Chapter 6:
The Royal Guard
MARIE HAD GATHERED fewer than a thousand ships to transport and
protect Rosetta while they made their way to House Banfield's Third
Planet. More and more ships joined them as they headed there, however.
These ships did not belong to House Banfield's main army or the forces
maintaining order within the domain. They were only small security fleets
patrolling House Banfield's territory. By the time they arrived at the Third
Planet, the number of ships Marie commanded had swelled to three
thousand. Unfortunately, that was still far fewer than what she'd hoped for.
On the bridge of the seven-hundred-meter vessel she was using as
her flagship, Marie had opened communication channels to recruit more
people to her cause.
"I know you only follow Lord Liam's orders," she said, "but his
fiancée Lady Rosetta is onboard under our protection. Don't you think you
should side with us?"
There were two people Marie was trying to recruit specifically: the
commander of the elite forces, and the knight who led the Royal Guard.
Both individuals' faces appeared on the monitor before her, and both
looked displeased.
The elite forces commander flatly turned Marie down. "Lord Liam
is the only one who can issue us orders. Lady Rosetta's safety is important,
but we cannot move without Lord Liam's express instruction."
Marie's face twitched. "So, you won't side with that ground meat—
er, with Christiana—either?"
"Correct."
Marie was frustrated that she couldn't recruit the elite forces to her
cause, but relieved that they would not join her enemies either. Having to
fight the fleet that had supported Liam for so many years would've been
an unimaginable nuisance.
They're so damned stubborn. Speaking of stubborn...
She turned her eyes to a knight with long red hair in a braid. The
intelligent-looking woman was smiling faintly. She wore black-rimmed
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glasses and a black uniform with a purple cape draped over the left
shoulder—the symbol of the Royal Guard she commanded.
The Royal Guard was a special branch of knights. They were part of
the military, but had a different chain of command. Again, they only
followed Liam's orders, but Marie still wanted to get them on her side to
secure Rosetta's safety. As Liam's fiancée, Rosetta should surely have
been under the Royal Guard's protection by now, yet the knights seemed
to have no intention of joining forces with Marie either.
"Is the Royal Guard not willing to do their job?" she asked.
"Protecting Lady Rosetta is one of your duties, is it not?"
"Those are strange words to hear from a criminal who abducted
Lady Rosetta," the Royal Guard's captain replied. "Although I suppose it
is better if she isn't on the home planet right now, considering the situation
there."
The elite commander furrowed his brow at that frank description of
events, but the red-haired woman didn't seem to care.
"Do not misunderstand, Marie Sera Marian," she continued
threateningly. "It is not House Banfield we protect. It is Lord Liam and his
blood relatives."
At that, Marie clutched her seat's elbow rests. "So, Lady Rosetta is
not worth protecting? Is that any way for a member of the Royal Guard to
talk? That's a bell you can't unring, you traitor!" she shrieked.
Balking at the Royal Guard captain's disregard for Rosetta, Marie
forgot she was trying to recruit the woman.
The red-haired knight just smiled. "Lady Rosetta is nothing more
than Lord Liam's fiancée. We have no orders from Lord Liam to guard
her. Oh, but just so you know...if anything happens to her, the Royal
Guard will become your enemy."
"Damn you!" Marie shouted, as the Royal Guard's captain ended
the call.
Marie's adjutant, a scruffy-looking male knight, shrugged. "They
just don't want to get involved."
Marie panted with anger and took a deep breath to regain her
composure. "As long as they're not against us, it's fine. But all Lord
Liam's personal troops are so damned stubborn."
"I can't stand how tight-assed they are."
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"Anyway, we'll reach the Third Planet soon. We can just absorb the
army forces stationed there."
Her adjutant smirked, stroking his chin. "I was a little worried at
first, but we should be able to muster enough forces to compete with that
ground meat woman."
Although they hadn't managed to pull many troops from the home
planet, it seemed they'd have enough forces to rival Tia's.
Marie pushed her hair out of her face as her cape fluttered behind
her. "As long as we have Lady Rosetta and this fleet, we'll be able to
rebuild House Banfield when Lord Liam returns. We can simply crush
those who invaded the home planet later."
"Personally, I think it makes more sense to kick them out now,
but..."
When her adjutant suggested driving Isaac and his allies out
immediately, Marie looked away and said bluntly, "Well, I must admit
that, Lord Liam having disappeared, we cannot simply ignore the
instructions of his relatives on the Capital Planet. It is the law of the
Empire."
"I guess you've got a point there."
Her adjutant didn't seem entirely convinced, but he didn't want to
challenge Marie on the subject.
Placing a hand over the test tube hidden in her uniform, Marie
revisited her plans. I cannot simply let such an opportunity pass by. We
can slaughter those idiots whenever we want, but this is my only chance to
bear Lord Liam's child.
Marie was just acting to fulfill her desires. Meanwhile, the Guide's
copy sat against the wall behind her, looking on.
"I mean, this is all right," the copy mused. "I was the one who
stimulated her desires, and it was my influence that allowed her to gather
this many people to her side. But—how do I put this...? She could've
resisted a little more, couldn't she? Where's her morality? Shouldn't there
be some conflict between her desires and her sense of responsibility, or
duty, or something?"
The Guide had made this copy to puppet Marie behind the scenes,
but there had hardly been any need to do so, leaving the copy with time on
his hands.
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***
After cutting off communications with Marie, the Royal Guard's
captain conversed with the commander of Liam's elite forces.
The commander sighed. "Is it really all right to leave Lady Rosetta
with them?" He had expected the Royal Guard to send at least a few
people with Marie.
The captain picked up on what he meant. "Marie will protect Lady
Rosetta with her life," she replied. "It wouldn't be wise to leave Liam's
fiancée on the home planet right now anyway."
The commander crossed his arms and looked at the ceiling. "I had to
turn down both their offers. At this rate, House Banfield's army will split
in two and go to war with itself."
Liam's mere disappearance had halved the whole of House
Banfield, and Tia and Marie were the driving forces, although they'd
steadfastly supported the family in the past. That made the situation even
more serious.
The captain considered things for a moment before proposing a
solution. "Maybe we should take independent action as well."
The commander was shocked to hear her say that. Earlier, she'd
insisted the Royal Guard only took orders from Liam. He studied her face;
she looked serious. "You're not joking, are you?"
"If we let Isaac and the rest do as they please, we'll eventually be
disbanded and likely driven from House Banfield's domain. Or do you
plan to switch allegiance to Isaac, now that he's claimed headship?"
The commander and captain had both heard about Isaac's typical
Imperial-noble behavior. They'd investigated the boy and determined him
to be unworthy of their fealty. Thus, the commander seemed interested in
the captain's suggestion.
"You propose taking independent action, but under whose
judgment? I hope you don't think you'll be able to give us orders. You
may be the Royal Guard, but my subordinates won't follow you."
The elite forces were nothing if not stubborn people. They would
only listen to Liam. However skilled and capable the Royal Guard might
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be, none of the elites would follow their orders.
"Of course not. We are merely Lord Liam's guard. I suggest we
leave everything to a reliable knight who can take command of both our
groups."
As she made this proposal, the commander was suspicious, but he
quickly realized who she meant. "Lord Claus..."
The captain nodded, her face serious. "Lord Liam places the utmost
trust in him, and even now, Lord Claus is working diligently to protect
House Banfield. I'm sure he would be grateful for any assistance."
"True. And my people will likely agree if it's his commands we're
following. But what about you? Don't the Royal Guard follow Lord
Liam's orders alone?"
The captain shrugged with a wry smile. "Well, it is an emergency.
Besides, if we have no one to organize us, it will impact our search for
Lord Liam."
"I understand. I'll convince my subordinates to join you."
Once the commander had agreed to cooperate, the captain smiled
and got to her feet. "I'll go speak with Lord Claus."
***
In his office, Claus was at his wits' end. He couldn't show his
consternation to the subordinates around him, of course, so he maintained
a neutral expression. The source of his stress was the group of knights in
black uniforms standing before him, all of whom had greeted him with a
salute.
"As of now, the Royal Guard is under your command. We're
cooperating with the elite forces as well, so please make use of both
groups as you see fit," the Royal Guard's captain said, her face serious.
Then she tilted her head slightly and smiled. "We're looking forward to
working with you, Lord Claus."
"Uh, sure."
What is the Royal Guard doing, coming to serve under me?! Claus
panicked internally at the captain's offer. He didn't understand why people
who normally only obeyed Liam would suddenly want to work under his
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command. I haven't said a thing to them! This had come completely out of
the blue, and Claus had no idea how to deal with it.
His subordinates in the office failed to notice his anxiety, and
merely rejoiced over the news.
"The Royal Guard came to Lord Claus for help?"
"That's our Lord Claus!"
"We'll have nothing to fear with the elite force on our side!"
All Claus could do was watch his reputation soar even higher. With
Royal Guard members standing right in front of him, he had no option
other than to command them—or, rather, to formally request their
assistance.
"Lord Liam is the only one who can give you orders," he said, "so
all I can do is ask for your help. We are rather shorthanded at the moment,
so we would be grateful."
The Royal Guard was surprised by his modest approach, and the
captain gave him a small smile. "We appreciate that, Lord Claus. I
understand why Lord Liam trusts you as much as he does. In fact, I'm a
little jealous."
Claus's only response was to abandon his introspection and focus on
the work to be done.
"Well, if you want to help me out, there's something I'll ask you to
take care of," he said. Augh...I don't want to think anymore. I just need to
focus on doing what I can.
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