The Conditions of a Loyal Subject
The Conditions of a Loyal Subject
The following morning.
"This is the place that man mentioned."
Accompanied by the police, Daniel stopped in front of a commercial building.
Yesterday, in the chapel, a man who introduced himself as Morten had confessed that he had 'tried to help the Prince incite an insurrection in the capital,' so Daniel had come to investigate.
To be frank, Daniel had dismissed it as the ravings of a lunatic, but once a report connected to rebellion came in, he had no choice but to investigate.
Thus, as soon as dawn broke, he requested assistance from the local police station and arrived here.
"From the outside, it looks like an ordinary shop...."
Detective Chief Inspector Varetti tilted his head and remarked curiously.
Daniel agreed, but one could never be sure.
"If that man really was the head of a secret organization, disguising the building and his identity to avoid suspicion is a basic tactic. Since the madman's testimony might not be false, let's proceed with caution."
Seeing Inspector Varetti nod, Daniel stepped inside the shop.
The shop door was open, but for some reason, there were no staff members welcoming customers.
Only bloodstains spattered on the display shelves.
Upon spotting the bloodstains, Daniel reflexively drew his revolver from its holster.
"Damn. It looks like that man was telling the truth. Everyone arm yourselves!"
Upon hearing Daniel's shout, Inspector Varetti and the police investigators all drew their pistols.
Amid the tense atmosphere, Daniel crouched down and surveyed his surroundings.
'Footprints....'
Footprints that appeared to be from combat boots led in a single direction.
When he looked that way, he saw an iron door leading to the basement standing wide open.
Judging by the carpet and several pieces of furniture haphazardly thrown nearby, it was usually concealed from outside view.
"Major Daniel? Did you find some...."
As the Inspector approached with the police officers, Daniel raised a hand to stop him.
After another meticulous check of the area, Daniel straightened up.
"It appears some sort of armed group entered the basement. They seemed to have been inside for quite a while, standing guard, and then left relatively recently."
"Huh? How can you tell, Major Daniel?"
"The footprints. The boot prints going in are covered in dust, as if a considerable time has passed. But the footprints coming out are distinct, as if they were just made."
Taking Daniel's words as a guide, Varetti examined the area, then spoke with inward admiration.
"You're right. In that case...."
"A dangerous situation may arise. Request reinforcements from headquarters."
Amid the tension, the Inspector nodded and picked up his radio.
"This is Inspector Varetti. I need additional backup. Request immediate support to the red-roofed commercial building by the river in Sector 13, near Pianmari Village."
An affirmative response came from the other end of the radio.
Hearing that the request for backup had been received, Daniel moved toward the basement.
It was to confirm what had happened here.
Though reluctant, Inspector Varetti had no choice but to follow Daniel into the basement.
Descending the rough-hewn stairs for a while, a fairly spacious area opened up before them.
"This place...."
Turning on his flashlight, Inspector Varetti discovered numerous desks and telex machines.
Additionally, partially burned documents were scattered randomly across the floor.
Just as they were wondering what kind of activity had taken place here, Daniel picked up one of the documents strewn nearby.
Daniel's brow furrowed as he read it.
"It seems the words of the man who introduced himself as Morten were true after all."
The document outlined an operation to intimidate politicians and journalists and incite the populace.
The moment the charge of treason became undeniable, a commotion was heard from somewhere nearby.
Turning his head, he realized the sound was coming from a room blocked off by a partition.
Daniel raised his hand, gave a hand signal to Inspector Varetti and the police, and moved toward the room.
With his finger on the revolver's trigger, Daniel yanked the door open—and froze in bewilderment.
"Mmf, hlp!?"
"Mmmm...."
Numerous people with their limbs bound were groaning, gags stuffed in their mouths.
Some of them, the moment they saw Daniel's face, jolted in fright and crawled backward like caterpillars.
Inspector Varetti, belatedly taking in the scene inside the room, looked utterly stunned.
"What on earth is this...?"
"I'm not sure either. First, remove their gags. We need to hear what happened."
Nodding, Inspector Varetti tucked his pistol into his back pocket and untied the gag from the mouth of the nearest man.
The moment he was free, the man screamed with a terrified expression.
"S-spare me! Major Daniel Steiner! Please spare me! I will never participate in anything like this again! Please...!"
The man's overreaction baffled Daniel.
'Why is he begging me to spare him?'
Inspector Varetti was equally baffled.
Wondering if the man was simply panicked and babbling nonsense, Inspector Varetti untied another person's gag.
As it turned out,
"Major Daniel! Please, spare me! I beg you! I have a family to feed! Hngh... Please forgive me!"
The other person was also terrified and begging Daniel for forgiveness.
Seeing this, Inspector Varetti looked at Daniel with a suspicious expression.
Conscious of Inspector Varetti's gaze, Daniel broke into a cold sweat and said,
"Inspector? I understand what you might be thinking, but I swear to God that I did not do this."
However, Inspector Varetti's suspicion showed no sign of vanishing.
The surrounding police officers also grew fearful of Daniel and began inching backward.
"...Everyone? I truly didn't do it. Please believe me."
The frustrated Daniel pleaded with sincerity, but it didn't reach the police.
In the ensuing silence, Inspector Varetti gulped and said,
"For now, I will write in the report that Major Daniel is completely uninvolved."
"Inspector? Once again, I truly did not do this."
"Yes. Of course you didn't, Major Daniel. I will keep that firmly in mind."
Taking off his police cap, Varetti bowed his head deeply toward Daniel.
It was a gesture meant to say he would never bring harm to Major Daniel, so there was no need to worry.
It was the rule of political savvy: never get on the bad side of a major player capable of such deeds.
Except, for Daniel, who truly had nothing to do with this incident, it was simply infuriating.
Daniel raised a hand, wiped his face once, and let out a low sigh.
'I just wanted to enjoy my leave....'
He was starting to loathe being dragged into such absurd events.
*
Late that night, in a private office within the Imperial Palace.
'The bastards have the capital under their control....'
Princess Selvia was looking down at a map of the capital spread out on her desk.
X-marks in red pen were drawn on the map, indicating points where Princess-faction politicians and journalists had been threatened by armed groups.
'The data collection went well, but....'
The problem was the lack of a consistent pattern.
If their headquarters was located inside the capital, there would clearly be overlapping areas of activity.
But the bastards, as if mocking the Princess's pursuit, kept appearing from completely unexpected directions.
'If the armed groups are operating as a cell organization....'
It was correct to assume, as Selvia had initially guessed, that their headquarters lay somewhere other than the capital.
'But how do I find it?'
The Empire was vast.
It was a situation where she couldn't search every corner of the sprawling Empire.
Moreover, Selvia guessed that the bastards had established themselves quite some time ago.
Otherwise, they couldn't move so systematically and in such an organized manner.
Even at a minimum, they would have set up their headquarters and begun activities 3 years ago, making them even harder to track down.
Because of this, the sphere of activity for Princess-faction politicians and journalists had been gradually shrinking.
With the high probability of being threatened or injured by the bastards, they were keeping their heads down.
'I have to find it somehow.'
But she had no clear method.
As she rested her forehead on her hand in frustration, Selvia's eyes widened slightly.
'If only that person were by my side at times like this....'
Daniel Steiner.
The man who had seized Nordia with his ingenious tactics and strategies.
If that coveted talent were by her side, he might have been able to locate the Prince's secret organization for her.
But now, Daniel had applied for long-term leave and had left the capital.
Almost as if he had no interest in the war of succession.
Thus, Selvia could not summon Daniel.
'I have no idea what that man is thinking.'
She had thought he was finally going to become hers after he showed favor in the limousine heading to the palace, yet he suddenly went on leave at the most critical moment.
Just as she was drumming her fingers on the desk in mounting frustration, a knock sounded.
Selvia straightened her posture, gave a small, fake cough, and said,
"Come in."
Then the office door opened, and Lieutenant Colonel Hartmann, the head bodyguard of the Imperial Guard, entered.
Hartmann saluted lightly and approached Selvia.
"Your Highness. You've been working late into the night again."
"It's a matter of life and death. More importantly, what brings you here?"
"I came despite knowing it's discourteous, but I have an urgent matter to report."
A matter to report? Selvia nodded as if to tell him to speak.
"Then I shall report. The leadership of the Prince's secret organization, whom Your Highness has been tirelessly tracking, has reportedly been arrested all at once."
Selvia's eyes grew wide.
After sitting still as if in disbelief, Selvia sprang up from her chair.
"Is that true? I mean, I'm asking whether that's confirmed information."
"It was directly reported by the police station with jurisdiction over the Betargen Barony in the southern Empire. Judging by the documents they sent, it is not false."
If the bastards had been arrested, it was essentially as good as gaining an overwhelming advantage in the succession struggle.
Delighted by this sudden stroke of luck, Selvia unconsciously raised her voice as she spoke.
"Who is it? Who on earth achieved such a great merit?"
"That is...."
Bending slightly at the waist, Hartmann whispered to Selvia.
"He himself denies it, but circumstances point to Major Daniel Steiner."
Because of this, Selvia was astounded.
"...Daniel, you say?"
Hadn't Daniel applied for leave and gone down to his hometown?
But then again, it didn't make sense for him to request long-term leave at the most critical time in the capital.
'Given his activities in many fields, Daniel wants a promotion.'
A capable staff officer hungry for promotion goes on leave at a time when the next emperor might be decided?
It was nonsensical.
'If so, Daniel was from the beginning....'
It was clear that he had 'carried out a mission while pretending to be on leave' for Selvia's sake.
'Come to think of it, Daniel had said before that I would become Emperor.'
She remembered the words Hartmann had related when Daniel was disguised as a war correspondent and went to the Northern Front.
Even while surrounded by the Prince's assassins, Daniel had upheld his conviction that 'it is the Princess who will become Emperor, not the Prince.'
'The fact that he hid his objective from me and went on leave....'
It was understandable if one viewed it as adherence to the military principle of 'deceive even your allies to deceive the enemy.'
Now understanding all of Daniel's words and actions, a thin smile formed on Selvia's lips.
'Before, he risked his life to protect me....'
This time, he had been doing things she hadn't even ordered, all to make Selvia Empress.
Having unwittingly grown fond of Daniel, Selvia parted her neat lips slightly.
"What an impossible man. Daniel Steiner is...."
In Selvia's eyes, Daniel was a capable staff officer and, at the same time, a loyal subject in the truest sense of the word.