Steel Empire
Selecting the Deputy Director

Inside Kufstein, Linde is currently sitting in her favorite tea shop. This time she sat next to a certain female agent who had been instrumental in the victories of Meran and Vienna during Berengar's past campaigns. 

Since Berengar had ordered Linde to restructure the intelligence agencies into something more modern than the primitive methods they used, he needed the right Deputy Director, and there was nothing better in his mind than the young lady sitting in front of him.

Linde has a brilliant mind and is a natural prodigy in terms of intrigue, but there is one area that he is sorely lacking in that, and that is field experience. The woman before him has proven capable not only in the art of murder but also of sabotage. 

He has a quick mind and can think critically even when under stress. He has been shown to be fully capable of escaping unstable situations and setting up proper replacements without the need to climb the commando ladder. 

Without his efforts on the ground, Berengar's campaign would probably slow down. Despite the fact that the firepower of his troops was extraordinary; the removal of certain important figures and the sabotage of enemy supplies, equipment, and fortifications were necessary for a quick victory. 

This woman's name is Hemma, and she is a native of Kufstein. He grew up in the area as an orphan who roamed the streets. The skills he gained in surviving in his childhood allowed him to become a capable field agent. Now he will be tasked with helping Linde lead the right intelligence agency instead of a meager medieval spy network.

Two young women sitting across from each other was a beautiful sight to behold. The female field agent was considered beautiful by the standards of most men; however, when sitting next to Linde, who was considered one of the three heavenly beauties of Austria, even she felt hopeless in her appearance. 

As she sipped her tea, Linde noticed that Hemma had a dissatisfied expression on her face, and she was not afraid to ask her why. Therefore, she put on a beautiful smile that managed to lure the young lady before asking the question in her mind.

"Is there a problem?"

Hemma is by no means a lesbian, but even she can't help but admire Linde's natural beauty and charming personality. Therefore, he only sighed before admitting defeat.

"Nothing serious; I just realized I can't compete with you ..."

It took Linde a while to realize what the woman was talking about; when she realized it, she simply giggled before replying.

"Oh baby, there's no reason to compare yourself to me. You are beautiful in your own way!"

Hemma instantly blushed upon hearing the compliment; therefore, she quickly distracted him by throwing herself into his work. It was his habit to do so when he felt uncomfortable. 

"So, why am I here? Is there something you need from me?"

Seeing that the young woman had started the conversation, Linde took out the luxurious purse she was carrying. The bag was made of fine black leather and used a gold fastener. The hook itself is made of gold and inlaid with a heart-shaped diamond, and the strap is a gold chain. 

The leather wallet had a fine diamond pattern embossed on its surface. Looking at such an elegant handbag, Hemma immediately looked at him with envy. However, after retrieving some documents, Linde kept the wallet under the table before handing the papers over to the young woman. 

The woman quickly glanced at the title, which read as follows.

"Austrian Intelligence Agency"

Seeing such words written on the paper, the woman immediately asked Linde about what the document was.

"What's this?"

Linde simply smiled with a charming appearance before announcing Berengar's plans.

"We are restructuring in an effort to make things more efficient. These documents contain the details; I want you to read them thoroughly and then burn them. I'm going to keep moving forward with you, Hemma; I need a talented field agent with a quick mind to act as the second person in my command.

You've proven yourself among my greatest field agents, and I think it's time you received a promotion worth your effort. What the hell are you saying? Will you be my Deputy Director?"

Hemma quickly browsed through the documents, trying to understand the task of his position. The new job was much more demanding, but also much less dangerous and had much higher salaries and accommodation. Therefore, he was quickly attracted by the offer given to him.

However, he honestly did not believe that he was qualified for such a position and, thus, asked a question in his mind.

After hearing this, Linde raised two fingers before answering the woman's question with a serious expression.

"I have two reasons; first and foremost, I need someone who knows the field and who can direct field agents well in their endeavors; that is an area that I lack very much. As far as leadership experience goes, others are more qualified in that but have no knowledge of field conditions."

After saying this, Linde allowed Hemma to respond, and therefore, the young woman asked a question in her mind.

"And your second reason?"

After hearing this, Linde sighed and placed her beautiful face on the palm of her head while staring out the window before replying.

"I need a woman to fulfill that role; if I spend most of my day in the company of another man, Berengar will likely get her lined up on a wall and shot out of jealousy ..."

Hearing this, Hemma thought Linde was joking and started giggling; however, the cold gaze that Linde gave her before answering made the woman's back goosebumps.

"I'm not kidding..."

After saying this, there was a long, awkward silence, of course, until Linde started to stretch her back while yawning; after doing so, she revealed the rest of her thoughts.

"Looking at how it happens, you are by far the most qualified to fulfill that position. If anyone dares to complain, send it to me, and I will explain why you have that position in detail. it was comforting to see the look on their faces when I asked them how they felt about being executed for Berengar's jealous nature."

Saying this, Linde immediately started giggling with a charming smile on her face, to the point that Hemma was worried about Linde's state of mind considering she could find something so terrifying to comfort. After joking around for a few minutes, Linde asked Hemma about her decision.

"So what do you think? Do you want that position or not?"

Hemma thought about it clearly for a while, nodding his head in agreement before officially declaring his intention.

"I accept!"

With that said, Linde smiled once more before taking a sip of her tea; after doing so, she responded to Hemma.

"Good, take the documents home and read them carefully; after doing so, burn them. I don't want any evidence from our department."

Because of this, Linde began to rise from her seat and grabbed her fancy handbag where she picked up some silver coins and placed them on the table as compensation for tea and cake. After doing so, he closed the wallet and attached it to his shoulder. 

The black and gold bag perfectly matched her beautiful dress that had the same color scheme, so much so that every man in the store noticed Linde throughout her conversation with Hemma.

She was like a goddess to the people of Kufstein, and like a goddess; she was completely untouchable; after all, she was the Duke's woman, and everyone knew that. Seeing Linde about to leave, Hemma called him and asked him a question in his mind.

"What do you want to do now?"

Linde thought about it for a while before putting on a sultry smile and boldly announcing in front of the entire tea shop.

"I'll go memu**my man!"

The moment Hemma heard this, he almost dropped his jaw; he could not understand how Linde could say something so shameless in a public place like this. He also could not understand how Linde had finished so much work while living in the Castle with Berengar. If this is how they spend their days, it is surprising that the spy network has grown so far.

It was at this moment that he suddenly realized, was this position that he had just gained nothing more than a way to ease some of the pressure on Linde so that the young enchantress could spend more time with Berengar? Hemma soon began to regret his decision, but it was too late now that he was unofficially the Deputy Director of the Austrian Intelligence Agency, which officially did not exist. 

With that said, Linde returned to the castle where she fulfilled her promise, immediately distracting Berengar from his ongoing work and dragging him into the bedroom to relieve some stress together. As usual, the young couple did it like rabbits; now, Berengar had learned his lesson and was smart enough to play it safe and not drop Linde a second time.