He's a Dangerous Man
He's a Dangerous Man
Belvar, who had been silent for a moment, clenched his teeth until his molars nearly cracked.
The moment he took Daniel's hand, he would be betraying the prince.
He would be personally denying the legitimacy of the imperial household that the Bahartrante family had upheld for generations.
For the convictions his father and ancestors had protected, he could throw away his own life at any time.
'But family? What wrong have they done?'
To Belvar, blood ties were every bit as important as his convictions.
That was only natural.
Because before he was the head of the family, he was a father.
He knew well the dreams his grown sons cherished and the efforts they were making.
He could not destroy their bright futures just to uphold his convictions.
'What am I supposed to do...'
Belvar's vision wavered as a headache struck him from the relentless anguish.
Belvar knew. He knew this was no mere threat.
The moment negotiations broke down, the demon before his eyes would surely carry out a massacre.
Because he could see Daniel Steiner's ruthlessness in those apathetic eyes and that smile devoid of any humanity.
And so Belvar had to make a choice, right at this moment.
"I..."
But the words would not come easily.
The sounds that had been climbing up his throat scattered before they could leave his lips.
Conviction and family.
Neither was something he could easily discard.
As if displeased by that, Daniel slowly opened his mouth.
"...Your Grace. Do you still believe this is an equal transaction, a negotiation?"
Daniel let out a low laugh, as if finding it absurd.
"This is, at most, a grace and a favor that Her Highness the Princess and I are bestowing upon the Bahartrante family."
Inside Belvar's mind, those words were being interpreted roughly as, 'And yet you still don't know your place and are agonizing over it.'
While Belvar trembled, Daniel clicked his tongue as though he found it pitiful and shook his head.
"If you've returned to the past and still intend to repeat the same mistakes, I shall not stop you. In that case, Duke Belvar of the great Bahartrante family, I hope you enjoyably await the destruction that is to come."
It was the moment Daniel, having said that, tried to rise from his seat.
Suddenly bowing forward, Belvar grabbed Daniel's hand.
A sense of dread had seized him — that the moment Daniel left this place, everything would become irreversible.
"..."
"..."
A cold silence flowed between the two.
Daniel neither shook off nor held Belvar's hand that had seized him. He simply let it be.
It meant: speak your true feelings with your own mouth.
"Cooperation..."
Tears welled up in Belvar's bloodshot eyes.
Closing his eyes as defeat washed over him, Belvar spoke in a low sob.
"I shall cooperate... as you command."
Only after hearing that confirmation did Daniel clasp Belvar's hand in return.
And with his other hand, he lightly grasped Belvar's shoulder.
"Indeed. I knew Your Grace would make the wise choice. Now that you have accepted our proposal, the Bahartrante family has no connection whatsoever to this affair."
Strength subtly entered the hand that held Belvar's shoulder.
"Furthermore, Your Grace has never stood on His Highness the Prince's side. Not until now, and not in the future either. Do you understand what I am saying?"
Clenching his teeth hard through his sobs, Belvar could not properly open his mouth.
Daniel, who had been watching Belvar with pity, removed his hand from his shoulder and spoke.
"If you understood, nod your head."
Gripped by an unprecedented emotion, Belvar nodded as if he were trembling.
Seeing that, Daniel ended the handshake with a satisfied expression and rose from his seat.
"Good. I shall relay Your Grace's intentions well to Her Highness the Princess."
After straightening his attire once, Daniel turned to look at Hartmann, who stood nearby.
"Lieutenant Colonel Hartmann. The work is finished, so let us take our leave. We mustn't impose upon His Grace by remaining here any longer."
Hartmann, who had been watching everything from behind, nodded in a daze.
Only then did Daniel walk out of the reception room.
Hartmann likewise followed Daniel out and glanced around their surroundings.
Having confirmed that no one was in the corridor, Hartmann studied Daniel's profile.
Seeing his fatigue-ridden complexion, the demon-like visage from just moments ago had vanished.
Daniel let out a low sigh, as if the tension had been released.
"That's a relief. If Duke Belvar had rejected the proposal, it could have been a difficult fight."
Yet a sense of dissonance lingered.
Hartmann hesitated awkwardly for a moment before opening his mouth.
"Astonishing. To be honest, I thought Duke Belvar would not accept the proposal."
"I was half in doubt myself. It's fortunate the act worked so well."
Hartmann's brow furrowed as he listened to Daniel's words.
'An act?'
Could that truly be called an act?
To Hartmann, it seemed more fitting to say that his hidden true nature had seeped out.
Though from Daniel's perspective, it was indeed an act.
Of course, the caveat 'desperately performed in order to survive' would have to be attached.
'Because if I hadn't made Duke Belvar submit, I would have died.'
Just as he was inwardly relieved that things had gone well, Hartmann let out a dry cough.
"At any rate, you worked hard. I will be the one to report to Her Highness the Princess, so you may go on ahead and rest."
Daniel looked back at Hartmann as if surprised, then lightly nodded his head.
"Thank you for your consideration. I shall do so."
After that, the two walked through the mansion's corridors in awkward silence.
To be precise, the awkwardness belonged solely to Hartmann.
Because the figure walking ahead, Daniel Steiner, had felt especially terrifying today.
*
After parting with Daniel in front of the mansion, Hartmann headed straight for the Imperial Palace.
When he arrived at Selvia's office and knocked on the door, a voice from inside told him to enter.
As Hartmann opened the door, entered, and offered a salute, Selvia stopped writing documents and raised her head.
"...Huh? What about Major Daniel?"
"He looked tired, so I told him to go on ahead."
"You told him to go on ahead? So, you're saying he actually just left because you told him to?"
When Selvia questioned him persistently, Hartmann lowered his hand, somewhat puzzled.
"Your Highness? Were you perhaps waiting for Major Daniel?"
"What? Well, that's..."
As if her inner thoughts had been exposed, Selvia's face flushed with embarrassment before she abruptly let out a dry cough.
"As if there's any reason I would? I didn't particularly want to see him either. More importantly, how did the negotiations go?"
"They were successful. In exchange for our side not inquiring into the Bahartrante family's crimes, they agreed to withdraw support for His Highness the Prince."
Selvia's mouth fell open blankly as she listened to Hartmann's words.
Because she could not believe that that stubborn old fox had raised the white flag in a single negotiation.
"...Truly? Duke Belvar bowed his head to me?"
"That is correct. It is thanks to Major Daniel's hard work."
Upon hearing that Daniel had brought the negotiations to success, Selvia could not help but admire him inwardly.
Merely arresting the prince's private organization had been an immense achievement, but by subduing Duke Belvar this time, it was effectively no different from putting a definitive end to the succession struggle.
Letting out a low laugh, a thin smile hung on Selvia's lips.
"Before I knew it, my dear brother has ended up losing both his arms. Pitiful brother. By now he must be screaming in despair."
Convinced of victory, Selvia placed the fountain pen she had been holding into the case beside her and closed it.
"So."
Selvia's sharp gaze scrutinized Hartmann.
"In the Lieutenant Colonel's eyes, what kind of person does Daniel Steiner appear to be?"
Since he had observed the negotiations at Daniel's side, she was effectively telling him to speak his mind.
This was also the most fundamental reason Selvia had assigned a guard to Daniel.
Because it was only natural for a princess to ascertain whether it was acceptable to keep Daniel as one of her closest aides.
"Daniel Steiner is among the most capable figures I have ever seen, to be counted on one hand. However..."
"...He is also a man dangerous to an uncontrollable degree."
When evaluating a supporter's qualities, Hartmann focused primarily on tactics, strategy, and politics.
Due to the nature of the Imperial Guard, Hartmann, who operated in the capital rather than the field, prioritized politics among those three abilities.
Because it was a given that one skilled in tactics could not defeat one skilled in strategy, and one skilled in strategy could not defeat one skilled in politics.
Then what of one skilled in politics? When they meet a political rival, they are bound to lose their strength and reach a stalemate.
But Daniel Steiner was different.
Had he not, under the pretext of 'assisting the Princess,' thoroughly subjugated Duke Belvar, who could well become his political rival in the future?
'He must be unable to tolerate it. The fact that Duke Belvar attacked him...'
It was clear that he had felt an intense fury toward Duke Belvar, who had attempted to frame him as a spy colluding with the enemy by using the Security Bureau.
But Daniel's rage was not a blazing fire — it was like a deadly poison that flowed calmly.
It did not appear powerful, but it was more dangerous than it looked, and the moment one took even a single sip, one would suffer excruciating agony.
Before the one who had drunk that poison, Daniel Steiner smiled and spoke.
I have the antidote, so let us negotiate.
That was precisely the Daniel Steiner that Hartmann saw.
"Therefore, Your Highness must..."
Recalling Daniel as he had conversed with Belvar, Hartmann spoke.
"Never make an enemy of the figure known as Daniel Steiner."
Hartmann bowed his head as he gave Selvia this earnest counsel.
And amidst a certain kind of fear, he broke out in a cold sweat.
If.
If, by any chance, Daniel Steiner had sided not with Her Highness the Princess but with the prince...
'The person who would have drunk Daniel's poison today...'
It might well have been not Belvar, but Hartmann himself.