A Wolf That Cannot Be Leashed
A Wolf That Cannot Be Leashed
Sincerity seeped from Daniel's unwavering gaze.
Bertram was no fool, so he knew full well that those words were directed at him.
A heavier silence than ever before settled between them.
"......."
"......."
The silence grew longer, but neither of them opened his mouth first.
Both knew that a single misspoken word could now spiral into catastrophe.
This wasn't just a matter of Daniel's position.
Emperor Bertram, too, was now in a position where he had to watch Daniel's mood.
The aging and ailing Bertram was in the midst of a power transition.
If he were his young and valiant self, he might have threatened Daniel in turn and leashed him.
But now the imperial household's power was divided, and Daniel was well aware of it.
Most of the ministers were now swearing loyalty to the princess, not the emperor.
After all, once the emperor passed on, it would be none other than Selvia who would rule the empire for decades to come.
In Selvia's coming reign, Daniel would be treated as a meritorious retainer and loyal subject in both name and reality.
It was clear that, under Selvia's favor, the support of countless citizens would be directed toward Daniel.
'If I were to persecute Daniel in this situation and curtail his authority.......'
The citizens would not stand idly by, and Selvia's support base would be shaken.
She would suffer countless criticisms if she neglected the loyal subject who had placed her upon the throne.
As long as she was regent, Selvia could not even use the emperor's own arbitrariness as an excuse to escape.
Of course, Selvia would never agree to persecute Daniel, but the mere fact that not even the slightest possibility existed stirred a strange displeasure in Bertram.
The source of his displeasure was the fact that Daniel Steiner was skillfully exploiting all of this, having fully grasped the situation.
'As expected. The blood of Blackberry flows through your veins.'
Daniel was avoiding the crime of lèse-majesté by making it clear that his words were merely 'a story he heard from the abbot'.
He could demand cross-verification from the abbot who raised Daniel to confirm the truth, but that would be meaningless.
If the abbot were to simply answer 'I don't remember well,' then the past would become unknowable.
'Even if he really did hear such a story.......'
Speaking of it aloud could only be seen as having a clear intention.
One way or another, Daniel had borrowed the fable to reveal his intent.
And he did so in a way that caused no harm to himself.
'What a cunning fox.......'
They say fables are meant to satirize reality and find humor in it.
Feeling that a fable was being reenacted right here and now, Bertram let out a hollow laugh.
"So, you're saying that in a situation affirming mutual destruction, neither can attack the other. An interesting interpretation."
Hearing Bertram's words, Daniel could put one worry to rest.
He had been inwardly anxious about throwing a gamble while his reason was shaken by the encroaching intoxication, but he felt relieved as Bertram laughed it off.
"I think we've talked enough about fables, so now let us discuss your reward."
"......You speak of a reward?"
"Yes. Did I not say it? That if you successfully concluded the talks with the Bellanos Cabinet Minister, I would grant you a reward based on the empire's foundational ideology of Strict Reward and Punishment."
Daniel could not easily answer.
Those words felt like a trap.
There was no way a reward coming from the emperor's lips would come without any conditions.
'If I ask for a reward, he will surely demand something from me in return.'
Bertram had said he would grant a reward; he had not said he would refrain from mentioning the failure to report on time when the shipwreck occurred in Bellanos.
So it would be troublesome if he started attaching all sorts of conditions to the reward under the pretext of the delayed report.
Having racked his brain in that brief moment, Daniel decided to strike first.
"Your Majesty. If there is a reward I wish to receive, it is to be forgiven for acting independently when we were shipwrecked in Bellanos. I have no other desire."
Bertram's eyes narrowed.
'There is nothing he wants?'
The moment Daniel asked for a reward, Bertram had intended to use it as a pretext to suggest he undergo a formal inspection.
Conducting an inspection to confirm whether one was qualified to receive a reward was not common, but it did happen from time to time.
Conveniently, Daniel had a record of delaying his report when shipwrecked in Bellanos, so there was also justification for him to undergo an inspection.
Furthermore, he could package it not as a unilateral inspection through pressure, but as an 'inspection to grant a reward,' so there would be no public backlash.
'Therefore.......'
If Daniel had wanted a reward, he would have had no choice but to accept the inspection proposal, as he could not retract his own words.
But now, Daniel was sidestepping Bertram's expectations.
Was he not saying that the only thing he wished for was a pardon for his independent actions?
At this, a crack appeared in the faint smile Bertram had been wearing.
He felt an indescribable awe at Daniel's rhetoric, which dodged around as if seeing straight through the other person's mind.
'Are you really just a mere officer?'
He couldn't shake off the feeling that he was conversing with a seasoned politician who had been through every hardship imaginable.
It was reminiscent of the time he had sat at the negotiating table with Kaledra, who was leading the International Allied Nations.
He couldn't even begin to gauge what dark intentions lay hidden behind that expression feigning loyalty.
Swallowing dryly, Bertram feigned composure and opened his mouth.
"I will ask one more time. Is there truly nothing else you wish to receive, besides absolution for your sins?"
"That is correct. As I deeply regret causing concern to Your Majesty the Great Emperor, I shall consider Your Majesty's pardon of my sins to be the highest reward."
Since he was outwardly acting the loyal subject, Bertram was in a position where he could not even bring himself to rebuke him.
Only then did Emperor Bertram have no choice but to admit it.
'As I am now, I cannot leash him.......'
Daniel Steiner was dodging every trap Bertram had set as if he could see them all.
Even more, the wolf who had avoided the trap slowly approached the hunter Bertram and bared its fangs, saying:
If you try to kill me one more time, I will not stay still either.
Wearing a self-deprecating smile, Bertram nodded.
"Good. If that is all you want, I will not stop you."
The wind blowing through the terrace carried away the intoxication.
"The night wind is cold. I should be heading back inside soon. You must be tired as well, having been through many things lately, so you should return now."
"I shall follow your command."
Rising from his seat, Daniel politely bowed his head toward Bertram.
Before Daniel could turn and leave, Bertram let a remark slip as if in passing.
"In your view, do you think my daughter will be able to become a wise ruler?"
Daniel paused for a moment before answering.
"She will become a person befitting the great empire."
Having delivered those meaningful words, Daniel bowed his head once more, turned, and walked away.
When the imperial guards heard his footsteps and opened the door, Daniel slipped out into the corridor.
The Head of the Inner Court Office, who had been staring blankly at Daniel's retreating figure, approached Bertram.
"Your Majesty. Did the conversation end well?"
Letting out a dry laugh, Bertram picked up the whiskey bottle and filled his glass.
"If the essence of conversation is grasping each other's intentions, then one could say it ended well."
Watching the glass slowly fill, Bertram continued speaking.
"Head of the Inner Court Office. It seems I hate Daniel Steiner after all."
"......Your Majesty?"
"But would you believe me if I told you the one I hold the most affection for is also Daniel Steiner?"
Unable to understand his own heart, Bertram picked up his glass and rose from his seat.
"If only that fellow had been my son...... then I could have been freed from this tiresome passion and worry."
Muttering words that were almost a soliloquy, Bertram approached the terrace.
As the emperor stood on the terrace facing the wind, the citizens enjoying the festival began to look up one by one.
When someone shouted something, the citizens all raised their heads in unison to look up at Emperor Bertram.
As Bertram smiled at them and raised his glass high, a roar of cheers burst forth.
Riding the wind came the mingled shouts of 'Long live His Majesty the Emperor!' and 'Long live Daniel Steiner!'
To Bertram, those words could not be dismissed as mere cheers.
They sounded to him as if they were saying the empire now had two masters.
'Of course.......'
This thought might merely be suspicion born from a mind grown too sensitive to perceive the world intuitively.
'If Daniel Steiner is a loyal subject the likes of which the world will never see again.......'
The empire would certainly prosper.
A great nation would be born, just like the empire his grandfather had once ruled.
There, Selvia would be recorded as a wise ruler and Daniel as a meritorious retainer for generations to come.
'But if Daniel Steiner is a wolf consumed by political ambition and lusting for power.......'
This empire would fall into a hell like never before.