Editing Tytania:Volume 1 Chapter 6 (section)

=== IV ===
Feeling refreshed after accomplishing his objectives, Fan Hyulick returned to the spaceship some twelve hours later. He and his former staff officers were in a pretty good mood, having refreshed their minds and bodies to their satisfaction in exchange for about 1,000 dakars.

Once they saw the egg-shaped hull of the ''Honest Old Man'', the two former staff officers whispered with unease, “That thing depreciated a long time ago,” but Fan Hyulick urged them inside cheerfully. Once he entered the room that served as a lounge, dining room, and conference room, they saw the faces of his comrades, and his vision suddenly went dark.

“I heard that Lira is dead.”

It took more than ten seconds for Miranda’s words to register in Fan Hyulick’s mind. The young carrot-top finally became conscious of his own mouth, uttering the words:

“What happened to Lira?”

It was a question devoid of any intellect or reason. Miranda’s thick hands gripped Fan Hyulick by the shoulders, and he slumped into a chair.

Devoid of her cheerfulness and boldness, the Princess of Casabianca looked at the young carrot-top, hesitated, looked up to the sky, and, after making up her mind, repeated:

“I heard that Lira is dead. I got this information through two sources, one being Doctor Lee’s subordinates and the other our own group.”

Another silence fell until it was broken by Fan Hyulick’s voice:

“Was it that perverted count? I doubt that she died from a sickness or an accident. She was radiant with vitality. It has to be that count’s doing!”

“Yes, you are correct. Lira was… Count Arses did something terrible to her<ref>It’s a bit lost in translation, but Miranda changed some grammatical elements in the middle of her sentence, suggesting that she probably changed her mind about what verb she would use mid-sentence.</ref>.”

The moment the woman said “something terrible”, the situation was clear. Fan Hyulick groaned in anger and confusion.

“But isn’t that pervert count supposed to be gay? What, so he’s bisexual after all?”

“The count is gay, but his subordinates aren’t. He ordered Lira to sleep with them in exchange for sparing his man. More than thirty in one night.”

Miranda’s voice was trembling with anger and disgust. Captain Casimir, beside his wife whose large frame was shaking, remained silently sombre. The one who broke the silence was Lieutenant Mahdi, a black marketeer at heart who was part of Tytania’s Ementhal forces.

“Count Arses uses that tactic from time to time. Since he is unable to defile women in person, he uses his subordinates to do so.”

He spat it out with a hatred that ran deeper than his aversion to poverty, which was extremely unusual for that man. Unable to say a word, Fan Hyulick turned his gaze to Miranda. The princess seemed to be devastated.

“We were too naive. We thought that Count Arses would give up on us once we escaped and quickly return to his dissolute life.”

Combining information from two sources, it appeared that Count Arses Tytania had sent his men to capture Lira and her grandmother and, through her grandmother’s confession, also captured De Boer. As her grandmother was making a scandal about not being paid the reward money she was promised, she was slapped by a soldier and died from the shock. It appeared her body was more fragile than her spirit.

The one who was mentally frail was De Boer. When asked about the whereabouts of the ''Honest Old Man'', he answered that he didn’t know. He really didn’t know. With a sneer, Count Arses ordered De Boer to be tortured. Being forced to wear headphones, after some 40 hours of sleep deprivation, De Boer “confessed”. His “confession” was that Lira knew everything.

Count Arses Tytania began interrogating Lira and flew in rage when she called him a “pervert”. Since he was unable to rape Lira himself, he gathered his most brutal soldiers, and, with an eerie grin, declared to Lira: “Well then, if you are still alive after sleeping with 30 of my men, I shall let you and your lover go.”

“Very well,” replied Lira. She knew De Boer had yielded and was already prepared for that. “What a fine resolve,” sneered the count once more, although he meant something quite different by “resolve<ref>The word used by Arces (覚悟) has different meanings, such as preparing oneself mentally, being resolute, or resigning oneself to one’s fate.</ref>”. By their side was a huge tank of predatory fish. Lira erased every expression as she began to undress. She took off her jacket and her shirt. She flung her skirt in the air, and as the soldiers’ gazes shifted for a second… a shriek echoed. Lira had lunged at the count, and they had both fallen in the tank.

“… From what I heard, the count survived, but Lira didn’t make it. And apparently, the count has gone half mad from having his pets devouring his face.”

After Miranda finished speaking, there was a silence of several seconds until Fan Hyulick let out a pained sigh.

“That girl was a good girl. The best girl in Ementhal. At the very least, she didn’t deserve to die like that.”

No one replied. Obviously, Fan Hyulick wasn’t expecting an answer. He ran his hands through his carrot-coloured hair, stopped, and fell deep in thought while his posture was that of a cheap statue.

When he finally looked up, there was an expression on his face that his acquaintances had never seen before. Though he would have hated to admit it, Mahdi couldn’t help but tremble at the sight of it.

“I’ll avenge Lira. I don’t care if De Boer ends up as food for carnivorous fish, but I will avenge Lira. I’ll strangle that perverted Arses Tytania with my very hands.”

His declaration was quiet. His tone was almost flat, as if reading something someone else had written, and that was precisely what showed Fan Hyulick’s resolve. Doctor Lee, who had been perfectly still like a painting until now, moved for the first time.

“You are facing a Tytanian. He might be considered an outcast within the Tytania clan, but he is a Tytania nevertheless. Are you ready to become an enemy of Tytania in order to get your revenge?”

“Whether it is Tytania or Zeus, I don’t care!”

Who was Zeus exactly? He didn’t really know, though he remembered hearing the name – probably some politician or a space pirate. In any case, Fan Hyulick was only interested in Tytania. He glared at everyone in the room, his carrot-coloured hair dishevelled, and walked off to his quarters with heavy footsteps.

Walenkov and Pagès exchanged glances and cautiously followed their former commander. Lieutenant Mahdi clicked his tongue and slumped in his chair.

“He’s going to get revenge on Tytania for a woman he never even slept with? He’s completely unhinged.”

“That’s not for us to judge.”

Doctor Lee pinched his chin with one hand as he fell deep in thought. His expression was ambiguous, making it difficult for others to guess what he was pondering. Maybe he was contemplating his own past and future.

After a while, some expression returned to his eyes. He glanced around at the men and women around him and took an academic tone.

“Tytania’s fleet is 100,000 vessels strong. To defeat it, we would need to gather almost the same amount of forces and establish a complete command structure. Well then, how many years will that take?”

Once he was done talking, Doctor Lee quietly rose to his feet, contacted his meagre fleet, and ordered them to set off for planet Ementhal.