Chapter 65

For a while, Duke Belvar remained silent, his teeth grinding so fiercely it seemed they might shatter.

The moment Daniel grabbed his hand, Belvar would betray the Prince.

He would be rejecting the royal legitimacy the Bahartlante family had protected for generations.

But for the beliefs upheld by his father and ancestors, he could have thrown away his life at any time without hesitation.

‘But the family? What wrong have they done?’

For Duke Belvar, blood ties were just as important as belief.

Of course.

Because before being the head of the family, he was a father.

He knew well the dreams and efforts of his grown sons.

Their bright futures couldn’t be destroyed just to uphold some belief.

‘How… how can I…’

Belvar’s vision wavered as recurring anguish brought on a headache.

Belvar knew this wasn’t simple intimidation—it was far worse.

The devil in front of him would surely carry out a massacre the moment negotiations collapsed, given the cold stare and inhuman smile that revealed Captain Daniel Steiner’s ruthlessness.

So at this very moment, Belvar had no choice but to decide.

“I….”

But the words wouldn’t come easily.

The voice rising up from his throat scattered before it could escape his lips.

Belief and family.

Neither was something he could abandon lightly.

Unsatisfied with this, Daniel slowly began to speak.

“Duke, are you still thinking of this as an equal trade or negotiation?”

Daniel let out a low chuckle as if amused by the absurdity.

“This is merely the grace and goodwill that Her Highness the Princess and I extend to the Bahartlante family.”

In Belvar’s mind, those words translated to: ‘You’re still missing the point despite everything.’

As Belvar trembled, Daniel clicked his tongue disapprovingly and shook his head.

“If you intend to repeat the same mistakes even after returning to the past, I won’t stop you. Great Duke Belvar of the Bahartlante family, I hope you look forward to the destruction that awaits.”

Just as Daniel rose from his seat…

Belvar suddenly bowed and grabbed Daniel’s hand.

Fear gripped him—once Daniel left, there’d be no going back.

“…”

“…”

A chilling silence filled the space between them.

Daniel neither shook off nor held onto Belvar’s hand gripping his own—he simply left it be.

It was his way of saying: Speak your truth.

“Cooperation…”

Tears welled up in Belvar’s bloodshot eyes.

With a sense of defeat, Belvar closed his eyes and choked out, “I’ll cooperate… do as you say…”

Upon hearing this confirmation, Daniel finally reciprocated the handshake.

And with his other hand, he gently placed it on Belvar’s shoulder.

“You’ve made the wise decision we expected, Duke. Now that your family has accepted our offer, the Bahartlante house will have no connection to this matter.”

The grip on Belvar’s shoulder tightened slightly.

“And remember, Duke—you have never sided with His Highness the Prince. Not in the past, not in the future. Do you understand?”

Biting his lip, Belvar struggled to respond through his sobs.

Watching Belvar’s despairing form, Daniel removed his hand from his shoulder and said,

“If you understand, nod your head.”

Caught in unprecedented emotions, Belvar nodded almost tremblingly.

Satisfied with this, Daniel completed the handshake and stood up.

“Good. I’ll make sure to inform Her Highness the Princess of your intentions.”

Straightening his clothes, Daniel turned to Colonel Hartmann standing nearby.

“Colonel Hartmann, our business here is done. We should leave now—we wouldn’t want to inconvenience you further, Duke.”

Still dazed, Hartmann nodded hesitantly.

Only then did Daniel step away and exit the reception room.

Hartmann followed Daniel out of the reception room and glanced around.

After confirming no one was in the corridor, Hartmann observed Daniel’s side profile.

The demonic aura from moments ago was gone, replaced by an exhausted expression.

Relaxing now that the tension had eased, Daniel let out a low sigh.

“Fortunate indeed. Had Duke Belvar refused our proposal, it might have led to a difficult struggle.”

This contrast felt strange.

Hartmann hesitated briefly before speaking.

“To be honest, I thought Duke Belvar wouldn’t accept our offer.”

“I too doubted it. But our performance worked out well, didn’t it?”

Hearing this, Hartmann frowned.

‘Performance?’

Could what just happened really be called acting?

To Hartmann, it seemed more like Daniel’s true self had slipped out.

But from Daniel’s perspective, it *was* acting.

Certainly, it was acting performed desperately to survive.

‘Had I failed to break Duke Belvar, I’d be dead right now.’

Relieved that things went smoothly, Daniel sighed internally when Hartmann cleared his throat.

“Anyway, good work. I’ll report to Her Highness the Princess, so you go ahead and rest.”

Surprised by this unexpected kindness, Daniel turned to Hartmann and nodded lightly.

“Thank you for your consideration. I shall take my leave.”

Then the two walked down the manor’s corridor in awkward silence.

Well, it was awkward only for Hartmann.

Because today, Daniel Steiner seemed especially intimidating as he walked ahead.

“……”

Finally reaching the manor entrance, Hartmann parted ways with Daniel and headed straight for the Imperial Palace.

Arriving at Princess Selvia’s office, he knocked on the door and entered upon hearing her invitation.

Inside, Hartmann saluted, and Selvia looked up from her paperwork.

“Hmm? Where’s Lieutenant Daniel?”

“I sent him home first since he looked exhausted.”

“Sent him home? So you told him to go home early, and he actually left?”

Under Selvia’s persistent questioning, Hartmann lowered his hands, looking somewhat puzzled.

“Your Majesty? Were you waiting for Lieutenant Daniel?”

“Wh-what? Of course not!”

Realizing she’d been caught off guard, Selvia blushed and coughed awkwardly.

“Why would I wait for him? I don’t even want to see him. Anyway, how did the negotiation go?”

“It succeeded. In exchange for us not holding the Bahartlante family accountable, they agreed to withdraw their support for His Highness the Prince.”

Selvia’s mouth hung open in disbelief at Hartmann’s words.

She couldn’t believe that stubborn old fox had surrendered so easily.

“Is this true? Did Duke Belvar really bow to me?”

“Yes. All thanks to Lieutenant Daniel’s hard work.”

At the mention of Daniel’s success, Selvia couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.

Capturing the prince’s secret organization was already a great achievement, but forcing Duke Belvar into submission practically ended the succession struggle.

A faint smile crossed Selvia’s lips as she chuckled softly.

“My poor brother has lost both arms in this ordeal. He must be screaming in frustration right about now.”

Confident of victory, Selvia closed the case containing her fountain pen.

“So…”

Her sharp gaze pierced Hartmann.

“What’s your impression of Daniel Steiner, Colonel?”

Having witnessed Daniel’s negotiation tactics firsthand, Hartmann was asked to share his thoughts.

This was also the fundamental reason why Selvia assigned Daniel as her personal guard—to assess whether keeping him close was safe.

After all, it was only natural for a princess to evaluate someone she might place in her inner circle.

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

Pausing briefly, Hartmann continued.

“He’s also dangerously uncontrollable.”

When evaluating potential allies, Hartmann prioritizes tactical, strategic, and political skills due to the nature of the Imperial Guard.

Tactical prowess loses to strategy, and strategic skill bows to political acumen.

Yet political talent often falters against rivals, maintaining balance rather than dominance.

But Daniel Steiner was different.

Didn’t he thoroughly crush Duke Belvar, who might have become his rival someday, under the guise of aiding the princess?

‘He must feel it’s unacceptable. That Duke Belvar attacked him personally…’

There was no doubt Daniel harbored intense anger toward Duke Belvar for trying to frame him as a spy using the Security Bureau.

However, Daniel’s fury wasn’t a raging inferno—it was more like a slow-flowing venom.

Though not visibly potent, it was far more dangerous than it appeared, causing excruciating pain with even a sip.

And before those who ingested this venom, Daniel Steiner smiled and proposed negotiations.

He claimed to have the antidote.

That’s how Hartmann saw Daniel Steiner.

“Therefore, Your Majesty…”

Recalling Daniel’s conversation with Belvar, Hartmann spoke.

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

Hartmann bowed deeply to Selvia, offering his advice.

While doing so, he secretly wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

If, by chance…

If Daniel Steiner had chosen to side with the prince instead of the princess…

‘The person who drank Daniel’s venom today might not have been…’

Duke Belvar—but Colonel Hartmann himself.