V7 Chapter 4. The Banfield Family Falling Apart

 

Without Liam, the Banfield Family was heading towards its ruin.

Brian held his head in distress.

“Wuuu, Lord Liam has disappeared—I’m still in disbelief.”

Information had leaked out during their search for Liam, and people with unkind intentions were starting to make moves.

The biggest issue, however, was—

“I’ll kill you, you old fossil!”

“Try me, minced woman!”

—the biggest issue was with Liam’s knights.

When Brian looked out the windows, he saw the figure of Tia and Marie quarreling after having destroyed the walls of the mansion.

They were out in the garden with their weapons drawn, glaring at each other with bloodshot eyes.

Their breaths were rough, and their appearances were a mess.

Things hadn’t been this bad before.

Although they often passed each other in the mansion without greeting or looking at each other’s faces, they had never pulled out their weapons.

But with Liam gone, there was no one to hold them back.

“It’s those two again.”

Brian was feeling extremely troubled, but this wasn’t the end to his worries either.

He heard something exploding at a different location.

Due to the Banfield Family’s recent development, he would’ve welcomed the sound with open arms even if it had been from an enemy attack.

A report soon arrived.

“What’s going on?” Brian asked.

‘—I-it’s an emergency! Satsuki Rinho-sama and Shishigami Fuuka-sama—they’re having a bout with Chengshi-sama and—’

Brian cut off the communication and touched his aching forehead with a sigh.

“Lord Liam, please hurry back home!”

◇

In one of the corridors of the Banfield Family’s mansion, Rinho, with her long, dark blue hair, was sitting on a chair wearing a maid outfit, skipping her cleaning duties.

She had her terminal out and was checking the comments on her videos.

“As I thought, the views are dropping. As the world’s most bloodthirsty idol, I should be out killing people. It’s not the time to be sticking around and cleaning the mansion wearing a maid outfit.”

Fuuka, who had orange hair, watched Rinho as she went about her work in her maid uniform, diligently sweeping the mansion with a broomstick in hand.

“Ya should quickly get to sweeping as well unless ya want to be scolded by that old hag Serena,” she advised Rinho.

“Huh? You scared of her or what? What a coward you’ve become.” Rinho sneered.

“—I dare ya to say that again.”

Fuuka angrily wielded her broomstick.

In response, Rinho also picked up the broomstick that was lying around beside her.

Although it was shaped like a broomstick, it was a delicate machinery with high performance when it came to cleaning.

“As you wish, coward.”

Rinho accepted her challenge and they put some distance between them, preparing for a brawl, when a slash flew past them.

When they turned around to look, they saw a woman approaching them from the end of the corridor.

—It was Chengshi.

“Oh, so you guys can avoid that.”

She was wearing knight outfit that had been modified from her Chinese dress.

However, there was something peculiar about her hands.

Rinho giggled.

“You remodeled your body?”

Chengshi’s fingers were extended out like blades, and her outstretched arms had metallic colors.

Fuuka sniffed.

“Smells just like a machine. Ya made yer entire body into a machine?”

Chengshi remained silent but opened her mouth, revealing a muzzle from within.

The two girls jumped out of the way just in time to see the floor being scorched by a laser beam.

Annoyed, Rinho swung her broomstick down at Chengshi to retaliate.

With her body no longer being confined by the limits of a human, Chenghsi caught the incoming broomstick with one hand.

However, Rinho did not back away.

“Your head should still be as it was. I’ll just have to crush that—This is legitimate self-defense, so Senior Brother should have no complaints even if you were to die.”

Hearing Rinho’s words, Fuuka also slashed at Chengshi.

“Yer right! I’ll have ya relieve my pent-up stress!”

Both girls were excited about their confrontation with the non-human figure, and this feeling was reciprocated by Chengshi.

“You two should do for this test run,” she said, satisfied.

Chengshi had provoked these two so that she could use them as a reference when fighting Liam.

They were attacking with the techniques they learned from the School of One-Flash, but Chengshi had devised a countermeasure.

She dodged their attacks immediately.

Rinho appeared irritated by this.

“It’s hard to be serious without a real sword. Also—you read our moves,” she said.

Fuuka tossed her broomstick away.

“Ya messed with yer brains? Weaklings sure have it hard.”

The Sixth Sense was a type of superpower, and Chengshi had sacrificed even her remaining brain to obtain it.

The lenses in Chengshi’s eyes shrunk and expanded repeatedly as she stared at the duo.

“If I can kill Liam with just this amount of sacrifice, I’m willing to pay for it.”

The corners of Rinho’s mouth went up as she giggled.

“You’re but a nonentity, yet you dream of defeating Senior Brother?”

Fuuka put her hair up.

“Ya want to beat the School of One-Flash with just this? I’ll f*cking kill ya.”

After making some clanking noises, Chengshi transformed into a figure that was no longer human, and she rushed forward with great momentum.

◇

Still remember Baron Norden?

As a subordinate under Liam, he was one of the imperial aristocrats that relied on Liam’s backing.

He was also someone that had a distant relationship with Count Norden, the aristocrat from the United Kingdoms.

Baronet Clover was his subordinate, and Liam had previously killed his son out of anger.

To make matters worse, his connection to Count Norden was revealed, and his family was put in a precarious situation.

The head of that very same Norden Family was proudly walking into Liam’s mansion.

“It’s quite noisy here,” he commented.

He was a fat man with a small build, and he strutted in while having a cigar-like luxury item in his mouth, almost as if he was the boss of a mafia.

Next to him were several officials who were supposed to be working in government offices.

They were officials under the Banfield Family.

Several knights were accompanying them as well.

These knights were vassals of the previous head of the Banfield Family and the head before that.

They were there to protect the child born between Liam’s father and his mistress.

The boy looked to be around 15 years old, but his actual age was in fact 70, still a child from this world’s standpoint.

He had just graduated from elementary school and was spending his time freely without attending the military academy or university.

His name was [Issac Sera Banfield], and he was a boy with beautiful blonde hair and cold blue eyes.

“What’s with this boring mansion? It’s so shabby that it’s not suitable to be mine.”

The people around him listened carefully to Isaac’s evaluation of Liam’s mansion. Even Baron Norden was displaying a subservient attitude.

“It is as you say. A dilapidated mansion such as this cannot possibly fit Lord Isaac’s taste.”

He spoke as if Isaac was already the owner of the mansion.

The ones around them were also displaying similar attitudes.

Baron Norden’s ambition was burning uncontrollably.

(Liam! This is payback for the wrongs you’ve done to me. While you’re gone, I’ll have this kid replace you as the head of the Banfield Family and take control of this place.)

Baron Norden was nothing more than one of Liam’s subordinates, but he was planning to take control of the Banfield Family through Isaac.

A portion of the government officials had the same idea.

“If Lord Isaac becomes the head of the family, the Banfields will prosper even more!” They said.

“Liam doesn’t understand anything about governance. To begin with, it’s disgraceful for an imperial aristocrat to be using dolls in this day and age.”

The real reason they betrayed Liam was because they couldn’t embezzle any money with artificial intelligence being in control of everything.

No matter how prosperous the territory became, if they abused their powers, it would be akin to touching Liam’s reverse scale.

For those with great ambition, Liam was an obstacle to be overcome.

In a sense, they were precisely the evil officials that Liam desired.

The next to speak were the knights that had once abandoned the Banfield Family.

“Indeed, Lord Isaac is the most suitable as the head of the Banfield Family. Liam is strong, but he has no pride as an aristocrat.” They complained.

They were supportive of Isaac because of his father and grandfather who were both living in the Capital.

Isaac had been dispatched to snatch the wealth of the prospering Banfield Family, and the knights were there to protect him.

These knights deemed it unforgivable that a house that they abandoned was making a comeback because if they had stayed, they would’ve gained a great amount of prestige as a loyal subordinate of the previous generation’s head.

From their perspective, the newcomers had gained the fame and prestige that was meant to be theirs.

This was how these like-minded people gathered to take over the Banfield Family.

Two knights secretly observed them from the dark.

They were Tia and Marie that were in tatters due to their fight.

“They’ve got guts trying to take advantage of Lord Liam’s absence, I’ll give them that.”

“Let’s show them whose mansion they’re trying to mess with.”

They were about to take action, not knowing that there was a shadow creeping up behind them.

—It was the Guide.

◇

The Guide was quietly watching Tia and Marie.

He was at the Banfield Family’s territory to sow seeds of discord while Liam was gone.

Earlier, he had stimulated the desires of a knight named Chengshi, prompting her to prepare for Liam’s assassination.

The Guide knew that this wouldn’t be enough to kill Liam, but all that mattered to him was that he caused enough confusion.

He didn’t have high hopes for Tia and Marie either.

“I’ll stimulate their desires as well. Aaah~ what a busy day.”

Black smoke came out of his fingertips and entered the bodies of Tia and Marie who were preparing to chase away Isaac and his entourage.

The two women jolted to a stop, and the Guide, having lost his interest, left.

“Meh, let’s move on. I don’t expect much from them anyway.”

◇

After the Guide left the scene, Tia had a sudden realization.

(Isn’t this quite convenient?)

The Banfield Family was about to fall into chaos with Isaac raiding the mansion.

Tia, who never once doubted that Liam would return, saw Isaac as nothing but a small hindrance and thought of making use of him.

She took a glance at Marie’s face, who also seemed to be thinking hard about something.

(So she realized as well. Yes, this is our chance!)

Tia came up with a random excuse to leave.

“Isaac’s group isn’t the only one that’s on the move. I’ll go take a look at the situation.”

Marie would’ve normally picked a fight with her by now, but her reaction was quite different this time.

“Is that so? Then I’ll take care of Isaac.”

“Much appreciated.” Tia said, and the two went their separate ways.

After confirming that Marie was gone, Tia rushed to contact her allies.

“Gather everyone that’s under me and prepare a fleet.”

‘Tia-sama!? What is this about?’

“Just quickly do as I say! This chance—I must grasp it.”

She had originally planned on carrying out this operation in silence without Liam noticing, but using this opportunity, Tia decided to carry it out in a grandiose manner.

◇

“—Darling…”

Inside her room, Rosetta was lying on the bed, sick and depressed.

She had lost her appetite, and her mind was constantly on Liam.

Ciel had been by her side, watching her.

(It’s great that that bastard has disappeared, but it’s been pretty rowdy inside the mansion these days.)

As someone that hated Liam, Ciel should’ve been delighted that Liam had been whisked away by a summoning spell; however, she did not want to see Rosetta suffer like this.

What’s more—

‘Five minutes ago: Ciel, why can’t I get in touch with Liam?’

‘Four minutes ago: Ciel, if Liam’s busy, tell him to contact later.’

‘Three minutes ago: Ciel, are you there?’

—When she checked her terminal, she realized that her brother Kurt had been sending a new message every minute.

Ciel gently put her terminal back into her pocket and decided to tell him later that she was busy with work and missed his messages.

Only God knew what Kurt would do if he was told that Liam was gone.

(Liam has a lot of enemies. A Banfield Family without its head is perfect prey for those aristocrats. I can already see them flocking over.)

The head of the Banfield Family was missing, and a successor had not been named.

This made them a prime target for some of the aristocrats.

As long as they stepped forward, they would gain the wealth, fame, and military prowess of the Banfield’s.

As things stood, even the aristocrats from the same faction were not to be trusted.

Rosetta stared longingly at an image of Liam with teary eyes.

Just as Ciel was about to say some comforting words, a female knight kicked down the door to the room and barged in.

Ciel strongly criticized the knight’s conduct.

“W-what do you think you’re doing!?”

Marie, the intruder, ignored Ciel’s vehement protest and approached Rosetta, her eyes glowing with excitement.

“Lady Rosetta! It’s an emergency! There are some unscrupulous men trying to take over the Banfield Family!”

“H-how could that be!? Darling’s not dead yet, he was just summoned away!”

That, however, was enough reason for his enemies to move.

They were taking advantage of Liam’s absence to steal the Banfield Family’s power.

“That matters not to them, and that’s why we must ensure Lady Rosetta’s safety. Some of those fools will try to target Lady Rosetta, who has officially been declared Lord Liam’s fiancé.”

Many people hated Liam to the extreme and would do anything to harm him, so Marie had rushed over to make sure that Rosetta stayed out of harm’s way.

Ciel asked Marie what to do.

“Marie-sama, can we not push them back?”

“That would be impossible.”

She replied so swiftly that Ciel harbored some doubts.

On any other day, Marie would’ve yelled “Kill ‘em all!” and charged in.

It was almost as if she had scripted her answer ahead of time.

According to her, she was simply prioritizing Rosetta’s wellbeing.

“Now, let us flee from here while we still can. Unfortunately, we don’t have the power to face them. We must escape for now and bide our time.”

“B-but I don’t have what it takes to unite the Banfield Family. Both the military and the knights only obey Darling’s orders.”

“Please rest assured. I have already gathered men that support our cause and stationed some troops along with the knights on a different planet. That’s where Lord Liam’s direct descendants will be born!”

“Descendant? U-um, Marie, I’ve yet to—”

“I was afraid something similar would happen and prepared ahead! Fret not, for this Marie has procured a sample of Lord Liam’s genes!”

She took out a test tube from a box.

Ciel immediately understood her intentions, but Rosetta cocked her head, still unsure of what was going on.

(T-this woman has gone and done it! No, she hasn’t done it yet, but—!?)

Marie’s fervent eyes were glowing with even greater passion.

Rosetta was oblivious to Marie’s plan, but Ciel was aware of it.

(She intends to impregnate Lady Rosetta with Liam’s gene!)

And going by the flow, she was probably thinking of taking advantage of the chaos to give birth to Liam’s child as well.

Marie gently hugged and picked Rosetta up from the bed.

There was a strange, purplish glint in her eyes.

“Now, Lady Rosetta—let us continue the Banfield Family’s lineage, together!”

Rosetta, who was feeling fatigued, assumed that the knights and the troops had been stationed elsewhere to support Liam when he returned.

“—You’re right. Gather as many knights and soldiers as possible that still follow Darling. In case of an emergency, we must be ready to help Darling when he returns.”

Rosetta was doing this for Liam. On the other hand, Marie was doing this for her own benefit.

Ciel was absolutely dumbstruck by Marie’s bold move.

(Eh, wait a sec. There should be one other person causing a ruckus by now.)

◇

That other person was already causing a ruckus.

“I’ll be the one to bear Lord Liam’s child!”

Tia rubbed her face against the test tube that contained a certain fluid.

How she managed to get a hold of it was a mystery, but she had secured Liam’s gene.

The knights that gathered under Tia were the ones whose loyalty had zoomed past the finish line.

They were currently aboard a flagship class battleship that was 3000 meters in length.

The knights that were lined up were part of the faction that was led by Tia.

One of the female knights made a report about Marie.

“Tia-sama, Marie Sera Marian has secured Lady Rosetta and fled to the Third Planet with a portion of the fleet and the knights. They’re also gathering the local forces that are responsible for protecting the Banfield’s territory.”

A simplified 3D map of the Banfield Family’s territory was displayed in front of Tia.

Tia clicked her tongue.

She placed the test tube carefully inside a case and put it in her pocket.

“That fossil woman ain’t half bad it seems. Lord Liam’s been developing that planet for more than a decade. It’s more than adequate as a temporary base.”

Tia’s fleet was searching for planets that could serve as their base.

The territory that Liam had acquired and spent time developing was being torn apart and scrambled over for by his vassals.

It was an all-out family feud.

The female knight beside her smiled.

“Was this fine though? We could have easily eliminated those garbage that dared to step their foot into Lord Liam’s mansion.”

—Tia was playing the same game as Marie.

She was taking advantage of this turmoil to give birth to Liam’s child.

“As if we could wage a war on Lord Liam’s home planet. Also, it would be extremely disrespectful of us to dye his mansion with their filthy blood. Don’t you think so too?”

She was lying through her teeth.

Baron Norden and Isaac meant nothing to them, but Tia couldn’t overcome the urge to use this situation as an excuse to bear Liam’s child.

Tia spread out her arms.

“We must do what we can to boost our forces so that we can assist Lord Liam when he returns! Let us present him with an army that can annihilate those blasphemous pests.”

(To bear Lord Liam’s child! There’s no higher form of happiness!)

When Liam came back, she would tell him that “There was no other way around it! The Banfield Family was facing an unprecedented crisis!”

An unprecedented crisis—indeed, it was an unprecedented crisis orchestrated by the runaway Tia and Marie.

This could’ve been easily dealt with, but they had done nothing on purpose to spice things up.

“Full steam ahead! We must secure all of Lord Liam’s territory!”

Thousands of ships started to move under Tia’s command.