Epilogue
T HAT WAS CLOSE. My Ciel had almost been taken away.
Where had that information leaked from? Kukuri and his people
surely wouldn't have shared it against my orders, and they'd have known
it wouldn't cause any problems to leave Ciel alone anyway.
She disliked me and tried to get in my way, but with her abilities,
there was only so much she could do. Also, she was a good person, which
limited the methods of interference available to her. If she were evil, I'd
have gotten rid of her right away. It was because she was good that I let
her live and kept her near me.
Ciel was the perfect pawn to dance in the palm of my hand. I
couldn't easily find a replacement for her, and I didn't want to seek out
someone else like her, anyway. She was valuable because she'd appeared
naturally. She didn't suck up to me, despite my power. She was never
swayed by me, always staying true to herself. Her existence was a true
rarity, which made it precious.
"Where did that leak come from?" I wondered again. "Should I have
Kukuri look into it?"
While I was contemplating this information leak's potential
significance, Eulisia entered my office. "Lord Liam, I'd like to consult you
about Lady Rosetta's security force."
In work mode, Eulisia wore a suit with a skirt, looking like a much
more capable woman than usual. I wanted to tell her she should take her
work more seriously all the time, but I felt like she lost some of her
individuality when she was serious. I wasn't sure what to do about that
dilemma.
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"Yeah?"
I looked over the documents she gave me. The security force
seemed totally normal, with nothing interesting about it at all. It wasn't
bad, but it wasn't good either. It appeared the unit would be competent
enough, but it didn't have any flair to it.
"It's just like her: so innocuous that it's boring."
"It was pretty hard work putting all that together, you know."
Eulisia sulked, but hard work was meaningless in itself.
"Results matter more than hard work. Give me results."
"You're terrible! I did give you results this time!"
Not only had she been supporting Rosetta, she'd also delivered the
Graf Nemain to Planet Augur. I didn't mind recognizing her hard work
and results in that endeavor, but ultimately, I'd been deprived of that craft.
"The Graf Nemain doesn't count now. It was confiscated."
"That's your fault, Lord Liam!"
"Besides, I rewarded you for it. So don't complain!"
"You can't buy my heart!"
"Are you sure about that...?"
Didn't she normally spend my money left and right, just to assert
dominance over the people she worked with? She used it to stay in fancy
hotels and splurge on high-end goods. Of course, even that couldn't really
be considered extravagant, given the money I made. Actually, I was
probably a lot more wasteful buying ships and mobile knights. It was my
money, though, so no one got to complain about that.
"You're wrong if you think you can buy me off that easily!"
This conversation was getting annoying, so I decided to cut it off.
"Whatever. The important thing is that I'm after results. That goes
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for Rosetta's security detail and for everything else."
That was that—but, though I tried to end the conversation cleanly,
Eulisia went on, oblivious. "Oh. Then there is something you could praise
me for."
"You? What's that?"
Why in the world would I have to praise her? Anything she did for
me was a given. She was living a luxurious life courtesy of my money, so I
wanted her to work a little more diligently. She was actually good at stuff,
and I'd like for her to have put her nose to the grindstone more often.
"The thing with Ciel!" she said. "I was the one who looked into how
she was trying to influence Lady Rosetta's security force, and I'm the one
who reported it, you know."
Seeing her puff out her chest proudly, I was speechless. I rose from
my chair and walked over to her.
"Hm?" she said hopefully. "Are you going to fawn over me? Then
be gentle—ow!"
I flicked her smug forehead with my finger.
She sank to the floor, holding her head with both hands. "What was
that for?!"
"What'd you do, you waste of space?!" She'd snitched to Baron
Exner about Ciel! I hadn't expected the traitor to be this close to me. I
prodded her cheeks with my finger. "Take this! And this! And this!"
Eulisia protested my unfair treatment, tears on her eyes. "St-stop
that! I don't deserve this! I found proof of something dangerous and
reported it!"
Ciel was nearly given the boot because of your pointless efforts! I
told you to ignore her, so why'd you go behind my back?! Unlike you,
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Ciel's a comfort to me!
"Consider yourself lucky that I'm forgiving you about this! I don't
want you to have anything to do with Ciel from now on. Got it? I mean it!"
Eulisia looked up at me, speechless, her hand on her cheek. I didn't
know exactly what'd surprised her so much; she had completely the wrong
idea about everything.
"Y-you don't praise me when I work my butt off for you, but you
forgive Ciel for betraying you? Is she really so much better than me?!"
She couldn't accept that I liked Ciel more than her. Did you forget
about telling me that you wanted me to fall for you, so you could throw me
away? Do you really think there's any love between us? When I seriously
compared the two... "Yeah, I'd say she's better than you."
Ciel was a precious balm who made up for Rosetta's faults, and in
that way, she was more valuable than Eulisia.
Now that I'd expressed her inferiority so frankly, Eulisia sobbed.
"There you go again, going after other women!"
"I don't recall going after you once." Don't make me laugh! Amagi's
the only one for me.
As Eulisia and I made a racket, Rosetta came in. "Darling, are you
done with your discussion? I wanted to talk to you about my security—"
She entered wearing a smile, but her expression quickly grew cold
when she saw Eulisia making a scene with tears in her eyes. I wondered if
she'd misunderstood what was going on, but her cold gaze was actually
directed at Eulisia.
"Miss Eulisia, what exactly are you doing?"
"Me? Do I look like the one at fault here?! This is Lord Liam's
fault, because he only looks at other women!"
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Why does she act like she's the center of the universe? She is
seriously self-obsessed.
In any case, it scared me that Rosetta didn't doubt me in the slightest
upon walking in on a sight like this. Normally one would side with the
weeping woman in such a situation, wouldn't they? Her belief in me—her
trust—was a burden.
"Well, based on your usual behavior, I can only assume you're
causing Darling some sort of trouble." Rosetta knew how Eulisia usually
acted, so she figured I wasn't at fault.
You're right. You're right, but...you should doubt me a little more!
Why are you so credulous? Act a bit dubious of me! I want you to suspect
me of wrongdoing! Ugh...everyone always falls short of my expectations.
"Whatever," I said. "Did you want something?"
"Oh, um...it's about Ciel."
Ciel?
***
After a long lecture from her father and brother, Ciel had been told
to go reflect on her actions in her room. She soaked her pillow with tears,
but it wasn't the lecture she cried about.
"Why is my brother jealous of me?" she wept. "You shouldn't envy
me, Brother! Your feelings are becoming a woman's!"
She was crying out of despair. Every time she saw her beloved
brother, he seemed to be in the process of becoming someone else. In
addition, it was difficult for her to bear that her family didn't believe her
about Liam.
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"All of this is his fault! He seduced my brother!"
To make matters worse, Liam was the one who'd come to her
rescue. If she'd been punished for what she'd done, she would've been
sent far away and likely never seen her family again. That was how much
danger she'd been in.
However, Liam had allowed her to go unpunished. In fact, he'd
begged her father to forgive her, muddling the very notion of how her
crime should be prosecuted.
Liam had saved Ciel, so she would continue to receive her education
in his household. She wept over how pathetic she felt...wept over her
brother who, despite his fiancée, had seriously considered getting a sex
change...wept until her eyes were red, and her door opened.
She'd locked it, but standing in the doorway nonetheless was Liam.
"Hey," he said, grinning. It must've been obvious to him how Ciel
was feeling, but he looked as if he truly enjoyed the sight of her frustrated
tears.
"Y-you..."
"A maid should at least greet her master properly."
"Who would show you any respect?! Anyway, I'm confined to my
room right now, so I'm not on duty as a maid!"
Ciel would normally have been punished severely just for talking to
Liam like this, but he only watched her with amusement, as if he
welcomed this behavior.
"Didn't I tell you that no one would believe you?"
"Ugh!"
Anyone else who interacted with Liam would react to the statement
that he was a villain with simple confusion or indignant fury. Everyone
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believed in him. Still, Ciel couldn't give up.
"I swear I'll expose what you really are for everyone to see!"
At hearing Ciel vow that she would bring his villainy to light, Liam
brought his face up close to hers. Ciel glared at him, while Liam smiled.
The two stared at each other, their noses almost touching.
"I'm looking forward to that. I hope you give it your best, Ciel."
"I'll make you regret this! You'll regret sparing me!" Ciel would
never forgive Liam for seducing her brother away from her. I won't let my
brother become my sister! Kurt seemed to be thinking about changing his
sex in earnest, turning into a sister rather than a brother Ciel could boast
about. Ciel would never accept that. She needed to expose Liam's true
nature to wake her beloved brother up.
"I'll be truly impressed if you make me regret anything," chuckled
Liam. He actually looked thrilled that Ciel still defied him.
He spun around and left the room, just like that.
Ciel wiped away her tears, deciding this was no time for crying.
"I'll make you regret it—I swear! I won't lose to you! Not after you
led my brother down the wrong path!"
Meanwhile, a glowing canine form watched Ciel from one corner.
The dog tilted its head, its outline blurred with gentle light. As Ciel
pumped herself up, yelling her vow at the ceiling, the dog left the room.
***
The dog headed into Chino's room next. There, then silver daughter
of the wolf tribe—who also possessed the qualifications of a priestess—
slept soundly atop her bed, curled into a ball.
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"Mmm... Father..." She must've been dreaming of her family. She
might've missed them, since she lived so far from her homeland.
The dog approached Chino and brought its nose close, as if it were
sniffing her. Perhaps it meant to reassure her, but just then...
"Hyaugh!"
Chino's eyes snapped open, and she leaped up onto all fours on the
bed. She looked around the room like a wary beast, stared down at her
arms and legs, and glanced here and there curiously. When she saw a
mirror, she stared into it, entranced, and stood haltingly on two legs. She
moved her tail and ears, then opened and closed her mouth, but found she
couldn't speak well.
"Wah...auh...wauh!" In the end, she gave up on trying to talk.
Chino was acting very unlike how she normally did. However, after
a little while, the dog's spirit left her body. When it did so, Chino
collapsed to the floor, returning to her slumber. The dog circled Chino's
body before vanishing off somewhere else.
***
Having returned to my room, I drank the tea Amagi had prepared for
me. This was the most relaxing part of my day.
Bringing me some sweets, Amagi asked, "So has Ciel calmed
down?"
"When I heard how upset she was, I was a little worried, but her
spirit hasn't broken," I replied. "She's outstanding. I was right to keep her
around."
Ciel remained determined to expose my true nature, even though she
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would never succeed at such a thing. Even if she was able, it wouldn't
matter. People only mistakenly believed I was a wise and just ruler. On the
inside, I really was an evil lord.
I wanted Ciel to do her best. I also found it incredibly endearing that
she didn't even realize I was toying with her. She was as cute as a
chihuahua trying to pick a fight with a tiger.
"Master, you should not tease her so much," Amagi chided.
"It's fine. Anyway, Prince Cleo's sure making some moves behind
my back too, isn't he?"
"Prince Cleo, Master?"
"He's giving away the financial aid I provided him, to supposedly
needy nobles and knights. I had Kukuri and his men look into it. Seems
he's trying to gather people who'll be loyal to him."
So he wasn't going to be satisfied just being my puppet. It wouldn't
be a problem if he only meant to expand his own influence a bit, but if he
planned more than that, we might have some issues.
Amagi was watching me, and though her face was expressionless,
she seemed concerned.
"Don't worry," I told her. "Cleo's no match for me."
"That is not what worries me. You seem very confident, considering
you are up against the emperor himself now."
It was true that, if I had to fight against the whole Empire, a single
puny noble like myself wouldn't have lasted a second. But the reason he
was sneaking around behind the scenes was because he couldn't openly
challenge me yet. Either that, or maybe he was just having a little fun.
The Guide had warned me some time ago about my "true enemy." If
the emperor had been the one behind House Berkeley, then it all made
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sense. If this was true, then the emperor would be a much more formidable
foe than Calvin, and I could see why the Guide had decided to warn me.
"If Cleo will be my obedient little puppet, then I'll leave the Empire
as is, but if he won't..." I let my words trail off.
Although the possibility that my true enemy was the emperor of my
own homeland had arisen, I just needed to do whatever it took to win. I'd
be the victor in the end.
Amagi still seemed uneasy, so I comforted her, my voice soft.
"Don't worry. I'm confident I could best him."
"It seems you have no shortage of enemies."
"Ain't that the truth."
This really wasn't the best time to be holing up at home and goofing
off. I seriously didn't have time to mess around. When I thought back to
my time at college, though, all I remembered was how busy I'd been
getting Cleo's faction off the ground. So I was still intent on taking some
time to have fun on the Capital Planet. It was a little grace period I was
giving myself.
Amagi seemed curious about how I'd handle Cleo. "Will you give
Prince Cleo a warning? I do not recommend doing nothing. You should
come to a mutual understanding with him as soon as possible."
She wanted Cleo and me to come clean to one another. That would
be a valid way of approaching this, but in truth I didn't have a problem
with what Cleo was doing right now.
"I'll leave him be for now," I told her. "It seems like that'll be more
fun, anyway. It's entertaining, isn't it? He's trying to get a force together
that could go up against me."
Anyone who opposed me would be a fundamentally good guy. I was
gathering a team of evil lords to my side, so those who'd rebel against us
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would be ethical, upright nobles. Cleo would act as a vacuum cleaner,
sucking them all up for me, and once they were gathered together, I could
toss them all.
"I'll build up my own strength for a while too. I need to train Ellen
to follow me in the Way of the Flash, and—"
I looked down at my hand. I'd now succeeded in utilizing the Flash
through the Avid, but that wasn't my growth, and I hadn't accomplished
anything else lately. My own Flash still didn't hold a candle to my
master's. I still lacked something.
"I want to get stronger, Amagi. I need to find my master and ask
him for more instruction."
"I do not see why that is necessary. You already possess an
incredible degree of strength, Master."
"Space is vast. Plenty of people on my level are out there. I mean,
there are people like Master. So..."
"I suppose that is true."
I did need to train with Master again. I'd defeated Isel, but I couldn't
yet say I was able to cut the uncuttable. Well, I might've been able to,
depending on the conditions—but I couldn't do so on command, and
strength was something you had to possess at all times. I wanted Master to
train me further, so I could surpass my own limits.
While I mulled this over, Amagi said, "I have a report for you
concerning Prince Cleo."
"There's something else?"
"Yes. Our investigation concluded that he is doing the same thing as
Lady Rosetta."
"Rosetta? How so?"
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"He is contacting knights and nobles in difficult positions in order to
form a security force of sorts. He is providing them aid to establish this
force."
"Hmm..."
I hadn't expected Prince Cleo to be doing the same thing as Rosetta.
Rosetta had Eulisia to help her; I wondered what kind of force Prince Cleo
would put together on his own.
"However, there is no evidence that he is investigating each
individual carefully, as Lady Rosetta is. Therefore, rumors have circulated
that he is simply giving money to anyone who asks."
So the money Prince Cleo was giving away was for this security
force of his—but apparently, unlike Rosetta, he was simply going for
numbers above all else. When I compared them on that front, Rosetta
seemed a lot smarter. It really had been the right decision to have Eulisia
help her out.
"Well, tell me if it seems like that'll be a problem."
"Understood." Amagi bowed her head, then raised it and gazed at
me.
"What is it?"
"Being with you like this simply reminds me of the past, Master."
"The past?"
"Yes. I have served you for quite a long time now."
I wasn't even a hundred yet, but I'd spent almost ninety years with
her. "We'll be together for a long time yet."
"Yes."
I wasn't sure how I felt about the fact that the one who'd been with
me the longest was Brian... But, well, he had been with me longer than
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Amagi.
While I was reflecting on this unpleasant thought, Amagi smiled.
Then, sounding a bit sad for some reason, she whispered, "I hope we
can... No, it is nothing."
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