I Was Mistaken as a Great War Commander-Chapter 180

After completing the large-scale arrest of collaborators, Daniel was finally able to return to the Central Security Bureau by dawn.

He did so while escorting a multitude of nobles with their wrists bound by rope.

The sight of numerous nobles, once active in the political and business worlds, being dragged in as criminals was shocking no matter who witnessed it.

Amid the stunned faces of the police officers under the High Commissioner of Public Security who were guarding the Central Security Bureau, Daniel quietly gave his orders.

All of them were to be imprisoned underground, and if there was a shortage of space, they were to request assistance from the Military Police Corps.

The High Commissioner, who harbored a certain fear of Daniel, accepted the order, bowing deeply at the waist.

Afterward, Daniel entered the Emergency High Commissioner’s office and fell into brief contemplation.

It bothered him that a few quick-witted nobles had managed to escape without being captured.

Upon receiving a detailed report, it appeared that the number wasn’t enough to be concerning, but the discomfort remained.

Among the nobles captured today, there must be those connected to the ones who fled...

If he gathered information, conducting a search would not be difficult—but the problem came after that.

The moment the collaborator purge is perfectly completed, I will be removed from the post of Emergency High Commissioner.

From that point on, he would no longer be the Emergency High Commissioner who wielded omnipotent power under the Emperor’s special orders. He would have to return to being a mere soldier following the commands of the military high command.

Of course, they wouldn’t dare treat me as carelessly as before...

Still, having to obey the decisions of the high command was a direct path toward an uncertain future.

To put it bluntly, now that internal matters were settled, they could very well decide it was time for him to contribute externally—and send ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) him to the Eastern Front.

Daniel remembered.

He remembered the battles he endured back when he was the Chief of Staff of the 7th Magitek Armored Division.

Amid enemy bombardments, gunfire and shouting had echoed through the battlefield, and the explosions sent clouds of dirt flying, making it nearly impossible to secure any visibility.

Snipers had been aiming at them too—there was no other way to describe it than hell on earth.

It was only by luck that I survived...

If the main force had arrived even a little later, or if the enemy bombardment had been a bit more precise, Daniel would no longer be among the living.

In short, the battlefield was the place furthest from the survival Daniel sought.

Not wanting to ever return to that horrific place, Daniel tapped the desk lightly with his fingers as he schemed.

No matter how I look at it, Selvia and the military high command seem to think of me as some kind of omnipotent being.

Though it hadn’t been his intention, Daniel had successfully carried out every single command issued from above thus far.

On top of that, by leading the 7th Magitek Armored Division and purging the collaborators who incited the civil disturbance, he had demonstrated unwavering loyalty to the Imperial Family. It now appeared that there were no more escape routes left for him.

However...

Whether it was good fortune or bad, during the massive purge of collaborators, several nobles had managed to escape capture.

In the grand scheme of things, it was a small mistake.

A mistake that could easily be rectified with enough time.

But in politics, what matters is not the gravity of the mistake but the existence of the mistake itself.

The closer a person appeared to perfection, the more likely a single mistake would become a fatal flaw.

If this is reported widely...

Both the military high command and even Selvia would inevitably begin to shed the illusions they held about Daniel Steiner.

Excessive expectations killed people.

Thus, for Daniel, who desperately sought survival, their expectations were more poison than blessing.

If he could use this opportunity to dilute that poison, he would not hesitate.

Having made up his mind, Daniel immediately picked up the phone receiver and dialed.

He was calling Boelm, the Editor-in-Chief of the Imperial Daily.

After several rings, a voice came through from the other end.

— This is Boelm, Editor-in-Chief of the Imperial Daily. What business do you have in calling?

There was an air of arrogance thick in the voice.

Daniel tilted his head in slight confusion and opened his mouth to speak.

“This is Emergency High Commissioner Daniel Steiner. Are you truly Editor-in-Chief Boelm?”

There was a brief silence, followed by the sound of something crashing down.

It sounded like a chair.

— C- Colonel Daniel Steiner! What brings you to call me personally? Was there perhaps something in the recent newspapers that displeased you?

Having returned to his original voice, Boelm was now flustered and fumbling with the call.

Fearing he might have made some grave mistake, he was stepping on his own tail.

Daniel, who hadn’t called to reprimand Boelm, let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.

“That’s not it. I’m calling to discuss the article that will appear on the front page of tomorrow’s newspaper.”

— Ah. I see. We’ve already prepared a draft for tomorrow’s front page. The title is something like: ‘The Night of Purge Passes! Divine Retribution Upon the Collaborators!’

“I see. I respect the Imperial Daily, but could you possibly revise the title and content?”

— Revise it? Of course, it’s possible. If you tell me which parts you are dissatisfied with, I will make the necessary corrections.

“Thank you. In that case, could you focus the article on the collaborators who escaped capture? A good title would be: ‘Emergency High Commissioner Draws His Sword—Yet the Missing Collaborators!’”

A long silence stretched across the line.

Boelm simply could not grasp Daniel’s true intentions.

After a long moment of thought, Boelm spoke cautiously, trying to gauge Daniel’s mood.

— If I’m understanding you correctly, you are asking for an article that spotlights Colonel Daniel Steiner’s mistake on the front page?

“In a manner of speaking, yes.” freewёbnoνel.com

— Colonel? Why would you make such a decision? If you could explain, I think it would help me understand and proceed properly.

There was no way Daniel could explain the real reason.

After a brief pause for consideration, he decided to offer a half-truth.

“Because I need that article.”

Dragging out the explanation would only breed unnecessary suspicion.

— Because you need it, Colonel...

Believing that Daniel must have his reasons, Boelm nodded on the other end of the line.

— Understood. I will set the article’s guidelines accordingly.

Hearing Boelm’s firm answer, Daniel thanked him and set down the receiver.

Letting out a low chuckle, relieved that things were proceeding according to plan, Daniel leaned back into his chair.

Once tomorrow’s newspaper is published, everyone’s illusions about me will be shattered.

It would be impossible to dispel all the layered misunderstandings, but Daniel was satisfied, thinking that he could at least dissolve a portion of them. A content smile crossed his face.

****

Late the next evening.

At the entrance of the abandoned station on the outskirts of the capital.

"Judging by their clothes adorned with family crests, they must be private soldiers of the nobles. Though they're all dead now."

Major Aborian, the Captain of the Guard who had arrived at the abandoned station upon receiving a report, furrowed his brow.

The lieutenant standing beside him wore a similarly grim expression.

"The post-mortem lividity is quite distinct. Judging by the state of the corpses' decay, it seems they have been dead for at least a day."

"Indeed. And if you look at these bastards..."

Aborian, wearing white gloves, picked up a nearby rifle and removed the magazine.

"The magazine is full. They didn’t even get to fire a single shot."

"Which means..."

"They were ambushed by enemies who had already infiltrated the station. Good marksmanship, too. All the corpses have a bullet hole in the head."

"Certainly not amateurs. Could they be professionals?"

"Yeah. They shoot better than most soldiers."

Letting out a cough from the stench, Aborian turned to the soldiers standing at the rear.

"You lot, stay here! Don’t let anyone else approach!"

"Yes, sir!"

Hearing the soldiers’ responses, Aborian entered the abandoned station together with his lieutenant.

Relying on their flashlights, the two roamed through the station and, upon entering the signal control room, let out involuntary gasps.

"My god..."

"Looks like a bloodbath happened here."

Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, Aborian covered his nose and stepped inside.

They saw nobles sitting around tables, each one dead with a bullet lodged in the center of their forehead.

One man, seemingly trying to escape, lay at the entrance with the back of his head blown out.

Approaching one of the nobles seated in a chair, Aborian slowly removed the mask covering the corpse’s face.

What appeared was a slack-jawed, wide-eyed face twisted in death.

"...Baron Tekborambol. I thought his recent behavior was suspicious—it seems he had indeed joined Duke Belvar."

"Isn't Baron Tekborambol the one who ran a glass manufacturing company?"

"That's right. I heard his business wasn’t doing well lately. Looks like he chose the wrong path."

With an expression of disbelief, the lieutenant glanced from Tekborambol to Aborian.

"Captain. Judging by the attire and the crests on their clothes, the others here also appear to be nobles. Which means..."

"All of them were collaborators. Considering they gathered in such a remote place, they must have been some of the higher-ranking supporters of Duke Belvar."

"But they were completely wiped out. Who could have done such a thing?"

Aborian let out a low sigh and said,

"There's only one person it could be. Colonel Daniel Steiner."

"What? But if you look at this morning’s newspaper, it says the collaborators are missing..."

"That was a deceitful article to avoid responsibility. He intends to claim that the mass death of these nobles has nothing to do with the Central Security Bureau."

"...Why would he do such a thing?"

"You fool. Think about it. Even if these bastards are collaborators, they are still nobles. You can’t simply execute them outright. If they don't resist, you have to arrest them and put them on trial."

During the trial process, except for a few whose crimes were particularly grave, most would avoid the death penalty.

If all the captured nobles were sentenced to death, it would inevitably cause political and societal upheaval.

"That’s why Colonel Daniel used a private organization to cleanly eliminate them. He didn’t want to risk leaving behind future trouble."

"I see. Although he killed them all, Colonel Daniel won’t be held responsible. After all, it’s been widely reported that several collaborators remain unaccounted for."

The killing of these nobles would have no ties to him.

Who could possibly refute Daniel Steiner’s claim?

Moreover, since nothing had ever been revealed about Daniel’s private organization, this was a perfect crime.

It also served as a clear warning to everyone.

Do not even think about opposing me.

It felt as if that violent message hung thickly in the air itself.

"Captain..."

Swallowing nervously, the lieutenant looked at the nobles who had died en masse while sitting in their chairs.

"He’s a truly terrifying man, Colonel Daniel Steiner..."

To that, Aborian could not offer any rebuttal.

If...

Had he chosen to cooperate with Duke Belvar in the past, it would have been none other than Aborian himself lying dead in one of those chairs.