Chapter 14:
A Decent Evil Lord
HAVING RETURNED to House Noden's home planet, Baori was
preparing to go into hiding.
His family was terrified, since he'd started getting ready to run as
soon as he returned home.
His wife shrieked questions at him. She was garishly dressed, and
had made use of expensive antiaging treatments to maintain her youth and
beauty.
"Is it true Liam's returned?"
"Yes! That's why we need to run right away, before we're killed!"
The space pirates—and those masquerading as pirates—who'd
invaded House Banfield's territory were already being culled by Liam's
private army, which had been under his control again since his return.
Baori's face twisted in anguish. "I just needed a little more time! If
only Liam hadn't returned so soon."
Born to a barony on the Empire's outskirts, Baori was used to other
nobles dismissing him as a country bumpkin whenever he journeyed to the
Capital Planet. For years, he had longed to live a lavish life, but the planet
he ruled was too destitute due to the heavy taxation generations of rulers
had imposed. That was the same situation House Banfield had formerly
been in.
When Liam rose to power, Baron Noden could finally live a little
more affluently. Simply upon being asked, Liam had helped develop
Baori's planet free of charge. The infrastructural improvements had
increased House Noden's tax revenue. However, Baori immediately
overtaxed his people, which worked against that progress. Liam would no
doubt think Baori was an idiot if he found out how the baron ran his
planet.
"I only agreed to this because you said it would be fine!" his wife
screeched. "What are you going to do about this? You never said anything
about House Banfield coming after us!"
"I didn't think he'd come back! Ugh. People from the boondocks
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can't hope for the slightest luxury, can we?"
That was Baori's perspective after trying to become Isaac's guardian
to gain a cushy position. Though the baron exploited his people and lived
lavishly on tax revenue, he felt his family was unfairly poor compared to
the Capital Planet's nobles. Still, he could hardly be called an unbiased
judge of his situation.
When he was almost prepared to flee his mansion, a group of
soldiers burst inside. They were members of Baron Noden's private army.
Baori frowned at the sudden intrusion. "Wh-what?! If you're here to
escort us, we're not ready ye—"
Before he finished his complaint, his men silently pulled their guns'
triggers. After killing both Baori and his wife, they surrounded the
sprawled bodies.
"Trying to get away by themselves, were they? The nerve of these
people."
"They've tortured us long enough. We finally got our chance for
revenge."
"Wanna string 'em up in the plaza? That should make everyone
happy."
Baori's betrayal of Liam had spurred his subjects to rise up against
their tormentor. If civilians rebelled against their lord without an accepted
reason or another noble's approval, the Empire could order their entire
planet burned. Baori had betrayed his liege lord, though, and the rebels felt
they stood a good chance of escaping punishment if they delivered the
baron's head to Liam. They'd been waiting for this opportunity for a long
time.
Their leader looked down at the two bodies disdainfully. "We'll
send them to House Banfield. We need to show Lord Liam we're loyal.
Control yourselves, okay?"
The soldiers carried the corpses from the mansion, and not long after
that, House Banfield's fleet descended on Baron Noden's planet.
***
Upon arriving at House Noden's planet, Tia read through a report on
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the bridge of her ship. She sighed quietly, glancing quickly through several
documents projected in front of her.
"Baron Noden must have been despised by his subjects to be
betrayed the moment he defied Lord Liam. I knew he was incompetent,
but this takes the cake."
Common soldiers had slain Baori, his wife, his concubines, and his
children. When Liam's fleet arrived in his domain, the rebels had
immediately and willingly surrendered without a hint of resistance.
Claudia, Tia's adjutant, wanted to know how they'd proceed with
the soldiers who'd killed their lord. "Assassinating your ruler is a serious
crime. Shall we execute the offenders? I'm sure they're prepared for their
fate. We should just get it over with quickly."
No matter their rationale, they'd committed a major offense. Tia
understood that. But instead of agreeing to execute them, she smiled
mischievously. Tia had let Liam know what became of Baori, and she'd
just received a reply; Liam was thrilled to hear about the baron's sorry end.
Tia would deliver a more detailed report later, but her initial assessment
had been more than well received.
"Our report went over well with Lord Liam," she told Claudia, then
answered the adjutant's question. "Discharge the offenders from the army
and have them migrate to new planets under new identities. The 'official'
story will be that they were executed."
Claudia was taken aback. Letting the rebels live would be much
more work than killing them. "That's awfully lenient. Their brave
willingness to sacrifice their lives will go to waste."
"They made Lord Liam happy, so I'm rewarding them personally
for that. Now... It's going to be a pain, but we'll have to manage Baron
Noden's domain for a little while."
The fleet Tia had been dispatched with was there to run the planet
until a replacement ruler was installed. It was difficult to detect at times,
but Tia was a more-than-competent leader, as well as an impressive
knight.
The data Claudia had been reading on Baron Noden's domain
disgusted her. "He was a picture-perfect rotten outskirts noble. No wonder
his people hated him. His territory would have been in a lot more trouble if
House Banfield hadn't helped out."
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The situation here was so dire, it was almost astounding. Liam's
support had improved things, but the baron had increased taxes as soon as
he could, bleeding his already impoverished people dry. Their hostility
was easy to understand.
"He was the complete opposite of Lord Liam, so let's show these
people what Lord Liam's rule is like," Tia replied. "He wouldn't abandon
people like this, who clearly need him."
She decided to give her all to governing this planet ravaged by its
previous tyrant, knowing Liam would have done the same.
***
"Darling!"
When Rosetta returned to the mansion, she rushed over and
embraced me. I accepted the hug. Since she was already crying, I didn't
want to upset her further. Besides, Amagi was standing nearby. She'd give
me grief if I rejected Rosetta's affection.
"You seem to be doing well," I said. "Or maybe not. Have you lost
some weight?" I pulled away.
Wiping her tears, Rosetta told me just how hard she'd found things.
"I was so devastated that you were missing, Darling. Now I truly
understand how important you are to your domain. I couldn't do
anything...! Not being able to help you made me feel so frustrated and
pathetic! You were right—I'm no use to you at all, Darling."
Well, obviously not. This is my domain, after all, not yours. Giving
you an official position or real power would be ridiculous—it'd be a big
problem if you could do whatever you wanted. If I gave anyone significant
power, it'd be a loyal pawn, definitely not you.
"Don't worry about it," I told her. "But there could be situations like
this in the future. I'll form a guard unit for you, so you don't ever go
through all this again."
"Y-you don't have to do that. It'd be a waste."
Well, it was going to be an expense, but also a necessary safeguard.
It was only Marie who had flown off with Rosetta this time, but if it'd
been an enemy, that would have been a debacle.
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"It's to protect you."
"To protect me? B-but..."
"I want you to help out with work a little, too, so I'll be putting you
through the wringer as my trainee."
"You mean...?"
"You'd better do well, Rosetta."
"A-all right!"
She was thrilled, but she didn't understand my thinking. Giving her
a special guard unit and letting her help govern my domain might've
seemed to contradict my plans, but there was a reason I wanted to give
Rosetta limited authority. From the aftermath of the summoning incident,
I'd learned it was risky not to give her any power whatsoever. I wasn't
making her co-ruler—and wouldn't in future—but I didn't totally oppose
giving her revocable leadership powers under special circumstances.
In terms of my military, I'd only let Rosetta command her guard
unit. I didn't want her messing up my domain out of overenthusiasm. I
knew she was the benevolent type, and she might try to interfere with my
exploitation of my subjects at some point. I'd have to give her specific
jurisdictions so she couldn't do whatever she liked with my military and
government.
I was just preventing issues, not giving Rosetta what she wanted.
Besides, if she had her own guard unit, she could do some grunt work. She
wanted to help; my brilliant scheme let her feel like she was doing that,
and prevented her from making real changes in my domain.
"I'll give you the best guards we have, okay, Rosetta?"
"Do you really think I'll be able to command them?"
I grinned to allay her nervousness. Seeing how much weight she'd
lost lately, I felt a little bad about what she'd been through. "Don't worry.
They'll be your guards alone, and you can direct them at your discretion."
I'd been disappointed in Rosetta after our engagement, seeing her go
from steel-willed to easygoing. However, I'd realized she was an excellent
asset for an evil lord like me. I had her in the palm of my hand, so I might
as well make use of her.
I turned to Amagi. "Put together a guard unit for Rosetta. Prepare a
ship she can command too, and make sure it's a good one."
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"As you wish, Master."
Rosetta looked pleased by this unexpected bonus. "A ship I can
make use of whenever I want is quite a luxury, isn't it? What should I do
with it when I'm not using it?"
She seemed worried that it would be wasteful to have a ship
reserved even when she didn't need it. She really was frugal.
"If you don't want it idling, just give it some standing orders. And
you can use your guard unit however you want, provided you don't
overwork them."
"Can I really? I'll have to come up with some ideas! Oh, also, I
heard you brought a pet home, Darling. What kind of pet?"
She'd heard I brought something home, but not what it was, hmm?
"I'll introduce you soon. She's at the doctor's right now, getting checked
out."
"I can't wait!"
I knew Rosetta was picturing a dog or something. She'd be pretty
surprised when she saw Chino.
Now I should get going. Time to punish my subjects' transgressions.
***
In my office, I issued orders to gathered subordinates whose faces
floated on holographic screens all around me. I'd assembled them all to be
efficient, but after the purge that had just occurred, they looked rather
nervous. I was just happy it had them paying attention.
"Pardon me," Rosetta's maid Ciel said as she entered. I was
working, so I only acknowledged her with a nod.
Watching Kurt's sister make tea for me, I continued issuing
commands to my subordinates. "That's right. I want any foolish subjects
who still put me on a pedestal to know what's what."
"V-very well, my lord," one vassal replied. "Are you certain,
though? Your activity records on the Capital Planet mostly comprise
parties."
"I won't repeat myself."
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Finishing with that matter, I brought the next department head's
window forward. Just before I issued my next order, I caught Ciel giving
me a nasty look, not even trying to hide how much she despised me. She
really was fun to have around.
I ignored her and continued, "Do you have an update for me?"
"Regarding the tax hike, there will be disapproval if no rationale is
given. And House Banfield has no financial need for more tax revenue in
the first place."
"I'm the one who determines that. I guess we should provide some
justification, though, shouldn't we?"
Let me see. What was the most irritating reason they gave for
increasing taxes in my past life? There were plenty...but I'd have to say
"social welfare." That sounds good, so you can't really object to it, even if
you don't see any improvements afterward.
I remembered seeing news stories about corruption within the
government, and wondering in frustration what the point of tax hikes even
was. Hearing about a "social welfare" tax hike, only for it to produce no
particular results... Yeah, that's good!
"We'll call it a social welfare tax. Social welfare's important, isn't
it?"
"I'll make the arrangements, then."
My call with that department ended. As I addressed more issues, the
hovering faces gradually disappeared. When they were all gone, I finally
took a break.
No longer needing to restrain herself, Ciel piped up. It was rude for
a maid to address the master of the house like this, but I let that go; I
enjoyed her annoyed demeanor.
"Finding a reason to increase taxes because you want to, instead of
increasing them because you have a particular reason? Isn't that a little
backward?"
That was a reasonable view. I still found it hilarious that an evil lord
like Baron Exner had such a goody two-shoes for a daughter. Didn't she
even appreciate the irony of that?
I decided to tease her a bit. "It's not backward at all. I'm increasing
taxes to torment my subjects. I don't need any more reasons than that."
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Ciel's eyes widened at my words. At the same time, she didn't seem
surprised to hear my statement. "So those are your true colors. I never
believed you were as wise and benevolent as everyone says."
Suddenly, her demeanor was a lot more casual; she was dropping
the polite act after realizing how tyrannical I was. That was exactly what I
wanted, though! I'd been waiting for someone like her to show up.
"All that 'wise and benevolent' crap is just idiots misinterpreting
me. You're smart, though—you saw the truth. You deserve a reward for
that. Want some candy?" I pointed to a jar on my desk.
She just glared at me. "You shouldn't exploit your people. Did you
forget what happened to Baron Noden? In the end, his subjects killed him
and his whole family."
Baron Noden? It was hilarious that that idiot was killed by his
subjects, but it had nothing to do with me. "He was a fool, and I'm not.
That's all there is to it."
You had to know how much you could wring from people and still
get away with it. That was how a decent evil lord did things. If you
couldn't manage that, you were just an idiot.
"You mustn't raise those taxes."
"It's my domain. What's wrong with doing as I like with it?"
After a short pause, Ciel changed tack. "Please...please don't torture
your people."
She was so concerned for my subjects, who weren't even citizens of
her domain. I really felt I'd made a good decision taking her in. She was
righteous and just, and though she feared me, she spoke up against my
tyranny—it was great!
"I just want to see my subjects' faces twist in pain," I insisted.
"There's no benefit to me in granting your request."
I didn't need to keep up appearances with her. After all, I was
buddies with her father Baron Exner and her brother Kurt. Ciel could make
as much fuss as she liked, and it wouldn't hurt me one bit.
"You're the worst. You're the worst kind of ruler there is!"
"I appreciate the compliment."
This really felt good. I never thought I'd find the steel will I'd
expected of Rosetta in Ciel. I loved that she had the mettle to stand up to a
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villain like me. Even better, she didn't have any power to stop me! This
was all she could do. I was thrilled that the exact person I'd been looking
for—my little bluebird of happiness—was right under my nose. And it was
all a lucky accident.
Ciel's head was bowed, her fists clenched. "You're fooling
everyone. It's not right."
"It's not me that's wrong—it's the world. You have no influence, so
no one will listen to a word you say. Now, since you finished what you
came in here to do, why not go tend to your duties?"
I could have riled her up more, but I had my own work to get back
to. It was a shame, but our little chat would have to end here. I was about
to broadcast footage of my revelries on the Capital Planet for my subjects.
First, I'd tell them "Look at the way I blow my money!" and then I'd hit
them with the tax hike. I'd make them regret embarrassing me with those
protests over an heir.
Ciel headed for the door, tearful at her own helplessness. On her
way out, she said, "I'll help everyone see you for what you are. If my
brother learns the truth about you, I'm sure—"
Apparently, she wanted to set Kurt straight, but it was Ciel who was
misguided about her brother.
"Kurt's not the kind of guy you think he is. Didn't you know that?"
It was just tragic that she didn't recognize the evil path her own brother
was on.
But there was something strange about Ciel's appearance. Her
cheeks flushed, and she trembled, tears flowing. "You're wrong! My
brother's not like that. There's no way!"
She dashed out of the room crying. Apparently she couldn't handle
the truth about her brother's evil ways.
After she left, she was replaced by a figure rising from my shadow:
Kukuri. Poking just his head out, he looked up at me. "Were you all right
with that, Master Liam? That girl was awfully rude."
Left to his own devices, Kukuri might murder Ciel. I decided to nip
that in the bud.
"Don't lay a hand on her—she's a very important guest we're
hosting for Baron Exner. Besides, she's fun to tease. In fact, you guys help
her out if you ever notice she's in trouble, all right?"
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Seeing my amusement, Kukuri gave up on teaching Ciel a lesson.
He seemed a little exasperated, though. "You mustn't get carried away,
Master Liam."
Kukuri must have had some complaints about me. I'd spared Kunai,
too.
"I like Ciel. You can allow me a few amusements, can't you?" I
insisted. "So, what is it you need? Did you pop up just to ask if you could
assassinate Ciel?"
"I have something to report," Kukuri replied. "We just secured these
test tubes of your genetic material, Master Liam. They were in Christiana's
and Marie's possession."
That pair had been walking around with my genetic specimens?
What the hell? My amusement vanished instantly, my expression
hardening.
"Kukuri, you do good work. I'll reward you later."
I appreciated having some competent subordinates.
"How do you intend to punish those two, Master Liam?"
"I'll handle it personally." What had they wanted with my genetic
material? "I can't believe the two of them. Can you, Kukuri?"
"No, Master Liam."
Tia and Marie were in different regions of my domain right now, but
I'd have to call them both back and cut them down to size. Seriously, had
they wanted to sell those test tubes? It enraged me to imagine some
illegitimate heir popping up as a result. Were they conscious of the
seriousness of the crap they'd pulled? Whatever their plan, even if it had
fizzled out, they weren't getting away with it!
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