I Was Mistaken for a Great General of War

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Morten, who just left Jack’s Restaurant, felt anxious and hurried his steps.

The profound words Daniel had shared planted a seed of unease, making his breath quicken.

‘He had no intention of communicating with us at all. Did he really think cooperation was just nonsense? Daniel should know that better than anyone…’

Yet, Daniel had somehow managed to make Morten seek him out by exerting some sort of threat in the monastery’s dining hall.

What could Daniel’s intentions be for doing such a thing?

As Morten’s mind calculated possibilities, his steps gradually slowed down.

‘It’s true that he never intended to cooperate from the start. Then, could it be…’

His slowing steps suddenly came to a halt.

‘…Was his goal to extract me from Dawn’s Light Headquarters?’

A faint realization brushed against his mind.

This was a tactic to incapacitate the leader of an organization before obliterating it entirely.

‘I’ve been played…!’

With unease morphing into conviction, Morten retrieved his radio from his pocket and turned it on.

He adjusted the frequency and hastily pressed the transmission button, opening his mouth with urgency.

“Headquarters! Do you hear me!? If you can hear me, respond! The situation is urgent!”

However, no one answered.

Morten, sensing something amiss, checked the frequency again and pressed the transmission button once more.

“Headquarters! Respond! We need to evacuate immediately…”

Morten suddenly shut his mouth.

He seemed to understand why there was no response.

Cold sweat trickled down his back as he let go of the transmission button, only to be met by a dissonant beep.

Almost immediately, eerie laughter echoed through the radio.

As Morten stood frozen, the laughter gradually subsided.

— Do you hear me, Morten Blackmore?

It was a voice he had never heard before.

This unmistakably meant that Dawn’s Light Headquarters had been seized by enemies.

— I see you’ve been having quite a bit of fun in the basement. Unfortunately, you won’t be enjoying it any longer.

Strength drained from his hand clutching the radio.

It was nearly impossible to maintain his composure upon realizing that everyone at the headquarters had been caught.

As the voice continued to flow from the radio, Morten listened intently.

— Morten Blackmore. This is your first and last warning.

After a brief silence, a cold and serious voice followed.

— Do not dare to oppose Daniel Steiner.

With his warning concluded, the communication abruptly ended.

Morten, staring blankly at his radio, suddenly felt dizzy and staggered.

His heart pounded erratically, and nausea surged up to his throat.

Gripping his chest, he trudged forward, eventually resting his hand on a nearby wall and bowing his head.

“Huuh, huuh…”

Morten gasped, exhaling his rough breaths while his eyes trembled.

‘The Prince’s… my century-old plan…’

Had been utterly crushed by the likes of Daniel Steiner.

“A-a…!”

Screaming, whether in terror or anguish, Morten suddenly whimpered lowly.

He could no longer deny it.

‘I am merely…’

Dancing in the palm of Daniel Steiner’s hand.

—

After finishing his meal, Daniel headed not to his accommodation but to the monastery.

Morten’s rudeness had unpleasantly affected Daniel in several ways.

Upon arriving at the monastery, Daniel immediately sought out the Monastery Head.

In the corridor-style courtyard, he spotted Hieroni, the Monastery Head, walking while holding a candlestick and quickly approached him.

“Monastery Head!”

Hieroni jumped slightly in surprise and turned around.

Seeing Daniel, Hieroni couldn’t help but tilt his head in confusion.

“Daniel? Didn’t you go to Jack’s Restaurant?”

“I did go, but… that’s not important right now.”

Hieroni blinked in a daze at the sight of Daniel, who looked somewhat angry.

“Was something wrong at the restaurant? Why do you look so upset?”

“Indeed. I met with someone from the city council.”

“From the city council?”

“Yes! They were exceedingly rude. Have they ever acted like that towards you or the children?”

Power often derives from wealth.

Daniel was well aware of how shameless people intoxicated by power could be.

If the city council had been bullying the monastery under the guise of donation budget assessments, he would never forgive them.

That is why he had come to hear the whole story from the Monastery Head.

However, Hieroni, who had never witnessed such rudeness from the city council, was merely perplexed.

“It seems there’s some misunderstanding. The city council members were all polite and courteous. Despite the city’s current difficulties, they even said they wouldn’t cut the donation budget.”

“…They said they wouldn’t cut the donation budget?”

If that were true, what was the deal with the man he met at Jack’s Restaurant mentioning war?

As he stood there, confused and blinking, he heard footsteps approaching nearby.

Instinctively turning his head, he saw the Vice Abbot coming around the corner of the courtyard.

“Vice Abbot.”

As Daniel slightly bowed his head, the Vice Abbot chuckled lightly.

“Daniel. I wondered what was going on since you had a guest looking for you. You should have at least said you were back.”

“I’m sorry. I had pressing matters to discuss with the Monastery Head… By the way, you mentioned there was a guest looking for me?”

The Vice Abbot nodded.

“Yes. I told them that visitors shouldn’t be coming to the monastery at this hour, but they insisted on meeting Captain Daniel Steiner. They seemed to have a reason, so I let them in for now.”

“…Are you talking about me?”

Not knowing who it could be, Daniel couldn’t reject someone who had come this far.

“Understood. Where are they?”

“They’re waiting in the chapel.”

Nodding, Daniel headed towards the chapel.

After circling through some hallways, he found the chapel and opened the door to step inside.

The scene inside the chapel was silent and tranquil, illuminated by moonlight filtering through the stained glass on the ceiling and walls.

In the center of such a chapel stood a man quietly gazing up at a statue of God.

As Daniel approached, the man sensed his presence and turned around.

Daniel furrowed his brow upon recognizing the man’s identity.

‘It’s the man I saw at Jack’s Restaurant.’

Aside from looking considerably haggard now, he was indeed the same person.

‘But what on earth has he come here for? Surely, he’s not here to apologize…’

He was the same man who had barged in without asking and threatened him with his words back then.

As Daniel shook off the lingering discomfort from that encounter, he finally spoke after a brief silence.

“I believe you have something to say.”

At Daniel’s words, Morten flinched slightly.

Nervously clenching and unclenching his fists, Morten slowly approached Daniel.

Swallowing hard, Morten reached Daniel’s immediate vicinity and slowly dropped to one knee.

‘No. This isn’t what I intended at all…’

As Daniel stood there, flabbergasted and speechless, Morten finally spoke.

“…Captain Daniel Steiner. This is a complete admission of my defeat.”

Morten’s words intensified Daniel’s astonishment.

What on earth was he talking about?

A moment later, Morten continued glumly.

“You have won, Captain. I have lost everything and do not even have the strength to rise again. You may dispose of me as you wish. Just… please spare my family…”

Tears welled up in Morten’s eyes, rolling down his cheeks.

“Please, just save my family. They are innocent, naive people. If you save my family, I will sincerely confess that I have been secretly working on behalf of His Highness the Prince.”

This left Daniel in a cold sweat.

‘What in the world is he saying?’

He was utterly bewildered by his nonsensical confession as Morten unexpectedly visited him.

Frustrated, Daniel sighed lowly and replied.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand what you’re talking about at all.”

“What? But Captain Daniel Steiner…”

Once again, Daniel sighed and knelt down to meet Morten’s gaze.

“I’ll say this once more.”

Daniel’s eyes narrowed slightly as he focused on Morten.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Morten’s eyes quavered upon hearing Daniel’s words.

He had come to understand Daniel’s intentions behind such statements.

‘He’s trying to hide the fact that he has armed forces under his command…’

If it became known that an ordinary soldier possessed a personal armed group, it would cause all sorts of complications.

To Morten, it appeared that Daniel was feigning ignorance to avoid external interference.

He was lying to avoid making even the slightest mistake that could get him caught.

A chill ran down his spine.

He was a truly cunning and cold-minded individual.

‘How many moves ahead is he planning…’

Was the obliteration of Dawn’s Light, a secret organization under the Prince, merely a part of the grand scheme that Daniel Steiner was orchestrating?

The words warning not to oppose Daniel Steiner echoed painfully in his mind.

With a growing sense of incomprehensible dread, Morten pressed his hands to the floor and slowly bowed his head.

“Yes. I will keep that in mind. Captain Daniel Steiner is…”

In submission, consumed by fear, Morten pressed his forehead against the ground.

Tears streamed down from his tightly closed eyes.

“You truly know nothing…”

Amid his soft sobs, Morten became certain once more.

This was a fight he could never win from the very beginning.