Episode 169 Krafte War – Choice (2)
“Is the person we have trusted… really on Frangia’s side?”
The moment I closed my eyes in response to Nicolas Brissot’s question, what came to mind was the long-forgotten voice of Raphael Balian.
-They don’t really understand the value of the Marquis. The Marquis’s loyalty and dedication are invaluable to those who cannot see reality because they are encroached upon by their own idealism.
I denied what he said.
-What reward is there for the sacrifices made by the Marquis himself and his followers for the fungi that depend on your devotion?
After trying hard to deny and rationalize what he said, Lumiere returned and saw Christine covered in blood.
-The Marquis is a being who shakes the very meaning of the revolution just by existing. I don’t know what it will be like at the moment when war is approaching, but when the Marquis’ useful value runs out, they will definitely try to get rid of you.
I saw the chaos of revolution.
In it, I saw a person who pursued his ambition.
I also saw people who sacrificed their lives for the revolution and died.
Those who followed in his footsteps and tried to protect the revolution.
That’s why I came this far, denying Balian’s last words.
I came this far by supporting Eris and protecting them, believing that revolution would be a better path.
Deep down, I believed that many things had changed.
Nevertheless, after going round and round, is it back to the starting point?
Is the revolution just their revolution and am I ultimately just an impurity among them?
When I close my eyes, the image of Christine, hit by a devil’s bullet and covered in blood, comes to mind, and I am accused of collaborating with those devils.
I slowly opened my eyes and saw the document Nicola Brissot was holding in his hand.
A ledger detailing the sale of large quantities of raw materials that Christine and I purchased just before the Industrial Revolution to Abyss Corporation.
…maybe a copy.
What he did after returning to save Christine and avoid the coming revolution and destruction.
If it weren’t for that, Christine wouldn’t have been able to wield as much money as she does now, and it would have been difficult for me to play an active role in the civil war.
However, for those who don’t know the details, it would be nice to think that they were having fun by joining hands with the devil and selling everything while the kingdom was burning due to civil war.
“…It is true that we traded raw materials with the Abyss Corporation during the civil war.”
In any case, there were more than a few nobles who traded with the Abyss Corporation during the civil war. Suspiciously large transactions and profit margins are the problem.
however.
Trying to calm my boiling stomach, I looked at Nicola Brissot appraisingly and then opened my mouth.
“I don’t understand, Governor Brissot. “Why did you come here?”
Those documents alone cannot prove guilt, but if the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Army and the admiral have an agreement to cooperate with the devils, that alone can be used to pull them down and investigate.
And once suspicions are raised and a person is put on trial, those who want to disparage me or Christine can incite as much as they want in Franzia, where any devil would be scorned.
Those who died innocently during the revolution and Eris before returning prove that you don’t have to be guilty to be punished.
So when Nicolas Brissot got his hands on something like that, all he had to do was condemn me in the National Assembly.
He had enough symbolism and influence that the lawmakers would have risen up like wildfire and bitten me and Christine.
Not to mention the Revolutionary Party and the Liberal Party, and at the very least, the Central Party is drawing too much attention to Christine, but there are plenty of lawmakers who are dissatisfied with our somewhat independent path.
There is absolutely no reason to come to the battlefield and take risks to confront him alone and interrogate him.
“It’s not like you don’t know what I did at Lumiere.”
“I know, I know. “There is no one in the National Assembly who will forget that you, in a fit of rage, slaughtered the members in the middle of Lumière.”
I said I would protect their revolution. But it is for the sake of my people who will live in it.
My first priority is my people, above all else, Christine. I vowed never to sacrifice them again.
What if Christine had to stand before the National Assembly trial facing such charges?
There is a risk that she will be accused of being a witch who collaborated with the devil and executed like Eris before her return.
To avoid the worst, do the lesser evil.
I will stop it, even if necessary by killing the National Assembly.
Eris will be sad.
But at the same time, I know that Eris understands why I have no choice but to make that choice, and that even though she is heartbroken, she will not be able to stop me with all her might.
“If you really suspect that I am in league with the devil, you should not have come here. To make it explode, Lumiere had to hit me in the back without my knowledge. “Did you come here knowing what I would do if I found out about this in advance?”
Nicola Brissot answered calmly.
“I just wanted to see it with my own eyes.”
“I missed you?”
what?
Instead of answering my question, Brissot said something else.
“I thought about it for quite some time after receiving this.”
I recalled Brissot, who had been strangely mesmerized ever since he went off to fight in this war.
under. Was it given to you right before the Krafte War?
“Why now, why me? …Who sent this? “I thought about it a lot.”
Brissot picked up the half-cooled coffee, sipped it, and then smiled bitterly.
“It was obvious why it was me. A member of the National Assembly would not have dared to speak out for fear of your power, or would have handed it to the governor. The Count of Anjou of the Central Party may not be without complaints, but that doesn’t mean he has much to gain and much to lose from you to lead the stabbing in the back.”
Although his presence was weak, the man who had been the president for a long time had a fairly accurate grasp of the situation.
“As for Talleyrand of the Revolutionary Party, well. They already had enough power in the National Assembly, but it seems unlikely that those who would know the fate of Saint-Just best would want to take risks during the war. “I wonder if I can use this to get something more from you.”
Even though it is his job and I don’t know what decision I will make here and now, his voice is calm.
“The group that is caught between the Revolutionary Party and the Center Party and has a lot of dissatisfaction due to its weak color and has little to lose from the beginning, so it is the group that can most clearly benefit from this situation. …That was the Libertarian Party.”
Brissot’s mouth was full of self-deprecation when he said that.
“It’s not clear why now. If you win the war against Krafte, you will be too perfect a hero to dare to be brought down to the level of suspicion that you may have collusion with the devil. In that case, what meaning would this piece of paper have?”
Nicolas Brissot was silent for a while and then asked me.
“Marquis, do you think Krafte could have obtained this document?”
“…I can’t guarantee, but I think it will be difficult.”
I don’t know if the subject is Krafte or not. But even Christine didn’t notice at all.
The Liberal Party has so far shown decent progress from an ambiguous position, but it is unreasonable to monitor them in advance, expecting that they will feel that they have a chance of winning and that they will immediately catch a clue that will turn them into enemies.
No, in the first place, assuming a spy war with Krafte, it is not even predictable that his actions before the revolution would be considered a weakness.
Nevertheless, if this is said to be the work of Krafte, there is a high possibility that the fact that they obtained this information in the first place was a secret plan of the devil.
Nicola Brissot looked at me and opened his mouth.
“Would you like to hear one complaint from the old marquis?”
As I nodded silently, Brissot slowly opened his mouth.
“I have never dared to look into the eyes of a victim of the revolution.”
“….”
“In the midst of the chaos, the spark we lit turned into a huge fire that ran rampant and ate everything, so I was just shaking in fear.”
Brisso laughed lowly.
“So I was very relieved when the nobles came out willingly to join the republic without staining this land with blood.”
To me, Nicola Brissot wasn’t that important of a person.
“I was happy when you stopped the persecution that would have taken place in the West, even bearing the political burden.”
He had connections with the revolutionary government and cooperated to keep in check the radicals who accounted for the majority at the time of the revolution….
“…I despaired when you, enraged after almost losing the Count of Aquitaine, did something no different from those radicals.”
Even so, he was a person with an mediocre relationship whose value disappeared after the Central Party took root and even defeated Balian.
“But in the end, you sided with the republic. “I defended the revolution against Raphael Balian and could have overthrown the National Assembly if I wanted to, but I have been going from battlefield to battlefield protecting Francia until now.”
The way Nicola Brissot looked at me contained incalculably complex emotions.
“At some point, I realized. “The Franzia that the Marquis has created by sometimes joining forces with the National Assembly and sometimes keeping them in check is quite similar to what we dreamed of in that madness and chaos.”
Nicola Brissot looked at me in silence for a moment, then spoke again.
“But why? I’m sure he desperately wanted the chaos to subside and the madness to stop. It would have been expected that Franzia would unite as one to face the crisis. “Neither I nor the members of the Liberal Party could be happy.”
Brissot’s gaze was now directed not at me but toward Lumière.
“We’re definitely closer to where we wanted to be, but that’s probably not what we’ve achieved. “By giving up what we dreamed of in the revolution we started out of hatred for the old system to be achieved by the nobles who rolled in.”
Is this what he says to his followers?
“…I guess that’s why you were so jealous. People say that power is scary, and it really is that way. When I wasn’t there, I just expected the world to get better, but now that I’m in power, I only feel like it’s lacking. “It’s like salt water that only makes you thirsty no matter how much you drink…”
Or is he saying it to himself?
The man, who was a respected lawyer before the revolution, let out the lament of an old man and slowly stood up.
“I don’t know much about war. Some say that we were able to win because of the Marquis, and some say that it is only the work of Her Majesty the Queen and her subordinates and that the Marquis’s role is not that important.”
Brissot walked away holding the document, then turned his head to look at me and opened his mouth.
“For the first time. “We have come to look into the eyes of those who may become victims of our actions.”
“…So did you get the answer?”
Instead of answering my question, Nicola Brissot responded with a slightly shaken expression.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure. If not now, there will never be a chance to drive out the Marquis. This may be the Liberal Party’s last chance to take power. …I could be a foolish leader or an irresponsible leader.”
After speaking, Brisso looked at the document in his hand and put it into the fireplace where there was burning firewood.
“…But even though we were right in front of the homeland where the madness and chaos we dreamed of had stopped, I didn’t think we could do better than you after driving you out, full of greed and dissatisfaction.”
Brissot’s hands were shaking a little, perhaps due to a moment’s hesitation, but he pushed the document into the flames.
The old man, who had been staring in bewilderment as the flames engulfed the paper, slowly turned his head to me and opened his mouth.
“…So this is my choice, Marquis. “The National Assembly, which had only suspicions and wariness toward you, took action with the belief that you, who have protected the revolution up until now, will continue to do so in the future.”
Brisso slowly sat down on the spot with an uncertain and anxious face and spoke as if pleading.
“The dogmatism of this foolish old man. …Would you please make sure I don’t regret this choice?”
