. There probably weren’t many but the important thing was that there were some.

His confidant Shadow’s Mystic Power had its limits too. Given enough time he could catch them but time was the issue.

He didn’t know who else might betray them during that time, or how things might get tangled up in the empire.

The leader position wasn’t just handed over. It was a spot that was considered in the top 5 even within Haisen’s intelligence agency.

Reaching that position meant one had survived in this vicious place. Their instincts would be ghostly.

‘He’s probably already suspicious.’

Contrary to plans, his confidant brought Hepate through Phiri. If he was the leader he would have noticed something strange.

They were already in a situation where Carlyn and Haisen could be exposed at any moment the very next day.

Considering the Emperor’s personality, the Princess would definitely be disqualified from the competition to succeed to the throne.

An attack on Haisen would also just be following procedure.

The best thing would be to eliminate the connection between Haisen and the character Carl Schurtafen.

But that didn’t seem likely to happen.

‘Because Derek must have evidence.’

Within the agency, information about godchildren was only managed by the Duke. But his opponent was the leader.

Moreover, Carlyn had worked in the empire too so if they wanted to make connections they could.

And the fact was, Derek himself was evidence. Fanaticism made people take their lives lightly.

If Derek went to the empire himself and revealed his identity, that would be enough proof.

Because he couldn’t see a clear solution, the Duke felt frustrated.

The remaining methods were things he didn’t like much. The Duke wanted to talk to Carlyn.

He felt that clever child might have come up with some ingenious idea.

Of course, he didn’t have high expectations. It was clearly not a situation he could get out of.

Oh well. The Duke let out a deep sigh.

“Destroy all information related to Carlyn, secretly.”

“….Yes.”

The Shadow who answered hesitated for a moment.

“Are you abandoning Carlyn?”

“Abandoning him.”

The Duke laughed at his confidant’s question. He was too great a talent to abandon.

He was a child he had raised to become the imperial princess’s guard at 18 and be on the cusp of fulfilling the agency’s will.

His activities in the Western War were enough to even astonish the Duke.

And where else on this continent could he find another child like that? Carlyn was the closest to perfect of all the agents he’d seen.

“It may seem that way. But you’re mistaken. That child is probably thinking the same as me.”

“…..”

“Pass on word to Phiri.”

“Your Highness, it’s an honor to meet you. I am Henna Schrier.”

Orhen came for lunch. The purpose was to share a meal and conversation together.

While exchanging greetings with the princess, she never once looked in my direction.

It was a kind of etiquette. As a member of the escort, I could observe Orhen a bit more freely.

She certainly appeared more mature. She was still young, but I had seen her even younger.

Being a count might change the atmosphere. Orhen probably felt the same when she saw me.

Only when Orhen lifted her head did she briefly glance in my direction. There was warmth in her short eye contact.

“You must have gone through a lot to come here. I’ve heard about your deeds. You’ve reclaimed the lost title of your ancestors.”

“Yes.”

“A significant achievement. But it must have been quite challenging on your own.”

“I am satisfied, having achieved vengeance.”

Erendil nodded as if this were expected.

“You wished to see me.”

“Yes. Your courage and skill shown during the recent Western War…”

Orhen’s flattery, Erendil’s humility and acceptance. The conversation that followed was familiar yet tedious.

It was the usual discourse exchanged with noble visitors who sought support.

Well, Erendil might already see falsehoods and truths in Orhen’s words.

During the brief pauses in conversation, Orhen occasionally glanced at me.

As the meal ended, Orhen hinted that she might add some additional gold.

While sipping tea, Erendil proposed a stroll to Orhen.

“The palace gardens are quite beautiful. Would you care to walk with me?”

“It would be an honor.”

“Schurtafen, follow us.”

It felt a bit out of place. Orhen wouldn’t naturally be fond of this.

As the three of us walked in the garden, Erendil suddenly gave Orhen a sharp look.

“Count.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“You seemed acquainted with Schurtafen.”

The abrupt question was quite surprising. How did she know? It didn’t make sense.

Erendil didn’t know Orhen. This meeting was arranged by Haisen.

Even if Erendil noticed the falsehood in Orhen’s flattery, there was no reason for her to associate it with me.

Orhen’s actions hadn’t caused any issues.

Her gaze had briefly met mine a few times.

It wasn’t just me who noticed. Emmet saw it too. It felt strange but hard to pinpoint.

“Is he one of the princess’s guards?”

“Your gaze seemed quite familiar.”

“Unlikely. It was just a momentary glance.”

Erendil looked at me instead of Orhen. It was a demanding gaze, seeking an answer. I had no choice.

I had decided not to lie in the first place, and Orhen’s response confirmed it was a lie.

“Your Highness’s thoughts are correct. The count is affiliated with Haisen. We grew up together.”

“As expected, so it is.”

While Erendil nodded, Orhen shot me a shocked look.

It was a question of ‘What are you doing?’ I chose not to answer.

“Why didn’t you mention it earlier?”

“I apologize. Even though the Count is affiliated with Haisen, I didn’t think this meeting would change much.”

“That’s not the point. If I knew you two had a connection, I would have arranged the meal differently, more privately.”

Erendil’s words indicated her consideration.

“You didn’t mention it on purpose because you’re acquainted, right? It’s been a while since you’ve seen each other, so I thought you’d want some time to catch up.”

She seemed to be thinking differently. I didn’t deliberately avoid mentioning it out of consideration.

I shook my head. 

“It’s fine.”

“We’ve already come to the garden. Since it’s not a place people can just casually enter, let’s take some time to chat comfortably.”

Erendil said so and walked ahead. It was an unintended consideration, but it wasn’t bad.

But I couldn’t keep too much distance, so Orhen and I followed behind.

“Carlyn, I can’t understand why you said that.”

Her old tone remained.

Although I thought her manner of speaking had changed during the conversation with Erendil, it seemed it was all an act.

“She seemed to have already noticed. It’s a meaningless matter.”

“Still…”

“Anyway, it turned out well, didn’t it? There’s no problem.”

At my words, Orhen also smiled faintly.

“You’re not wrong. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, about three years? We parted ways at sixteen.”

“Right. How are you doing, Carlyn? I roughly know, but…”

Since I became a guard, my movements could be seen from anywhere, so I answered with a smile.

“What about you? It wouldn’t have been easy to become a count.”

“My father put in quite a bit of effort. I think I worked hard too.”

I thought there wouldn’t be any awkwardness since we had spent almost every day together for three years, but there was a bit.

I was fine, but there seemed to be some discomfort on Orhen’s side. Maybe it was because we were in the presence of the princess.

“Oh, Denif sent his regards.”

“Have you seen him recently?”

“He was the contact for this mission.”

Had he gone to Temerza and returned to Haisen? Well, considering the complexities involving devil worshippers and the empire, talented agents focused on Haisen and the empire when needed.

“How’s Denif doing?”

“He seemed in good spirits. He was very grateful to you. He said you saved his life.”

“Right. I was the one who saved him.”

“He was praising you. He said, ‘Let’s have a rematch next time we meet.’”

A chuckle escaped.

“He’s still the same.”

“He’s Denif.”

“Didn’t he ask you to fight?”

“It was a secret meeting.”

Orhen glanced briefly at Erendil’s back.

“However…”

“It seemed like the princess really cares about you.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, it looked that way.”

“Well, considering what I’ve done, it’s understandable.”

“It seemed like there was more to it than just that. Besides, your face alone adds some credibility.”

Erendil whispered softly, wearing a subtle smile. Then she gestured subtly to indicate that the conversation had gone on long enough. 

It was a signal to stop. Well, this was probably enough. I nodded in agreement.

“I hope we can meet again next time.”

Orhen’s final words.

I gave a slight smile in response, but… inwardly, I shook my head. Whether that would be possible or not remained uncertain.

“She was quite pretty.”

It was what the Princess had brought up. For some reason, Carlyn sensed the atmosphere was tense.

He smiled and lowered his head.

“How could she compare to you, Your Highness?”

“Flattery….”

The Princess sharply turned her head towards the window. But to Carlyn, he was just telling the truth.

Whether in the game or now, Carlyn hadn’t seen anyone more beautiful than the Princess after all.

A silence briefly visited them and Carlyn contemplated. There was something he had to tell the Princess too.

But he wondered if this was the right timing.

‘It’s still just at the concept stage.’

It was questionable to talk in detail. He didn’t know how the situation might change. But he had to mention it.

An order could come tonight out of nowhere.

Because it would be a shocking thing to say so suddenly when a situation that allowed him to talk might appear without notice.

It was best to give a heads-up about things like this in advance. If the situation actually hit, things could get tangled up and misunderstandings could occur.

“Your Highness, would it be alright if I stepped down from being your knight?”

“….What do you mean by that?”

The Princess asked back in a cold tone.

“Did Haisen tell you to return?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Or did they tell you to marry the Duchess?”

“No, neither. Haisen hasn’t said anything to me. I’m just hypothesizing.”

Because it was after Carlyn met Orhen, the Princess thought he’d received word from the Haisen side.

The Princess glared at Carl with sharp eyes.

“Speak properly. You’re not the type of person to just randomly say something like that on your own.”

Her voice was frosty. Although the Princess was pretending to remain calm, her expression and voice were completely opposite.

Carlyn sighed internally.

He had expected a reaction like this to some extent, but he didn’t think it would be this intense.

“There is a high probability of that happening.”

“How high of a probability?”

“…..”

“Very high then.”

The Princess’s eyes reddened slightly. As for her, it was only natural to be flustered by the sudden talk.

“What happened without my knowing? Speak truthfully.”

“Do you recall when I mentioned there were traitors last time?”

“I remember.”

“There is a high likelihood an attack towards you and I will come.”

The Princess expressed surprise with her eyes.

“If my identity is revealed, it will be a tremendous blow to you as well. I want to take action myself before you get excluded from the competition.”

The Princess couldn’t react for a moment after Carlyn spoke. It was because although she’d vaguely heard it before, the situation had been quite serious.

“….Is there no way to avoid leaving?”

“It looks nearly impossible.”

“Then isn’t it not a possibility but a certainty?”

“I’m sorry.”

The Princess looked at Carlyn resentfully. Her emotions going haywire was also a novel thing for her.

For a while, she seemed like she wanted to say something as she wet her lips.

“Didn’t you ask if I would be alright with you stepping down as a knight?”

“…..”

“I am not alright with it.”

“I apologize.”

The Princess let out a long sigh.

“Didn’t you say you would stay by my side and make efforts. Was that a lie?”

“No. Even if I am no longer Your Highness’s knight, I will be near you.”

The Princess’s expression softened subtly.

“Is that possible?”

“You know of my Mystic Power. Of course, I won’t be able to see you as frequently right after the incident first happens and I’ll have to keep some distance, but… I may also be able to create a situation where I can return.”

Silence flowed for a while. After a period of stillness, the Princess looked at Carlyn with hard eyes.

“If by some chance I become Emperor, would that problem be resolvable then?”

Carlyn looked into the Princess’s eyes and deeply lowered his head.

“It would be at the Emperor’s command. Who would defy an order from the Emperor?”