There’s Something Special About Her - Chapter 75

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 75.
What is black is the board; what is white is the writing.
It seemed written across the faces of the trainees, their eyes half-closed.
They all plainly believed spies were a matter distant from themselves.
I tilted my chair back slightly, as I had in the dining hall, to study their faces.
‘Included, just as I thought.’
The trainees I suspected of being other spies were all listening intently to Kessler’s explanation.
Every last one of them rigid with tension.
Julia Gimmel, sitting nearby, was easiest to observe—she held her quill pen so tightly her knuckles had gone white.
‘She’ll snap it at this rate.’
Sure enough, a faint crack sounded moments later, and Julia’s hand jerked in alarm as she pulled out her handkerchief.
I watched her for a moment, then turned my gaze back to Kessler.
A hardened expression, an overstated startle.
All the signs that made her look like someone who worked with Blockhead as a spy.
Yet at the same time, they could simply be the natural response of someone shocked by a childhood friend’s shocking betrayal.
Humans are complicated and contradictory creatures; it’s more effective to eliminate wrong possibilities than to chase after the right answer.
“The second type is the ‘Captive.'”
Kessler had finished his introduction and moved to the main subject, discussing the second type of spy.
“This type becomes a spy by force, having been caught in some weakness—we also call them Captive Spies. The weaknesses vary. Financial trouble, addiction, shameful secrets that would ruin their reputation, or even loved ones can serve as leverage.”
After attending several of his classes, I could confirm that Kessler was an excellent instructor.
Particularly in the way he covered ground that ordinary textbooks did not.
“As you go forward as members of Nox, the type of spy you must most vigilantly guard against is the ‘Captive.’ They are desperate and relentless because their weakness is in someone else’s hands.”
Exactly, exactly.
I nodded in satisfaction at the masterful lecture.
If he mentioned that part too, it would be truly perfect.
“However, Captive Spies are simultaneously the most vulnerable. Once the leverage disappears, their motivation to cooperate vanishes. This is precisely why so many Captive Spies defect and become Double Agents.”
Ah yes!
Kessler had continued as if reading my very thoughts.
I picked up my quill pen and took careful notes from the board.
I possessed knowledge earned through thirteen years working in the field as an Intelligence Director—hard-won in mud and blood.
Yet listening to Kessler’s lecture, it felt as though my cluttered mind was organizing itself into neat rows.
Setting aside the graduation exam, this was worth committing to memory.
One never knew when it might prove useful.
My quill paused when Kessler reached the final type: the “Self-Generated Spy.”
“Understand them as the opposite of Captive Spies. They move by voluntary motives—loyalty, ambition, revenge. Of all spy types, they are the most persistent and hardest to filter out.”
This was why I suspected Julia Gimmel of being Blockhead’s accomplice.
But the first case that came to mind at Kessler’s words was none other than myself.
I had never passed Wickes’ secrets to another organization, yet during my thirteen years there, I survived on vengeance alone as fuel.
“Self-Generated Spies have no weaknesses. Their defining trait is that they never give up until their motivation is satisfied or they are exposed. If you encounter a Self-Generated Spy, I recommend you execute them immediately or turn them over to the Imprisonment Bureau. Attempting to turn them is pointless.”
***
Aside from Commander Padilla Bondeys, there were four instructors at the training academy.
Deputy Commander Gerhardt Schtalin oversaw discipline and conduct.
Wilfried Kessler taught Nox history, genealogy, and theory.
Herta Winter handled combat and physical conditioning.
And finally, Otto Grau taught Weaponry and Survival Techniques.
Each made their field of expertise a subject, imparting the essential knowledge required of every Nox member.
Today was Otto Grau’s Weaponry class.
Grau seemed the type better suited to Wickes than to Nox.
One might think wine ran through his veins instead of blood—his speech and manner were utterly unruly, and he made no attempt to hide his sadistic pleasure in others’ suffering.
His teaching style was as unconventional as his nature.
Each class, he called up one trainee, threw them a new type of weapon, and had them face him in a match, ostensibly to let them discover the weapon’s characteristics and techniques through combat.
Or so he claimed—but honestly, it looked like nothing more than the perverse hobby of an instructor who got off on the trainees’ distress.
“Today it’s Caspar Eschbach’s turn!”
“Excellent!”
The called trainee bounded to the center of the practice ground with a foolish grin.
“Today’s weapon…… yes, this should do nicely.”
Grau retrieved a long staff from the rack and tossed it to Caspar.
Thunk!
“Oh, this is surprisingly heavy.”
“It’s a staff, not a spear. Without a blade, the shaft itself must be heavy and rigid wood to deal damage. Of course, there are also staffs made of iron or steel.”
“Heh, I’m really looking forward to this class.”
Caspar Eschbach grinned with the same malicious pleasure as Grau himself.
‘So the third son of Count Eschbach really is a screw-up, just as the rumors say.’
My second spy candidate, after Julia Gimmel, was the one now spinning the staff through his fingers like he was playing with a toy.
Caspar Eschbach—third son of Count Eschbach, lord of Greifenburg, far removed from the Nox Dukedom.
The reason for suspecting him was simple.
Greifenburg was the headquarters of an upstart organization called the Griffin.
The Griffin had existed for barely a decade, yet they were growing at an alarming pace.
They made money through all manner of illegal enterprises, then used that money as bait to attract members and expand their ranks.
Whether an organization could take the next leap depended entirely on securing information networks and connections to the upper class.
With those connections secure, they would no longer fear arrest by the constabulary.
And as with any homegrown outfit like the Griffin, their first target was always the regional lord.
But from what I knew, Count Eschbach was a conservative noble.
Stuffy enough that he actively avoided mingling with commoners, and especially despised other aristocrats who grew close to corrupt organizations.
The Count’s eldest and second sons had inherited their father’s rigidity; they were known in the Imperial Knights for their inflexible temperament.
Which meant the Griffin could only reach out through the third son—Caspar.
“So I get to pick my sparring partner, then?”
“Go ahead, pick whoever you like.”
“Hmm, who would be good?”
Caspar slowly swept the staff across the other trainees.
The gesture was deliberately theatrical and exaggerated.
He clearly reveled in drawing everyone’s attention to himself.
‘Starved for attention his whole life, wasn’t he.’
It wasn’t mere speculation—it was information I had on the Eschbach household.
The oldest story imaginable: a third son overshadowed by his brilliant elder brothers.
A perfect target for the Griffin to recruit as a spy.
Then the tip of Caspar’s staff stopped, pointed directly at me.
But the name that came from the screw-up’s mouth wasn’t mine.
“Hanno Becker, get out here.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————