Captain Daniel Steiner’s desolate voice felt as if it was choking me.
I knew that answering “no” was the correct response, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.
How could one tell a lie in front of a lunatic who was pulling the trigger of a revolver loaded with live ammunition?
“I, I…”
Kemball stammered while faltering but Daniel didn’t press him.
He had decided to wait until the fear growing in Kemball’s heart bore fruit.
‘Human imagination is limitless, after all.’
What would happen if the person sitting across the table was revealed to be someone who pulled the trigger of a revolver loaded with live rounds?
Even worse, what if that person inspired the fear that they might kill you?
‘Judgments would start going downhill.’
People who had much to lose tended to think negatively about the threatening situations they found themselves in.
‘And…’
Daniel Steiner had preemptively acted to make Kemball expand upon those negative thoughts.
It wasn’t for no reason that he had armed soldiers take away Kemball’s wife and son.
Just as Daniel had expected, Kemball was now thinking about his family.
‘Surely not my family too…’
Upon realizing that Daniel Steiner’s threats went beyond mere words, thoughts of his family’s safety began to consume his mind.
‘Demian.’
After bringing to mind his son’s smiling face, Kemball calmed his breathing and looked at Daniel.
“If I tell the truth, my safety is guaranteed, right? So…”
Daniel raised his hand, cutting off Kemball’s words, and pressed the pause button on the tape recorder.
It was crucial that nothing irregular was mixed into the recording.
“Are you asking about your family’s safety?”
At Daniel’s question, Kemball slightly nodded.
Thinking Kemball was almost within reach, Daniel smiled faintly.
“If you cooperate with me, I will guarantee the safety of your family. I will take full responsibility. I would like you to tell me everything you know.”
“…”
“If you cooperate, I will request leniency from Her Highness the Princess for your confession. We will consider parole as well. This way, you can serve a few years, and then return.”
Finally taking a deep breath, Kemball opened his mouth but no sound came out.
Traces of hesitation still lingered in his heart.
“Daniel Steiner, even if I cooperate with you…”
Fear crept into Kemball’s eyes.
However, this fear wasn’t directed at Daniel.
“…The higher-ups won’t let me go. Eliminating traitors is their way. So, isn’t it the same—whether I die here or at their hands?”
This was slightly off from what Daniel had expected.
He hadn’t known the entities ordering Kemball took human lives as casually as swatting flies.
‘Come to think of it…’
He had occasionally seen news articles where certain politicians or lower-level nobles were targeted by robbers or the mafia and couldn’t escape death. If these were all part of the instructions from the “higher-ups” Kemball spoke about, it made sense.
‘Complicating…’
It wasn’t easy to sway someone who had pledged excessive loyalty at the cost of their own lives.
‘Then…’
The best course of action was to offer them hope: a chance to survive by switching sides.
“If you tell the truth, I will thoroughly protect your family. And if your worry is for your own life…”
Daniel tapped the table twice and nodded.
“Very well. I will personally ensure that you do not meet a violent end in prison. You will also be exempt from forced labor, so you can spend your prison time in relative ease.”
“…That’s not what I’m talking about. Even if my safety in prison is guaranteed, I’ll die once I’m released.”
“Released? Yes, confessing will shorten your sentence, but, realistically, you’ll spend at least eight years in prison for violating the secrecy laws and leaking military secrets.”
Disoriented by the flow of the conversation, Kemball frowned.
“That’s not what I’m talking about either. No matter how many years I serve, the moment I step out of prison, I know they’ll kill me.”
Stopping mid-sentence, Kemball closed his mouth.
Daniel was smiling faintly from the shadows.
“Think about this, when did you last consider how long it took me to reach the rank of colonel? Consider how long it took for me—an orphan—to have an equal conversation with you, a proper nobleman and political party leader.”
Daniel slowly raised a hand and extended his index finger.
“A year. Less than a year. Then tell me…”
He bent his index finger, forming a fist.
“What sort of person do you think I’ll be in eight years?”
In eight years, what you should fear won’t be a group of nobles but me.
Daniel Steiner seemed to be conveying exactly that.
The eerie atmosphere held Kemball speechless.
After swallowing hard and enduring much thought, Kemball finally nodded, believing that shaking hands with Daniel Steiner was the only way to keep his life.
“…I’ll speak. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
*
After an hour of listening to Kemball’s confession, Daniel emerged from the residence.
The troops lined up in attention as Daniel, with composed demeanor, straightened his attire.
“The orders of Baron Hendleymein…”
Things were escalating more than expected.
It was highly unlikely that Baron Hendleymein had planned all of this by himself.
“Maybe I’ve inadvertently declared war on all the institutional nobles.”
The worst-case scenario suggested so. However, if all the institutional nobles were in a cabal, Daniel’s battle would be far from easy.
“I merely wanted to settle down somewhere peaceful and spend my remaining days eating desserts. Why did things spiral this way?”
Though Daniel wanted to vent his frustrations, now was not the time.
“Aide-de-Camp.”
At Daniel’s quiet command, Lucy stepped forward.
“Yes, Colonel Daniel.”
Daniel handed the tape, containing an hour of Kemball’s confession, to Lucy.
Take your troops to the General Staff Headquarters. Based on the contents of this tape, sift through the evidence we procured from Kemball’s home, and find anything that holds legal standing.”
Though entrusting tasks to the United Nations’ spy was slightly uneasy, it didn’t really matter because Ernst would receive command when they reached the headquarters.
‘Even if Lucy tries to intercept the tape—’
Daniel had an extra recording safely hidden inside his coat, so he wasn’t overly concerned.
Unlike Daniel’s worries, Lucy, who had already alienated herself from the United Nations, had no intention of betrayal.
Lucy nodded, accepting the tape from Daniel.
“I’ll execute the order. Colonel Daniel, are you not returning to the General Staff Headquarters?”
“Yes, I have somewhere to go with Prien.”
“Understood.”
Lucy saluted without asking further, then turned around to begin commanding the troops.
As the troops boarded the military vehicles one by one, Daniel looked around.
“Prien.”
Acknowledging with a nod, Prien, who had been watching Daniel with admiration, replied.
“The car is parked right across the street. You can board immediately.”
Before arriving here, Daniel had instructed Prien to arrange a car that they could use instantly, and apparently, it was parked and ready.
‘Even if there wasn’t a car, we could walk or use the military vehicle…’
Still, it was better to avoid drawing unwanted attention.
‘However…’
Lucy could probably be trusted, but Prien felt somewhat unreliable.
“Prien, just to confirm, do you have any experience driving?”
“Of course. I have a valid driver’s license, so don’t worry.”
Despite her beaming smile, trust wasn’t entirely built, but since she said she could drive, Daniel decided not to press further.
“Good. Let’s go then.”
Crossing the street, Daniel opened the rear door of the car and entered.
Prien followed soon after, seated in the driver’s seat, and turned on the engine.
Surprisingly, her driving was better than expected, which put Daniel at ease.
A moment later, Prien glanced at Daniel through the rearview mirror.
“Where should I go?”
“To Volberperk Street, Number 11.”
“…Not to the Baron’s mansion?”
Since Prien had overheard Kemball’s confession, she knew that the person behind Kemball’s orders was Baron Hendleymein.
She assumed that Daniel was heading there to strike a deal with the baron, so it was peculiar when Daniel offered a strange address.
“Getting too close to the flame scorches your wings.”
Though Prien didn’t fully understand, Daniel added:
“Prien, think about this. Rumors of my search of the leader of the Free Society Party’s home will soon spread across the institutions. What do you think will happen?”
“Colonel Daniel’s name will dominate the news?”
“Exactly. And who controls the major media of the institutions?”
“The Imperial Daily Newspaper, as far as I know.”
“And who sponsors the Imperial Daily Newspaper?”
Now Prien realized.
The largest sponsors of the Imperial Daily were the nobles.
“The media will attack Colonel Daniel.”
“Exactly. Biased reports will flood in. They’ll define my political stance as they please and incite public dissent against me.”
“Then where are we heading now?”
“The Melbarton Newspaper.”
Melbarton was an independent, small-scale newspaper untouched by the nobles.
Though Prien understood Daniel’s plan, she still had doubts.
“Why Melbarton? There are several mid-sized newspapers that could cooperate with Colonel Daniel.”
At this, Daniel chuckled softly.
“Lieutenant Prien, if they could cooperate with me, it means they could cooperate with the nobles as well. We need…”
Through the rearview mirror, Daniel’s face became serious as he continued.
“A media outlet that will absolutely obey me.”
