I Was Mistaken as a Great War Commander-Chapter 151
After the death of the Emperor Bertham, the state funeral was carried out in an orderly manner in the Capital.
As countless citizens poured into the streets to express their condolences, the funeral procession made its way forward—and at the head of it walked Selvia, the Empress of the Empire.
This was not solely an act of mourning for her father’s death.
By participating in the procession, she sought to legitimize her rule over the Empire and emphasize her rightful claim to the throne.
It was Selvia’s own way of garnering even the slightest support from the opposing nobles.
The Noble Coalition, who outwardly displayed respect toward Selvia, suggested that martial law be declared.
Their stated reason was that order must be maintained while Her Majesty the Empress was absent from the Capital due to the funeral procession.
Selvia, too, wished for no accidents or incidents to occur during the funeral rites. As such, she accepted the nobles’ proposal.
Thus, martial law was declared—and once Selvia left her post, the Defense Command acted swiftly.
They deployed military forces and seized control of the Capital. With assistance from the Security Bureau, they first occupied key government institutions—the Assembly, the Security Bureau, and the National Propaganda Office—then disabled the communications infrastructure.
Their next move was to isolate or detain, under the pretext of martial law, those known to be loyal to Empress Selvia.
A few days later, upon belatedly hearing the news, Selvia hurriedly returned to the Capital and issued an emergency summons.
It was to punish those who had staged what was essentially a rebellion.
Unfortunately, no one answered her summons.
No—more accurately, no one could answer it.
Because by then, the Capital had already fallen into the hands of Duke Belvar.
“Your Majesty the Empress.”
Belvar entered the vast audience chamber and looked toward Selvia, who sat alone at the far end in the seat of honor.
The meeting table, which should have been filled with officials gathered to report to Selvia, was completely empty.
Seeing that not a single person had responded to the emergency summons, a smile crept onto Belvar’s lips.
“For what reason have you issued an emergency summons?”
Selvia exhaled quietly and lifted her head to meet Belvar’s gaze.
Her clear blue eyes, reminiscent of the calm sea, held not anger—but bewilderment.
“...Duke Belvar. Why have you done this? You were one of my father’s closest confidants. You were also the teacher who showed me the ways of the world when I was young.”
“I remember. Your Majesty possessed such brilliance that when I taught you one thing, you would comprehend three. I never doubted that you would become a great leader someday.”
“Then why!”
Selvia shouted in frustration.
“Why did you do this!? Why would you go so far as to exploit my father’s death just to isolate me!?”
She was demanding to know why he would not remain loyal to her.
Feeling a trace of pity toward Selvia, Belvar opened his mouth to speak.
“Your Majesty. Please consider the greater picture. It is not that we are unwilling to be loyal to Your Majesty. We merely worry that ascending the throne at such a young age may hinder your ability to govern properly. Our actions are meant to support you.”
“...Do you honestly mean that?”
“Yes. Just look at the current situation. Your Majesty has allowed yourself to be manipulated by a man named Daniel Steiner, causing unrest within the nation. The fact that he, an orphan, dares to intimidate the nobility is already a crime worthy of punishment—and yet, not only do you defend and support him, you even granted him inspection authority?”
Belvar frowned deeply.
“It is none other than Your Majesty who has invited this division.”
Selvia blinked in stunned silence.
Belvar’s one-sided claims were utterly incomprehensible to her.
“But I know this is merely a momentary lapse in judgment. I trust that the wise Empress will come to recognize her mistakes in due time. Until then, I—Belvar—have resolved to manage state affairs in Your Majesty’s stead.”
Upon hearing Belvar’s explanation, Selvia’s expression twisted.
“...How vile.”
The sudden condemnation made Belvar scowl, but Selvia didn’t stop.
“Utterly vile. You who plunged the Empire into chaos, exploiting my father’s death for your hunger for power—this is the best justification you can offer? Daniel Steiner?”
“Your Majesty. I urge you to choose your words carefully. Daniel Steiner is a treacherous villain.”
“And how dare you brand someone a villain who is currently serving the Empire on the front lines? From where I stand, the real traitors are you. No—you’re the ones hiding your filthy ambitions under a mask of loyalty. You’re closer to outright rebels!”
Belvar ground his teeth in fury.
At the same time, Selvia rose sharply from her seat.
“What are you waiting for! Commander of the Royal Guard! Arrest this traitor at once!”
Her voice rang out across the grand chamber.
But no one moved at her command.
The silence that descended upon the hall carried a dreadful sense of dissonance.
Swallowing dryly, Selvia turned toward Johannes, eyes wide with disbelief.
"...Commander of the Royal Guard?"
Johannes gripped the sheath of his sword tightly, deliberately avoiding Selvia’s gaze.
"Your Majesty. I cannot say that everything Duke Belvar has said is right. But if we do not stop Daniel Steiner’s rampage now, the prestige of the Imperial House will be severely shaken in the future."
Johannes, as Commander of the Royal Guard, remembered that the late Emperor Bertham had once told him to prevent Daniel Steiner from taking control of the Empire.
Protecting that wish was the core of Johannes’s loyalty.
To Belvar, that loyalty was nothing short of a weakness.
The old fox had exploited that very weakness just a few days ago, persuading Johannes to cooperate—promising that after eliminating Daniel Steiner, all power would be returned to the Empress.
"You... how could you..."
A hollow voice escaped from Selvia’s lips.
She stared at Johannes in disbelief, then let out a bitter laugh.
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Ironically, there was no one left in the palace who stood on the Empress’s side.
All her efforts to establish harmony with the nobles had been for nothing—vanished like smoke.
As Selvia fell into self-mockery, Belvar composed his voice.
"Commander of the Royal Guard. Her Majesty the Empress appears to be in need of rest. Why don’t we escort her to the Golden Sanctum, so she can rest well?"
He was ordering that Selvia be confined to the topmost floor of the palace.
Still gripping the sheath of his sword in silence, Johannes finally nodded after some hesitation.
Taking a deep breath, Johannes stepped toward Selvia.
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"Your Majesty. Allow me to escort you. Nothing good will come of remaining here, so please..."
Selvia turned to look at Johannes—and the light vanished from her eyes.
Slowly closing and reopening them, Selvia shook off his hand and glared at Belvar.
"...You will pay for this. Without fail, Duke Belvar."
Leaving that final threat behind, Selvia turned and walked out of the audience chamber.
The Commander of the Royal Guard followed slowly behind her.
Once both the Empress and Johannes had exited, a man quietly approached Belvar from behind.
It was Pelliston, Deputy Director of the Imperial Security Bureau.
"Congratulations, Your Grace. You’ve taken control of the Capital and succeeded in turning the Empress into a puppet. With all of her closest aides isolated, there will be no one left to resist."
He wasn’t wrong.
But there was still one variable.
Daniel Steiner.
As long as Daniel Steiner, currently serving as Chief of Staff of the 7th Magitek Armored Division, remained alive—there could be no peace of mind.
Count Kaledra failed to kill Daniel Steiner.
Belvar had recently received news that the encirclement operation using Etherlium had been thwarted by Daniel Steiner.
And thanks to Daniel Steiner’s efforts, the 7th Division had achieved victory in battle against the Allied Nations.
So the best move I can make now...
...was to once again drive Daniel Steiner into a corner using false information.
Even if it meant sacrificing allied forces in the process.
“Sacrifice is the cost of the greater good.”
Things had already progressed too far to turn back—eliminating Daniel Steiner by any means necessary was the only correct course.
"Deputy Director."
"Yes, Duke Belvar."
"From this moment forward, we will conceal the situation in the Capital completely, and relay orders to the 7th Armored Division. Tell them, in the Empress’s name, to seize the Allied 12th Armored Division’s forward defensive outpost."
It was a perfectly natural order—to press the advantage and expand the front after a victorious battle.
Even someone like Daniel Steiner would have no reason to suspect anything.
"Next, I’ll need the Security Bureau’s help. Inform them that based on the Air Force’s aerial reconnaissance analysis, there are no signs that the enemy is preparing a deception tactic."
"...You mean to erase suspicion and provoke an advance. Have you already coordinated with Count Kaledra?"
"Yes. The Allied 12th Armored Division, under Count Kaledra’s command, will be lying in wait with a trap prepared. Daniel Steiner won’t be able to escape it."
He spoke with calm detachment, but in truth, he was colluding with the leader of the enemy to drive his own forces to slaughter—just to kill Daniel Steiner.
Pelliston shivered at the sheer monstrous ambition behind Belvar’s plan to monopolize power, but having boarded the same ship, he had no choice but to obey.
"Yes, I will follow your orders."
He felt guilty toward the soldiers who would die alongside Daniel Steiner, but he had to endure it.
“If we fail to kill Daniel Steiner this time... in the worst case...”
Then the Noble Coalition—including Belvar himself—would meet their end as traitors.
