# Chapter 56
I looked at Zenon’s smile and gently opened my mouth.
“Wouldn’t that mean falling into their trap?”
If we alerted ‘Alice,’ they would go to that location to check. That would naturally lead to exactly what Peace wanted.
But despite my worried question, Zenon smiled lightly. His attitude suggested it wasn’t a problem at all.
“It’s fine. I know someone who’s perfect for this kind of thing.”
His gaze turned toward empty space as if thinking of someone. Zenon’s eyes wavered, revealing complex emotions. But the fragments of emotion disappeared as quickly as they had emerged.
“That person will definitely handle it well.”
Someone Zenon could trust and rely on. Moreover, someone who knew ‘Alice’ well…
Only one person came to mind. Seeing her image in my head, I understood why Zenon appeared so confident.
Because as long as she received this information, ‘Alice’ wouldn’t fall into the trap.
The trap set up by Peace would be turned back on them.
* * *
Fenil, who had been moving her fingers busily to handle the backlog of work, stopped. Her gaze fixed on the email that had just arrived.
“This is…”
She might not have recognized other addresses, but this one was one she had personally secured against hacking. Therefore, the number of people who knew this email address was limited.
But the sender of the current email only showed a ‘.’ symbol, making it impossible to identify who it was. After pondering who it might be, she quickly deduced the person.
“Is it Zenon?”
There was no one else who would send an anonymous email to this address. Normally, he would have sent it under his real name, but currently, he had been exposed as a spy. Zenon, who felt guilty toward her, wouldn’t reveal his identity.
So he must have sent it anonymously. Normally, he wouldn’t have sent an email at all, but it must be an urgent matter.
Contrary to Zenon’s thinking, Fenil didn’t hold any hostility toward him.
“If anything, I should be the one apologizing.”
Since she was the one who had planned all this, Zenon was closer to being a victim. So there was no reason for him to feel guilty. But she couldn’t tell him this fact either…
Not knowing what the email content might be, Fenil clicked on the subject with a mind to grant any request. Of course, as long as it didn’t harm the organization.
She quickly read through the sentences. Though the content was quite long and might have been tiring, Fenil didn’t blink once. Her eyes, which had been moving down without pause, finally stopped when she had grasped all the content.
“It’s not a request.”
She wondered what it was about. This wasn’t a request but an offer of help. Certainly, given Zenon’s character, it wasn’t expected that he would make a request in this situation. The corners of Fenil’s lips rose gently at the content that was so like him.
“Hmm… It’s enough for a change of mood.”
This didn’t even need thinking about. Fenil, who knew Zenon wouldn’t lie to her, could accept this content in one breath.
Of course, even if she accepted it, the decision would be Boss’s, but she believed he wouldn’t pass this up.
Fenil’s smile deepened. It was a moment where she looked forward to Boss’s expression upon hearing this news.
* * *
Fenil, who had roughly organized the content, immediately headed to Boss’s office. Opening the door and striding in, she looked at him as he reviewed documents with a tired appearance.
“Boss, I have something to report.”
He, who had known it was Fenil even before she opened the door, raised his head. His slightly relaxed red eyes turned toward her.
“What is it?”
His tone suggested that if it wasn’t urgent, she should leave, but she carried on nonchalantly.
“They say Kay is alive.”
“That’s obvious—”
“At Peace.”
He was thinking about Kay who hadn’t woken up and expressed doubt, but with Fenil’s immediate follow-up, Boss immediately hardened his expression. His eyes, which had been immersed in fatigue, changed to be fierce in an instant.
“Could you elaborate?”
Boss spoke in a serious voice, different from before, and Fenil nodded as if she had been waiting for this.
“It’s just as I said. I received an anonymous email. It said Kay is at Peace.”
Simultaneously, she handed him the document she was holding.
“This is the address.”
It was a document analyzing the surroundings along with the address shown on the map. Boss’s hand, which had been flipping through the materials, reached the last page. After quickly examining everything, he closed the document as if he had grasped it all.
This was an abandoned factory area near the harbor. It was also a place often used for black market transactions because it had few people.
“Are you certain Kay is in our organization?”
“Yes, of course.”
“It’s a trap.”
As long as the place protecting Kay was ‘Alice,’ this was definitely a trap. Peace probably set up such a foolish trap because they didn’t know Kay was on our side.
“For your information, there’s no problem with the anonymous source, so just know that.”
Fenil doesn’t trust others carelessly. If she says that, it means the person who provided the information is an important figure to her. Among the people at Peace, if there’s someone important to Fenil, the answer is clear.
“It’s Zenon.”
“You caught on quick.”
She expressed admiration, not really admiration, at Boss who immediately figured it out. Boss’s expression frowned questioningly at her words affirming his guess.
“He’s a spy, isn’t he?”
He couldn’t understand why she still trusted Zenon, who was a spy. Even revealing this location could be a trap. Shouldn’t they be more cautious?
“Do you really think Zenon is a spy, Boss?”
“The result says so.”
Peace noticed the operation because of Zenon. So regardless of the reason, he had to be a spy.
“Sometimes the process is more important.”
However, contrary to his thoughts, Fenil defended Zenon. She seemed to be thinking about something and then opened her mouth as if she had found a solution.
“You’re the one who killed Kay, right?”
“…Yes.”
It was what he most wanted to deny, but it was also a fact he couldn’t deny. After a long while, Boss finally uttered the truth. Towards him, Fenil opened her mouth in a persuasive tone.
“But you didn’t want to kill Kay. Isn’t Zenon the same? He didn’t want to be a spy, but he had no choice but to be one.”
Didn’t want to, but had no choice… Boss quietly continued his thoughts at Fenil’s words.
He might not have become a spy voluntarily. But it’s not possible to consider each circumstance individually.
From Boss’s position, results must be prioritized above all. Without such decisiveness, one cannot lead an organization.
However, Boss couldn’t conclude as definitely as before. It’s probably because, as Fenil said, it overlapped with his own situation. That’s why he couldn’t help but empathize with him.
It was fatal for the head of an organization. To be swept away by emotions like this. Is this also because the brainwashing has been undone? He kept thinking he could understand Zenon. Just as he had no choice but to kill Kay, Zenon might have had no choice in his decision.
“…I’ll believe you this time, as you say.”
“Good choice.”
Therefore, he made a choice that his past self would never have made. But he didn’t regret it. Rather, he felt that now was more right than the days when he only considered results.
What would this choice bring? It’s a conclusion based on Fenil’s words and trust in Zenon. A method that his former self would never have adopted. Therefore, Boss all the more hoped that this would end in success.
“Zenon sent this to have us turn the trap to our advantage, right?”
He, who seemed to have sorted everything out, returned to the main subject with a much more relieved expression.
“That’s right. Besides, Boss needed a change of mood, didn’t he?”
Fenil wore a playful smile that didn’t match the situation. But unlike her smile, her eyes were gleaming sharply. It was no different for Boss.
He had been displeased since first hearing it. He thought Peace would try something after discovering this experiment, but he didn’t expect they would use Kay as bait.
He couldn’t be in a good mood. Boss had been anxious because Kay wasn’t waking up. For him, Peace’s action was like pouring oil on fire.
“I can’t let this one slide.”
Normally, Boss would weigh the pros and cons and not get involved in unnecessary matters, but this was related to Kay. His name made Boss’s cold reasoning impossible. Zenon must have anticipated this when he passed on this information.
“…Fenil, may I ask you for a favor?”
Therefore, Boss phrased it as a request, not an order.
“If it’s a request from Boss, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do.”
Fenil understood the difference in those words well. Operations move by orders, so there’s no need to make requests. But Boss said it was a request to her. This meant that this matter was not as Boss but as an individual.
Fenil liked that point. His appearance of judging by emotion without considering benefits.
Boss smiled faintly at her acceptance. That smile contained gratitude toward Fenil for accepting.
“Can you plan the operation in a slightly different direction this time?”
“In what direction?”
Letting time flow slowly, he opened his mouth gradually. It was something a Boss shouldn’t say. But he didn’t stop.
“In a way that can inflict maximum damage.”
His solemn voice echoed quietly through the room. With those words, Boss’s gaze turned toward the end of the earth. It was the place where Kay, whom he could only picture in his mind, had existed.
