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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Confession
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A Small and Precious Newspaper Company
Daniel's chilling voice felt like it was tightening his throat.
He knew the correct answer was to say no, but he couldn't bring himself to utter it.
How could he lie in front of a madman pulling the trigger of a loaded revolver?
"I, I…"
Campbell's eyes trembled as his words trailed off, but Daniel didn't rush him.
He decided to wait until the fear growing within Campbell's heart bore fruit.
'Because human imagination is boundless.'
What would happen if the person across the table was known to be a heinous man who pulled the trigger of a loaded revolver?
What if that person was even gripped by the fear that he might kill them?
'They'd start making negative assumptions.'
Those with much to gain and much to lose tended to view threatening situations negatively.
'And…'
Daniel Steiner had already taken steps beforehand to ensure Campbell's negative thoughts expanded.
There was a reason he had armed soldiers take Campbell's wife and son away.
As Daniel expected, Campbell was now thinking of his family.
'Surely not my family, too…'
Upon realizing Daniel Steiner's threats weren't mere words, worry for his family consumed his mind.
'Damian.'
Campbell, recalling his son's smiling face, finally calmed his breathing and looked at Daniel.
"If I tell the truth, will my safety be guaranteed? I mean…"
Daniel raised a hand to stop Campbell from speaking and pressed the pause button on the tape recorder.
He didn't want any strange words mixed into the recording.
"Are you referring to your family's safety?"
At Daniel's question, Campbell gave a small nod.
Daniel, sensing he had almost won, offered a faint smile.
"If you cooperate with me, I will take responsibility and protect your family, Party Leader. So, I hope you will tell me everything you know."
"…"
"Party Leader. I will also request leniency from Her Imperial Highness the Princess for your confession. Afterward, we will consider parole. Then, Party Leader, you'll spend just a few years in prison before being released."
Campbell took a deep breath and opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
A lingering trace of hesitation remained in his heart.
"Daniel Steiner. Even if I cooperate with you…"
Fear seeped into Campbell's eyes.
However, this wasn't fear directed at Daniel.
"…the higher-ups won't leave me be. Eliminating traitors is their way. In the end, isn't it the same whether I die here or at their hands?"
This was an answer that deviated slightly from Daniel's expectations.
He hadn't realized that the entities giving Campbell orders treated human lives like flies.
'Now that I think about it…'
He had occasionally seen articles about politicians or low-ranking nobles falling victim to bandit attacks or becoming targets of the mafia and meeting their demise.
If all of that was at the direction of the 'higher-ups' Campbell spoke of, it made sense.
'This is troublesome.'
It wasn't easy to persuade someone belonging to a group that demanded absolute loyalty, with their life on the line.
'In that case…'
The best approach was to give him hope that he could survive by switching sides.
"Assuming you tell the truth, I will thoroughly protect your family, Party Leader. If what you're worried about is your own life, then…"
Daniel, who had been tapping his hand on the table, nodded.
"Alright. I will take special measures to prevent any untimely demise in prison. I'll also exempt you from forced labor, so you can serve your sentence comfortably."
"…That's not what I'm talking about. Even if my safety in prison is guaranteed, I'll die at their hands once I'm released."
"Release, you say. While a confession will reduce your sentence, you'll still have to serve at least eight years for violating the classified information protection act and leaking military secrets."
Campbell frowned, failing to understand the flow of the conversation.
"That's not what we're discussing now. The fact that I might die the moment I'm released, no matter how many years I serve…"
Campbell stopped mid-sentence, his mouth closing.
Because Daniel was smiling in the shadows.
"Party Leader. How long do you think it took for me to become a Lieutenant Colonel? Consider the time it took for me, an orphan, to speak as an equal with you, the leader of a political party and a nobleman."
Like a net slowly being drawn up, Daniel slowly raised his hand and extended his index finger.
"One year. Less than one year. So…"
His index finger bent, forming a fist.
"What kind of person do you think I'll be in eight years?"
In eight years, it won't be a group of nobles you have to fear, but me.
Daniel Steiner seemed to be saying exactly that.
The eerie atmosphere, captivating his gaze, made it impossible to refute.
Swallowing dryly, Campbell nodded after much deliberation.
He believed that taking the hand of Daniel Steiner, who stood before him, was the only way to save his life.
"…I'll tell you. Everything I know."
*
An hour later, Daniel, having heard Campbell's full confession, stepped out of the residence.
As the troops lined up and stood at attention, Daniel calmly adjusted his attire.
'He was taking orders from Baron Hendleyem, huh…'
The scale of the situation was growing larger than he'd anticipated.
Baron Hendleyem couldn't possibly have planned all of this alone.
'Perhaps I've declared war on all the nobles of the capital.'
It was the worst-case scenario, but if all the nobles of the capital were in cahoots, Daniel would face a difficult battle.
'I just wanted to settle down in a peaceful place and spend the rest of my life eating desserts. Why did things get so complicated…?'
He wanted to voice his grievances out of frustration, but there was no time for that now.
"Adjutant."
As Daniel quietly moved his lips, Lucy stepped forward.
"Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel."
Daniel handed Lucy the tape, which contained Campbell's hour-long confession.
"Take the troops to the Chief of Staff's office. Based on the testimony recorded on this tape, find legally valid evidence among the items seized from Campbell's residence."
While it felt a bit uneasy entrusting the task to a Federation spy, there was no need to worry since Ernst would take over command once they arrived at the Chief of Staff's office.
'It's unlikely, but even if Lucy were to intercept the tape…'
He had made another recording using the tape recorder hidden inside his coat, so he wasn't overly concerned.
Of course, contrary to Daniel's worries, Lucy was at odds with the Federation and had no intention of betraying him.
Lucy took the tape Daniel offered and nodded.
"Understood, sir. But aren't you returning to the Chief of Staff's office, Lieutenant Colonel Daniel?"
"No. I have somewhere to stop with Freyen."
"Understood."
Lucy, not bothering to ask for the reason, saluted.
As Daniel returned the salute, Lucy turned around and began to direct the troops.
Daniel watched the troops board the military vehicles one by one, then looked to his side.
"Freyen."
Freyen, who had been looking at Daniel with admiring eyes, nodded.
"The car is parked across the street. You can get in right away."
Before coming here, he had asked Freyen to prepare a car they could use immediately if possible, and it seemed she had cleverly managed to borrow one and have it waiting.
'Even without a car, we could have walked or used a military vehicle, but…'
He was worried about drawing people's attention if they did, so it was fortunate.
'But…'
He could trust Lucy, but Freyen made him feel a bit uneasy.
"Freyen. Just in case, have you ever driven before?"
"Of course. I even have a driver's license, so don't worry."
Her bright smile didn't inspire much confidence, but since she said she could do it, he decided not to stop her.
"Good. Let's go then."
Daniel walked across the street, opened the rear door, and got in.
A moment later, Freyen opened the driver's side door, sat down, and started the car.
Once the engine was on, Freyen smoothly turned the steering wheel and began to drive.
The driving was better than he expected, and as he felt relieved, Freyen looked at Daniel through the rearview mirror.
"Where should we go?"
"Go to Volberferk, 11th Street."
"…Not the Baron's mansion?"
Freyen had been present when Campbell confessed, so she knew that Baron Hendleyem was the one who had given Campbell his orders.
She had naturally assumed they were going separately to make some sort of deal with Baron Hendleyem, so she was puzzled when Daniel suddenly gave a strange address.
"If you fly too close to the flame, your wings will burn."
Freyen blinked, not understanding what he meant, so Daniel added.
"Freyen. Think about it. The rumor that I raided the residence of the Free Society Party leader will soon spread throughout the capital. What do you think will happen then?"
"…Lieutenant Colonel Daniel's name will be plastered all over the media?"
"Exactly. And who controls the major media outlets in the capital?"
"As far as I know, it's the Imperial Daily Newspaper."
"Who funds the Imperial Daily Newspaper?"
Only then did Freyen have a small realization.
She recalled that the Imperial Daily's biggest sponsors were the nobles.
"The media will start attacking Lieutenant Colonel Daniel."
"Correct. Biased reports will surely pour in. They will arbitrarily label my political leanings and incite conflict to make the public condemn me."
"Then the place we're going now is…"
"It's the Melbaroton Newspaper Company."
Melbaroton was a small, independent newspaper company untouched by the hands of the nobility.
Freyen understood Daniel's intentions, but there was still something she didn't quite grasp.
"Why Melbaroton, of all places? There are quite a few mid-sized newspaper companies that could cooperate with you, aren't there?"
Daniel let out a low chuckle at Freyen's words.
"Second Lieutenant Freyen. An media outlet that can cooperate with me can also cooperate with the nobles. So, what's needed now is…"
Daniel looked into the rearview mirror, his smile fading, and continued quietly.
"An media outlet that will absolutely obey me."