Chapter 5:
Wallace's Awakening
IF I WERE TO EVALUATE Wallace, I would say that he did no harm,
but he did no good either. Even though he was born a son of the emperor,
he was past the hundredth place in the line of succession. It was hard to
say if his royal blood had any value at all. His abilities were generally
lower than average, and his college scores were in the forties in every
subject. That wasn't failing, but he was hardly excelling.
House Banfield supported Wallace simply because I liked having a
royal as my lackey. Officially I was his patron, but since he insisted on
being useless, I had to order him around.
"Wallace, I plan on throwing parties every day here on the Capital
Planet, and I'm appointing you their organizer."
It was finally time for me to indulge myself in the notion that nobles
should throw lavish events. However, if I had to go through the work of
organizing them myself, then I wouldn't really be able to enjoy them.
Thus, I had chosen to make use of Wallace for that purpose.
He immediately had complaints about the assignment. "You want
me to organize parties? There's no way I'm doing something that
annoying." Wallace rejected my order outright, brushing his hair back
from his face haughtily, so I slugged him.
"Hey, that hurt!" he yelped, holding his head.
"Listen, Wallace, I'm busy right now. I'm having to hunt down
Eulisia just to help get things together around here. I don't want to screw
up and miss this chance."
Rosetta had sent Eulisia back to the military as a consequence for
fooling around day after day. My having to go get her back just went to
show how critical House Banfield's current situation was. House Banfield
was stretched to its very limits, but Wallace didn't seem to understand that.
"Chance? Sure you don't mean crisis?" Wallace cocked his head,
confused.
Just looking at him made me feel like I was getting stupid myself.
"No, this is an opportunity," I said. "I'm this close to seizing good
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fortune."
Wallace looked like he wanted to ask, "What are you even talking
about?" but more than anything, it was obvious he just didn't want to be
bothered with work. "Why can't you organize these parties yourself?" he
said.
"Because then I'll be too busy to enjoy them. And just so you know,
I expect you to come up with something different each time. It'll be boring
if every party is just like the next."
"Well, that's just unreasonable," Wallace complained. "I can't come
up with something new every single day. If I have to do that, can the
parties at least be low-key?"
I explained my feelings to him. "Listen, I'm picky about parties. I
won't allow you to cut any corners. I'll give you all the people and money
you need, so do your best."
"At least give me some ideas for the kind of parties you want!"
"I told you—if I'm involved in the planning at all, I won't have as
much fun!" I barked.
Wallace reluctantly accepted his fate. "Looks like there's no point in
arguing with you... I'll do it, but don't expect much, okay? And if you like
parties so much, then you should be the one planning them in the first
place."
"How many times do I have to tell you—"
"You really are selfish."
If I planned everything myself, there would be no surprises, and I'd
have to worry about making sure everyone else was enjoying themselves. I
hated doing that.
Now, the question was...what kind of parties would Wallace plan
for me? In my head, I was already working on how I'd blow off some
steam and berate him if the parties he delivered weren't any fun.
***
A discussion on recent developments at House Banfield was
underway in Calvin's faction's meeting room. Upon hearing the latest
news, everyone in attendance raised their voices in surprise.
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"Liam doesn't plan on fighting in the engagement himself?" one of
the nobles cried out.
"Why not? Is he running away?" said another.
"He's going to dispatch his most trusted knights in his place. His
elite fighters will all be concentrated around Prince Cleo. He's also
sending out that quiet knight he's been seen with on the Capital Planet... I
believe his name is Claus?"
"I haven't heard that name before. Is he close to Liam?"
"I can't imagine he's holding anything back, but it's strange he will
remain on the Capital Planet."
The fleet's supreme commander would be Prince Cleo—in name
only, of course—but everyone had expected Liam would be the one
actually commanding it. His announcement that he intended to remain on
the Capital Planet was surprising.
Calvin smiled. "We've won."
The nobles' eyes turned to him when he proclaimed their victory.
"Your Highness?"
"There will be rumors that Liam remained behind out of fear of the
enemy. No—we'll spread those rumors ourselves. Even if Cleo's forces
are victorious against the United Kingdom, Liam's reputation will suffer
regardless."
"Well...I suppose it will." The nobles seemed to agree with Calvin,
but they still had their concerns. "Your Highness, do you believe Liam is
staying behind without some hidden motive? His deployment plans have
been announced, but he's out there throwing parties every day and
showing everyone how unconcerned he is."
Calvin was also curious about Liam's daily events. "That bothers
me too, but it's likely just poor judgment. Whatever the case, there's no
way for his reputation to recover from this. The truth is that he's sending
Prince Cleo to the battlefield and staying behind. Even if he scrambles to
fix things now, he missed his chance to shine."
The inexperienced Cleo would be going out to fight as the supreme
commander. It was just ridiculous that the head of the prince's faction
would remain home during such a conflict, and especially so for a man like
Liam, whose military exploits were precisely what had won him his
reputation in the first place.
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What would people think of him when they heard he wasn't joining
the fight? They would doubtlessly believe he'd avoided the battle out of
fear. Even if there was no actual need for Liam himself to fight, it just
looked bad for him to stay at home. Then, there was the fact that while his
subordinates were out there fighting, Liam would be enjoying himself by
partying every day. His reputation up until now had been sterling, but this
would send it plummeting.
Of course, Calvin had also run from the battle and pushed it all onto
Cleo, but that was before the official announcement of who the supreme
commander would be was public. He had a number of excuses to use for
things turning out that way, and he knew the nobles in his own faction
would only deflect any criticism onto Liam.
Right now, those nobles continued to be baffled by Liam's apparent
poor decision-making. "Did we go too far? This is a rather strange way for
him to ensure his failure."
Calvin cautioned his followers. "It's not over yet, so we can't let our
guards down. Even if it is over for Liam's reputation, he's still trouble as
long as he breathes."
Even with his reputation in shambles, Liam's very existence vexed
Calvin. One just had to look at the trouble Liam caused during his training
out in the boonies. Even though he was a mere trainee, he carried out
workplace reforms that removed every corrupt official from the area. That
demonstrated a lot of ability and a spirit that was entirely too upstanding.
Therefore, it was clear Liam was bound to cause Calvin trouble sooner or
later if he stuck around.
Calvin made a decision. "Let's use what we prepared for combating
him."
The nobles all nodded silently at his announcement. Calvin was
confident of victory, but he didn't forget that it was Liam who took down
his brother, Linus. Calvin wanted to get rid of Liam while he still had the
chance, before he caused any more problems.
Calvin said aloud, "You've let your guard down because you're too
strong, Liam."
To Calvin, it appeared that Liam had become careless because of his
overconfidence in his superior capabilities.
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***
The venue for House Banfield's party was abuzz with excitement.
Throughout the hall, the impressed nobles in attendance oohed and aahed.
It was a standing buffet party with various pieces of art—mostly statues—
prominently displayed. Up-and-coming artists were summoned to present
their new works, even standing beside the artworks to explain them.
Nobles who appreciated art, as well as those who collected it as an
investment, were very interested in the pieces on display.
"My, this is magnificent!" said one partygoer.
"I'd love to own this piece," another gushed. "I think it would look
splendid in my mansion."
"I've already reserved that one. It's been a while since I've been to a
party, let alone one with such an interesting theme. The last party I
attended was so eccentric, I couldn't enjoy it."
The guests consisted mostly of the nobles in my faction and their
family members. I invited those close to me so I could show off my
wealth, but it was also good to simply make sure the people in my faction
were happy.
I chatted up the nobles with Rosetta in tow. I noticed she was
wearing one of her expensive new dresses. Then, Baron Exner's
representative—a uniformed Kurt—made his appearance. The people
around us excused themselves courteously and Kurt waved his hand as he
approached me.
"Liam!"
"You're here. Welcome."
Accompanying Kurt was Princess Cecilia, to whom he'd just
become engaged. Princess Cecilia and Prince Cleo were half-siblings,
sharing the same mother. The couple seemed to be getting along fine, but
when I started talking to Kurt, Rosetta pulled Princess Cecilia aside to talk
with her privately. Was she being considerate of Kurt and me? Hm, that's
nice of her.
Surprised at Rosetta's thoughtfulness, I started to chat with Kurt.
"Haven't seen you in a while. How's the military treating you?"
Kurt was taller than the last time I saw him, and he was bulkier too.
He looked more like a military man now, but his pretty face hadn't
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changed one bit. His personality seemed the same as when we first met
too.
"To be honest, it's tough. I don't mean bad though. It's easier to get
used to military life than serving as an official on the Capital Planet was."
It seemed the military life suited him, so I asked about his placement
in the coming war. "You'll be defending the Capital Planet, I heard?"
"That's right. It's all just paperwork for now, though. Once I receive
my official assignment, I'm sure it'll be on a patrol fleet."
"Want me to introduce you to a regular army fleet? I got Cedric
promoted to lieutenant general. You'd do well in his fleet."
Cedric was Wallace's brother—another prince, but one who pursued
the life of a soldier. I was supporting him too, and I'd gotten him
promoted. He'd been surprised by the sudden change, but I told him it was
a down payment for the future work he would do for me. He'd looked
fearful, no doubt wondering just what it was I intended to make him do.
Kurt smiled wryly. "You haven't changed, Liam...but that doesn't
sound too bad though."
"Consider it done, then."
Seeing Kurt looking so happy about this really made me feel like he
was another evil lord just like me. Looks like he's taking after Baron
Exner, just as he should.
Ciel, on the other hand, was different. Standing with Rosetta, she
watched her happy-looking brother with a troubled expression. She was
Rosetta's maid at this time, so even here she was on the clock. That meant
she couldn't talk freely to a guest like Kurt now, even if he was her
brother. She seemed awfully disheartened to see her brother growing into
another evil lord just like his father. Or was the look on her face more
complicated than that?
I decided to tease her a bit. "Kurt, it looks like Ciel wants to talk to
you."
"Is that okay? She's busy acting as Rosetta's maid, isn't she?"
"We're friends, aren't we? I don't care about something like that."
I tapped the overly serious Kurt on the chest with my fist and he
blushed. Maybe he was embarrassed to go speak to his sister.
"I-in that case, I'll take you up on that." Kurt stepped closer to his
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sister. "Ciel, how have you been? You're not causing any trouble for
Liam, are you?"
Ciel could only return her brother's polite smile with an awkward
look. This was supposed to be a chat between siblings, but they exchanged
pleasantries as if they were merely two noble acquaintances.
"No. The count and Lady Rosetta treat me very well."
"I'm glad to hear it," he said. "Oh? Liam didn't give you that dress,
did he?"
Kurt had noticed Ciel's elegant new outfit. I'd purchased a whole
new wardrobe of dresses for her, enjoying the fact that she wouldn't like to
receive expensive gifts from me. She looked good tonight, but I knew she
resented it. I bragged about it all to Kurt in front of her.
"I hired a bunch of popular designers on the Capital Planet to design
some dresses for her. I think there were around sixty, all custom-made for
Ciel."
As long as these parties went on, Ciel would need to wear a new
dress every night, and she wouldn't wear any a second time. I savored this
feeling of wanton wastefulness, but I wondered if Ciel actually hated these
extravagant gifts.
"I-I said that I didn't need them," she told Kurt. "But...th-the count
insisted..."
Ciel looked frustrated, not at all thankful to me for the dresses, but
that was good! It was great! Actually, I was really fond of Ciel because the
way she felt about me was exactly how I hoped Rosetta would feel. If she
didn't like these dresses, you could bet I would order hundreds more for
her.
In any case, Kurt wasn't pleased by Ciel's reaction. "Ciel, you don't
seem happy about Liam giving you these presents."
Kurt was smiling to maintain appearances, but he seemed a bit
irritated with Ciel, like it offended his personal sense of honor that she
didn't like me. They were still siblings, though, and he just scolded her
lightly for being rude.
Ciel sensed his irritation as well and hung her head, apologizing.
"I'm sorry. I just wasn't sure how to feel since I've never owned so many
expensive outfits before. I'm very grateful to the count—really."
I was quite amused, seeing Ciel apologize to me after Kurt had
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chastised her. "There's no need to apologize," I said. "I still hope you'll
come to me if there's anything else you need, Ciel."
"O-of course," she responded with a fake smile.
Kurt sighed. "You're sweet, Liam."
"I'm not sweet."
When the conversation came to a good stopping point, Rosetta
rejoined us after her friendly chat with Princess Cecilia. "You really are
splendid, Darling. I couldn't even imagine throwing away dresses after
only wearing them once. I'd at least like to keep my favorites."
Rosetta's family was so poor that she couldn't stop trying to save
money, even now. I couldn't believe she would want to save old dresses.
Didn't she have any self-awareness as the fiancée of an evil lord? I
couldn't understand it at all.
"I can buy as many dresses as you could possibly want," I said.
"I just want to keep some of them..."
While we talked, some noble kids walked over to us. The fathers of
these girls weren't attending the party themselves. If there were any
children here, they were either accompanied by their mothers, other
relatives, or servants. The reason their fathers weren't here was because
they were away from the Capital Planet, mobilizing for the war.
I was looking after the kids of all the nobles who went off to fight in
the war, making sure their families were well taken care of so they
wouldn't worry and be distracted from their duties. It might have looked
like I was keeping them hostage, but it was more to reassure the nobles.
The approaching young girls greeted us. "Your dress is beautiful
again today, Lady Rosetta." They seemed greatly interested in dressing up
for social occasions.
"Oh, thank you," Rosetta replied.
One girl chirped, "Where did you buy them all?"
"Ah, we ordered them."
"R-really?"
The other kids looked with exasperation at the girl who had asked
Rosetta where she had bought her dress. "It's custom-made, of course!"
one of them chided her.
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"Where are you from, the sticks?" another scolded.
"Ready-made items aren't fashionable at all. You have to get your
dresses made-to-order by a popular designer."
Man, girls are scary, even when they're kids.
Kurt smiled awkwardly as he listened to their conversation, and
Ciel's cheeks were twitching. Ciel had probably also been surprised to
learn that such dresses were typically custom-made. Princess Cecilia
watched quietly with a hand on her cheek. She looked a little troubled too.
Rosetta comforted the inquisitive girl, who suddenly looked sad.
"Don't let it bother you."
Seeing that the girl was about to cry, an adult came hurrying over.
He seemed to be the guardian of one of the others who made fun of the girl
for being from the boonies. He looked nervous. "I-I apologize, Lord Liam.
You kids, go back to your families."
"Okay," the kids said obediently.
The man bowed his head low to me after they left. "I'm terribly
sorry; they should never have spoken like that in front of you, my lord. I'll
be sure to discipline them later."
Well, I am a country bumpkin lord from the sticks myself. And
Rosetta used to be so poor that she couldn't even buy nice dresses. The
man must have been worried that the kids' innocent comments had
offended us. I was pretty annoyed by their attitude, to be honest, but I
contained my feelings. "It doesn't bother me," I said.
Everyone here was a part of Cleo's faction, so I couldn't let my
temper get the better of me or treat anyone poorly. I turned to the
remaining girl, the one who was ridiculed for being from the sticks. "Don't
cry. If you like, I'll order a custom-made dress for you. You'll come to
another party if I do that, won't you?"
The girl was surprised by my offer and quickly stopped crying.
Looking ecstatic now, she asked, "Would you really?"
"I promise you, on my honor."
Good! Now she won't refuse to come again because she got her
feelings hurt.
Her family came over to thank me, then led the girl away. Watching
all this, Kurt and Princess Cecilia chatted about me excitedly.
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"Liam's always been nice," Kurt said.
"I'm sure he has."
Kurt's making sure to give Princess Cecilia the impression that I'm
a good guy. Evil lords really love playing their little games.
Ciel was watching me suspiciously, so I smiled at her. She quickly
turned her face away. What a fun reaction! It made me want to tease her
even more.
While I was enjoying the moment, Rosetta expressed her gratitude
to me. "Thank you, Darling."
"I haven't done anything to be thanked for." Why is she thanking
me? I didn't do anything for her.
Rosetta shook her head. "I'm just happy about the way you treated
that girl. It felt like I was looking at myself back in my own childhood."
"I see."
Watching me being nice to that girl, Rosetta had imagined what it
would have been like if someone had done the same for her when she was
young. She really was too easy to please. With my wealth, a single dress
for that child didn't even amount to pocket change for me.
I couldn't look directly at Rosetta as she smiled at me in her adoring
way, so I averted my gaze and scratched my head. "Well, whatever."
I turned my thoughts to the fact that I might have hit upon a hidden
talent of Wallace's. We were having these parties every night now, and I
was honestly enjoying each and every one of them without becoming
bored. Tonight's party's theme was even tailored to the specific guests that
had been invited.
Maybe he's actually pretty good at this.
***
Outside the party venue, Kukuri appeared in a dark alleyway. As a
large man in black wearing a mask, he gave off a strange aura of bloodlust.
He spread his strangely overgrown arms and chuckled ominously.
"So you've finally decided to appear."
As soon as he spoke, several shuriken came flying at him. He
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deflected the throwing stars, which then burst into flames. What had been
solid blades a moment ago had burned away as if they were only an
illusion.
Other masked men appeared around Kukuri, and at the same time,
their enemies revealed themselves. At first, black flames appeared before
Kukuri and his men, but these flames took on the shape of human figures.
These figures quickly solidified into weapon-wielding ninjas.
"Kill."
With that short, whispered command, the ninjas lunged forward. A
fierce battle broke out in the narrow alleyway.
Two ninjas leaped at Kukuri. He swept his hands through them, but
he didn't feel anything when he touched them. His hands merely passed
through air, and the outlines of the two ninjas quivered. They lost their
shapes and reverted back to black flames, but Kukuri didn't panic.
Lightning-fast, he grabbed the cores at the centers of the two flames and
crushed them in his fists like eggs. The moment he crushed the cores—
small glass spheres—the flames flared up for a second before sputtering
out.
"Hee hee hee hee! That's two down," he said.
Seeing two of their allies killed so easily, the rest of the ninjas
immediately backed away from Kukuri and his men. They were uneasy at
the realization that Kukuri knew the secrets behind their abilities.
"This brings me back," Kukuri said to them. "Your clan always was
a nuisance. I can't have you losing your nerve so quickly, though. Your
ancestors wouldn't have done that."
"Who are you?" one of the ninjas asked Kukuri.
Kukuri spread his large arms wide and introduced himself. "It's a
pleasure to meet you...and a pleasure to see you again. Some used to call
us the Shadows. We're part of the darkness of the Empire...but of course,
that was merely what others called us."
When the ninjas heard this, they tried to flee, feeling they were at a
disadvantage. Kukuri wasn't about to let them go so easily. Black thorns
sprouted from his shadow and shot at the fleeing ninjas like darts, piercing
their vulnerable cores. The dozen or so ninjas all vanished instantly, and
Kukuri's subordinates slid back into their own shadows.
Kukuri remained alone in the alley, calling out to the presence he
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knew was still observing the scene. "Two thousand years. We have waited
two thousand years for this. We will have our revenge. Tell your
masters...they can blame this on their ancestors."
With that, Kukuri vanished into his own shadow as well.
***
"Wallace!"
"Liam, my own talent... It frightens me."
Liam, wearing his party clothes more casually now that the event
was over, had come to thank Wallace. Rosetta dropped into a chair,
exhausted after the string of parties she'd been to by now. Ciel brought her
a drink, giving Liam and Wallace's farcical conversation the side-eye.
"I thought you were a total good-for-nothing, Wallace, but now I'm
thankful for you! These parties have been killer!"
"That was really mean, but thanks. I had no idea I had a talent like
this either."
Liam brought Wallace some drinks, and they sat to enjoy them
together.
Everyone was surprised by how well-received Wallace's daily
parties were. Liam expected him to fail, and even arranged to replace him
right away if he couldn't do the job, but Wallace had totally surprised him
with his talent.
Under other circumstances, this kind of skill would be useless, but...
Liam was spending his money lavishly, and it looked to everyone
around him as though he was simply goofing off every day, but he was
truly enjoying himself. Rosetta, on the other hand, was worn out from
engaging with all these guests in a diplomatic role.
Ciel was worried about her. "Why not take the night off tomorrow,
Lady Rosetta? You must be getting tired of attending these parties every
day."
Rosetta shook her head. "I can't do that. People will be worried if I
don't show up. Many brave nobles have gone off to fight in the war. I need
to help ease their worries as much as I can."
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"I suppose so, but..."
What were these nobles who were fighting in the war afraid of?
Obviously, their enemy the United Kingdom, for one thing, but the nobles
of Cleo's faction also had to fear Calvin's faction. What if their families
were taken hostage while they were fighting? Many nobles had left their
loved ones in Liam's care on the Capital Planet so they could go join the
fight without sparing too much worry about those back home.
In a way, their families also served as hostages for Liam. The nobles
of Cleo's faction had sworn not to betray him, and their families being
here ensured that promise. If the nobles betrayed Liam's trust, Liam was in
a position to kill their families, but as long as they didn't move against
him, their families would be under his protection. The nobles still had to
worry about Calvin even while they were off at war.
Ciel sighed. "Don't you feel the count should be fighting in the war
himself?" she asked Rosetta quietly. "I think that would put everyone at
ease."
Rosetta frowned, unable to dispute Ciel's stance. "Yes, I think
normally we would have taken everyone's families to House Banfield's
domain rather than on the Capital Planet, and Darling would have gone to
the battlefield himself. But...with the way our territory is right now..."
Large-scale protests had broken out all over House Banfield's
domain. In this climate, House Banfield couldn't properly care for the
families of the nobles in Cleo's faction there.
Ciel heaved a sigh, remembering the protest situation. "I can't
believe they're protesting about such a stupid thing now... They're being
worse than our subjects."
As things developed, the big protests throughout House Banfield's
domain were not focused on democracy. Only a small group continued
protesting for political change—so few, relatively speaking, that they
hardly registered among the whole.
So what, then, were the majority of people protesting about?
The issue of Liam's heir, or his lack thereof.
The people of House Banfield's domain were holding massive
protests to essentially send Liam the message of "Hurry up and make an
heir already!"
It was unprecedented.
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Ciel's head hurt just thinking about the situation. In my domain,
people get into a tizzy about when my father will release a nude photo
collection...but this is even more absurd.
The petitions from the servants of House Banfield's mansion were
all appeals to Liam—who had staunchly refused to lay a hand on any one
of them—stressing that they were ready for him to do what he wished with
them anywhere, anytime. The mansion's maids were begging him to make
a move on them so as to produce an heir, and similarly, the other mansion
staff members, both male and female, were all urging Liam to sire an heir
sooner rather than later.
The stupidity of the situation exasperated Ciel. All nobles are trash,
aren't they? Of course...and I'm one of those nobles myself. But if those
are the kind of problems our people have to focus on, I guess our domains
are making their lives easier than they appreciate.
Meanwhile, Liam and Wallace were toasting the party's success.
"I can't wait for the next one!"
"Look forward to it, Liam! I'm confident the next one will be just as
great!"
"That just makes me more excited. I know—plan a bucket party,
would you? Even if we only do it once, I want House Banfield to throw
one at some point."
Wallace's expression suddenly grew grim at Liam's excited request.
"I'm sorry, but that's a bit too much. I can't do that."
"I-I see... Oh well." Liam was deflated. He then changed the
subject, as if he suddenly remembered something. "We can talk about
bucket parties later, but I haven't seen Eila around lately. Have you been
inviting her?" Liam was worried about his friend, since she hadn't yet
attended any parties.
Wallace's face clouded over. "Eila's been running wild in the
underground."
"That's right... Didn't she borrow some of my soldiers recently for
a 'purification mission' or something?"
Ciel stiffened at the mention of Eila's name. She recalled the day
she'd confided in the woman, expressing her worry that her brother would
soon become her sister. Eila had looked at her gravely and said, "It's
better when they're both boys!"
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Eila scared her, but Ciel was curious what the other woman was
doing, so she listened in on the boys' conversation.
Wallace told Liam about Eila's activities in the Capital Planet's
underground. "I hear she's getting involved in areas outside her
jurisdiction. They call her the Queen of the Underground these days."
Liam was surprised to hear that. "Isn't she taking her job a little too
seriously? Guess I should tell her not to push herself so much."
Liam worried that Eila was working too hard, but Wallace shook his
head, indicating that wasn't the case. "She's enjoying herself, so she's
fine. If anyone has a problem, it's the residents of the underground."
When Ciel heard that Eila was running wild there, she recalled
something. Come to think of it, she sent me a message recently saying she
was going to "root out the source of the problem," but...it couldn't be.
Right?
***
Meanwhile in the underground, two groups of officials in black suits
stood glaring at one another. To an outsider, the scene might have looked
like a faceoff between mafia gangs. Tough-looking men shouted at a
woman in a black suit as if to intimidate her.
"This area's under the jurisdiction of Section 8! What's the chief of
Section 4 doing here?"
The woman in black was Eila, and standing behind her was her own
group of serious-faced officials. Behind them were armed soldiers.
Eila was finishing a lollipop, and when she was done, she pulled the
stick out of her mouth and smiled at the officials accusing her of infringing
on their turf. "You lot were accepting bribes from the people here and
overlooking their crimes."
"Wh-where's your proof, huh?"
"Oh, I've got proof, but it involves alllll kinds of annoying
paperwork. I figured I'd just capture you now and then deal with that part
later." Eila had become used to being forceful. The smug smile dropped
from her face as she ordered her subordinates, "Arrest these corrupt
officials."
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Her tough-looking men and the House Banfield soldiers that she'd
borrowed from Liam rushed at the corrupt officials. When the two groups
started fighting in the middle of a major street in the middle of the
underground, onlookers talked amongst themselves.
"So that's the Berman I've heard so many rumors about."
"She's basically the leader of the underground now."
"She's got a cute face for someone trying to clean up all the
corruption here."
Among the people of the underground, some knew more about her
than others.
"You don't know? She's friends with Count Banfield."
"Banfield? No wonder she's such a stickler for the rules. So she's
friends with that upstanding noble, eh?"
Even in the underground, House Banfield had a reputation for being
a family of virtuous nobles who wouldn't tolerate any injustice. If this
woman and her team had something to do with the head of that house, it
made sense to the people here that they would take their jobs seriously.
The men of Section 8 were overwhelmed and arrested.
"It's over, Section Chief," reported one of Eila's subordinates.
She relaxed at that. "I see that. Now, let's head to the area Section
12 is in charge of. We'll take care of the last two sections today."
Determined to wipe out the entire trade of illegal sex-change drugs
and round up all corrupt officials while she was at it, Eila pushed forward.
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