Revolutionary Period – Turning Point
A few days have passed since the incident and the living room of Christine’s mansion.
“After all, it’s better to work than to just rest.”
Christine said, sipping her coffee.
“Honestly, I still think you need a little more rest.”
Although he attended the National Assembly claiming to have had enough rest, in my eyes he still feels uneasy.
“Thank you for your concern, but I don’t want you to treat me like a glass doll.”
I had nothing to say if he said it like that, so I turned around.
“Maximilian Isidore was a little surprising.”
“Iknow, right.”
After hearing what I said, Christine glanced around and looked at the documents on the table.
Maximilien Isidore, who had been absent from the previous parliament, attended this parliament, but neither he nor any other member mentioned the incident.
Christine prepared the materials she had gathered to respond if he came forward with the case, but there was nothing to use.
Christine, who was silent for a moment, slightly tilted her head and opened her mouth.
“Maybe I made the best compromise for that person.”
Compromise It’s a compromise.
Some of his faction ignored the laws of the Republic and harmed citizens and Christine in the middle of Lumiere, but I killed them, who should have been judged by the laws of the Republic, while ignoring the laws.
He cannot admit that I am right based on his principles, but he cannot shamelessly hold me responsible, so this is a choice he made.
-If the order can only be maintained by doing things like this, it would be better to collapse.
These are the words he said while holding the sword to Isidore’s neck.
-So, prove it. Is there really something worth protecting in this republic?
A person who is convinced that he is right and tries to sweep away those who oppose reform, saying that it is a sacrifice of a few necessary for the sake of the whole.
Can someone like that change?
We won’t know for now.
I let out a small sigh and apologized to Christine, but I was too late to say anything.
“I’m sorry about this, Christine.”
“What?”
“…Because I killed all the people you kept alive for political attacks.”
At that time, I really lost my temper.
Although Maximilien Isidor and the National Assembly just passed over it, it would have been enough to raise an issue if they had tried to do so.
Christine leisurely sipped her coffee.
She put down her glass and surprisingly smiled and answered.
“It’s okay Pierre. “It wasn’t our intention from the beginning to wipe out all the radicals.”
“…Did you?”
Christine nodded gently.
“yes. The justification is not enough, and if we wipe out all the radicals, then our alliance with the moderate lawmakers will be broken. And if that happens, we’ll be at a numerical disadvantage, right?”
“surely.”
Right now, we and the moderates are acting as if we are one group, but in the end, it is an alliance formed to keep the radicals, who are in the majority, in check, and our interests are not completely aligned.
“So what I wanted was for the National Assembly to sweep out only those who were clearly suspected as a warning. I was going to leave that to you, Pierre. “To impress upon you not only your influence as a military commander but also in the National Assembly.”
Christine put down her coffee cup, picked up a cookie, took off half of it, put it in her mouth, and savored it.
The person who usually ate something simple like bread in the office seemed to be living more like a human being now, so his expression naturally relaxed.
Christine smiled slightly when she saw my expression, then swallowed the cookie and opened her mouth.
“And anyway, the purpose was achieved. The radicals have been completely curtailed and Congress will no longer be able to keep us in check as openly as it has done so far. Honestly, even if I had followed my plan, I don’t think it would have had this much of an effect.”
“…Is it that much?”
I just rolled my eyes and went on a rampage, is this what happened?
“yes. Your presence in Congress, um, what to say. It turned into something like a natural disaster.
“I think they think it’s better not to get involved because you don’t know what they might do if you touch them wrongly.”
“It’s a natural disaster…”
Is that a good thing?
As I was feeling a little self-destructive, Christine poured coffee back into her cup and opened her mouth.
“It is difficult to deal with politicians because they have unrivaled force and military authority, but when you know that they invaded and annihilated them without political fighting, dialogue, or compromise, it is natural to think so.”
I pressed my hand between my eyebrows.
“…I guess I’ll have to be a little more cautious for the time being, at least because of public sentiment.”
“Yes, please. But still…”
Christine chuckled and opened her mouth.
“You don’t have to worry too much right now, Pierre. “It is my role to assist you in that regard, and surprisingly, your popularity in Lumiere City has increased.”
“…yes?”
I thought I was lucky if I didn’t hear anything about a crazy killer, but why?
Then, Christine smiled a little mischievously and instead of speaking in her usual soft and elegant tone, she spoke at an incredibly fast pace.
“When the villains who carried out a terrorist attack using demonic items attacked the lady he had longed for, the knight rushed to punish them in anger and proposed to the lady as soon as she barely survived when she opened her eyes.”
Thanks to this, it took me a little while to understand what she said.
By the time I realized it, my ears were burning.
“It’s spread that way in downtown Lumiere. “It’s a story that would be popular with everyone.”
The person who actually spoke seemed to be teasing me, so the shame was my responsibility.
It is all true and cannot be denied.
I really did act like that.
After realizing this, I feel like I will die of shame….
“The dead people have committed unforgivable acts, and there are quite a few people in the upper reaches of Lumière and Aquitaine who have sacrificed their families to them. “For the people, an action that clearly retaliates, even if it is cruel, is more relatable than an old-fashioned principle.”
…You talk like it’s someone else’s business.
When Christine looked at me like that, her face blushed slightly and she averted her gaze.
“I was quite surprised when I first found out. “I checked again to see if I was listening to someone else’s story.”
“I didn’t know I could act like such a crazy person.”
As I said that, I got up from my seat, walked over to the sofa where Christine was sitting, and flopped down next to her.
“So I hope it never happens again. From now on, please avoid situations that may put you in even the slightest danger, regardless of the gain or intention.”
Christine was silent for a moment and then nodded calmly.
“I understand, Pierre. … I don’t do that anymore.”
As Christine says that, there is now a clear emotion in her eyes.
The eyes that seemed to be cloudy and cold and could calmly use one’s life as a weapon are no longer there.
She asked as I quietly reached out and took Christine’s hand.
“What are you going to do from now on?”
“The plan is the same. You in Congress and I in the military to maintain influence and defend this country against foreign powers.”
King Louis is alive and well. We have yet to topple the last remnants of that corrupt kingdom.
The German Empire Army led by Archduke Leopold is a formidable enemy, and the forces of the Northern United Kingdom are not something to be ignored.
The Abyss Corporation, which we thought was quiet for a while, was still threatening us.
The reason why they are so obsessed with us…
To be honest, I have no idea because there are so many things to consider.
“But that’s just a method. “I think the republic and parliament are tools to help us secure a better future.”
Joining the Republic in order to survive was inevitable.
Our strength, which crossed the River of No Return with King Louis, was less than half the strength of the Republic, let alone surviving against foreign forces.
But that doesn’t mean that.
Because they joined the republic, they should not have thought that they were right and that they had to join forces to protect their republic.
I shouldn’t have rationalized that my people had no choice but to make sacrifices to suit them.
Sacrifice of a few for the sake of all.
Those who believe that only their thoughts are the absolute truth inevitably commit mistakes comparable to their fanaticism.
Liberty Equality Fraternity.
I realized that even Raphael Balian, the man who defeated me by singing about the values of the republic for the people, was only using it as a justification.
“There is no such thing as an absolutely right cause or ideology.”
The justification I prepared from the beginning to convince myself and my people was nothing more than a means to join the republic and survive.
The moment you believe that the cause is justice and blindly follow it, you are buried in the idea itself.
“If their ideology and system helps us, we will gladly join hands, but if they pose a threat to us, I will not hesitate to turn my sword on them.”
The most important thing is that in the end, I and those who believed in me survive this era of tribulation.
All you have to do is get a future worthy of your efforts.
“It’s not a republic or a country or anything like that. Christine I will fight for you. We will fight for those who follow us. … I will not sacrifice anything anymore.”
What if there are people who threaten us with their own definition of justice?
Be it a republic, a foreign power, or the devil. Whoever it was. Even if it’s God.
I’ll do it even if it means killing them all.
I lifted Christine’s hand and lightly kissed the back of it.
When I looked into her eyes as if asking for permission, Christine smiled softly and answered.
“As always, I will lend you my strength. … Because I’m yours.”
I smiled at him too. If it’s just the two of us, we can definitely do it.
While I was thinking that, Christine opened her mouth.
“Pierre, we must return to the battlefield now.”
“yes. “Once the enemy reorganizes, they will threaten us again.”
Christine hesitated a little, uncharacteristically, and then opened her mouth again.
“…No saint. “Are you going with Her Highness the Princess?”
“Yes?”
Christine was blatantly looking at me, wondering why I was doing this, but she seemed a little hesitant and said,
“I believe you won’t be the kind of person who gives a damn about your fiancé.”
I beg your pardon?
Selling one eye? I? To whom? …to Eris?
Or rather, this topic came up in the atmosphere of the conversation just now?
“…suddenly?”
Christine blushed.
“It wasn’t all of a sudden. Since I often hang out in places I’m not around, it’s natural for me to be concerned. “It’s important to me.”
“No, you didn’t seem to care at all until now?”
Christine had a very frustrated look on her face and slowly averted her gaze as she spoke.
“I was in no position to worry about it, so I did my best to ignore it. But even when I look at that child, he has an eye-catching appearance.”
But you yourself don’t think that you have an eye-catching appearance?
I narrowed my eyes and looked at Christine, who was fidgeting as if her usual calmness had gone somewhere.
Although Eris and I trust each other in our own way and share the same ideas.
“…Christine, as a noble, did you harbor any feelings of affection while serving the King?”
Christine made a somewhat puzzled face.
“If only the King were as young and as old as you and as kind to him as you.”
Ah, this doesn’t work. In the end, I lost my playful tone and spoke.
“…Eris hates power and truly cares for the people of this country. In terms of ideology, he is much more for the people than for me and even for the republic. “What do you think will happen if, even if possible, when she is crowned queen, she marries a powerful person like me who holds military power?”
“A saintly queen and a war hero. “It will be the second coming of a kingdom with unprecedentedly strong royal authority.”
“yes. So Eris and me. I never even thought about that from the beginning.
If I had had that plan, Eris would have run away right away. … and.”
After saying that, I pulled Christine by the shoulder and kissed her.
The black eyes, which seemed a little surprised, slowly closed and time passed with all the feelings and consideration I had for her.
He said, feeling her breathing become slightly heavier after falling from the soft, sweet touch.
“It tastes sweet.”
Christine’s face, who had just eaten a cookie, brightened up.
“Do you feel it now? “How sincere I am to you. Such doubts make me a little sad too.”
I smiled in satisfaction at the sight of her not being able to raise her face, and was about to fall when I was caught by the sleeve.
“Christine?”
“Because it was a bit sudden.”
Christine asked, looking at me with a face that was redder than ever.
“…I think I’ll know for sure if I do it one more time.”
“….”
We can’t just take them to the battlefield like this, right?
I never thought I would realize this way that I have the blood of a damn blue knight.
–
Church of Lumière.
Inside a dark and narrow room.
Bishop Richelieu, once the leader of the republic and respected by the people, was on his knees engrossed in prayer.
The candle that illuminates the darkness in the room flickers precariously.
“Father, Lord, we have sinned greatly.”
As he became the center of the people under Sieges’ encouragement, Richelieu believed that he could lead them to a better path.
He believed that if Richelieu enlightened the people and joined forces with them to raise the right voice, even the king who turned his back on God would change his mind and listen to their words.
“Forgive the sins of the lambs who serve you.”
But reality was different from his expectations.
When the concept of human rights was engraved on the anger accumulated over a long period of persecution and exploitation, the people turned from helpless and foolish lambs into bloodthirsty packs of wolves.
Richelieu turned his eyes away from the bloody revolution that blossomed from the seeds he had sown and went into retirement.
Every day, I trembled with fear as I heard the terrible noise the guillotine made as it fell and the people’s wild cheers at the sight of the severed head.
“Please look down on us.”
When a terrorist attack using the devil’s weapons finally broke out in the capital’s streets in broad daylight, Richelieu was overcome by a feeling of extreme skepticism.
The revolution was not supposed to happen.
It may be too early for freedom, equality, and fraternity.
Democracy governed by the people was also too early.
Maybe it will never be suitable for humans.
“Please guide us.”
Perhaps weak and foolish humans were ultimately beings who had to be guided by someone.
But he failed.
Who on earth can lead the people, who have been corrupted by power they have never tasted, intoxicated by power they have never had, and whose pure foundations have finally been shaken?
What kind of hero would it take to lead people like that to the right path?
“Huh!”
A sudden gust of wind blew through the open window.
The candle that had been lighting up the dark room with its weak light went out helplessly, and the newspaper that had been placed on the desk fluttered and flew around as it pleased.
“Oh, Lord, are you punishing my foolishness?”
After the wind passed, Bishop Richelieu stood up and looked down at the newspaper that had fallen at his feet.
Exactly.
I saw a portrait in a newspaper illuminated by moonlight that was not visible when the candles were lit.
Raphael Balian defeated the armies of three countries and quickly emerged as a hero of the republic and the people.
Richelieu, who had been looking at the moonlit portrait for a while, knelt in front of the statue again.
?
I don’t even know if I should cry or laugh anymore