chapter_0123

122 – Between Lies and Truth

122 – Between Lies and Truth

After persuading the protesters, Daniel felt a wave of dizziness and knelt on one knee.

It was because he had lost strength due to blood loss.

As the panicking crowd watched, Frien rushed over to support Daniel.

Using healing magic, Frien performed emergency treatment and shouted loudly to the crowd.

She asked anyone to call an ambulance immediately.

Daniel tried to dissuade her, saying he wasn’t in such a serious condition, but Frien, who had medical knowledge as a medical officer, absolutely disagreed.

Frien earnestly requested the crowd once more to call for an ambulance, and a few who nodded went to report to a nearby hospital.

Thanks to that, an ambulance arrived shortly and took Daniel and Frien away.

Once they safely arrived at the hospital, Daniel underwent a thorough examination by the medical staff, and the doctor in charge was secretly astonished.

Thanks to Frien’s healing magic, Daniel’s wounds had completely healed.

The efficacy was so different from ordinary healing magic that the doctor concluded there was no need for surgery.

However, he suggested that it would be best for Daniel to stay hospitalized for a while to monitor his condition, and Daniel accepted this, temporarily admitting himself to the hospital.

Now, a day has passed.

“Colonel Daniel.”

Frien knelt beside Daniel’s bed, quietly watching him as he slept.

Seeing Daniel with a bandage on his forehead made her heart sink.

“…Honestly, I don’t understand. What could you possibly gain by pushing yourself to this extent, Colonel?”

Gingerly reaching out, Frien took hold of Daniel’s hand.

“But I believe that Colonel Daniel wouldn’t make the wrong choice. You must be struggling with political complexities that I, a foolish person, cannot comprehend.”

Frien’s eyes slowly fluttered open.

As they did, her long eyelashes also lowered.

“I don’t know what fight you are engaged in, but I hope I can be of help, just like you saved me when I was on the verge of collapsing back then.”

Frien remembers.

The conversation she had with Daniel, who was just a lieutenant at the military police detention center.

“At that time, I was about to give up everything. I was desperately denying it, but I knew the truth. I was abandoned by my family and clan.”

A normal father wouldn’t push his daughter into the military without knowing anything.

That could hardly be called love for a daughter.

Still, Frien did not accept the fact that she had been abandoned by her family and clan.

She feared that the moment she accepted it, she would collapse and never be able to rise again.

Regrettably, at that time, Frien’s life standards were not herself but her family.

“I tried hard to gain my father’s recognition, but it didn’t work out. I couldn’t even complete the training process and ended up locked in a detention center. So I cried a lot. I thought everything was over.”

At that moment, Daniel, who was sitting next to her, frowned and spoke to her.

─ It seems you’ve forgotten that an imperial soldier shouldn’t show tears.

Though his tone was filled with irritation, Frien knew that the essence was warm.

Daniel told her not to cry and had a brief conversation with her, from which Frien received considerable comfort.

“You said my will was noble. I don’t understand why I was so happy about that, considering I was pushed into enlistment by my family’s pressure. Perhaps…”

It might have been because it was the first time she received a heartfelt compliment.

For Frien, who had her every action denied simply because her magic was black, Daniel’s sincere praise was something special.

With a shy smile, Frien took Daniel’s hand and guided it to caress her cheek.

“I can’t express how happy I was when I got to go on a mission with you, Colonel Daniel. What made me even happier was that you had no preconceived notions about my magic.”

Not only did he have no preconceived notions, but Daniel also told Frien that her magic was excellent.

The black magic, which allowed no light to pass through, had a cloaking effect in itself.

Moreover, during his conversation with Bellaf, Daniel had mentioned that Frien was a dedicated and capable subordinate.

For Frien, who had lived isolated from both her family and the world, Daniel’s presence, which affirmed her existence, was like a ray of light from the heavens.

So, she couldn’t dislike him.

It was a fate that made her inevitably like him.

As Frien savored Daniel’s warmth through her cheek, she slowly closed her eyes.

“I will always… care for you, Colonel Daniel…”

Just as her unconfessed confession was about to be made, the door to the hospital room creaked open.

When she opened her eyes to see who it was, a man in a barbaric coat and a fedora stood there.

The man seemed momentarily stunned by the sight before quickly removing his fedora as he entered.

“I apologize for interrupting your time. I am Wölm, the editor-in-chief of the Melbaroton newspaper. I have urgent matters to discuss with Colonel Daniel.”

A newspaper person? Frien thought it wasn’t the right time for that, and she stood up.

“Colonel Daniel is currently sleeping. Even if it’s urgent, it would be best to visit after he has rested…”

As Frien spoke, Daniel’s hand, lying on the bed, twitched.

He reacted to the noise around him.

Slowly opening his eyes, Daniel glanced between Frien and Wölm, then frowned.

“…What is it?”

In response to his question about why someone had come so early in the morning, Wölm answered first.

“Colonel Daniel, I have urgent matters to discuss regarding yesterday’s incident.”

He had come to ensure that the newspaper would report on the incident faster than others.

Understanding this, Daniel exhaled softly and sat up.

“Frien? I need to talk with this person, so you can step out for a moment.”

“Understood.”

Frien answered without further comment and left the hospital room.

As the sound of her footsteps faded away, Wölm opened the briefcase he had brought.

He took out several developed photographs and handed them to Daniel.

“These are some of the well-taken photos from yesterday. Please take a look and let me know what to publish on the front page.”

Nodding, Daniel received the photos.

The first photo showed Daniel confronting the protesters.

The second depicted Daniel, bleeding from his forehead, shouting at the protesters.

Seeing this, Daniel swallowed hard.

‘Was I like this?’

It was far too brutal.

‘This is scary…’

Clearing his throat, Daniel examined the next photo.

This time, it showed Daniel embracing and comforting a male protester.

Though he was bleeding from his forehead, the humanitarian aspect was emphasized.

‘It captures both the violence of the protesters and the consideration I showed in one frame.’

Thinking this was exactly what he wanted, Daniel snapped his fingers.

“Publish this photo on the front page of the newspaper.”

“Understood. How about the headline: ‘Colonel Daniel Steiner showed mercy even in the face of the protesters’ violence’?”

After a moment of contemplation, Daniel returned the photo to Wölm.

“Change it. We need to emphasize that the violent ones were the ‘anti-war’ protesters. Also, the word mercy has a hierarchical connotation. It could provoke backlash.”

“Then how about…”

“The anti-war protesters turned violent, but Colonel Daniel Steiner showed them consideration would be good.”

Nodding, Wölm took the photo, and Daniel continued speaking.

“In the follow-up article, keep mentioning the violence of the anti-war protesters. We need to instill the impression in the public that those participating in the anti-war protests are rioters. That way…”

Looking up at Wölm, Daniel narrowed his eyes sharply.

“They won’t dare to hold such ridiculous protests again.”

–

Outside the hospital, Wölm took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

‘Talking to that person makes me feel strangely suffocated…’

Whether it was just a feeling or not, every word he spoke carried an intimidating weight, making it hard to converse easily.

After wiping away the sweat and putting the handkerchief away, Wölm looked around and searched for Tom.

He was a founding member of the Melbaroton newspaper and the person Daniel Steiner had planted among the protesters.

Now that his mission was complete, he was waiting in front of the hospital to rejoin and return to the Imperial City.

“Tom!”

When Wölm called out, Tom turned his head.

However, he looked visibly tense for some reason.

Finding that odd, Wölm approached and spoke.

“Why are you trembling like that?”

“Well… it’s about the task Colonel Daniel assigned me…”

“You completed the mission well, didn’t you? What’s the problem?”

Tom shook his head as if to say otherwise.

“I didn’t throw it.”

As a result, one of Wölm’s eyebrows twitched.

“…What? You didn’t throw it? What do you mean?”

“Literally. Just as I was about to throw it, someone else picked up a brick and threw it. I remembered the person’s appearance and reported it to the police right away, but…”

“Did they get caught?”

Tom nodded.

“Yeah, they’re probably being held at the police station as a suspect right now.”

Wölm sighed in relief upon hearing this.

“If the perpetrator is caught, that’s not a bad thing. If the perpetrator has been active among the protesters for a long time, there won’t be any talk of ‘Daniel Steiner’s staged act’ in the Imperial Daily.”

The fact that the perpetrator was caught in the act was good news.

Even so, Wölm never expected that someone would actually throw a brick.

‘Daniel Colonel was bleeding a lot for some reason…’

Now that he thought about it, if it were a fake brick, it should have shattered upon impact, but it didn’t break at all.

‘It was a real brick…’

If getting hit on the side of the head was luck, then it was indeed luck.

According to the doctor’s opinion, there would be no physical issues.

‘Anyway, that’s that…’

Wölm glared at Tom.

“Right now, you need to tell Colonel Daniel the truth. No matter how small the lie, the moment it’s discovered that we deceived Colonel Daniel, we don’t know what might happen to us.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s right. Got it…”

Just as Tom agreed with Wölm’s words and was about to enter the hospital,

“Wait a minute. Hold on, Tom.”

Wölm called out to Tom, who paused for a moment in thought.

Wölm felt something strange and quietly spoke.

“Tom. Didn’t we decide to become a propaganda media outlet that reports lies for Colonel Daniel?”

“…That’s right? You cried and screamed about making a deal with the devil that night.”

“But have we ever lied?”

The report that Baron Hendleyem was related to Kemble of the Liberty Socialist Party was true.

Though Daniel denied it for political use, the Melbaroton newspaper had never lied.

This incident with the protesters was also identified as having been caused by a protester throwing a brick, so it wasn’t a lie that they had committed violence.

Recalling all of this, Wölm opened his mouth somewhat reluctantly.

“…Aren’t we just speaking the truth?”

Silence fell between them.

Tom, who had been blinking blankly, slowly opened his mouth.

“Uh? Now that you mention it…”

It wasn’t an incorrect statement.