I Was Mistaken as a Great War Commander - Chapter 136

Returning to his office after finishing his conversation with the Security Bureau Director, Daniel found Lucie sitting obediently at her desk, attending to her work.

"...Adjutant?"

When he called out tentatively, Lucie slowly raised her head.

There was no fluctuation or movement in her blood-colored red eyes.

She was expressionless as always.

'If the Security Bureau Director suspects me, Lucie must feel the same way. If she thinks I was the one who demolished the Palentia Branch, the Allied Nations' intelligence organization...'

Daniel swallowed dryly as he looked at Lucie.

'From Lucie's perspective as an Allied Nations spy, she might be feeling anger toward me.'

This was a reasonable inference for Daniel, who had no way of knowing what kind of relationship Lucie had built with the Palentia Branch.

Meanwhile, Lucie felt no particular emotion about the annihilation of the Palentia Branch, which had treated her like a tool.

On the contrary, thinking that Daniel had eliminated the Palentia Branch for her sake, her graph of affection was trending upward.

"Colonel?"

Lucie looked quizzically at Daniel, who was showing subtle signs of tension, and tilted her head.

"Do you have something to say?"

Her voice was calm, even plain, as if she knew nothing about the incident.

Thinking there was no point in probing further, Daniel shook his head.

"It's nothing."

With those words, Daniel walked to his desk and sat down.

Opening his drawer and taking out several documents, Daniel pretended to work while lost in thought.

The Security Bureau Director's words kept circling in his mind.

'Duke Belvar will move the storm...'

Judging by the intensity of the metaphor, something was likely to happen within the system.

'So their goal wasn't simply to eliminate me.'

If eliminating Daniel Steiner wasn't the purpose of the plan but merely a part of it, then Duke Belvar was more dangerous than he had thought.

'It would be good to prepare, but...'

Having been appointed as the Chief of Staff of the 7th Division on the Eastern Front, he couldn't move rashly.

He would soon have to leave the system, and there was no need to cause conflict during this lull.

Additionally, Daniel had already inflicted maximum damage on the noble alliance within his capabilities.

Hadn't he arrested Campbell, the leader of the Liberal Social Party who had been acting as the nobles' pawn in the parliament, on charges of collaboration, and isolated Baron Hendliem using public opinion?

Moreover, Daniel Steiner's political standing had been further solidified due to the "Brick Incident."

In this situation, if he stepped forward to uncover Duke Belvar's intentions, in the worst case, he might meet a fate where both parties perish.

By now, Belvar would have eliminated all evidence of supporting the Prince's private organization, so even if Daniel attacked, victory couldn't be guaranteed.

This would inevitably escalate into a life-threatening mud fight.

Losing one's life in a political struggle should be avoided at all costs.

'And...'

Duke Belvar wasn't the only thing Daniel needed to think about now.

He had become suspicious about who exactly had demolished the Palentia Branch.

'According to the Security Bureau Director, they used sleep-paralysis gas. That's similar to the method used when the Prince's private organization was subdued.'

The Prince's private organization members had also confessed to losing consciousness due to sleep gas when they were arrested.

'That would suggest the same perpetrator...'

He couldn't understand what intention they had acted with.

'It's certain they've been using my name. Usually, people use someone else's name to pin wrongdoing on them, don't they?'

Arresting the Prince's private organization, which was plotting rebellion, and demolishing the Palentia Branch, which was an enemy Allied Nations hideout, were clearly meritorious deeds.

A mysterious group bestowing merits upon him—it was only natural to find this perplexing.

'At first, I thought it was a coincidence...'

But when coincidences pile up consecutively, they become inevitable.

Yet from Daniel's perspective, he couldn't understand why anyone would engage in such strange behavior.

As Daniel pressed his brow for a while, searching for a reason, Lucie gathered her documents.

Seeing this, Daniel instinctively glanced at the wall clock and realized it was already time to leave work.

'Already this late?'

Today, he had hardly done any work due to the Security Bureau Director's visit, but leaving work was always right.

Thinking he should go home and rest, Daniel picked up his briefcase and rose from his seat.

"Let's head home."

"Yes, sir."

Hearing Daniel's words, Lucie also stood up.

Daniel opened the office door and stepped into the corridor, with Lucie following behind.

In the corridor where footsteps echoed gently, Daniel found himself watching Lucie's mood.

'She seems somewhat unhappy today...'

Lucie maintained an expressionless face most of the time.

She rarely showed surprise, anger, or joy.

At first, he even wondered if she was deficient in emotions.

But after spending nearly a year with Lucie, Daniel had realized something.

There were subtle emotional changes even in Lucie's expressionless face.

'For example, right now...'

Her gaze was slightly lower than usual.

It felt like she was looking a bit below the front, rather than straight ahead.

This was one of the changes Lucie showed when she was depressed or lost in thought.

'So she is concerned about the Palentia Branch being wiped out.'

That wasn't it at all.

Lucie was currently preoccupied with how she could help Daniel Steiner.

She was also subtly thinking about becoming someone precious to Daniel.

However, not knowing this, Daniel could only be anxious.

After all, this was Lucie Emilia.

Who wouldn't be nervous with a killing machine capable of facing an entire battalion alone right next to them?

As Daniel descended the stairs restlessly, his hands began to sweat.

Thinking he should somehow improve her mood for his own survival, Daniel cleared his throat.

"Adjutant. How about we have a little talk?"

Their footsteps stopped at the landing of the staircase.

After composing his voice while quietly looking at Lucie's back, Daniel said:

"Today, the atmosphere you're giving off seems different from usual. If you have something troubling you, why not tell me?"

Lucie's hand trembled slightly.

Taking a deep breath amidst various thoughts, Lucie turned around.

Perhaps due to the lighting on the landing, her red irises shone beautifully beneath her silver-white hair.

"...I'm sorry. I didn't know you were concerned. But it's a personal matter, and I don't want to burden you, Colonel."

"That's an impertinent thing to say."

Daniel gave a low chuckle.

"Managing and supervising one's adjutant is also a superior's duty and responsibility. If I don't know what difficulties my adjutant carries in her heart, can I call myself a proper superior?"

"But..."

"That's enough, just tell me. From now on, you and I will have to spend more time together than anyone else, so wouldn't it be better if we opened our hearts to each other?"

Lucie's eyes widened in slight surprise.

Daniel's casually spoken words had struck directly at Lucie's heart.

'He said we'd spend more time together than anyone else...'

She hadn't misheard.

It was a statement that came from Daniel's own lips.

Although there were other words she truly wanted to hear, this wasn't so bad either.

Lucie quietly gazed at Daniel looking back at her, then softly opened her mouth.

"...Did the beet soup suit your taste?"

She changed the subject because she felt somewhat embarrassed.

Although Daniel thought it was a bit sudden, he answered sincerely.

"Beet soup? Ah. It was quite delicious. Just like the dessert you made before, you seem to have a knack for cooking."

"I see. That's good then."

Lucie gave an enigmatic smile and nodded slightly.

Then she turned and descended the stairs.

Staring blankly at her retreating figure, Daniel scratched his cheek with a somewhat bewildered feeling.

'What was that? Was she upset because I hadn't given her feedback on her cooking...?'

Though he couldn't understand why, he was relieved thinking that Lucie's mood had improved.

• 
  

Meanwhile, at Duke Belvar's mansion.

"Your Grace. I'm informed that the Security Bureau Director met with Daniel Steiner."

At the words of Felliston, the Deputy Director of the Imperial Intelligence Agency, Belvar, who had been spending time in his wine cellar, frowned.

"That bat-like bastard..."

Otto, the Security Bureau Director, was a typical opportunist who pretended to maintain neutrality while dipping his toes into whichever faction appeared to have the upper hand.

Otto himself claimed it was behavior aimed at preserving his life for a long time, but to Belvar, he seemed more like a man without principles.

'But it's true that he has an excellent eye for people.'

Otto's decision to meet Daniel was not a matter to be taken lightly.

Otto must have sold his efforts to secure insurance, judging that Daniel also had a chance of winning.

'We can't drag this out any longer.'

Belvar gritted his teeth and turned to Felliston.

"How is Bertram's health condition?"

"According to the court physician, he won't survive beyond this month."

"Good. Make thorough preparations. The opportune moment will be when Bertram passes away and Daniel Steiner is away from the system."

Felliston hesitated momentarily before carefully posing a question.

"Your Grace. I'm concerned that the timing might be too rushed. Although Daniel Steiner is dangerous, is there a need to hurry like this?"

Belvar let out a mocking laugh.

Felliston's question seemed preposterous to him.

"You don't know Daniel Steiner."

Belvar recalled.

The time when Daniel Steiner had come to his mansion and threatened him.

Even now, thinking about that time made his hands tremble slightly with fear.

Those wolf-like sharp eyes resembling an abyss remained imprinted in his mind, unforgettable.

"Deputy Director, do you know who the great-grandfather of the current Emperor Celvia is?"

"The great-grandfather of His Majesty the Emperor..."

Eternal Grand Emperor Bargoff von Amberg.

He was the figure who had deposed the king when the Empire was still a kingdom and ascended to the throne himself.

He was also the one who transformed the kingdom into an empire and made its prestige known in all directions.

Belvar, who had served that iron-blooded man from a distance in his youth, could tell.

That the spirit Daniel Steiner showed that day was similar to Bargoff's.

Belvar caught his breath and broke into a cold sweat as he recalled his confrontation with Daniel Steiner.

"He's no different from Bargoff. Those eyes were certainly..."

The eyes of a usurper who would devour the Empire.