I Was Mistaken as a Great War Commander - Chapter 135

After Daniel left his office to meet the Security Bureau Director.

"......"

Lucie put down her documents and stared blankly at the door through which Daniel had departed.

Looking at the door with somewhat unstable eyes, Lucie shook her head.

She thought it was right to set aside strange thoughts and focus on her primary duties.

But even as she picked up the documents to begin reviewing them, Lucie had to stop almost immediately.

She simply couldn't concentrate.

Beyond not being able to concentrate, her mind was filled entirely with thoughts of Daniel Steiner.

'He must be under suspicion from the Security Bureau Director...'

Lucie vaguely knew.

That it wasn't the Security Bureau but Daniel who had completely eradicated the Palentia Branch.

After all, it was also Daniel Steiner who had attacked and uprooted the Prince's private organization in the past.

This time too, he must have demolished the Palentia Branch in a similar fashion.

If so, what was the reason?

From Lucie's perspective, Daniel's attack on the Palentia Branch was like wielding a double-edged sword.

If successful, he could cleanly remove the Allied Nations' agents from within the system, but the moment he failed, Daniel would not only lose his private organization but also become the top assassination target for intelligence agents.

Why would Daniel take such a risk to attack the Palentia Branch?

After much thought, Lucie arrived at one speculation.

'...Could it be because of me?'

This wasn't just a baseless conjecture.

Daniel knew that Lucie was an experimental subject.

'Whether he felt compassion or sympathy from that fact, I'm not sure but...'

From Lucie's perspective, Daniel was exceptionally kind to her.

He frequently took her to dessert shops and bought her various foods.

Moreover, when the Security Police barged in, he stepped forward to defend her.

'Even knowing I was an experimental subject and an Allied Nations spy, Daniel always looked out for me.'

There was nothing to gain by being good to her.

Even though he knew such actions would put himself in danger, Daniel didn't stop.

'If Daniel acted this time as well to protect me...'

It would more than explain all these events.

From Daniel's perspective, eliminating the Palentia Branch would have been judged more conducive to protecting Lucie.

In reality, Daniel knew nothing and had merely had a meal at a place called Beer Paradise, but Lucie had no way of knowing that.

After all, Daniel not only operated a private organization but was also adept at information gathering to the extent that he knew his adjutant was a former experimental subject.

Furthermore, recently, hadn't he turned a newspaper company into a government mouthpiece and formed an intriguing alliance with religion?

It seemed unlikely that such a person wouldn't know about the Palentia Branch.

If he had investigated the Palentia Branch, he would also know that Lucie had turned her back on them after fighting with the Palentia Branch.

'...So that's why he took action.'

To protect his adjutant.

As this thought occurred to her, guilt seeped into Lucie's heart.

She felt uneasy at the thought of receiving help from Daniel again.

'While I couldn't do anything for him...'

Daniel silently carried on with his work as if that was fine.

Even though he would know that helping an Allied Nations spy is not right, even if that spy is his adjutant.

Lucie felt a pang in her heart at Daniel's attitude, which could be described as devoted.

'I want to repay his kindness. Somehow...'

She wanted to give more than what she had received to Daniel Steiner.

Not simply making desserts or beet soup, but being of substantial help.

However, in the current situation, she couldn't figure out how her actions could benefit Daniel.

She briefly considered running away before causing Daniel more trouble, but soon shook her head.

She thought that disappearing arbitrarily after receiving his kindness would be equivalent to betraying Daniel's efforts.

Then how could she be of help to Daniel?

After racking her brain while neglecting her work, Lucie soon let out a low sigh.

'I don't know.'

She really didn't know anything.

The information Lucie knew about Daniel outside of work was limited to the fact that he was a man who liked desserts and was more playful than expected.

'I can't tell what else he wants...'

Lucie paused mid-thought.

Come to think of it, there was one more piece of information she knew about Daniel.

'Kelly.'

The woman who had passed away, with whom Daniel had been in a relationship.

If she knew what this woman looked like, perhaps she could dress similarly.

As Lucie was having this somewhat inappropriate thought, she shook her head.

'No. He might dislike that...'

He might think it's more beautiful to leave the past in the past.

Argh—

Her forehead wrinkled as her head began to ache for no reason.

Uncharacteristically tapping the desk, Lucie's gaze fell on Daniel's spot.

'The coat...'

The officer's coat that Daniel always wore was hanging on the chair.

Knowing that a photo of Kelly might be in the inner pocket of that coat made her heart restless.

'I want to see.'

She wanted to know what kind of woman had stolen Daniel's heart.

'But...'

Thinking that Daniel might dislike it, she couldn't readily act on her impulse.

'Don't do it. I shouldn't do it.'

Lucie, reciting patience to herself, grabbed the documents to return to work.

However, her attention kept drifting toward Daniel's coat.

As if drawn by a magnet, her gaze kept moving toward the coat.

Even when she closed her eyes tightly to gather her thoughts, the image of the photo that might be inside the coat lingered in her mind.

Thinking she couldn't stand it anymore, Lucie slowly got up from her seat.

'Just a little peek. Just a peek should be fine...'

Making this unreasonable promise to herself, Lucie walked toward the coat Daniel had taken off.

She hesitated briefly in front of the coat, but eventually reached into the inner pocket and pulled out a photo.

However, there was no woman who appeared to be Kelly.

What Lucie had taken out was a photo of Daniel surrounded by orphanage children, smiling.

It was a photo she had seen before.

Lucie's eyes half-opened as she gazed at the photo intently.

It was an indescribable emotion.

The taut string of reason stretched long, and impulsive thoughts arose in her mind.

Also, fragments of somewhat sorrowful and lukewarm emotions were rushing in haphazardly.

The cause was the kindness of Daniel shown in the photo.

Quite ironically, Lucie was jealous of Daniel's kindness.

'Daniel is a good person. So...'

Even if it hadn't been Lucie Emilia, Daniel would have helped his adjutant.

The person Daniel was risking his life to help wasn't "Lucie Emilia" but "a pitiful woman from an experimental background."

If someone else were in her place, Daniel would surely have shown the same reaction.

'Even when we met in the park in disguise...'

Even though from Daniel's perspective she would have been a woman he was seeing for the first time, he took the lead in escorting her.

Not only did he speak familiarly, unlike usual, but he also shared his inner thoughts, which he hadn't disclosed to her as his adjutant.

Quite ironically, Daniel revealed his innermost feelings more easily to someone he met for the first time in the park than to Lucie, his adjutant whom he had known for nearly a year.

Lucie didn't like that.

She disliked the fact that Daniel was "kind to everyone."

She didn't want to accept that to Daniel, she might be just one among many.

Lucie, letting out a low sigh, put the photo back into the inner pocket.

Then she paused at the peculiar scent emanating from the coat.

How should one describe it—a subtle soap fragrance with a bit of sweat mixed in?

The clean yet soft scent was stirring up her previously dampened feelings again.

As if entranced, Lucie leaned down and inhaled the scent.

'Nice smell...'

It was similar to the body scent she felt when she hugged Daniel who had visited her quarters in the past.

As she was savoring the fragrance with her eyes closed, Lucie was startled and opened her eyes wide.

She felt unconsciously ashamed of her instinctive behavior.

Lucie blushed unnecessarily, cleared her throat, and stood up.

However, her gaze was still directed at Daniel's coat.

It wasn't based on an instinctive desire to smell it again, but she was thinking about the photo inside Daniel's coat.

She wished her image would also be added to the photos Daniel always carried.

'I don't want to be remembered as an ordinary person...'

Raising her hand to gently caress the shoulder part of the coat, Lucie's eyes narrowed softly.

'But how do I...'

How could she make Daniel perceive her as someone special?

Beyond that, she wanted to become someone precious to him.

Lost in such contemplation for a while, Lucie eventually smiled awkwardly.

'Liking someone alone...'

She realized it wasn't as pleasant as she had thought.