A Rising Notoriety
A Rising Notoriety
Thanks to Hartmann's consideration, I returned straight to my quarters and rested. The next morning, I reported to work at General Headquarters.
The cloudless, clear weather and the cool breeze had me in a good mood, but the moment I stepped inside the headquarters, that good mood vanished entirely.
It was because everyone I encountered in the hallway treated me like a ghost.
Those of lower rank than me would often stiffen up and salute, and even my superiors would avoid meeting my eyes, hastily returning my salute when I offered one.
Wondering what on earth was going on, I stopped by the break room to get some coffee and was able to piece together the full story.
Personnel staff officers had gathered and were talking about me.
"Did you hear? About Operations Staff Officer Daniel Steiner. Apparently, he carried out a mission for Her Highness the Crown Princess while pretending to go on leave."
"I also heard he stopped by Duke Belvar's mansion this time. Together with Lieutenant Colonel Hartmann, who serves as the chief bodyguard to Her Highness the Crown Princess."
"Now that he's a war hero, he must be thinking of entering politics as well. Anyway, let's agree not to do anything that gives Daniel Steiner a handle on us. We can't afford to take damage either. And...."
The lieutenant colonel from the personnel planning department, who had been rambling, spotted me and trailed off.
The startled lieutenant colonel, frozen in place, suddenly flashed an awkward smile at me.
Then he whispered something to his colleagues.
At the lieutenant colonel's strange behavior, the officers who had been chatting glanced back at me and let out awkward, forced coughs.
The lowest-ranking among them, a major, spoke to me.
"G-Good morning, Major Daniel."
I took a sip of coffee and spoke.
"Yes. Good morning. Besides, it's fine weather for gossiping about others."
At my words, everyone exchanged nervous glances, then threw away their coffee and hurriedly moved on.
"Now that I think about it, I have an urgent task to take care of...."
"Ah. I also have to meet my department head, so I should get going."
Each of them offered a single excuse, then filed out of the break room.
Watching them quietly, I let out a low sigh.
Judging by the strange rumors spreading through General Headquarters, it seemed I had somehow established myself as 'the closest confidant of Her Highness the Crown Princess.'
Even so, I couldn't bring myself to resent the people spreading those rumors.
'Because if I were them, I'd think the same.'
Looking at the circumstances alone, it would be stranger not to think of me as the Crown Princess's closest confidant.
However, since I had absolutely no such intention, the situation was giving me a headache.
'How did things end up like this....'
All I did was go down to my hometown to enjoy my leave, but after accidentally rounding up the prince's secret organization there, things had spiraled out of control.
'How will His Majesty the Emperor view someone like me....'
When I'd previously faced His Majesty the Emperor, he had clearly stated that 'a soldier must maintain political neutrality,' yet here I was, continuing down an unprecedentedly political path.
'He certainly won't look favorably upon me.'
Even a child knows that incurring the Emperor's disfavor brings nothing good.
My worries were getting the better of me, but obsessing over things that hadn't come to pass was a bad habit.
Finishing the rest of my coffee, I crumpled the paper cup and tossed it into a nearby trash can.
After that, I grabbed my briefcase, left the break room, and went up the stairs to my personal office.
When I opened the office door and looked inside, I saw Lucy, who was working as usual.
Sensing my presence, Lucy raised her head, immediately stood up, and saluted.
"Major. You're early to work today."
"Couldn't sleep, for some reason. More importantly, you don't have to worry about the Security Bureau anymore."
"...You resolved it?"
I nodded and started walking toward my desk, then stopped short.
It was because a carefully wrapped box, tied with a ribbon, was sitting on my desk.
Feeling puzzled, I approached and tapped the box lightly.
"What's this? A highly suspicious box."
"It's apple strudel. I brought it because I thought you would like it, Major."
"Hm? Do dessert shops sell this? I know it's a southern dish, so it's not something you commonly find around here."
Lucy hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"I made it myself."
"...You made it?"
Lucy nodded with a blank expression.
At that, I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
'An assassination?'
For a moment, I felt a chill, but quickly regained my composure.
'She wouldn't try to kill me at General Headquarters... and in a space where it's just the two of us, no less.'
If she killed me here, it would be far too easy to identify the culprit.
There was no way Lucy wouldn't know that, so it was hard to think of the food as an assassination attempt.
'In that case, it means she made me dessert out of pure goodwill.'
I stood still for a moment, unable to figure out the reason, before arriving at a quiet realization.
'Could it be she thinks I protected her from the Security Bureau?'
Honestly, I had acted purely for self-preservation, but it seemed I had given Lucy the wrong impression.
Still, since there was no need to explain myself, I just nodded vaguely and untied the ribbon on the box.
As the ribbon was untied, the box opened like a blooming flower, revealing the apple strudel inside, baked into a delectable shape.
"It looks delicious."
I picked up the utensil enclosed in the box, carefully cut off a piece of the apple strudel, and put it in my mouth.
After moving my jaw a few times to chew, I couldn't help but be impressed.
"This is... remarkable."
The tart and refreshing taste of the apple was joined by the warm and fragrant flavor of cinnamon.
Alongside that, the walnuts and almonds stimulated the palate with a crunchy texture, while the sugar and raisins subtly flaunted their presence as if saying, 'We're here too!'
Moreover, the dough was perfectly cooked, giving it an exquisite savory taste.
I had eaten quite a lot of apple strudel up until then, but this was the first time I had tasted anything so delicious.
"It's good enough to start a business. Do you usually enjoy cooking?"
It was a question I asked out of pure curiosity, but Lucy just blinked vacantly, as if she hadn't expected to receive a compliment.
After a brief silence, as if choosing her words, Lucy opened her mouth.
"That's not it. I bought a cookbook yesterday and practiced...."
Lucy stopped mid-sentence and closed her mouth.
Her expression looked ashamed, as if she had been about to admit she'd 'practiced cooking for you.'
After appearing flustered for a while, Lucy soon regained her composure and spoke.
"...It is repayment for your consideration toward me yesterday."
Having said that, Lucy bowed her head deeply to me and sat back down.
Afterward, she dove into her work with a blank expression, but she couldn't hide the subtle redness of her ears.
'And also....'
Perhaps from the trial and error of practicing the cooking, a bandage was stuck on the index finger of Lucy's left hand.
'She probably cut her finger while slicing the apples.'
She had practiced cooking and served it to her superior officer. It was almost enough to make me want to praise her excessively.
Truly, she could be nothing other than a model adjutant.
'The problem is....'
That this adjutant of mine was aiming for my life.
There was a high probability that she had made this food to lower my guard.
Thinking that, I felt my throat tighten for no reason.
'I suppose, as for the leftovers....'
It seemed best to take them back to my quarters and dispose of them.
*
Meanwhile, in a meeting room within the Imperial Palace.
"What... did you just say?"
The eyes of Prince Arno, with his striking blond hair, trembled once.
It was because the news delivered by Deputy Director Feliston of the Intelligence Department was far too preposterous.
The prince wanted to deny reality, but Feliston, with a heavy sigh, repeated his words.
"...Duke Belvar has declared his intention to withdraw from the succession struggle. It is said that he is currently barring all outside entry and has locked himself in his room, refusing to come out."
It was, literally, a bolt from the blue.
From Prince Arno's standpoint, now that the Dawn's Morning organization had been arrested, he at least needed Belvar's support to continue the succession struggle.
Yet, in a single morning, Belvar had come forward to withdraw his support, leaving Arno utterly dumbfounded.
"Why on earth...."
At Arno's muttering, Feliston answered.
"I do not know the exact circumstances, but it appears he changed his mind after having a conversation with Major Daniel Steiner."
"...Daniel Steiner? That bastard again?"
Arno, who had been laughing as if he'd had an epiphany, suddenly shouted.
"Why does that son of a bitch interfere with every single thing I do! Why on earth!?"
From the initial northern assassination incident to now.
The man named Daniel Steiner was not only blocking Arno's path but also turning every single plan of his into foam.
And now, by even getting Belvar to withdraw his support, it was nothing short of brutally shattering Arno's future.
His head throbbed.
At the same time, anger boiled up inside him.
"Deputy Director! The fight is not over yet! Immediately! Right now, go and bring me information that will get Daniel Steiner arrested! Find evidence that the bastard used private soldiers, I say! For me...."
Arno's voice gradually trailed off.
It was because the deputy director, who would normally have nodded with a resolute expression, was merely watching his mood like a fool.
Just as Arno was wondering why, the deputy director bowed his head as if apologetic.
"Your Highness. We have also conducted a private investigation, but not a single piece of evidence came up."
"No evidence came up?"
"Yes. We judged that Daniel must be building a personal force and launched a large-scale investigation, but nothing was discovered."
Cold sweat trickled down the deputy director's forehead.
"If it is a force capable of dealing with the Dawn's Morning in one stroke, it must certainly be a large-scale organization. In that case, there would normally have to be a system in place for sending and receiving orders. However, Daniel...."
The deputy director bowed his head even deeper.
"Major Daniel Steiner, during his entire time down in the southern region, did not communicate with anyone from the organization. We also could not find any trace of where the organization that attacked the Dawn's Morning dispersed."
"What does that...."
"Your Highness. Frankly, I cannot shake the feeling that we are chasing a ghost. We, as the intelligence department, simply cannot fathom in what manner Daniel Steiner is conducting his affairs."
There was a certain fear in the deputy director's voice.
At that, Arno, who had been stunned, plopped down into his chair.
"What on earth...."
In short, it meant that Daniel Steiner was someone who executed his operations so meticulously that even the deputy director of the Imperial Intelligence Department could not find a trace.
At that fact, the anger in his heart turned ice-cold.
The now-cold anger soon transformed into an unknowable sense of dread.
"...What on earth is Daniel Steiner?"
The deputy director could not easily answer the prince's question.
It was because the deputy director also could not properly define the figure of Daniel Steiner.
'He is simply someone who will use any means necessary for his own goals, without choosing his methods....'
There was no way to explain him except as a ghost-like existence that left no trace behind whatsoever.