I Was Mistaken for a Great General of War

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Right after Morten’s underlings were apprehended in the underground of the shopping district.

Captain Daniel Steiner notified the General Staff Headquarters that he would be returning to the mainland, renouncing his vacation.

Respecting Daniel’s wishes, the General Staff Headquarters arranged for a return train, and two days later, Daniel was ready to leave his hometown.

“Daniel? Didn’t you say you would stay here for a month?”

In front of the monastery entrance, Monastery Head Hieroni looked at Daniel, who had come to say goodbye, with a worried expression.

It was disappointing that he was going back to the mainland without properly enjoying his vacation.

Daniel also wished he could leisurely spend time in his hometown, but having caught a rebel, he had no choice but to hurry back.

‘The supporters of the Prince must be perceiving me as a key figure for the Princess faction by now…’

Even if it was unintentional, the fact that he took the lead in apprehending Morten’s subordinates was enough to provoke misunderstandings among the Prince’s supporters.

It was like advertising “Please kill me!” to continue enjoying a vacation while being misunderstood.

“I’m sorry. Something has come up on the mainland.”

Of course, there was no need to explain this to the Monastery Head, who was more like a mentor.

With a smile that downplayed the matter, Daniel took an envelope filled with money from his pocket and handed it over.

“More importantly, please accept this. I added a little bonus to my salary.”

Hieroni’s eyes widened as he checked the thickness of the envelope.

“Daniel! Even just coming to the monastery during your vacation is like a blessing from God, and now you’re giving me this much money! I absolutely can’t accept it! Please spend it on yourself.”

“Monastery Head, donating this money to the monastery is how I spend it on myself.”

Daniel gently urged him, but Hieroni firmly refused.

“The monastery can feed the children just fine without your help, so please use it for yourself. I don’t want to take money from someone who is already having a hard time.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll just burn this money since I don’t need it.”

“Daniel! Don’t say such nonsense…”

Hieroni trailed off.

Daniel gracefully retrieved a lighter from inside his officer’s coat and ignited it.

A thin smile appeared on Daniel’s lips as he held the envelope above the flame.

“Monastery Head, you know I mean what I say. If you don’t take that envelope right now, I’ll burn it.”

Hieroni gulped.

For a moment, he thought Daniel might actually burn all that money, and as the edge of the envelope began to char, he reached out in panic.

Quickly snatching the envelope, Hieroni exclaimed in shock.

“Daniel! Are you planning to trample on the intentions of those who gave you this money?!”

“I was going to, but since you took it, that won’t happen now.”

“What do you mean… Ah.”

At that moment, Hieroni realized he had been played by Daniel and wore a blank expression.

Seeing Hieroni’s expression, Daniel chuckled softly.

Snapping out of his daze at Daniel’s laughter, Hieroni frowned.

“…Daniel. Is this kind of childish prank amusing to you?”

“I’m sorry, but I had no other option. If I didn’t play this prank, you wouldn’t have accepted the money.”

“Honestly, you’re still the same now as you were back then…”

Letting out a low sigh, Hieroni nodded resignedly.

“Alright. If this truly represents your heart, I’ll use it for the children.”

“That’s what I hoped for. Well then, I shall be on my way.”

“So soon? I wish you would come in for a cup of tea…”

“I would love that too, but the train time is approaching. As you can see, the taxi driver is waiting back there as well.”

As Hieroni turned his gaze in the direction Daniel indicated, he spotted an Asian man in suspenders leaning against the vehicle.

The Asian man, catching Hieroni’s gaze, tipped his fedora and greeted him politely.

Seeing this, Hieroni raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled.

“A taxi driver from the East, huh? But I don’t recall seeing that face around here…”

Is he a recent hire? As he blinked in confusion, Hieroni nodded.

“Anyway, since time is tight, we can’t hold you back any longer. Daniel, we’ll be praying for you here, so if things get tough, feel free to come visit us anytime.”

“Yes. I will do that.”

Waving goodbye with a smile, Daniel turned away.

Immediately, the smile vanished from Daniel’s face.

He slowly walked to the back seat of the taxi and faced the driver.

“Please take me to the nearest train station.”

Hearing the driver’s acknowledgment, Daniel leaned back in his seat.

Thoughts of current events on the mainland began swirling in his mind.

‘The one who would promptly realize Morten’s capture is none other than Duke Belvar.’

Duke Belvar was not only the head of a prestigious family but also the court minister.

Valuing the royal family’s legitimacy, he was unwavering in his claim that the rightful candidate for the next Emperor was none other than His Highness the Prince.

If Morten were the left hand of the Prince operating in the shadows, then Duke Belvar could be viewed as the Prince’s right hand, openly supporting him.

It is understandable how stubborn he can be since, even at a time when the Prince’s defeat seemed inevitable, he stood against the Princess regarding the legitimacy.

Thus, as he apprehended Morten and his residue, Daniel revealed the news of the insurrection documents only to the Princess and her closest allies.

He aimed to plant the illusion in Duke Belvar’s mind that Morten would have burned all relevant documents and kept his mouth shut before being captured.

In a way, it was a time-buying strategy.

‘Moreover, revealing this fact to the press should be kept as a last resort.’

If information is carelessly disseminated, it would be like losing a valuable negotiation card.

Furthermore, if releasing the information inadvertently escalated into a war of public opinion, it could lead to an even tighter consolidation of their enemies.

‘So I need to use this information in a limited way to incite division from within…’

This was the only way to survive amidst this chaotic and violent succession struggle.

As Daniel pondered deeply in the moving taxi, he suddenly let out a low sigh.

He loosened the tie that felt like it was choking him and gazed out of the window, his face clouded with concern.

‘How did it come to this…?’

He had planned to play around with the monastery children and enjoy a meal at Jack’s Restaurant, maybe take a leisurely stroll after.

Yet, he found himself almost forcibly involved with the Princess faction, strategizing for survival.

‘Which damn fools eradicated the Prince’s secret organization and then dumped the responsibility on me?’

As Daniel ground his teeth with narrowed eyes, the taxi driver caught a glimpse of his reflection in the rearview mirror and smiled subtly.

‘Seeing his expression of delight, it seems our surprise was to his liking.’

Captain Daniel Steiner was destined to rise higher, as the prophet leading the Black Crow.

Meanwhile, at Duke Belvar’s mansion.

“Morten was captured?”

Hearing the news from the south, Belvar gaped, dumbfounded.

It was natural to be flabbergasted upon hearing that an organization that had operated unnoticed for the past three years had been wiped out overnight.

However, there was no time to be shocked right now.

“What about the confidentiality? Has it been revealed that the Dawn’s Light acted on behalf of His Highness the Prince?”

At Belvar’s question, his loyal subordinate and informant Basong shook his head.

“From the lack of further news, it seems the investigation is still ongoing.”

“That’s fortunate. But it’s only a matter of time before it comes to light. But who on earth caught Morten?”

“…Captain Daniel Steiner.”

Daniel Steiner.

As soon as Belvar heard that name, he felt dizzy and pressed his forehead.

“That damn fool. He’s finally showing his true colors.”

It’s quite common for a war hero to get involved in politics, especially when their reputation rises.

It appeared that Daniel also wished to make the Princess an Emperor for his own rise.

However, Daniel was different from typical war heroes.

‘Pretending to show no interest in politics until just before capturing Morten…’

Normally, Daniel had limited meetings with politicians and would refuse various interviews.

This time, due to the succession struggle, he went on a long vacation, leading Belvar to briefly ponder if Daniel really had no interest in politics.

‘But this was all a deception strategy!’

Looking at the talent he had to catch Dawn’s Light after completely deceiving everyone, it seemed he had been preparing for a long time.

The thought that he had been played by Daniel Steiner filled Belvar with frustration.

Still, no matter how intelligent and meticulous a person might be, there are bound to be gaps.

“Katman Schultz…”

In fact, not long ago, Katman Schultz, the deputy chief of the Security Bureau, had come to the mansion.

He mentioned suspicion that Daniel Steiner was colluding with spies.

However, upon hearing it, since there was no concrete evidence, Belvar thought it was a waste of time and dismissed him.

‘But now, I have to grasp at straws.’

Given the urgency of the situation, he couldn’t afford to be picky about whom to enlist.

“Contact the Security Bureau and tell Katman Schultz that as the court minister, I’ll watch your back, so somehow find evidence that Daniel Steiner is colluding with spies!”

After hearing Belvar’s words, the subordinate bowed his head and left the room.

Once his subordinate exited, Belvar irritably threw the wine glass he held.

Crash!

Red wine spilled out like blood from the broken glass.

Belvar clenched his fist as he quietly stared down at the scene.

‘Daniel Steiner…! How dare you, an orphan, try to manipulate this Empire!’

Belvar believed that Daniel’s ultimate goal was not merely to make the Princess an Emperor.

His instincts warned him.

Daniel’s dark intentions were undoubtedly deeper and darker.

However, as he could not gauge the depth of the darkness Daniel possessed, Belvar felt a surge of fear.

Trying to shake off the tremor in his hands, Belvar tightly shut his eyes.

‘This Empire, protected by my ancestors…’

I won’t allow it to fall into the hands of a brat like you!