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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Do You Think I'd Let You Get Away?
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The next morning.
Emperor Berthram's bedchamber.
"Your Majesty! Please, listen to reason!"
Duke Belbar knelt prostrate before Berthram, who sat on the edge of his bed, and cried out.
"You must not grant Daniel Steiner investigative authority! For him to use that authority as a pretext to threaten the Empire's nobility would shake the very foundations of the Empire and, furthermore, directly challenge the Imperial family's power!"
Belbar's cries sounded like daggers piercing his head.
Feeling a headache coming on, Berthram pressed his forehead and exhaled slowly.
"…Is that truly the only reason you've disturbed my rest?"
"Your Majesty! To call that 'only a reason' is preposterous! How can you say it's not a grave matter for Daniel Steiner, a mere orphan, to investigate nobles?!"
"So, you wish for me to revoke my daughter's decision?"
Belbar fell silent.
Reading affirmation in his silence, Berthram blinked his weary eyes.
"Raise your head and look upon my countenance."
Belbar slowly raised his head and saw Berthram's face.
Beneath his disheveled hair, his face, dotted with age spots, showed no trace of vitality.
His lips were parched, and one eye barely opened.
Even without a physician, one could tell what state Berthram was in.
Death loomed on his path.
"I will die soon. Perhaps this is the last day I can converse with you with a clear mind. Furthermore, my daughter's coronation is approaching. Yet, in this situation, you wish for me to intervene and revoke her decision?"
He was asking if Belbar intended to publicly expose a family dispute by directly undermining Selvia's command at a time when she needed all the support she could get.
Only then did Belbar realize he had overstepped, and he quietly lowered his gaze.
Berthram, who had been staring intently at Belbar, continued.
"Furthermore, I've heard from my daughter that Cambell, the leader of the Liberal Social Party, has been acting as a collaborator. If that is true, then would my daughter not have issued a righteous command?"
"Your Majesty, I believe the legitimacy of the procedure is more important than the outcome. It would be proper for the Security Bureau to conduct the investigation, rather than entrusting it to Daniel Steiner."
"Legitimacy, you say. Under Imperial law, granting temporary investigative authority to a military official who has discovered evidence of a collaborator would not be unlawful."
While it was an exceptional circumstance, not a common occurrence, it did not violate legitimacy.
As Belbar found himself unable to refute this, Berthram added.
"I fail to understand why you are so on edge, Duke. If Daniel Steiner obtained investigative authority to oppress nobles, as you claim, wouldn't that actually be a good thing? For the moment he fails to produce proper investigative results, we would have grounds to punish him."
He was saying, in essence, that they would see whose words held true: Belbar's or Daniel Steiner's.
Belbar was displeased with Berthram's insistence on neutrality, but he could not show it openly.
For even if Berthram was a toothless, ailing lion, he was still the Emperor of the Empire.
"…Indeed, Your Imperial Majesty, a most wise judgment."
Thus, for now, he had no choice but to humble himself.
* * *
Meanwhile, at the residence of Cambell, leader of the Liberal Social Party.
"Grab the cash and jewelry first! We can have someone bring the rest later!"
"…Darling? What on earth are you doing?"
"How many times do I have to say I don't have time to explain?! Just do as I say!"
Cambell, who had snapped irritably at his wife, grabbed a travel bag and entered his room, pulling open a drawer.
Cambell haphazardly scooped up expensive wristwatches and tie pins, stuffing them into the bag he carried.
'Damn it! Damn it all…!'
Just moments ago, he had received a message from his informant, Platt.
Daniel Steiner had requested investigative authority from Princess Selvia, and it had been granted.
The granting of investigative authority meant that Daniel Steiner had uncovered who was behind the ambush on Crown Prince Blef.
In that case, Daniel Steiner's target was none other than Cambell himself.
'I need to pack quickly! Quickly!'
That was why Cambell was now hastily preparing to leave the capital.
He needed to escape before Daniel Steiner arrived, to somehow buy himself time.
After grabbing a few more valuables from the room, Cambell emerged into the living room with his travel bag.
"Demian! Have you packed everything? We have to leave right now… Demian! Where are you?!"
At Cambell's voice, calling for their son, his wife stopped packing clothes and looked up.
"Demian is in the yard. He went out saying he had to take the dog…"
"To hell with the dog! I'll get him; just keep packing your things!"
Cambell, who had yelled at his wife in a fit of pique, stifled his anger and walked towards the front door.
As he walked towards the front door, he heard Demian's laughter from the yard.
Cambell, thinking he was playing with a neighbor, flung open the front door, then froze.
"Tell me other stories too, not just about protecting the Princess!"
"Of course. What story would you like to hear?"
"Hmm. Oh! Nordia! I want to hear about the Nordia invasion!"
In the yard stood Daniel Steiner.
Behind Daniel, who was kneeling on one knee and playing with Demian, stood elite soldiers and officers from the General Staff.
Standing at ease, they didn't move a muscle.
Seeing them surround the residence like a human wall, Cambell froze solid.
"The Nordia invasion, you say! As much as I'd like to tell you in detail, I'm afraid I can't."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Because to tell you about the exploits during the Nordia invasion, I would also have to describe what happened to my enemies. And that might be a little too gruesome for a child like you to hear. Because…"
Daniel slowly raised his head and met Cambell's gaze.
"…all my enemies met a gruesome end."
At this, Cambell's hand, gripping the doorknob, trembled uncontrollably.
Demian, who had been blinking, not understanding Daniel's words, turned around and then broke into a wide smile.
"Dad! Lieutenant Colonel Daniel says he has business with you!"
Demian, overjoyed that an Imperial hero knew his father, ran to Cambell in a single stride and hugged him.
"How did you two meet? I didn't know you knew Lieutenant Colonel Daniel!"
"I, I…"
He tried to answer calmly, but the tremor in his voice simply wouldn't subside.
Meanwhile, Cambell's wife, sensing something was amiss, came out to the front door and gasped, covering her mouth.
Daniel Steiner's arrival here, leading troops, certainly did not bode well.
Facing Cambell's family, Daniel stood up and removed his service cap, placing it over his chest.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Steiner, Operations Staff Officer of the General Staff."
"Lieutenant Colonel, what brings you here…"
At Cambell's wife's words, Daniel offered a benevolent smile.
"I have an urgent matter to discuss with Mr. Cambell of the Liberal Social Party. If it's not too much trouble, would you be able to provide us with a place to speak?"
The wife glanced at Cambell, then reluctantly nodded.
Seeing this, Daniel raised a hand and crooked a finger, and two armed soldiers stepped forward.
"I would like your wife and our charming Demian to spend some time at a patisserie in the city. My soldiers will escort them there."
She couldn't understand why soldiers' escort was necessary for a trip to a patisserie, but the overwhelming feeling was that Daniel Steiner's words should not be refused.
"…Very well."
Cambell's wife, replying in a barely audible voice, slowly moved away with Demian.
The two soldiers walked alongside Cambell's wife and Demian, guarding their sides.
At this behavior, which seemed designed to prevent escape, Cambell furrowed his brow.
Though Daniel Steiner felt terrifying, Cambell could not tolerate this blatant aggression.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Cambell, stepping closer to Daniel, bravely spoke.
"You are currently using force to pressure the leader of a political party! The leader of a party that represents the voice of the people! Do you think this is acceptable?!"
Daniel merely stared intently at Cambell, who was now pointing his finger and roaring in indignation.
As if to say, 'Speak your mind further if you have anything more to say.'
Cambell hesitated at Daniel's demeanor, but thinking he couldn't lose face, he bellowed.
"I don't know what authority you think you have to do this, but disband your troops immediately! Otherwise, I will not comply with your demands!"
Daniel, who had been quietly observing Cambell, let out a low laugh.
The sticky, chilling sound of his laughter instilled a peculiar dread.
After a long moment, Daniel reined in his laughter and stared intently at Cambell.
"You will not comply with my demands, you say."
His black eyes, like graphite, resembled an abyss.
Reflected in those eyes, Cambell's form was clearly terrified.
"Do you…"
Daniel, who had Cambell trapped within his gaze, quietly moved his lips.
"…think you have a choice?"