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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: What Are You Talking About?
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What on earth are you talking about?
Morten, having left Jack's restaurant, felt a growing unease and hastened his steps.
Daniel's cryptic words had sown seeds of anxiety, making his breath quicken.
'That man had no intention of talking to us. Cooperation? Daniel himself must have known that was absurd...'
Yet, Daniel had used some form of blackmail at the monastery's dining hall, forcing Morten to seek him out.
What on earth was Daniel's motive for doing such a thing?
Morten, mentally running through calculations and continuing his conjectures, gradually slowed his pace.
'It's true that he never intended to cooperate from the start. In that case, perhaps...'
His slowing footsteps came to a complete halt.
'...what if his goal was to draw me away from the Dawn of Morning headquarters?'
A faint realization flashed through his mind.
This was a tactic to incapacitate the leader of an organization before wiping out the entire group.
'I've been had...!'
Morten, his unease turning into certainty, pulled out his radio and turned it on.
Morten tuned to the frequency, pressed the transmit button, and spoke urgently.
"Headquarters! Do you hear me!? Anyone, answer if you hear me! This is urgent!"
However, no one answered.
Morten, sensing something was wrong, checked the frequency and pressed the transmit button again.
"Headquarters! Answer me! You need to evacuate immediately..."
Morten stopped speaking mid-sentence.
He felt he understood why no one was answering.
He broke out in a cold sweat and released the transmit button, and a 'beep' sound immediately followed.
Immediately after, eerie laughter emanated from the radio.
While Morten stood frozen, the laughter from beyond the radio slowly subsided.
"—Are you listening, Morten Blackmore."
It was a voice he'd never heard before.
That meant the Dawn of Morning headquarters had been seized by enemies.
"—You've been up to quite interesting things underground. Unfortunately, you won't be having any more fun now."
The strength drained from the hand holding the radio.
The thought that everyone at headquarters had been taken down made it hard to maintain his composure.
Meanwhile, the voice continued to flow from the radio.
"—Morten Blackmore. This is your first and final warning."
After a brief silence, the cold, serious voice continued.
"—Do not dare to oppose Daniel Steiner."
With that final word, the transmission cut off.
Morten, who had been staring blankly at the radio, suddenly felt dizzy and swayed.
His heart pounded erratically, and he felt a surge of nausea.
Morten, clutching his chest and shuffling his feet, leaned against a nearby wall and bowed his head.
"Huh, huuh..."
Morten exhaled his ragged breaths as if spitting them out, his eyes trembling slightly.
'His Imperial Highness's... my century-long plan...'
Had been utterly crushed by this man, Daniel Steiner.
"Ah, ah...!"
Morten, letting out a sound that was neither a scream nor a moan, suddenly began to sob quietly.
He had no choice but to admit it now.
'I was merely...'
...a pawn, dancing in the palm of Daniel Steiner's hand.
*
After finishing his meal, Daniel headed to the monastery instead of returning to his quarters.
Morten's rudeness had displeased Daniel in more ways than one.
Upon arriving at the monastery, Daniel immediately sought out the Abbot.
In the corridor of the cloistered courtyard, Daniel spotted the Abbot walking with a candelabra and strode quickly towards him.
"Abbot!"
Abbot Hieronymus startled and turned around.
Hieronymus, seeing Daniel, couldn't help but tilt his head.
"Daniel? Weren't you going to Jack's Restaurant?"
"I did go, but... that's not important right now."
Hieronymus blinked in bewilderment at Daniel's seemingly angry expression.
"Did something happen at the restaurant? Why do you look so upset?"
"Yes, something did. I met someone from the City Council."
"Someone from the City Council?"
"Yes! He was truly rude. Did the City Council ever act so arbitrarily towards you and the children, Abbot?"
Power, more often than not, stems from money.
Daniel also knew well how shameless a person intoxicated by power could be.
If the City Council had frequently harassed the monastery under the pretext of budget allocation for donations, Daniel would find it utterly unforgivable.
That was why he had come to the Abbot, to hear the full story of what had happened.
However, Hieronymus, who had never seen City Council members act rudely, was simply puzzled.
"It seems there's some misunderstanding. The City Council members have always been courteous and polite. Moreover, this time, despite the City Council's difficult circumstances, they said they wouldn't cut the donation budget."
"...They said they wouldn't cut the donation budget?"
In that case, what on earth was the man he met at Jack's Restaurant referring to when he mentioned war?
As he blinked blankly, unable to comprehend, footsteps grew closer.
He instinctively turned his head to see the Deputy Abbot turning the corner of the courtyard and approaching.
"Deputy Abbot."
Daniel gave a slight bow, and the Deputy Abbot chuckled wryly.
"Daniel. I wondered what was going on, since there was suddenly a visitor asking for you, and here you are. You could have at least told us you were back."
"My apologies. I had something urgent to discuss with the Abbot... More importantly, did you say there's a visitor looking for me?"
The Deputy Abbot nodded.
"Yes. I told him he shouldn't be entering the monastery at this hour, but he insisted on meeting Major Daniel Steiner. He seemed to have some pressing matter, so I let him in for now."
"...Me?"
He wondered who it could be, but since the person had come all this way, he couldn't just coldly refuse.
"Alright. Where is he?"
"He's waiting in the chapel."
Daniel nodded and made his way towards the chapel.
After turning a few corners in the corridor, Daniel found the chapel, opened the door, and stepped inside.
Beyond the open door, the chapel was silent and still.
Moonlight streamed in through the stained-glass windows adorning the ceiling and walls.
In the center of that chapel, a man was quietly looking up at the statue of God.
As Daniel approached, the man sensed his presence and turned around.
Daniel's brow furrowed as he recognized the man.
'It's the man I saw at Jack's Restaurant.'
He was the same person, though his face looked much more haggard than it had a few hours ago.
'But why on earth is he here? Surely not to apologize...'
This was the man who had joined his table without asking, then immediately launched into veiled threats.
Daniel, still remembering the unpleasantness he felt then, broke the short silence.
"You must have something to say."
At Daniel's words, Morten's shoulders twitched.
Morten, nervously clenching and unclenching his fists, slowly walked towards Daniel.
Morten swallowed dryly, and upon reaching Daniel's immediate vicinity, slowly knelt down.
'No. I didn't tell him to do *this*...'
As a flustered Daniel remained speechless, Morten began to speak.
"...Major Daniel Steiner. This is my complete defeat."
Morten's words doubled Daniel's bewilderment.
Just as he wondered what on earth he was talking about, Morten continued gloomily.
"Major, you have won. I have lost everything, and I have no strength left to recover. You may dispose of me as you see fit. Only my family, please..."
Tears welled in Morten's eyes and streamed down his cheeks.
"Please, just spare my family. They are innocent and know nothing. If you spare my family, I will calmly confess that I was secretly working on behalf of His Imperial Highness."
Thanks to this, Daniel couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
'What is he talking about?'
For him to just show up and make such an absurd confession was simply preposterous.
Daniel, feeling a headache coming on, let out a low sigh and spoke.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Huh? But Major Daniel Steiner..."
Daniel sighed again, knelt on one knee, and looked at Morten.
"I'll say it again."
Daniel's eyes, fixed on Morten, narrowed slightly.
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
Upon hearing Daniel's words, Morten's eyes trembled once.
This was because he understood Daniel's true intention behind those words.
'To conceal the fact that he has armed forces under his command...'
If it became known that a mere military officer possessed a private armed group, it would cause all sorts of trouble.
In Morten's eyes, Daniel appeared to be feigning ignorance to avoid external interference.
He was lying to avoid giving anyone any leverage against him.
Goosebumps rose on his skin.
He was truly a meticulous and shrewd individual.
'How many steps ahead is he truly seeing...?'
Was the annihilation of Dawn of Morning, the secret organization under the Prince, merely a part of the grand scheme Daniel Steiner was orchestrating?
The words of those men, who had warned him never to oppose Daniel Steiner, now hit him with full force.
Morten, feeling an inexplicable dread, placed his hands on the floor and slowly bowed his head.
"Yes. I will bear that in mind. Major Daniel Steiner..."
From his prostrate position, Morten, consumed by fear, pressed his forehead to the ground as a sign of submission.
Tears streamed from his tightly shut eyes.
"Truly, you know nothing at all..."
Amidst his soft sobs, Morten was once again certain.
That this was a battle he could never have won from the very beginning.