I Was Mistaken for a Great General of War

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For a while, Duke Belvar remained silent, clenching his teeth so tightly it looked painful.

In that moment, by grabbing Daniel’s hand, he would betray the Prince.

He would be denying the legitimacy of the royal line that the Bahartante family had upheld for generations.

If it meant upholding the beliefs that his father and ancestors had guarded, he could throw away his life without a second thought.

‘But what about family? What wrongs have my family done?’

To Belvar, blood relations were just as important as beliefs.

It was only natural.

Before he was the head of the family, he was a father.

He knew well what dreams his grown sons had and the efforts they were putting in.

He couldn’t destroy their shining futures just to keep a belief.

‘What should I do…’

The continuous agony gave way to a headache, and Belvar’s vision shook.

He understood. This was no mere threat.

The devil before him would undoubtedly carry out a massacre the moment negotiations broke down.

He could see the coldness of Daniel Steiner in his lifeless gaze and soulless smile.

Thus, Belvar had to make a choice at this very moment.

“I…”

But the words wouldn’t come.

The sounds of speech rising up through his throat dissipated before they could escape his lips.

Belief and family.

Neither could be easily discarded.

Seemingly dissatisfied with the silence, Daniel slowly opened his mouth.

“…Duke, do you still think this is an equal transaction and negotiation?”

Daniel chuckled softly, as if finding it absurd.

“This is fundamentally a favor and goodwill extended by Her Highness the Princess and myself to the Bahartante family.”

Belvar interpreted those words as ‘Yet here you are, clueless and brooding.’

As Belvar trembled, Daniel shook his head as if pitying him.

“I won’t stop you from repeating the same mistakes even after coming back to the past. So, the great Duke Belvar of the Bahartante family, I hope you look forward to the destruction that awaits you.”

Just as Daniel was about to rise from his seat, Belvar suddenly bent down and firmly grabbed Daniel’s hand.

The fear gripped him that everything would become irrevocable the moment Daniel left this place.

“…”

“…”

A chilling silence fell between them.

Daniel neither pushed away nor gripped Belvar’s hand, leaving it as it was.

It was a signal for him to speak his heart.

“Cooperation…”

Tears welled in Belvar’s bloodshot eyes.

Feeling defeated, Belvar closed his eyes and spoke in a low sob.

“I will cooperate as you command…”

Only then did Daniel finally clasp Belvar’s hand in his.

With his other hand, he lightly rested on Belvar’s shoulder.

“Indeed. I knew you would make a wise choice. Since you’ve accepted our proposal, the Bahartante family is no longer involved in this matter.”

A gentle pressure applied to Belvar’s shoulder accompanied Daniel’s words.

“Moreover, you have never stood on the side of His Highness the Prince. Not in the past, nor in the future. Do you understand my words?”

Belvar, biting his teeth and half-sobbing, found it hard to respond.

Daniel, seeing Belvar’s miserable state, lifted his hand from the shoulder.

“If you understand, nod your head.”

Overcome with unprecedented emotions, Belvar nodded, almost trembling.

Seeing this, Daniel finished the handshake with a satisfied expression and rose from his seat.

“Excellent. I will relay your intentions to Her Highness the Princess.”

After adjusting his clothes, Daniel turned to Hartmann, who was standing nearby.

“Colonel Hartmann, now that the matter is concluded, we should take our leave. We can’t impose on the Duke any longer by staying here.”

Hartmann, who had been watching everything unfold, dazedly nodded.

At that, Daniel made his way out of the reception room.

Hartmann also followed Daniel out, glancing around.

Confirming there were no people in the corridor, Hartmann examined Daniel’s profile.

He noticed that the devilish demeanor he had just witnessed was now gone, leaving a weary appearance behind.

It seemed Daniel had relaxed, letting out a low sigh.

“Thank goodness. If Duke Belvar had rejected the proposal, it could have turned into a tough battle.”

That made Hartmann feel a sense of alienation.

After a moment of awkward silence, Hartmann finally spoke.

“Surprising. Honestly, I thought Duke Belvar wouldn’t accept the proposal.”

“I was also half in doubt. I guess the act worked out well.”

Hartmann frowned at Daniel’s remarks.

‘An act, huh?’

Could it really be called an act?

In Hartmann’s eyes, it seemed more fitting to describe it as the hidden truth spilling out.

But from Daniel’s perspective, it was indeed an act.

Of course, it came with the modifier ‘desperately performed to survive.’

‘If I hadn’t managed to subdue Duke Belvar, I would have died.’

Relieved that everything had gone well, Hartmann cleared his throat.

“Anyway, you’ve worked hard. I’ll report to Her Highness about this, so you should go back and get some rest first.”

Daniel looked back at Hartmann in surprise, then lightly nodded.

“Thank you for your consideration. I’ll do just that.”

The two men walked through the mansion’s corridor in an awkward silence.

To be precise, the awkwardness was only Hartmann’s.

The figure of Daniel Steiner walking ahead felt unusually intimidating that day.

*

After parting ways with Daniel in front of the mansion, Hartmann headed straight for the Imperial Palace.

Upon arriving at Selvia’s office and knocking on the door, a voice from inside beckoned him to enter.

As Hartmann entered and saluted, Selvia looked up from her paperwork.

“…Oh? Where’s Captain Daniel?”

“He looked tired, so I told him to go ahead of me.”

“He went ahead? So, you really let him go just because you told him to?”

As Selvia insisted for clarification, Hartmann raised an eyebrow slightly surprised.

“Your Highness? Were you perhaps waiting for Captain Daniel?”

“Huh? Well…”

As if caught off guard, Selvia’s face flushed slightly, and she suddenly cleared her throat.

“Of course not! I didn’t want to see him that much. But how did the negotiations go?”

“They were successful. In exchange for not holding the Bahartante family accountable, they agreed to withdraw support for His Highness the Prince.”

Selvia’s mouth fell open in shock at Hartmann’s words.

She couldn’t believe that the stubborn old fox had surrendered just like that in a single negotiation.

“…Really? Duke Belvar bowed his head to me?”

“That’s right. It’s thanks to Captain Daniel’s hard work.”

Hearing that Daniel was the one who accomplished the negotiations, Selvia couldn’t help but admire him.

Capturing the Prince’s rogue organization alone was a tremendous achievement, and by defeating Duke Belvar, he had effectively put an end to the succession struggle.

A thin smile crept onto Selvia’s lips as she let out a low chuckle.

“Suddenly, my brother is left with no support. Poor brother. He must be screaming in frustration right about now.”

Confident of her victory, Selvia put her fountain pen away and closed the lid on the case she had been holding.

“So…”

Selvia’s sharp gaze flicked toward Hartmann.

“What do you think of Daniel Steiner?”

Having witnessed Daniel during the negotiations, she was asking Hartmann to share his thoughts.

It was also the fundamental reason why Selvia had assigned him as her protector.

Gaining insight into whether it was safe to have Daniel by her side was a natural concern for a princess.

“Daniel Steiner ranks among the most capable individuals I’ve encountered. However…”

Hartmann, who had paused to gather his thoughts, continued.

“…he’s an incredibly dangerous person.”

When assessing the qualities of an aide, Hartmann focuses on tactics, strategy, and politics.

Due to the nature of the Imperial Guard, Hartmann operates primarily in institutional settings rather than the field, prioritizing politics among the three abilities.

Tacticians can’t defeat strategists, and strategists can’t defeat politicians.

So what about a politician? When faced with a rival, they often end up maintaining balance rather than wielding power.

But Daniel Steiner was different.

He managed to thoroughly subjugate Duke Belvar, who might one day become his rival, under the pretense of “helping the princess.”

‘He must find that unacceptable. Being attacked by Duke Belvar…’

Hartmann could tell he felt intense rage toward Belvar, who had tried to frame him through the Security Bureau for being a spy.

Yet Daniel’s anger wasn’t a raging fire; it resembled a slowly flowing venom.

It may not seem powerful at first glance, but it was more dangerous than it looked, and taking a single sip would bring unbearable pain.

In front of those who had ingested that venom, Daniel Steiner would smile and say.

“Let’s negotiate, for I have the antidote.”

That was how Hartmann viewed Daniel Steiner.

“Thus, Your Highness…”

Recalling the image of Daniel conversing with Belvar, Hartmann spoke.

“You must never turn Daniel Steiner into an absolute enemy.”

He bowed his head in counsel to Selvia, sweating coldly under an inexplicable fear.

If, just if, Daniel Steiner had stood on the side of His Highness the Prince rather than the princess…

‘The one who would have tasted Daniel’s venom today would have been…’

It might have been Hartmann himself, not Belvar.