When Cleo left the room, the Guide emerged from a toy box in the corner.
The hatted Guide approached the young girl.
"You keep failing, oblivious to all my troubles. Thanks to you, I've managed to absorb a fair amount of negative emotions, but you people are all truly useless!"
The Guide was furious with Cleo and the head of the research institute, but the girl picked up the hat and hugged it.
"What are we going to play today?"
The girl, prepared by Cleo and the others to kill Liam, was pure and innocent.
She didn't question the act of killing Liam; its morality was irrelevant to her.
She simply did as she was told.
And this girl's playmate was the Guide.
"How about a story today?"
"Yay! I love your stories, Mr. Hat."
"Very well, then I shall tell you the story of how I am tormented by the villainous Liam. It happened back when I was seeking out negative emotions by plunging people into misery myself. All I ever wanted was my own simple pleasures."
With limbs sprouting from his hat-like body, the Guide spoke with passion.
"But! That man, Liam, is an evil fiend who torments me! He steals my simple pleasures and forces disgusting feelings like gratitude upon me! I was just having a little fun making people miserable, and Liam won't even allow that!"
Due to her rapid growth, the girl had only the bare minimum of information installed in her, and her sense of right and wrong was extremely vague.
So, when she heard the Guide's story, she grew sad.
"Poor Mr. Hat."
To be honest, the Guide, being pitied, thought, "Why do I have to be pitied by you? How disgusting."
But he was fond of the girl, who was in a miserable situation without even realizing it.
(Still, it's a strange turn of events that the most promising one is a failure.)
A girl had appeared among Liam's clones.
At first, the Guide had thought of her as a failure, but he found it much more palatable to assist the female model than the other clones who resembled Liam.
The only reason the girl was still alive was because of the Guide's help.
"Fufufu, you must grow up strong and kill Liam."
"Okay! I'll do my best!"
With the Guide's help, the girl grew up healthy and strong.
◇
A grand fleet of the Cleo faction had assembled near the home star of the Glin Barony.
Flagships gathered one after another, and their commanders boarded my ship, the Argos, via shuttlecraft, where they were escorted to the grand conference hall.
Super-dreadnoughts are absurdly large, thousands of meters long, but even so, space is limited.
In the grand conference hall prepared within that limited space, the nobles had gathered for a standing buffet party.
Normally, to do everything possible to win, we should be holding a conference to improve our chances of victory, even if only slightly.
But for a villain like me, a party is far more fitting.
To hold a needlessly extravagant party to boost morale before a major war—it feels so perfectly villainous.
"Hmph, I'm really getting the hang of this whole evil lord thing."
As I muttered this in the party hall, Baron Exner approached with Kurt in tow.
"Liam!"
Kurt came over, raising a hand, looking quite pleased.
When he reached me, we shook hands and spoke with smiles on our faces.
"It's been a while since we've seen each other face-to-face. How's military life treating you? Have you been well?"
"I'm doing great. Though I'm temporarily away from the military at the moment."
"Still as serious as ever. You're the heir to the House of Exner. You should get out of the service before you inherit the domain and have some fun."
"I don't have the luxury of playing around."
"That's just like you. If you decide to go back to the military, let me know. I'll use my connections to make sure you get preferential treatment."
"You haven't changed a bit either, Liam."
We had been in contact many times, but it had been quite a while since we'd met in person.
Meeting directly really gets the conversation flowing.
As we were talking, Baron Exner chose his moment to speak up.
"My, my, this is a level of luxury one wouldn't expect on the eve of a great war."
Baron Exner was beyond amazed by the opulence of the party, the venue, and my flagship; he was almost impressed.
Both Baron Exner and Kurt are fellow evil lords, but they aren't the type to flaunt their wealth like I do.
Compared to me, a Count, their Barony is also very small in scale.
I can appreciate their evil spirit of trying to squeeze every last drop from their territory, but the problem is that they're satisfied with just that.
They could be living it up more, but they tend to be obsessed with hoarding their wealth.
"Please, enjoy yourselves. More importantly, is Kurt participating with the Baron's flagship?"
As the conversation with Baron Exner began, Kurt took a step back, showing he would not participate in the discussion.
This was a conversation between heads of houses, so the heir probably thought it best to withdraw.
"I plan to entrust him with a hundred ships from our fleet. He's still too inexperienced for the front lines. I intend to have him observe from the rear."
"Having the head and the heir fall at the same time would certainly lead to sleepless nights. Shall I have him join my reserve forces?"
"Wouldn't that be an imposition?"
If you have a powerful battleship like mine, the head and heir might ride together. But for most, it's common to ride on separate ships.
It's to avoid having both of them die at once.
"It's no problem at all. In fact, I've taken others under my wing as well."
There are a certain number of parents who dote on their heirs, and the opposite is also true.
There were cases where the heir was sent to the front lines while the head of the house stayed in the rear.
It is my duty as the commander-in-chief to send such people to the rear units and let them live in luxury.
—Well, they're a type of hostage, of course.
If I'm looking after their precious head or heir, they won't cause any trouble, lest the hostage's life be forfeit.
Baron Exner seemed a bit hesitant, but he promised to entrust Kurt to me.
"Then I shall leave him in your care."
It's not like I'll treat him poorly as a hostage.
As long as he obeys me, I intend to let him live in luxury.
◇
Kurt left Liam's side and went to meet the other nobles who were being assigned to the rear-guard units.
He wanted to talk more, but Liam, as the commander-in-chief, was busy.
Even at a party like this, nobles came to greet him one after another, and dealing with them was part of his job.
"He's as dependable as ever."
Holding a glass of wine, Kurt watched Liam from a distance and surveyed the party hall.
Why a party before a war? Many probably had that question, and military men would likely be appalled if they heard.
Perhaps those of general officer rank might understand a little.
But this was a gathering of nobles, even if they had military experience.
A party is preferred over a conference, and it makes discussions go more smoothly.
Kurt's conclusion was that Liam had probably thrown this lavish party to accommodate the nobles.
(Spending too long in the military makes you ignorant of these aristocratic matters. I need to be careful.)
The heads of houses and heirs around him, whom Liam had met with directly and told they would be moved to the rear, now had looks of relief on their faces.
Being moved to the rear through a purely administrative exchange would make many anxious.
As Kurt observed the faces around him, he noticed a woman approaching.
The short-haired woman was wearing a short-skirted dress, but she also showed a hint of embarrassment.
She stopped beside Kurt and greeted him.
"I am Marion of the House of Viscount Olgren. You must be Lord Kurt, correct?"
"Yes, that's right. Olgren... are you related to Margrave Olgren, who guards the border with the Kingdom of Hucker?"
"I am from a branch family."
Looking at the smiling Marion Sera Olgren, Kurt recalled what Liam had told him.
(The traitor who cozied up to Liam and leaked information.)
A feeling of disgust arose, and he narrowed his eyes. Marion sensed this slight change.
"Please don't be angry. The Count has already forgiven me. —Well, I'm still in the middle of my punishment, though."
Marion liked to dress as a man and had usually attended such parties in men's attire.
But Liam had summoned her, made her wear a cute outfit, and forced her to attend the party.
Kurt had a question.
"Neither the main nor the branch families of Margrave Olgren were supposed to be participating in this battle, were they?"
"I'm a hostage. The main Olgren family always wants to show that they stand with the Count. I suppose sending me is a small price to pay to demonstrate that, both internally and externally."
Seeing Marion shake her head with a sigh, Kurt took a sip of his wine.
As a woman who had betrayed Liam, he just couldn't see her in a favorable light.
"You were lucky to get away with your life after betraying Liam."
"I've been humiliated and I'm being worked to the bone. Liam-senpai is a real slave driver, you know."
Seething with the humiliation of being forced into a dress, Marion said, "I'm being worked to the bone by Liam," while casting probing glances around her.
(Is something going on? More importantly, calling Liam 'senpai'—this one's overly familiar.)
Kurt felt a sense of unease, but Marion bowed her head and walked away.
"Well then, if you'll excuse me. I have many things to attend to myself."
◇
In a corner of the party hall, Baron Glin was savoring the wine and food.
"Marvelous. This wine, this food... they're all items unavailable in my domain. Aren't these all high-class delicacies that are rarely eaten even on the Capital Planet?"
Watching him nearby, Theodol's cheek twitched.
"Baron, have you forgotten your role?"
"No need to worry. I've secured support from Liam and am making progress in undermining his faction. More importantly, how are things on your end?"
When the question was turned on him, Theodol spoke of his own achievements.
"It has been arranged for me to board Liam's flagship and monitor him from his side. —Please be careful how you handle information."
"Not a problem."
Watching Baron Glin, who was engrossed in the food and wine, Theodol struggled to keep the irritation from his face.
(A silver-spooned brat who's only here because of his birth is truly useless.)
Theodol, who held a complex about his low birth despite being a noble, found the scene at the venue comical.
(A party before a war... they've let their guard down completely. When His Highness Cleo ascends the throne, I will eliminate these fools and take my rightful position.)
He burned with ambition, dreaming of the day he would become a great noble himself.
◇
After the party ended and everyone dispersed, I returned to my room.
"Welcome back, Master."
"—Why are you in my room?"
Standing with three maid-droids behind her and bowing was Eulisia.
For some reason, she had changed into a maid uniform.
"Could you at least try to look a little happy to see me?!"
"That's one of my maids' uniforms. Besides, isn't your job to support me this time?"
What is she doing?
Has she forgotten her role?
As I recoiled slightly, Eulisia cried out, "How cruel!" and collapsed to the floor in tears.
"But you're going to marry Lady Rosetta, and you won't clarify my position! Being your companion on the battlefield is part of my job, isn't it? That's why I came to welcome you and be your companion for the night—"
"I'm all set."
When I refused, Eulisia made a pathetic scene.
She was clinging to me and crying.
"But there isn't anyone! There's no one else here!"
"Shut up! I'm about to get married!"
As I tried to peel off the wailing Eulisia, my communicator rang.
"Who is it? —Kukuri?"