Chapter 14
After Daniel joined Princess Selvia, the tide of the war turned dramatically.
It was because the platoon members who had dispersed after disembarking on Daniel's orders joined the reinforcements sent by the forward base's special operations unit and literally wiped out the prince's army disguised as Allied soldiers.
Moreover, thanks to Captain Heinz's additional request for support, reconnaissance helicopters and fighter jets from a nearby air squadron joined the fight, leaving the prince's army with no chance of victory.
They had been a small force deployed for a swift, decisive operation in the first place.
They had already been hard-pressed to hold out against the special operations unit's reinforcements alone, and with the air squadron joining them, their defeat was all but certain.
The prince's cornered soldiers chose suicide as if they had planned it together, bringing the situation to an end.
And now.
Daniel and his platoon stood in formation in a forest clearing, holding themselves at parade rest.
Selvia blinked her blue eyes as she looked at them from in front of the transport helicopter that had landed in the center of the clearing.
‘As expected. They say excellent soldiers follow an outstanding commander…….’
Every one of Daniel's platoon members was covered in blood.
That meant they had not hesitated to fight the prince's soldiers.
Of course, aside from Daniel, none of them knew that the people they had fought were the prince's soldiers.
“Lieutenant Daniel.”
While looking around at the platoon members, Selvia met Daniel's eyes.
She beckoned for him to come closer, and Daniel strode over.
“Did you call for me?”
Selvia nodded, rose onto her tiptoes, and whispered into Daniel's ear.
“Keep secret what you saw and heard today. The others must not learn that my brother was involved in this.”
“……I understand. Since there’s no evidence, if we rashly declared this was the prince’s doing, it could backfire on us.”
“As expected. It’s nice talking to you because we understand each other so well.”
Her voice, heard right beside his ear, was sweet.
After speaking softly, Selvia took a step back.
“Then I’ll return to the capital. I’d like to travel with you all the way to General Staff Headquarters and talk more, but…… things have grown bigger than expected, so I think I need to hurry back.”
Things certainly had grown bigger. By now, news that the princess had been attacked must have been spreading throughout the military leadership in the capital.
It was thanks to Captain Heinz, who had judged the situation dangerous and requested support from the air squadron.
In any case, if she did not hurry back, Selvia would face the disapproving gazes not only of the current emperor but also of the vassal nobles, leaving her no choice.
Fully understanding Selvia's position, Daniel bowed his head.
“It was an honor to meet you. I look forward to the day I can serve you again.”
At Daniel's courteous words, Selvia gave a faint smile.
“We’ll be able to meet again soon.”
Those were meaningful words.
Before Daniel could respond, Selvia turned and boarded the transport helicopter.
After confirming that Selvia had boarded, the Imperial Guards climbed aboard with crisp discipline and closed the door.
When one of the Imperial Guards announced that everyone was aboard, the pilot prepared for takeoff.
The helicopter's propellers began to spin with a whir, then soon drove the air downward with a thunderous roar.
No, saying that they were pushing against the ground would have been more intuitive.
The helicopter took off, scattering the snow piled in the clearing in every direction, and flew straight toward the capital.
……
Inside the helicopter, Selvia sat in her seat and looked down at the ground through the window.
Far below, she could see Daniel and his platoon members saluting the helicopter.
After gazing down at them for a while, Selvia turned to look at an Imperial Guard who was checking his firearm.
The Imperial Guard beneath Selvia's gaze wore the Golden Wing (金翼) insignia on his shoulder, symbolizing the Imperial Guard's chief bodyguard.
Lieutenant Colonel Hartmann Edelstein.
He was in charge of the Imperial Guard's field operations, and was also a senior officer renowned as a human killing machine.
The feat for which Hartmann was best known—slaughtering enemies with a single sword amid a battlefield where bullets rained down—was one of the anecdotes always brought up when describing him.
If there was one person that such a killing machine feared, it was Selvia von Amberg, who was now staring at him with an impassive expression.
Normally, Selvia, who was young enough to be his granddaughter, seemed nothing but cute and lovely to him, but whenever she stared at him like that while wanting something, it chilled him to the bone because he could never tell what she intended.
But he could not keep ignoring her forever, so Hartmann set down the gun he had been cleaning and removed his gas mask.
A bead of cold sweat formed on the wrinkled face of the old veteran.
“Your Highness. Is there something you wish to say to me?”
“There is. Why didn’t you rescue Lieutenant Daniel immediately?”
“What do you mean?”
“Hartmann, do you take me for a fool? It’s obvious you arrived before Lieutenant Daniel even engaged the enemy, so why did you stand by instead of helping him immediately? Answer me.”
He had feared as much, and sure enough, that was exactly what she meant.
Wondering how he was supposed to explain this, Hartmann looked around.
It was an SOS signal of sorts, but all the Imperial Guards were desperately keeping their heads down and cleaning their firearms.
They were pretending as hard as possible not to know anything, worried the sparks might fly their way.
‘Damn bastards…….’
After glaring at his subordinates, Hartmann turned to Selvia and forced the most affable smile he could manage.
“As I recall, Your Highness’s order at the time was ‘rescue Lieutenant Daniel without a scratch.’ Since Lieutenant Daniel was not actually injured, it can be said that we faithfully carried out your order.”
“Is that what you’re calling an excuse?”
“Your Highness. I understand why you’re angry, but we needed time to determine what sort of person Lieutenant Daniel was, since you wished to take him under your wing. That is our duty as well.”
It was not that Hartmann doubted Selvia's judgment, but it was important for the Imperial Guard to determine the abilities and ideology of anyone approaching the princess.
“If I may offer one more excuse, we did achieve something of value.”
Lieutenant Daniel Steiner was a rare individual capable of using neural acceleration.
Apparently, despite its extreme mana consumption, the ability had not been highly regarded in the past because the amount of time it could accelerate one's nerves was remarkably short.
A mere few seconds had not been enough to pierce a knight's armor or break through a mage's barrier.
But with technological development and the advent of firearms, the time it took one person to kill another had fallen to a matter of seconds.
The modern battlefield was one where, so long as they could aim properly, even the lowliest person could kill someone of the noblest status.
In such a battlefield, being able to have even a few seconds of one's own time could provide an enormous advantage.
In that regard, Lieutenant Daniel Steiner was an extremely desirable talent.
If he had not belonged to General Staff Headquarters, Hartmann would have gone so far as to offer him a position in the Imperial Guard on the spot.
“Lieutenant Daniel Steiner’s combat ability was excellent. If luck had been just a little more on his side, he could have taken out all six soldiers by himself.”
……
Selvia narrowed her eyes to half-moons, her expression sullen.
Hartmann, who had attended to the princess at her side for a long time, understood.
At that moment, Selvia was applying silent pressure as if to say, ‘That’s not what I’m asking, is it?’
If he answered incorrectly here, he might incur her dislike.
For Hartmann, earning Selvia's dislike would be quite painful.
Although the difference in their status was stark, Hartmann truly regarded Selvia with particular affection, like a granddaughter.
So he had to somehow tell her one more piece of information he had uncovered.
Hartmann cleared his throat once, then spoke in a fairly serious tone.
“If Your Highness truly wishes to recruit Lieutenant Daniel Steiner as an ally, I don’t think there’s any need to test his loyalty.”
What was he talking about all of a sudden? Selvia blinked in puzzlement, and Hartmann continued.
“Lieutenant Daniel Steiner said in front of the prince’s soldiers, ‘That incompetent prince can never become emperor.’ He went on to declare, ‘The princess will become emperor.’”
Selvia's eyes grew round.
Since Selvia had arrived at the scene late, this was the first she had heard of Daniel saying such a thing.
“……Really? Lieutenant Daniel said that?”
“Yes. Everyone here heard it.”
The Imperial Guards cleaning their firearms each nodded in turn.
At the sight, a faint smile appeared at the corners of Selvia's lips.
“I see. Lieutenant Daniel said that…….”
Selvia let her voice trail off, turned her gaze out the window, and looked down at the ground.
The clearing was already far too distant for her to see it, yet Selvia's eyes unconsciously searched for Daniel.
“Hmm. So he said that…….”
He could not say for certain, but Daniel's remark seemed to have pleased her immensely.
‘Is she happy because she can recruit a new talent?’
For all that, she did seem more excited than usual.
‘Could it be that she sees Lieutenant Daniel as a man…….’
No. That couldn't be. Selvia was the sort of person who, after being tormented so much by her brother, regarded men like stones.
Whatever the reason, it was a truly heartwarming sight for Hartmann to see Selvia wearing an expression befitting her age.