Interstellar Age

Chapter 81 Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't

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Ryu looked at Erich with a stern gaze in his amber eyes. He did not know what the man's intent was with such a question. Nor did he really want to answer it in any capacity. However, he spent most of his days alone in his cell, and he was starting to have a bit of an internal crisis due to his ongoing isolation. 

Thus, he decided he would rather entertain Erich's questions about Yumi, rather than go back to what was essentially solitary confinement. With a heavy sigh, Ryu answered Erich's initial question with one of his own. 

"What do you want to know?" 

Erich was quite surprised that Ryu was being so cooperative. And thus, he took a moment to think things through, before posing the first of the many questions he had on his mind. 

"I know very little about Yumi's background, and so I was wondering, what exactly is her role in the Palace? In nearly every public appearance I have seen of the Great Oni Emperor, your great aunt is standing by his side." 

This was a question that Ryu was not expecting. It was not exactly common for a foreigner to ask about the internal politics of the Kondo Dynasty. There were naturally many things he could not say about the matter, or did not even know himself. But what he did know was that his father seemed to accept much of Yumi's advice. 

With a complicated expression on his face, the Crown Prince of the Great Oni Empire tried to answer Erich's question in a way that would not get him in trouble. 

"That is a complicated question, but from what I know, Yumi was the older sister of my late grandfather. The man sat on the Oni Throne for nearly two centuries before he finally passed away. Strangely enough, he died rather young of unknown causes. 

However, even back then, Yumi was the closest advisor to my grandfather, and when my father inherited the throne, she naturally did the same for him. Though her official position is that of our ambassador to the Germanic Star-Empire, her influence over my father, and the other politicians within our state, is far greater than something a mere ambassador should have. 

In fact, from what I understand, she was the one who convinced my father to send support to the Germanic Star-Empire during your war with Terminus. I once asked the man about why he always listened to my great aunt's advice and he told me that Yumi has an exceptional mind for politics, and because of this she is greatly revered by all our politicians.

There's also the fact that she is currently the oldest living member of the Kondo Dynasty. Even though our race has much longer lifespans than yours, the Kondo dynasty has been exceptionally cursed this last millennium. Because of this, we have lost all our elders.

Although Yumi is the oldest living member of our dynasty, she is not even old enough to technically be considered an elder, but for whatever reason, she is treated like one. And because of this, her advice on matters both foreign and domestic is taken into account by my royal father and our Empire's politicians. 

I'm honestly surprised you got entangled with such a powerful woman, without even knowing the first thing about her background. How did that even happen? As far as I'm aware, Yumi only ever mingles with the highest ranking politicians of the Germanic Star-Empire, and most certainly not a young man like yourself."

Erich had a stunned expression on his face, partially because Ryu's words confirmed what he already believed to be true. Though Ryu did not seem to be aware of this reality, Yumi was clearly the real authority behind the Oni throne, in fact, Erich was starting to consider that this curse which plagued the Kondo Dynasty may have been her doing, so that she could solidify control over the Great Oni Empire.

Naturally, if he were to speak these ideas aloud, he would at best be labelled a conspiracy theorist, and at worst, would invoke Yumi's ire. Which was definitely something that Erich most certainly did not want to do. While the Great Oni Empire may not be as militarily powerful as the Germanic Star-Empire, they had several advantages over their allies, which could prove incredibly troublesome if Erich did or said something foolish.

For starters, the Great Oni Empire had thousands of star systems under their command, each of which contained a vast amount of resources which they could make use of. In comparison, the Germanic Star-Empire had thirty-six systems under their control, half of which were currently undergoing reconstruction efforts. 

This meant that not only was the Oni population vastly superior to the GSE, but they also had a much larger industry and economy. If Erich said something foolish to Ryu, and it made its way back to Yumi, the woman could theoretically respond with any number of sanctions against the Empire, ones that could cripple their economy. Considering that the Great Oni Empire was the largest trading partner of the Germanic Star-Empire.

Another problem was that although the Oni Military was inferior to the Germanic Star-Empire in terms of training and technology, it was significantly larger, so much so that if the GSE were to fight a total war with the Oni, there was a high probability that they would lose, simply because they did not have enough men, and resources to compete with the vast population and industry of the Great Oni Empire. 

After taking all of this into consideration, Erich chose to bite his tongue and respond with a simple gesture. He merely scoffed and shook his head, before revealing how limited his knowledge was of such a powerful and fearsome woman. 

"To be honest, I met your great aunt on a civilian transport to my people's capital almost a decade ago. She didn't tell me much about herself other than that she was a diplomat to the Germanic Star-Empire. We spent one night together, and that was it.

I did not hear from her again until she came aboard this ship to deal with your little outburst. Although, she appears to have taken a great interest in me after what I have accomplished so far throughout my military service. I can't tell if this is a blessing or a curse..." 

Ryu could tell that Erich had no idea what kind of serious matter he had gotten himself into, and was probably just some dumb kid who wanted to lose his virginity when he first met Yumi all those years ago. Thus, he felt a lot less animosity towards the man for doing something so taboo with a member of his royal bloodline. In the end, he sighed and offered Erich some advice. 

"You want my advice? Stay away from the woman! Don't look at me like that! I'm not just saying this because I disapprove of your relationship. You saw what my great aunt did to our Admiral, and the other high-ranking officers of our navy who had heard a bit too much about your affair. 

If anyone else were to find out about your relationship with my great aunt, heads will roll. In fact, the only reason I know about her perversion is because my father accidentally told me such when he was intoxicated. I honestly doubt anyone else in the Great Oni Empire knows about her tastes. Because if they did, it would be a huge scandal. Needless to say, there is nothing good that can come from the two of you continuing whatever it is that you have together. 

And if you happen to not care at all about the lives of others, then let me give you this warning. You are not in a significant enough position within your people's empire to protect you from her. When she tires of your company, and she eventually will, I would not put it past my great aunt to make an attempt on your life.

After all, loose lips sink ships, and you're just a petty little commander. The amount of damage that could be done to the Kondo Dynasty's reputation if you were to ever speak of your affair with my great aunt is something that could not be undone for ten generations. Obviously, she would not allow such a threat to exist. Or if she did, then my royal father would not…"

It was at this moment that Erich suddenly remembered the deathly stare that Yumi had given him, when he asked about the exact nature of her role in the Great Oni Empire. The murderous gaze in the woman's eyes as she spoke so gravely, and with such a harrowing message, sent chills down the man's spine. 

"You're damn lucky that you are cute, Erich...."

Unknowingly, Erich had said these words aloud, which alerted Ryu. Although he may be quick to anger, Ryu was by no means dense, and he could tell by the expression on Erich's face, and the haunting tone of his words, that this was something that Yumi had said to him. Thus, the Crown Prince of the Great Oni Empire chuckled, before making a comment that would cause Erich to be anxious every time he was around Yumi.

"Oh? It sounds to me like you may have touched a nerve with her. From what you just said, I would like to retract my previous statement. It would not be in your best interest to suddenly ghost Yumi. If you did, who knows how she will react? That woman is not someone you want to get on the bad side of, and from what my royal father has told me, she does not handle rejection well...." 

Erich looked at Ryu with a dumbfounded look on his face, before asking the question which had such an obvious answer. 

"So you're telling me to continue seeing her until she gets bored with me?" 

Ryu nodded his head, albeit with a rather irritated expression on his face, before voicing his opinion on the matter. 

"If I were you, I would treat my great aunt like a pure and innocent princess, because if you do, she might just keep you by her side for the rest of your life. And at this point, that is honestly your best option. Unfortunately for you, your fate is now a gamble. That woman is not easy to please, and one misstep can result in you disappearing forever.

Although if what you previously said about her wanting to keep you as a concubine is true, then you might have to worry about another very real possibility. The more she becomes attached to you, the more the likelihood is that she might just end up kidnapping you, and confining you to our palace for the rest of your life. Tsk.... I can honestly say that I no longer envy you...." 

Erich was particularly dumbfounded by this last statement. If he rejected Yumi, then he was as good as dead, but if he pleased her, she might legitimately kidnap him, like she had "joked" about doing during their previous conversation. It was starting to dawn on the young commander that he had made a really bad decision by sleeping with Yumi all those years ago...