While Daniel was receiving Otto’s pledge of loyalty, Lucy was completely focused on making coffee in the break room.
She lifted the kettle and slowly poured hot water over the ground beans nestled in the filter.
Each ti she did, a rich yet subtle caral aroma spread gently throughout the room.
A good sign—the extraction was going smoothly.
Repeating the sa motion twice more, Lucy distributed the freshly brewed coffee into cups. Only Daniel’s received sugar and a splash of milk.
She tailored it to his sweet tooth.
Placing the cups on a tray, she picked out a suitable snack to accompany them.
After checking once more to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, Lucy picked up the tray and stepped out of the break room.
She made her way toward Daniel’s office, but then stopped in her tracks.
Otto Whitmore, Director of the Security Bureau, had just opened the office door and stepped out.
“Oh. You’re the Commissioner’s adjutant, aren’t you?”
He smiled faintly upon seeing Lucy.
But gone was the relaxed air he’d had when entering the room.
His expression now seed sohow... worn out.
“You must’ve worked hard making that coffee. Sorry about that. I felt like I couldn’t breathe if I stayed in there any longer, so I made my escape.”
“Did sothing happen?”
“Oh, sothing definitely happened. Can’t say much about it, but... I’ve t many people on my way up to Director, yet Colonel Daniel is... how should I put it...”
Otto paused, then gave a low chuckle.
“He truly seems like soone who works for the Empire’s sake. From what I can tell, Colonel Daniel views power not as a goal—but as a ans to an end.”
Lucy gave a slight nod. From her perspective, he wasn’t wrong.
“He’s a good man.”
“And a frightening one too.”
“Is that so?”
At Otto’s teasing comnt, Lucy blinked blankly.
She had never once thought of Daniel as frightening.
Noticing Lucy’s reaction, Otto gave an awkward little cough, as if regretting what he’d just said.
“Ah—more importantly...”
Worried that his honest remark might be taken as slander against Daniel, Otto quickly changed the subject.
“The aroma’s quite nice. I’m not exactly a coffee connoisseur, but I can tell it’s high-grade. If I’d known I’d get to taste coffee like this, I might’ve stayed longer.”
That part was at least half true.
With the Empire’s war dragging on, imports of luxury items like coffee had beco extrely limited.
And the few that did ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) make it in were typically redirected to the front lines—for commanding officers and soldiers.
Getting genuine high-end coffee in the capital these days was no small feat.
In fact, instant coffee and chicory-based substitutes were all the rage now.
“Seems the Central Security Bureau has quite a generous welfare budget. Stocking goods of this quality can’t be cheap...”
“I bought it with my own money.”
Otto blinked slowly at Lucy’s reply.
And understandably so.
In this current climate, regularly drinking real coffee—not a substitute—ant shelling out a significant sum.
For a re lieutenant to afford fresh grounds, she would basically have to spend nearly her entire paycheck.
“...Out of your own pocket?”
When Lucy nodded, Otto gave her a pitying look.
“She might be in the sa boat as .”
He began to suspect that perhaps Lucy, too, had been coerced into loyalty by Daniel.
Of course, the truth was far simpler.
Lucy willingly spent more than half her salary on coffee—because Daniel liked it, and she didn’t mind drinking it herself.
Otto, knowing none of this, offered her a bittersweet smile.
“Let’s both hang in there.”
Placing a hand to his chest, he bowed like a gentleman.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave. I’ve got quite a few things to handle.”
“Ah. Understood.”
Lucy didn’t feel particularly inclined to stop him, so she stepped aside.
Watching Otto pass her by with a strange expression, she shook her head lightly and opened the office door.
Inside, Daniel was on the phone.
“...Bring them one by one. Yeah. Let’s decide on that after we’ve confird it. A formal notice will be issued regarding the Bureau’s restructuring. Just act on it when it arrives. Right. The sooner, the better.”
Finishing the call, Daniel placed the receiver down.
Letting out a low breath, he looked around with a fatigued expression—then noticed Lucy.
“Lieutenant? Don’t just stand there. Co in.”
Lucy gave a nod and stepped forward, placing the coffee tray on his desk.
The aroma reached Daniel’s nose, and a faint smile curled on his lips.
“Slls good. If you’d like, have a seat and join for a cup.”
“You an right now?”
“Yes. Even for productivity’s sake, the occasional break isn’t a bad idea.”
“Understood.”
Accepting his offer, Lucy took a seat.
Daniel, watching her, lifted his cup, took a sip, and slowly began to speak.
“Earlier, you asked sothing. What you an to .”
Lucy seed visibly surprised—she hadn’t expected him to answer.
“Lieutenant. To be honest, our relationship is... sowhat unsteady. We both have things we’re hiding. We’ve each sensed it, and yet neither of us has said a word. Why? Because the mont we do, there’s no turning back.”
Steam gently rose from the cup in his hands.
“And so, I won’t ask. Not unless you choose to tell yourself.”
“I...”
“I’m not pressuring you. Everyone has their circumstances. And no matter how deep or dark your secret may be—I won’t care. As long as you want to remain by my side as my adjutant.”
In the quiet office, their eyes t.
“Lieutenant... I don’t know exactly what Johannes said to you, but...”
Daniel paused.
“You’re soone important to .”
Lucy’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Caught completely off guard, she said nothing—only stared.
Daniel smiled and lifted his cup again.
Unbeknownst to Lucy, his hand was trembling faintly.
“I have to win her over. Now that I’ve beco Ergency High Commissioner, the Allied Nations will be desperate to kill . If Lucy were to turn on —I’d be as good as dead.”
He wanted to trust her.
But there were too many unknowns.
As long as Lucy was a forr test subject, there was no telling what Count Kalhedra might’ve embedded inside her.
Of course, no such device existed.
While Daniel anxiously fidgeted—unaware of the truth—Lucy’s mind was in complete disarray.
He said I was important...
From Lucy’s perspective, who had quietly loved Daniel from the depths of her heart, those words felt almost like a confession.
But...
She might be mistaken. It could be sothing she was imagining all on her own.
Wanting a clear answer, Lucy curled her fingers together on her lap and asked:
“How important am I to you, exactly? Compared to Kelly...”
It was a bold move for Lucy.
She had just brought up the one woman Daniel had never been able to forget.
Daniel, on the other hand, was simply confused.
Why is she asking to compare her to a dog?
Kelly had been a cherished childhood companion—a dog Daniel still missed dearly. But comparing a person to a pet? That didn’t even register as a dilemma.
He responded without hesitation.
“Of course, you’re more important.”
At those words, Lucy’s face instantly turned crimson.
She gasped, her breath catching in her throat, as her mind went blank.
That was how much Daniel’s reply had shaken her.
Even just hearing “you’re both important” would’ve made her happy—but “you’re more important” was far beyond anything she had imagined.
And yet, Daniel had no idea why she’d suddenly frozen.
“...Lieutenant?”
Snapping out of it, Lucy stood up from her seat.
She had managed to restore her neutral expression, but the redness in her face and ears betrayed her.
“I’ll head to the break room. I left sothing behind...”
There was nothing she had actually forgotten, but if she stayed here any longer, she feared she might say sothing reckless.
She needed to calm herself down—so that was the excuse she gave.
Daniel nodded.
“All right. Go ahead.”
“Thank you.”
As Lucy hurried out of the office, Daniel was left alone.
What was that all about...?
He couldn’t figure it out.
Just as he took another sip of coffee, there ca a knock.
Knock knock—
Setting the cup down, Daniel spoke up.
“Co in.”
He thought Lucy might’ve returned already—but it was Phelp, his intelligence officer, who stepped in through the open door.
His hands were full of newspapers from The Imperial Daily.
Exactly what Daniel had requested—gathered by date.
“Colonel Daniel.”
Offering a brief salute, Phelp approached and laid the stack of papers on Daniel’s desk.
“As you asked, I brought every issue of The Imperial Daily from the ti of our defeat on the Eastern Front up to the present.”
“You’ve done well. Let’s take a look.”
Daniel picked up the papers and began flipping through them in chronological order.
Has the War Hero Lost His Edge? Colonel Daniel Steiner Defeated on the Eastern Front!
Daniel Steiner, the Traitor Revealed at Last! Intelligence Confirms His March Back to the Capital at the Head of the 7th Armored Division!
We Condemn the Treacherous Jackal Daniel Steiner!
Guard Division’s Armored Regint Mobilizes to Relay the Empress’s Orders! Brave Warriors, Bring Down the Traitor Daniel Steiner!
Guard Division’s Armored Regint Joins Daniel Steiner! Is He a Fox of the Battlefield? How Did He Persuade Them?
Military Genius Daniel Steiner to Arrive in the Capital Within Three Days! Citizens Suspect His March Has Purpose!
Colonel Daniel Steiner—The Empire’s Sole Hope and Her Majesty’s Loyal Servant—Eradicates the Traitors Hidden Within the Capital!
The final article was dated just three days ago.
Seeing through the obvious shift in tone, Daniel couldn’t help but chuckle.
“They’re begging for their lives, aren’t they?”
At the comnt, Phelp gave a slight nod.
“They appear to be in a state of panic. How do you plan to respond?”
“If they’d resisted, things might’ve gotten complicated. But if they’re going to grovel like this, it’s simple.” Daniel’s voice was cold.
“Major Phelp. Select twenty soldiers with solid physiques.”
“...Do you an—”
“Yes.”
Daniel rose from his chair and took the uniform cap resting on his desk, placing it squarely on his head.
Beneath its brim, his black eyes glead with a frigid light.
“They’ll pay the price for all the attacks they so tirelessly hurled at .”
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