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Vol. 10 Chapter 12 - Void
🕑 Added 2022-05-23 09:13:53 +0000 UTCTN: Cleo will be referred to as a “she” when it's in 3rd person, and a “he” when it's in 1st person since I don't think Liam knows that Cleo's a girl just yet.
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Everyone in the Capital is talking about Cleo and how the unknown Third Prince defeated other promising candidates one after another to become Crown Prince.
With Bagrada leaking to the others around him that he'll be entrusting the Empire to Cleo, the battle for succession has pretty much come to an end, and it doesn't seem like any dark horses will be appearing.
Meanwhile, I, Liam Sera Banfield, am gracefully drinking tea with His Highness Cleo, who I've successfully pushed to become the Crown Prince.
We're inside a luxurious mansion specially prepared for the Crown Prince.
Knights have been dispatched by the Empire to protect him, and they're watching me with vigilance.
The moment I show any strange movements, they'll no doubt come at me with the intention to kill, disregarding their own lives.
In addition, I can sense the presence of Black Ops. personnel sent by the Empire.
In other words, while it may appear peaceful on the surface, sparks are flying between Cleo and I.
Cleo addresses the elephant in the room.
“Tell me your excuse for annihilating my Personal Guards.”
“Turns out Theodore was a traitor. You should really find yourself more competent subordinates.”
“Leaving aside his competence, he did his best to serve me. How do you think I feel now that I've lost such a loyal follower?”
“In exchange, we won in the battle for succession.”
Thanks to what happened this time around, Cleo would become the next Emperor in thirty years.
If I hadn't dealt with Theodore, we would've lost in battles we could've won.
Annihilation was certainly going a bit too far, but what's wrong with wanting to cut down on the enemy's strength?
“You're right. Thanks to you, I'm now the Crown Prince. I heard that His Majesty has entrusted Calvin to you. If I may ask, what are you going to do to him?”
Cleo, who's in a comfortable position, appears curious about how Calvin will be treated.
“He'll have a taste of living hell.”
“As I thought. Anyway--”
The air around Cleo changes.
His smile vanishes, and he stares at me with narrowed eyes that contain hostility.
“--It's true that I was able to become the Crown Prince thanks to what happened. Having said that, your right-hand man, the one known as the Undefeated Knight, is too adamant on victory. Competent he may be, but he's willing to make ruthless decisions if it's to win. Such an attitude goes against what the Empire stands for.”
Ruthless? Klaus? Isn't that the ideal subordinate for an evil lord such as I?
“The Undefeated Knight, is it? I'll be sure to inform Klaus of what you said.”
Cleo watches as I drink tea, clearly having more to say about the matter.
He cuts to the chase.
“It has also affected by reputation. Thus, I'll need Count Banfield to retire from his position in the faction.”
He's telling me to step down from the top, which is a de facto expulsion from the faction.
Cleo's trying to rob me of the faction that I've built.
“Sure.”
Not that I care.
Sensing something is off, Cleo tries to probe my intention.
“If you're no longer at the top, you won't be given any important position, you know that right?”
I get up from my seat, annoyed at Cleo's attempt to receive confirmation.
“Do whatever you want. I'll do you a favor and pretend like my contributions don't exist.”
“What a shameless thing to say after annihilating my Personal Guards.”
“I believe I'm being humble by not requesting a reward.”
“--Fine. Our relationship now is that of a clean slate.”
I'm not as shameless as you who's trying to cut me off immediately after becoming the Crown Prince.
I turn my back on Cleo and walk away.
“Clean slate? You must mean enemies,” I mutter.
◇
Argos departed from the Capital, and Klaus was summoned by Liam to a room where only important members of the Banfield Family were gathered.
Other than him, “important members” entailed Tia and Marie, the usual two, and Kukuri, who had joined them at the Capital.
The door closed when Klaus entered the room.
The room was strictly guarded and was often used for important meetings that had to remain confidential.
Liam began the meeting as soon as Klaus entered.
“We're now at odds with Cleo.”
Liam was sitting on a chair as he spoke to the four people lined up in front of him.
None of them were surprised by the news as they had expected it.
Liam looked toward Kukuri.
“We were able to learn of Cleo's betrayal thanks to Kukuri.”
Kukuri was pleased to have regained his honor.
“One of my subordinates that died left behind a clue, which led me to believe that His Highness Cleo has betrayed us.--Lord Liam, if you so wish, we can assassinate Cleo at any time.”
He was pleased one minute and angry the next.
Betrayal wasn't something he could forgive, and the same went for Marie.
“That runt was able to become the Crown Prince thanks to Lord Liam's support! We should show him who he's turned against!”
Both Kukuri and Marie had a grudge against the Emperor that ruled 2000 years ago, and their means of meting out punishment were rather over the top.
Tia, on the other hand, was a bit more mellow.
“Given the Banfield Family's influence, we should challenge the legitimacy of Cleo being appointed as the Crown Prince. The upper echelon of the Empire cannot ingore Lord Liam's opinion, so we should refuse Cleo's appointment.”
After listening to the three's opinions, Klaus agreed to Tia's.
“I second Christina-dono's suggestion.”
However, Liam seemed dissatisfied by the four people.
“Are you all stupid? I was the one who promised to make Cleo the Emperor. I can't go back on my words just because he's antagonized me.”
Apparently, Liam wasn't keen on getting in Cleo's way, which made Marie upset.
“B-but!”
“Though I've given him support, I've also annihilated his guards, so let's leave it at that.”
“B-but that isn't going to convince our enemies! Lord Liam, please reconsider!”
“Enough. I don't care whether Cleo become the Crown Prince or the Emperor. In fact, I'd love to see him become the Emperor.”
He seemed to be having a great time imagining Cleo as the Emperor.
(Lord Liam must be cooking up some plan.)
That was when Liam made a declaration before his four subordinates.
“I'll make Cleo the last Emperor of the Algrand Empire.”
The four were stunned into silence.
Silence prevailed for a few seconds, only to be broken by Tia's question.
“What does that--”
“I could almost reach out my hand and grab it.”
“--Pardon?”
“No, let me rephrase. If it's me, I'm sure I can reach out for the Emperor's throne. To be honest, I was content with just my territory.--However, I don't like the current Emperor, and I don't like Cleo either, so I'll be defeating them. Don't you think it'll be easier if Cleo's the Emperor?”
As usual, Liam's idea was to defeat an enemy he did not like, but this time, his enemy was the entire Empire.
He was implying that he would bow out from his country.
With a quivering voice, Marie asked Liam a question.
“Does that mean Lord Liam plans to usurp the Empire?”
She wasn't trembling out of fear.
Instead, it was out of sheer joy, something Klaus did not share.
(How can you be happy about this!?)
Liam looked up to think.
“Hmm, what should I do? Shall I destroy them from within, or shall I face them head-on?”
To Klaus, it was apparent that Liam was having fun.
(T-this is bad. Any more than this would be seriously bad!)
The Banfield Family will meet its end.
Considering the difference in strength, even a powerful aristocrat stood no chance against the Empire.
If Liam were to lead a rebellion, he would be able to rally allies under his banner, but it was unlikely that they would be able to manage a new country even if they won.
Klaus felt like it was a horrible idea.
However, Tia spoke up in support of Liam.
“That's a wonderful idea. Lord Liam deserves to rule over a country.”
“Kuhihihi,” Kukuri cackled. “To think our target would be the Empire.--Lord Liam, please make full use of our clan's power.”
Marie rejoiced at Liam's words.
“Lord Liam is the only one that deserves to be the Emperor! If it means destroying the current Empire, this Marie is willing to lay down her life!”
Klaus despaired seeing the fanatical expressions on the vassals' faces.
(Someone stop them! It's impossible to fight against the Empire!)
Liam was strong, there was no doubt of that, but that was limited to the scope of aristocrats.
He was far from being strong enough to face the Empire alone.
It might be possible if he gathered allies first, but it would still be a dangerous bet.
Hence, Klaus made up his mind.
(If we were to betray the Empire and lose, we'd be done for. Tragedy would befall our families as well. As a vassal, there are certain things that must be said.)
Klaus raised his voice to object.
“Lord Liam, I disagree with this idea.”
“--What?”
Seeing Liam's narrowed eyes, Klaus continued.
“As I said, I cannot agree with this plan. We can't win against the Emp--”
Before Klaus could finish what he was saying, blades appeared near his neck.
Tia and Marie had pulled out their swords, intending to kill Klaus.
However, Kukuri had protected him at the last moment.
Marie glared at Kukuri.
“You wish to spare the life of someone that disagrees with this plan? Don't get in our way.”
“Kuhihihi, unfortunately, I have a rather intimate relationship with Klaus-dono. Besides, Lord Liam wishes to hear what Klaus-dono has to say.”
Tia and Marie turned toward Liam and found him looking exasperated.
“Klaus, speak.”
The girls withdrew their blades as Liam appeared to be interested in Klaus's opinion.
Klaus had made up his mind.
True to his promise, Kukuri had protected him from the girls' attacks, but he was probably on their side when it came to Liam's plan.
If Liam ordered for Klaus to be killed, Kukuri would bring down his knife without hesitation.
(But if I don't say it, nobody would.)
Klaus was serious in trying to dissuade Liam from his plans.
They could still turn back now.
“It's clear which side is stronger between the Banfield Family and the Empire.”
“Right. If the Empire were to throw everything at me, I wouldn't stand a chance.”
Liam knew well that the Empire was surrounded by enemies and that it couldn't throw everything at him.
However...
“Even if the troops at the border couldn't be moved, the Banfields still won't be able to compete with the Empire.”
“Won't there be people siding with me?”
There were quite a lot of aristocrats dissatisfied with the Empire.
Liam had gathered such individuals to from the Cleo Faction.
If he were to rise up in rebellion, he knew that he'd have their support.
“If we request for help in defeating the Empire, they'll ask to be rewarded. The best way to do this is to win with the strength of the Banfield Family alone.”
(The troubling thing is that we actually have a small chance of winning.)
Considering the strength of the Banfield family, the possibility was not zero, and as long as there was hope, the others around them would not give up.
If he were to claim that they had no chance at all, they would question the validity of his claims.
He didn't have time for that.
After all, the person he had to persuade was Liam and Liam alone.
As such, Klaus explained how they wouldn't have a bright future even if they won.
If Liam were to win with the support of other countries and aristocrats, he'd have to listen to their requests later on, and in the worst case scenario, the Empire would be swallowed up by neighboring countries amidst the confusion.
He wished to convince his audience that problems could arise after they won as well.
However...
“I get what you mean. Then how many troops would you say is ideal?”
When asked for a rough estimate, Klaus replied after a moment of thinking.
“In terms of number, we'd need a million ships, and to move a million ships without any problem, we'd have to be able to maintain four times that number, or four million ships. Furthermore, we'd need enough territory to house such an army.”
A functioning fleet required three things: vacations, training, and military exercises.
Without these three components, they wouldn't be able to withstand actual battles.
In other words, to have a million troops deployable at all times, they'd require four times that number.
If a million troops was all they had and they won after pushing themselves to the limit, they'd be left in a hopleless situation afterwards.
It would be the worst case scenario if they defeated the Empire but couldn't do anything after that.
(Given such an absurd number, I'm sure they'll realize it's impossible.)
Liam listened to Klaus's opinion and took it seriously, nodding several times.
“4 million? As things stand, that wouldn't be possible.”
Klaus was relieved to hear that.
(Phew. He could be reasoned with after all.)
However, Liam stood up and applauded him in the next moment, impressed by his foresight.
“As expected of Klaus, the Undefeated Knight. I'll take that into account.”
“--Pardon?”
(Undefeated Knight? And what do you mean you'll “take that into account”!? I disagreed with his plan, which means he won't go through with it anymore, right!? Right!?)
--But Klaus's expectations were betrayed.
“4 million. It's a ridiculous number, but if we can achieve it, victory will be ours. Since the Undefeated Knight is saying it, it must be true.”
“Lord Liam? What's this about an Undefeated Knight?”
“Hmm? Oh, it's a nickname that the Capital has come up with for you. You're lucky to have such a cool nickname. I'm still stuck with being the Pirate Hunter. Wanna exchange?”
Liam was jealous of Klaus, but the latter wasn't happy about this at all.
(I'm responsible for miscellaneous tasks! Why did this Undefeated Knight come from!?)
Liam looked at Klaus and the others.
“I'll be staying cooped up inside the territory for a while to focus on amassing enough power to go against the Empire.”
“““Understood!”””
Tia and the others knelt and replies in the affirmative.
Liam once again made his declaration.
“Our next target is the Empire. I'll be taking this seriously, and you guys should as well.”
Then, he chuckled.
“With a million troops, we should be able to fight the Empire head-on.”
“--Huh?”
(You're kidding, right!? Isn't it obvious that it's better to destroy it from within!? Is he really thinking of going to war with the Empire!?)
In trying to dissuade Liam from fighting the Empire, Klaus had inadvertently raised the difficulty to hard mode.
He felt like holding his head.
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Brian (´；ω；｀): “AjewaEnKWDFAajeJKAWllawnxp”
The Beautiful Wakagi-chan (゜∀。): “Translating what Mr. Brian just said, 'Lord Liam plans to rebel. It's painful. Anyway, please look forward to Volume 3 of [I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!]'. Even amidst the confusion, he doesn't forget to advertise. What a commendable attitude.”
Brian (；゛゜'ω゜'): “I didn't advertise!! NOOOOOO!! Lord Liam intends to rebel, it's painful!!!!”
