Confession
Confession
After returning to the imperial capital, Daniel had savored a peaceful week.
The General Staff Headquarters, aware that Daniel had toiled in Lakedrapol, had granted him a rest period until the nuclear launch test.
To enjoy this time off, Daniel had donned his own disguise, visiting dessert shops and hunting down the capital's hidden culinary gems, spending his days in modest leisure.
Again today, Daniel entered a café that, like yesterday's, was sparsely populated but had a great atmosphere.
However, today he had not visited the café simply to enjoy his free time.
"You came! Over here!"
A woman in a Gothic-style dress lightly waved her hand from the corner of the café.
It was Ref, flaunting her rare black hair in this world.
Oddly enough, her attire showed not a single trace of a disguise.
Daniel, who had been glancing around needlessly, approached her, sat down across from Ref, and slightly lowered his sunglasses.
Confirming that it was unmistakably Ref, Daniel pushed his sunglasses back up.
"...This is embarrassing."
"What is?"
"Wasn't it you who suggested a secret meeting? I thought you'd at least wear a minimal disguise, but you look exactly the same as you did at the conference hall a week ago. What's the idea?"
Ref frowned as if displeased.
"You have no eye for clothes, do you? Where do you see that this is the same outfit as last week? Look closely, the design is different. The frill pattern is different too. How about you cultivate some aesthetic sense while you're at it?"
"...That's not what I'm pointing out, is it."
"Ahh. You really worry too much. Besides you and the Empire's high-ranking officials, who would recognize me? Sorry, but unlike you, I haven't been exposed to the media much."
She wasn't exactly wrong.
Unlike Daniel, who had been in the media countless times and couldn't walk the streets normally without a disguise, Ref was rarely recognized by people.
This was thanks to Ref having almost never appeared in public.
Of course, it was also because the Bellanos Cabinet Minister was extremely averse to his daughter being exposed to the media.
At the Bellanos Cabinet Minister's request, newspapers had published almost no articles related to Ref.
Daniel, who had been eyeing Ref with envy, shrugged his shoulders.
"You live and learn. To think I'd come to envy someone's lack of popularity."
"...You little shit. Are you mocking me right now?"
"It's not mockery, I mean it. More importantly, why did you call me here? Is there something in particular you need to tell me?"
Daniel had come to this café entirely at Ref's request.
A few days ago, Ref had sent one of her subordinates to inform Daniel of the appointment time and place.
"It's nothing grandiose enough to warrant the word 'particular.' It's just that I grew worried about your future and wanted to have a little chat."
"That's a laugh. You're not the kind of person to worry about me, are you."
"Our general has a habit of taking people's words the wrong way, doesn't he? When someone shows you goodwill, it's polite to know how to accept it graciously. Got it?"
Daniel stifled a laugh.
"I didn't expect the word 'polite' to come out of your mouth. Since I consider you one of the people furthest from politeness."
"That's rich coming from a guy who went into a gambling den with me to use the Bellanos Cabinet Minister's daughter. Anyway..."
Ref picked up the tongs, took a sugar cube from the table and dropped it into her coffee, and continued.
"Have you ever thought about what kind of life you'll lead after the war?"
"It seems too early to discuss the postwar situation. And that's not a topic for conversation here, is it."
Ref picked up a spoon and stirred the coffee with the sugar cube.
"I figured you'd say that, so I've reserved this whole café for the day. You can talk freely. It's just you and me here, so there's no one eavesdropping."
Only then did Daniel understand why such a nice café was empty.
"If your father knew you were wasting money like this, you'd get a scolding."
"Don't worry, he's not that kind of person. More importantly, how about you answer the question?"
"Ref. As I said before, it's still premature to discuss the postwar situation. It wouldn't be too late to discuss it after the nuclear launch test is successfully completed."
The sugar cube in the coffee melted away softly.
Ref, having removed the spoon, looked at Daniel as if dissatisfied.
"Don't keep trying to wriggle out of it like a loach. Fine. Then I'll add one more condition. Suppose the nuclear launch test was successful and a future has arrived in which the Allied Nations and the Republic surrender in shock. What do you see yourself doing in that future?"
Ref cornered Daniel so he could no longer evade the question.
In the silence, Daniel imagined life after the war and quietly opened his mouth.
"First, I plan to leave the military. Since I've built up countless achievements, His Majesty the Emperor would likely grant my wish. The General Staff Headquarters wouldn't raise an objection either, so things should proceed smoothly."
"And after that?"
"Well. Honestly, I haven't made any concrete plans for life after that. If possible, I think I'd go down to the countryside and open a bakery under my own name."
A bakery? It was such an unpretentious wish for a man soon to lead an army corps that Ref felt her enthusiasm deflate.
"I thought something more grandiose would come out, that's unexpected. So?"
"What do you mean, 'so'?"
"I'm asking who the woman will be, standing beside you as you run that bakery, holding a child in her arms and laughing and chatting away."
A woman? At the sudden question, Daniel was struck dumb.
Ref, her eyes softly narrowed, wore a playful smile as if she had discovered prey.
"Surely you weren't thinking of going down to the countryside alone to live a life of leisure? You know it to some extent, don't you? That the three women around you like you."
As Daniel still couldn't answer, a small laugh escaped through Ref's teeth.
"Honestly, even thinking that you could take off your uniform and go down to the countryside looks foolish from my perspective. Do you know who would lose the most if you were sent to the countryside?"
Ref raised both hands and made a gesture as if placing a golden crown on her head.
"Our exalted His Majesty the Emperor. Even after the war, His Majesty will be stuck in the Imperial Palace all day with busy state affairs, but you're saying our war hero, Daniel, will take off his uniform and go down to the countryside? If that happens, meeting even once or twice a year might be difficult?"
Barring an exceptionally peaceful era, it was safe to say that an emperor almost never left the capital to visit the provinces.
Moreover, the emperor was not alone.
A single movement was followed by countless escort troops, so the financial waste would be severe.
"If you go down to the countryside, our Majesty would be consumed with worry. Did Daniel go down to the countryside because he no longer wishes to see me? What did I do wrong? She might spend every night sleepless with tears, blaming herself. From the sense of defeat at not being chosen, you know."
Daniel frowned, inwardly displeased by Ref's teasing words.
"That's an extreme exaggeration. His Majesty the Emperor is someone who would navigate life well even without me. However, there is some sense in what you say, so I should reconsider leaving the capital."
"Does not leaving the capital mean you'll become His Majesty the Emperor's man?"
"Ref. That's not what I meant..."
Ref stroked her chin and made a pitying expression.
"If you take off your uniform and become a consort, you'll end up living only in the Imperial Palace. Naturally, the Imperial Palace isn't a place just anyone can come and go from. Naturally, Major Lucy and Captain Frien will be enraged by the fact that they can't see you..."
Ref covered her mouth as if terrified.
"Religion might turn the Imperial Household into an enemy, and Major Lucy might be waiting for a chance to kidnap you. Both of them are women with more than enough capability for that. In serious cases, a civil war might even break out? Ah! Daniel Steiner! Really, what else is he but a devilishly charming man!"
Daniel, deciding he couldn't play along with the ongoing teasing, let out a low sigh.
"If you're going to keep this up, I don't think I need to listen to you any longer. Don't make a fuss by assuming things that can't possibly happen."
"...Things that can't possibly happen? Do you really think so?"
"Are you seriously trying to argue right now that your words have even the slightest possibility of coming true?"
Ref, after taking a sip of coffee, nodded.
"Isn't it obvious? You seduced all those women."
Daniel, dumbfounded, clicked his tongue.
"Seduced? I ever threw out words of seduction..."
Daniel stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth.
Because upon reflection, it didn't seem entirely absent.
They were words spoken with pure intentions, but thinking about it from the listener's perspective, there had been some remarks that were ripe for misunderstanding.
Seeing Daniel agitated, Ref probed him subtly.
"So it seems there was something? What did you say?"
"I had once told Lucy that we should go see the sea together after the war. I just realized that could be taken as part of a confession..."
As Daniel groaned, the playfulness vanished from Ref's expression.
"...What about the other women?"
"I publicly declared to Frien that I would take responsibility for her life. I can't explain it to you, but I owe Frien a deep debt."
This, too, was practically a confession.
Ref, swallowing dryly, hesitated before speaking.
"Did you say something like that to His Majesty the Emperor too?"
"That if His Majesty's heart remains unchanged even after the war, I would accept her love..."
Daniel's expression grew serious.
"Perhaps..."
Daniel, now aware of his own actions, spoke with a trembling voice.
"My fault may run deep."
Ref, who had been staring blankly at the anguished Daniel, scratched her cheek for no particular reason.
It had started as a joke, but as they talked, the situation had turned serious.
Thinking she should offer some comfort, Ref carefully opened her mouth.
"You know, Daniel? You might be flustered in many ways right now..."
Reaching out, she grabbed the back of Daniel's hand and whispered with sincerity.
"Yeah. It's definitely your fault after all."
However, without realizing it, her true feelings had slipped out instead of comfort.