overflowithmonsters
patreon
Vol. 10 Chapter 15 - Epilogue
🕑 Added 2022-06-13 08:33:03 +0000 UTCCalvin, who'd been handed over to Liam, was sent to one of the pioneer planets owned by the Banfields.
The living environment there was not great, especially considering his past identity which was that of the Empire's Crown Prince.
However, he was destined never to step outside the pioneer planet.
“Mr. Calvin, we're done for the day.”
“Already?”
“Yes, you've really been putting your mind into this.”
He checked the time while getting off a heavy duty vehicle.
It was past five in the afternoon.
Other than the heavy machinery lined up around them, there was nothing in the area as it was still under development.
A man younger than Calvin asked what he was planning to do for the rest of the day.
“Going straight home?”
Wiping off his sweat, Calvin nodded, feeling a bit shy.
His hair which was once long had been cut short, his beard was shaved, and his skin was getting tanned.
“My kids nag me every day to play with them. Since we have a day off tomorrow, I'm planning on taking them out to the amusement park, and I won't last unless I rest my body today.”
“You must care for you family a lot.”
“Until recently, I've been neglecting them, so I'm trying to make it up for that.”
“The family-oriented Mr. Calvin neglecting his family?”
“Well, there was a lot going on in my life at the time.”
When Calvin was handed to the Banfield Family, most of his wives demanded a divorce.
After all, they didn't know what life awaited them at the Banfield's, and they didn't wish to suffer.
However, there was one woman who followed him there with her children.
She was originally a commoner who Calvin had fallen in love with, and she had insisted to come with him along with their children.
At first, Calvin had refused for fear of what awaited him at the Banfield Family, but she claimed to have nowhere else to go anyway and stood her ground, believing it best for the family to stick together.
Calvin felt powerless but wept tears of joy when he heard this, and so he made his family his priority and spent his time with them whenever he could.
“Is Mr. Calvin not joining us in a round of drinks?”
“His stories are interesting. It's a shame he couldn't join us.”
“Yeah, he gives off a special vibe, not to mention he's skilled in various things. Rumors say he's a bigshot in the aristocratic community.”
“Psh, why would someone like that be here on a pioneer planet?”
“It's not as uncommon as you might think. Many powerful aristocrats go into hiding for various reasons. Maybe he got tired of the aristocratic society and escaped here.”
“Soooo...our colleague's an aristocrat.”
“They're all just rumors though.”
The citizens of the Banfields Family were oblivious to the fact that they were working with the former Crown Prince of the Empire.
◇
Calvin returned home after buying some gifts along the way.
His new house was tiny compared to the palace he used to live in. In fact, it was smaller than his former room.
At the front door, he was greeted by his wife who had come out from the kitchen.
“Welcome back. Dinner's ready.”
“Smells delicious.”
Upon entering the house, his children jumped at him.
“Dad, where's the gifts?”
“Now now, I'm still dirty from work, so you can hug me later. I bought donuts today.”
“Yay~”
His children took the box of donuts and ran to the living room gleefully.
Calvin felt guilty seeing this.
(I wonder how my ex-wives and children are faring in the Capital...)
While feeling worried for his ex-family members that weren't there with them, he spoke to his wife.
“Did anything happen today?”
His question was vague, but his wife knew what he wanted to ask.
“Around noon, investigators from the Banfield Family came over to speak with us.”
“Did they mention what'll happen to us in the future?”
“No, they didn't bring up anything in particular.”
Calvin and his family had been entrusted to the Banfield Family, but they were living their lives like ordinary citizens.
Having received a high level of education, he had no problem finding a job, and he had quite a lot of free time as well.
They couldn't live lavishly, but in a sense, they were living an ideal life.
Back in the palace, he had to request permission whenever he wanted to do something, and he had to pay attention to how those around him reacted to his decision.
However, things were different here.
Though he couldn't afford any luxuries, Calvin honestly found it liberating.
That was why he couldn't help but feel anxious.
“Hmm, aren't things supposed to be more...tough?”
“Maybe Duke Banfield thought it was a sufficient enough punishment for the former Crown Prince to live like an ordinary citizen. ”
For some reason, he felt his wife was right.
When they had been enemies, he noticed Liam was a man of spotless integrity, and as ironic as it may have seemed, a certain part of him trusted Liam.
“I thought things would be much worse than this. I mean, there's a lot to be done, but honestly speaking, I like things better here.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I don't have to worry about matters of succession or anything of that nature now. If I knew this would happen, I would've surrendered earlier.”
Overall, he was glad he didn't have to shoulder the Empire anymore.
Thus, under the supervision of the Banfield Family, Calvin and his family enjoyed a normal life.
◇
At the territory of Baron Exner...
Having received lots of support from the Banfield Family, the planet had undergone massive development and looked nothing like it did in the past.
However, the Baron continued to live in the same mansion as before.
Unlike Liam, he lived a simple and modest life without preparing a new mansion.
Kurt didn't think much of this either and was taking a walk in the courtyard of the mansion with two other people.
In front of Kurt and his companion, No. 3588 was twirling in a one-piece.
Kurt called her name.
“Lily, don't go too far by yourself.”
“Okay~”
Although she seemed like an adult, [Lily] behaved like a child.
She didn't mind getting mud on her as she played.
Cecilia, Kurt's fiancé, was watching over her with Kurt next to her.
With their marriage around the corner, she was being taken care of by the Exner Family.
She was a calm woman and watched Lily as she played with warm eyes.
“Ara ara, Lily's a real tomboy. She reminds me of Lysithea when she was young.”
Kurt smiled apologetically at Cecilia.
“I'm sorry for bringing her in without consulting you.”
Cecilia shook her head.
“She's an orphan you found on the battlefield, right? As an aristocrat, you did the right thing.”
Cecilia didn't seem to mind much.
Though she hadn't been told that Lily was a clone made by Cleo, Cecilia's nature was similar to Kurt's, and she trusted that Kurt had taken Lily in out of pity.
However, there was still a speck of doubt in her heart.
“Does Lord Kurt like girls like her?”
“That--isn't completely wrong, I guess?”
Kurt didn't want to hide his thoughts from Cecilia.
“But it's true that I wanted to help her. She's had an unusual upbringing, and she wouldn't be able to live long. I want her to be happy even if it's for a little while.”
“Will Lord Kurt take her in as a concubine?”
“No, I think of her as a cute little sister.”
Cecilia stroked her chest in relief.
“I'm relieved to hear that.”
“Eh?”
“It's embarrassing to admit, but I was feeling slightly jealous of Lily. Lord Kurt had personally brought her in, so I was worried I would be cast aside.”
Though they were entering a political marriage, she wanted to love him.
--No, she actually did love him.
Kurt felt guilty hearing this.
“That wasn't my intention.”
(--Sorry, but I can't betray Liam. If Liam orders it, I'll have to fight your brother, meaning I'll have to betray you someday.)
Seeing Lily running around happily, he felt angry toward Cleo for what he did.
(Let's just take a step back and say it's understandable that he betrayed Liam. After all, it's politics. I'm not convinced by his reasons, but I'm willing to accept the result. However, there are lines that mustn't be crossed, and His Highness Cleo had crossed them without any hesitation.)
Creating a clone to beat Liam. Relying on artificial intelligence. Forcefully taking the property of an aristocrat.
Kurt had caught of glimpse of Cleo's dark side.
(If His Highness Cleo becomes the Emperor, the Empire will surely fall to ruins.)
While he was worrying about the future, Lily fell down.
He rushed up to her and brought her back up.
“Hey, be careful.”
“Hehe, I fell.”
“Follow me.”
Kurt and Cecilia brought Lily to a nearby water source to remove the dirt on her.
It was like a fountain, but the water there decomposed the dirt as soon as it came into contact with it, and the moment Lily came out of the fountain, the water on her dried up.
Lily clapped her hands.
“This is amazing. I'm all clean now.”
Cecilia was slightly bewildered by Lily's reaction.
“Is it that amazing? Things like this are everywhere, no?”
Seeing how confused she was, Kurt briefly explained Lily's circumstances.
“Lily grew up in a special facility, so she doesn't know about these everyday things.”
“Oh...I'm sorry. That was insensitive of me.”
When Cecilia apologized, Lily shook her head from side to side.
“It's fine. Lily had Mr. Hat with her.”
“Mr. Hat?”
Cecilia cocked her head in confusion and turned her gaze to Kurt, but he shook his head as well, signaling her that he had no idea what Lily was talking about either.
“I think she's talking about one of her caretakers, but Lily doesn't seem to know much in details.”
Lily desperately tried to explain who Mr. Hat was.
“Mr. Hat is very smart. He helped me when I was in trouble and healed me when I was hurting. Ehehe, Kurt's given me a name, so I'll have Mr. Hat call me by my name one day instead of my number.”
Kurt gently stroked Lily's head.
“Yeah, I hope that happens one day.”
“I know it will! Mr. Hat was my only friend there. I wonder how I can meet him.”
“Hmm.”
Kurt thought hard with his arms crossed.
(The facility where Lily grew up is highly confidential, and it was probably destroyed already to eliminate evidence. Her so-called Mr. Hat might be gone as well. Even if he was alive, the chance of them meeting would be low.)
Hence he went a different route.
“Let's pray that you meet him someday.”
“Pray?”
She knew what that meant, so she put her hands together.
Suddenly, she looked around left and right.
“What's wrong, Lily?”
“Just now, right there! There was a puppy right there. She told me she'll deliver my message!”
“A puppy?”
Kurt carefully observed their surrounding, but there was no dog in sight.
◇
Somewhere in the universe, the Guide in his hat-only form was shedding tears which became droplets that drifted about in space.
“I can't even lay a curse on Liam anymore. In the past, it wouldn't have bounced off of mere mithril.”
His powers had dropped significantly whereas Liam continued to grow stronger every day.
The gap between them was only growing bigger.
“I refuse to give up. I will never give up. As long as I crush Liam, I'll be able to make a comeback and knock this world down to the pits of misery. If only you didn't exist...”
A dog appeared behind the Guide with a knife in its mouth while the latter was muttering grudgingly.
It let go of the knife, which flew straight for the Guide.
The knife represented Lily's gratitude, and it stabbed right into the Guide's hat.
“GYAAAAA!! This feeling of gratitude...is it Liam!? N-no, it's not. This...No. 3588!? Why!? Why's her gratitude reaching me!? N-no, stop! My body's about to split! It's gonna split!!”
Seeing the Guide desperately struggling to pull out the knife, the dog disappeared somewhere, content.
“No. 3588, after all the kindness I've shown you, how can you betray me like this!!”The cry of the Guide echoed throughout space.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ciel (；゜Д゜): “Ehhhh!? Stop right there! Onii-chan, you already have me! I'm your little sister!”
Brian (´；ω；｀): “Miss Ciel is so pitiful, it's painful. However, suspecting Lord Liam is a behavior that cannot be condoned. What in the world is she thinking?”
Ciel (#゜Д゜): “Liam's a bad guy! He said it himself!”
Brian (´；ω；｀)ノ: “Anyway, that's it for Volume 10. Thank you for sticking around, and please look upon Volume 3 of 'I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!' favorably. It's connected to Volume 10 in a way since it depicts the encounter between Lord Liam and Lady Rosetta. It'll take another 7 volumes before they actually marry though. Lord Liam's so slow when it comes to romance, it's painful.”
