chapter_0046

45 – The Most Perfect Conquest in the World

45 – The Most Perfect Conquest in the World

Meanwhile, in Edria, a permanent member of the Allied Nations.

Count Caledra’s study.

“This way.”

Following the attendant’s guidance, Sorten, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Edria, slowly moved forward.

After navigating the maze-like study, Sorten soon arrived at the reading room.

Upon entering the reading room, Sorten felt a truly strange sensation.

Despite being on the third floor of the study, only a minimal amount of sunlight penetrated the room.

As Sorten surveyed the dimly lit study, even though it was noon, he soon spotted Count Caledra.

He was standing at a standing table, leaning on a cane, turning the pages of a book.

His snake-like, pale, and slender eyes blinked slowly, sending a chill down one’s spine.

Caledra de Norteber.

More famous by his nickname, the Count of Blood, he was, in name and reality, the power behind the throne of Edria.

With vast funds, he had been bribing high-ranking politicians and military leaders, so those who had once received money could not easily escape Caledra’s influence.

The same was true for Minister of Internal Affairs Sorten, who was standing here now.

The position of Minister of Internal Affairs itself had been arranged by Caledra before him.

Caledra didn’t even glance at Sorten as he opened his mouth.

“What brings you here?”

A chill permeated Caledra’s voice, creating an unnecessary sense of tension.

Unconsciously grabbing his necktie, Sorten took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

“I’ve come to talk about Lucy Emilia.”

Sorten spoke, but there was no response.

However, Caledra was not silent because he was displeased with Sorten’s words.

He was simply waiting for the next words.

Noticing this, Sorten continued awkwardly.

“…So, what I mean to say is, I’m worried that Lucy Emilia has been staying in enemy territory for too long. Wouldn’t it be a great loss to the Allied Nations if she were to change her mind?”

Still, Caledra said nothing.

Sorten swallowed hard and said,

“I heard that Lucy Emilia is in Nordia of the kingdom, away from the heavily guarded Imperial City. I think it would be good to order her to eliminate Daniel Steiner and return at this opportunity.”

“……”

“Look. Even I can see that Daniel Steiner is making tremendous achievements in many fields. He’s only a Major now, but what do you think will happen if he continues to be promoted and commands a large force?”

He was saying that it would be beneficial to the Allied Nations to eliminate the seed in advance.

After listening to Sorten’s story, Caledra closed the book with a casual gesture.

Caledra gently stroked the cover of the book and began to speak.

“Lucy will not change her mind. You know that the bond between her and me is special. She thinks of me as her father. I also regard Lucy as my daughter.”

“But that’s only…”

Sorten couldn’t finish his sentence.

Because Caledra’s snake-like eyes were glaring at Sorten.

Caledra, who had silenced Sorten, calmed his anger and regained his composure.

“…Also, I will not eliminate Daniel Steiner. It will benefit the Allied Nations to keep him alive for now. Of course, there are some setbacks.”

His performance far exceeded the scope that Caledra had anticipated.

In particular, when he heard that he had played a major role in the Nordia invasion operation, Caledra, as well as the Edrian military leaders, were shocked.

But it didn’t deviate from the main stem.

Not yet.

“Assassination is the last resort. First, we must keep Lucy by his side and take advantage of it.”

“…Advantage?”

“Lucy has objectively beautiful looks. As long as Daniel Steiner doesn’t know Lucy’s identity, he will inevitably have romantic feelings for her. We will use that.”

Was he planning to order a honey trap?

‘Well…’

Historically, there were quite a few cases where even those called great leaders suffered from women problems.

“No matter how rational a person is, when they fall in love, a mental illness, they tend to rely on emotions. It is easy to make a puppet out of someone who relies on emotions.”

If Daniel Steiner, who is called the hero of the empire, can be emotionally manipulated, he is no longer a target to be feared, but merely a useful pawn.

Sorten thought for a while and nodded.

“I understand. Then I will trust you…”

Before Sorten could finish speaking, Caledra waved his hand.

It meant to leave without disturbing his reading with unnecessary words.

His dignity was ruined, but he couldn’t dare to protest to Caledra.

Sorten nodded and followed the attendant out.

After confirming that Sorten was moving away, Caledra looked at the bookshelf and quietly muttered.

“Daniel Steiner…”

Caledra recalled the achievements he had made and soon shook his head.

There were too many things to consider besides Daniel Steiner right now.

*

“We will arrive in Nordia soon.”

At the driver’s words, Colonel Erwin, who had been appointed as the garrison commander, groaned.

Seeing this, Erwin’s adjutant asked, puzzled.

“Sir. Is there anything wrong?”

At the adjutant’s question, Erwin sighed lowly.

“Let me ask you something. Would you feel comfortable going to the position of garrison commander?”

“…But according to the General Staff’s data, the people’s livelihood seems to be stable?”

“Who do you think delivered that data to the General Staff?”

“That’s Major Daniel Steiner… Ah. I see.”

The adjutant nodded as if he understood.

There were often cases where officers blinded by performance manipulated statistical data and reported it to headquarters.

But would that Daniel Steiner have made a false report?

While the adjutant was puzzled, military vehicles carrying the battalion’s personnel entered Nordia in an orderly manner.

As the scenery of Nordia began to appear outside the window, Erwin turned his head and fixed his gaze on the front.

‘It’s only been a month since Daniel Steiner took office as the temporary garrison commander.’

Stabilized the people’s livelihood and secured support for the garrison in just one month?

‘No way!’

Erwin was from the Eastern Front.

He had experienced numerous advances and retreats on the Eastern Front, occupying and losing many areas.

In all those occupied territories, there were no citizens who were friendly to the garrison.

Most of them were afraid or despised the garrison.

Even Daniel Steiner, who is called the hero of the empire, could not be free from this law.

Therefore, it was clear that the citizens of Nordia would not look favorably on him, who was leading troops into the city.

In the worst case, a riot could break out as soon as he got out of the car, so Erwin remained tense.

As he was fiddling with his holster for no reason, the adjutant, who was looking out the window next to him, opened his mouth.

“Sir? The citizens are throwing something.”

“It is common to throw filth, so don’t worry. If we restrain those people on the spot, it may give the impression that the garrison is oppressing the citizens, so be careful not to react.”

“Yes? Ah, no. They are throwing flower petals.”

…Huh? They’re throwing flower petals?

Wondering what he meant, Erwin turned his gaze out the window and opened his mouth blankly.

As the adjutant said, the citizens of Nordia were throwing flower petals in baskets.

Looking at their faces full of smiles, it seemed that they were enthusiastically welcoming the garrison.

Erwin couldn’t help but be dumbfounded at the sight he had never seen before.

‘This is like…’

It was like welcoming allies, not a garrison.

He was blinking blankly, not knowing what was going on.

Squeak─

The vehicle carrying Erwin stopped in front of the headquarters building.

Erwin got out of the car, looked around, and was surprised once again.

A statue of His Majesty the Emperor was erected in front of the headquarters.

It seemed to be a hastily made statue, so the shape was very crude, but that was not the point.

Citizens were voluntarily placing flowers one by one in front of the statue.

Erwin, who couldn’t understand it at all, grabbed a child passing by and asked.

“Hey kid. Uncle is curious, but who built that statue?”

The child stared blankly at Erwin and said.

“A man with a black face told us to build it. All the adults agreed. They were originally going to make a statue of Daniel Steiner? But he said absolutely not, so they changed it to Emperor Uncle.”

So… it wasn’t an order, but the citizens voluntarily raised money and made a statue of His Majesty the Emperor and erected it here?

He was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t say anything, and then the front gate of the headquarters opened.

“Ah! Colonel Erwin! I’ve been waiting for you.”

When he turned his head, it was Daniel Steiner.

He was wearing an officer’s winter coat and approaching with a few officers, looking natural.

Erwin, who was staring blankly at the sight, spoke with a kind of respect.

“Major Daniel? I’ve been to many occupied territories, but this is the first time I’ve seen citizens of an enemy country welcome the garrison like this. How did you do it?”

Daniel, who was standing in front of Erwin, looked at the statue once and laughed lowly as if he had given up.

“That’s…”

A feeling of resignation was evident in Daniel’s smile.

“I don’t know either…”

It wasn’t a joke, he really didn’t know why things had turned out this way.

One word from the author (Author’s note)

Today is the weekend! You’ve worked hard this week!

I hope all the readers who read my work have a happy weekend!

And consecutive chapters are… going to be difficult…! Please breathe!

Instead, I will try to create a character illustration in the form of a cover.

I’m thinking of outsourcing it to an artist instead of AI!

I will let you know when the work is in progress.

Thank you! Then I’ll see you again tomorrow!