Book 10: Chapter 2: Proxy War
When it comes to the Count's wedding, it takes time.
It is not acceptable to say, "I'm getting married next month," in a light-hearted manner.
In order to have the relevant people attend the wedding, it is considered natural to make preparations several years in advance.
It is fine to ignore them and hold the wedding on your own, but aristocrats have a high sense of pride.
Why don't you invite me! Some of them are suddenly furious.
Also, if you have a modest wedding, people will say, "Is that guy's family actually poor?" They are insulted by such things as "This is not a great honor."
Weddings and funerals had become very cumbersome, even more so than in previous lives.
"When we announced that we were having a wedding with Liam-sama and Rosetta-sama, so many people who wanted to attend showed up. This Brian is so happy, he can't stop crying. The Banfield family is more prosperous now than it ever was under Master Alistair's reign."
The Banfield family, but until about a hundred years ago, they were recognized as a poor country Count family.
But with my birth, they have grown up and are one of the largest nobles in the empire.
"It's been an easier road than I thought."
"That's because it's you Liam-sama, even if an ordinary Count did the same thing, I don't think the result would be the same as our family's."
Sorry Brian the butler, but there is a flip side to all this success.
"I'm a lucky guy."
"I don't think it's just luck?"
--Yes, it's all thanks to the guide who protected me.
He's a good guy who has helped me many times since he reincarnated me into this world.
He doesn't come out much these days, but I've seen him a few times, so I'm pretty sure he's working for me.
"But still, there are a lot of people who want to participate in a mere wedding."
"There are people who want to be associated with this family. Unfortunately, there are many people who want to make a sweet deal out of it."
Brian looks at one of the unfortunate houses as he looks at the materials of many prospective participants.
Like me, it was a country aristocrat on the frontier, but with huge debts.
He was probably looking for support from me because his debts had grown so large that he couldn't repay them.
"There are a lot of brazen people out there."
"That's how dependable they think our family is, though."
"It would be fun to give him a fraction of the money and make him my protg."
"Don't tell me you're inviting all of them without vetting them?"
I'm not interested in serious, good guys.
After all, I'm a bad guy.
I should join forces with the bad guys.
"I'm going to use them to my advantage from now on."
"No, but--"
Brian seems to be against the invitation.
As he desperately tries to convince me not to invite him, an urgent message comes through.
"Who is it at a time like this? Amagi!"
When I learned that it was Amagi who had sent the urgent message, I hurriedly gave my permission.
The projected image in front of me showed Amagi from the bust up.
"Sir, you must excuse me, I have an urgent matter to attend to."
"I'm always ready for you. More importantly, what happened?"
It bothered me that Amagi, who normally visits me, went to the trouble of using communications to report back to me.
"There has been movement on the capital planet."
"Is--is this related to His Highness Cleo?"
I narrow my eyes and make a serious face, and Brian straightens his back and tenses up.
"Yes, His Highness Cleo has received a petition from the barons. It is a territorial dispute between the lords and nobles. The barons and the viscounts have gone to war over a planet."
"That's not unusual."
It is not unusual for nobles to fight over a single planet.
Perhaps a rare metal has been discovered on the planet, or perhaps ruins have been unearthed - in any case, nobles are fighting over the planet.
In the empire, there is a conflict somewhere every day, so it is not strange that a petition came to Cleo.
"It is certainly not an unusual story. But the barons and the rival viscounts asked for help from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince's faction has announced that it will cooperate fully."
"What?"
Amagi delivers the data of the material and displays it around me.
Checking it out, it was a little odd.
"It's nice that a rare metal was discovered, but the problem is that Calvin went to all this trouble to get serious about a problem of this magnitude."
What can I say to explain this?
Like the state getting serious about a dispute between municipalities?
There is no reason for the state to act, or rather, from the state's point of view, it doesn't matter.
At best, it is a matter of mediation.
And yet, they are seriously trying to send in the army.
"What does His Highness Cleo say?"
"On the capital planet, he has promised the baron that he will spare no effort to cooperate. He has publicly stated that he will dispatch an army, with the Master as its general-in-chief."
"An unnecessary one."
Brian is dismayed to hear what I have heard so far.
However, he did not interrupt Amagi.
I decided to act quickly.
"His Highness Cleo has taken the liberty of doing this. Amagi, call Klaus immediately."
"Yes, sir."
When the communication ends, Brian, who had been silent, looks bitter.
He asked, "What were you thinking, starting a war on your own, knowing that this is an important time for our family? This is a problem that could have been resolved through discussion. And to make Liam the general?"
Of course Cleo must have known that I was about to get married to Rosetta.
The Third Prince and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have declared that they are serious about cooperating with the Barons and Viscounts in their dispute.
This, in other words, is a proxy war between Cleo and Calvin.
Ostensibly, it is a dispute between the barons and the viscounts, but it is likely that they intend to settle the succession dispute with this battle.
Perhaps His Highness Cleo wanted to end it quickly, or perhaps Calvin was in a hurry - in any case, it seems that both sides were looking for a reason to fight.
"--Well, what shall we do now?"
Conflicts between large factions take time.
If they are bad, they can go on for decades and result in no winners.
In a way, though, it's a convenient development for a wedding to flow.
A female executive from the Henfrey Trading Company was at Liam's mansion.
The female executive visited the fitting room and smiled and explained to Rosetta, who was looking in the mirror wearing a pure white dress.
"How do you like it? The dress is made of mithril-infused threads. It is light and strong thanks to the advanced skills of our craftsmen. It is made of mithril, which repels evil, and is a good omen. The price is reasonable, but I think it is a dress suitable only for Rosetta-sama."
The ridiculously expensive dress was the kind of price that could have bought a knight of mobility if it were not so expensive.
Rosetta's head almost exploded.
"It's dazzling. It's really glowing faintly."
The pale glow of the dress made Rosetta's eyes hurt a little.
The embroidery was all thread made of Liam's favorite gold.
Just - there were several dresses like this available.
In a fitting room lined with expensive dresses, Rosetta checks one outfit after another.
It was Marie who was watching over her.
"Ummm, as a backup, it's fine. I wonder if they have any more items?"
The female executive was a bit flustered when Marie asked her.
"We don't have any more of these items in our shop. It is a one-of-a-kind item designed just for this occasion.
Sometimes problems arise on the day of the event. "You should prepare at least two dresses. You'll have to change your color, so you'll need a few more."
"This rank? Normally, I would have a dress of my choice, even if it is of a lower rank."
"Shut up! Liam-sama has entrusted me with that much of his budget. We just need to get a dress that Rosetta likes."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Marie was saying this and that, but Rosetta was at her limit.
Surrounded by overpriced items, her thoughts were going haywire.
"Marie, I don't think you need that much. I only wear it at weddings, and if that's the case, I want a pretty dress of minimal rank."
(Ta, I think this price is ridiculous for only one use)
When Rosetta tells her, Marie looks back at her upper body and smiles.
Rosetta was relieved that she understood, but Marie turned to the female executive again and glared at her.
"I'll send you the materials later, but I need at least three hundred design ideas."
Just having a top designer design hundreds of them would run a tremendous amount of money.
Rosetta tries to stop Marie.
"Marie, that's enough. I like this dress, and I'll take it."
"Compromise is not an option! This is a once-in-a-lifetime big day."
Rosetta is also very upset with Marie, who refuses to listen to anything she says.
Then, Marie receives an urgent message.
"Who is it at a time like this, Liam-sama?"
When Marie immediately read the message that arrived on her terminal, she was blatantly depressed, having lost the tension she had been feeling earlier.
Rosetta, worried about Marie, talks to her.
"What's wrong, Marie?"
"Rosetta-sama, perhaps the wedding will be canceled."
"What?"
"There has been movement on the capital planet. His Highness Cleo and His Highness Calvin are preparing to wage a proxy war."
"Er, huh?"
Rosetta understands what Marie is trying to say.
(Maybe Darling will join us, right? It's going to be a big war, and it will probably take a long time. So we won't make it in time for the wedding.)
When Rosetta looked down, the maids around her had no words to say.
But Rosetta quickly looked up.
"Then I don't have a choice. Marie, didn't Darling call you? Head over there right now."
"Are you sure?"
Marie asks if she protests this, but Rosetta shakes her head.
"I won't complain if that's Darling's decision, besides, this is an important time, isn't it?"
"I will be sure to tell Master Liam what you just said."
Rosetta smiles a little sadly as Marie leaves the room.
"Another wedding postponed."
Seventh Weapons Factory.
At the Imperial Weapons Factory, which is associated with the Banfield family, there were a number of basic frames for the mass-produced Avid that Liam had prepared for his Junior sisters.
The person involved in the construction of the mass-produced machines was not Nias - who is close to Liam.
"What? Do you want to buy all of these aircraft? No, no, it is impossible, because all of these items are being built at the request of the Count of Banfield. You will have to make a new commission."
It was a Calvinist nobleman who came.
"I know everything, I know all about it, but I'm still giving the order. You will take them out immediately."
The three basic frames, including the spare, were attached by mechanics brought by the aristocrats.
The man in charge of construction waited.
"Please wait! You can't do that to me. Besides, it's not finished yet."
"We'll do the finishing touches. All you have to do is hand over the data."
"That's why I can't let you do that to me!"
If the mass-produced machine Avid is building at Liam's request is taken away from him, the credibility of the Seventh Weapons Factory will be at stake.
When the man resisted, the nobleman drew his pistol and fired.
A laser beam pierced the man's leg.
"Aghaagh!"
Looking sideways at the man struggling in pain, the aristocrat looks up at Avid's basic frame with the corner of his mouth raised.
In the zero-gravity space, Avid's basic frame began to be carried out.
The basic frame is all rare metal. That alone is worth quite a bit of money.
The frame-only fuselage had no armor and its parts were exposed.
The mechanics also carried out the rare metals before processing.
A man who had been shot turned a frightened face toward the aristocrats while holding his thigh.
"If you do this, the Count of Banfield won't keep quiet."
The nobleman spreads his hands.
"Very well! To defeat this Count Banfield, we need your knights of mobility."
"What are you talking about?"
The nobleman silently walked away, but when the mechanics approached the men, they showed them electronic documents.
The aircraft is to be confiscated by the Imperial Army.
"Why would the military do that? That aircraft may be a mass-produced machine, but it is a one-off. It's not the kind of aircraft that should be operated by the military."
Although it is called a mass-production machine, it is still a maneuverable knight with no regard for budget.
It is a machine that can barely be piloted by the younger disciples outside of Liam, and it is a weapon that is not suitable for operation in the military.
But the mechanics leave without answering.
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