Mistaken for a War Hero

Chapter 65
He Is a Dangerous Man

『 Translator – Divinity 』

After a long silence, Belvar gritted his teeth so hard that his molars ached.

The moment he took Daniel’s hand, he would be betraying the prince.

He would be personally denying the legitimacy of the Imperial family that the Bahtranth family had upheld for generations.

He could sacrifice his own life at any moment for the beliefs his father and ancestors had protected.

‘But what about my family? What wrong have they done?’

For Belvar, blood ties were as important as his beliefs.

It was only natural.

He was a father before he was the head of the family.

He knew well the dreams his grown sons had and the efforts they were making.

He couldn’t destroy their bright futures for the sake of upholding his beliefs.

‘What should I do…’

His vision blurred as a headache pounded in his head from the agonizing conflict.

Belvar knew. That this wasn’t just a simple threat.

This devil before him would surely carry out a massacre the moment the negotiations fell apart.

Daniel Steiner’s ruthlessness was evident in his emotionless eyes and inhuman smile.

So, Belvar had to make a choice now.

“I…”

But the words wouldn’t come out.

The words that were rising up his throat scattered before they could be uttered.

His beliefs and his family.

Neither was something he could easily abandon.

As if displeased by his hesitation, Daniel slowly spoke,

“…Duke, are you still thinking of this as an equal exchange and negotiation?”

Daniel let out a low chuckle, as if in disbelief.

“This is a favor, a kindness that Her Highness and I are offering the Bahtranth family.”

In Belvar’s mind, those words translated to, “And yet you’re still agonizing over this, clueless as you are.”

As Belvar trembled, Daniel clicked his tongue and shook his head with a look of pity.

“I won’t stop you if you wish to repeat the same mistakes even after returning to the past. Then, Duke Belvar of the great Bahtranth family, I hope you enjoy waiting for your impending doom.”

Just as Daniel was about to stand up,

Belvar suddenly leaned forward and grabbed his hand.

He was overcome with fear that everything would become irreversible the moment Daniel left.

“……”

“……”

A chilling silence fell between them.

Daniel neither shook off Belvar’s hand nor held it back; he simply let it be.

It was a cue for Belvar to express his true intentions.

“Cooperation…”

Tears welled up in Belvar’s bloodshot eyes.

Closing his eyes in defeat, he sobbed softly and said,

“I’ll cooperate… as you wish…”

Hearing his confirmation, Daniel finally took Belvar’s hand in his.

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

“As expected, you’ve made the wise choice, Duke. Now that you’ve accepted our offer, the Bahtranth family is free from this matter.”

He slightly tightened his grip on Belvar’s shoulder.

“And you were never on the prince’s side. Not in the past, and not in the future. Do you understand?”

Belvar couldn’t speak properly, as he was gritting his teeth and sobbing.

Looking at him with pity, Daniel removed his hand from his shoulder and said,

“If you understand, nod your head.”

Overcome with emotion, Belvar nodded, almost trembling.

Seeing this, Daniel smiled in satisfaction, finished the handshake, and stood up.

“Good. I’ll convey your intentions to Her Highness.”

He adjusted his clothes and looked at Hartmann, who was standing nearby.

“Lieutenant Colonel Hartmann, the matter is settled, so let’s take our leave. We shouldn’t inconvenience the Duke any further by staying here.”

Hartmann, who had been watching everything from behind, nodded in a daze.

Daniel then walked out of the reception room.

Hartmann followed him and looked around.

After confirming that there was no one in the hallway, he glanced at Daniel’s profile.

The fatigue that had been etched on his face was gone, replaced by a calm demeanor.

Daniel let out a soft sigh, the tension leaving his body.

“That was a relief. It could have been a difficult fight if Duke Belvar had refused the offer.”

This felt strange to Hartmann.

He hesitated for a moment, then spoke,

“That was surprising. To be honest, I didn’t think Duke Belvar would accept the offer.”

“I was also unsure. It’s fortunate that my act worked.”

Hartmann frowned at his words.

‘An act?’

Could that really be considered an act?

From Hartmann’s perspective, it was more accurate to say that his hidden true nature had surfaced.

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

Of course, with the added caveat of “desperately done to survive.”

‘If I hadn’t forced Duke Belvar to surrender, I would have been the one dead.’

As he was feeling relieved that things had worked out, Hartmann cleared his throat.

“Anyway, good work. I’ll report to Her Highness, so you can go back and rest.”

Daniel looked at Hartmann with surprise, then nodded slightly.

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

After that, the two of them walked down the hallway of the mansion in awkward silence.

To be precise, only Hartmann felt awkward.

He was feeling intimidated by Daniel today.

***

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

Arriving at Sylvia’s office, he knocked, and a voice from inside called him in.

Hartmann opened the door, entered, and saluted. Sylvia looked up from the documents she was working on.

“…Huh? Where’s Major Daniel?”

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

“He went ahead? You mean, he actually left just because you told him to?”

Sylvia asked persistently, and Hartmann, puzzled, lowered his hand.

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

“What? That…”

Sylvia blushed, flustered at being caught, then suddenly coughed.

“Of course not! I didn’t want to see him either. More importantly, how did the negotiations go?”

“They were successful. In exchange for us not pursuing the Bahtranth family’s crimes, they agreed to withdraw their support for the prince.”

Sylvia’s jaw dropped at Hartmann’s words.

She couldn’t believe that the stubborn old fox had surrendered after just one negotiation.

“…Really? Duke Belvar yielded to me?”

“Yes. Thanks to Major Daniel’s hard work.”

Sylvia couldn’t help but admire Daniel for successfully concluding the negotiations.

It was a tremendous achievement to capture the prince’s secret organization, but by subduing Duke Belvar, he had practically put an end to the succession struggle.

A faint smile appeared on Sylvia’s lips as she chuckled softly.

“So my brother has lost both his arms. Poor brother, he must be screaming in frustration right now.”

Confident of her victory, Sylvia put her fountain pen back in its case and closed it.

“So,”

Sylvia’s sharp eyes glanced at Hartmann.

“In your opinion, Lieutenant Colonel, what kind of person is Daniel Steiner?”

She was asking him to share his observations, having witnessed Daniel’s negotiation firsthand.

This was also the fundamental reason why Sylvia had assigned Hartmann as Daniel’s escort.

As a princess, it was natural for her to assess whether Daniel was someone she could keep close.

“Daniel Steiner is one of the most capable people I’ve ever met. However…”

Hartmann paused for a moment before answering Sylvia’s question.

“…He is also an incredibly dangerous person.”

Hartmann evaluated a person’s potential as an ally based on their tactical, strategic, and political abilities.

As a member of the Imperial Guard, Hartmann, who mainly operated in the capital rather than on the battlefield, prioritized political ability above all else.

Those skilled in tactics couldn’t defeat those skilled in strategy, and those skilled in strategy couldn’t defeat those skilled in politics.

Then what about those skilled in politics? When they met their match, they couldn’t use force and had to maintain a balance.

But Daniel Steiner was different.

He had completely subdued Duke Belvar, who could potentially become his political enemy, under the pretense of “helping the princess.”

‘He won’t tolerate it, will he? Duke Belvar attacking him…’

Daniel must have felt intense anger towards Duke Belvar for trying to frame him for colluding with a spy using the Security Bureau.

However, Daniel’s anger wasn’t a raging fire but a silent, flowing poison.

It didn’t appear powerful, but it was more dangerous than it seemed, and even a single drop would cause excruciating pain.

And in front of the person suffering from that poison, Daniel Steiner would smile and say,

I have the antidote, so let’s negotiate.

That was how Hartmann saw Daniel Steiner.

“Therefore, Your Highness…”

Hartmann, recalling Daniel’s conversation with Belvar, said,

“You must never make Daniel Steiner your enemy.”

Hartmann bowed his head, offering his sincere advice to Sylvia.

And he broke out in a cold sweat, filled with a sense of dread.

If…

Just if, Daniel Steiner had sided with the prince instead of the princess.

‘The one who would have been poisoned by Daniel today…’

…might have been Hartmann himself, not Belvar.