Mistaken for a War Hero

Chapter 13
The Princess’s Misunderstanding Is Free

After running and running, I finally arrived at a clearing in the forest.

Leaving footprints on the pristine snow, I walked to the center of the clearing and bent over, resting my hands on my knees.

Hot breaths escaped my mouth in rapid succession.

‘I think I’m going to throw up…’

Sprinting for several minutes had made me dizzy.

Although I didn’t want to run this hard, it couldn’t be helped.

Creating as much distance as possible between Sylvia and myself was the top priority.

‘It would be disastrous if the princess heard me applying for asylum…’

It was in the princess’s nature to punish traitors without exception.

Therefore, the best course of action was to disappear like a ghost without her knowledge.

“How far are you going to run, you bastard…?”

“Huff… huff…”

As I tried to catch my breath, I heard the voices of Allied soldiers.

Turning around calmly, I saw the six soldiers from before approaching, panting.

Since they weren’t pointing their guns at me, it seemed they were open to dialogue.

I also didn’t want to fight, so I raised both hands while catching my breath.

“…Let’s calm down and talk. I’m Lieutenant Daniel Steiner, Acting Operations Staff Officer from the Imperial General Staff Headquarters. State your affiliation and names.”

Good. I introduced myself and naturally mentioned my affiliation and rank.

Having heard that I was an Operations Staff Officer from the General Staff Headquarters, they should have grasped my strategic value unless they were fools.

“Who do you think doesn’t know you?”

But strangely, the Allied soldiers only frowned as if annoyed.

“Just tell us where the princess is. We might let you live depending on your answer, so choose your words carefully.”

“…The princess?”

My mind went blank at the word “princess” coming from the Allied soldier’s mouth.

How did he know that the person accompanying me was the princess?

Sylvia wasn’t a fool. She wouldn’t have gone around bragging about coming to the Northern Front disguised as a war correspondent.

Therefore, only a few people knew that Sylvia was here on the Northern Front.

Those few were the people Sylvia deemed “trustworthy.”

Considering Sylvia’s meticulous nature in selecting personnel, it was unlikely that they were acting as spies.

Then who used this information to carry out the attack?

As I pondered, a realization dawned on me, and I let out a low groan.

‘The prince.’

The story changed if it was family.

Because they could observe Sylvia’s every move from the closest proximity.

Indeed, I knew that Prince Ludwig von Amberg had several major conflicts with his sister, Sylvia, over the succession to the throne.

It seemed their feud wasn’t just for show.

‘Trying to assassinate his own sister. What a madman.’

Shaking my head, I lowered my hands.

Knowing the truth, there was no need to surrender anymore.

The soldiers in front of me weren’t from the Allied Nations.

They were the prince’s assassins, disguised to make it seem like the princess was attacked by the Allied forces.

The realization that this was all the prince’s doing made my head spin.

“Did the prince send you?”

The soldiers faltered at my words, confirming my suspicions.

“Now that I look closely, your Allied uniforms are awfully clean.”

“…So what?”

“Usually, veteran soldiers are sent for guerrilla ambushes. Sending new recruits drastically reduces the operation’s success rate. But you’re all wearing new uniforms like recruits. Does that make sense?”

If they wanted to disguise themselves properly, they should have made their uniforms look like those of seasoned veterans.

The soldiers couldn’t refute my point and then chuckled awkwardly.

The one who appeared to be the squad leader stepped forward.

“You’re as sharp as the rumors say. So, you understand the situation, right? Join us. We’ll guarantee your success.”

“Us? Are you referring to the prince?”

“…Show some respect. It’s His Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince.”

Seeing the soldier growl, I couldn’t help but laugh.

The soldier frowned.

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s pathetic to see you clinging to a rotten rope. The Crown Prince? He’s not fit to be Emperor. It’s the princess who will become the Empress. Not that incompetent fool.”

I offered my sincere advice as someone who knew the future, but the soldiers seemed displeased, their faces contorting as they gripped their rifles.

“Thank you for your honesty. We no longer need to converse…”

It was time for a swift attack. While the soldier was still speaking, I drew my revolver from its holster.

Simultaneously, I channeled mana into my central nervous system, accelerating my reflexes.

My vision expanded, and my pupils constricted.

The world around me seemed to slow down.

The startled soldiers trying to raise their rifles, their mouths opening to hurl insults, some even charging towards me—it all appeared in slow motion.

I took a deep breath, aimed the revolver at their heads, and pulled the trigger.

The way the gunpowder exploded and the bullets shot out looked surreal, like floating in zero gravity.

But the bullets were steadily flying towards the soldiers’ heads.

As I moved the revolver’s muzzle to finish off the last soldier, the neural acceleration wore off, and the world returned to its normal speed.

Bang!

Five gunshots rang out almost simultaneously, consecutively blowing the soldiers’ heads apart.

They collapsed without even a proper scream.

However, there was one last soldier. The one I faced as the neural acceleration wore off was still charging towards me.

“You son of a bitch—!”

I wanted to aim, but my hands were shaking violently.

The backlash from using neural acceleration was taking its toll on my body.

It was a useful ability that allowed me to graduate at the top of my class at the academy, but the immediate physical strain after use was a definite drawback.

Moreover, I could only take down five enemies simultaneously because of the mana cylinder. If it weren’t for that, the neural acceleration would have worn off midway, and I would have been the one taken down.

That’s how much mana it consumed.

‘Damn it…’

My head throbbed, and my body felt like it was stuck in quicksand, refusing to obey.

But if I didn’t kill him, I would be the one to die. I focused my mind with effort and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The gunshot echoed through the air, and the charging soldier’s arm exploded.

I missed. The soldier screamed as his arm was blown off, but he didn’t stop charging.

Reaching me, he shoved me with all his weight.

“Ugh!”

I fell backward into the snow.

The soldier climbed on top of me and pulled out his military knife, aiming for my head.

Deeming it dangerous, I reflexively grabbed his wrist.

“Fuck! You bastard! Devil! Die!”

The soldier spat curses indiscriminately.

But I didn’t have the energy to retort.

All I could do was grab his wrist with both hands and try to push him away.

“Ugh…!”

But it was no use. I couldn’t muster any strength in my hands.

I could see the tip of the knife getting closer and closer to my eye, but I couldn’t stop it.

Fear coursed through my body.

‘…What? Am I going to die like this?’

They say you see your life flash before your eyes before death, but all I felt was emptiness.

I wanted to deny death, but the strength in my hands was fading fast.

That’s when it happened.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, and the soldier pinning me down had his head blown open.

He slumped forward, collapsing onto me.

I quickly snatched his dagger and plunged it deep into his neck.

Just to be sure, I finished him off.

Then, I pushed the soldier aside and slowly sat up.

Catching my breath, I turned to see a group of soldiers in Imperial uniforms and gas masks.

‘Imperial Central Army… and the Imperial Guards, no less.’

I could roughly guess who sent the Imperial Guards.

Sure enough, Sylvia was running towards me, a step behind them.

Seeing her worried expression, I felt a pang of guilt for causing her trouble.

Sylvia, oblivious to my feelings, approached and knelt beside me.

“Are you alright? You’re not hurt, are you?”

I nodded.

“I’m not hurt. Thanks to the Imperial Guards. So…”

As I trailed off, Sylvia, as if sensing my unspoken question, lowered her gaze.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to deceive you. I just thought I wouldn’t be able to see your true nature as a member of the royal family, so I disguised myself as a war correspondent.”

I’m sorry, but I already knew. Still, I should pretend I didn’t.

“So, did you learn a lot about me?”

I tried to lighten the mood with my question.

“Of course.”

But Sylvia seemed to take my words seriously.

“First, during the operation planning, you rejected Captain Heinz’s, your superior’s, opinion and established a new logic. Considering that it was valid, you possess an unwavering will that doesn’t succumb to authority and a keen eye for the battlefield.”

I just spouted nonsense because I wanted a dishonorable discharge.

“At Edelkrall Canyon, you instantly identified Colonel Jeremy disguised as a soldier. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense that you managed to kill Colonel Jeremy with your first shot.”

It didn’t make sense indeed. I shot a soldier, and it turned out to be Colonel Jeremy.

“Lastly, you have a spirit of sacrifice, willing to dedicate yourself to the citizens of the Empire at any moment. You risked your life to save a mere war correspondent.”

What was she talking about? I just made an excuse and ran away because I thought it was a chance for asylum.

Nothing she said was accurate, but seeing Sylvia’s serious gaze, I couldn’t bring myself to deny it.

If I told the truth, I would be executed.

“Lieutenant Daniel Steiner.”

Sylvia took my hand and declared solemnly.

“On behalf of the Imperial family, I dare say, you are a treasure born of the Empire.”

I felt so overwhelmed that I thought I might die.

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