A Fight You Cannot Back Down From
A Fight You Cannot Back Down From
Same time, Liberal Society Party headquarters.
The party leader's private office.
When Kembal, the leader of the Liberal Society Party, asked the question, Platt—Hendliem's informant, who had come disguised as a petitioner—nodded his head.
"They say negotiations for a prisoner exchange with the Kingdom of Belmore are underway, using the captured crown prince."
At this absurd news, Kembal slammed his desk in a fit of anger.
"Those idiot bastards! They knew Daniel Steiner's location, and not only did their surprise attack fail, but the crown prince was taken prisoner!"
Kembal was furious, but the informant, Platt, spoke without batting an eye.
"It cannot be dismissed simply as a blunder by the Kingdom of Belmore. There are circumstances suggesting that Daniel Steiner had prior knowledge of Belmore's ambush operation and moved accordingly."
"What? How on earth did Daniel Steiner know about that?"
"We are currently investigating that as well. The most plausible hypothesis is that there is a traitor among us who has sided with Daniel Steiner......."
Platt's vacant eyes rested on Kembal.
Thinking he was under suspicion, Kembal hastily opened his mouth.
"If you're suspecting me, stop right there! I have lived my entire life pledged in loyalty to the Baron. That I would side with an orphan like Daniel Steiner—do you think that makes any sense?"
Seeing Kembal break out in a cold sweat, Platt had no choice but to retract his suspicion.
It wasn't that Kembal's protest was persuasive.
It was simply that someone who was frightened by such a simple suspicion was unlikely to have dared commit betrayal.
"I apologize for suspecting you. Then, allow me to tell you the purpose of my visit."
"......The purpose?"
"Baron Hendliem said, 'Kembal, the leader of the Liberal Society Party, is to halt external activities and cease all political and military moves for the time being.'"
In short, it meant to live like a dead mouse for a while.
Unable to understand, Kembal carefully posed a question.
"Is there really a need to go that far? No matter how much military merit Daniel Steiner has racked up, isn't he still just a single officer?"
"You cannot call a man who holds Her Highness the Princess's trust and is called the Hero of the Empire 'just an officer.' It's best to be cautious, just in case."
Since, upon reflection, it didn't sound wrong, Kembal silently agreed.
After a moment of silence, Kembal swallowed dryly and looked at Platt.
"But it really will be okay, right? If Daniel Steiner were to find out the one who leaked the information to the kingdom, then I......."
"There is no need for you to worry."
Platt's answer was firm.
"No matter how brilliant a negotiator Daniel Steiner may be, he could not possibly extract your name, Party Leader Kembal, from Major General Magref. No matter how you look at it, Major General Magref has absolutely no reason to give your name to Daniel Steiner."
Normally, buying off enemy personnel or cultivating a single spy to plant inside an enemy nation took a long time and astronomical sums of money.
And yet it was Kembal who had delivered secrets from inside the Empire without any conditions whatsoever.
Then the normal judgment would be to keep him hidden and exploit him further.
Therefore, the prevailing logic was that Major General Magref could not possibly have sold Kembal's name to Daniel Steiner.
Since Kembal couldn't refute Platt's opinion, he felt inwardly relieved.
"Well, that is fortunate. So I just need to lie low for the time being using illness as an excuse?"
"That is correct. Even if Daniel Steiner suspects you, Party Leader, do not worry. After all, Daniel Steiner does not have the authority to investigate you, Party Leader."
Exhaling a low breath, Kembal nodded his head.
"Understood. All of this is......."
As Kembal was about to give his farewell, Platt placed his clenched fist over his own chest.
The two men, their eyes narrowed seriously, opened their mouths almost simultaneously.
"For the Great Cause."
To remove Daniel Steiner, who was defiling the legitimacy of the Imperial Household and seeking to swallow the Empire whole.
That was precisely the Great Cause these men pursued.
*
"Why the hell are you doing this to me! What did I do wrong, you sons of bitches!"
Drinking whiskey alone in the brigade headquarters office, Daniel suddenly shouted.
The turn of events had passed beyond absurd—he was beginning to get angry.
His hand holding the whiskey glass trembling slightly, Daniel reminisced about the past.
'Because of that damn crown prince.......'
His plan to spend peaceful days at the remote forward base had gone completely up in smoke.
It was already mind-boggling that the prince had launched a surprise attack in the middle of a training exercise and gotten himself voluntarily surrounded. And just when Daniel thought his heart would drop, the prince—having said he'd surrender—pulled out a hidden pistol and aimed it.
It was a relief that his temporary bluff—acting composed and daring him to shoot—had worked well; if the act hadn't gotten through, he might have been turned into a beehive.
'Though in that case, my nerves would have been even more frayed.......'
If he had dodged the bullet by stepping aside, the soldiers behind him would have been hit instead, so even that scenario would have led to restless nightmares.
'Crazy son of a bitch.......'
If he hadn't been the crown prince, Daniel might have rushed over and beaten him a few times to knock some sense into him.
Stifling his rage with effort, Daniel raised his glass and took a sip of whiskey.
Gazing out the window at the night settling over the street, Daniel let out a low sigh.
'Right now, the crown prince isn't the problem.'
The name 'Kembal,' which he had heard during the negotiations, was setting his nerves on edge.
Because he absolutely could not stand idly by knowing that the leader of the Liberal Society Party had sold him out.
Having vaguely guessed the bastard was entangled with the nobles, Daniel walked over to his work desk.
His head ached so much that he wanted to sit down and rest for a moment.
After setting the whiskey glass down on the desk, Daniel pulled a photograph from the inside pocket of his coat.
In the faded black-and-white photo, a Golden Retriever smiled with a bright, innocent expression.
'Those were the good times.......'
He recalled a childhood where it was fun just to run around with a dog, without any troubles or worries.
Just as Daniel was sinking into his memories, Lucy arrived at his office carrying dessert.
She knocked lightly, but Daniel, half-drunk and lost in reminiscence, did not hear.
"Lieutenant Colonel Daniel?"
Again, there was no answer.
Puzzled, blinking her red eyes a few times, Lucy gently opened the door.
She then saw Daniel sitting at his work desk, quietly staring at a single photograph.
Gazing at the photo with eyes full of deep worry, Daniel murmured quietly.
"Kelly. I miss you......."
At this, Lucy's eyes widened in surprise.
To see Daniel call out a woman's name and say he missed her was an unfamiliar sight.
As she watched carefully, Daniel, his eyes filled with longing, wore a faint smile.
"Everything was happy when I was with you. Are you doing well up in heaven?"
Hearing Daniel's soliloquy, Lucy found herself raising a hand to cover her mouth.
Because no matter how you looked at it, it was the behavior of a man yearning for a woman he had lost to death.
Having unintentionally learned of Daniel's past, Lucy felt a strange sense of kinship amid the shock.
For Lucy also had memories of losing people she had considered friends.
Thinking that Daniel must have experienced the same painful thing she had, a pure sympathy bloomed in her heart.
'On top of that.......'
Judging by his expression and tone, Daniel must have lost a woman he loved in some kind of accident.
She could not even imagine how great the pain of losing a loved one to death would be.
Looking at Daniel with pitying eyes, Lucy bit down firmly on her lower lip.
Thinking she must not disturb Daniel while he was lost in memories, Lucy quietly closed the door and went back the way she had come.
She thought it would not be too late to offer comfort once Daniel had collected his emotions.
Meanwhile, unaware that Lucy had even come and gone, Daniel was recalling his friendship with his dog.
"How much scolding I got from the abbot because I stubbornly insisted on raising you......."
Letting out a low chuckle, Daniel tucked the photograph back inside his coat.
Then he grasped his whiskey glass and gently lifted it.
As he slowly swirled the glass, the whiskey rippled.
The sight was reflected in Daniel's black eyes.
'I thought my safety in the capital would be guaranteed once the coronation ended.......'
Seeing that he was under attack from politicians, it seemed he had been laboring under a grand delusion.
'The Emperor wasn't the problem. It seems the nobles and politicians of the Empire are judging and acting independently.'
He had made a mistake in thinking that if he showed no interest in politics, they would leave him out of the political strife.
'They insist on dragging me into this muddy fight.'
He stopped his hand from swirling the glass.
His calmed mind was showing him the path he had to take.
'You started this first. So.......'
Gripping the glass so tightly his fingertips turned yellow, Daniel sharply narrowed his eyes.
'Even if I have to mobilize every means available, I will trample you all thoroughly.'