Mistaken for a War Hero

Chapter 59
What in the World Is He Talking About?

『 Translator – Divinity 』

Morten left Jack’s Restaurant and hurried away, feeling anxious.

The cryptic words Daniel had spoken had become seeds of unease, making his breathing ragged.

‘He had no intention of cooperating with us. Cooperation? Even Daniel knows that’s nonsense…’

Yet, Daniel had subtly threatened him at the monastery’s dining hall, forcing Morten to seek him out.

What was Daniel’s intention?

As Morten continued to speculate, his pace gradually slowed.

‘It’s true that he never intended to cooperate. Then could it be…’

His slowing footsteps came to a complete stop.

‘…Was his goal to lure me away from the Dawn of the New Day headquarters?’

A sudden realization struck him.

This was a tactic to remove the leader of an organization before taking it down.

‘I’ve been played…!’

Morten, his anxiety turning into certainty, took out his radio and turned it on.

After tuning the frequency, he pressed the transmit button and hurriedly spoke.

“Headquarters! Can you hear me!? Anyone, please respond! This is an emergency!”

But there was no answer.

Something felt wrong. Morten checked the frequency and pressed the transmit button again.

“Headquarters! Respond! We need to evacuate immediately…”

Morten stopped mid-sentence.

He realized why no one was answering.

As he removed his trembling hand from the transmit button, a beep sounded.

Then, chilling laughter came from the radio.

As Morten froze, the laughter on the other end slowly subsided.

— Are you listening, Morten Blackmoor?

It was a voice he had never heard before.

This meant that the Dawn of the New Day headquarters had been taken over by the enemy.

— You’ve been up to some interesting things in the basement. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to enjoy yourselves anymore.

His grip on the radio weakened.

The thought that everyone at headquarters had been defeated made it difficult to stay conscious.

Meanwhile, the voice on the radio continued.

— Morten Blackmoor, this is a warning, my first and last.

After a brief silence, a cold, serious voice followed.

— Don’t you dare try to oppose Daniel Steiner.

The communication ended with those last words.

Morten stared blankly at the radio, then suddenly felt dizzy and stumbled.

His heart pounded erratically, and he felt nauseous.

Clutching his chest, Morten stumbled forward and leaned against a nearby wall, his head bowed.

“Gasp… gasp…”

He let out ragged breaths, his eyes trembling.

‘His Highness’s… my hundred-year plan…’

It had been utterly crushed by Daniel Steiner.

“Ah, ah…!”

Morten let out a cry that was somewhere between a scream and a groan, then began to sob quietly.

He could no longer deny it.

‘I was just…’

…a pawn in Daniel Steiner’s game.

***

After finishing his meal, Daniel headed to the monastery instead of returning to his lodging.

The man’s rudeness had displeased him in many ways.

Arriving at the monastery, Daniel immediately sought out the head priest.

He found Hierony walking in the cloister with a candlestick and hurried towards him.

“Head Priest!”

Hierony flinched in surprise and turned around.

Seeing Daniel, he couldn’t help but ask,

“Daniel? Weren’t you going to Jack’s Restaurant?”

“I did go, but… that’s not important right now.”

Hierony blinked his eyes in confusion at Daniel’s seemingly angry expression.

“Did something happen at the restaurant? Why do you seem so upset?”

“Something did happen. I met someone from the city council.”

“Someone from the city council?”

“Yes! He was incredibly rude. Did the city council ever treat you and the children this way?”

Power often stemmed from money.

And Daniel knew how shameless people could become when intoxicated by power.

If the city council had been harassing the monastery under the pretext of allocating donation budgets, Daniel wouldn’t be able to forgive them.

That’s why he came to hear the whole story from the head priest.

However, Hierony, who had never seen the city council members act rudely, was simply confused.

“It seems like there’s been a misunderstanding. The people from the city council have all been polite and courteous. And this time, despite the city council’s financial difficulties, they even said they wouldn’t cut the donation budget.”

“…They said they wouldn’t cut the donation budget?”

Then what was the “war” that the man at Jack’s Restaurant had mentioned?

Confused, I was staring blankly when I heard footsteps approaching.

I reflexively turned my head and saw the vice-principal coming around the corner of the cloister.

“Vice-principal.”

I bowed my head slightly, and the vice-principal chuckled.

“Daniel, a guest came looking for you, and I was wondering where you were. You should have told us you were back.”

“I apologize. I had something urgent to discuss with the Head Priest… But you said a guest came looking for me?”

The vice-principal nodded.

“Yes. I told him that visitors weren’t allowed at the monastery at this hour, but he insisted on seeing Major Daniel Steiner. He seemed to have something important to discuss, so I let him in.”

“…Me?”

I wondered who it could be, but I couldn’t rudely refuse someone who had come all the way here.

“Alright. Where is he?”

“He’s waiting in the chapel.”

I nodded and headed towards the chapel.

After navigating the hallways, I found the chapel and opened the door.

The chapel was silent and still.

Moonlight streamed through the stained glass windows decorating the ceiling and walls.

A man stood in the center of the chapel, staring at the statue of God.

As I approached, the man sensed my presence and turned around.

My brow furrowed as I recognized him.

‘It’s the man from Jack’s Restaurant.’

Except for his haggard appearance, it was definitely the same man.

‘But why is he here? Did he come to apologize…?’

He was the one who had sat down without asking and then spoken threateningly.

Still feeling displeased by that encounter, I spoke after a brief silence,

“I assume you have something to say.”

The man’s shoulders flinched at my words.

He clenched and unclenched his fists nervously, then slowly walked towards me.

Gulping, he reached me and slowly knelt.

‘No, I didn’t mean for him to go this far…’

As I stood there speechless, the man spoke,

“…Major Daniel Steiner. I admit defeat.”

His words only added to my confusion.

Just as I was wondering what he was talking about, the man continued in a gloomy tone,

“You’ve won, Major. I’ve lost everything and have no strength to recover. You can do with me as you please. But please spare my family…”

Tears welled up in the man’s eyes and streamed down his cheeks.

“Please spare my family. They are innocent and know nothing. If you spare them, I will quietly confess that I was working for the prince.”

I couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.

‘What is he talking about?’

I was dumbfounded by the sudden, nonsensical confession.

Feeling a headache coming on, I sighed softly and said,

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“Sir? But Major Daniel Steiner…”

I sighed again, knelt on one knee, and looked at the man.

“I’ll say it again.”

My eyes narrowed as I stared at him.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

The man’s eyes trembled as he seemed to understand his intentions.

‘He’s trying to hide the fact that he has armed forces under his command…’

It would be troublesome in many ways if it became known that a mere soldier possessed a private army.

From Morten’s perspective, it seemed like Daniel was feigning ignorance to avoid outside interference.

He was lying to avoid any trouble.

It was chilling.

He was truly a meticulous and cold-hearted person.

‘Just how many steps ahead is he thinking…?’

Was the elimination of the Dawn of the New Day, the secret organization under the prince’s command, just a small part of my grand scheme?

The warning from those men — never to oppose Daniel Steiner — resonated deeply within him.

Overwhelmed by an unknown fear, Morten slowly lowered his head, his hands on the floor.

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind. Major Daniel Steiner is…”

In a posture of submission, consumed by fear, Morten pressed his forehead to the floor as a sign of subservience.

Tears streamed from his tightly closed eyes.

“Truly unaware of anything…”

Amidst his soft sobs, Morten was once again certain.

That this was a fight he could never have won from the very beginning.