The day after our private celebration was over, it was time for the official Victory Commemorative Party.
Since the boss had self-destructed, the capital and its surrounding areas were finally liberated. Because we were a married couple who could be easily used for propaganda, we had been drafted into the festivities. In other words, we were being trotted out like prize pandas to draw a crowd.
Veronica had officially ascended to fourth in the line of succession. That said, she didn't have any backing from the scary old men who actually ran this party. Those men had already prepared their own pawns for the throne. Still, since being hostile wouldn't do us any favors, I expected they’d try to make contact eventually.
I changed into my Imperial Officer Academy dress uniform. Actually, there was no other choice. I wasn't like the Imperial Guard; I didn't have any medals to decorate a formal military uniform. From the outside, you couldn't tell one boy from another.
In comparison, the girls were allowed to dress up. This was apparently due to His Imperial Majesty’s personal decree: "I won't tolerate it if girls don't get to look cute!" Drop dead.
Veronica wore an expensive-looking dress. I assumed it was haute couture, but the disparity in our marriage was so extreme that my fashion knowledge couldn't even keep up. It was just… incredible!
"You look cute," I said.
"Thank you. Though, Lord Groom, you don't really understand fashion, do you?"
"Yeah. Not a clue."
"Rest assured, I'm not looking for fashion sense or techniques to seduce women from you. In fact, I'm glad your flaws are limited to something so trivial!"
She gave my back a hearty thwack-thwack.
We boarded an automated car. I wondered what it said about the size of the palace that we needed a vehicle just to move around inside it.
"Did you notice?" Veronica tapped the window. Tap-tap. "This is bulletproof glass that can withstand beam weaponry. You understand what that means, right?"
"We're being targeted?"
"Information must have leaked to someone."
"Woah."
Is it even okay to kill me right now? I wondered. Are they thinking, 'We should kill him now before he gets too big for his boots'?
For the time being, I decided to put those scary noble bigwigs on my "kill-on-sight" list. Terrified as I was, I probably had the grim face of Golgo jumping off a building in his underwear, but we safely reached the building housing the audience chamber. It was a dubious structure that looked like "future people trying to build a medieval castle from memory."
Digital bugles greeted us as we stepped out of the car. There didn't seem to be any hitmen. Escorting Veronica, I walked inside with as much dignity as I could muster. The Imperial Guard flanked us, and the other students followed behind.
Inside, we were led to a waiting room near the venue. Marma was there.
"Big Brother!"
"Huh?" I paused. "Wait… Marma-sama. Your way of addressing me is a bit bugged, isn't it?"
"Eh? I heard my sister was marrying into your house as your third wife?"
"Wifey!" I hissed.
"You caught me… teehee!"
It wasn't a "teehee" situation! I wished she’d stop moving things forward without even confirming my intentions. Then again, this was politics; my intentions didn't really matter.
"Melissa, Ren—you understand what it means to become the Lord Groom's women, right?" Veronica asked.
I didn't. Actually, I did, but I was currently choosing to refuse all understanding!
"…Are you forming a new faction?" I asked.
"Politics is a numbers game, Lord Groom."
There were many nobles who, like my house, had been sidelined by the current regime. In fact, everyone except the tiny minority who had succeeded in the capital's inner circles had been pushed to the fringes. Among those sidelined groups, only a few could join the factions of influential nobles. The majority were nobles who weren't even allowed into the "friends club."
Unite them and you'd have a power base… it was an idea everyone had thought of, but no one had ever been able to pull off.
"Wifey, can you really do that?"
"I can now. Though I'll be borrowing your name to do it."
Ehh… that alone won't be enough, surely.
We followed the guides into the party venue. Scary old men who looked like anything but law-abiding citizens glared at me, their chests clinking with medals. I decided not to make eye contact. If they were like predators, eye contact would only make them attack.
The buffet had already begun. I tried to stay low-profile while grabbing food.
"Wifey, do you want me to get you anything else?"
"Could you get me something to drink?"
I wasn't quite as smooth as a natural-born young nobleman. I brought the drink back and handed it to her. The moment I did, I was surrounded by the scary old men.
Spare my life, at least!
A bald man with an eyepatch spoke to me. His smile was terrifying.
"You're Leo Kamishiro, aren't you? I'm Major General Mills of the Army. You did excellent work! I have high expectations for you. If you need anything at all, just say the word! If it's within my power, I'll lend a hand."
"Thank you very much!" I saluted. I was talking to someone from the highest echelons of the military. I stood as straight as a board.
Then, another smiling man with a perm stepped up. He was also covered in medals.
"Hahaha! Mills! Won't you introduce me to your new friend?"
"Oh, Takakura! Hahaha! Leo-kun, this is Takakura. He’s a Lieutenant General in the Space Marines."
This guy with a perm is a Lieutenant General?!
"Student Leo Kamishiro, sir!"
"Hahaha. Not anymore." He slapped my shoulders with both hands. His eyes were wide and looked completely crazed. "First Lieutenant Leo Kamishiro."
"Pardon?"
I looked at Veronica. She had a wicked glint in her eyes.
"Lord Takakura, do not tease my husband," she said.
"Hahaha! Ah, Princess Veronica! My, your spouse truly is made of hero material!"
I hate this. This crazed-looking old man is terrifying!
"Of course he is!" Veronica boasted. "After all, he is the man the Emperor himself desired for my husband!"
The man looked at me again. The pressure! The sheer facial pressure was overwhelming!
"After graduation, you'll be joining the military, naturally?" He smiled kindly, which was somehow the scariest part of all.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
"Did you hear that, everyone? With this, our military's future is secure!"
The group, which looked like nothing so much as a gang of high-ranking yakuza, toasted with roaring spirits.
"You didn't understand what that was about, did you?" Veronica asked, coming to my side.
"Not in the slightest."
"It means the path to Colonel has been opened for you—assuming you survive."
"Why?" I kept trying to tell them; I wasn't cut out for the military top brass!
"A genius pilot, a hero of the nation, and the husband of the fourth in line to the throne… of course they want to be on your good side."
"But isn't the military under your brother's wing?"
"Only the very top. Those below—from Lieutenant General down—are furious about how the battle for the capital was handled. They are genuinely grateful to you for cleaning up that mess. From the bottom of their hearts. Naturally, they're desperate to keep you."
"And the bait is a promotion?"
"No. By promoting you and using me as a foothold, they want to gain a voice in the center and secure independence from the military's civilian bureaucrats."
"…And that's because of the battle?"
"From an outsider's perspective, we achieved a dramatic victory. They'll likely use this momentum to purge the current Generals."
"Um, so in short…?"
"The military has become my backer. You did well to move the heavy-bottomed Lieutenant General Takakura! Well done!"
So, the military had been managed by bureaucrats until now, but they had suffered embarrassing retreats. Lieutenant General Takakura had likely been persuaded to take the top spot, and I had become the symbol of that military renewal.
No, that's terrifying!
"I truly did marry a good man! Hahahaha!"
While I stood there in a daze, Takakura said "See you later" and went back to celebrating with the other old men. It seemed the rails of my life had been laid for me. I had no choice but to keep running until I danced with hard luck.
After a while, the lights dimmed and the Emperor was announced.
"Ladies and gentlemen. His Imperial Majesty the Emperor has arrived. Please welcome him with applause."
Amidst rainbow-colored spotlights and the glimmer of a disco ball, the Emperor appeared. He was a maro—shaved eyebrows, white face, the whole traditional look. It was my first time seeing him in person, and he was every bit the caricature I’d imagined.
The Emperor descended from above, waving to the crowd. He was greeted with thunderous applause, but my heart was frozen. I mean, he's a maro!
A man approached the Emperor.
"Hm? Why has my brother gone up onto the stage?" Veronica wondered. "Oh, Lord Groom, that's my second elder brother."
"Heh. He looks muscular but smart."
He was a hulking man with glasses. His chest was massive. Honestly, wouldn't he be a better fit to lead the military?
As I was admiring him, the muscular man with glasses suddenly drew a gun.
"Eh?"
A split second later, a beam of light tore through the Emperor's body.