I Was Mistaken for a Great General of War

---

After running for what felt like ages, I finally arrived at a clearing in the forest.

I walked to the center of the clearing, leaving footprints in the white ground, and bent down to rest my knees.

Heat accompanied my heavy breaths as they flowed out of my mouth in quick succession.

“I think I’m going to puke…”

After sprinting at full speed for several minutes, my head felt dizzy.

I didn’t want to run this much, but it was unavoidable.

I believed that keeping as much distance as possible from Selvia was the utmost priority.

“If the princess hears that I’m applying for asylum, it’ll be a disaster…”

The princess had a disposition to eliminate traitors no matter what.

So, the best course of action was to disappear like a ghost without her knowledge.

“How far are you planning to run, you bastard…?”

“Huff…”

As I tried to catch my breath, I heard the voice of an allied soldier.

Turning around calmly, I saw the six soldiers I had encountered before approaching, panting.

They didn’t point their guns at me, which indicated they were willing to talk.

Not wanting to fight either, I exhaled heavily and raised my hands.

“Let’s just calm down and have a conversation. I am Lieutenant Daniel Steiner, Deputy of the Operations Staff at the General Staff Headquarters. Please reveal your affiliations and names.”

Good. I introduced myself while naturally mentioning my affiliation and rank.

Since they heard the title of Operations Staff, any fool would realize I was someone of strategic value.

“Do you think no one knows you?”

However, oddly enough, the allied soldiers merely frowned as if annoyed.

“Enough, where is the princess? Depending on your answer, we might spare you, so tread carefully.”

“Princess, you say?”

The mention of the princess by the allied soldier made my thoughts freeze.

How did that guy know that the person I was traveling with was a princess?

Selvia was no fool. She wouldn’t have paraded around disguised as a war correspondent in the northern front.

Thus, only a few knew Selvia had come to the northern front.

That small number consisted of those Selvia deemed “trustworthy.”

Given Selvia’s cautious nature in selecting talent, those individuals couldn’t have played the role of spies.

Then, who had used this information to launch an attack?

While I was racking my brain, a realization sank in lowly.

“The prince.”

If it were family, it would be a different story.

Someone could observe Selvia’s every move from close by.

In fact, I knew that Prince Ludwig von Amberg had several fierce arguments with his sister Selvia over the succession to the throne.

It seemed their conflicts were not just superficial.

“To try to assassinate his own sister. What a madman.”

I clicked my tongue and lowered my hands.

Now that I knew the truth, there was no longer a need to surrender.

The soldiers before me did not belong to the allied forces.

The soldiers before me were assassins disguised by the prince, trying to deceive me into believing the princess was attacked by the allies.

Thinking this was all a trick by the prince made my head cold.

“Did the prince send you?”

At my words, the soldiers hesitated. Thanks to that, my suspicions became clearer.

“Now that I see it, the allied uniforms are quite clean.”

“…What does that mean?”

“In typical guerilla warfare aimed at surprise attacks, veteran soldiers are usually sent. Sending new recruits greatly decreases the chances of success. Yet you are all dressed in brand new uniforms like rookies. Do you really think that makes sense?”

If they truly wanted to disguise themselves, they should have made their uniforms look like those of seasoned veterans.

The soldiers, unable to counter my point, soon let out faint laughs.

One who appeared to be the squad leader stepped forward.

“Noticing that right away shows you’re an elite, as the rumors say. So, you must be aware of the situation. Join us, and I’ll guarantee your rise in status.”

“Us? Are you talking about the prince?”

“…Use proper honorifics. It’s His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Seeing the soldier growl, I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it.

The reaction made the soldier furrow his brow.

“What’s so funny?”

“Watching you clutching onto a rotten lifeline is just pitiful. The Crown Prince? He doesn’t have what it takes to be emperor. The princess is the one destined to be empress, not that dimwit.”

Knowing the future allowed me to offer genuine advice, but the soldiers, apparently displeased, grimaced while gripping their guns.

“Thanks for being honest. We don’t need to talk anymore…”

From here on out, it was a race against time. While the soldier was speaking, I pulled a revolver from its holster.

At the same time, I concentrated mana in my central nervous system to accelerate my nerves.

In an instant, my vision expanded significantly, and my pupils constricted.

Before me was a world moving in slow motion.

The panicked soldier was trying to raise his gun, opening his mouth to curse, and some were rushing towards me, all appearing like a slow-motion film.

Taking a deep breath, I aimed the revolver at their heads and pulled the trigger.

The gunpowder ignited, and the bullets seemed to float through a zero-gravity space, looking surreal.

However, the bullets steadily made their way toward the soldiers’ heads.

As I moved the revolver’s muzzle to finish off the last soldier, the nerve acceleration wore off, and the world regained its normal speed.

Bang─!

The sounds of five gunshots rang out almost simultaneously, blasting the soldiers’ heads in succession.

Without even a scream, the soldiers fell over.

But the last one. The soldier confronting me at that moment was still rushing towards me.

“You bastard─!”

I wanted to aim, but my hands trembled violently.

The recoil from the nerve acceleration was weighing heavily on my body.

It was a useful ability that allowed me to graduate at the top of the officer academy, but the strain on my body immediately after use was a significant drawback.

In fact, the only reason I could take down five at once was thanks to the mana cylinder; otherwise, I would have been caught off guard when the acceleration wore off.

The amount of mana consumed was extreme as well.

“Damn…”

My head throbbed, and my body felt like it had sunk into a swamp.

But if I didn’t kill that guy, I would die. Putting in all my concentration, I pulled the trigger.

Bang! The gunfire echoed high above as the soldier charging at me lost an arm.

That was a miss. Even with one arm blown off, the soldier kept charging at me with a scream.

Moments later, the soldier barreled into me with his weight.

“Ugh!”

I fell backward, eyes clouded.

The soldier on top of me pulled out a combat knife, ready to plunge it down at my head.

Judging it to be dangerous, I instinctively grabbed the soldier’s wrist.

“Fuck! Bastard! Demon spawn! Die!”

The soldier spat and cursed wildly.

But I had no energy left to retort.

I could only grab his wrist with both hands and push him away.

“Ugh…!”

But it wasn’t working. I couldn’t muster any strength.

I could see the tip of the knife coming ever closer to my eyes, but I couldn’t stop it.

Fear coursed down my spine.

“…What? Am I really going to die like this?”

They say people usually experience fleeting images before death, but what I felt was just emptiness.

I wanted to deny my death, but my strength was fading.

Then it happened.

Bang!

With the sound of a gunshot, the soldier pinning me down had his temple blown out.

He toppled forward, collapsing onto me.

I hurriedly snatched the dagger from his hand and plunged it into his neck.

No telling if he was truly dead, just playing it safe.

After that, I shoved the soldier aside and slowly rose up.

Once I’d caught my breath, I turned to see a group wearing imperial military uniforms and gas masks.

“The Imperial Central Army… probably the Imperial Guard.”

If they were the Guard, I had a rough idea of who sent them.

Sure enough, behind them, Selvia was running up a bit late.

Seeing her face filled with worry made me feel a pang of guilt for acting recklessly.

Unaware of my turmoil, Selvia approached and knelt down close.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

I nodded.

“I’m fine. The Imperial Guards helped me. So…”

I trailed off, and Selvia seemed to catch on, lowering her gaze.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to deceive you. I just thought that as royalty, I might not be able to know who you are, so I disguised myself as a war correspondent.”

Sorry, but I figured it out way earlier. Still, I decided to play along.

“So, have you learned a lot about me?”

I said it to diffuse the heavy atmosphere.

“Of course.”

Yet, it appeared Selvia was taking my words quite seriously.

“First, during the operational planning phase, you rejected Captain Heinz’s opinion and established a new argument. Seeing that it was justified shows you possess a strong will that does not bow to power and a keen vision on the battlefield.”

That was just me wanting to leave the military in disgrace by blurting out anything.

“You also quickly identified Colonel Jeremy, who was disguised as a soldier at Edelkrall Gorge. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have made sense for you to succeed in killing him in one shot.”

Which was true. I had shot him and saw it was Colonel Jeremy afterward.

“And lastly, you possess a selfless spirit that would allow you to devote yourself for the citizens of the Empire whenever. You risked your life just to save a war correspondent.”

I had just thought I found an opportunity for asylum and barely escaped, what’s with all the praise?

Nothing she said was accurate, but looking into Selvia’s serious eyes made it hard to deny.

I knew that the moment I spoke the truth, I would be sentenced to death.

“Lieutenant Daniel Steiner.”

Selvia, holding my hand, declared solemnly.

“As a representative of the royal family, I must say that you are a treasure born of the Empire.”

I truly felt like I might die from the pressure.