Chapter 98
Chapter 98
“My motto is to add functionalities to dresses! They shouldn’t simply act as a piece of clothing.”
An amusing designer has arrived.
Once again, we’re ordering new dresses for the parties.
Having one or two designers didn’t prove to be enough, so I had to reach out to a lot of others.
This man happens to be one of them, and he’s the type of person that wants to add functionalities to dresses that will be thrown away after being worn once.
—What a fool.
“Please take a look at all these accessories! Normally, dresses will only have disposable energy-shield generators on them, but this dress has a proper one attached to it. Granted, it’s a bit heavier because of that, but it shouldn’t be too burdensome for aristocratic ladies such as yourselves.”
Aristocrats tend to attach trinkets to their dresses in fear of events such as assassination attempts.
However, most of these trinkets are for one-time use.
This is because the well-made ones are so expensive that they aren’t worth the price.
It’s wrong to assume that the same accessory can be worn on different dresses.
After all, dresses and their corresponding accessories are meant to be sets.
There’s nothing wrong with reusing things per say, but the idea that saving money is good disgusts villains like me to their core.
Rosetta and Ciel are listening to this man’s rant with blank expressions.
‘Functionality over usability!’
It’s clear that they don’t agree with this foolish designer’s ideology.
My request had been for disposable dresses, yet this man’s trying to shape them into combat suits.
But then again, idiots like him are just my cup of tea.
The rich and the wealthy exist to waste money after all.
…No, that’s not right.
I should be saying that evil lords exist to live luxurious lives using the tax that they had wrung out from their citizens.
This logic, of course, applies to these disposable dresses as well.
I applaud the man’s speech.
“Excellent! I like it very much.”
“T-thank you, my Lord!”
“I have an additional request for you. Amagi.”
“—Yes, Master.”
Amagi walks up to me from where she has been silently spectating, and I introduce her to the designer.
“She’s my Amagi, and I’m troubled by the fact that she’s always wearing her maid uniform. Don’t you think she needs dresses as well?”
The designer makes a troubled face.
The knights around us are ready to pull out their swords depending on how the designer responds.
If he ridicules Amagi, his life will be forfeit.
Fortunately, he seems to know this already.
“—I-I don’t have any experience tailoring dresses for androids. That said, as long as I’m provided adequate time and instruction, I’m sure I could make do somehow.”
Previously, there had been a designer who said in disdain that his shop “doesn’t deal with doll apparels”.
We had this conversation through a call, and I swore never to place an order from his shop again.
I was ready to butcher that man, but I gave up after Amagi convinced me otherwise.
She told me that he was a favorite of some aristocrat, so killing him would cause unnecessary trouble.
—Even so, she never said anything about taking revenge.
I’ll make sure to have my revenge after all the bothersome things have been taken care of.
I’ll just have to be discreet about it so that Amagi doesn’t notice.
For the time being, however, I should address the man in front of me.
“You don’t have to worry about the cost.”
Amagi stares at me disapprovingly.
“Master, I have no need for dresses.”
“This is an order.”
“—But…”
Rosetta joins in to persuade Amagi who’s making a difficult face.
You—You’re better than I thought.
“Amagi, isn’t it fine to wear a dress from time to time?”
“——Understood. However, a disposable dress is too wasteful, so I will take it upon myself to store it somewhere else.”
It worked!
Amagi agreed!
“Of course! ——You, you only have one chance. Make it count. Spend as much money as you need. I want the best possible masterpiece. Oh, but I won’t accept anything that’s overly flashy.”
“Y-yes, my Lord!”
A communication request arrives just as I’m watching the designer rush to his workstation.
—It’s from Brian.
“Liam-zamaaaaaaa!!”
How unpleasant. It sounds like he said “serves you right!” at point blank. [1]
Brian, if anyone else had said that, I would’ve had that person tortured.
“What’s wrong?”
“The demo—the demo has grown bigger!”
“Haah!? Didn’t I assign some people to deal with that!? Right, what happened to Eulisia!? I thought she was supposed to be capable!?”
Is she incapable of suppressing a single demo!?
◇
-At the Banfields’ territory-
Even today, demonstrations were being held on each planet.
“Does anyone want takoyaki~?”
“We have yakisoba here~”
“Take some fliers from us~”
Stalls were lined up at the sides to provide service to the large number of people present at the scene.
Soldiers were controlling traffic, and doctors were on standby.
“That’s not part of the course. You should return using the route you just took.”
“Excuse me, may I ask where the toilet is?”
“It’s over there.”
It was no different from a festival.
This came as a big shock to the leader of the democratization movement who had emigrated from the Integrated Government.
He had just recently graduated from college and was a fledgling with no experience working in society.
Having graduated from a good university, a bright future awaited him, but he got himself involved in the rebellion.
He was banking on gaining social status by cooperating with the rebels.
—However, the rebels were defeated.
By the flow of things, he arrived at the Empire.
Thereafter, fueled by his desire to make it big, he became the leader of the democratization movement.
The Banfield family employed a solid political system and was kind to its people.
He took advantage of that and carried out the democratization movement.
Certain that the Banfields would turn out to be just like any other aristocrats, he was intent on cracking them down and fighting them to the bitter end.
He also intended to nominate himself as the leader of the rebel’s army.
Luckily for him, there was a group that supported his cause.
Despite his status as an aristocrat, the head of the Banfield family was well-known to be someone who was kind to his people.
If he properly capitalized on this fact, he was confident that he would succeed.
And yet—
“Why aren’t words of our activities spreading at all!?”
—The demo had certainly grown, but the content of the demo had taken a turn for the worse.
The people parading around with placards weren’t advocating for democratization.
“Don’t forget to leave behind an heir!”
“Fulfill your duty as our lord!”
“Make Lady Rosetta happy!”
Liam, their lord, did not have any children.
A sense of crisis rose up as they knew that the Banfields were involved in the interstellar war.
In such a big war, their lord could die in a moment of carelessness.
The leader of the democratization movement was incensed by how rapidly the baby-making demo was spreading.
In contrast, their activities weren’t receiving any attention at all.
“Damn it! Don’t they realize that this is a chance!? A chance for them to fight for their rights in the dictatorial Empire!?”
Just as his colleagues were soothing him, a university student that had been listening to their conversation passed by with a placard that had drawings of babies.
The student appeared disgusted at the placards that they were holding on their hands which screamed democratization.
“Immigrants, yes? Have you properly done the paperwork and applied for whatever you’re demonstrating for? As you can see, we’re busy advocating for the baby-making demo, so can you go somewhere else?”
“We-we’re speaking on behalf of the people about their innate rights as human be—”
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Honestly, can you guys like, not? You’re causing trouble for the others in the territory.”
“Haaa!? You must be someone sent by the government! Otherwise, there’s no way that you wouldn’t want to fight for you rights! You must be the lord’s spy!”
The college student calmly rebutted the leader’s furious accusations.
“No, I’m just an ordinary citizen. I’ve recently returned from studying abroad, but that’s not what’s important right now. Do you not know anything about the Empire?”
“As in?”
“Democratization movements are a hassle to deal with, so aristocrats often burn them to the ground before they become troublesome. I would rather not become victims of your activities.”
As a university student that studied abroad, he had visited territories outside the Banfield family’s governance and learned about a planet which was once plagued by the democratization movement.
According to past records, the Empire turned that planet into a sea of fire and made an example out of it.
There had also been planets where education was minimized so that people wouldn’t even fathom advocating for democracy.
“Here, we’re allowed to pursue education and even study abroad. Public institutions are functioning without any problem. It wouldn’t be funny if we are robbed of that because of your activities, you know?”
“—You’re thinking like domesticated livestock! Do you want to spend your entire life wagging your tail in front of the aristocrats!? If you’re a human being, you should think and live for yourself! What’s there to say that the next lord wouldn’t be a tyrant!? Someone is in control of your life! Aren’t you worried!?”
The university student had half given up.
“Then what’s there to prevent pirates from looting planets and killing their inhabitants? I’m in favor of our current lord’s policies. Besides, is there any guarantee that things would progress well after declaring independence?”
“Rotten. It’s not just the aristocrats. You guys have also rotted to the point where you’ve stopped thinking intelligibly.”
“Why have you even come here? If you like democracy that much, go somewhere else. We don’t restrict people from leaving and moving to other places.”
If you don’t like it, leave.
Hearing these words, the leader was stunned.
What’s going on here?
The leader failed to comprehend the university student’s thought process.
It was then.
An important figure seemed to have come.
A large number of mobile knights were serving as escorts and floating in the sky, keeping watch of the surroundings.
One of the leader’s colleagues spoke to him.
“Leader, something’s about to start.”
“An important figure? Let’s wait and watch.”
The leader shook his head and decided to switch his way of thinking.
(That’s right. The inhabitants on this planet are all retarded. Taking control of them will be a piece of cake. I should be grateful that they are idiots that can be easily manipulated. Now, if this important figure begins a speech, I’ll argue against it and gather supporters that agree with me.)
He was planning on increasing the number of supporters around him by seizing this opportunity.
A female military officer jumped onto the top of the armored vehicle that was floating in the sky.
She had a microphone on her hand.
“Participants of the demonstration, heed my words—do not make a fuss over your lord’s lower body and disband immediately!”
She was a beautiful woman with gold, blonde hair, and the leader recognized who she was.
“Hey, isn’t she the lord’s concubine-cum-mistress?”
“Ah, yes. That’s what’s written on the document.”
The crowd was wondering what she had to say.
When it became apparent that she just wanted to stop the demo, people booed at her.
“We’re serious!”
“Fulfill your duty as an aristocrat~!”
“Aren’t you his concubine or something? Do your work~!”
Through the local news, people knew that Eulisia was a talent that Liam had recruited from the military.
Normally, people would expect such “recruits” to end up as the lords’ lovers or concubines.
Eulisia trembled when she heard the citizens’ shouts.
“Y-YA THINK I DIDN’T TRY!?”
She was meant to step forward and stop the demo.
However, instead, Eulisia began screaming at the top of her lung. It was a scream that came from the innermost depth of her soul.
“I TRIED MY BEST, YOU KNOW!? I TRIED SO HARD TO HAVE HIM FALL FOR MY CHARMS—BUT LORD LIAM SIMPLY ISN’T INTERESTED!”
The demonstrators became silent until one person cautiously asked, “—D-does he hate women?”
—Tears welled up in Eulisia’s eyes.
“I would have given up if that was the case! But-but he claims that he likes women! I had devoted my youth so that I could become his secretary, yet he was oblivious to the fact that I was sent to the military’s re-education facility! Then, as soon as I returned to the territory, I was told to suppress a demo!—In the first place, it’s only been a few years! How could he forget about me like that!?”
Eulisia had a lot of pent up frustration from her daily work, and she had reached the limit of her patience.
With a microphone in hand, she spat out all her complaints.
“I want to—I want to go on dates as well! Lady Rosetta gets to attend parties every day, but I’m stuck here doing my job! Is he so busy that he can’t spare me a single day!? I’m getting older and older as days pass by. I sometimes feel like crying in the middle of the night because of my worries! I’m tormented by them every day!”
The demonstrators looked at one another in the face.
Eulisia was sobbing with the microphone turned on.
She was bawling her eyes out, so the demonstrators began comforting her.
“H-hope everything goes well~!”
“Eulisia-nee-chan, I’m sure that good days are ahead of you!”
“I-it’s okay. You’re still very beautiful!”
Eulisia didn’t hold back at all and kept complaining with the mic on.
“I want him to lay his hands on me, but he isn’t doing anything! What can I even do then!? I’m willing to do anything, but there’s nothing I can do if he’snot interested! None of this is my fault!”
◇
“—And so, those that are participating in the demonstration are advocating for ‘Cherish Lady Rosetta’ and ‘Please don’t forget about Eulisia-san’. That said, a lot of people are backing Lady Rosetta. In fact, her popularity is so amazing that this Brian’s impressed.”
My fists threaten to lash out as Brain happily makes a report about how much percent of the people are partaking in the demo.
—What in the world is Eulisia doing?
She has ruined my reputation as an evil lord.
I’ve spent decades trying to leave an impression of being evil, but now I just look like some irresponsible bastard.
A petty man who isn’t feeding the woman he brought back home—Is that how others view me now?
“For your information, there have also been voices saying that Lord Liam should take in some new concubines.”
“Who are they to command their lord!? My harem is mine and mine alone! I won’t be entertaining anyone’s suggestions.”
Brian stares at me with cold eyes.
If-if it was anyone else, I would’ve had their head sliced off their neck!
“Lord Liam—there are zero people.”
“Huh? What?”
“To this day, there are zero people in your harem, Lord Liam.”
“Huh!? What do you mean!? There’s Amagi! She counts, right!?”
“That only bumps the number up to one. Lady Rosetta remains untouched, and Lord Liam has been ignoring Lady Eulisia, someone that was recruited from the army.—This Brian here is seriously considering whether or not to join the demonstration.”
“Bullsh*t! I refuse to be swayed by the words of others! I have my own standards when it comes to beauties!”
Must I reluctantly build a harem just because others want me to?
Must I lay my hands on women I do not love?
Nay, I say!
I’ll only lay my hands on women that I want.
This is something that I won’t compromise.
“Having your own standards is good, but the issue of leaving behind a descendant is more important.”
“—They’ll have to be ready for when I return to the territory. I’ll impose such a heavy tax that they’ll never think of demonstrating ever again.”
“Well, well, that’s something to look forward to. On a different note, it’s fascinating how little the democratization movement has spread. The fire has almost been extinguished.”
“Democratization, huh. Don’t forget to write down the names of all those noisy idiots. They’re my enemies. Human rights? They just want to be in the position of power.”
“Lord Liam?”
“—Even if aristocrats were to disappear, others will rise up to replace them. No matter what, some people would hold more authority than others. This will never change.”
No matter what kind of political system we’re looking at, there will always be a side that oppresses others and a side that gets oppressed.
A world without inequality?
Something like that doesn’t exist.
Even if we were to throw aristocrats out of the picture, politicians and rich merchants will seize control of the power.
This time, inequality will be based on how rich or poor someone is.
There will always be someone that is in control, and the rest will have to obey that entity.
Well, I won’t deny that this feudal system where aristocrats reign supreme isn’t flawed.
However, I have no plans on relinquishing my authorities to anyone.
What’s happening to others is none of my concern.
The same could be said about the people that are championing for democratization.
A small minority might be serious about wanting democracy, but the rest of them just want my power.
They may be holding onto their ideals at the moment, but if power is handed to them, they will become corrupt.
I know because I wield it myself.
Power is extremely addictive, and it can easily corrupt people’s heart.
I don’t think that’s a bad thing, though.
I want to be corrupted and become intoxicated by the power I have.
After all, I’m an evil lord.
“If they wish to pull me down and replace me, they’ll have to prove that they’re stronger than I am. If they can do so, I won’t mind accepting their challenge. Otherwise, as the vanquished, they should quietly accept how they’re being treated.”
My retainers are trying to overthrow me.
They can do so as they please, but they’ll have to prepare themselves for when they are defeated.
I’m not someone that treats enemies with mercy.
I’ll make sure to crush them thoroughly.
———————————————————————————————-
Brian (`; ω; ´): “How frightening. The number of people in Lord Liam’s harem is zero!”
Brian (´；ω；｀): “—It’s painful.”
[1] This is where calling him “Lord Liam” backfires. Brian says Liam-zamaaa, and zamaaa sounds like ざまぁ, which means “serves you right!” or “sucks to be you!”