"The enemy fleet is starting to crumble? If something has changed... what is Lord Liam's status!?"

Tia, who was engaged with the enemy's left-wing fleet, sensed that something pivotal had occurred and immediately ordered a status check.

As the bridge crew scrambled to assess the situation, a communications officer turned and reported.

"Lord Liam has returned to the Argos! The Avid's damage is minor, and Lord Liam himself has returned to the bridge unharmed!"

Hearing this, Tia breathed a sigh of relief.

"As expected of Lord Liam... is what I'd like to say, but this time, my blood ran cold."

Released from the tension that had been building, a wave of exhaustion washed over Tia.

Claudia stepped in to support her.

"I imagine it was a great strain, but our enemies are still resisting. It may be too soon to let your guard down."

"Yes, you're right. Just as you say, Claudia."

Tia took a deep breath, her expression hardening, and addressed the bridge crew.

"Hurry and get a grasp of the situation. There must be movement in the other fleets as well."

If Liam had returned safely, it meant the matter was settled.

It wouldn't be surprising if the effects had rippled out to other areas.

Sure enough, good news came in from the other fleets.

"A report from the main force! His Excellency Klaus, leading the fleet of Knight Number 4 that circled to the rear, has successfully executed a pincer attack on the enemy's main body with our allies!"
"The left-wing fleet has begun its pursuit of the enemy!"
"The fleet of Knight Number 3 has joined... no, is fighting alongside His Excellency Klaus's fleet."

Tia's face soured at this report.

The reason was Marie, who commanded the left-wing fleet.

While they were struggling to break through the enemy's left-wing fleet led by Eljin, Marie had already defeated the enemy general and even begun her pursuit.

In addition, Klaus was in the process of crushing the enemy's main force with a pincer attack.

Looking only at the results, Tia's fleet had the fewest military achievements.

"Putting Lord Klaus aside, it's frustrating to have lost to Marie as well."

Claudia, standing beside Tia, displayed data on Eljin and spoke.

"He seems to be a knight who specializes in fleet command. Just pushing him this far is a great victory in itself."

The enemy was a knight whose name would go down in the Empire's history.

Even being told that trying to defeat such an opponent put her on the same level as a great figure who would be etched in history, Tia herself was not convinced.

"That applies to the others as well."

Just as Tia began to wonder how to break Eljin's formation, a report from the communications officer made her frown.

"Lady Tia, the commander of the enemy's left-wing fleet is offering to surrender."

Hearing that, Tia let out a small sigh.

"...A good decision. Accept their surrender. However! Relay the order to immediately destroy any ship that shows the slightest resistance. Don't let your guard down."

Claudia interjected regarding Tia's decision.

"You're not going to crush them completely?"

"Our opponents are the Imperial Army, not a bunch of space pirates. Going too far will only breed resentment."

In the future, they would need to incorporate the Imperial forces defending the borders. If word got out that they had crushed them completely and refused their surrender, it would be a blow to the Banfield family.

Tia readily accepted Eljin's surrender, but she didn't forget to warn her allies not to lower their guard.

Claudia also seemed to support this decision, but she had apparently asked just to be sure.

"I'm relieved to see you're your usual calm self, Lady Tia. I was a little worried you might deal with them the same way you do with space pirates."

"If these were space pirates, I would have annihilated them... From now on, we'll have to hunt down pirates throughout the entire former Empire."

A dangerous glint shone in Tia's eyes.

Tia vowed that once they had seized all the territories of the Empire, she would annihilate every last space pirate.

◇

"Where is His Majesty the Emperor!"

In the palace on the capital planet, the Prime Minister was shouting, pressing the Royal Guard knights.

However, the Royal Guard knights responded to the Prime Minister with expressionless faces.

"His Majesty the Emperor has given orders that no one is to approach him, as he is attending to a sacred matter. We cannot reveal His Majesty's whereabouts, not even to you."

The Prime Minister's face twitched at the Royal Guard's response.

"Nonsense... At a time like this, when the Empire is on the verge of defeat, what could this 'sacred matter' be? Bring His Majesty here at once! If we remain on the capital planet, we'll be captured by the Banfield family, and the Empire will truly be destroyed!"

In the Prime Minister's mind, the Empire had not yet lost... but without Bagrada, it was all meaningless.

"Enough! I won't rely on you."
(Could it be? Even at a time like this, he's in that place?)

A place where Bagrada might be came to the Prime Minister's mind, and as he instinctively started to move, the Royal Guard knights blocked his path.

The Prime Minister was surrounded.

"What are you doing!"

"We will not allow you to disturb His Majesty."

And so, the Prime Minister was led away by the Royal Guard knights.

"You fools, loyal to a fault! Don't you understand how critical this situation is!"

The Prime Minister's shouts echoed through the lavish palace corridors.

◇

Meanwhile, a fierce battle was also raging within the palace.

On the rooftop of a certain building, two similar groups faced each other.

One was the Banfield family's black ops unit, led by Kukuri... the other was the black ops group that had supported Graham for many years.

Kukuri watched the figures of his kinsmen with great interest.

"Hmm... You're different from the group that merely stole our techniques. We fought several times on our way here, and it was an extremely difficult struggle... Could you perhaps be our kinsmen?"

The leader of the opposing side... Kukuri... the current leader, spoke.

"Unlike you, who were sealed away two thousand years ago, our ancestors swore loyalty to Lord Graham. And I am the Kukuri of this generation."

Kukuri was the name passed down through generations of leaders.

Kukuri scratched his head with his long fingernails.

"Well, that's a problem. I have no intention of stepping down, so I still consider myself active. Allowing you to use the name Kukuri would damage my dignity."

Faced with the chuckling Kukuri, the current leader readied his weapon.

"You all went on too much of a rampage. Shadows should have remained in the shadows, but you rampaged so flamboyantly that our name became known to the public... This time, we won't seal you. We will dispose of all of you right here."

At these words, Kukuri glanced at his subordinates and shrugged.

He had no recollection of what the current leader was talking about.

"My, my, we've been made out to be quite the villains, haven't we~"

Kunai, who was beside him, was also laughing.

"I believe the one responsible for spreading our name is none other than Graham, who used us so extensively."

The other subordinates were also cackling with laughter.

Kukuri took a stance, facing the current leader.

"It would be cruel to make you atone for the sin of betraying your kinsmen... but if you side with that fool and still serve the Emperor, then we have no choice but to kill you. Oh, and don't worry. We won't toy with your corpses; we'll be thoroughly investigating them to see what kind of techniques this generation of kinsmen has acquired."

The current leader replied to Kukuri.

"If I get my hands on the corpses of kinsmen from over two thousand years ago, I'll display them as specimens. You should be honored."

The two groups moved at once, and a fierce battle began.

◇

In a room in the palace, a group of maids had gathered.

Among them was Celina, dressed in plain clothes, being attended to by the surrounding maids.

As she took a sip of the expensive drink that had been brought to her, Celina looked up at the head maid.

"You've improved your skills quite a bit, Cattleya."

"Thank you, Grandmother."

The maids gathered in the room were all related by blood.

Most of them were Celina's granddaughters and great-granddaughters, all currently serving as maids in the palace.

There were even young great-great-granddaughters who were apprentices.

The one leading them was the eldest, Cattleya, who served as the head maid.

Cattleya had previously served as Rosetta's tutor and was a person with ties to the Banfield family.

And Celina, until recently, had been teaching etiquette in the Banfield household while also acting as a spy, feeding information to the Prime Minister.

Celina spoke.

"Still, I never thought I'd see a day like this. It was completely unexpected that the Banfield family would not only bare its fangs at the Empire but also bring about its end."

Letting out a deep sigh, Celina felt a pang of guilt as she looked at the many granddaughters and great-granddaughters surrounding her.

Celina herself had been the one to drill the maids' code of conduct into them, repeatedly telling them to serve their master to the very end and fulfill their duties, even in a crisis.

As a result, her granddaughters, great-granddaughters, and even great-great-granddaughters had all remained in the palace.

She could have escaped on her own, and the Prime Minister had even told her to flee.

However, she couldn't bring herself to leave the capital planet and abandon her descendants.

Celina asked Cattleya.

"Cattleya, what would you do if I told you all to run?"

Cattleya glanced at the anxious apprentices before answering Celina's question.

"The apprentices are not official maids, so we would be grateful if you would take them and escape, Grandmother."

"...So, in the end, you all intend to stay. It seems I made a mistake in your education."

Even if she alone survived, it would be meaningless if her descendants were gone.

Celina felt ashamed of herself for having so firmly believed that the Empire would never fall.

Just then, the door was thrown open violently.

Standing there were what appeared to be members of a black ops unit, covered in wounds as if they had just finished a fierce battle.

"Oh? What have we here? A bunch of maids."
"I thought only combatants were left. Didn't they evacuate?"
"They're fools who didn't think they'd lose. Let's cut them to pieces."

Faced with the highly sadistic black ops members, Celina stood up and stepped forward.

"May I ask your affiliation? ...Just in case."

One of the black ops members cackled.

This one also seemed to be young.

"We're the ones who handle the Banfield family's black ops. Can you understand that? If you can, then be our playthings."

"...So you people are in a position to move about freely, is that it?"

The Banfield family's agents were already moving freely within the palace.

This meant that the battle was all but over, with the Empire's defeat.

As the black ops members, weapons in hand, were about to close in on Celina... a female black ops member descended from the ceiling.

The female operative, who appeared as if phasing through the ceiling, was missing an arm, and there were signs of emergency first aid.

She then glared at the young black ops members.

"You idiots. Check the list of protected individuals before you do your job. And I believe I told you there would be no 'playing' with non-combatants."

The young black ops members cowered when the woman spoke.

"Big Sis Kunai..."
"...That's Celina and Cattleya. They're designated for protection."
"So, we can kill the others, right? They're holding brooms and stuff, so can't we just classify them as combatants?"

Kunai let out a small sigh at the young ones' reaction and turned to Celina.

"Our acquaintance has been rather one-sided, but it's been a while, Lady Celina. I have orders to treat you with care."

"...You're from the Banfield family's black ops, aren't you? I'm glad there's someone I can reason with. I don't care what happens to me, but what if I asked you to save these girls?"

Putting aside herself, who had been a spy, she wanted to save Cattleya and the others at the very least.

Kunai gestured with her eyes for the young black ops members to leave the room, and then spoke about the fate of Cattleya and the others.

"We have orders from Lady Rosetta not to take the lives of non-combatants. You, included, will be evacuated on a ship we have prepared."

"Me, included? Liam Sera Banfield is a soft man. He must have forgiven this old hag because Lady Rosetta pleaded with him."

At those words, Kunai released a wave of killing intent.

"Don't get cocky, former tutor... It was Lord Liam himself who decided to let you live. We requested your execution for being a spy, but that was the one thing he would not approve."

Hearing this, Celina's face showed a flicker of surprise, but she quickly regained her composure.

"...He really is a soft man. To think the Empire is being destroyed because it cornered a man like that... His Highness the Crown Prince's sin is a heavy one indeed."

Celina couldn't help but blame Cleo for making Liam, a man soft enough to spare her life, resolve to overthrow the Empire.

Kunai spoke curtly.

"If you don't want to die, come quickly. You will all be given front-row seats to witness the fall of the Empire. Aren't you lucky... you get to be living witnesses to a great moment in history."