Valsta Empire, Cemetery of Honored Soldiers, Park No. 19.

It seemed like a very shabby funeral.

There were no grand funerals, no lively bands, no chaplains from the Templar Church, and no heavy and ornate coffins.

Nothing was buried in the soft soil, not even the two tombstones were bare, not carved with half a letter, as if the two deceased had never had names.

If you listen closely, you can hear the sad cries of the relatives and friends of the deceased.

Still, it can be called a lavish funeral, a state funeral for a powerful empire, not because of pomp, but because of the extraordinary people who attended the funeral.

On the hillside, which was not too steep, twelve tall Imperial Guard salutes fired their guns, and the leading captain drew his saber and stood straight.

Behind the families of the deceased, all the high-ranking officials of the imperial cabinet bowed their heads in mourning, as well as a dozen or so heads of great noble families with ancient bloodlines.

Surrounded by high-ranking generals, the Emperor of the Valstad Empire, Sarantos Midnet, dressed in the uniform of a black marshal, stepped forward to comfort the widow of the deceased.

The one-armed, one-eyed, iron-blooded empress with the most resolute back in the world bent her slender waist, saluted the tombstone, offered flowers, and then delivered an emotional eulogy:

"O heroes of Valstad, your names are unknown, your bodies are left behind, and your deeds live forever."

It was a strange funeral, and outsiders would only seem to be confused, and only insiders would know the doorway, it was a funeral for the staff of the Empire's hidden front, that is, the funeral of a spy.

They do some of the most dangerous jobs in the world, and the mortality rate is much higher than that of fishermen who go out to fish.

They only call their real names among their colleagues, and only use numbers and code names to the outside world, and they dedicate their lives to the intelligence cause of the Scales Country, living in obscurity and dying quietly.

Especially now these two spies who died in a foreign land, even the corpses of the capital have not been able to return to their hometown and be buried, everything seems so miserable and desolate.

A gentleman of medium stature in a bowler hat stood in the distance, he calmly watched the whole funeral, motionless, like a painted statue, and the soldiers in charge of the guard around him seemed to know who he was, and no one came up to ask him.

After a while, it began to rain, and the emperor and his ministers accompanied the widow of the deceased to board the carriage and leave the cemetery along the road.

It was only then that the gentleman began to move, and he walked slowly between the two nameless tombstones.

He sat down on the floor, pulled out two bottles of gin from his backpack, and two pipes filled with high-grade tobacco leaves, and placed them in front of the tombstones—the two deceased's favorite things during their lifetimes.

A tall, thin official appeared behind him and said, "Kingsgaard, why didn't you attend the funeral of your colleagues?" It's really unusual, don't you even give His Majesty the Emperor's face? ”

Ace Agent Kingsgard Black turned, "Don't get me wrong, Minister Colin, I just don't want to see the widows' tears." ”

"Hey......"

Colin Douglas, Minister of Imperial Intelligence, lamented:

"I understand that, old friend, after all these years, most of the agents who joined us at the same time have died in the line of duty.

Friese, the old fox...... Originally, he was in the same dormitory as me, and he had hoped to become the director of the interrogation department, but he died on the other side of the ocean.

And the young newcomer Valentine, this guy just graduated from the military academy and hasn't gotten married yet, so it's a pity that the second mission is gone. ”

"Yes, Friezer is still planning to have children, and Valentin has not yet tasted the sweetness of love, and they are gone.

I really hate all this, why is it always like this, no colleagues on assignments survive, I am always left alone, it seems that I am greedy for life and afraid of death!

I'm not afraid of sacrifice! But only the living can complete the task! With that, Kingsgaard hammered down the soft lawn to vent his frustration.

Colin Douglas was silent for a moment and asked:

"Kingsgaard, I've been holding back a question in my heart for a long time, why didn't you compete with me for the position of Minister of Imperial Intelligence in the first place, why did you stay in such a dangerous grassroots position and work hard?

You know, you're the real ace spy, and if you join the competition for a position, I have absolutely no chance, and I have never figured it out. ”

"Colin, I haven't served anyone to be a spy yet, but you are very good at handling affairs in officialdom and aristocratic circles, and this alone is more suitable than me to be an official.

As for me, I'm a weirdo, I don't like a quiet life, I like the feeling of being in the middle of the enemy all the time, the feeling of shuttling back and forth in the cracks of danger, licking the blood from the knife, which makes my heart beat faster and makes me excited.

Either way, I'll lie in this cemetery, or I'll have no bones left. By then, I think you'll understand how I'm feeling right now. ”

Kingsgard Black knocked the ashes from his pipe, stood up, and walked out of the cemetery gate alone, leaving Colin alone in front of the bare tombstone.

Back more than a month ago, according to the list sent by the Ministry of Intelligence, an unprecedented operation began in the empire to capture the spies of the Solan Kingdom.

Twenty-six enemy spies have been apprehended in just three days, and the twenty-seventh is the most powerful, according to the list, the spy is a middle-aged woman with amazing singing and dancing talents, and at this point the spy has managed to win the trust of a member of the royal family of the Scales Kingdom.

Having seen the list of spies herself, Her Majesty herself already knew the whole story, and she seemed to have a great headache about the matter, and thought about it for a long time before making a decision, and in order to eliminate all the adverse effects, the plan to arrest the female spy was put on hold for a few days before it began to be implemented.

One sunny afternoon, on the outskirts of Fort Midknight, the capital of the Valstad Empire,

An entire squadron of Imperial Guard heavy dragoons rode on a paved stone road, dismounted outside a castle and led their horses into the inner walls.

It was one of the palaces of the royal family, and a few years ago, in celebration of the coming-of-age ceremony of Prince Maxim, the emperor gave this beautiful castle to his most beloved son.

Now, the emperor personally sent troops to break into the cluster, and the guards in charge of guarding saw the emperor's order document, of course, they did not dare to stop it.

The leader of the dragoon squadron wore the rank of major on his shoulders, and the three medals on his chest symbolized that he had made achievements in three major battles and was considered a meritorious veteran.

In order to save the face of the castle lord, the cavalry major left most of his men in the courtyard of the castle, and went upstairs with only four of his own soldiers, and he climbed the stairs and buttoned his shirt, as if to prepare for an audience with some important person.

At the same time, in the large room on the third floor of the castle.

Prince Maxim Midnet was sitting comfortably in a chaise longue with a glass of cider on the rocks. While sipping a glass of wine, he looked at his lover with a happy expression on his face.

Opposite the prince, a mediocre-looking lady was holding a harp and singing.

As her dexterous fingers plucked the strings, the pulsating notes filled the air, and her voice was as graceful as a nightingale, and the court musicians standing by the side were sweating and secretly admiring it.

A few months earlier, Prince Maxim had brought back the wandering troubadour from the city of Tagarvi and left her to live in the palace given to him by Her Majesty the Mother.

From the beginning of ignorance and doubts, after a long period of contact, the two gradually broke the barrier of identity and age, and gradually developed into a couple in love.