NOVEL WEB Chapter 91
“The Grand Assembly Hall of the Imperial Palace was buzzing since early morning.”
This was all thanks to Princess Selvia summoning diplomats and key personnel from the General Staff Headquarters for a report on the search operation.
Since Selvia hadn’t entered the assembly hall yet, the atmosphere was rather light, and they were chatting away.
“Did you hear? There was a protest in Dawn Square yesterday.”
“You mean the protest condemning the United Nations for attacking the diplomatic vessel carrying the Empire’s hero? I heard it was a massive demonstration.”
“It’s a biased view, but it’s true the United Nations is suspicious…”
But the diplomats suddenly shut up.
The doors of the assembly hall swung open.
“Her Highness the Princess is entering!”
Right after a shout from an Imperial Guard soldier, Selvia stepped into the assembly hall.
The red cape symbolizing her status as the heir to the throne fluttered in rhythm with her steps.
Once she made her way to the head seat and sat down, her delicate lips moved.
“Let’s begin the meeting. Everyone, please take your seats.”
With that said, the diplomats and General Staff personnel began to sit down one by one after receiving her permission.
After confirming that everyone was seated, Selvia turned her gaze towards Yobenf, the Foreign Minister.
“Please report from the Foreign Ministry.”
Yobenf nodded.
“Your Highness. To start with the most recent news, the Belanos government has sent a telegram saying they found the culprit who opened their territorial waters to terrorists.”
“They found him?”
“Yes. The culprit is Colonel Edvol, the defense commander of the 12th Naval District of Belanos. He claims he received a bribe from the United Nations, but there’s one troubling thing…”
Yobenf paused for a moment before continuing.
“There seems to be no evidence left of him receiving a bribe from the United Nations. Not only are there no communication records, but his bank records are also clean, leading us to believe that tracking it down is currently impossible.”
“Sounds like a premeditated crime. What is the UN’s reaction?”
“They’ve remained silent, recently expressing regret in public forums. The king of Edria, a permanent member state, stated that attacking civilian vessels is a condemnable act.”
Selvia’s eyes narrowed at the report.
‘The king of Edria is nothing but a puppet of Count Kaledra.’
So, Count Kaledra used the king’s mouth to say what he wanted.
‘Expressing regret?’
It seemed more like backpedaling after cutting off ties.
Selvia felt her teeth grind at the disgusting behavior of the United Nations but couldn’t make an official condemnation due to the lack of solid evidence.
“What about the submarine? Have you found its whereabouts?”
As she asked with a glimmer of hope, Yobenf could only shake his head.
“The Intelligence Department is working hard, but they say it’s still missing. Since it wasn’t a submarine that set sail from the United Nations originally, it’s difficult to track. It seems they cut off communications to avoid eavesdropping.”
Her head ached from the meticulous behavior of those bastards.
Selvia let out a short sigh, realizing there were no good options.
“Keep investigating until we uncover a lead. Now then…”
She turned her attention to Cedric, the Deputy of Operations Staff who was present instead of the Chief of Staff.
“I want to hear the report from the General Staff.”
She was asking if they had found Daniel.
Cedric bowed his head respectfully and spoke up.
“According to the report, they found a man resembling Colonel Daniel Steiner.”
“Really?”
“Yes. However, the man denied that he was Daniel Steiner. There are various opinions about the reason…”
Cedric’s eyes flickered with uncertainty.
“If we assume that this man is indeed Daniel Steiner, it seems to stem from a lack of trust in lower-ranked officers. They must have calculated the probability that a lower-ranked officer could be a spy or disguised enemy.”
“Indeed…”
Being alone in an unfamiliar land could surely lead to deep suspicion.
Selvia felt pity for Daniel and let out a sigh.
Cedric, watching her, spoke up.
“If he doesn’t trust lower-ranked officers, it would be wise to send someone with confirmed identity to verify. Major Heinrich Schmidt, who is also carrying out a search operation in Belanos with the Magic Mobile Army, can recognize him since they have met before.”
It was a decent suggestion, and Selvia nodded.
“Let’s do that. But what do you mean opinions were divided regarding why Daniel Steiner hid his identity?”
“Ah. This might be a low probability theory, but there was a brief discussion in the General Staff that Daniel Steiner might be suffering from memory loss due to the aftereffects of the accident.”
“Memory loss?”
Selvia blinked in disbelief and then chuckled.
‘If he had memory loss, he wouldn’t have changed his clothes right after the accident and hidden his uniform.’
It was hard to see someone not knowing who they were behaving in such a manner.
‘But what if, by some slim chance, he’s actually suffering from memory loss…?’
Thinking of the worst-case scenario, Selvia bit her lip.
‘I have no choice. I’ll have to take care of him for the rest of my life…’
With the justification of treating a war hero, it wasn’t an impossible task.
Clearing her throat, Selvia looked at Cedric with a somewhat playful smile.
“Just in case, pass on what I’m about to say to Daniel Steiner.”
*
Meanwhile, Daniel was preparing to meet his end in the inn room.
He accepted that he could not escape the search forces leading his fleet.
‘By now, they must have blocked every entrance and are verifying identities…’
The option to flee was practically gone.
‘Still, wouldn’t it be worth trying?’
Optimistic hope flared within him, but soon Daniel’s reason quashed it.
If caught while trying to escape, he would immediately be labeled a betrayer of the Empire.
That meant the death penalty.
Unless there was a high probability of escaping due to a weak encirclement, risking it against a fleet-sized perimeter was plain insanity.
While he lamented his life, someone knocked on the door.
“…Who is it?”
Before he could grant permission, the door swung wide open.
Startled, Daniel jumped slightly.
The person standing beyond the door was Major Heinrich Schmidt, who led the Magic Mobile Army.
He was one of the remarkable figures in the operation against the Nordia invasion.
If Daniel proposed operations, Heinrich was the one executing them.
‘But they’ve even sent the elite Magic Mobile Army for a search operation?!’
He was so astonished he couldn’t even laugh.
Frozen in disbelief, Daniel watched as Heinrich stepped into the room.
“Daniel Steiner. It seems to be you. But why did you lie to the officer that came yesterday, saying you weren’t him?”
Daniel remained silent.
To be precise, he was struggling to find an excuse.
Seeing his hesitation, Heinrich raised an eyebrow.
“Are you really suffering from memory loss? There’s talk inside that you might be suffering from it. I don’t believe it, but…”
The mention of memory loss reignited hope within Daniel.
‘This could be an opportunity.’
The position of an operations staff officer could only be held by someone with high levels of competence.
So there was no way they would keep an officer suffering from memory loss in the General Staff.
‘Surely, I’d get discharged.’
Moreover, it wouldn’t just end with being let go from the General Staff.
Knowing the Empire’s nature of not appointing incompetent individuals, he might receive a judgment of suitability and be forced to retire.
‘Alright.’
It was the moment Daniel decided to pretend to have memory loss.
“Daniel Steiner. Even if you’ve lost your memory, don’t worry. Her Highness the Princess has declared that war heroes ought to be treated appropriately. She said, if you are suffering from memory loss, she will personally bring you back to the palace.”
What does that mean? Daniel looked puzzled as Heinrich smiled.
“Her Highness said she will keep you by her side ‘for life.’ Isn’t that a great honor?”
Daniel’s eyes widened in shock as he silently screamed within.
‘No…!’
He thought he had to do everything he could to prevent that.
Trying to appear nonchalant, Daniel gave a soft chuckle.
Though his insides were burning with anxiety, he stood up as naturally as possible.
“I believe the time has come to reveal my identity.”
Taking a private deep breath, Daniel looked at Heinrich and spoke clearly.
“I am Colonel Daniel Steiner, an operations staff officer in the General Staff and currently on a diplomatic mission from the palace in Belanos.”
Daniel looked Heinrich in the eye sharply, performing a perfectly crisp salute.
Seeing this, Heinrich secretly admired him and returned the salute.
“Indeed, it was true that you’ve been lurking here in disguise. Can you tell me what plans you were concocting for the Empire?”
But there were no plans for the Empire.
Rather, it was quite the opposite.
He was gathering funds to escape from the Empire.
However, if he spoke the truth, he might be executed.
As he pondered briefly, Daniel slowly moved.
“I desperately want to tell you…”
As he approached the window, he gazed out at the distant sea.
“The information I’ve gathered here isn’t something I can easily disclose.”
It meant at least it was classified information.
In other words, Colonel Daniel Steiner had collected such information while in a state of distress.
‘Ordinary people would be too occupied looking after their own safety…’
Watching Daniel’s back, Heinrich couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.
‘Don’t underestimate the young. Is he really a genius staff officer?’
Frankly speaking, it stirred a hero-worshipping sentiment within him.