"My Lord! There has been a complication back in your lands!" Carla's face was certainly not the one I was expecting when I was told by Control that there was an urgent request to speak to me over the drone communication network.

We really needed a better name for it.

We were still in transit back to Holfort and it would be about a couple more days before we reached the borders. The Nagare could have gone faster, but there wasn't anything hectic happening so I agreed with Control when they suggested we take a more sedate pace.

Sadly, it seemed that circumstances once again conspired against me yet again.

I narrowed my eyes at the familiar looking living room that she was sitting in. "Carla, are you inside my parents' estate?"

"Carla here came all the way from your territory to borrow our little Control drone so she can talk to you. Poor girl was beside herself so I let her since Control here verified that she truly is your follower." My mother stepped into the frame, pretty much confirming it, and explained why she was there.

"It seemed faster than waiting for your return or going all the way to the Capital to ask Lady Angelica to borrow the drone they have." Carla continued the thought with a sheepish smile.

"Smart thinking, Carla." Her face lit up with a much happier smile at my words. I then sighed and mentally prepared myself for what she was about to say. "I assume this is pretty damn important if you could wait for our return."

She winced and my fears were confirmed with her next words, just not in the way that I was expecting. "A few days ago, Lady Zola Fou Batfort arrived at your estate and declared that her son and daughter would take over management of your territory. She even brought along soldiers and several Armors with them, saying that they would help bolster security."

"She did what?" Geez, even I could feel how cold my mother's words were. Both Carla and I remained silent and motionless as my mother stomped away. What the hell was that old hag even thinking? I hadn't heard anything about her since I first showed up in the Nagare and Black Getter and now she pulled this garbage?

"Her children, Rutart and Merce, are currently staying in your new manor and have been ordering everyone around. My father and I keep getting rebuffed whenever we try to re-establish control." Carla stated regretfully. Those two were in my house?! They better not have been drinking my tea collection! "We simply did not have the manpower to attempt to go against their forces. As a result, your people have become very agitated about what will happen to them, their families, and their livelihoods."

I rubbed my temples and tried not to let my emotions get out of control. "I'm surprised that you didn't bring this to Angie, Clarice, and Livia."

"I didn't want to turn it into a bloodbath, my Lord." Carla immediately responded and I couldn't find any fault in her concern.

"Yes, that was very prudent of you. Thanks for letting me know." Carla once again smiled at my compliment. I hummed and thought about our trajectory. "Actually, stay there and we'll pick you up along the way."

"Yes, my Lord!" Carla excitedly stated before the connection ended.

It seems that a forgotten factor has once again made themselves known.

"You have to wonder why she's doing all this. What would she gain?" I asked in complete confusion. I outranked Zola now and was completely independent from the main Bartfort house. The only reason she actually had control over my territory was because she brought a small armed force along with her. That made me think of investing in actual security for my lands instead of just relying on the implied threat of Black Getter and the Nagare. I should ask my father about this at some point.

It may be a number of things. She may be testing how much she can get away with before you step in. Alternatively, since your territory is formerly part of the Offrey's, her reasons may be more nefarious if she is a member of the Forest of Ladies cabal.

"You think she's in on it?" I mean there was a pretty good chance, but it seemed way too on the nose.

She did try to rope you into becoming a sacrifice for what was effectively welfare fraud.

Thank you for reminding me why I hated this world so much before I met you, Control.

"This is your Captain speaking. I would like to thank all of you for your patronage in choosing Bartfort Airlines. We will be making a short detour to the Bartfort estate to pick up an extra passenger before continuing our way to our primary destination." I spoke via the speaker network connected to the Captain's chair. I then had a thought and added something with my announcement. "Would Miss Marie Fou Bartfort and Prince Julius Rapha Holfort please report to the bridge? I have a couple of things to discuss."

The two of them arrived together a few minutes later and I explained what happened in my territory. "So? Any thoughts on why she's literally muscling in on my territory?"

"Because she's stupid and doesn't have a grasp on reality?" Marie's initial reaction being snark was pretty much expected. I just hoped that she was also actually thinking about a real angle on what was happening.

Thankfully, Julius seemed to be taking the situation more seriously based on the look on his face. "It is rather strange. She does not hold any actual authority on your lands and her actions would be frowned upon in court should it come to light."

"What are my options to deal with this, Julius?" He just shrugged at my question.

"You mean aside from violence?" Julius chuckled at my shocked expression with his answer. "You are the ruling Lord of that territory and you have full authority to declare them as unlawful encroachers. That they refused to cede control to the Crown designated caretakers of your lands only strengthens your case should you choose to eliminate them."

"Though I am well aware that you are very reluctant to take the lives of others due to your own values and the wish of your Armor's creator." He added with an understanding smile. I nodded in gratitude that he still remembered what I said during our pirate hunt last year.

"I can't think of any reason why they would do this. There's nothing to gain from this aside from inconveniencing you." Marie finally started contributing to the topic, her face adopting a more serious expression. "Unless this is a trap of some kind."

That made Julius and I look at each other in alarm with that suggestion. He turned back to Marie and voiced his concern. "You suspect an assassination attempt?"

"Attempt would be a pretty generous term." She said with a snort while gesturing to our immediate surroundings. "Do either of you think that the old hag can actually cobble together anything that can do any damage to this ship?"

I mean, she was probably right. It still didn't change the fact that it was still a problem we needed to deal with. Hopefully, my half-siblings could just be intimidated to back down to save me a big headache.

"I shall speak with the others. Should this turn into a battle, we will stand at your side." I nodded at Julius' declaration. Man, it sure was great to have friends who had my back.

"Thanks Julius, I really appreciate it." Marie then took this as a signal that the discussion was effectively over.

She gave us a lazy wave while making her way to the door. "Well, have fun bullying a bunch of losers."

"Leon, there is something I wish to ask your input on." Julius' words made me blink since I was expecting him to follow my sister off the bridge.

"What's on your mind?" A lot, it seemed, based on the complicated expression on his face.

"Recently, Marie has been more open about her feelings and her mannerisms. It has been both intriguing and refreshing in the same breath. At the same time, it has made us realize that the girl that we all fell in love with is no longer anywhere to be found." I stiffened at the topic. Of course it would have been about Marie. His words were pretty interesting though, so she had been letting her mask slip more and more around them? Did she even notice? "It has been that way ever since you adopted her as your sister."

I tried to remain calm as I didn't know how to approach this sudden need to become Julius' confidant. "I see. Has it changed how you guys feel about her?"

The smile on his face did make me let out a sigh of relief at least. "Not at all. Seeing her be more confident and decisive in her actions has been rather exhilarating. However, it did make me wonder about something."

"What is it?" Well, tension now at code yellow.

"Why does Marie sometimes refer to the Republic as the Second Game and why does she sometimes speak of Flags and Capture Targets in reference to Noelle and Serge?" I blinked and tilted my head in confusion. Why was he asking that? Marie was using game-speak because they already knew about her real circumstances, right?

Right?!

"Whatever do you mean?" I asked in clarification while trying to remain calm despite the code blue.

"She did say something along the lines of the departed Leon Sara Rault not being in the so-called Second Game and you seemed to take it all in stride. I wanted to ask you about it first in case I was just misunderstanding her odd terminology." Red! Red! Ultraman blinking Red!

Dammit Marie! Did she literally just forget to not use game terms when talking about stuff we had to deal with while around the boys?!

"Leon?" I flinched and cleared by throat when Julius called out to me.

"It's a really long story," I began as delicately as I could. I wasn't really sure how much I could even talk about. "Something that I can't really say by myself. It would be best if Marie tells you guys about it herself."

"Then should we confront her about it?" It was clear that Julius didn't like being kept on the dark when it came to something relating to Marie.

I would advise against a direct confrontation on the topic for now.

"Why not, Control?" I asked this time. Wouldn't her coming clean be the best option before it blew up in her face?

The circumstances surrounding Marie's strange shift in mannerisms and attitude is multifaceted and complex. Approaching it with her in the wrong angle may end poorly.

"But she was fine when she found out that Livia, Angie, and Clarice already knew." I pointed out and Julius narrowed his eyes at me.

"They alreay know of Marie's secrets?" I hesitantly nodded since I didn't want to lie to him.

That is because they are not you, you highness. Nor are they her other lovers.

"So Marie is hiding something from us, and neither of you can divulge it." The frustration in his voice pretty much said it all.

"I'm sorry, Julius. It would really be best if it comes from her." I helplessly said, feeling like crap after Julius literally just promised to help me with my territory dispute.

"So be it. I would like to ask one last thing." It was pretty jarring to see Julius look so vulnerable and uncertain all of a sudden. "Do you think that Marie really loves us?"

Fuck, why was he asking me this?!

Before I could respond, Julius just gave me a sad smile and walked away. Shit!

It seems that Marie's relationship with Prince Julius and the others will soon change one way or another.

"You were there last time, why didn't you say anything?" I grumbled at Control.

Because I am of the opinion that Marie needs to be honest to them. Having their relationships be founded on a lie would only cause further devastation in the future if left to languish. She needs this if she has any hope in moving forward as a person.

I rubbed my eyelids as I couldn't really refute Control's reasoning.

"God dammit, Marie."

You were supposed to be the one between the two of us who was good with all the social stuff!

…

We got to my family's estate without further issue. To my surprise, my mother decided to accompany us as well. When I asked, she beelined to Marie and pulled her away further into the ship. My sister called out for my help, but my mother's face said that bad things would happen to me if I interfered.

I guess she wanted to formally talk to her new adopted daughter.

"Your mother was rather insistent in joining despite the protests of Baron Bartfort." Carla apologetically told me without having to ask her.

"That's your mom? Is every woman you know scary?" I opened my mouth to deny Serge's claims, but then I actually thought about it.

"Well not all of them." Just the vast majority of them.

We finally made it into my territory after a few more hours of travel. When we arrived, the scenery was not what I was expecting at all.

"So does your place usually look like a warzone?" Despite the joke, I could hear the tension in Serge's voice. He and my other guests were at the bridge with me since they were curious as to what my lands looked like. When we got to the biggest island where most of the population and my main estate was located, we were greeted with a sight that made my blood boil.

Currently, a lot of it was on fire with dead soldiers and destroyed Armor everywhere. There were monsters on the ground and in the skies. It was a full on monster attack like what had been happening in a lot of other locations throughout Holfort ever since the Principality got their hands on Hundred Demon tech.

It looked like the small army Zola brought along for her kids wasn't enough to defend the place.

"Stay here!" I told our guests before I ran out of the bridge. "Control! Tell Julius and the others to get in their Armors and prepare for combat! Start scanning for survivors and shoot down every monster you can!"

Initial scans indicate that all casualties are non-civilians. I do not detect anyone, living or dead, in the surrounding areas. I suggest we move to your estate as the populous and any surviving armed forces may have decided to fortify themselves there.

"Do it!" I barked out as I waited for the lift to take me down to the Nagare's hangar.

This was not how I wanted our guests' first impression of Holfort to be like!