Time to Pay the Price for Backing the Wrong Side
Time to Pay the Price for Backing the Wrong Side
While Daniel was receiving Otto's oath of loyalty, Lucy was absorbed in brewing coffee in the pantry.
Lucy, holding the kettle, poured hot water little by little over the coffee grounds in the filter.
Each time she did, a savory yet subtle caramel aroma filled the room.
It meant the extraction was going well.
After repeating the same action twice more, Lucy divided the extracted coffee into cups, then added sugar to Daniel's cup alone and mixed in milk.
She had tailored it to Daniel's taste for sweet things.
After that, she placed the cups on a coffee tray, found some suitable biscuits, and set them alongside.
Lucy checked once more that she hadn't missed anything, then picked up the tray and left the pantry.
As she made her way toward the office where Daniel was, Lucy stopped short.
It was because the Chief of the Security Bureau, Otto Whitmore, had come out the office door.
"Ah. You must be the Chief of Public Security's adjutant."
Otto, spotting Lucy, gave a faint smile.
However, the ease he had shown when first entering the office was gone.
His complexion looked somehow exhausted.
"I feel sorry for the trouble you went through to brew the coffee. I felt like I'd suffocate if I stayed in there any longer, you see. I hurried out to make my escape."
"Did something happen?"
"Something did happen, indeed. Though it's hard to explain in detail. Having risen to the position of Security Bureau Chief, I've met many people, but Colonel Daniel is, how should I put it..."
Otto, who had paused for a moment, let out a low laugh.
"He seemed like someone who genuinely cares for the Empire. From what I saw, Colonel Daniel seems to regard power not as an end, but merely as a means."
Since Lucy saw it much the same way, she gave a small nod.
"He is a good person."
"He's also a terrifying person."
"Is he?"
At Otto's playful remark, Lucy blinked vacantly.
Because Lucy had never once thought of Daniel as a terrifying person.
Otto, observing Lucy's reaction, let out a dry cough as if he had said something unnecessary.
"Ah. More importantly..."
Worried that his honest feelings might come across as speaking ill of Daniel, Otto hastily changed the subject.
"That smells wonderful. I'm not deeply versed in coffee, but I can tell it's a high-quality product. Had I known I could drink such fine coffee, I would have stayed a little longer."
He half meant it.
At present, with the Empire's war turning into a prolonged conflict, imports of luxury goods like coffee were extremely limited.
Even the luxury items that did make it into the Empire were being sent to the officers and soldiers suffering on the front lines, so drinking high-grade coffee in the Imperial Capital was no easy feat.
Thanks to that situation, instant coffee or substitute coffee made from chicory root was the current trend in the capital.
"It seems the Central Security Office has a generous welfare budget? Stocking such high-end goods must cost a fair amount of money..."
"It was paid for out of private funds."
At Lucy's words, Otto blinked blankly.
That was only natural, since in the current climate, regularly drinking real coffee rather than substitutes required quite a lot of money.
Covering the cost of coffee grounds on a mere first lieutenant's salary would mean spending everything she earned as soon as she earned it.
"...Out of private funds, you say."
When Lucy nodded, Otto cast her a sympathetic look.
'Maybe she's in a similar situation to me.'
A suspicion arose that Lucy might also have become a confidante after receiving some kind of threat from Daniel.
Of course, Lucy was merely spending more than half her salary on coffee because she wanted to.
Because Daniel liked coffee, and Lucy didn't dislike drinking it either.
Otto, who could not possibly know the inner circumstances, offered a somewhat wistful smile.
"Let us both persevere."
Placing a hand over his heart, Otto inclined his head toward Lucy like a gentleman.
"I shall take my leave now, then. I have many matters to attend to."
"Ah. Understood."
Having no particular wish to detain him, Lucy stepped aside.
Lucy, who had been gazing oddly at Otto as he passed by, shook her head and opened the office door.
There, she saw Daniel with the receiver in hand, on a call.
"...Bring them in order. Yes. I'll decide on that after confirming. Regarding the reorganization of the Central Security Office, an official document will be issued. You can act then. Yes. The sooner, the better."
Finishing his call with someone, Daniel set the receiver down.
Letting out a low breath, Daniel looked around with a weary expression before spotting Lucy.
"Adjutant? Don't just stand there; come in."
Lucy nodded, approached Daniel, and set the coffee tray down on the desk.
At the scent of the coffee, a faint smile returned to Daniel's lips.
"The aroma is excellent. If you don't mind, Adjutant, sit and have a cup as well."
"Now, sir?"
"Yes. Occasionally taking a break isn't bad for efficiency."
"Understood."
Lucy, accepting Daniel's invitation, sat down in a chair.
Daniel, who had been watching Lucy, lifted his cup, took a sip, and slowly began to speak.
"You asked me a little while ago. About what you are to me."
Lucy, who hadn't expected him to answer, looked slightly surprised.
"Adjutant. To be honest, our relationship is a bit awkward. Because we each have things we're hiding. Even though we vaguely sense it, we don't tell each other our secrets. Why? Because we know that the moment it becomes an established fact, it'll be irreversible."
Warm steam rose above the cup of coffee.
"So I won't ask about your secrets, going forward either. Unless you choose to reveal them with your own lips."
"I am..."
"I'm not forcing you. Everyone has their own circumstances. Besides, no matter how deep and dark your secret may be, I won't mind. As long as you wish to remain as my adjutant."
In the quiet office, the gazes of the two people met.
"Adjutant. I don't know exactly what Johannes told you, but..."
Daniel, who had paused for a moment, continued.
"You are a precious person to me."
At Daniel's completely unexpected words, Lucy's eyes widened.
Flustered, Lucy couldn't offer any reply, so Daniel smiled and lifted his coffee cup.
Lucy didn't realize it, but Daniel's hand was trembling slightly at that moment.
'I have to capture Lucy's heart somehow. Now that I've risen to the position of Emergency Security Chief, the Allied Nations will be desperate to kill me. If Lucy were to turn on me, I'd be a dead man.'
He wanted to trust Lucy, but there were too many variables to allow himself to feel at ease.
Since Lucy was originally a test subject, he didn't know what kind of mechanism Count Kaledra might have arranged within her.
Of course, no such mechanism existed.
While Daniel, who had no way of knowing that, fretted, Lucy's mind was a crucible of chaos.
'He definitely said I was precious...'
From Lucy's perspective, who had come to like Daniel from deep within her heart, those words sounded like a kind of confession.
'But...'
She might just be imagining things on her own.
Lucy, wanting confirmation, clasped her hands on her lap and spoke.
"What I mean is, to what extent am I precious? Compared to Kelly..."
For Lucy, this was an extreme measure.
Because she had brought up the woman Daniel still hadn't been able to forget.
Daniel, on the other hand, was merely bewildered.
'Why is she asking me to compare her to a dog?'
Kelly had been a good friend from his childhood, a dog he still missed, but she wasn't someone to be compared to a person.
Daniel answered without much deliberation.
"Of course you are more precious."
Upon hearing Daniel's words, Lucy's face flushed red in an instant.
Lucy drew a sharp breath and felt her thoughts grinding to a halt.
That was just how shocking Daniel's words had been to her.
She would have been delighted just to hear that both were precious, but the words 'you are more precious' had far exceeded the bounds of anything she had anticipated.
However, Daniel couldn't understand why Lucy had frozen up.
"...Adjutant?"
Only then did Lucy come to her senses and rise from her seat.
She had recovered her expressionless face, but the flush of her skin and her reddened ears stood out conspicuously.
"I will go to the pantry. There's something I left behind..."
In truth, there was nothing she left behind, but she felt that if she stayed here any longer, she might blurt out something unnecessary.
Daniel nodded at Lucy's excuse, thinking she needed to calm her heart.
"Alright. Go and come back."
"Thank you."
As Lucy hurried out of the office, Daniel was left alone.
'Why is she acting like that...'
It was just as Daniel, unable to understand, was lifting his cup for another sip of coffee.
Tok-tok─
At the sound of knocking, Daniel set his cup down and spoke.
"Enter."
He thought perhaps Lucy had already returned, but when the door opened, the one who appeared was Staff Officer Pelf, his intelligence staff officer.
His hands were full of copies of the Imperial Daily.
He had brought them in date order, as Daniel had instructed by phone a short while ago.
"Colonel Daniel."
Pelf gave a brief greeting, approached Daniel, and set the newspapers down on the desk.
"As you instructed, I've brought every issue published by the Imperial Daily from the time of the retreat on the Eastern Front until now."
"Good work. Let's have a look."
Daniel picked up the newspapers and opened them one by one in chronological order.
【War Hero a Thing of the Past? Colonel Daniel Steiner Routed on the Eastern Front!】
【The Traitor Daniel Steiner Finally Shows His True Colors! According to the Intelligence Bureau, He Is Currently Leading the 7th Armored Division Back Toward the Capital!】
【Denounce the Rebel Daniel Steiner, No Better Than a Hyena!】
【The Guards Armored Regiment of the Defense Command Steps Forth to Deliver His Majesty the Emperor's Command! Brave Generals! Destroy the Rebel Daniel Steiner!】
【The Guards Armored Regiment Has Joined Daniel Steiner's Side! Is He the Fox of the Battlefield? How Did Daniel Steiner Persuade Them?】
【The Great Commander Daniel Steiner Shall Arrive at the Capital Within 3 Days! An Opinion Is Emerging Among the Populace That There Must Be a Reason for His March!】
【The Empire's Sole Hope and Loyal Subject to His Majesty the Emperor, Colonel Daniel Steiner, Has Eradicated the Collaborators Lurking in the Capital in One Sweeping Stroke!】
The last newspaper was from an article published just three days ago.
Seeing through their blatant ulterior motives, Daniel let out a laugh despite himself.
"They're begging for their lives. Don't you think?"
At Daniel's question, Pelf nodded.
"It appears they are terrified. How do you intend to handle them?"
"If they had resisted, it would have been troublesome, but since they're showing such submissiveness, it will be easy. Major Pelf. Select twenty soldiers, focusing on those with sturdy physiques."
"By that, do you mean..."
"Yes."
Daniel rose from his seat, picked up his uniform cap from the desk, and placed it on his head.
From beneath the brim of his cap, his black eyes gleamed with a cold light.
"I will make them pay the price for attacking me so tiresomely all this time."