Chapter 730 - 730: You May Begin Investigating Bureau Two

Charles remained silent.

The half-eaten apple stayed in his hand as he stood by the window, eyes fixed on the horizon, face blank and unreadable.

After a long pause, it was Lucia who broke the silence. "You're not going to ask who ordered the hit on Monsieur Dejouka?"

Charles's voice was calm, but each word carried a razor-sharp edge. "Does it matter?"

Lucia let out a faint, acknowledging hum.

She had once thought Charles was merely brilliant in military affairs and business. But now, she realized he had an equally terrifying gift for intelligence work.

He'd smelled the blood, seen through her deception with the coffee, and exposed her lie with a trick—using an imaginary bloodstain to confirm her identity.

Now he clearly understood the truth: the capitalists who publicly stood against him were only fronts. Killing them all wouldn't ensure Dejouka's safety.

After a pause, Lucia walked to his side and said in a softer tone, "Don't worry, General. I've already placed operatives throughout the town. Dejouka will be protected—quietly. I won't let anything happen to him."

Her thinking was pragmatic: if the enemy moved, they'd respond in kind. Escalating too early—like attacking the capitalist backers outright—could provoke desperate retaliation.

But Charles had another view.

He took a bite from the apple, chewed slowly, then said evenly, "You can begin investigating Bureau Two."

Lucia froze—then understood instantly.

Bureau Two was the true puppet master.

The big capitalists controlled parliament. Parliament and the government, in turn, controlled Bureau Two.

Without Bureau Two, those capitalists wouldn't even be able to hire a competent assassin.

If Bureau Two was dealt with, everything else would fall into place.

"Yes, General," Lucia replied, nodding solemnly. She lifted the snow globe again as if acknowledging a mission completed, then quietly left the room.

Moments later, Charles heard her voice downstairs as she said goodbye to Camille.

He looked out the window and watched Lucia wheel her bicycle onto the road. She adjusted her sunhat, smiled sweetly, and waved up at him.

She even blew him a kiss before pedaling away, leaving behind only the sound of tires on gravel and a twinkle in her eye.

Charles found himself struggling to reconcile that smile with what he knew she had done only hours earlier.

He couldn't picture her as a trained assassin—but he also knew it wasn't surprising.

She had always been one of the core members of the "Ladies in White." Without real skill, she wouldn't have survived in that world.

In truth, intelligence work was darker and more complex than any battlefield. The entire purpose of an intelligence unit was to do what couldn't be done in the light.

As one modern intelligence veteran famously said:

"We lie, we cheat, we steal—and we teach courses in it. That is the honor of our unending mission."

Charles understood.

To take control of France, it wasn't enough to win battles and dominate public opinion. He had to own Bureau Two.

They were parliament's eyes and ears, the government's claws and fangs.

That's why General Boulanger had failed, despite the support of the army and the people. He had fought alone, pitted against the entire intelligence establishment.

It was a war fought not on the battlefield, nor in the press—but in the shadows.

Boulanger never saw it clearly, and in the end, all he could do was put a gun to his own head and pull the trigger, ending his life in bitter defeat.

Charles would not repeat that mistake.

Once Bureau Two was under his control, parliament and the government would be blind and deaf—a declawed tiger. Easy prey.

That's why he had begun integrating veterans into the "Ladies in White," expanding their numbers and capabilities.

Just then, Camille called up from downstairs:

"Charles! Phone call! It's General Gallieni!"

"General Gallieni is calling personally—hurry!"

She seemed a bit flustered, so flustered that she picked up the receiver and added, "I'm very sorry, General, Charles will be right down…"

From the receiver, Gallieni's voice came with polite reassurance:

"No need to apologize, Madame Bernard."

"This is just a routine call. Nothing urgent."

"So…"

Then Gallieni chuckled, having suddenly realized something.

"Madame Bernard… perhaps you haven't realized it yet—Charles is now a lieutenant general."

"He holds the same rank as me, and his reputation already surpasses mine."

"If I ever go back to the battlefield, I'll probably serve under his command."

"So, you don't have to be nervous—not at all."

Camille stood there stunned, unsure how to respond.

Gallieni had hit the nail on the head.

She still saw Charles as her child. No matter what rank he held, he was still just her boy.

In her mind, Gallieni was the important figure—Charles, the little one she raised.

She hadn't yet realized that Charles now stood equal to—or even above—Gallieni.

Thankfully, Charles came down just in time to take the phone and spare her the awkwardness.

"It's me, General," he said casually.

Camille stood nearby, watching her son with pride swelling in her chest. Tears filled her eyes before she could stop them, and she had to turn away quickly and head to the kitchen so he wouldn't see.

Charles didn't notice—he was focused on what Gallieni was saying.

"Two things you need to know," Gallieni said, excitement in his voice.

"First, the Germans trapped west of the Meuse have surrendered. Initial estimates say over 300,000 men. You've done it again, Charles—you've made history."

Outside, a chorus of shouting could be heard.

"The Germans surrendered! They surrendered!"

"I heard it was 300,000! We've taken back the entire west bank of the Meuse!"

"Unbelievable—they said the encirclement wouldn't close until tonight. But the Germans gave up first!"

A neighbor shouted into the kitchen:

"Madame Bernard! It's true! Charles's maneuver really reclaimed the whole region—even if we don't understand how."

"Incredible! Two divisions—less than 30,000 men—beat hundreds of thousands. How did Charles do it?"

"Is Charles home? Or has he gone back to the front?"

Camille did her best to respond to everyone, though it was pure chaos.

Meanwhile, Charles turned slightly away from the window to muffle the noise. "I understand, General. What's the second piece of news?"

There was surprise in Gallieni's voice.

"You already knew the Germans would surrender?"

"Of course," Charles replied.

"Even if the encirclement wasn't closed, we had aircraft, General."

"If the Germans tried to escape through the gap between Buzancy and Mézières, they'd be hunted down by mechanized forces—and bombed and strafed by our planes."

"That region is flat, open, and broken by rivers. There's nothing more terrifying for infantry."

Gallieni nodded silently.

That explained everything.

The battle had truly ended the moment Foch's troops reached Buzancy. There was no need to wait for the full encirclement to close.

Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.

Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Franklin1