After a fierce clash with one of the orbital knights, the Deucalion dropped some "crucial intel" and escaped.
"Thanks to Lord Zatsubarumu for his noble support and for providing us with Martian technology. In return, we've eliminated the Martian agents you sent to assassinate the princess—no need to worry."
This piece of intel directly pointed to Zatsubarumu as the mastermind behind the assassination of the princess and even hinted at colluding with the enemy.
The other orbital knights immediately confronted Zatsubarumu. Of course, he denied it and accused them of falling for Earthling lies. But deep down, a flicker of unease stirred within him. Kuruteo had suddenly cut contact—had he learned the truth about the princess's survival from Slaine? And now this fake intel about the Earthling alliance—it all smelled like a scheme brewing against him.
And he was right. It was all part of Liu A'dou's plan to pit Martians against each other.
His key piece on the board? Slaine. This boy was sharp, but as long as the princess was involved, his IQ would drop back to average. Liu A'dou sent him to leak the news that the princess was still alive and to trick Zatsubarumu into confessing to ordering the hit.
Since Liu A'dou claimed the princess had ordered it, Slaine didn't hesitate and flew a transport directly to find Zatsubarumu. Zatsubarumu had owed a great debt to Slaine's father, and he also knew how Slaine had been beaten, tortured, and interrogated. That made Slaine the perfect go-between. But he had to act like he suspected Kuruteo was the real mastermind—just to gain Zatsubarumu's trust.
A luxurious dinner, though mostly vegetables. At the table, Zatsubarumu smiled. "Slaine, there's one thing I need to ask. How do you know the princess is still alive?"
"I saw it with my own eyes," Slaine replied. "And Torlan admitted it himself. He said Martians tried to assassinate the princess and claimed the Kuruteo family would be declared traitors. So, it must've been Count Kuruteo who gave the order in secret."
Ah, young people… Looking at the son of his old friend, Zatsubarumu didn't know whether to laugh or sigh. The real plotter wasn't Kuruteo, but nobles like him—those discontent with the royal family.
Zatsubarumu and his fiancée had been part of the first Martian landing on Earth 15 years ago. They'd come full of ambition. But when Heaven's Fall claimed his fiancée's life, hatred for the royal family—who started the war—took root in his heart. He wanted to overthrow them, but to do that, he needed power. And power required resources.
So he waited 15 years, and when the princess came to Earth, he finally made his move.
First, assassinate the princess. Then start the war. After claiming Earth's resources, launch a counterattack on Mars. Everything had gone smoothly—until the princess survived.
He even ordered a meteor strike on New Shinokawa City to finish the job. Still failed.
"So, you're saying you ran off on your own just to find the princess? Did you find her?"
Slaine frowned, remembering what the count had told him earlier. 'This man is the true puppet master behind it all.' Now, he had to lead him into confessing.
One piece of intel about collusion with the enemy wasn't enough to shake Zatsubarumu's standing. They needed more.
"You're still too young. No way one count could pull off something like this alone. Including me, there are others involved."
"...?" Slaine froze, staring blankly. That fast? A confession?
"You're saying you ordered Martian spies to assassinate the princess, and then sent Torlan to silence them? Count Zatsubarumu, please answer."
"Slaine, you're the son of my old friend. I'll tell you the truth. Yes, it's all true. I needed a reason to start the war, so I sent Martian agents to kill the princess. Later, afraid she might've survived, I ordered a meteor strike on the entire city. But even then, she lived. As expected of the First Princess of Mars."
He looked at Slaine. "I know you're loyal to her, but the Martian royal family is nothing but a bunch of rotten wood." Then the count started rambling about his past with his fiancée and hurled insult after insult at the royal family.
Slaine thought to himself that he'd wrongly accused Count Kuruteo.
All these counts—Mars really had too many of them.
It was done. He'd gotten the key confession and now just needed to leave. He made up an excuse and walked away from the dinner.
Zatsubarumu watched Slaine's back and smiled faintly. "Still too young." As he spoke, he peeled off the skin of his face—revealing Liu A'dou's bright grin. Of course. Like any seasoned fox would really spill all his secrets before confirming whether the princess was alive?
But this time, Liu A'dou had used truth as bait in a fake act. He exposed everything, making Zatsubarumu completely unable to deny any of it.
With that critical intel in hand, Slaine left. Liu A'dou didn't stick around either—he teleported out into space like a cheater hacking a game. He was toying with the Martians, playing them to death. One minute pretending to be a knight to fool the count, the next as the count to trick the princess and the Martians, and now, acting as the mastermind to sell out the anti-royalist faction.
Then Liu A'dou made a public broadcast to the 37 noble houses. He vaguely suggested that the traitor faction wasn't just one person. That spooked the other rebels. They were terrified that Zatsubarumu might name them next. Assassinating the princess was a capital offense. The royalists would never forgive it, and they'd never stop until every last rebel was dead. To protect themselves, the rebels struck first.
They accused Zatsubarumu of two crimes: colluding with the enemy and attempting to assassinate the princess.
Whether the collusion part was real didn't matter anymore—people believed what they wanted. And to completely destroy Zatsubarumu, every possible charge had to be stacked against him.
Zatsubarumu was stunned. 'When did I ever meet my old friend's son? When did I say those things?' But the voice in the recording was unmistakably his. There was no talking his way out of it. Now he had only two choices—die or kill his enemies.
The rebels wouldn't let him live. Capturing him wasn't even an option. His only path forward was to fight back.
"The facts are clear now, Your Highness. The ones who attacked first are your enemies. Please give the order," Liu A'dou said respectfully to the princess, fully dressed and acting like a loyal advisor. He'd already gone over everything with her beforehand.
The princess now understood that Martians had tried to assassinate her and that there were factions within Mars who opposed the VERS royal family. But even knowing that, she still hesitated to order an attack.
Peace. What she wanted was peace. Peace meant no war. Peace meant Martians and Earthlings happily living together.
"Your Highness, it's not you who doesn't want peace. It's them. If you really want peace, then you must eliminate all opposition from within Mars. Everything you're doing now—it's for peace." Liu A'dou spouted nonsense with a straight face, acting like the champion of peace, standing firmly by her side.
His words touched something in her heart. At last, she nodded. "You're right. Count, I entrust this matter to you!"
In her mind, the citizens of VERS were just her household servants. She could do whatever she wanted with them. Martians existed to serve the royal family. Earthlings were the real allies. Servants versus allies—of course the allies mattered more.
If sacrifice was needed for Martians and Earthlings to live together peacefully, then so be it—even if countless servants had to die. That was the mindset of a true feudal ruler.
But as an Earthling, Liu A'dou was thrilled—the orbital knights' civil war had finally begun.