The Barkley family's territory.

"There's nothing worth seeing in this territory."

It was truly the countryside.

Derick was doing well, so I thought the territory would be more developed, but that wasn't the case.

Some parts were urban, but the rest were ordinary—no, rural.

The living conditions were also terrible.

The living standards of the territory's people were awful.

Electricity was used in some areas, but otherwise, it was at a medieval level.

I, sitting arrogantly in the seat of the head of the Barkley family's mansion, look at the bound Kashimiro.

"Well, I need to decide how to deal with you."

I, who had taken over another person's mansion by force and was acting as if it were my own, crossed my legs with an air of authority.

Kashimiro pleaded with me.

"I will offer my head. Please settle this with that."

Tia, who was by my side, looked down at Kashimiro.

"It's not something that can be settled with just that."

Marie was the same.

"Your head alone isn't worth that much."

Besides, I don't need it.

It was wrong for a gathering of baronial families to pick a fight with an Earl.

The difference in territory size was too great.

However, I had confirmed one thing.

It is indeed necessary to develop the territory.

I'm thinking about why the Barkley family was so unusually weak, and I feel that the quality of the soldiers is a major factor.

It's very efficient to pick up people living medieval lives and prepare them as instant soldiers with education capsules.

But there must be something that cannot be filled by that alone.

Also, I wasn't attracted to the territory's people living medieval lives.

--There was nothing to take.

Developing the territory is essential.

Kashimiro tried to approach me, but the knights flanking me restrained him and pressed his head to the floor.

"Please! I'll give you our family's hidden treasures. I'll hand over as much of our assets as possible! So, please allow the Barkley family to survive. I've heard the Earl is a merciful and wise ruler. Just once. Please trust the Barkley family just once. We will never betray you again! We can even pledge our loyalty to you."

To save his family, he offers his assets and his own head—isn't that a wonderful story?

Tia seemed irritated.

"How hypocritical. Considering your past actions, that's not a story that can be believed."

Kashimiro looked up and said to me.

"Please! Just my family!"

That's right.

He offers his life and his assets.

I might as well forgive him.

"That's fine. Alright, I'll forgive you."

"Lord Liam!?"

I silenced Marie, who was surprised, with a wave of my hand and said to Kashimiro.

"I'll forgive you—after all, you'll be dead, so you won't be able to resent me."

"Wh-what!?"

This is a family that would cling to me this much after I killed Derrick, one of their own.

If I kill Kashimiro, they'll probably cling to me even more in the future.

"Regret defying me. As a mere Baron, the sin of opposing me, an Earl, is grave."

"W-wait!"

"Kashimiro—I'm not particularly interested in your territory, but I will make effective use of it from now on."

There's nothing to take from the Barkley baronial territory, but I'll take the baronial family's assets.

Plunder is an essential skill for a wicked lord.

"Publicly execute the Barkley family members in front of the populace. Make sure everyone knows who the new lord is."

Upon hearing my decision, Yurishia seemed a little flustered.

"Vice-Admiral, is that alright? By custom, children under the age of majority are stripped of their noble status and sent to frontier planets, but?"

"What? Is there such a custom?"

"There are also women who married into the Barkley family. We need to investigate thoroughly—"

As Yurishia said that, Marie spat out.

"Unnecessary. The investigation is already complete."

It seems she had investigated beforehand.

She's usually so incompetent, but she's competent in these situations, which makes it difficult to evaluate her.

"Then, execute them immediately. Contacting the Empire—"

"I'll handle that."

Tia said with a smile, so I decided to leave everything to her.

"I see. Then, you all handle it. I'm going back to the mothership to relax. I'm getting bored, you know."

◇

After Liam left.

Kashimiro looked down and shed tears.

"Bored—you're bored?"

His attitude was as if he hadn't considered them important from the start.

He said he had no interest in what he had built up, and he seemed to intend to truly destroy the Barkley family.

From what I heard, he was a merciful and wise ruler—but in reality, he was different.

"I misjudged him. —At the very last moment."

Kashimiro, whose Barkley family, which he had nurtured for so long, was destroyed by a single young man, laughed through his tears.

"Go to hell, brat! I'll be waiting for you in hell—"

He couldn't say anything more.

That's because Tia stepped on Kashimiro.

"Don't speak anymore. Just talking to Lord Liam dirties me."

Pirate noble.

Tia, who harbored resentment towards pirates themselves, had no intention of going easy on Kashimiro's disposal.

"I've prepared a special execution method for you. Please entertain me. Don't worry—I'll send your entire family to you soon."

As Tia smiled sadistically, one of the knights spoke to her.

"Chief Knight, executing even the children will tarnish Lord Liam's name."

Upon hearing Liam's name, Tia's expression turned serious.

"The Chief Knight position has been dismissed by Lord Liam's order. I am now just a knight."

"Eh?"

"And don't worry. Children under the age of majority will be sent to frontier planets."

They would be sent to harsh frontier planets and live impoverished lives there.

—It's uncertain if they'll live long.

Marie, who had been observing the situation, grabbed Kashimiro.

"Kashimiro, I have so many questions for you. Let's chat before your execution."

Seeing Marie take Kashimiro away, the knights were agitated.

All eyes turned to Tia.

"Lady Tia, is this alright?"

It was a question of whether she would reprimand Marie for her arbitrary actions.

However, Tia's demeanor was different from usual.

"If they aren't killed, I'll allow it. That woman probably understands that much."

The knights were agitated by the fact that the two, who would normally fight, were not engaging with each other at all today.

◇

Kashimiro and the others' corpses were displayed in the Barkley family's territory.

The populace watched the scene with satisfaction.

Among the populace, watching this scene, was the guide.

He looked distressed.

"—I will take your negative emotions towards Liam."

He absorbed the hatred of Kashimiro and the others.

Similarly, he absorbed the negative emotions towards Liam held by the surrounding populace.

The reason Liam was hated was that the Barkley family's soldiers were the families of the populace.

If they died in battle and didn't return, it's understandable to hate Liam.

The guide felt relieved after absorbing these negative emotions.

Having gathered such resentment, the guide placed his hopes on Yurishia, whom he had previously set up.

◇

Three months after the war with the Barkley family.

Yurishia, Liam's adjutant, was supporting him with work in the office.

Now, she was alone with Liam in the office.

Watching Liam work diligently, Yurishia narrowed her eyes.

(It's almost time.)

Yurishia, who knew everything about Liam's life, was convinced that now was the best opportunity.

Liam is also a man.

He has sexual desires. In fact, his sexual desires are probably strong.

However, Liam, who doesn't get involved with the women around him, is bad at releasing his sexual desires.

I can tell he's horny.

The guide, sensing that Yurishia was about to make a move, watched her without them noticing.

A dog was watching them, and left the room.

(Good, Yurishia! Kill Liam just like that!)

Yurishia, who hated Liam and thought only of him, dropped her pen.

She deliberately turned her back to Liam and bent her upper body to pick up the pen—and her short skirt revealed her underwear.

Liam's shoulders twitched.

(He took the bait!)

Everything was according to Yurishia's calculations.

She wore underwear that prioritized functionality.

It wasn't alluring, but it was Liam's preference.

However, it's also bad if it's too unappealing.

Liam's preferences are very difficult, or rather, his strike zone is too narrow.

Knowing this, Yurishia thoroughly researched him and knew all of Liam's preferences.

(You like this kind of underwear, don't you!)

Feeling his gaze, she slowly straightened up and turned around, showing a smile.

She deliberately put her hand on her backside and acted shy—it was all an act.

"E-excuse me, Vice-Admiral."

"N-no, it's fine."

Seeing Liam flustered, Yurishia was convinced of her victory.

(Whoa, your face is red.)

The guide was secretly cheering on Yurishia, who was looking at Liam with beast-like eyes.

There's a slight sense of incongruity, but her desire for revenge against Liam is genuine.

She doesn't care about the small things.

"Good, Yurishia! Seduce Liam and take his life! You can do it!"

As Yurishia smiled and was about to entice Liam—.

"Liaaaam!"

—Nias entered the room crying.

And she was in a swimsuit.

She was wearing a jacket over it, but she was wearing something like a navy blue swimsuit, and there was a large white cloth on her chest for writing a name.

"Nias" was written there.

Seeing that, Yurishia immediately understood.

(You again!!)

If she had just come to interfere, she could have been driven away, but the problem was Nias's attire.

It was a functional inner garment that was also somewhat erotic.

—It was Liam's absolute favorite.

(With this, the impression of my underwear will be erased—)

Yurishia hurriedly looked at Liam and saw a different reaction than she expected.

He was muttering, "It looks like a school swimsuit."

Even though it should have been Liam's preference, he seemed to have lost interest—or rather, he looked at Nias with pity.

Nias, unfazed, cried out to Liam.

"Lord Liam, listen to me! They took away the budget and materials I received! They told me to be quiet because we'll take responsibility for the development! This is too much!"

What on earth did this girl do?

It's impossible unless the upper echelons of the Seventh Weapons Factory took it away, which would be quite a wild thing to do.

Thinking so, Yurishia shook her head.

"Captain Nias, the Vice-Admiral is working. Please leave the office."

However, Liam, seeing the crying Nias—relaxed.

"It's fine, isn't it? No one will complain if my work is delayed. Besides, it's half play. More importantly, Nias, you're really pathetic. What's with that outfit?"

Nias, who was sobbing, took off her glasses and sat on the floor.

"I was ordered from above while working here! I had all sorts of new technologies I wanted to try! Explosions are a risk that comes with development!"

No, that's not right. Yurishia thought this to herself but was stunned by Liam's attitude.

"You're really hopeless. I'll speak to the Seventh Weapons Factory on your behalf."

"Thank you!"

Liam seemed a little happy, though he looked annoyed by Nias hugging him.

It wasn't about lust, but he seemed genuinely happy.

Seeing that smile—Yurishia recognized her defeat.

It felt like she had been shown that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't win against someone so naturally oblivious.

She collapsed to her knees.

Seeing this, the guide was surprised, but when the seated Yurishia started crying, Liam called out to her in surprise.

"H-hey, what's wrong?"

"I worked so hard! I decided to seduce you for decades and then abandon you!"

Liam and Nias looked at her as if to say, 'What are you talking about?' Yurishia hugged her knees and started crying.

Liam called out to her.

"—You're trying to seduce me to abandon me?"

Nias snorted.

"I think it's a problem before even abandoning you."

This is what an adult in a school swimsuit said.

Yurishia buried her face in her knees and cried.

"I worked so hard! I—after returning to the military and joining the special forces, I got various qualifications and finally came to the Earl's side!"

Liam had an indescribable look on his face.

"Eh, was it for me?"

Yurishia nodded slightly.

Everything was to seduce Liam.

The guide collapsed to his knees in the corner of the room.

"—No way."

While she did have a desire for revenge, she apparently never thought it was to abandon Liam.

Liam scratched his cheek with his finger.

"You're also a pathetic girl."

Nias had a triumphant look on her face.

"Oh, are there other pathetic girls? Lord Liam, you have it tough."

"It's you."

"Eh!?"

Liam ignored the utterly surprised Nias and spoke to the dejected Yurishia with concern.

"Alright, I get it. For now, you can abandon me."

Yurishia cried.

"I haven't been confessed to yet."

She wouldn't budge on the condition of being confessed to before being abandoned.

"You're sticking to that? Well, I guess that's fine."

Liam thought that since she was going to be abandoned anyway, he might as well say something to the pathetic girl.

"Yurishia, when you leave the military, come with me."

Upon hearing Liam's considerate confession, Yurishia beamed—and then realized something.

(Huh? If I refuse this offer, I'll have to live in the military for hundreds of years, won't I?)

She had undergone training to be assigned to a special unit in the military.

Training isn't free.

Of course, it costs money. The cost of training a single soldier is enormous.

Furthermore, if she receives education to gain many skills, it costs even more money.

The military would not easily release Yurishia, who cost so much.

Also—.

(If I continue to seduce other nobles, are there any nobles above an Earl?)

—Yurishia's original goal was to secure a position as a mistress or concubine to a promising noble.

Considering that, refusing Liam's offer was—out of the question.

There were no more promising prospects in the Empire than Liam.

Kurt is also promising, but his family's power is too different.

Appearance—Pass.

Personality—Barely Pass.

Assets—Perfect.

Future potential—Outstanding.

Yurishia looked intently at Liam's face.

"Hey, what's wrong? Aren't you going to refuse my offer and show me up?"

To Liam, Yurishia hugged him.

"I will follow you for the rest of my life, Earl!"

Nias noticed.

"Ah, this girl! She's decided she doesn't want to let you go after thinking about it. Liam is my patron!"

"You're not my patron! Besides, let go! Didn't you say you'd refuse me and show me up?"

Yurishia replied while clinging to Liam.

"Because, Earl, you have great future potential! You only have one wife, and no other concubines or mistresses!"

If she could slip in as a concubine or mistress, Yurishia would be a winner.

Come to think of it, she had successfully seduced him, so there was no problem.

It was just a shame to abandon him.

"Y-you! Why are you so pathetic!"

"You said you'd take me! You told me to come with you!"

The guide, watching the noisy trio, finally couldn't stand it and stood up, revealing himself before Liam.

And then, he stopped time.

Liam's eyes widened at the guide's appearance.

"It's been a while—Liam!"

The guide decided to tell Liam everything.

Brian: "This is tough. It's the fourth volume, and I finally have one candidate for a concubine—the harem is still far away, Lord Liam."