Chapter 259: I am the Empire’s Corrupt Lord!

In the throne room prepared deep underground, the device that constructed the Evil God’s Chalice was crackling with electrical discharges as Graham vanished.

The Emperor, my true enemy, had disappeared, and the Guide who had come to help me had also vanished at some point.

What if Graham’s objective had been achieved? …It might have been doubtful whether I could have won.

The Guide, who must have been scrambling to deal with that situation, was in a tattered state, having lost an arm.

Even while being covered in wounds, I have nothing but gratitude for the Guide who worked so hard for my sake.

Today, too, I think I’ll offer my heartfelt gratitude as a prayer.

As I placed a hand on my chest and sent my feelings of gratitude to the Guide, Klaus tried to evacuate me.

“Lord Liam, although it has come to this, we have successfully defeated the Emperor. I believe we should evacuate this place immediately.”

“…You’re right.”

As I closed my eyes to accept Klaus’s advice, I saw Tia with bloodshot eyes rushing over to the fallen Cleo.

Then, she grabbed Cleo’s red hair, lifted him up roughly, and asked me about his fate.

“Lord Liam, shall we decide what to do with this one? The circumstances of him being possessed by that Graham fellow haven’t spread, so he’s still useful as the Crown Prince.”

That Cleo guy, how did he manage to infuriate Tia this much?

The look in her eyes is the same as when she’s dealing with space pirates.

Marie and Kukuri were looking at Cleo with faint smiles.

“That’s too lenient. Shouldn’t we inflict every possible pain upon him?”

“If you leave it to us, we’ll use everything from the neck down to show him a living hell… Kuhuhu.”

Cleo, now the crown prince of a fallen nation, had no value left other than to be publicly executed.

I wouldn’t mind giving him to them to vent their frustrations, but the problem is that Cleo’s body is just an empty shell.

I can’t feel Cleo’s soul in there.

“Do as you…”

Before I could finish saying “Do as you please,” Klaus stepped in front of me protectively.

Immediately after, a part of the device exploded, scattering debris everywhere.

Klaus issued orders to those around him.

“Everyone, evacuate immediately! We can discuss future matters as much as we want in a safe location!”

Just as everyone was about to evacuate, thinking his point was valid…

Light overflowed from the exploded device, and my vision was stolen as if a flashbang had gone off.

It was a brief moment, but thanks to my master’s training, I could understand it instinctively.

What was being released from the exploded device were the souls of the crown princes whose bodies Graham had stolen and driven out.

Amidst Klaus shouting orders to everyone, I could hear their voices.

“Ah… finally, we’re free.”

“Thank you, liberator.”

“We leave the future of the Empire in your hands.”

The crown princes, who must have been captured and tormented by the Evil God’s Chalice, said these things one after another before being released and disappearing somewhere.

Will they be reincarnated like me? But without a Guide, it’s probably unclear where they’ll be reincarnated.

Among the released souls was the soul of the real Bagrada.

“Thank you, truly. With you, there will be no problem… no, we can entrust this interstellar nation to you. I am grateful for the birth of a young man like you… Thank you, soul from another world.”

Fed up with the crown princes trying to push everything onto me, I said.

“Don’t just push everything onto me. Besides, I am the corrupt Lord Liam. If you push it onto me, the Empire will be in for a rough time… Don’t you think so, Cleo?”

With my eyes closed, I turned my face towards where Cleo’s soul was, unable to move even after being released.

I could almost see Cleo’s bewildered form through my closed eyelids.

“W-who are you, really? To defeat not just the Empire, but a monster like Father… no, Emperor Graham, that’s not normal.”

Cleo, having just been absorbed by the device, seemed to have his senses dulled compared to the other souls.

“You still don’t understand even in that form? Sharpen your senses. Your predecessors were aware of my existence.”

Provoked by me, Cleo seemed annoyed… but now that he was just a soul, it seemed he could perceive my true form.

“Y-you… you had memories of a past life? That’s why… no, more than that, what you wanted was…”

To the unconvinced Cleo, I said.

“Ah, that’s right. It was enough for me to act as a corrupt lord. The reason I let you win, the reason I’ve contributed to the Empire until now, it was all so that I could act freely on my own planet.”

I’ve acted solely for my own sake from start to finish.

It’s not like I wanted to command the Empire or treat Cleo as a puppet.

It was enough just to make him swear not to meddle in my domain.

Cleo was released from his body and seemed to understand my feelings.

And at the same time, how foolish he himself had been.

“Then, what have I… what have I been fighting for?”

“It was all for nothing. If you hadn’t opposed me, you’d still be the Crown Prince… no, you could have worked with me to defeat Graham and taken this Empire for yourself. Because you made the wrong judgment, everything was taken from you.”

As I was mocking him, my vision, stolen by the flash, returned.

Looking around, I saw Tia grabbing Cleo’s head and swinging it around.

It seems she was arguing with someone.

“Let go! You are no longer in the position of Her Highness the Princess, Lysithea!”

Amidst the commotion, the one who had arrived was Her Highness, Princess Lysithea.

She was the person who became a knight for Cleo’s sake, only to be treated as a nuisance and pushed away in the end.

Sharing his blood, she, his closest relative, was clinging to Cleo’s empty shell of a body.

“I beg you. Please, don’t… don’t torment my younger brother… my younger sister any more. No, I’m begging you. Please, please!”

As Lysithea desperately tried to protect her younger sister, the soul of Cleo approached and reached out, but couldn’t touch her.

Even as a soul, Cleo was crying.

It seems he’d only now realized who was important to him, but it was all too late.

“Big sister… Big sister… I can’t touch you. My voice won’t reach… Why did I…”

The sight of Cleo, who had been led astray by status and honor, was truly pitiful.

However, no one could see him but me.

Tia, having snapped, was kicking Lysithea.

“Don’t get cocky, you loser! Do you have any idea how much this guy has mocked Lord Liam and us! Don’t you dare give me orders when you’ve only been spared out of mercy!!”

An enraged Tia was probably the better of them.

Marie had her weapon drawn and was looking at me, and Kukuri was the same.

They were waiting with clear killing intent, ready to cut her down instantly if given permission.

Kicked by Tia, Lysithea spat blood from her mouth, her bones likely broken and organs damaged.

Seeing this, Cleo was wailing, but his voice reached no one… not even Lysithea.

“Stop! Please, stop! Big sister will die too. I don’t care what happens to me, so please stop, Liam!”

I snorted at Cleo, who turned and begged me for help.

“Say it. ‘Please save me, Lord Liam’… bow your head pathetically and say it.”

At my words, Tia stopped moving.

It seems she thought I was speaking to Lysithea, not the invisible Cleo.

Hearing my words, Lysithea prostrated herself, pressing her forehead to the floor.

“Please save me, Lord Liam! Please, just spare my sister’s life! I will take all the responsibility instead! Any torment… I will accept it.”

Hearing this, Kukuri laughed eerily.

“Any torment? Ignorance is a frightening thing. In just a few hours, you would regret your current words and surely curse that fool over there… Lord Liam, please do leave her handling to us.”

Hearing this, Cleo was prostrating himself in the same way beside Lysithea.

“…Please, Lord Liam. Please save my big sister Lysithea. Everything that has happened is my responsibility. As you can see, I am apologizing… I admit that opposing you was a mistake… so please, just my big sister Lysithea…”

Already dead and unable to even save the person important to him, Cleo was a truly miserable and sad existence.

But, to be honest… I was bored.

Now that I had defeated the true enemy, Emperor Graham, and achieved a splendid victory over the Empire, someone like Cleo was an insignificant being.

Besides, a body that was already an empty shell had no value to me.

Tia, with a troubled look on her face, was waiting for my decision.

“If Lysithea wants that empty shell, give it to her. You all, let’s get back quickly. I’ve had them prepare a victory party on Argos, so enjoy yourselves today.”

Let’s go back and enjoy the party! When I said that, Tia, though confused, tossed Cleo’s empty shell aside.

“Lord Liam, please wait! This Christiana will serve by your side!”

“I told you to participate, didn’t I? You’re not one of the hosts.”

Marie sheathed her weapon, glanced at Lysithea who was crying while hugging Cleo’s empty shell, and then ran up to me.

“In that case, I shall participate right next to you, Lord Liam! I must also report our victory to Lady Rosetta. …Also, I will keep watch to ensure no unnecessary insects get close to you, Lord Liam! Ah, ow!?”

I flicked Marie on the forehead for saying she’d watch over me for Rosetta’s sake.

“I decide who attends to me at the party! And if you give Rosetta any strange reports, I’ll take away that number of yours!”

“Eep!”

Seeing Marie make a strange noise, Kukuri shrugged her shoulders.

“Good grief, Lord Liam is too kind… though, since we’ve destroyed the Empire and the root of all evil is gone, we have no complaints.”

And following at the very back was Klaus.

He’s a reserved guy even at times like this, but he brought up an outrageous topic.

“Resistance forces will likely appear in the future, but the significance of conquering the capital planet is immense. I believe there would be no problem if you, Lord Liam, were to provisionally declare yourself the king of the new interstellar nation…”

At this, I stopped in my tracks.

We had already left the throne room, but looking back, I could see Lysithea embracing Cleo’s empty shell.

Cleo, now just a soul, was hugging Lysithea, looking as if he was about to disappear at any moment.

That was irrelevant, however. The problem was Klaus’s statement.

“…Me, a king?”

“No, if you prefer Emperor, that title is also fine. In any case, it is necessary to make it known to the other interstellar nations that you are the new monarch. If we do not act quickly, the former Imperial territories will only be whittled away.”

“…Monarch? Me?”

As I tilted my head, not just Klaus, but Tia and Marie also widened their eyes.

Tia asked me for confirmation.

“Lord Liam, you are going to become the monarch of the new nation, right? Right!?”

Everyone around me was looking at me with expectant eyes, hoping I would nod, but I hadn’t thought that far ahead.

After all, I’m aiming to be a corrupt lord, not an emperor.

“I’m perfectly satisfied with my current position, so I have no interest in being the new monarch of the Empire.”

Not just Tia, Marie, and Kukuri, but even Klaus looked up at the heavens.

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