Revolutionary Period –
Orléans, southwest of the capital Lumière, the trading capital.
After the king’s army suffered a crushing defeat in the battle surrounding the capital Lumière, the king left Orléans, which was dangerous because it was just below the capital, and took refuge in the Duke of Lorraine’s estate.
Immediately after that, a huge number of revolutionary troops, numbering 15,000, covered the Orléans territory and were laying siege to the fortress where the Duke of Orléans was holding on.
And their commander-in-chief, Raphael Balian, pulled out his head and shouted.
“Oh really! “I’m going to be thrilled!”
His chief of staff, Alexandre Werther, glanced sideways at the glowing Balian and then sighed deeply.
“Are you telling us to supply local supplies? Current level? “You’re encouraging the revolutionary army to plunder, aren’t you?”
When Balian spoke again, Werther sighed deeply again and said,
“I guess you don’t have any money. “I heard that the capital is proudly operating twice the number of troops as it was during the kingdom era with half the military expenditures, and is promoting the superiority of a clean republic over a corrupt kingdom.”
“What a disaster! If we don’t provide supplies, military expenses will decrease! Moreover, those so-called officers dispatched by the famous revolutionary government don’t know what they’re doing and don’t know how to handle the military! “If we work hard to break up and distribute the supplies we don’t have, they say they’ve filled just half of the days they expected and that they’ve run out!”
“Well, they say they selected people who were passionate about the revolution and had ability, regardless of origin, but…”
After hearing Werther’s words, Balian chewed his thumbnail.
“shit. Even now, the Empire of Germania and the Northern United Kingdom are discussing how many troops to send to help the king, and there’s no way to make a quick decision, but this is bullshit. If this continues, we’ll all be ruined. “It’s going to be a f***!”
“Hehehe…”
As Balian and Werther were having a regretful conversation, one side of the fortress wall, which could not withstand the successive shell strikes, finally began to collapse with a rumbling sound.
A lot of debris and dust flew around, and as it settled, revolutionary troops began to squeeze through an obvious gap in one side of the fortress wall.
“Oh oh oh! After all, there is no way to die! Haha! “Attack!”
Balian immediately put the telescope to his eyes and looked at the revolutionary troops advancing through the crack in the wall –
“Oh no.”
I had to watch the knights block the gap and slaughter all the soldiers who entered.
In the last battle, before the knights could even charge in the field, they were surrounded by ambushed mountain soldiers and chase cavalry and did not allow close combat, engaging in gunfights from all directions, which resulted in an easy victory.
The Duke of Lorraine’s knights themselves were of a lower standard than the knights of the kingdom, and they were the perfect sacrifice, wearing heavy armor that was useless in front of guns.
But that’s because they were embarrassed by something they saw for the first time and couldn’t react, and the knights who protect the entire front with magical power and slaughter soldiers in such a narrow gap are semi-invincible to ordinary soldiers.
“Make all regiments attack in all directions! The knights have no choice but to block that road, so tell them to use ladders, ropes, or anything else to climb the castle walls! “They don’t have enough troops anyway-”
However, before Balian could finish his words, the regiment that was attacking through the gap in the castle wall sounded a trumpet sound and the soldiers soon began to run away.
“No, Mr. Geez!”
Balian threw the telescope he was holding on the ground and immediately mounted his horse and ran towards the retreating regiment.
Werther sighed and followed him.
“Who is the commander of this regiment!”
“It’s me, General.”
“Are you crazy? “After all that hard work, we finally created a gap, but instead of going on a general offensive, you start retreating?”
“But the soldiers were so terrible at dealing with such monsters-”
Balian was speechless in front of the regimental commander who was speaking gibberish.
After a moment of silence, Balian asked in frustration.
“What were you doing before you came here?”
“He was a painter who worked in the capital city.”
Balian and Werther looked at each other and laughed.
The vacancies of Jérôme Morel and Nicolas, who had been sent to keep the Duke of Lorraine and the King in check, were filled with personnel sent by the revolutionary government, but I had no idea that the difference would be this great.
After a while, Balian gritted his teeth and spoke.
“Hey Chief of Staff. Tell the high-ranking officials of the revolutionary government immediately. “I don’t need the ‘capable and passionate’ officers sent by the revolutionary government, so whatever is fine, just bring in officers who can be used right away!”
“Hehe, sure. “General.”
As Werther turned and walked away, Balian muttered softly.
“Do we really need more power?”
–
We arrived in Poitiers a day earlier than the promised date, undressed ourselves, and waited for Nicolas Brissot, the leader of the moderate revolutionary government.
However, the person we met on the appointed day was not Nicola Brissot, but a messenger who came to ask for our understanding that we would inevitably be two days later than the promised date.
We know this is an important issue, and everyone else knows it.
Poitiers, the meeting location, was chosen as the meeting location because it supported the revolutionary government and at the same time had a friendly market at the top of Aquitaine.
But still, since we are a city that supports the revolutionary government, we cannot be considered completely safe, so why break our promise like this?
Since we were in the North anyway, Christine said we could just wait and do what we wanted to do, but it wasn’t very pleasant.
–
A dark room with the only light coming in faintly through a closed window in the corner of the room.
I asked after being lost in thought.
“What do you think, Christine?”
“Well, honestly, I don’t think we can make a hasty judgment at this stage.”
After finishing speaking, Christine seemed to think deeply and then opened her mouth again.
“The attitude they showed so far was quite desperate to treat us poorly now.”
The moderate faction of the revolutionary government is currently much weaker than the radical faction.
It is natural because the revolution itself arose in the name of punishing the king and nobles who were selling the people to the devil.
The moderates are horrified by the unimaginable violence of the revolution, so they must be desperate for something to have an impact on.
“I think that if this is accomplished, it will be a significant help in strengthening their influence.”
In fact, bringing us, who controlled the south, to the revolutionary government, which only controlled the northwestern part of Francia and was in a situation where it had to face the king and foreign troops, would be almost doubling its influence.
Moreover, Christine’s Aquitaine is currently wielding the most powerful money power in Francia, and my Lafayette has also gained great fame due to his performance in the final battle of the civil war, so his personal importance is by no means low.
“Perhaps a really serious situation has arisen in the revolutionary government, and as the leader of the moderate faction, I simply cannot leave my position.”
It’s such an important issue.
Did a declaration of war come from the Germanian Empire?
I was lost in thought and glanced at Lewis, who was standing next to us with a slightly intimidated look on his face.
A blond-haired, blue-eyed young boy dressed in attire similar to that of a servant.
There is a 10 year age difference between them, but even without that, they do not look like Christine and siblings. I wonder if they were both deeply influenced by their mother.
When Lewis made eye contact with me, he looked a little startled and lowered his head.
It’s no wonder that the last time I met this boy was when my knights followed Christine’s ruling and cut down the boy’s mother and associates.
Rather than increase the boy’s anxiety, I turned my attention to Christine.
Instead of the elegant black dress she usually wore, she wore something simpler and more like what wealthy merchants would wear, and covered only her face with a veil.
Instead of the clothes I usually wear, I am wearing clothes that a mercenary guard would wear.
We are in a rented house in a village on the outskirts of Poitiers, and I play Christine’s escort, and Luis plays her servant.
We are here to take action against the radicals that Christine spoke of.
A moment later, a knock was heard.
“The lady has arrived.”
“Okay, let’s take it.”
A moment later, the door opened with a knock, and an ordinary-looking commoner woman entered the door.
Have you just become an adult? A woman who looked younger than me or Christine looked towards us with a slightly nervous expression in the dark room.
Christine, who was sitting cross-legged on a chair with Louis standing behind her, slowly opened her mouth.
“Ellen Darby?”
Her accent and feel are slightly different from her usual self. You must be used to this kind of thing.
“That’s right… Lady.”
Christine seemed to pause slightly on purpose.
“I heard you have a grudge against Jean Malraux.”
At that name, Ellen’s ordinary-looking face hardened.
“…As you know, Lady. “My parents worked at the mansion of a nobleman in the capital and were all killed by self-proclaimed revolutionary soldiers.”
Christine didn’t say anything.
However, Ellen’s face naturally filled with anger and hatred, and words flowed quickly from her mouth.
“Jean said, that guy took the lead in inciting people. “When my parents pleaded that they were just working at the nobleman’s mansion to feed their family, they laughed at them and called them the henchmen of the nobleman, and killed them all.”
After a moment of silence, Ellen added.
“I can’t even count the number of innocent people he killed by inciting things like that, but he lives a life of whining, being praised as a warm and generous person by the common people.”
Christine’s expression did not change at all after hearing Ellen’s words.
He just listens quietly, letting Ellen burn with his own hatred and longing.
Ellen asked a slightly more genuine question.
“…Lady is the one who supported me and my family’s living expenses, right?”
“okay. And he is the one who will give you a chance to get revenge.”
Her voice and actions with her face covered with a veil make her look like an older lady.
Christine paused a little and then opened her mouth.
“I’ll tell you in advance. I will help you get revenge and take care of your family after it’s over. But even if you succeed, you won’t survive. … Will you still do it?”
Ellen swallowed dryly.
“…What happens if I say I don’t do it?”
“The support your family was receiving will be cut off and that’s it. Instead, if you say you will do it, they will give you an advance payment of enough money for your family to live on for five years and a place to live outside of Lumiere, the capital. “If you succeed, we will send five times that much money to your family.”
Ellen looked like she was thinking about it and asked defiantly, even though she was sweating coldly.
“What if I just take the advance payment and run away with my family?”
Christine smiled brightly.
“Try it if you can.”
Ellen lowered her head and trembled a little. However, in the eyes of the girl who raised her head, tension and a desire for revenge were burning.
“I will, Lady. “But I have one favor to ask.”
“what?”
“…If I’m going to die anyway, I want to at least hear the name of my benefactor. “I swear I will never reveal it.”
Christine twitched the corner of her mouth.
“Ellen Darby, you overestimate your willpower. Have you ever received professional training to withstand torture? The human will is weaker than you think. Are you confident that you will not blame your younger siblings the moment you die? If you are that determined, it would be better for you to quit now. “I have more cards to use than just you.”
Ellen’s eyes filled with misery for a moment, but it quickly disappeared.
“…I’m sorry Lady. “Please forget it.”
Christine continued talking as if nothing had happened.
“We will send someone soon, so go back to the capital. After handing over the advance payment, I will introduce you as an employee to the club that Jean Malraux frequents. Work quietly for at least a month. “I will send you the tools when the time comes.”
“…I understand, Lady.”
As Ellen retreated and the sound of footsteps became distant, Lewis let out the breath he had been holding.
“…You are a scary person.”
Christine smiled at Lewis.
“so?”
“…By giving the subsidy first, you give them hope and make them have no choice but to do it, and there is no need to give them more money even if it succeeds, right?”
“Why do you think that, Lewis?”
“…Because there is no need to give money to the family of a woman who is already dead…”
Lewis answered a little uncertainly, but Christine shook her head.
“But your subordinates will remember that and think of your actions before carrying out the orders they were given. And that woman is just one of many, but is there any guarantee that people in similar situations won’t be familiar with each other? “If you don’t keep a deal that risked your life because you don’t care about every penny, it’s like reducing your hand.”
“…I’m sorry, sister. “My thoughts were short.”
Louis seemed quite tired from just that short conversation, so Christine called her subordinate and sent Louis to the dormitory first.
Christine, the only male, looked at me and opened her mouth.
“I may have to keep changing the meeting place to avoid attention, but I have prepared five people like that. As for the method of poisoning, I plan to use a product from Abyss Corporation. “It just so happens that Jean Malraux is the one who instigated the plunder of the Abyss Corporation branch in Brittany, and the contact route also caused as much confusion as possible, so it is unlikely that we will be suspicious.”
Christine looked at me for a moment and smiled bitterly.
“Not a very chivalrous method, is it? …You might be disappointed in me.”
Christine looked a little tired as she said that.
But, having said that, I think her actions are a little different from those of a blue knight or an ordinary noble.
She only talked about the trust she would gain from her subordinates and the use of her cards, but in the end, she hid the truth and gave choices while not taking advantage of those who would become her opponents.
Even so, I wouldn’t expect you to comfort her by saying things like that.
“I already told you. I trust you, so do it if you feel it is necessary.
“I won’t say it twice.”
After hearing my answer, Christine smiled softly and opened her mouth.
“Even if we do this with Jean Malaux, who is the most hostile towards the nobles among the radicals and holds a grudge against them, there is no room for Maximilien Isidore to squeeze in like this. “The nickname is ‘the incorruptible one,’ so it is considered fair, even if it is still a bit extreme.”
Maximilien Isidore.
To be honest, before returning, I thought he was just one of the radicals who had fooled everyone, but he was the one who cut my head off.
However, according to Christine’s research, while Benoît Reverie is the most moderate member of the radical faction and Jean Malraux is the most aggressive, he takes a mediator’s position somewhere in the middle.
Moreover, even with all the information obtained by stealing Halfas and Christine’s investigation, there is no weakness to the point that not a single dust is found.
He will probably be our worst enemy within the revolutionary government.
“…There is nothing we can do. In any case, even if he is not there, the radical faction will not completely evaporate, so we can only hope that he will foster the moderate faction as much as possible to make dialogue possible.”
–
next day.
We were finally able to meet Nicolas Brissot, the leader of the moderate revolutionary government.
“It’s nice to meet the leader of the Republic, Representative Brissot.”
“I am also honored to meet you in this forum, Marquis de Lafayette.”
I felt a little strange because Brissot’s expression wasn’t very bright, but anyway, Brissot greeted me and naturally exchanged greetings with Christine.
But the next moment, I realized why Brissot’s expression was like that.
Among the revolutionary government figures who got out of the carriage, my eyes were fixed on a man dressed like an attendant.
Normally, I wouldn’t even be able to recognize his face at this point.
however.
-I, Plaintiff Maximilien Isidore, request that the defendant, Marquis Pierre de Lafayette, be sentenced to death.
There is no way I could forget that face.
-Marquis So, you nobles are blue blood.
Maximilien Isidore, the leader of the radicals, is at our conference hall, dressed as if he were one of the entourage of the revolutionary government.
?
