Think I'll Let You Escape?
Think I'll Let You Escape?
The next morning.
Emperor Bertram's bedchamber.
"Your Majesty! I beseech you to take heed!"
Duke Belvar shouted, prostrating himself before Bertram, who sat perched on the edge of his bed.
"You must not grant inspection authority to Daniel Steiner! His threatening of the Empire's nobles under the pretext of inspection shakes the very foundation of the Empire, and furthermore, is a direct challenge to the authority of the Imperial Household!"
Belvar's cries pierced his head like needles.
Feeling a headache coming on, Bertram pressed his forehead and let out a low sigh.
"......You disturbed my rest merely for such a reason?"
"Your Majesty! To call it 'such a reason' is preposterous! How can you say that Daniel Steiner, a mere orphan, inspecting the nobility is not a grave matter!"
"So, my lord, you now wish for me to revoke my daughter's decision?"
Belvar fell silent.
Reading affirmation in that silence, Bertram blinked his fatigue-stained eyes.
"Lift your head and look upon my sorry state, my lord."
Belvar slowly raised his head and saw Bertram's face.
Beneath his disheveled hair, age spots had bloomed on a face that no longer held any trace of vitality.
His lips were parched, and one of his eyes could not even properly open.
Even without being a physician, one could tell what condition Bertram had reached.
Death loomed on the path before him.
"I will soon die. Today may well be the last time I can speak with you with a sound mind. And soon, my daughter's coronation will proceed. Yet in this situation, do you wish for me to step forward to revoke my daughter's decision?"
He was asking whether, at a time when giving strength to Selvia would still not be enough, Belvar wanted to announce to the people that the family was in discord by directly denying Selvia's command.
Only then realizing he had been impertinent, Belvar quietly lowered his gaze.
Bertram, who had been looking down at Belvar with pity, continued.
"I also heard from my daughter that the leader of the Liberal Society Party, Kembal, has been acting as a collaborator. If that is true, wouldn't it mean my daughter issued a just command?"
"Your Majesty. I believe the legitimacy of procedure is more important than the outcome. I consider it proper to investigate through the Security Bureau, rather than entrusting it to Daniel Steiner."
"Legitimacy, you say. Under Imperial law, granting temporary inspection authority to a military official who discovers clues of collaboration is not illegal."
Though an exceptional measure not commonly seen, it did not violate legitimacy.
As Belvar could not refute this, Bertram added,
"I do not quite understand why you are sharpening your blade so, my lord. If Daniel Steiner has obtained inspection authority to oppress the nobility as you claim, would that not rather be a boon? The moment he fails to produce proper inspection results would give you cause to punish him, after all."
He was saying they should wait and see whose words were true, Belvar's or Daniel Steiner's.
Belvar was displeased with Bertram's attitude of maintaining neutrality, but it was not something he could outwardly show.
Though a sick, toothless lion, Bertram was still the Emperor of the Empire.
"......A truly wise judgment, Your Majesty the Emperor."
And so, prostrating himself flat on the floor was his only option.
*
Meanwhile, at the home of Kembal, leader of the Liberal Society Party.
"Pack the cash and jewelry first! We can send someone for the rest later!"
"......Darling? What on earth is going on?"
"I told you a hundred times, there's no time to explain! Just do as I say!"
Kembal, who had snapped irritably at his wife, strode into his room holding a travel bag and yanked open a drawer.
He grabbed expensive wristwatches and tie pins by the handful and threw them into the bag he had brought.
'Damn! Goddamn...!'
A contact had just come in from the informant Platt.
It said that Daniel Steiner had requested inspection authority from Princess Selvia, and that it had been granted.
The acceptance of inspection authority meant that Daniel Steiner had figured out who was behind the surprise attack on Crown Prince Blef.
If so, Daniel Steiner's target was none other than Kembal.
'I have to pack fast! Fast!'
That was why Kembal was now hastily preparing to leave the capital.
He had to flee before Daniel Steiner came crashing in, so he could somehow buy himself some time.
After grabbing a few more valuables in the room, Kembal came out to the living room with the travel bag.
"Demian! Are you packed? We have to leave right now... Demian! Where are you!?"
At Kembal's voice calling for their son, his wife paused packing clothes and looked up.
"Demian is in the yard. He went out saying he had to bring the puppy...."
"To hell with the goddamn puppy! I'll bring him in, so just pack your things first!"
Kembal, who had yelled at his wife in anger, suppressed his rage and walked toward the front door.
As he walked toward the front door, Demian's laughter echoed from the yard.
Thinking his son was playing with a neighbor, Kembal flung open the front door, then froze.
"Tell me stories other than protecting the Princess!"
"Of course. What kind of story do you want to hear?"
"Hmm. Ah! Nordia! I want to hear about the Nordia Invasion!"
In the yard was Daniel Steiner.
Behind Daniel, who was down on one knee playing with Demian, stood elite soldiers and an officer from the General Staff Headquarters.
Standing at ease, they did not so much as flinch.
Seeing them surround the house like a wall of men, Kembal froze solid.
"The Nordia Invasion! I'd love to tell you all about it, but I'm afraid that won't be possible."
"Huh? Why not?"
"To tell the tale of my exploits during the Nordia Invasion, I would also have to describe what became of my enemies. That might be a little too gruesome for a young child like you to hear. Because...."
Slowly lifting his head, Daniel met Kembal's gaze.
"All of my enemies met a terrible end."
Kembal's hand on the doorknob began to tremble faintly.
Demian, who had been blinking, unable to understand Daniel's words, turned around and soon broke into a bright smile.
"Dad! Lieutenant Colonel Daniel says he has business with you!"
Overjoyed by the fact that the hero of the Empire was acquainted with his father, Demian dashed over to Kembal and hugged him.
"How did you two meet? I didn't know Dad knew Lieutenant Colonel Daniel!"
"I, I...."
He tried to answer calmly, but he could not stop his voice from shaking.
Just then, Kembal's wife, sensing something strange, came out through the front door and, startled, clamped a hand over her mouth.
Daniel Steiner showing up here with armed troops did not look good at all.
Facing Kembal's family, Daniel rose from his spot and removed his uniform cap, placing it over his chest.
"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Steiner, Operations Staff Officer attached to the General Staff Headquarters."
"Lieutenant Colonel, what brings you here...."
At the words from Kembal's wife, Daniel gave a benevolent smile.
"I have an urgent matter to discuss with Mr. Kembal of the Liberal Society Party. If it's not too much trouble, could you provide us a place to sit?"
Reading her husband's expression, the wife nodded reluctantly.
Seeing this, Daniel raised his hand and flicked his fingers, prompting two armed soldiers to step forward.
"I would like your wife and our dear Demian to spend some time at a patisserie downtown. My soldiers will escort them there."
She could not understand why a trip to a patisserie required an escort from soldiers, but a prevailing thought told her she must not refuse Daniel Steiner's words.
"......I understand."
Answering in a voice barely above a whisper, Kembal's wife took Demian and slowly walked away.
The two soldiers flanked Kembal's wife and Demian, walking alongside them.
Kembal furrowed his brow at the act, which looked as though they were being watched to keep them from fleeing.
As terrifying as Daniel Steiner felt, he could not condone this act of tyranny.
"What do you think you're doing!?"
Approaching Daniel, Kembal mustered his courage and spoke.
"You are currently pressuring the head of a political party with armed force! The head of a party that represents the voice of the people, no less! Does this make any sense to you!?"
Daniel merely looked down at Kembal with pity as he shouted in rage, even pointing a finger.
As if to say, say whatever else you have to say.
Though Kembal faltered at Daniel's attitude, believing he must not lose momentum, he bellowed.
"I don't know under what authority you're doing this, but disband these troops immediately! Otherwise, I will never comply with your demands!"
Daniel, who had been quietly watching Kembal, let out a low laugh.
The sticky, bleak laughter struck Kembal with a kind of dread.
Only after a long while did Daniel quell his laughter and stare fixedly at Kembal.
"Never comply with my demands, you say."
His black eyes, like graphite, resembled an abyss.
Kembal's reflection in those eyes was clearly terrified.
"Do you think...."
Having pinned Kembal with his stare, Daniel's lips moved quietly.
"You have a choice right now."