Chapter 118 |
Daniel, who left work without understanding Lucie's reaction, headed to the indoor garden of the Imperial Palace.
Following the guidance of the head of the inner court, as he entered the garden, he saw Celvia sitting and petting a Doberman.
The Doberman, which had been purring contentedly under Celvia's touch, soon sensed a presence and raised its head.
The Doberman, after perking up its ears, soon bared its teeth and growled.
Seeing this, Celvia stood up and turned to look in the direction the Doberman was guarding against.
There stood Daniel, neatly dressed in his military uniform.
As their eyes met, Daniel placed his hand on his chest and bowed politely.
"Your Highness. I have come in response to your request."
Celvia smiled faintly at Daniel's greeting.
"I've been waiting for you to arrive. Then, let's sit and talk..."
Celvia paused mid-sentence and tilted her head.
Daniel was staring intently at the Doberman that was growling at him.
"...Lieutenant Colonel Daniel? Do you like dogs?"
Only then realizing that his gaze had been fixed on the dog, Daniel cleared his throat.
"I don't dislike them. I used to have a Retriever before."
"Is that so?"
After pondering for a moment, Celvia said with a mischievous tone:
"Then would you like to pet it?"
There was no way he would readily agree to touch a dog that was growling at him.
Celvia had intended to tease him if he refused, but...
"I'll do so."
Daniel accepted without hesitation and approached the Doberman.
The growling Doberman, as Daniel got closer, seemed confused and hid its teeth.
Daniel knelt on one knee in front of the Doberman and gently stroked its head.
The Doberman blinked blankly but didn't reject Daniel's touch.
"It's a good dog. I can tell it's trying not to bite people."
Celvia, watching Daniel pet the Doberman, tilted her head.
'I thought it wasn't usually this docile...'
It was puzzling to see the dog, which had bared its teeth and barked at everyone except its owner Celvia, now lowering its tail like a gentle lamb in front of Daniel.
"It reminds me of old times. Our Kelly was this well-behaved too."
"Kelly... Is that the name of the Retriever you mentioned earlier?"
"Yes. She was a friend with a charming smile."
After saying this, Daniel gave the Doberman one last pat and stood up.
"More importantly..."
Daniel lightly dusted off his hands and turned to Celvia.
"Don't you have something to say to me?"
At his suggestion to get to the main point, Celvia pointed to the nearby table.
On the table were elegant cups and plates filled with refreshments.
"Shall we sit and talk?"
Daniel nodded at Celvia's suggestion.
Naturally, the two walked to the table and sat down.
Celvia, gently grasping a steaming cup of black tea, moved her delicate lips.
"Lieutenant Colonel Daniel. What exactly are you plotting?"
From the first question, there was an inexplicable edge to her tone.
Daniel hesitated for a moment before giving an awkward smile.
"I'm not sure I understand what you mean."
"Don't play dumb. Right now, you're deliberately slowing down the investigation process, aren't you? Given that Campbell's role as a collaborator has been exposed, what exactly are you hesitating about?"
Naturally, Celvia had already heard the recording of Campbell's confession that Daniel had brought.
With sufficient related evidence already secured, the next step should have been to move against Baron Hendliem.
'But...'
Daniel had only been holding press conferences, saying things like "nothing is certain yet."
He even appealed to stop malicious reports about Baron Hendliem.
'There's not much time left until the coronation. That means Daniel's authority for inspection will soon end.'
At the time when he should be moving most busily, Daniel was dawdling as if he had no intention of concluding the investigation.
It was an incomprehensible behavior, causing Celvia to frown in displeasure.
"Don't tell me you're trying to make peace with the nobles? At this point?"
She was asking if he was trying to bow his head like a coward at the point when it had become clear that he had been attacked by them.
Daniel hesitated for a moment before answering Celvia's question.
He needed time to think about whether he could trust Celvia.
'The possibility that Celvia participated in the nobles' plan to hand me over to the enemy country...'
Probably doesn't exist.
Celvia wasn't a figure who greatly conformed to the legitimacy of the Imperial Family.
In fact, when internal strife broke out over the issue of imperial succession, most nobles tried to support the prince rather than Celvia.
At that time, Celvia and the nobles developed mutual antipathy, and they had been in conflict knowingly or unknowingly until now, so they couldn't be considered on the same side.
'Although it wasn't intended...'
In terms of being disliked by the nobles, Celvia and Daniel were in the same boat.
Thinking there was no need to hide it particularly, Daniel opened his mouth.
"I'm not trying to make peace. Rather, you could say it's the opposite."
"...The opposite?"
"Your Highness. As you said, we now have justification to investigate Baron Hendliem based on Campbell's testimony. But would there be any evidence left in the Baron's mansion?"
Celvia didn't answer and bit her lower lip hard.
It was clear that if he had any sense, he would have disposed of all evidence the moment Campbell was caught.
"If there's no evidence, even if I lead troops as an inspector to search the Baron's mansion, we'll come up empty-handed. We'd only be laughed at by the nobles."
"Laughed at? From my perspective, it seems like we could put pressure on them. At least we could make them feel awe towards the Imperial Family."
"You're not wrong. But pressure without substance will only increase their solidarity. And it will also instill one certainty."
Daniel raised his hand to grasp the cup of black tea.
"Seeing the Princess and Daniel rushing things, it seems there are no traitors among us. Let's continue with our work as we have been..."
After taking a sip of black tea, Daniel gently put down the cup.
"In the end, we'll have to be satisfied with arresting Campbell, who is merely their pawn. On the other hand, they will cleanly resolve internal distrust and continue their attacks on me and Your Highness."
Daniel, letting go of the cup, continued speaking.
"Whose victory is this, exactly?"
If they proceeded according to the standard procedure, it would only play into the hands of the nobles.
Thinking that Daniel's words made sense, Celvia's expression became serious.
"So you're saying Lieutenant Colonel Daniel's goal is to dismantle them?"
"That's right. They must be wondering how Daniel Steiner foresaw the Crown Prince of Velmore Kingdom's surprise attack."
Who would think that incident was mere luck?
As if he found it absurd even to himself, Daniel let out a low laugh.
"How did Daniel Steiner know about the Crown Prince's attack in advance? As they continue their reasoning, they'll soon fall into the delusion that 'there's a traitor among us.'"
With only fragmentary information, they could only conclude that an internal traitor had cooperated with Daniel Steiner.
If the investigation was forcibly carried out at this point, they would realize their speculation was wrong and unite, but Daniel deliberately delayed the investigation to let their delusions spread widely.
"Unable to know who exactly cooperated with Daniel Steiner, they will start suspecting each other. Oh my, that's when a news story conveniently comes out."
"You mean the report that Baron Hendliem might be related to Campbell?"
"That's right. The public will be puzzled, but the nobles will know that Baron Hendliem is also a culprit. However, I denied it. I said there wasn't enough evidence."
Daniel Steiner, who clearly must have heard testimony from Campbell, steps up to shield Baron Hendliem.
Seeing this, the nobles had no choice but to suspect Baron Hendliem.
They would wonder if Baron Hendliem had made some kind of deal with Daniel Steiner.
"Suspicion will slowly turn into certainty. Whether it's true or false doesn't matter much to them. What's important is that they have a living sacrifice to drown with all their distrust."
The fastest way to increase an organization's cohesion was to eliminate a suspected traitor.
Although it's not yet clear who the leader of these nobles is, based on Campbell's testimony, it was someone who didn't hesitate to dispose of people for their own plans.
"So Baron Hendliem will have to make a choice."
Daniel, leaning back in his chair, shrugged his shoulders as if in sympathy.
"Either die in isolation. Or truly betray the organization to survive."
While it's unclear which of the two Baron Hendliem would choose, it wouldn't be a bad outcome for either Daniel or Celvia.
Even if Baron Hendliem dies, the seeds of discord sown within them would not easily disappear.
Having heard all of Daniel's story, Celvia swallowed dryly.
There was still one puzzle piece that didn't fit.
"Don't tell me the one who published the article suggesting Baron Hendliem might be a collaborator was..."
The starting point of the plan could only occur if there was an article suggesting Baron Hendliem might be a collaborator.
Only then would the nobles start suspecting Baron Hendliem when Daniel Steiner denied the article.
Hearing Celvia's speculation, Daniel calmly nodded.
"Yes."
Daniel, narrowing his eyes gently, continued in a dry tone.
"I ordered it."