Drinking Buddy
Drinking Buddy
After ascending to the imperial throne, Selvia read an official address outlining her position and then began commending various political and military figures for their contributions.
The purpose was to bolster the emperor's authority by clearly delineating who her people were at an official function.
Naturally, Daniel Steiner was included among them.
"Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Steiner, Operations Staff Officer attached to General Headquarters, step forward."
Since Selvia had tipped him off beforehand, it came as no surprise.
After adjusting his attire, Daniel stepped onto the red carpet and knelt on one knee.
Looking down at Daniel from the throne, Selvia quietly began to speak.
"Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Steiner. You have not only led numerous battles to victory, but also demonstrated exceptional ability in negotiations with the Kingdom of Eldreshia and the neutral state of Velanos, securing immense advantages for the Empire and the Imperial Household."
Daniel bowed his head deeply.
"You are too kind, Your Majesty."
When Daniel acted with humility, a faint smile crossed Selvia's lips.
"It is not flattery. Did you not recently turn a surprise attack by the Kingdom of Belmore to your advantage and capture their crown prince? As a result, through the prisoner exchange, the Empire was able to acquire strategic resources while also safely recovering engineers who had been captured by the enemy."
She made no mention of the collaborators who had been arrested.
While not all nobles were antagonistic toward Selvia, a significant number of those present held such tendencies, so it had been decided not to bring up sensitive matters.
"This is a feat deserving of praise. Therefore, I shall take this opportunity to order the promotion of Daniel Steiner."
No sooner had Selvia finished speaking than the captain of the Imperial Guard, Johannes, walked up carrying a box wrapped in the national flag.
"You may stand."
When Daniel nodded and rose to his feet, Johannes unfurled the flag and took a colonel's rank insignia from the box.
With deft hand movements, Johannes replaced the rank insignia, murmuring in a voice low enough for only Daniel to hear.
"...You might be able to fool Her Majesty the Emperor, but you won't fool me."
A sudden chill ran down Daniel's spine, and he glanced back at Johannes.
But Johannes merely attached the insignia with a bland expression and stepped back.
As if he had never spoken a word to him in the first place.
Daniel found this somewhat absurd.
'What did I even deceive?'
He had no idea what kind of misunderstanding had led to such a comment.
'Seems like he heard some nonsense from the late Emperor, Bertram...'
Daniel wanted to clear up the misunderstanding, but had no way to do so at that moment, so he knelt on one knee.
He was in the middle of speaking with the Emperor, after all. He could hardly take other actions.
"Congratulations on your promotion, Colonel Daniel Steiner. As your rank has increased, I shall expect your loyalty to the Imperial Household and the Empire to grow commensurately. And regarding your reassignment..."
A thin smile played on the lips of Daniel, who had been hoping for the position of Deputy Chief of the Operations Staff.
But the words that came from Selvia's mouth diverged from his expectations.
"Considering the devotion you have shown the Empire thus far, Colonel, you will be assigned as chief of staff of the 7th Division, a unit under the direct command of General Headquarters."
Daniel's shoulders flinched.
'Chief of staff of a General Headquarters direct division...'
That was essentially saying he still had to go to the battlefield for operational support and independent missions.
'She's sending a man who nearly died on the battlefield back out to the front lines?'
Unable to comprehend this, Daniel slowly raised his head and looked up at Selvia.
But Selvia was only wearing a gentle smile.
From Selvia's perspective, Daniel, having refused a position in the Imperial Guard—which was practically a domestic assignment—could only be seen as naturally wanting to be active in the field.
Moreover, the Chief of the General Staff had also given her the opinion that assigning Daniel Steiner to a frontline command position was the correct course, so it was a reasonable order.
Conversely, Daniel, who had at least wanted a rear-echelon posting if escaping the Empire was too difficult, felt his insides burning up.
It felt as if he had bribed the press and painstakingly built a tower, only to be evicted before ever moving in.
However, he was in no position to dare refuse the Emperor's command, so Daniel bowed his head, swallowing a bitter pill.
"I am simply overwhelmed by Your Imperial Majesty's grace."
*
After the coronation ceremony concluded, Selvia embarked on a procession.
It was to circle the Imperial Capital once and inform the populace that a new Emperor had been crowned.
In the meantime, the figures invited to the coronation moved to the grand banquet hall prepared by the Imperial Household. Since not attending the banquet would be a discourtesy to the Emperor, no one departed.
Daniel also arrived at the banquet hall with Ernst and was simply chatting.
"A colonel already! You were definitely a second lieutenant when I first saw you, damn it!"
Ernst made a fuss as if he was proud, but Daniel remained expressionless the whole time.
Praising him for a promotion he had no interest in stirred no emotion.
Having to wear the rank of colonel and deploy to the battlefield, it felt more like a death sentence.
If enemy snipers were deployed, their first priority target would be the division commander, and the second would be the chief of staff, Colonel Daniel Steiner.
"At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if you became a general-grade officer and came looking for me someday. That would put me in quite an awkward position, you know. Since I'd have to speak formally to a former subordinate."
Ernst, who could hardly know Daniel's true feelings, burst into laughter.
Daniel, who had been blankly watching Ernst, let out a low sigh.
"Don't worry. Even if I were to become a general, I wouldn't make you address me formally, Deputy Director."
"Thank you for saying so. Though, I'm not sure how often we'll see each other in the future. Since you'll be active as a frontline commander from now on."
It wasn't a wrong statement.
The main duty of the General Headquarters direct unit was to be active on the front lines.
It meant he would be hearing the sound of gunfire more often than an alarm clock from now on.
As that reality sank in gloomily, Daniel's eyes grew cold and distant.
Seeing that, Ernst felt inexplicably intimidated and began to inch away sideways.
"Hmm. I, well... I have someone I'm supposed to meet here at the banquet, you see. Colonel Daniel? Enjoy the banquet."
Ahem. Ahem. After a conspicuously fake cough, Ernst walked off somewhere.
Quietly watching his retreating figure, Daniel sighed and walked toward a table laden with food.
Worrying about the future wouldn't change anything, so he decided to just fill his stomach instead of moping around uselessly.
He was just looking down at the appetizing dishes when it happened.
"Colonel Daniel Steiner?"
Turning toward the unfamiliar voice, he saw a neat-looking man approaching him with a beaming smile.
He was holding a bottle of whiskey in his hand. He was Platt, disguised as a low-ranking official of the Imperial Palace.
"Ah! It really is Colonel Daniel Steiner! I've been looking all over for you, you have no idea how happy I am to finally find you!"
"...You were looking for me?"
"That's right! My name is Vairam, I work for the Imperial Garment Repair Team. I'm personally a fan of Colonel Daniel Steiner, so I sought you out to present you with a gift on this occasion."
Platt lightly raised the bottle of whiskey in his hand.
Seeing the golden-hued contents shimmering, it was obvious at a glance that it was a high-end product.
After a brief pause, Daniel nodded.
"If you're offering, I won't specifically refuse. But this looks like a very expensive item; is it really alright for me to accept this?"
"Of course. I also enjoy alcohol, but my palate is cheap, so it is my wish that someone of your caliber, Colonel Daniel, should drink such a fine product."
"Well, if you put it that way..."
With an air of having no choice, Daniel accepted the bottle of whiskey.
After studying the bottle for a moment, Daniel turned his head and raised his hand.
"Waiter."
At that, a waiter carrying a tray with several glasses of wine on it approached.
Daniel picked up two glasses from the tray and wore a faint smile. The waiter also responded with a smile and moved on elsewhere.
After sending the waiter off, Daniel muttered.
"I've been drinking too much whiskey lately, so today I feel like having wine. I heard this one is produced at the monastery and is of excellent quality."
Daniel placed the two glasses on the table.
"But since you said you work for the Imperial Household, you've probably had this kind of wine often. Just as I'm sick of whiskey, you're probably tired of wine."
Lifting one of the two glasses, Daniel poured the wine onto the floor.
Platt was flustered but managed to maintain his smile.
Paying no mind to Platt, Daniel set the empty glass down and opened the bottle of whiskey.
Grabbing the base of the bottle, Daniel filled the empty glass on the table with whiskey.
Having poured all the whiskey, Daniel set the bottle down and picked up the two glasses containing alcohol.
He then offered the glass of whiskey to Platt.
"I understand this whiskey is hard to come by, so I'll let you have the first glass."
Daniel offered the glass with pure goodwill, but Platt broke out in a cold sweat.
Because he knew that whiskey contained poison.
But he couldn't refuse it, so Platt raised a trembling hand.
As Platt accepted the glass, Daniel smiled and clinked his glass lightly against it.
"Your name was Vairam, was it?"
"...Yes."
"That's a good name. 'For the Empire' is a bit cliché, so let's drink to our futures."
Having said that, Daniel lifted his glass and drank his wine.
Platt's lips slowly dried up as he watched this.
The sound of Daniel Steiner swallowing was so distinct, it felt as if the chatter in the banquet hall had faded into a distant backdrop.
Kkulkeok─
Having drunk even the last drop, Daniel wore a refreshed expression and pulled the glass from his lips.
"Khh! I think this is the first time I've had such delicious wine. Still, of course...."
Letting out a low chuckle, Daniel turned back to Platt and spoke playfully.
"It probably won't be as good as the whiskey you've gifted me."
Shrugging his shoulders once, Daniel set his empty glass down.
"But... "
Shaking his hands lightly, Daniel spoke as if puzzled.
"Why aren't you drinking yours? I distinctly heard you say you enjoy alcohol."
Platt's breathing grew ragged.
Daniel's gaze felt like heavy lead, pressing down upon him.
Just as the sweating Platt was about to open his mouth to make some excuse, it happened.
"What are you doing?"
After a brief silence, Daniel smiled lightly and urged him on.
"Go on, drink."