Romance Fantasy Male Lead Daniel Steiner
Romance Fantasy Male Lead Daniel Steiner
At Daniel's command, the officers wordlessly grabbed the door handles and pulled them open.
As the doors opened in both directions, what came into view was the back of Selvia, dressed in a one-piece dress.
Brilliant moonlight streaming down from the night sky where a full moon had risen faintly illuminated Selvia.
An atmosphere that seemed to forbid anyone from approaching her hung in the air, but Daniel did not hesitate.
Stepping into the room, Daniel quietly opened his mouth to speak.
"Your Majesty."
His low voice, like a gently blowing breeze, made Selvia's shoulders tremble faintly.
But she did not turn around.
As if she had known Daniel would come looking for her, Selvia quietly moved her lips.
"......Come in. Daniel."
With a nod of his head, Daniel slowly approached Selvia.
Standing beside Selvia, Daniel naturally gazed at the scenery spreading out below the terrace.
Countless tanks and soldiers could be seen taking their positions throughout the vast imperial capital.
The tanks looked like toys, and the busily moving soldiers appeared as small as ants.
Selvia had been watching the 7th Armored Division enter the capital from here, and that was why she knew Daniel would seek her out.
"Your Majesty. As you can see, everything is now being sorted out......"
Daniel, who had turned his head to the side, stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth.
Because no trace of vitality could be found on Selvia's face, with her eyes half-closed.
In addition, faint traces of tears were visible.
"You know."
Her dry voice cracked, drifting aimlessly.
"Why do you think I decided to become Emperor?"
Daniel could not easily answer.
Because a mere soldier dared not presume to fathom the Emperor's will.
As Daniel remained silent, Selvia continued after a brief pause.
"Honestly, I never wanted to be Emperor or anything like that."
The words Selvia uttered afterward were somewhat shocking.
"You could say I had no interest at all. Because all I dreamed of in my childhood was meeting a man I loved and raising a family."
At that time, things like politics and power were nothing more than illusions to Selvia.
Because she had no need to reach them, nor did she want to.
"But thinking tends to change, I suppose."
As if recalling a past she hated to remember, Selvia let out a low breath.
"The year I turned ten, my older brother killed the maid who attended me. The reason was that the maid didn't obey his words."
The maid met her death because she did not comply with an unjust order to undress.
Severely shocked at the time, Selvia reported this fact to her father and appealed to numerous nobles in the imperial palace, but the answer that came back was to 'stay quiet.'
The reason was that if the fact that the crown prince had committed murder became known to the outside, the authority of the imperial household would be shaken.
"That was when I felt it. That the imperial household had many structural problems. On top of that, I had an intuition that if my brother, who felt no guilt whatsoever about killing a person, became Emperor, a great deal of sorrow would inevitably spring up in this empire."
Selvia's breath met the night wind and scattered.
"So I resolved to become Emperor. Because if it wasn't me, no one would be able to stand in my brother's way."
So that the death of the maid who attended her would not be in vain, Selvia gave her very best.
Starting from a state with no foundation, she built her own faction, conducted political propaganda, and even went directly to the front lines to encourage the soldiers to earn the military's respect.
In the midst of that, Daniel Steiner appeared.
Daniel Steiner, who distinguished himself in every aspect, assisted Selvia in many ways so she could become Emperor.
Having become Emperor in this way, Selvia held hope.
Even if she couldn't make the Empire greater than it was now, she wanted to make it an empire where people could live well.
......Though it was all futile.
"I looked at politics based on public interest. I thought that if I, as Emperor, worked for the happiness of the many, even those who were hostile to me would eventually surrender and cooperate."
But reality was different.
"My thinking was wrong. Because politics, in the end, was driven by private interests."
The Noble Union started a rebellion even though they well knew that the Empire would fall into chaos because of them.
Did they not imprison their Emperor, occupy the Empire's power structures, and spread false rumors?
Even knowing that citizens would tremble in fear, the market economy would collapse, and military discipline would become lax, they went ahead with it.
Everything was for the sake of the vested interests they could enjoy.
"I realized it too late. You could say my incompetence created this current chaos."
Selvia, who was uttering self-reproach with dead eyes, seemed so pitiful.
Daniel hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.
"It is not Your Majesty's fault. No one could have imagined that the Noble Union would use the late Emperor's funeral to occupy the capital."
The Noble Union had acted rashly due to fear of the variable called Daniel Steiner.
That rashness discarded morality, and it was something that subverted many people's expectations.
In other words, even if someone wiser than Selvia had occupied the throne, they would not have easily predicted it.
However, the scars etched on Selvia's heart were too deep for her to accept Daniel's consolation.
"Even if Colonel Daniel says it isn't so, how many people will believe me? I am already—"
"Your Majesty!"
Daniel, cutting off Selvia's words, raised his voice.
"Pull yourself together! Your Majesty governed righteously! How can you say that the Noble Union's rebellion is Your Majesty's fault? I guarantee that all citizens will blame Duke Belvar, the ringleader of the collaborators, not Your Majesty."
Daniel, who had spoken passionately, stared at Selvia, who looked at him with somewhat surprised eyes.
"Your Majesty must not reproach yourself now. You must ponder how to stabilize the Empire. Therefore, from this moment, I would like to propose the fastest way Your Majesty can stabilize the Empire."
His expression was extremely serious, but Daniel's inner thoughts were different.
'This is my last chance to take off this uniform......!'
Having steeled his resolve, Daniel knelt on one knee before Selvia.
"Your Majesty. I dare to humbly request that you dismiss me."
At the word 'dismiss,' Selvia's eyes wavered once.
Flustered, Selvia opened her mouth with difficulty.
"......Dismiss you? Why are you saying such a thing?"
"Your Majesty. Though it is daunting to say, it is I, Daniel Steiner, who currently control the capital and have recaptured all the power institutions. Therefore, it is highly likely that not only the citizens but also the military and politicians think the real power in the Empire is now Daniel Steiner, not Your Majesty."
Daniel humbly bowed his head.
"Thus, reclaim all authority by dismissing me. Since there is justification for my returning the army without orders, you will more than be able to dismiss me. If you do so, I will step down without any resistance."
Daniel's unwavering voice contained sincerity.
But from Selvia's perspective, she could not understand Daniel's current attitude.
"Are you saying you will give up everything and leave for my sake?"
"That is correct."
"Why? Why such a difficult decision......"
Color returned to Selvia's previously dead eyes.
If the emotions dwelling in her blue eyes until just moments ago had been self-reproach and regret, now they were sympathy and compassion.
Selvia really could not comprehend Daniel, who was trying to lay down all his achievements and leave.
"Do you know what it means to be dismissed by me? It means not only can you never enter the military again, but you also cannot hold any public office. The word 'dismissal' that comes from my mouth carries consequences entirely different from normal procedures."
The moment the Emperor personally ordered a dismissal, that person's life was as good as ruined.
It was certain that, at least in the Empire, they would not be able to find a proper job.
However, Daniel opened his mouth without hesitation.
"It is exactly what I wished for."
As if he had been prepared for it.
"If my becoming unhappy can make Your Majesty happy, I will gladly do it."
"Are you in your right mind? Why would you go that far......"
"Did I not clearly tell you in the past?"
Daniel raised his head and looked up at Selvia.
"Selvia von Amberg."
Daniel, who had called Selvia's name, drew a faint smile.
"You are the only Emperor I have ever acknowledged."
Only if you exist, can I also exist.
Selvia, who interpreted Daniel's words with that meaning, felt moisture well up in her eyes.
A man who was willing to give up everything for a single woman was right in front of her.
Before that man, the woman quietly sobbed.
"I...... have nothing......"
There was nothing she could do for Daniel.
Despite that, Daniel had continuously saved Selvia without asking for any reward.
'And even this time, for my sake......'
He was volunteering to destroy his own life.
No longer able to hide her overwhelming emotions, Selvia knelt down and tightly embraced Daniel.
As their bodies pressed close, warmth transferred between them.
"I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry......"
The unprecedented emotion she held towards Daniel blossomed into a flower.
She had tried hard to hide it and occasionally denied it, but now she could do nothing but acknowledge it.
That she was born with the fate of having no choice but to love Daniel.
"......Your Majesty."
Daniel embraced Selvia in return, lightly stroking her back.
While understanding, even if only a little, the pain and guilt Selvia must have suffered.
Under a sky teeming with stars, held in Daniel's arms as a woman, not an Emperor, Selvia gained a small realization.
'Daniel is......'
An eternal and unchanging loyal subject she must keep by her side forever, and the only man who had stolen her heart.
'Therefore......'
Something like a dismissal could never happen.