I Was Mistaken as a Great War Commander-Chapter 174

“If the Empire can endure the three-front war... and if it develops nuclear weapons before the Allied Nations...”

Then the Empire would win the war and rise as the sole hegemonic power.

That thought had shifted something in Daniel’s mind.

“...There’s a chance.”

Of course, there was a critical condition attached: the Empire would have to survive the onslaught of the Allied Nations, the Federation, and the Republic until the development was complete.

Still, the fact that a path to reversal even existed was good news to Daniel.

“There’s no getting out now.”

Dismissal had been his last possible escape route, but Selvia had refused to let that happen—so now there was no way out.

Not only had he been made Emergency High Commissioner, but now, with Selvia’s boundless trust, he’d been placed as a senior figure in the Varghof Project.

It meant he was now part of one of the Empire’s most closely guarded secrets—something known only to a handful.

“How will future historians judge me...?”

Just imagining the kind of misunderstandings that might arise gave him a headache—but that wasn’t what mattered right now.

“It only means something if the Empire wins.”

If the Empire failed to survive the three-front war and fell in defeat, what use would nuclear weapons be?

It might be a flicker of hope, but the fact remained: the Empire was still at a disadvantage.

“You idiot... Why did you even apply to the officer academy...”

He still regretted volunteering when the conscription officer visited the orphanage and he’d been lured by money.

“All I wanted was to complete my mandatory service, save up, and open a damn bakery...”

Instead, he’d ended up as the youngest colonel in history, and had received military decorations—three times—each one something most soldiers never even saw once.

He was reflecting bitterly on how things had gotten this far when a knock came at the door.

Wiping away his thoughts, Daniel looked toward the door and said:

“Come in.”

The words had barely left his mouth when the door opened and Lucy stepped inside.

“Commissioner.”

Lucy gave a salute with her usual emotionless expression.

Daniel returned it halfheartedly, and Lucy lowered her hand, getting straight to the point.

“Someone’s here requesting to speak with you, sir.”

“At this hour? Who is it?”

“Count Ophilo Argenthar, who runs an art auction company.”

Count Ophilo.

So, a noble had finally taken the bait. Daniel nodded inwardly.

“Let him in. We can’t just turn away a guest who came all this way.”

“Understood.”

With a nod, Lucy left the office.

Muffled voices could be heard briefly outside, and then a middle-aged man entered the room.

He had a neatly groomed beard—clearly well maintained on a daily basis.

With slightly drowsy eyes, Ophilo stared at Daniel before offering a faint bow.

Daniel greeted him in return.

“Count Ophilo.”

Smiling, Daniel gestured toward the chair across from him.

To Ophilo, it was an unpleasant gesture. After all, Daniel, a man of orphanage birth, hadn’t even stood up to greet him.

But he couldn’t protest.

In today’s Empire, to oppose Daniel Steiner, the Emergency High Commissioner of Public Security, was no different than defying the Empress herself.

Ophilo stepped forward and sat down in the offered seat.

Daniel rested a hand on his desk and offered a mild smile.

“Have you eaten, Count? If it suits you, I’d like to speak over a meal.”

“...I’m not here to receive favors, so I’ll have to decline.”

“I see. Then may I ask—what brings you here today?”

Daniel asked directly, but Ophilo wasn’t about to be drawn in so easily.

After all, he wasn’t here to sell out his associates.

“You think I don’t know what you’re up to, Colonel Daniel Steiner?”

He’d heard that the editor-in-chief of the Imperial Daily had received a relatively light punishment—merely dismissal—after meeting with Daniel Steiner.

And then the Director of Security had voted in favor of the establishment of the National Security Oversight Bureau.

These events had sparked rumors among the nobility.

The most common theory: “If you cut a deal with Daniel Steiner, you might avoid punishment.”

But Ophilo was different.

He had seen through it—that Daniel had deliberately sown discord within the surviving ranks of the Noble Coalition.

He wasn’t going to let himself be trapped by the man’s witch hunt.

So, in secret, he had called a meeting of the coalition and volunteered to extract information from Daniel himself.

If Daniel Steiner had learned about the Noble Coalition from Duke Belvar, they had reason to worry.

But if not—if Daniel didn’t actually know who the remaining members were—then there was no need to panic.

“If he knew the members of the Noble Coalition, he’d have acted by now. He wouldn’t just sit around in the High Commissioner’s office like a hunter waiting beside a sprung trap.”

That could only mean one thing—Duke Belvar hadn’t revealed any information about the Noble Coalition to Daniel Steiner.

And really, that was to be expected.

If Belvar betrayed the Coalition, the nobles wouldn’t sit idly by.

They’d retaliate by submitting piles of testimony designed to destroy the House of Belvar—whether to reduce their own punishment or simply out of spite.

If, during that process, the whereabouts of Belvar’s family were discovered, everything would be ruined. Which meant Belvar had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

If anything, it might not be the Noble Coalition that had its back to the wall—but Daniel Steiner.

“I simply...”

Ophilo began.

“Requested this meeting in the hope that you, Commissioner, would root out the collaborators lurking in the Empire as quickly as possible. I’m also quite curious about the condition of the traitor Duke Belvar.”

Daniel didn’t respond.

He simply tapped his index finger against the desk with a faint, unreadable smile.

A subtle pressure lingered in the air as Daniel shrugged once.

“I’m afraid I can’t disclose that. It’s classified.”

From that answer, Ophilo was sure.

“So he hasn’t gotten anything out of Duke Belvar after all.”

If Daniel had learned even the smallest detail, he would’ve tried to negotiate right here and now.

Now that his suspicion was cleared, Ophilo gave a pleasant smile in return.

“I see. Then I apologize for overstepping. Perhaps I should excuse myself for today. It seems I let a burst of patriotism carry me here, but now I fear I’m only being a nuisance.”

With a hollow chuckle, Ophilo stood. Daniel rose as well.

“Very well. Allow me to see you out.”

****

As Daniel and Ophilo stepped outside the Central Security Bureau, they were greeted by rain.

“Ah. It’s raining. Good thing I brought an umbrella. Though it’s falling rather heavily.”

Daniel, watching the same scene unfold, nodded.

“Looks like summer is on its way. Rain this heavy doesn’t come for no reason.”

“Summer... Just thinking about losing sleep to mosquitoes already exhausts me.”

“Indeed. Mosquitoes are troublesome creatures. They feed on blood and offer no benefit to humanity in return. Foolish beings, too.”

Daniel turned his gaze to Ophilo.

“They don’t even realize that if they suck too much blood, they’ll be crushed by the angry hand of a human.”

The words somehow sounded like a veiled threat—a metaphor aimed directly at the Noble Coalition—and Ophilo felt a chill crawl up his spine.

But he quickly gathered himself.

“Duke Belvar treasures his family above all. Unless Daniel Steiner manages to capture them, there’s no way he’ll betray the Coalition.”

He had to think logically, not be swept away by Daniel’s oppressive presence.

Steadying himself, Ophilo offered a smile and undid the strap on his umbrella.

“Then again, aren’t humans just as foolish? I’ve heard that humans have trouble tracking small, fast-moving objects. And mosquitoes don’t fly in predictable patterns. Perhaps that’s why they’re so hard to catch.”

With that remark, Ophilo opened his umbrella.

“In any case, I hope you’ll be careful, Commissioner. The bloodsuckers may be few now, but once summer comes, their numbers are sure to grow again.”

The veiled warning, cloaked in metaphor, was clear enough. Ophilo turned to leave.

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But then he froze.

A group of family-sized clusters of people were approaching the Bureau’s front steps.

“Ah... Ngh...”

They wore elegant clothes, but their appearances were worn and haggard.

Without umbrellas, they trudged through the rain—slowly approaching Daniel.

As they drew near, the man leading them dropped to his knees before Daniel.

“Colonel Daniel Steiner... I’m sorry. I’m so sorry...!”

Choking on his words, the man pressed his hands to the ground and lowered his head.

“It was arrogance to even think of fleeing! Y-Yes, I now realize there is no escape from you! I deeply regret trying to run from my responsibility! I’ll cooperate with anything you command—just please, I beg you, show mercy to my family!”

As he prostrated himself and pleaded for his life, Ophilo’s face drained of color.

“That’s...”

It was Peremilla, Duke Belvar’s eldest son.

And the others with him... were the sons and families of Duke Belvar.

“W-What is this...?”

Did that mean Daniel Steiner had secured Duke Belvar’s family a long time ago?

“Then why has he been pretending all this time—interrogating Duke Belvar without results, trying to fracture the Coalition from within...?”

If he’d used them, it would’ve been easy to extract the names of every Noble Coalition member from Belvar.

“And yet, he kept it hidden... Why?”

Because he had been toying with Duke Belvar and the entire Noble Coalition.

He let Duke Belvar cling to hope—that his family was still safe.

And he let the Coalition cling to hope—that they might survive unscathed.

Daniel Steiner had given them that hope... only so he could crush it completely.

“Is this man even human...?”

To Ophilo, Daniel now looked like a devil wearing a human mask.

He dropped his umbrella without realizing it.

Casting a sidelong glance at the ashen-faced Ophilo, Daniel looked coldly down at Peremilla, still groveling at his feet.

The downpour grew heavier.

Swaaahhhh—

The rain roared as the silence dragged on.

“...What the hell.”

Unlike Ophilo, Daniel himself had no idea what was going on.

“Why are you people even here...?”

He wasn’t joking. He genuinely didn’t understand.