chapter_0114

113 – Do you think I will let you escape?

113 – Do you think I will let you escape?

The next morning.

Emperor Bertham’s bedroom.

“Your Majesty! Please take heed!”

Duke Belvar shouted, bowing before Bertham, who was sitting on the edge of his bed.

“Daniel Steiner must not be granted inspection authority! That man threatens the nobles of the Empire under the pretext of inspection, which shakes the very foundation of the Empire and directly challenges the power of the royal family!”

Belvar’s outcry pierced Bertham’s head like a sharp pain.

Feeling a headache, Bertham pressed his forehead and let out a low sigh.

“…Is this the reason you have disturbed my rest?”

“Your Majesty! To say this is merely a trivial reason is utterly absurd! How can it not be a grave matter that an orphan like Daniel Steiner is inspecting nobles!”

“And so you wish for me to revoke my daughter’s decision?”

Belvar fell silent.

From that silence, Bertham read affirmation and blinked his weary eyes.

“Lift your head and look at my condition.”

Slowly raising his head, Belvar could see Bertham’s face.

Underneath the disheveled hair, his face, marked by age, showed no signs of vitality.

His lips were parched, and one eye could barely open.

Even without a doctor, it was clear what state Bertham had reached.

Death loomed ahead of him.

“I am likely to die soon. Perhaps today is the last day I can have a conversation with you while in my right mind. Moreover, my daughter’s coronation is about to take place. And you wish for me to step in to revoke her decision in that situation?”

At a time when supporting Selvia would be more than enough, he questioned whether he should let the public know about the family feud by directly opposing Selvia’s orders.

Only then did Belvar realize he had committed a faux pas and quietly lowered his gaze.

Bertham, who had been looking down at Belvar, continued speaking.

“Furthermore, I have heard from my daughter that Kemble, the head of the Liberty Socialist Party, has been acting as a collaborator. If that is true, then my daughter has not issued a proper command, has she?”

“Your Majesty, I believe that the legitimacy of the procedure is more important than the outcome. It would be right to investigate through the Security Agency rather than entrusting it to Daniel Steiner.”

“Legitimacy, you say. According to the Empire’s laws, granting temporary inspection authority to military personnel who discover evidence of collaborators is not illegal.”

While it was an exceptional case, it did not violate legitimacy.

Thanks to that, Belvar could not refute, and Bertham added.

“I do not understand why you are so hostile. If Daniel Steiner obtained inspection authority to persecute nobles as you claim, wouldn’t that be a boon? The moment he fails to produce proper inspection results, grounds for his punishment would arise.”

Whether your words are true or Daniel Steiner’s words are true remains to be seen.

Belvar did not like Bertham’s neutral stance, but he could not show it outwardly.

Though he was a toothless, sickly lion, Bertham was still the Emperor of the Empire.

“…Indeed, a wise judgment, Your Majesty.”

Thus, for now, he had no choice but to lie flat.

–

Meanwhile, at the home of Kemble, the head of the Liberty Socialist Party.

“Pack the cash and jewelry first! We can send someone for the rest later!”

“…Honey? Why are you doing this?”

“I’ve told you a hundred times, there’s no time to explain! Just do as I say!”

Kemble shouted irritably at his wife, clutching a travel bag as he entered his room and opened a drawer.

He hastily stuffed expensive wristwatches and tie pins into the bag he had brought.

“Damn it! Damn it all…!”

He had just received a call from his informant, Platt.

Daniel Steiner had requested inspection authority from Princess Selvia, and it had been granted.

The granting of inspection authority meant that Daniel Steiner had discovered who was behind the prince Bleff’s ambush.

If so, Daniel Steiner’s target was none other than Kemble.

“I need to hurry! Quickly!”

Thus, Kemble was urgently preparing to leave the Imperial City.

He had to escape before Daniel Steiner arrived to buy himself some time.

After gathering a few more valuables from the room, Kemble came out into the living room with his travel bag.

“Damian! Have you packed everything? We need to leave right now… Damian! Where are you?!”

Hearing her husband call for their son, Kemble’s wife looked up from packing clothes.

“If it’s Damian, he’s in the yard. He went out to take the puppy…”

“The puppy? What the hell! I’ll get him, so just pack the bags!”

Kemble shouted at his wife in frustration, forcing himself to calm down as he walked toward the front door.

As he walked to the front door, he heard Damian’s laughter from the yard.

Thinking he was playing with a neighbor, Kemble swung open the front door but stopped abruptly.

“Please tell me more than just about protecting the princess!”

“Of course. What story would you like to hear?”

“Um. Ah! Nordia! I want to hear about the invasion of Nordia!”

In the yard stood Daniel Steiner.

Kneeling on one knee, he was playing with Damian, while behind him stood elite soldiers and officers from the command headquarters.

They stood at attention, not moving an inch.

The sight of them surrounding the house like a wall of humans made Kemble freeze.

“The invasion of Nordia! I would love to tell you all about it, but that won’t be possible.”

“What? Why not?”

“To tell you stories from the invasion of Nordia, I would have to describe what happened to my enemies. That might be a bit gruesome for a child like you to hear. Because…”

Slowly raising his head, Daniel met Kemble’s gaze.

“My enemies all met a terrible end.”

Thanks to that, Kemble’s hand on the doorknob trembled.

Damian, blinking in confusion at Daniel’s words, turned around and soon broke into a wide smile.

“Dad! Colonel Daniel says he has something to discuss with you!”

The fact that the Empire’s hero knew his father made Damian happy, and he rushed over to Kemble and hugged him.

“How did you two meet? I didn’t know you knew Colonel Daniel!”

“I, I…”

Trying to respond calmly, Kemble found his voice trembling uncontrollably.

Meanwhile, sensing something odd, Kemble’s wife came out to the front door and gasped, covering her mouth.

The sight of Daniel Steiner leading troops to their home was certainly not a good one.

Facing Kemble’s family, Daniel stood up and took off his uniform cap, placing it over his heart.

“Nice to meet you. I am Colonel Daniel Steiner from the operations staff of the command headquarters.”

“What brings you here, Colonel…?”

At his wife’s words, Daniel smiled kindly.

“I have urgent matters to discuss with Mr. Kemble of the Liberty Socialist Party. If you don’t mind, could you prepare a place for us to talk?”

His wife glanced at Kemble and nodded hesitantly.

Seeing this, Daniel raised his hand and gestured, and two armed soldiers stepped forward.

“I would like your wife and our dear Damian to spend some time at the downtown bakery. My soldiers will escort you there.”

Though they were just going to a bakery, she couldn’t understand why soldiers needed to escort them, but the thought of not refusing Daniel Steiner’s words prevailed.

“…Understood.”

In a barely audible voice, Kemble’s wife replied and slowly began to walk with Damian.

The two soldiers walked alongside Kemble’s wife and Damian, keeping close to them.

Their behavior seemed like they were being monitored to prevent them from escaping, causing Kemble to narrow his eyes.

Though he felt fear towards Daniel Steiner, he could not accept such an outrageous act.

“What are you doing right now?!”

Kemble stepped closer to Daniel and mustered his courage to speak.

“You are currently using force to pressure the head of a political party! The head of a party that represents the voice of the people! Do you think this makes any sense?!”

Daniel merely gazed at Kemble, who was shouting and pointing, as if to say he could say more if he wished.

Though Kemble hesitated at Daniel’s attitude, he thought he must not lose momentum and shouted.

“I don’t know what authority you think you have, but disperse your troops immediately! Otherwise, I will not comply with your demands!”

Daniel, who had been quietly watching Kemble, let out a low laugh.

The sticky and eerie sound of laughter approached him with a sense of dread.

After a while, Daniel finally stopped laughing and stared intently at Kemble.

“You say you will not comply with my demands.”

His black eyes, like graphite, resembled an abyss.

Reflected in those eyes, Kemble’s figure was clearly terrified.

“Right now, you…”

Daniel, who had trapped Kemble within his sight, quietly moved his lips.

“Do you think you have a choice?”