chapter_0015

14 – He is a Trustworthy Person

14 – He is a Trustworthy Person

Since Daniel joined Princess Selvia, the tide of the battle had dramatically turned.

Thanks to Daniel’s orders, the squad members who disembarked and scattered joined forces with reinforcements sent by the special operations unit at the forward base, effectively sweeping away the prince’s army disguised as soldiers of the Allied Nations.

Moreover, due to Captain Heinz’s additional request for support, nearby air squadrons sent reconnaissance helicopters and fighter jets, leaving the prince’s army with no chance of victory.

Initially, they were a small unit deployed for a quick resolution.

Even with just the reinforcements from the special operations unit, they were struggling, and with the air squadron joining in, defeat was all but assured.

Cornered, the prince’s soldiers chose to take their own lives, as if it were a promise, bringing the situation to a close.

And now.

Daniel and his squad were standing at attention in a clearing in the forest.

In front of the transport helicopter that had landed in the center of the clearing, Selvia blinked her blue eyes and looked at them.

“Indeed. It is said that excellent soldiers follow a great commander…”

Daniel and his squad members were all covered in blood.

This meant they had not hesitated to fight against the prince’s soldiers.

Of course, among them, no one knew that the ones they had fought against were the prince’s soldiers, except for Daniel.

“Lieutenant Daniel.”

As Selvia scanned the squad members, her eyes met Daniel’s.

She gestured for him to come closer, and Daniel strode over.

“You called for me.”

Selvia nodded and stood on her tiptoes to whisper in Daniel’s ear.

“Please keep what you saw and heard today to yourself. It must not be known by others that my brother is involved in this matter.”

“…I understand. Without evidence, if I hastily assert that it was the prince’s doing, I could face backlash.”

“Exactly. It’s good that we can communicate well.”

The voice that reached his ear was sweet.

After softly conveying her message, Selvia took a step back.

“Then I will return to the Imperial City. If it were up to me, I would love to travel to the headquarters and exchange more words with you, but… the situation has escalated more than I expected, so I must hurry back.”

It had indeed escalated. By now, news of the princess’s ambush would be spreading like wildfire among the military leadership in the Imperial City.

Thanks to Captain Heinz’s judgment that the situation was dangerous, he had requested support from the air squadron.

In any case, if Selvia did not hurry back, she would face the ire of the current Emperor as well as the scrutiny of the noble retainers, leaving her with no choice.

Understanding Selvia’s position fully, Daniel bowed his head.

“It was an honor to meet you. I look forward to the day we can meet again.”

At Daniel’s polite words, Selvia smiled faintly.

“We will meet again soon.”

It was a significant remark.

While Daniel was unable to respond, Selvia turned and boarded the transport helicopter.

Once the members of the imperial guard confirmed that everyone was on board, they closed the door.

When one of the guards signaled that all were aboard, the pilot prepared for takeoff.

The helicopter’s propellers began to spin rapidly, soon producing a loud noise as it pushed against the air.

No, it would be more intuitive to say it pushed against the ground.

The helicopter took off, scattering the snow piled in the clearing in all directions as it flew straight toward the Imperial City.

“……”

Inside the helicopter, Selvia sat in her seat, looking down at the ground through the window.

Below, she could see Daniel and his squad members saluting the helicopter.

As she quietly gazed down at them, Selvia turned her head to look at the guard who was checking his weapon.

On the shoulder of the guard, who was under her gaze, was emblazoned the emblem of the chief protection of the imperial guard, a golden wing.

Colonel Hartmann Edelstein.

He was the one overseeing the imperial guard’s operations and had gained notoriety as a killing machine.

The tale of him wielding a sword and slaughtering enemies on a battlefield where bullets rained down was one of the stories often recounted when describing Hartmann.

If there was one being that even such a killing machine feared, it was Selvia von Amberg, who was now sending him a blank expression.

Normally, Selvia, who was like a granddaughter to him, was simply cute and beautiful, but when she stared like that, wanting something, it sent a chill down his spine, as he could not discern her intentions.

Yet, he could not continue to ignore her, so Hartmann set down the weapon he was cleaning and removed his gas mask.

A drop of cold sweat formed on the wrinkled face of the old soldier.

“Your Highness, do you have something to say to me?”

“I do. Why didn’t you rescue Lieutenant Daniel right away?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Hartmann, do you think I’m a fool? Lieutenant Daniel must have arrived before engaging the enemy, so why did you just stand by and not help him? Answer me.”

He had suspected this might happen, and indeed it did.

Hartmann looked around, unsure how to explain himself.

He had sent an SOS signal of sorts, but the guards were all desperately keeping their heads down, tending to their weapons.

They were trying to pretend not to know, fearing they might catch the backlash.

“Damn those fools…”

After shooting a glare at his subordinates, Hartmann turned back to Selvia and forced a warm smile.

“As far as I know, Your Highness’s order at the time was to ‘rescue Lieutenant Daniel without injury.’ Since Lieutenant Daniel was not actually injured, we can consider that we faithfully executed the order.”

“Is that what you call an excuse?”

“Your Highness, I understand your anger, but we needed time to assess what kind of person you wished to favor. That is also part of our duty.”

While he did not doubt Selvia’s judgment, it was crucial for the imperial guard to understand the abilities and ideologies of those approaching the princess.

“To elaborate on my excuse, we did have some results.”

Lieutenant Daniel Steiner was a rare individual capable of using neural acceleration.

Despite the extreme mana consumption, the time he could accelerate his nerves was significantly short, which meant that in the past, this ability had not been highly regarded.

With only a few seconds, he could not pierce a knight’s armor or break a wizard’s barrier.

However, with the advancement of technology and the emergence of firearms, the time it took for a person to kill another had shifted to seconds.

As long as one could aim properly, even the most lowly individual could kill someone of the highest nobility on the modern battlefield.

If one could gain even a few seconds of their own time in such a battlefield, they would hold a tremendous advantage.

In that regard, Lieutenant Daniel Steiner was an incredibly desirable talent.

Had he not been affiliated with the headquarters, Hartmann would have even offered him a position in the imperial guard.

“Lieutenant Daniel Steiner’s combat abilities are remarkable. If luck had been on his side, he could have taken out all six soldiers by himself.”

“……”

Selvia narrowed her eyes, her expression sulky.

Hartmann, who had served the princess for a long time, understood.

Selvia was silently pressuring him with the unspoken question, “Is that really what I’m asking about?”

Answering incorrectly here could earn him her ire.

Gaining Selvia’s displeasure was quite painful for Hartmann.

Despite the stark difference in status, he truly held Selvia dear, like a granddaughter.

Thus, he needed to share one more piece of information he had gleaned.

Clearing his throat, Hartmann spoke in a serious tone.

“If Your Highness truly wishes to recruit Lieutenant Daniel Steiner to our side, there is no need to test his loyalty.”

What was he saying all of a sudden? As Selvia blinked in confusion, Hartmann continued.

“Lieutenant Daniel Steiner stated in front of the prince’s soldiers that ‘a foolish prince can never become an emperor.’ Furthermore, he asserted that ‘the one who becomes the emperor is the princess.'”

Selvia’s eyes widened.

For Selvia, who had arrived late to the scene, it was the first time she was hearing that Daniel had said such a thing.

“……Is that true? Did Lieutenant Daniel really say that?”

“Yes. Everyone here heard it.”

The guards, who had been tending to their weapons, nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, a faint smile crept onto Selvia’s lips.

“I see. So Lieutenant Daniel said that…”

Trailing off, Selvia turned her gaze out the window, looking down at the ground.

Now that they were quite far from the clearing, there was no way she could see him, yet her gaze unconsciously sought Daniel.

“Hmm. To think he said that…”

Though she wasn’t sure, it seemed that Daniel’s words had greatly pleased her.

‘Is she feeling good about being able to recruit a new talent?’

If that were the case, she seemed even more excited than usual.

‘Could it be that she sees Lieutenant Daniel as a romantic interest…?’

No, that couldn’t be. Selvia had been so tormented by her brother that she was as hard as a rock when it came to seeing anyone as a romantic partner.

Regardless of the reason, it was truly a delightful sight for Hartmann to see Selvia displaying an expression appropriate for her age.