On the other side of the comms monitor was Kukri, whom I had sent to the Capital Planet.

I closed my eyes in irritation at Kukri's report.

"—The mass-produced Avids were stolen from the Seventh Weapons Factory, you say?"

"Yes. The Calvin Faction had the Empire confiscate them. The Seventh Weapons Factory was placed under surveillance, and they were apparently unable to report to you, Lord Liam."

Beyond the monitor—and behind Kukri—was a teary-eyed Nias.

She was sitting on the floor, crying.

"My rare metals..."

She was more upset about the loss of her rare metals than about being under surveillance.

Seeing this, Eulisia, dressed in a maid outfit, wore an indescribable expression.

"How can you be worried about rare metals in a situation like this?"

"Because! Thanks to this, the rare metals I'd stockpiled were diverted to the mass-produced Avids, and my plans are ruined! I have to start all over from scratch! This is just too much! Lord Liam, would it be possible for you to provide some additional rare metals?"

Even Kukri seemed bewildered by Nias's brazen attitude.

She looked toward me, apparently not even questioning why Eulisia was in a maid outfit.

That's just how much the loss of her rare metals was affecting her.

Kukri sought my judgment.

"Lord Liam, your orders."

"I'm busy right now, so preparing more rare metals is impossible. Still, Calvin seems to be in quite a hurry. What's he thinking, stealing mass-produced units from me?"

If he's trying to reduce my military strength, it's a frankly terrible move.

I never intended to have my junior disciples participate in this war in the first place, and they wouldn't want to join anyway, since they're currently obsessed with Yasuyuki-kun.

It's a failure in terms of reducing my forces, and if he forcibly confiscates them through the Empire, there will be those who push back.

Not to protect me, of course.

The nobles will start making a fuss, paranoid that their own assets might be seized one day.

Kukri answered my question.

"We've been gathering information on the Capital Planet, and he's been acting quite recklessly. We're seeing moves unlike anything the Calvin Faction has done before."

"Is it to go all-out in this war?"

"Yes. However, the main reason is that Calvin is being cornered. Lord Liam, there is something I wish to report to you."

"What is it?"

◇

The Capital Planet.

Emerging from the room of the palace's master was Calvin, looking utterly exhausted.

Calvin's knights, who had been waiting outside the room, approached to support him, but he refused their help.

"Don't bother."

"But you'll collapse at this rate."

"It's fine. If I'm seen being supported, it will only give some people the wrong idea."

After steadying his breath, Calvin began to walk, recalling his meeting with the Emperor of the Algrand Empire—【Bagrada Noah Algrand】.

(Father has changed since his accession to the throne. He used to be a kind man, but now there's not even a trace of that left.)

In Calvin's childhood memories, there was the image of a gentle father.

However, upon ascending to the throne, his father became a different person.

(I suppose the Imperial throne carries that much pressure.)

Overwhelmed by the aura he felt during their meeting, just speaking to him drained his spirit and stamina.

Calvin had trained himself, but there was an intimidating presence that his level of training couldn't counter.

A worried knight asked him a question.

"Why did His Majesty the Emperor summon you, Your Highness the Crown Prince?"

Asked the reason for the sudden summons, Calvin answered as he walked.

He walked briskly, as if to shake off his hesitation.

"If I lose the proxy war, the position of Crown Prince will be given to Cleo. And—it seems my person will be entrusted to Count Banfield."

Hearing this, the color drained from the knights' faces.

To be entrusted to Liam, with whom he had clashed so many times, meant that Liam could do as he pleased with Calvin.

Not in a lewd sense, but in the sense that Liam would be free to vent all his accumulated grudges.

Sent to the enemy faction, Calvin might, in the worst-case scenario, come to regret being alive.

"I-is it because of the confiscation? Your Highness, isn't it possible that Cleo has betrayed you?"

"There's no point thinking about it now. All we need to think about is winning."

(That's right. I have no other choice.)

Calvin thought of his wife and children—his family.

(If I fail, my family will be eliminated as well. That, and that alone, I must prevent at all costs.)

Just then, a nobleman came running up to Calvin.

He was a noble from the Calvin Faction, and his expression was bright.

"Good news, Your Highness!"

◇

"Dammit all!!"

Enraged on the bridge of the battleship, Marie let out a roar and kicked her own chair, destroying it.

The scene visible on the monitor was the wreckage of the Cleo Faction's fleet.

A terrified operator sought confirmation from Marie.

"W-we've confirmed a distress signal. B-beginning rescue operations now."

"Hurry up!"

The reason for Marie's irritation was that the enemy had outmaneuvered them, and an allied fleet had been defeated.

She had rushed to provide aid, but she hadn't made it in time, and the enemy had escaped.

"Don't screw with me! That minced-meat woman, Christiana!!"

Those around Marie were completely put off as she repeatedly hacked at the broken chair with her great-hatchet, venting her stress.

The reason for Marie's fury was that Tia was the one in overall command.

In other words, she was frustrated at having to clean up Tia's mess.

And since she had failed, her frustration only grew.

Marie's adjutant looked on with an exasperated expression and tried to placate her.

"Please calm down. This wasn't your failure, Lady Marie."

"I'm the one who has to report to Lord Liam that the rescue didn't make it in time! Are you telling me to just endure that?! I'll never forgive betraying Lord Liam's expectations because of that minced-meat's blunder!"

The adjutant shrugged, but a faint smile played on his lips.

"Isn't this a convenient turn of events? You can just kick her down and take your place by Lord Liam's side, Lady Marie."

"—I suppose you're right. We'll head back as soon as the rescue is complete. I have to report the minced-meat's failure to Lord Liam."

"That would be best. We haven't had a single good showing since the war began."

—Several months had passed since the start of the war, but the Cleo Faction continued to suffer defeats.

Overall, they were only being pushed back slightly, but if these failures continued, Liam's reputation would suffer.

Marie couldn't stand that, and she bit her thumbnail.

"—Still, it's strange for that woman to misread the situation this badly."

Marie usually saw Tia as an enemy, but she still acknowledged her skill.

The adjutant pointed out that the enemy might have a skilled commander.

"The enemy must have skilled commanders as well. Besides, the Calvin Faction has their backs against the wall. Isn't that why they're showing such strong unity?"

"That might be part of it. But my intuition is screaming at me. It's telling me there's someone leaking information to their side."

She suspected a spy, but the adjutant wasn't particularly surprised.

"That's to be expected. We should have sent some of our own, too."

"I believe the traitor is close to Lord Liam. —Investigate Theodor thoroughly."

Marie's intuition sensed Theodor's betrayal.

◇

Meanwhile.

Having suffered repeated defeats as rescue failed to arrive in time, Tia hung her head before Liam.

Her face was pale, and she was breaking out in a cold sweat.

Standing beside Liam and watching her, Theodor couldn't help but laugh inwardly at the pathetic state of the female knight who, despite being a vassal's retainer, received better treatment than he did.

"It's been several months since the war began. How does it feel to pile up losses, Miss Christiana?"

As Theodor spoke, Tia lifted her head and glared at him.

Overwhelmed by Tia's hatred, Theodor took a step back.

"W-what's with that look?! You don't seem to feel any responsibility. Behead her at once!"

It was Liam who stopped Theodor's words.

"Tia is my knight. You have no say in the matter."

Annoyed at having the obvious pointed out, Theodor, in his capacity as military inspector, rebuked Liam.

"Then who will take responsibility? His Highness Cleo is disappointed in our army's continued defeats."

(Well, I'm the one leaking your information, though.)

Theodor made a vulgar face in his mind, but he noticed the gaze of Klaus, who was standing on the other side of Liam, and composed himself.

(—Still, what is he thinking, not deploying his prized knight? This female knight may be first-rate, but she's surely inferior to Klaus.)

Some time had passed since the war began, but Liam still hadn't deployed Klaus.

Klaus merely stood by Liam's side, coordinating things overall.

To Theodor, it didn't seem as if Klaus was using his skills to their full potential.

(Does not deploying Klaus mean he's still not serious? Is he just letting his younger knights gain experience?)

Theodor tried to guess Liam's thoughts, but he couldn't help but feel unnerved by Klaus, who would occasionally glance his way.

He didn't say anything, just watched silently—which made Theodor afraid, as if his betrayal had been seen through.

(This man is dangerous, after all. If it weren't for him, I could have sent Liam to his death long ago.)

He was leaking information to the enemy to try and make Liam lose, but he hadn't achieved any significant results.

◇

The unpleasant time was over.

Klaus returned to his room, finished up some miscellaneous tasks, and then took out his favorite stomach medicine from his desk drawer.

"Haaah, can't Lord Theodor the military inspector be a little more mild-mannered with his words? I'm sure it's frustrating to keep losing, but at this rate, we'll never be able to come together."

Because Theodor would interject about everything, the fleet lacked cohesion.

"Should I say something about that other thing? No, but if I do, it might embarrass him..."

There was something about Theodor that was bothering Klaus.

It was—

"But telling him 'you have a nose hair sticking out' would surely be embarrassing. I'm torn about whether to point it out subtly. I wish someone else would say it. Lord Liam doesn't even really look at Lord Theodor's face."

—The cause was Theodor's nose hair.

It wasn't normally visible, but when he sneered at people, his nostrils would flare, revealing the nose hair.

Ever since noticing it, Klaus couldn't stop thinking about it.

He just couldn't get Theodor off his mind.

Whether or not to point out the nose hair—for Klaus, it was a difficult problem.

"If Lord Liam noticed, he'd say something, but Lord Theodor doesn't make that face in front of him."

He considered just giving him a nose hair trimmer, but it was easy to predict that the prideful Theodor would get angry about it.

Klaus agonized.

"—Why has my fixed position become Lord Liam's side? If I weren't standing next to him, I never would have noticed."

He was just handling miscellaneous duties, yet he wondered why the spot next to Liam had somehow become treated as his fixed position.

He knew he was Liam's head knight, but he felt it was an overestimation of his abilities.

"Ah~, this stomach medicine really soothes the soul."

Just as he took his favorite stomach medicine and was about to turn in for the night, he received a summons.

"Who could it be at this hour? —L-Lord Liam?!"

Klaus had been summoned by Liam.