As Expected, He's No Ordinary Guy
As Expected, He's No Ordinary Guy
Cold sweat beaded on Daniel's forehead as he looked at Bertram.
It was obvious that Bertram harbored strong suspicions toward him.
But from Daniel's perspective, knowing nothing as he did, all he could feel was a sense of unjust accusation.
How was he supposed to get out of this absurd situation?
After running the numbers in his head for a brief moment, Daniel hurriedly dropped to one knee.
"Your Majesty! I have no idea what Your Majesty means by such words......!"
His opponent was the emperor who held the empire in the palm of his hand.
For him, taking a life on a whim was easier than eating cold porridge, as the saying went.
If he stubbornly insisted he knew nothing, his life could very well be forfeit.
"Of course, I fully understand why you would suspect me, given the circumstances. If I were in Your Majesty's position, I too would be suspicious. But I do not possess anything like a private organization."
Bertram let out a low chuckle at Daniel's excuse.
At a gesture from Bertram, an attendant who had been frozen nearby approached, carrying cartridges.
Bertram took the cartridges and loaded them one by one with practiced movements.
"You say nothing like a private organization exists."
Having inserted all the cartridges, Bertram raised the barrel and finished loading.
"How strange. If that is so, then what exactly was that armed group that stormed in before you arrested Dawn's Morning? According to the testimonies of those who were beaten, they were all well-trained."
"Your Majesty, though it terrifies me humbly to say so, that too is a matter of which I am wholly ignorant."
"Ignorant. So, are you now suggesting that I am spouting nonsense, consumed by the Demon of Doubt?"
Bertram's tone was calm, but the meaning behind it was utterly bloodcurdling.
As a result, Daniel was aghast and bowed his head deeply.
"That is a misunderstanding! How could I ever say such a thing to Your Majesty? I am merely stating that I do not know about matters of which I am ignorant. Perhaps......."
Daniel swallowed dryly and continued.
"If Your Majesty has determined that there is a private organization or a military clique under my command, even if it is not true, I shall humbly accept it."
"Humbly accept? In what manner?"
"If you would only say the word for me to withdraw from the military, I shall take off my uniform and return to being an ordinary citizen. Furthermore, I shall not involve myself in any political matters that occur within the empire."
Daniel had spoken with sincerity, but to Bertram, it came across as a kind of threat.
It was like being pressured to consider 'whether it was truly in his interest' to persecute and slander the empire's war hero without any evidence.
At first glance, an emperor appears to stand above law and order, yet there is no being who must respect law and order more than an emperor.
If an emperor fails to respect the law, the credibility of that law falls, and once credibility falls, high-ranking officials inevitably follow the emperor's lead in exploiting legal loopholes.
That would soon spread as a corrupt practice, and a corrupt practice would transform into a national abuse.
'Therefore.......'
Daniel was effectively asking the emperor right now, 'Will you ruin with your own hands the supreme legal system the previous emperors built?'
'Now I see how this cunning brat managed to sweet-talk Duke Belvar.'
He had known Daniel was no ordinary man, but he hadn't expected him to be this formidable.
Perhaps needing time to think, Bertram remained silent for a moment, then looked down at Daniel.
"Daniel Steiner. Raise your head."
When Daniel raised his head, Bertram spoke again.
"Can you swear it? That there is not a single lie in what you are saying right now."
"That is correct."
It was an immediate answer.
"I speak to Your Majesty beneath the heavens that God gazes upon, with all sincerity: there is neither a private organization nor a military clique under my command."
Bertram, who had been staring fixedly at Daniel's face, nodded as if he had no choice.
"If that is what you say, I shall not interrogate you further. Rise from your position."
As Daniel nodded and rose, Bertram pulled his hand back and wiggled his fingers.
It was a signal to launch the clay targets.
Simultaneously, Bertram tossed the loaded double-barreled shotgun toward Daniel.
As Daniel caught the shotgun, flustered, Bertram spoke.
"Shoot."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the sound of a launcher rang out and two clay targets flew up in unison.
Daniel, settling into his stance almost instinctively, could see the clay targets soaring high into the sky.
But he did not shoot immediately; instead, he calculated the trajectory of the targets.
Just before the two targets, flying at different speeds, overlapped, Daniel pulled the trigger.
Taaang─!
The gunpowder ignited and the flying pellets struck both clay targets simultaneously, shattering them.
Bertram let out an exclamation of admiration at the sight.
Daniel, who had not expected to succeed, blinked in a daze as well before lowering the shotgun.
Bertram, who had been watching the shattered fragments of the clay targets fall to the ground, turned back to Daniel.
"Magnificent shooting. Do you intend to dismiss this as mere luck as well?"
"Your Majesty, I am simply......."
"Enough. I do not wish to bandy words. Judging by your face, you seem tired, so you may take your leave now. I shall apologize for putting you in an awkward position with my pointless prank."
The attendant who had been listening to the conversation nearby approached Daniel and spread both hands.
Once Daniel handed over the shotgun, the attendant stepped back.
As Daniel hesitated, wondering if Bertram truly meant for him to go, Bertram waved his hand.
Only then did Daniel bow deeply toward Bertram.
"It was an honor to meet you. Your Majesty the Emperor."
After saying that, Daniel turned around and slowly began to walk away.
Just as Bertram was quietly watching his retreating figure, the space beside him distorted.
The distorted space soon took on a human form and began assuming a consistent color.
When the optical camouflage fully deactivated, Imperial Guard Captain Johannes revealed himself.
Bertram opened his mouth without even turning to look at Johannes.
"That bastard is more cunning than I thought. I expected it, but he didn't even blink when told he would be given a reward."
Once Daniel was out of sight, Johannes cast his gaze toward Bertram.
"Your Majesty the Emperor. Had Daniel been blinded by the reward and divulged information about his private organization, what did you intend to do?"
"Had he confessed, I would have convened a military tribunal and sentenced him to death."
According to the laws of the empire, if a mere soldier privately kept troops or formed a military clique, the ringleader could be punished up to the maximum penalty of death.
If Daniel had confessed, it would have served as evidence, so Bertram could have sentenced Daniel to death without any issue.
Of course, in the process, public opinion toward the emperor who sentenced a war hero to death would have sharply worsened, but Bertram had factored that into his calculations as well.
"I would have sentenced him to death but not carried out the execution. My daughter would undoubtedly oppose it vehemently. In that way, I would remain the emperor who could not carry out the sentence because of Selvia."
"You don't mean......."
"When the time comes, I will pass the throne to my daughter. Then Selvia will first grant Daniel immunity and release him. What do you suppose Daniel would think in that case?"
Johannes, who had been mulling it over, nodded as if he understood.
"He would think that he is indebted to Her Highness the Princess. Her Highness would easily be able to purchase Daniel Steiner's heart."
"Furthermore, I could have placed a leash on him, using the crime of operating a private organization as a pretext. A leash that I could yank at any time, should the bastard bare his teeth."
Emperor Bertram had orchestrated all of this so that his daughter Selvia could tame Daniel Steiner.
However, Daniel had not fallen for the trap the emperor had prepared.
It was as if he had known all of it from the very beginning.
"Did you see it, Captain of the Imperial Guard? Daniel Steiner's trap shooting, that is."
"Yes. I saw it."
Bertram smiled faintly.
"That was not his first time doing trap shooting. Judging by his stable stance and how he instantly calculated the trajectory of the clay targets, he must have enjoyed this game a few times."
"Then why the lie that he had never done it before......."
"Because he must have known from the moment he was summoned by the Chief of the Inner Court Office that this gathering was absolutely not for fellowship. He knew it was a meeting arranged for interrogation, so he wanted to leave quickly."
Daniel had likely intended to kill the emperor's interest by revealing a complete lack of skill in trap shooting.
But when the gun was suddenly thrust into his hands, Daniel, in his fluster, instinctively fell into his stance.
Seeing this side of Daniel Steiner, Bertram could be certain.
"Daniel Steiner's words were nothing but lies from beginning to end. However, we cannot claim those lies are lies. Because the bastard erased all the evidence."
If the Imperial Intelligence Department could not find out, it was equivalent to no one being able to know.
That fact deepened the wrinkles on Bertram's face.
"He is a figure who moves with truly meticulous planning. He deceives everyone and wraps himself in lies, yet he has no opening. He is a man whom even I, the emperor, cannot easily touch."
Had Bertram possessed the stamina and time, he would have welcomed the emergence of such a Daniel.
For if he could only gain the man's loyalty, they might have subdued the world together.
'But.......'
Bertram was old and sick, and Selvia, who would become the next emperor, was young and lacked experience.
'The current Selvia will never be able to tame the wolf called Daniel Steiner.'
Bertram dared not guess what kind of repercussions that would bring upon the empire.
'For now, I can only hope that the loyalty Daniel Steiner has shown Selvia is not a lie.......'
Bertram, who had been staring with worried eyes at the spot where Daniel had departed, turned his head.
Taking a deep breath, Bertram looked up at the blue sky.
"Captain of the Imperial Guard. Will the season that Daniel Steiner brings to the empire truly be spring?"
Having grasped the meaning behind Bertram's words, Johannes bowed his head deeply.
"I shall do my utmost to ensure he does not bring winter to the empire."
Letting out a low chuckle, Bertram nodded quietly.
Hoping that his loyal hound, Johannes, would prevent the wolf's tyranny.