Book 10: Chapter 6: Last Stand
On the other side of the communicator monitor was Kukri, who had been sent to the capital planet.
I close my eyes in frustration at Kukri's report.
"--Avid's mass-production machines were taken from the Seventh Weapons Factory?"
"Yes, I know. The Calvinists had it confiscated by the Empire. The Seventh Weapons Factory was under surveillance and they were unable to inform Liam."
Behind the monitor - further behind Kukri - was a teary-eyed Nias.
She is sitting on the floor crying.
"My rare metal!"
She is more saddened by the loss of the rare metal than by the fact that she was being watched.
Elysia, dressed in a maid's uniform, saw her and had an indescribable expression on her face.
"How can you worry about rare metals in that situation?"
"Because! Thanks to this, our stockpile of rare metals has been diverted to Avid's mass-production machines, and our plans have gone awry! Just because we have to start all over again, doesn't mean we can't do this! Liam-sama, would you be able to provide us with additional rare metals?"
The brazen attitude of Nias seems to have confused even the quintessential Kukri.
He looks at me, but Nias doesn't even seem to question the fact that Ulyssia is dressed in a maid's outfit.
That's how much the loss of the rare metal must have hurt.
Kukri asks for my judgment.
"Liam-sama, please give me your instructions."
"I'm too busy to prepare rare metals right now. Calvin is in a great hurry, nonetheless. What is he thinking, taking away my mass-produced machines?"
If you are trying to reduce our strength, it's a bad idea, to say the least.
I originally had no intention of letting my Junior sisters participate in this battle, and they are currently preoccupied with Yasuyuki-kun, so they don't want to join in.
It would be a failure in terms of reducing our strength, and if we force the Reich to seize them, there will be people who will oppose us.
It's not about protecting me.
The nobles are fretting over the possibility that one day their property might be taken away from them.
Kukri answers my question.
"I'm gathering information on the capital planet, but they are being very reckless, aren't they? I can't believe that they are the Calvinists we have seen so far."
"To go all out in this fight?"
"Yes. But the main reason is that Calvin is being cornered. Liam-sama, there is something I would like to bring to your attention."
"What is it?"
Capital planet.
Calvin came out of the room where the master of the palace was, looking exhausted.
Calvin's knights, who were waiting outside the room, approach him and try to support him, but he refuses.
"Leave me alone."
"But if you continue like this, you will collapse."
"Good. If they see me being supported, it will make some of them think I'm crazy."
Calvin, who walks away after regulating his breathing, recalls his meeting with the Emperor of the Algrand Empire - [Baglada Noah Algrand].
(Father has changed since his accession to the throne, hasn't he? He used to be a gentle man, but now there is not even a trace of him.)
Calvin's childhood memories of his father were of a kind father.
However, when he ascended to the throne, his father became a changed man.
(That must be how much pressure there is on the imperial throne.)
The high spirits I felt when I met with him were so overwhelming that just talking to him drained my energy and stamina.
Calvin, too, had been working out, but he was intimidated beyond his ability.
A concerned knight asked him, "What is the matter with you?"
"Why did His Majesty the Emperor summon His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"
When asked the reason for the sudden call, Calvin replies as he walks away.
He walked quickly, as if shaking off his hesitation.
"He says that if I lose the proxy war, the position of crown prince will be given to Cleo. --He says that he will give my custody to the Count of Banfield."
Hearing this, the blood drained from the faces of the knights.
To entrust Liam, with whom they had been at odds many times before, meant that they could do with Calvin as they pleased.
Not in an obscene sense, but in the sense that they could do whatever they wanted with Calvin, even if it meant clearing up the grudges that had been building up over the years.
Calvin, sent to a hostile faction, might at worst regret being alive.
He will be able to say, "Ya, is it still about the graft? Crown Prince, isn't Cleo betraying us after all?"
"It's too late to think about it now. All we can think about now is winning."
(Yes, that's right. For I have no more time left.)
Calvin thinks about his wife and children - his family.
If I fail, my family will be wiped out.)
A nobleman rushes up to Calvin.
He is a nobleman of the Calvinist group, and his expression is cheerful.
"Good news, Your Highness!"
"Damn you!"
Marie, furious on the bridge of the battleship, shouts so loudly that she kicks her chair and destroys it.
The sight beyond the monitor was the wreckage of the Cleoist fleet.
The operator confirms this to Marie with trepidation.
"Tsu, we have a distress signal. We will now begin the rescue."
"Hurry up!"
Marie is frustrated because the enemy has turned the tables on her and her fleet has been defeated.
She rushed to the rescue, but was not able to get there in time and the enemy got away.
"You've got to be kidding me. Christiana's mincing bitch!"
People around Marie, who repeatedly chopped up a broken chair with a big machete and took out her stress on the people around her, were astonished.
The reason for Marie's resentment, though, is that it is Tia who is in charge of the whole thing.
In other words, she is dissatisfied with the fact that she is forced to clean up Tia's mess.
And if she failed, she would be even more frustrated.
Marie's second-in-command, with a look of dismay on her face, hushes her.
"Calm down, please, Marie-sama is not the one who made the mistake."
"I'm going to report to Liam-sama that the rescue was not in time! You think I'm going to put up with that? I will not allow you to fail Liam-sama because of that mincing mistake!"
The deputy shrugs his shoulders but smiles thinly.
"Isn't this convenient? --Kick her out and let Marie-sama take Liam's side."
"That's true, too. I'll be back as soon as we're done with the rescue. I'll have to inform Liam-sama of the mincing woman's blunder."
"That would be nice. We haven't had a good thing going on here since the war started."
-It had been several months since the war began, and the Cleoists continued to lose.
Although they are only slightly pushed back in terms of numbers, Liam's reputation will still suffer if they continue to fail.
Marie bit her thumbnail, unable to allow that to happen.
"--It just seems odd that the woman would miss so many readings."
Although Marie usually viewed Tia as an enemy, she still appreciated her abilities.
Her second-in-command points out that the enemy has an excellent commander.
"I'm sure the enemy has excellent commanders too. Besides, there is no end in sight for the Calvinists. Isn't that why they are so solidly united?"
"I'm sure that's part of it. But I have a hunch. --I have a hunch that someone is leaking information our way."
She suspects a spy, but the deputy is not so surprised by it.
"I'm sure there will be. I'm sure we will send ours too."
"I think the traitor is close to Liam-sama. -- You should thoroughly investigate Theodore."
Marie's intuition detects Teodore's treachery.
About that time.
Tia, who had suffered a series of defeats because she could not be rescued in time, was hanging her head in front of Liam.
She looks pale and is sweating cold sweat.
Theodore, who stood beside Liam and watched her, could not stop laughing inwardly at the pathetic sight of a female knight who was treated better than her even though she was a vassal.
"A few months have passed since the war began. How do you feel after so many defeats, Christiana?"
If Theodore speaks up, Tia, who looks up, glares at her.
Pressured by Tia's hatred, Theodore stepped back.
"What's with your face? You don't seem to feel responsible. You should be beheaded right now!"
It was Liam who controlled Theodore's words.
"Tia is my knight. You don't get to decide."
Annoyed at being taken for granted, Theodore points out Liam as the military supervisor.
"Then who is to blame? His Highness Cleo is disappointed with our army's continued defeat."
(Well, I'm the one who's been feeding you guys information.)
Theodore makes a sneering face in her mind, but then realizes that Klaus, standing on the other side of Liam, is looking at her and pulls herself together.
(--But then, what are you thinking of not throwing in your prized knight? This female knight may be first-rate, but she is not as good as Klaus.)
Some time has passed since the war began, and Liam has yet to deploy Klaus.
Klaus just coordinates the whole thing on Liam's side.
To Theodore, it did not appear that Klaus was playing his hand to the fullest.
(If they don't bring Klaus in, does that mean they haven't really gotten serious yet? Is he at the stage where he's letting the young knight gain experience?)
Theodore guessed Liam's thoughts, but he couldn't help but be creeped out by Klaus' occasional glances.
He doesn't say anything, but watches quietly - it's scary, as if he can see through the betrayal.
(After all, this man is dangerous. If it weren't for this guy, I could have sent Liam to his death at a moment's notice.)
He tried to inform the enemy and defeat Liam, but with no great success.
The bad time was over.
Klaus returned to his room and took his favorite stomach medicine out of his desk drawer after cleaning up his chores.
"Hah, I wonder if the military supervisor, Theodore-dono, can't speak up a little milder. I know you must be angry if you keep losing, but this is just too much for you to handle."
The fleet lacked cohesion because Theodore interrupted him about something.
'Should I say more than that? No, but would I embarrass you if I told you?"
Klaus had a concern for Theodore.
It was--.
"But I bet you would be embarrassed if I told you that you have growing nose hairs. I wonder if I should point it out without thinking about it. Wouldn't someone other than me say it? Liam-sama doesn't even want to look at Theodore-dono's face much."
--It was because of Theodore's nose hair.
Normally you can't see it, but when she ridicules people, her nostrils widen and you can see her nose hairs.
Ever since he noticed it, Klaus couldn't help but be curious about it.
He couldn't help but notice Theodore.
Whether or not he should point out the nose hair - a difficult question for Klaus.
"If only Liam-sama would notice and tell me. Theodore-dono doesn't make that face in front of Liam-sama either."
I thought about giving her a nose hair remover, but it was easy to predict that Theodore-dono, with his pride, would resent that.
Klaus is troubled.
"Why am I always by Liam-sama's side? If I hadn't been around, I wouldn't have even noticed."
He wonders why he is treated as if he is in a fixed position next to Liam, even though he is just handling miscellaneous tasks.
I know I am Liam-sama's first knight, but I thought it was overrated.
"Ahhh, these stomach aches are haunting me."
I take my favorite stomach medicine and try to get some sleep, but a call comes in.
"Who's there at this hour? --Li-Li, Liam-sama!"
Klaus was called by Liam.
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