A week later, Julius was discharged from the hospital. The doctors prescribed him a regimen of neural dermal reconstructants, a state-of-the-art biogel treatment that accelerated tissue regeneration through nanite-assisted cellular replication.
With consistent application, they assured him, even the burn scars would vanish completely.
Such miracles were ordinary in 2149. Scars could be erased, bones could be reforged, and nerves could be rewired as if the body itself were a machine in need of maintenance.
Fortunately, Julius had sustained no critical internal injuries. The only reason he had survived at all was because of the reactive nanotech armor underneath his clothing.
The instant it detected impact, the kinetic shield had deployed and protected him from further injuries. He had worn it out of precaution while handling the Manticore incident.
Who could've known that same armor would save him from the explosion that destroyed his car?
As soon as Julius stepped out of the hospital, he expected Gabriel to be there waiting for him. Instead, what greeted him was someone entirely unexpected.
"Ah, there you are! Get in! Get in!"
Julius froze. "...Sister-in-law?"
Sitting in the backseat was Sabine Eleanor Schneider, his brother's wife, a woman he never imagined would be the one to pick him up. Without protest, he opened the door and stepped inside.
"Hi~ Hi~! It's been a while, Juli!" she said with a bright smile, waving at him playfully.
"Yes. Hello. I suppose it has been, sister-in-law."
It had been years since he'd last seen her. So much so that her presence almost felt surreal. Still, though his face remained expressionless, something deep within him felt oddly relieved at the sight of her.
After all, this woman had died not long after giving birth to his niece.
"I heard what happened! Who would dare try to harm the Schneider family's precious youngest?!" she exclaimed, puffing her cheeks in indignation.
"I suppose it's to be expected," Julius replied calmly. "Given my status."
"No, Juli. Even so, what gives anyone the right to harm another human being?"
That was how she had always been. A woman far too kind for the world she lived in. Naïve, perhaps, but firm in her belief that goodness still existed in people. She was the complete opposite of her husband, Jeremy, who had taken after their father.
Still, her marriage into the Schneider family had been but a merge of dynasties.
Sabine's family, the Choinières, ruled the corporate sector of modern France, and the Schneiders, their German counterparts, dominated politics and finance. The union of both houses turned Germany and France into twin superpowers in the trade sector.
Even the German Chancellor himself couldn't help but give credit to the Schneiders for the country's economic dominance.
Because of this, it was no longer just speculation, but a foregone conclusion that Johannes Sievernich Schneider would one day become the next Chancellor.
"Anyway," Julius began, glancing at her, "why are you here, sister-in-law?"
"What do you mean, 'why am I here?'" Sabine puffed her cheeks again. "You were hurt, Juli! Of course this big sister had to come check if you were alright!"
Among everyone in the Schneider family, Sabine had always been the kindest to him. Perhaps that was why, even after everything, after seeing her die once before, he felt oddly at ease in her presence.
However, Julius felt something off.
For starters, the car's dashboard was outfitted with state-of-the-art systems such as a Digimap OS integrated with Neural-Route telemetry and Spectra-Trace sensors.
In simpler terms, it was a government vehicle.
To the average civilian, it would look like any luxury console. But to someone like Julius, it was clear as day.
His eyes narrowed.
"Oh, quick on the uptake, aren't you, Juli?"
"...!"
Julius abruptly turned toward Sabine. She was still smiling, but it wasn't the same carefree smile from earlier.
"Usually, you wouldn't even notice things like that," she said, leaning back in her seat. "Hmm… I suppose the Directorate wasn't completely wrong about you after all."
Julius's expression hardened. "You…"
"Yup." Sabine tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Sabine Eleanor Schneider, Deputy Commissioner of the Directorate for State Preservation. Though between us, I still prefer 'sister-in-law.' Sounds less threatening, don't you think?"
"...."
Julius blinked. Of all the possibilities he could have imagined, this was not one of them.
"Welcome to the Directorate, Julius Sebastian Schneider," she said. "I suppose this makes us colleagues now."
Before his regression, Sabine had already been dead long before his induction into the Secret State Police. Her name must've been wiped from every database, as was protocol for any fallen agent.
That order had been established in 2132, when the Directive of Operational Concealment was passed after the "Vienna Incident," where several undercover agents' identities had been leaked by a rival bloc.
The aftermath led to mass assassinations and retaliatory strikes that crippled Europe's covert network for nearly a decade.
In response, the Directive of Operational Concealment was enacted. From that point on, every operative who died in active duty was to be permanently expunged from all federal, civilian, and archival systems.
It was not merely to erase their identity, but to ensure that no surviving family, ally, or associate could be targeted in acts of vengeance.
"Oh? You don't seem as surprised as I thought. Damn, and here I thought your jaw would drop." Sabine said with a playful grin.
"...."
Julius was still trying to piece everything together.
"Does Jeremy know?"
"Nope."
"Then why reveal yourself to me? What if I decide to tell on you?"
"You wouldn't do that, Juli."
"You never know."
"Ooh~ Scary~" Sabine teased, leaning closer with a mischievous smile.
Julius exhaled through his nose. "So, are you my superior officer?"
"Sadly, no," she said, gesturing toward the driver with a tilt of her head. "That honor goes to this guy. Hehe~"
The driver glanced at Julius through the rearview mirror.
"Agent Klaus Weber," the driver said. "Field Director, Directorate for State Preservation. You'll be under my command for the duration of your probationary service, Mister Schneider."
Julius wasn't surprised. It was exactly as he remembered. Even when the Directorate was short on manpower, it never compromised on discipline or protocol. Not even a Schneider could bypass probation. Rank and bloodline meant nothing here.
Sabine chuckled, resting her chin on her hand. "Welcome to the Directorate, Juli. Don't worry. If you make it past training, you'll have the pleasure of reporting to me next time."
"So, where am I being taken?"
"To see the Director, of course. Where else?
* * *
At the sound of the knock, a calm voice from within answered, "Enter."
Only one person was permitted through the door.
Julius stepped inside and immediately raised his hand in salute.
"Sir."
Behind a desk of reinforced glass and matte steel was the Director himself, Gerhardt Bärwald. The man's reputation preceded him, known within the Directorate as both a strategist and a tyrant.
When his gaze lifted to meet Julius's, it was with the same cold scrutiny one might use on a specimen under glass.
"Julius Sebastian Schneider," Bärwald said. "Your entry into the Directorate was… unorthodox."
Julius said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
"No recommendation, no prior service record, and no clearance from any division. And yet, the file that landed on my desk was so thoroughly compiled, it forced my hand."
Julius nodded.
During his stay at the Adler mansion, he hadn't just waited for the Manticore to appear. Every step and every action within that household had been observed, recorded, and analyzed.
He had documented every detail of the Adler estate such as its financial irregularities, encrypted correspondence, photographs of unregistered shipments arriving at odd hours, and certain books in Friedemann Adler's study that no state official should have owned.
And so, Julius filed a report, stating that Friedemann Adler, the Mayor of Munich, was a potential sympathizer of the Revolutionary Army.
The dossier included cross-referenced dates, payment routes linked to known insurgent accounts, and digital transcripts extracted from his home system.
It was so well-prepared that the Directorate couldn't ignore it, even if it wanted to.
"Astounding."
Every section of the report was structured in the exact format used by the Directorate's internal intelligence division, to the point where it was uncanny. The cross-referencing, the phrasing, even the minor redactions mirrored the tone of a seasoned field officer.
If they hadn't confirmed Julius's civilian status beforehand, the Directorate might've assumed the report had come from one of their own operatives.
"Are you sure this is your first time working with intelligence documentation?"
"No, sir. Because I'm a Schneider," Julius replied. "Every person under our banner is a potential activist. Words, whispers, transactions, favors… I grew up learning to record them all. I often reported things to my father when I was younger. Albeit, informally."
"Lord Johannes, huh?"
"Yes." Julius's tone held no emotion. "Even the smallest rumor could become leverage if handled properly."
"I see." Bärwald leaned back. "As you know, Lord Johannes is favored to become the next Chancellor. That puts you in quite the special position."
Because he was the son of the next Chancellor, Julius was, even without formal training, already considered a fitting candidate for the Secret State Police. His lineage alone made him an asset, at least on paper.
Still, trust was a different matter entirely. It was clear they didn't trust him, and that was only natural.
For most operations, he knew information would be filtered. They would test him, observe how far he could be pushed, how much he could endure before breaking.
After all, to them, Julius Schneider was not an agent yet. Just a politician's son placed among wolves.
And if captured, tortured, or broken, they assumed he'd reveal everything to save his own skin.
He couldn't blame them for thinking that. So, Julius just accepted the subtle gesture at heart.
Let them doubt. It would only make it easier for him to move behind the scenes.
"Yes, sir. I'm aware you've already informed my father of my involvement with the Directorate."
"Of course. A man like Johannes deserves to know where his bloodline is placed within the hierarchy of state power. It's a matter of diplomacy. And soon enough, even we will serve under him."
"Yes."
"Now that we're on the topic," Bärwald continued, "who else have you told about your involvement?"
"My knight. Gabriel."
"Gabriel Dieterich of the Revenant Knights Corps," the Director said, nodding slowly. "He's had prior dealings with the Directorate, so his awareness isn't a problem."
Bärwald paused, tapping a pen against his desk.
"However, Schneider… You must understand the nature of where you now stand. The Directorate is not like your family. What you see, what you hear, what you know, it ends with you."
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Then allow me to be the first to say it."
He reached into his drawer and retrieved a small, matte-black badge marked with the Directorate's insignia..
"Welcome to the Directorate for State Preservation, Agent Schneider."
Julius accepted the badge.
"From this day forward," Bärwald continued, "your loyalty belongs to the Directorate, and through it, to the State itself. You'll act, observe, and think only as ordered. We are the unseen hand that keeps the Republic standing."
"I understand."
"Good. You'll begin your probationary assignment under Field Director Weber's command. Observation and infiltration, primarily. But make no mistake. If your instincts are as sharp as your report, you won't remain a probationary agent for long."
Julius nodded once.
"I'll keep that in mind."