I Was Mistaken as a Great War Commander-Chapter 201

After Dorbaf signed the surrender document, Daniel proceeded to occupy the Defense Command Headquarters.

He expelled all former defense personnel and replaced them with key figures from his own side.

Originally, he had intended to take over City Hall, but considering potential backlash from the citizens, he decided to use the Defense HQ as a temporary command post instead.

Fortunately, the citizens of Fenbark voiced little opposition to the Empire's military occupying the Defense HQ.

They already knew they had lost. To them, the absorption of the city’s military institutions by the Empire was an inevitable consequence.

And so, Daniel and Lucy were now working out of the Defense Commander’s Office.

The reason they were conducting operations from the occupied city was simple.

Even though they had taken control of Fenbark, it didn’t mean they were free from danger.

Remnants of the enemy forces or resistance cells might still be active, and there was a significant possibility that the Allied Nations had not yet given up on providing reinforcements to Fenbark.

Moreover, stabilizing the city and securing the cooperation of its citizens inevitably required them to bury themselves in mountains of paperwork.

As a result, Lucy—who had been assisting Daniel all day—was suddenly struck with a headache.

“Ugh...”

With no warning, pain seared through her skull. Gritting her teeth, she pressed a hand to her forehead.

But the headache only grew worse.

The moment it felt like a bolt of lightning was exploding in her brain, Lucy saw something.

— “Good haul today, huh?”

What she saw were voices—likely belonging to coachmen—and a wagon filled with children in the cargo bed.

As she stared at the children in their ragged clothes, the coachmen’s voices continued.

— “But why do they pay so much for orphans over at ⬛⬛⬛?”

— “Don’t really know. I heard the order came from ⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛ personally.”

— “Huh? I was told it was from ⬛⬛⬛⬛. Is it really true, then? That they’re doing human experiments on the orphans...”

The wagon jostled as it hit a stone.

— “Speculate all you want, but don’t go saying that out loud. If something goes wrong, we’ll be the ones losing our heads.”

— “Got it, got it. Still... people say war makes monsters of men, and it’s true. What did these kids ever do to deserve this? Damn shame.”

— “The hell are you talking about, like you’re not part of this?”

With the coachmen’s laughter, her vision snapped back to normal.

What now lay before her wasn’t a wagon full of children, but a stack of documents filled with military terminology.

Dazed and disturbed by what she’d just seen, Lucy blinked in confusion.

“Captain?”

Startled by Daniel’s voice, Lucy quickly lifted her head.

“...Brigadier?”

Daniel frowned slightly as he studied her blank, absentminded expression.

“Something wrong? I’ve been calling you for a while now, but you weren’t responding. You don’t look well.”

Lucy nearly told him about the strange vision—but shook her head.

She didn’t want to worry him with memories she couldn’t even explain.

“It’s nothing. I think I just dozed off for a moment.”

“Dozed off, huh...”

Daniel still eyed her suspiciously, but didn’t press the issue further.

“Well, we’ve been through quite a lot getting here. I suppose it’s only natural for your mind and body to be worn down. You may leave early today—go ahead and pack your things.”

With that, Daniel lowered his gaze and began writing with his fountain pen.

It was clearly a report, and after a brief hesitation, Lucy asked quietly,

“...Are you writing the report for General Staff?”

Daniel nodded as he continued scribbling.

“They wanted a detailed explanation of how the battle unfolded. Even after I sent the combat log, they didn’t believe it. I guess we fought too well.”

Daniel brushed it off with a chuckle, but Lucy couldn’t help feeling guilty.

Because she had acted without permission, Daniel was now stuck dealing with all the aftermath alone.

Feeling like she was walking on eggshells, Lucy mumbled,

“...I’m sorry. Because of me, you...”

“‘Suffering’ is hardly the word.”

Finishing the report, Daniel signed his name at the bottom.

“It’s already behind us—and thanks to you, our company got through without losing a single life. As their commanding officer, I should be the one thanking you. Honestly, I should be giving you a medal.”

Daniel, who had just made every effort to say I’m on your side, you know that, right?, tucked the report away and opened a drawer.

“Speaking of rewards, I recall you’re fond of desserts. Which reminds me...”

After placing the report inside and closing the drawer, Daniel looked over at Lucy.

“Once the resistance remnants are cleared and administrative measures are finalized, we’ll be able to take some rest. How about spending some time at a dessert shop when that happens?”

“...Dessert, sir?”

“Yes. I asked around a bit about the city—there’s a shop known for its lemon drizzle cake. Crisp on the outside, moist on the inside, soaked in lemon syrup... It’s apparently elegant and refreshing, and people won’t stop praising it.”

Lucy’s mouth began to water.

“They say the shop also serves chilled black tea with the cake. The crisp, clean flavor of the tea balances the sweetness and lets you enjoy the soft, sugary taste like it’s your first bite every time...”

Her face remained expressionless, but her eyes sparkled with life.

It was obvious to anyone that she wanted to go—so Daniel sealed the deal.

“If you’d like, I can tell you the name and location of the shop.”

Daniel had made an offer she couldn’t refuse—but inwardly, his thoughts were elsewhere.

‘While Lucy’s at the dessert shop, I need to visit the lab Hamthal mentioned.’

The research facility tied to the Lucy Project was located right here in this city.

He hadn’t wanted it to be this way, but now that they had taken Fenbark, he had no reason not to visit it.

Once the urgent matters were taken care of, he planned to distract Lucy and investigate the lab on his own.

Bringing soldiers along would be safer, but Daniel had his reasons.

‘No one else can know about the Lucy Project.’

Depending on how the information was handled, both Lucy and Daniel himself could be placed in grave danger—so he had to tread carefully.

With that in mind, Daniel had hoped to separate her.

But, as expected, things didn’t go as planned.

“If you’re going too, I’ll come.”

To Lucy, whether or not there was dessert was irrelevant.

What mattered was whether Daniel would be with her.

****

At the same time — Allied Nations Command Headquarters.

Immediately after the operational meeting.

“How exactly am I supposed to accept that Fenbark has fallen? Do you expect the Supreme Commander to just nod quietly at such news?”

Count Khaledra, a special advisor directly under the Supreme Command, snarled at Supreme Commander Bemaret in the now-empty conference hall.

With only the two of them remaining in the vast room, Bemaret replied with an air of resignation.

“It’s not as if we refused their request for reinforcements. We simply couldn’t divert troops from the front lines, and it took time to gather what forces we could.”

From a strategic perspective, Bemaret’s explanation wasn’t wrong.

No one had expected Fenbark—believed to be able to hold out for a month—to fall in less than two weeks.

Grinding his teeth at the thought that it was Daniel Steiner who had done it, Khaledra spoke through clenched jaws.

“...Where are the reinforcements now?”

“Near the Edelbatre Mountains. About 300 kilometers from Fenbark. If we force-march them, they could arrive within eight days, but I don’t see the point. Daniel Steiner will have already laid traps and is surely waiting for them.”

Khaledra raised a hand and pressed it to his forehead.

After a long pause to steady his breath, he murmured,

“Fenbark cannot be handed over. That place... must not fall into his hands.”

“Count Khaledra. I understand Fenbark’s symbolic significance to the Allied Nations, but it’s not worth suffering catastrophic attrition.”

“No. Even if it comes at great cost, we must take it back.”

Khaledra swept a hand down his face, gripped his cane, and rose to his feet.

“Supreme Commander. Order the reinforcements to hold position at their current location.”

“Count Khaledra? As I said, our chances of success are slim—”

“Our chances are favorable.”

Cutting him off, Khaledra looked down silently at the seated Supreme Commander.

“Gather every last scrap of Etherlium remaining in the Allied Nations. The Empire believes we’ve depleted our Etherlium reserves. Which means... if we use Etherlium for a blitz assault, not even Daniel Steiner will be able to anticipate it.”

Hearing that, Bemaret leapt to his feet in protest.

“Count Khaledra! You’re suggesting we pour all the Etherlium we’ve gathered from across the country into the operation to retake Fenbark? If we burn through it now, we’ll be in a resource drought for months!”

“...Retake Fenbark? Do you really think that’s what I care about?”

At the Count’s cold, hollow tone, Bemaret visibly flinched.

“Supreme Commander. My objective is simple: eliminate Daniel Steiner. And...”

Khaledra’s eyes narrowed into slits.

“This time, I will command the army myself. Now prepare my transport.”

“...You’ll be commanding in person?”

“That’s right.”

It was the first time Count Khaledra—always issuing orders from the safety of the rear—had declared that he would lead the army in person.

Which meant one thing: Khaledra saw Daniel Steiner as a threat significant enough to warrant that level of action.

“To hunt down a rampaging wolf...”

Staring out the window, Khaledra gripped his cane tightly, Daniel Steiner’s face seared into his mind.

“...this is the only way.”