I Was Mistaken as a Great War Commander-Chapter 208

As soon as Daniel issued his operational orders, the brigade moved swiftly.

After contacting Central Command and receiving approval for the plan, they began night marches using intelligence extracted under torture from captured Defense Force soldiers—patrol routes, watch posts, observation networks, and more.

They also knew the timing and flight paths of enemy aerial reconnaissance, which allowed Daniel’s brigade to move safely through the forest for roughly ten days, keeping their presence hidden.

When morning came, as he did every day, Daniel ordered the unit to halt movement and begin covering all vehicles and tanks with camouflage netting.

It was a tedious process, but it remained the most effective way to avoid detection.

“Pull the left side tight! I said the left!”

“Bring over more brush or branches to cover the net! Hurry!”

“Triple-layer the perimeter! Company Three, you’re on outer watch!”

Everyone was shouting, but the volume was kept low.

They were doing their best to ensure no sound leaked beyond the camp perimeter.

Hearing the hushed activity, Daniel opened the armored vehicle door and stepped down.

As he observed the soldiers moving briskly about, he heard footsteps approaching from behind.

Turning around, he saw Phelp, the intelligence officer, and Frien, the brigade’s medic.

Seeing them bow their heads, Daniel spoke.

“What is it?” freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

They both lifted their heads. Phelp was the first to respond.

“Brigadier General. According to intercepted communications, Allied forces are massing at the bridge fortifications. Just as you predicted, Count Khaledra appears to be preparing to strike the fake unit beyond the river.”

This was part of the limited communications window—only ten minutes a day—used to avoid enemy interception, and the report had come through Phelp.

Daniel nodded, but didn’t show much satisfaction.

Of course. Count Khaledra would be desperate to eliminate me.

At this point, Khaledra wasn’t pursuing Daniel Steiner merely because of the damage he had inflicted on Allied ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) forces.

It was because Daniel knew the truth—the secret of the laboratory. That truth had to be erased as soon as possible.

If Daniel Steiner returned to the capital and exposed what he’d seen beneath Fenbark, it would be a political disaster for the Allied Nations.

So when he heard rumors I was preparing a counterattack, he probably took it as an opportunity.

Desperation often clouds judgment.

So determined to erase Daniel Steiner, Khaledra had pulled even the city’s defense forces to the bridge.

This was because he believed the intercepted communications from the decoy unit, which were designed to suggest that reinforcements from headquarters would soon arrive and launch a full-scale assault.

On top of that, a few days ago, Central Command had gone one step further—scattering newspapers across the capital with the headline:

“Daniel Steiner Has Not Abandoned Fenbark!”

That must have been the Chief of General Staff’s doing. I used to resent him for sending me to Fenbark, but...

From approving his request for support to orchestrating misinformation, they had supported him from behind the scenes. Daniel found himself feeling unexpectedly grateful.

Though, to be fair...

If one traced everything back to its root cause, the Chief of General Staff was the one responsible for it all.

With a faint scowl, Daniel pushed those thoughts aside and spoke.

“They’ve likely stopped paying attention to the floodgates. This is the right time. Deploy the infiltration team and have them wait at the dam.”

“Understood. I’ll select fast-moving personnel and issue the orders.”

Phelp bowed and turned away.

As Daniel watched him go, Frien stepped a little closer.

“Brigadier General.”

With her clear voice, Frien held up a thermos flask in her hands.

When Daniel looked at her, she smiled bashfully and opened the lid, pouring the contents into the cap.

“Here.”

She handed the cap to Daniel.

“Take a sip.”

Surprised, Daniel accepted it and sniffed.

“This isn’t... chicory coffee. And it’s not canned. Did you carry the grounds yourself and brew it?”

“Yes. I heard you liked real coffee, sir.”

In wartime, a proper cup of coffee was a rare luxury.

As the aroma reached him, Daniel took a sip and let out a quiet breath.

“It tastes even better after so long. Thank you.”

“If you're thankful, then treat me to a meal sometime. Not at the command mess—at an actual restaurant, something nice.”

“All right. That’s not too much to ask. I’ll even get you your favorite—mint ice cream.”

“That sounds great! And maybe with Captain Lucy...”

Frien’s voice trailed off as she mentioned Lucy.

Awkwardness lingered between them. Frien turned her gaze away.

“She’s... doing all right in Fenbark, right? I hope nothing’s happened...”

“She’s fine. Just like you said.”

Daniel turned his eyes in the direction of Fenbark.

“Lucy’s a strong woman.”

****

Rain was falling on Fenbark.

Lucy Emilia noticed it first.

Since her confinement, she had done nothing but sit in her room and stare out the window.

“....”

Raindrops, carried by the wind, struck the glass at an angle.

One by one, they merged and began sliding down the windowpane in long streaks.

Lucy sat there for an hour, watching the rain in silence—until her fingers twitched involuntarily.

She’d heard voices on the other side of the door—soldiers talking.

— Is it already time to switch shifts? I thought I’d die of boredom.

— You did good. Go have a smoke or something.

— Yeah, I will. Hey, did you hear?

— Hear what?

— The Count pulled the city’s defense troops to the bridge.

Lucy’s half-lidded eyes opened slowly.

— Yeah, I heard. That’s why troops are moving out of the city right now.

— Guess we’re lucky we got assigned to the mansion detail.

— For sure. If we hadn’t, we’d be headed to the bridge right now like everyone else.

— But what’s the sudden need to mass troops at the bridge?

— I don’t know. Seems like they’re finally gonna deal with Daniel Steiner.

Lucy sucked in a sharp breath.

Assuming she was asleep, the soldiers kept talking.

— Daniel Steiner? How?

— I don’t know the details, but intel says they intercepted communications from his unit.

— So they’ve located him?

— Must’ve, otherwise they wouldn’t be mobilizing troops like this.

— That’s good news. The great Daniel Steiner, finally about to die at the Count’s hands.

At that, Lucy shot to her feet.

— Huh? Did you hear that?

— Sounded like a chair falling over.

Lucy stormed to the door and flung it open.

The startled soldiers stared at her.

“M-My lady?”

“Weren’t you asleep...?”

Lucy stared at them, fists clenched, and moved her lips.

“Move.”

As if to say—no further words were needed.

****

While working in the mansion’s office, Count Khaledra froze.

The telephone—normally silent—had begun to ring loudly.

Wondering what could have prompted it, he picked up the receiver, only to be met with a panicked voice.

— C-Count Khaledra! This is Sergeant Torre, assigned to the mansion’s security detail! Lady Lucy has left her room and is headed to your office! We tried to stop her, but she’s completely unrelenting...!

Khaledra hung up before the sentence was finished.

Sensing danger, he judged that he had to leave the office immediately and rose to his feet—too late.

Footsteps were already pounding down the hallway.

Bang!

The office door slammed open as Lucy appeared.

She was breathing heavily, and from the look of her, it was clear she had overwhelmed the guards stationed throughout the mansion to get here.

Khaledra stared at her with a blank expression, but his mind was racing through countless worst-case scenarios.

Lucy was, in essence, a living weapon.

If she had come here with the intent to kill him, there was no one who could stop her.

And Khaledra knew that—so he held his breath.

In the long, tense silence, Lucy slowly began to walk forward.

At the same time, Khaledra instinctively took a step back.

Not knowing what she would do next, the tension reached a fever pitch.

But instead of attacking, Lucy slowly knelt down.

“...Count Khaledra.”

Her breath still ragged, Lucy continued.

“I have never once asked anything of you. No matter what task you assigned me, I carried it out without complaint. You know this.”

Then Lucy placed a hand over her heart.

“So please... I beg you. Do not kill Daniel Steiner.”

Her voice trembled as the words left her lips.

It was the first time.

Never before had Lucy Emilia pleaded with such humility.

To Khaledra—who had only ever known her as a cold, emotionless puppet—it was an unfamiliar sight.

When he gave no answer, merely watching her in silence, Lucy placed both hands on the floor.

And slowly, she bowed her head.

“Your Excellency... even if you declared that you would control every part of my life from this moment on, I would accept it.”

Her silver-white hair slid down her shoulders, falling to the floor.

“Even if you locked me away in a dark room, never again to see the light—I would obey.”

Tears began to pool in Lucy’s crimson irises.

“So please...”

Lucy remembered.

Test Subject No. 96, who had smiled so innocently at her.

The maid her age, who had told her of the world outside the mansion.

And—

The man who had shown her that life wasn’t just pain.

“Brigadier General Daniel Steiner... is the most precious person in the world to me.”

A single teardrop slipped from her eye and soaked into the floor.

With a quiet sob, Lucy bowed her head until her forehead touched the ground.

“I beg you. Please...”

Eyes closed, her voice carried her desperate plea.

“...don’t take anything else from me that I hold dear.”

It was the frail, powerless cry of the woman who held the most terrifying strength in the world.