Chapter 20
Princess of the Autocracy
T HREE MONTHS LATER, the G'doire Autocracy's delegation arrived
on Planet Augur. When they arrived in the spaceport, they were dressed
more normally than I would've thought. I'd expected them to be a bunch
of barbarians, so it was kind of a letdown.
Officials from the Capital Planet would handle the negotiations. I
didn't have a role to speak of. This problem was between the Empire and
the Autocracy. It had nothing to do with me. I would be present at the
signing ceremony since the Autocracy had requested that I be involved,
but I had no authority to speak or negotiate.
I didn't really have anything to say anyway. My force had emerged
from the conflict relatively unscathed, and I didn't care what happened to
the Empire's territory. Since I had no responsibility here, the officials
hadn't asked my opinion on anything, and I didn't think they had any
reason to.
In any case, I sat in those meetings for a few days without any right
to participate, and in the end, everyone amicably signed a thirty-year
ceasefire agreement. Thirty years might sound like a long time, but it was
pretty short in this universe, where ceasefires of one or two hundred years
weren't uncommon.
Of course, whether those ceasefires were upheld for their full term
was a different matter entirely. Plenty of idiots in this universe, too,
believed that promises were made to be broken. Hell, I was one of them.
I'd break a promise or two if it benefited me somehow. Keeping promises
just for the sake of goodness was pure stupidity. Not that I thought it was
fine to break them willy-nilly either.
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Once the negotiations were over, it was time to party, and that was
where I came in. As the person running the spaceport, I'd been instructed
to host one. Luckily, when it came to party planning, I had a reliable guy
working for me. I could just leave it all to him, which made the event an
easy responsibility for me.
Now, I think I'll enjoy myself at this party Wallace put together too.
***
The party that followed the ceasefire signing was more peaceful
than I'd expected. The Autocracy's delegation were fully enjoying
themselves, as if to show they had no hard feelings, and the Empire's
representatives were only a little nervous, nothing more. Most of the
officials hid their frustration with the soldiers who went and lost,
participating in the event with only somewhat forced smiles. From the way
the Autocracy representatives acted, it didn't seem to me that we'd have
any more problems with them. Of course, they'd invaded and thoroughly
pillaged plenty of Empire territory already.
I'd brought Marion with me to the party, wearing another outfit like
the dress of an idol from my previous life. I got a kick out of seeing her
dolled up like that again. Marion, on the other hand, didn't hide her
irritation with me or how uncomfortable she was in that outfit.
"You really are a jerk," she said. "I don't get what's so fun about
dressing me up like this."
"It's fun because you get so upset about it. Anyhow, if you hate
girls' clothes so much, you could just get a sex change." In this universe,
people could freely change their sex, so I was curious why she didn't do
that.
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I got an answer I hadn't expected. "I happen to like myself as I am,
for your information. I've never been one bit dissatisfied with my gender.
In fact, it's something I take pride in." I'm glad I was born a woman! she
seemed to proclaim.
"But you like girls, right?" I asked, having assumed the reason she
bragged about her conquests so much was that she wanted to be a man.
"I want to love women and be a woman too."
"I don't get it," I cocked my head.
Marion scoffed. "Men are disgusting."
So she liked her own gender, and she found women attractive, but
not men.
"I thought you were having quite a bit of fun with Prince Cleo,
though." I made this leading comment to see how much Marion knew
about Prince Cleo's own preferences.
Looking as though she'd remembered something unpleasant, Marion
said, "He was just toying with me."
From the way she acted, it didn't seem as if she'd caught on to the
prince's secret. I didn't know whether he'd never gone all the way with
her, or if he had but successfully kept his secret. But I didn't care either
way and decided to change the subject and tease Marion instead.
"Too bad. If you hadn't sold Prince Cleo out, you might be viscount
now."
"It's all your fault," Marion said reproachfully. It must have really
eaten her up that she'd fallen for my trap. She should be happy that she
wasn't being made to repeat her training like Randy.
"It was hilarious seeing you look so triumphant, when I knew you'd
lost from the start," I told her honestly.
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Marion's face twitched. Yeah, that's the expression I wanted to see.
I didn't like women who tried to use me, but I definitely got a kick out of
women who danced in the palm of my hand. I liked them even more when
I could make use of them.
Now that I'd amused myself, I got down to the annoying business. I
was going to be interacting with the Autocracy from now on whether I
wanted to or not, so I needed to gather information on them.
"So what's the Autocracy after?"
"We're talking about work now? You're diligent as always."
"And you're thrilled to be working for me, aren't you? That's why I
let you live, after all."
If Marion had been killed for what she'd done, she couldn't have
complained. And I'd only left her alive so I could use her. When I pointed
out that I'd only let her live on a whim, Marion stopped talking back. She
looked away in frustration, her cheeks faintly pink. "You really are scum.
You're worse than Prince Cleo."
"It's your fault for thinking you could use me, but I want to be
friends from now on. Should I call you 'Mari' to show my affection?"
She went red up to her ears. "S-stop that! Seriously! It's so
embarrassing I want to die!"
Maybe because she'd hit rock bottom and I'd scooped her up from
there, her pride had been totally shattered. I felt that she was a bit cute this
way, although I kind of wished she still had that cheeky attitude.
I got nostalgic, thinking about Nitta. Just like Marion, he'd been my
coworker, though he was a man and not cute at all. He did outshine Marion
in one area, though: he'd never betrayed me.
"Hurry up and give me your report."
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Since I hadn't been permitted to participate in the negotiations, I
was a little out of the loop. That annoyed me, so I'd made Marion
investigate the terms of the ceasefire agreement. I figured she'd have
connections since she was from the area.
"The Empire isn't the only one benefiting from the ceasefire. The
Autocracy lost their crown prince, after all. They'll be dealing with the
chaos from that for some time."
That didn't sound right to me. "Huh? His siblings still managed to
get their forces together and win against the Empire, didn't they? They
seem like they're all about blood bonds there, so why would there be any
chaos?"
Even after losing their supreme commander, the Autocracy had
rallied its forces and ultimately triumphed over the Empire thanks to the
exploits of Isel's relatives. In light of that clannishness, I didn't see them
fighting among themselves after losing their crown prince.
Marion shook her head. "You don't know a thing about the
Autocracy. How do you think the other commanders reacted when they
heard their crown prince had died? They all tried to accomplish enough to
be made the next crown prince."
So they hadn't mourned Isel's death at all, but seen it as an
opportunity. I figured that didn't really surprise me.
Marion glanced at the officials sent from the inner Empire, who
didn't know anything about the situation here. She seemed annoyed that
they were satisfied with the ceasefire they'd managed to secure.
"Personally, I think this ceasefire is a mistake. If they knew more
about the Autocracy, we might've been able to negotiate back a few of the
planets they seized."
This wasn't just a matter of the officials' incompetence. They might
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have lost territory to the Autocracy, but from their perspective it would be
much more profitable to completely avoid a continuance of the war than to
squabble over a few border planets. The Empire still had plenty of planets,
even if they'd lost a few that were habitable or contained valuable
resources. Right now, they were probably more concerned about
maintaining their borders with other intergalactic nations. Their stance was
probably that they could just take those planets back one day.
I glanced over at some local nobles and generals who'd been
stationed on the border. Like Marion, they wore frustrated expressions, on
occasion shooting the officials dirty looks. They had very little say in
things, since that delegation from the central Empire was here; they
probably wanted to protest the officials' stance but couldn't.
Well, those two groups weren't likely to come to an understanding. I
asked about the Autocracy's inner workings instead. "Isel's siblings are
going to quarrel about who succeeds him, huh?"
"It'll probably be a bloody mess between them."
"And that's why they want to buy time."
"I think we could've asked for more. I'm confident we could've
gotten that out of them."
She hadn't even been present for the negotiations, but here she was
talking that way. "Not something I'd expect to hear from someone I played
like a total fool."
"I-I realize now that I shouldn't have messed with you. You're
different."
I was a bit impressed with the Autocracy. They'd gotten exactly
what they wanted out of these negotiations: a ceasefire so they could
concentrate on their internal squabbles.
While Marion and I talked, a tall woman came toward us. She wore
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a black suit with pants instead of a skirt, and from the way she walked I
could tell she had some sort of martial training. Her figure was feminine,
but her body was obviously incredibly toned under her clothes. She had
long red hair with a bit of curl and spirited red eyes. The visibly strong-
willed woman who strolled over to us had a bit of a dominatrix vibe. I
thought Marion might show interest in her, but when I looked over, she
appeared nervous.
The woman didn't spare Marion so much as a glance. She focused
on me and me alone.
"Want something?" I asked.
"I have a keen interest in you, boy."
She was awfully haughty, but it kind of suited her. She looked like a
warrior, and it seemed she had a warrior's spirit too. I didn't think she was
from the Empire, so I assumed she was with the Autocracy.
"What? Want to fight?" I gave her a goading smile.
The woman grinned fearlessly in response. "Of course I do, but I'm
here on different business at the moment."
She was probably the type who'd flip out if you treated her as if she
were delicate, so I spoke to her frankly, which she seemed to like. Still, I
wasn't into that beastlike smile on her face.
"I wanted to see the man who killed my brother Isel with my own
eyes," she told me. "He was a great man, even from my perspective. I was
proud of him." She had to despise me for killing her impressive brother,
then. Or so I thought, but her next words defied my expectations. "Thank
you."
When she suddenly said that, I thought I'd heard her wrong.
"What...?" I glanced over at Marion. She looked confused too, so I'd
apparently heard right.
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The woman smiled at me. "I planned to kill Isel myself, but now I
know of a stronger person—you. I can't thank my brother enough."
She wanted to thank the person who'd killed her brother? What was
it with these Autocracy people? Did she have no love for him?
"Didn't you just say you were proud of him?"
"I did. I still respect my brother for his strength, and that will never
change."
"And you don't hate me for killing him?"
"You were stronger than Isel. That's all there is to it, isn't it? It's his
fault for losing, so I can't blame you for his death." The woman seemed to
realize I was confused. "Right... Our cultures are different. Forgive me.
My brother lost to you in single combat, so I bear you no grudge. Rather
than resenting you, I want to tell you..." She looked at me with heated
eyes, seeming ever so slightly nervous. The dominant veneer faded from
her face, and she looked like an adolescent girl about to confess her love to
someone. "I swear one day I will rise to a position to challenge you. Stay
healthy until then."
"You want to do battle with me? That takes guts."
That was par for the course with the Autocracy. She'd challenged
me to a fight with a girlish expression on her face. But, yeah, I'm used to
this stuff by now. Or so I was thinking when she followed up by dropping a
bomb on me.
"One more thing... I desire your genes!"
Her voice carried through the entire venue. Naturally, everyone's
eyes gathered on us.
For a second my brain refused to comprehend, but that denial didn't
change the facts.
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"Wh-what are you saying?!"
This woman from the Autocracy had shown up out of the blue only
to land herself squarely in the same category as Tia and Marie. Why was I
surrounded by girls who were pretty but completely insane?
The woman blushed and fidgeted as if embarrassed, and in fact I
wanted to tell her she should have a little shame.
"You're going to make me say it again? You're a mean one, aren't
you? Well, fine—I'll say it again," she said indignantly, getting
embarrassed about the wrong thing. "I want to produce a child from your
strong genes."
"I decline," I told her with my sternest expression.
"Why? All the man has to do is fork over the stuff, right?" She
cocked her head, looking truly mystified.
Marion cleared her throat theatrically.
Nice one, Marion!
"This isn't a topic to discuss at such a fine party," Marion declared.
"I think carrying on any more about this subject would be rather uncouth,
Princess of the Autocracy."
Marion's words shocked me. Huh? She's a princess?! I know she
said she was Isel's sister, but... The Autocracy's okay with a princess who
acts like this?!
Personally, I wouldn't want a princess who went up to random men
and said things like "I want to have a child with you!"
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The woman seemed to realize her blunder and sighed. "I apologize.
It's a commonplace overture where I'm from. But, again, it seems things
are different here. I'm having a bit of culture shock."
"I'm the one who's shocked." I was so shocked, I let my honest
feelings slip. How the hell did you ask a guy you just met for his genes?
The woman finally introduced herself. "I am Arjuna Balandin. Hero
of the Empire, Lord Liam Sera Banfield, please visit the Autocracy
whenever you wish. Your genes have a standing reservation in my womb."
The sight of her winking before she turned around and left was
certainly appealing, but that last line of hers was so terrible that it ruined
the whole effect. Terrible. Just the worst. I never thought I'd hear a come-
on like that.
"I won't be going."
The exchange with Arjuna was probably the biggest shock I'd
received in recent memory. My genes had been stolen without my
knowledge before, but this was my first time having someone ask that I
had them over. Space sure was big.
Marion wore an uncomfortable smile. "Now I remember how they
value strong genes in the Autocracy."
"You should've told me that sooner! That freaked me out!"
"It was my first time hearing someone from the Autocracy request
something like that too. At any rate, I bet you're real popular in their
country now, Lord Liam."
So what? I don't want to go there if women like Arjuna are going to
demand that I hand over my genes.
Now that I thought about it, it didn't seem like any decent women
wanted them. Tia, Marie, and now Arjuna... I guess their type really loves
me.
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"Not interested."
"Glad to hear it. Anyway, when are you going back to the Capital
Planet? Would you bring me with you? I can't go back home, thanks to a
certain someone."
"You're getting what you deserve. If you want to go back with me,
go ahead and get ready after the party."
***
On the Capital Planet, an enraged Lady Annabelle had come to the
high-rise on the palace grounds where Cleo lived.
As soon as she entered his office, she cried, "What is the meaning of
this?!"
Lady Annabelle was likely upset that her nephew Randy was being
forced to redo his training. After all, the scandal would affect her too, not
just him. House Lengrand had probably asked her to speak to Cleo on their
behalf.
Cleo stopped going through the electronic documents before him
and looked up. "What is your business, Mother?"
Lady Annebelle trembled in rage at Cleo's feigned ignorance.
"Don't pretend you don't know! I'm here about your cousin, Randy!
Withdraw his punishment!"
Cleo subtly clenched a fist at his mother's presumption that she
could get her way simply by demanding it. He glanced over at the knight
at his side, Lysithea. She heaved a sigh. Lady Annabelle's complete
refusal to even acknowledge her own daughter likewise quietly angered
the prince.
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"Embezzlement is a crime." He laid the blame for the situation
squarely on Randy.
Lady Annabelle wasn't satisfied. "Everyone embezzles! It's idiotic
to make such a fuss about it and lose your greatest support!"
"Idiotic, eh? That's your estimation of me, Mother?" Cleo laughed
at Annabelle's complete lack of shame.
At that, Lady Annabelle trembled, and her flushed face paled.
Seeing that change come over her, Cleo explained himself in a cold
tone. "I never intended to rely on House Lengrand for anything."
"What did you say?"
"Cozying up to me when it suited them and claiming to be my
biggest supporters? Very shrewd of them, especially considering how
they've never shown a bit of interest in me before."
When Cleo's attitude changed, Lady Annabelle faltered, her own
confidence dissipating. She appeared to choose her next words carefully.
"Th-that's not true, Cleo. I've always cared for you."
"You've never cared one bit about us. Do you even know that
Cecilia is engaged? You haven't said one word to Lysithea, even though
she's been at my side this whole time. That's just the kind of person you
are."
Was she really trying to act like their mother, after having ignored
them all this time? Lady Annabelle had no way to counter Cleo's words.
He'd apparently hit the nail on the head in saying she had no interest
whatsoever in Cecilia and Lysithea.
"You must be awfully simple if you seriously thought I'd happily go
along with whatever you said," Cleo added.
"How can you speak to your own mother like that?! You're the one
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who's—"
Before Annabelle could finish, Lysithea interrupted her to announce
a visitor whose arrival she'd just been notified of on her tablet.
"Cleo, Count Banfield has just arrived. He wants to meet with you
right away."
When Lysithea said Liam's name, Lady Annabelle finally realized
the truth. "Did you betray us?!"
Cleo gave Lady Annabelle a pitying look when she realized how her
son had backstabbed her. "You betrayed us first. Moreover, Count
Banfield's supported me since before I had any power at all. Did you
really think you could compare to him in any way?"
Faced with Cleo's chilly smile, Annabelle clenched her fists. "Y-
you won't get far by ignoring your blood ties."
In noble society, people were considered untrustworthy if they
didn't treat their blood relations well, but in this instance the same
criticism could be made of House Lengrand—and Lady Annabelle.
Cleo couldn't help but laugh. "Ha ha ha! That's rich coming from
you! Besides, blood relatives have been killing each other this whole time.
Why balk now?"
Many had lost their lives in the Empire's succession conflict, and
Cleo thought this was hardly the time to worry about respect between
blood relatives.
Lady Annabelle was speechless to learn that Cleo had never trusted
her in the first place, and the shock on her face quickly turned to despair.
She was stubborn enough, however, to leave him with one last, ominous
remark.
"The darkness of the Empire is a lot deeper than you know. I don't
think you'd be so confident if you knew just who was after your life."
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With a laugh of her own, Lady Annabelle remained in the room as
Cleo and Lysithea left.
***
As soon as he met Liam, Cleo thanked him. "You really helped me
out this time."
The two chatted about the recent events over tea and sweets. Liam
seemed no different from usual, despite having just fought the Autocracy.
"It's no problem," he said. "I had a lot of fun. I got to prank Randy too."
That was how he referred to shutting down his entire workplace, but
even what he'd done to just Randy could hardly be described as a prank.
"If you can call that a prank, you're pretty scary," Cleo said. "I don't
think Randy will ever recover." Even if Liam merely considered his
actions a practical joke, Randy no longer had any place in noble society,
and Liam had driven him to that point. Inside, Cleo was hopelessly jealous
of him. You're always so confident. Nothing ever shakes you.
Cleo had confided in Liam about everything from the very start,
informing him of House Lengrand's and Marion's every move.
"When I told you House Lengrand wanted to support me, you told
me to let them do as they liked. Did you predict that everything would go
this way?"
Setting his cup down, Liam explained why he'd taken the
roundabout method he had. His face looked markedly more serious than
usual. "I've been looking into who was behind House Lengrand. My first
suspect was Calvin, but it apparently wasn't him."
"Calvin's got it pretty rough right now," Cleo mused. "We lost the
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war, and he looks even worse because you defeated the enemy's supreme
commander."
Just losing the war might not have been disastrous, but Liam killing
Isel complicated things. More and more people on the Capital Planet
wondered if they would've won if Liam had just been fielded from the
start. Now Calvin was in an even worse position than when he'd decided
to retreat from the Autocracy's forces.
"Calvin's unlucky, isn't he? It makes me wonder if he's under a
curse from some evil god or something."
Cleo laughed at Liam's joke, but he couldn't laugh at what Liam
said next.
"Oh, right—as for who was behind House Lengrand, it was His
Majesty the Emperor."
"What...?"
"My operatives investigated the matter thoroughly. That explains
why Lady Annabelle was so confident, doesn't it? She was working for the
emperor, after all."
Liam was as blasé about this as ever, but Cleo couldn't hide his
surprise. He hadn't expected to learn so soon what Annabelle had meant
about the darkness of the Empire. The thing that shook him most,
however, was...
"My father is trying to kill me?!"
...that the emperor of the Algrand Empire himself was trying to get
rid of him.
"We know who our real enemy is now. His Majesty himself," Liam
said, calmly sipping his tea.
Cleo couldn't stop shaking. "If my father is our enemy, I'm done
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for." A single thought occupied his mind: There's no way we can win!
Liam, on the other hand, was as calm as ever. That was extremely
reassuring. "Don't worry... That's what I'm here for. But we don't have
quite the influence we need yet. Let's make sure we keep building up our
power steadily."
Listening to Liam's banal advice to gather strength for the present,
Cleo was dazed by his blasé attitude.
Meanwhile, Liam forced himself to smile. "On another note, I hear
you've been doing favors for small-time nobles." His gaze grew sharp.
Cleo gave the count the excuse he'd been working on, trying to
prevent him from suspecting anything. "Just to fool House Lengrand. I
wanted them to think I was wasting your support because our relationship
was worsening. I even kept quiet about all this to Lysithea. I had to put on
an act to make everyone believe it. That's right—an act. I apologize for
keeping quiet about it to you, though."
He was a little more talkative than usual, but Liam didn't seem to
find that suspicious. "I don't mind."
Cleo had decided on his own to give the needy nobles money, and it
hadn't only been an act to deceive House Lengrand or Lysithea. It was for
a specific purpose, but he couldn't tell that to Liam. You really are strong,
Liam. You can do anything. I'm...I'm nothing more than your puppet. But
one day...
Cleo hadn't aligned himself with House Lengrand because he'd
known they couldn't beat Liam. He'd used this opportunity to curry favor
with small-time nobles, so there would be people who felt they owed him
and swore loyalty to him, not Liam. He was preparing to build up his own
influence for the future.
As Liam drank tea in front of him, Cleo smiled, but his face was ice-
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cold beneath.
I won't be your puppet forever, Liam.
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