Planet Augur.

The planet, which had once been terribly mistreated by a magistrate dispatched from the Empire, had undergone significant development.

It had become a crucial base in the war against the Kingdom of Dominion, and vast sums of money were being invested in its development.

Resource satellites were brought in, and mining operations proceeded alongside the construction of bases.

The spaceport continued to expand, attracting merchants from all over the Empire.

They diligently gathered goods for the Imperial army fighting the Kingdom of Dominion.

When you have people, money, and goods, development is inevitable, whether you like it or not.

In a conference room prepared in the spaceport.

There, I was receiving a report.

"Our forces have been drastically reduced to half their original number."

Klaus was giving the report as their representative, but Tia and Marie, standing on either side of him, were pale-faced.

After all, looking at the results alone, it was a defeat for the Banfield family.

"We inflicted considerable damage on the Kingdom of Dominion as well, so overall, it's a draw. However, the Banfield family's losses are too great."

Klaus's words, blaming me, were entirely reasonable.

"I understand. I have no intention of blaming you for this matter."

Klaus began to speak about the future.

"Our army will be unable to move for some time. Reorganization will take a while."

"I'm leaving it to you and Tia. I'm returning to my domain."

"Huh?"

Klaus was taken aback by the Supreme Commander's announcement that he was returning to his territory.

"I said I'm going back. As soon as the funerals are over, I'm returning to my domain. The Argos needs maintenance and resupply, so I'll use Marie's fleet. I'll take the wounded back with me, too. —You will act as my substitute."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

Forcing the role of Acting Supreme Commander onto Klaus, I stood up from my seat.

Facing the three bewildered individuals, I felt a little heavy-hearted.

"—We didn't make it in time."

As I let out a small sigh, Klaus looked at the two people standing a short distance away.

Rinho and Fuuka's cheeks were red from where I had slapped them.

"Lord Liam, are you not taking them back with you?"

I shot a sharp glance at the two who tensed up as the topic shifted to them.

"Lazy fools like them have no right to meet the Master. —I'm leaving the defense of this place to these two. Klaus, you can use them as you see fit. If they complain, report it to me. I'll teach them a lesson myself."

Both Rinho and Fuuka trembled slightly at my anger-filled words.

For the Issen-ryu style, winning is a given.

I heard they fought well against Aluna's Arachne, but failing to secure a victory makes them a disgrace to the Issen-ryu.

As I approached them, both looked down in frustration.

"Don't bring shame upon the Master in the next battle."

With only those words, I turned my back on them.

◇

Having returned to the Banfield family's capital planet, Marie was moving through the corridors of the mansion with Liam.

In an open-car-like vehicle, the two headed for an area where facilities like the hospital were concentrated.

Marie was puzzled.

"Lord Liam, what business do we have here?"

"Hm? Rosetta."

"Lady Rosetta? Has something happened to Lady Rosetta?!"

Marie turned pale, realizing that something significant enough to make Liam return to his domain in the middle of a war was happening at the mansion.

Had something happened to Rosetta? Her fears were confirmed.

"That's right."

Liam, looking perfectly calm, didn't seem concerned about Rosetta's well-being.

Perhaps this was the proper demeanor for a nobleman, for someone who stands above others.

However, Marie found it painful to see.

Marie had heard from Rosetta about her feelings for Liam.

It wasn't a political marriage; there was real love there.

Marie's honest feeling was that she wished he would show just a little more concern.

When the two arrived at Rosetta's room and got out of the vehicle, Brian, who had been waiting, rushed over.

Then, he collapsed to his knees before Liam, crying.

"Why—why couldn't you have come sooner—"

Brian often cried, but his state today was different from usual.

This fueled Marie's anxiety.

Normally, she wouldn't interject, but today Marie was different.

"Lord Brian, what in the world happened?"

"Lady Rosetta—Lady Rosetta!"

As Brian uttered Rosetta's name, Marie broke out in a cold sweat.

While she was imagining the worst, Liam walked past Brian.

Seeing his slightly exasperated expression, Marie clung to him.

"Lord Liam, why—how can you be so calm? Is Lady Rosetta nothing more than that to you?!"

Liam narrowed his eyes and shook Marie off.

"—Let go."

Shaken off, Marie collapsed to the floor, and just as she was about to cry—the door opened.

Rosetta was standing there.

"Darling, welcome home! Oh, my? Marie, why are you crying?"

"Huh?!"

Rosetta, dressed in her nightgown, appeared perfectly healthy to Marie.

Liam, for his part, tilted his head in confusion.

"I don't know. More importantly, that—"

As Liam hesitated, Rosetta smiled and invited him into the room.

Marie couldn't comprehend the scene and looked at the crying Brian.

"Lord Brian? Lady Rosetta seems fine, doesn't she?"

"This Brian never said that Lady Rosetta was unwell, did I? Oh, how this Brian has longed for this dayyyyy!!"

Brian started crying again.

Perhaps in response to his voice, a cry could be heard from inside the room.

It was the cry of a baby.

"Wha-kyaaaaaaah!!"

Letting out an incredible shriek of surprise, Marie leaped to her feet and rushed into the room.

◇

Inside Rosetta's room.

Next to the large bed, a small bed had been prepared.

Besides the maids, there were several nurses.

Though unseen, members of the black ops, Kukuri's subordinates, were also stationed there.

And Amagi was there as well.

When she saw me, she closed her eyes and lowered her head slightly, but when she raised it, she seemed to be smiling gently.

Rosetta went to the small bed and picked up the baby.

"Darling, it's our child."

Rosetta, her maternal instincts awakened, smiled happily as she held the child.

When I peered at the face of the baby in her arms, it had stopped crying.

In my previous life, I would have shed tears of emotion—but my first thought was the question, 'Is this really my child?'

This is the child of me, the man who rose to become the greatest aristocrat in the Empire.

There's absolutely no room for another man to have gotten involved.

I understood that, but at this moment, I felt nothing but anxiety.

Rosetta urged me to hold the baby.

"Here, Darling."

"Mm."

When I took and held the baby, it looked at me sleepily.

"It's not fussy."

"It feels safe. More importantly, Darling, you seem used to holding a baby."

"Hm? I suppose so."

I never thought a moment would come where I could use the experience from my past life.

As I held the baby, Marie watched from a distance with an envious look.

And Brian was filming us.

"Lord Liam, please give us a bigger smile!"

"I refuse."

Saying that, I handed the baby back to Rosetta.

The sight of Rosetta holding the baby overlapped with the image of my wife from my past life.

No, my ex-wife.

—Even after climbing this far, even as I'm trying to destroy the Empire itself, my heart is still disturbed by unpleasant memories from my past life.

I feel pathetic myself.

"Rest for a while. I'll take care of your work. Marie, keep Rosetta company."

As I said that, Marie quickly moved to Rosetta's side.

"Leave it to me! Lady Rosetta, I'm so glad you're safe."

"Marie, you're so dramatic."

Liam turned his back on Rosetta and the baby and began to walk away.

◇

Rosetta watched my back with a lonely expression, but as I ignored her and tried to leave the room, Amagi approached me.

"Master, I must question your attitude just now."

"—What a pitiful child."

After leaving the room and moving to a place where Rosetta couldn't hear our conversation, I confessed my feelings to Amagi.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I said it's a poor, pitiful child."

"The young master was born into a ducal house and will lead a life more blessed than any commoner. Wouldn't people call this good fortune?"

"If his father wasn't me, he would have been a winner in life."

"Master?"

"I'm a great villain, you know."

Born into the Empire's number one ducal house.

And his mother is Rosetta.

So far, so good, but the unfortunate part is that his father is me, the Empire's greatest villain.

My poor child, born into the house of an evil lord.

It would have been better if he were someone else's child; then I wouldn't have to feel sorry for him.

Poor thing. Just by being my child, he will one day have to bear the burden of his father's evil deeds.

Amagi watched me in silence.

Her expression seemed somewhat sad, but I couldn't help but say it.

"—I sympathize with the child, but being born as my son was the end of his luck."

◇

Inside the room after Liam and Amagi had left.

Marie was shedding tears of joy, delighted for Rosetta who was holding the baby.

However, Rosetta looked lonely.

"I wonder if Darling isn't happy about the birth of our child?"

To dispel Rosetta's anxiety, Marie explained just how incredible it was for Liam to be here at all.

"That's not true at all! We're in the middle of a war with the Kingdom of Dominion. Normally, Lord Liam wouldn't be able to return until after the war. He forced his way back for this!"

"Do you think so?"

Brian, having finished filming, spoke to the dejected Rosetta.

"Lord Liam is also bewildered by his own child."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. —Lord Liam spent far too little time with his parents, you see. From a young age, he acted maturely and behaved as a lord. While he was reliable, looking back on it now, I feel terribly sorry."

His parents, who moved to the capital planet when Liam turned five.

Even before that, they had rarely spent time with Liam.

Brian smiled sadly.

"And now, such a Lord Liam has a young master of his own. This Brian is truly—truly—"

Brian covered his face with his hands and began to cry.

Rosetta brought her face close to the baby's.

Watching over them from a corner of the room was the spirit of a dog.

It had been watching over Rosetta and the baby the whole time to ensure the Guide didn't cause any trouble.

Originally—if one wanted to inflict mental damage on Liam, now would have been the perfect opportunity.

If something had happened to Rosetta or the baby, Liam would have suffered immense mental damage.

Its duty finished, the dog's spirit vanished from the room.

◇

Six months later.

The war between the Empire and the Kingdom had temporarily calmed down.

The reason was that both sides had suffered significant losses.

The Banfield family's fleet had been reduced to half its size, but the Kingdom of Dominion's territory was being ravaged by Liam.

The Kingdom of Dominion was also raiding Imperial territory, but it was of no concern to Liam.

As a result, a stalemate continued.

And then, Liam returned to Planet Augur with his fleet.

"We lost half our fleet six months ago, but it was worth it."

It was a meeting with all the senior officers.

Liam declared confidently, speaking about the Banfield army.

"In our haste to expand the military, we took on too many unnecessary people. It's fortunate that this war allowed us to weed out the useless ones."

The officers wore grim expressions as Liam treated the war with the Kingdom of Dominion as a mere culling process.

Among them, the ones who remained calm were the high-ranking officers, starting with Klaus.

Tia and Marie, on the other hand, even had faint smiles on their faces.

"I believe Lord Liam is correct. The fleet that Lord Klaus and I reorganized can certainly be called elite."

Tia, reporting that the soldiers' expressions had changed after experiencing real combat, was pleased that the Banfield army had regained its strength.

Marie commented that the riffraff had been eliminated.

"It was quite convenient that the incompetents are gone."

To say that after so many of their own allies had died.

While many were unable to accept this, Klaus offered his counsel to Liam.

"Even for a culling, I must say you went too far."

At Klaus's words, Liam gave a fearless smile.

"I wouldn't do this in peacetime either, but we don't have time. His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince are quite a problem."

Liam stood up from his chair, his expression turning serious.

The officers held their breath, struck by Liam's powerful aura.

"—A situation has arisen where it's not desirable for me to be away from my domain for a long period. We have no time to waste. This time, we're holding nothing back."

"Lord Liam, that's—"

When Klaus tried to stop him, Liam exuded an air that brooked no argument.

"We're sortieing."