The party venue.

Forced into a dress, Marion's face was twisted in discomfort.

“—You’ve really done it now.”

Her usual androgynous impression had vanished; now, she stood here as a beautiful woman.

The lovely dress was one Liam had prepared.

It wasn't to Marion's taste, and she rarely wore skirts in the first place. She usually wore suits because she preferred them.

At the party, Liam was chatting amiably with the guests he had invited.

It was infuriating to watch the smug Liam as he was showered with praise for the construction of the magnificent spaceport.

(I was so close to seeing the position of family head within my grasp.)

Marion had been born a woman. But she had been aiming to become the head of the Olgren Viscount House. Or rather, she had been.

The Margrave, the head of the main family line, would surely never acknowledge her as the head.

The Margrave spoke to Marion without even looking at her.

“I sent you to the Capital Planet to secure support from influential nobles. Who told you to get involved in the succession dispute at the capital?”

Initially, Marion's job was to secure support from influential nobles. However, Marion had gotten greedy.

“—But if I cooperated with Liam, I would have been dragged into the succession dispute.”

“The Capital Planet isn't so idle as to meddle in the border regions. You should have ignored the succession dispute and targeted other influential nobles. You get yourself into trouble because you harbor ambitions beyond your station.”

The reason Marion betrayed Liam was to curry favor in the Capital Planet's succession dispute and, with that achievement, secure a promise of immense support from the main family line.

With that merit, Marion had intended to become the head of the Viscount House.

She had been searching for a path to gain support not from Count Liam, but from the Empire itself.

However, the Margrave looked displeased.

“Thanks to you, we've secured support, but now we're indebted to the Banfield House. If anything happens, that man intends to use us.”

The Margrave didn't believe for a second that Liam was providing support out of pure goodwill. And, of course, Liam had no such intentions.

Everything Marion had been maneuvering for in the Capital Planet had come to nothing.

Spotting Liam leaving the venue, Marion hastily tried to follow him.

As those around her tried to stop her, she pleaded with the Margrave.

“Please give me one more chance.”

◇

I made a show of leaving the venue and waited in the hallway. Just as I expected, Marion, in her dress, came rushing out.

She noticed me waiting and, though surprised, tried to regain her composure.

“—Senior Liam, I need to talk to you.”

Leaning my back against the wall, I chuckled and decided to guess what Marion wanted to say.

“I know. You want to negotiate with me, right? About who's pulling the strings behind the scenes, or something like that. I'm not interested in what you want in return, but—unfortunately for you, I already know.”

“What?”

Marion seemed to think I was bluffing.

“If you're going to say it's the Langran family, you're wrong.”

The Langran family was behind Marion—but there was someone behind them, too.

Marion was probably aware of that much, but what I wanted to know was the true mastermind behind even them.

“Is a pawn like you only told about Lady Annabel at most? Well, if you think about it, Prince Cleo's name would probably come up too.”

Since Cleo had approved my transfer to the frontier, it was an easy conclusion to reach.

However, the reason I came all the way out to a place like this was to identify the mastermind.

I had thought it was Calvin, but he's an honor student, so the possibility was low.

Marion had a look of astonishment on her face.

“You knew?”

“I was investigating who was behind Lady Annabel. Well, I've reached my conclusion. So? Who did you think the mastermind was? Oh, and it's not Prince Cleo. In fact, I was the one who told him to approve this frontier assignment.”

“—W-Why?”

The information Marion held was worthless from the start.

“Why? Because it's convenient for me, obviously.”

In the first place, Cleo had consulted me about the Langran family.

I walked past the downcast Marion.

“It's your own fault for thinking you could outsmart me. If you had just followed my orders, you might have become the head of the Viscount House—what a real shame.”

My words triggered something in Marion, and she lunged at me to strike.

I stepped back to dodge it, and then—from the ceiling, walls, and floor—black shadows leaped out, restraining Marion and holding knives to her.

It was Kukri's clan.

Kukri slowly emerged from my shadow.

Seeing Kukri and his people, Marion's eyes widened.

“A-A black ops unit?”

She seemed shocked by the sight of the highly skilled Kukri and his clan.

While they had struggled during the conflict with Calvin, they possessed skills that set them far apart from others.

“Don't kill her. Send her back to the party.”

That would probably be more painful for Marion.

◇

Around that time.

The details of the fleet led by Liam were relayed to Calvin's faction.

However, the problem wasn't Liam, but his subordinate.

Calvin narrowed his eyes.

“Klaus—so Liam's right-hand man is here.”

It was no surprise that Calvin held Klaus in high regard. After all, during the large-scale war against the United Kingdom—Klaus had served as the acting supreme commander.

Those who hadn't participated in that war believed that Klaus had taken command in place of Liam and Cleo.

A stir ran through the nobles of Calvin's faction.

“He's the man who cornered the United Kingdom in a short period of time.”

“I hear he crushed them mercilessly and thoroughly.”

“If he's brought a man like that, does he seriously intend to target us?”

Klaus's reputation had grown more among his enemies than his allies.

Calvin broke into a cold sweat at the thought of Klaus being in the rear.

(With such a brilliant strategist in the rear, our allies will be too wary to fight effectively.)

Even Calvin couldn't predict what kind of move a strategist of Klaus's caliber would make.

After all, this was the man who had led a war, expected to be long and drawn-out, to victory in a short time.

Moreover, he had disposed of nobles from Calvin's faction on the battlefield during that time.

To Calvin and his followers, Klaus was an extremely dangerous knight. Furthermore, they couldn't even try to recruit him for his competence.

Too many nobles from Calvin's faction had been killed by him, and the faction would never allow him to be brought into their fold.

As Calvin and the others agreed to strengthen their vigilance towards the rear, a group of young nobles gathered in a corner of the conference room.

◇

“His Highness the Crown Prince is too afraid of Liam!”

The young nobles gathered around a table were indignant, believing Calvin's stance against Liam was too weak-kneed.

They were either young heads who had just inherited their houses or representatives sent by great nobles.

A foppish noble, fiddling with his bangs, made a suggestion.

“Rather than let Liam do as he pleases, don't you think it would be interesting to pit him against the Hegemony Kingdom?”

At that suggestion, the young nobles exchanged glances.

“But that's a plan His Highness the Crown Prince rejected.”

“We won't be so foolish as to go through official channels. We'll lure the Hegemony Kingdom, show them a weak point, and let them break through. If we delay sending reinforcements, they'll tear through and get inside.”

Hearing the foppish noble's proposal, one of them seemed to understand.

“So the bait will have to fight for real? We're not going to tell them?”

“They have instincts like beasts. It's better if the ones fighting desperately are the bait.”

That meant sacrificing their own allies.

The plan that Calvin had rejected was about to be put into motion by the young nobles.

Present in such a place was—the Guide.

“If they'll lead me to Liam's location, that's perfect. I'll inform Gudwar and have him send his favorite prince on the attack. Hah, if I leave it to these guys, they'll act without any groundwork and Calvin will find out immediately. —Shall I run some interference?”

To grant Gudwar's wish, the Guide decided to assist the young nobles' plan and provide cover so that Calvin wouldn't find out.

Watching the excited young nobles, the Guide was unimpressed.

“—Do they really think something like this will be enough to deal with Liam? What a bunch of useless fools.”

Watching the nobles, who had no doubt that their plan would succeed, the Guide could only feel exasperated.

◇

On the bridge of the Gudwar Hegemony Kingdom's flagship.

Gudwar, feeling a sense of dissatisfaction, was waiting for the Guide's return.

As he wondered if his favorite, Izel, would take to the battlefield, the bridge came alive with information brought in by the Hegemony's spies.

Even Izel was excited.

“Klaus? Klaus Sera Mont is on the battlefield!?”

Klaus's name was known even to Izel, but this information had been obtained not from the Empire, but via the United Kingdom.

Izel's subordinates were also agitated.

“I heard he's the champion who crushed the United Kingdom.”

“I heard he was a strategist?”

“It matters not which. A man like that must have powerful warriors under his command.”

Klaus—the man who had utterly defeated the United Kingdom.

At the appearance of this named individual, even Izel couldn't hide his excitement.

“I was thinking Calvin's head alone would be unsatisfying, but if there's a big shot like that, it's a different story. So, where is this Lord Klaus!”

The spy reported the information they had gathered.

“No, he is not on the front lines, but at a base currently under construction in the rear.”

“Not on the front lines? Why? A knight of Lord Klaus's caliber would normally be sent to the very front, would he not?”

From the Hegemony's perspective, Klaus was more suited to be the supreme commander than Calvin.

They couldn't believe that Klaus wasn't leading a fleet.

The spy reported the location.

“He is positioned in the rear of a fleet with unusually light defenses.”

Upon hearing this, Izel seemed to have an epiphany.

“—So that's it. He plans to lure us in and crush us.”

He was deliberately luring the Hegemony's fleet to draw them deeper inside.

The staff officer cracked his neck.

“So waiting for us where we're lured is Klaus, the man who defeated the United Kingdom. —Not a bad plan. Prince Izel, what are your orders?”

Izel closed his eyes and smiled, then opened them wide.

He thrust his right hand forward.

“It's decided! If it's a trap, we'll just have to tear through it!”

As if to say, “We don't need a strategy!” Izel ordered a full-on assault, and his surroundings—erupted in a frenzy of excitement.

Gudwar, observing the scene on the bridge, also wriggled his octopus-like legs in delight.

“Fufu—fufufu! So there was such a strong man. Liam, Klaus—the Empire has plenty of strong ones, doesn't it? This will be fun~”

The thought of Izel fighting Liam and Klaus from now on thrilled Gudwar.

Hundreds of millions would likely die again.

And that was something Gudwar—couldn't wait for.

◇

Planet Augur Spaceport.

Klaus, working in his office, felt a strange chill.

“I've been feeling these strange chills lately. Am I just tired?”

Though tormented by Liam's unreasonable demands, Klaus's normal days were mostly spent finishing his work diligently.

That day, too, was about to end as another ordinary day.

But lately, a strange, unpleasant feeling had persisted.

“Hah, is it because I've been assigned to a planet so close to the front lines? I want to go home soon.”

Klaus, who had never wanted to become the Head Knight in the first place, prayed for peaceful days to continue without incident.

He was well aware that his own abilities were not particularly outstanding.

He didn't particularly enjoy fighting and found it unbelievable that he was serving as the Head Knight for the Banfield family.

“I can go back once Lord Liam's training period is over, so just three more years—no, if nothing happens for just two more years, I can return safely.”

He had wondered what would happen when Liam announced he was going to the frontier, but this time, Klaus was relieved that it seemed likely to end peacefully.

However, the ominous feeling just wouldn't disappear.

“—Time to get to work.”

As he was thinking of finishing his work and leaving on time, a report came in from a subordinate.

“Lord Klaus, the Gudwar Hegemony Kingdom's fleet is on the move! They've mobilized a massive fleet towards Planet Augur!”

Klaus's gaze drifted into the distance.

(Ah, so this was the ominous feeling.)

To his subordinate, this attitude made him seem like a calm and composed Head Knight.

He wore a look that said, “Wow, the Head Knight is so cool, staying calm even when a huge fleet is heading our way!”

“I will report to Lord Liam myself. Hasten preparations for the army's deployment. And don't forget to gather intelligence.”

“Sir!”

Though inwardly devastated, Klaus still did his job.

Brian (´；ω；｀): "I went on a business trip to Mishima Yomu's notepad, and now my afterword section has been hijacked. It's painful."

Wakagi-chan ( ゜∀゜): "It's your fault for showing an opening! 'Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs Volume 6' is now on sale in both regular and limited editions! The limited edition comes with a drama CD, so please enjoy it!"

Wakagi-chan (´∀｀*): "The 23rd chapter of the manga adaptation will be updated in the first week of next month, so you might want to check out chapter 22 before then. Volume 4 of the manga, with Mylene on the cover, is now available for pre-order. Please buy this one too!"