Revolutionary Period – Game Changer
After defeating King Louis’s army.
I held a meeting with Lafayette’s vassals, the Count of Anjou and the Count of Lionel, who were leading the army, and decided to distribute the loot and withdraw to their respective territories.
While the battle continued in the south and central regions, there was no consultation with the Duke of Lorraine, who had never fought with the eastern army.
Two months have passed since I returned to the territory.
–
I sat in my office and was busy processing the territory’s business and various documents that came in.
The revolution that started in the capital Lumière seems to be spreading like wildfire in an instant.
Numerous oppressions and exploitations continued over a long period of time. The commoners, the Third Estate, were full of motivation.
Because of the overwhelming power of the old system, they did not have the courage to stand up, but when they saw that most of the knights were consumed in the civil war and the revolution was successful in the capital, there was no reason to hesitate for them anymore.
The fact that the king, who did not end the civil war even after ascending to the throne, was selling himself to the devil for victory became a more powerful justification than anything else.
There is so much news from the capital that it is difficult to make objective judgments in the marquisate located in the south.
According to some information, there was a massacre of tens of thousands of people in the north, and the heads of murdered nobles were decorating the city.
Some rumors claim that the revolutionary army was extremely righteous and only a friend of the Franzian people, and that the bloody massacre was a fabrication by the king and nobles.
I slowly closed my eyes and remembered the courtroom and guillotine where I stood.
At the very least, it must be true that quite a few nobles are being murdered in the capital and cities where revolution is spreading.
I shook my head to shake off any distracting thoughts and was in the middle of my work when I heard a knock on the door.
“This is Dumont, Your Excellency the Marquis.”
“Please come in, Baron.”
Baron Robert de Dumont, who still didn’t know how to enter the ship, came inside, showed respect to me, and then opened his mouth.
“The Duke of Lorraine has arrived, His Excellency the Marquis.”
“Ah, you’re finally here.”
Since I returned to the estate with the other lords without consulting the Duke of Lorraine, he has sent messengers to me several times over the past two months.
At first, they called me to the Duchy of Lorraine to discuss things, but when they refused, I asked them to send a vassal to discuss things with me.
After being rejected several times, the man with a heavy ass finally ran out of patience and informed me that he would come and find me.
“Would you like to meet him, Your Excellency the Marquis?”
I chuckled at the sight of the Baron always emphatically calling me “Your Excellency” instead of “Your Excellency” with a proud face.
At least, I remember that he didn’t show himself like this even when I became a marquis before his return.
I, who was secretly pleased by the behavior of Baron Dumont, who was not worthy of my age, got up from my seat, feeling very childish.
“Since a shabby person has come to a precious place, it would be polite to show his face first.”
–
“Oh, I finally see that hard-to-see face.”
The Duke of Lorraine clearly revealed his discomfort.
“Welcome to the Marquis de Lafayette, Duke of Lorraine.”
Are you displeased that the powerful duke, who secretly looked down on a marquis established by a former knight, would come here himself?
The Duke of Lorraine looked at me for a moment as if he was very displeased, but then he sighed softly and opened his mouth with a pretended tolerant expression.
“I am sorry about the death of the previous Marquis. Hmm, apart from that, it would be right to congratulate him on becoming the Marquis of Lafayette. As the duke of a historic kingdom, I hope that you will continue to be loyal to the kingdom and act befitting your title.”
He’s shameless about a subject that played a very important role in the marquis’s battle. Just by the way he speaks, I would think he is my king.
“I believe that His Excellency the former Marquis will be pleased that the Duke has paid a late visit and expressed his regret. By the way, the Duke, who has completed his construction, personally visited the Marquis’ territory, so it seems like there is an important matter.”
The duke narrowed his eyebrows slightly at my words, but opened his mouth with more courtesy than expected.
“As the Marquis knows, the commoners’ rebellion that started in the capital is quickly spreading throughout the northern region. “I heard that the fiefdoms of the lords who died in this battle have already been swept away by the rebellion and collapsed.”
It is as the Duke of Lorraine said.
The Duchy of Brittany, which the duke had taken over from me, fell to the revolutionary army as quickly as possible during the administrative vacuum, and in fact, the area from the capital Lumière to the entire northwest is already the revolutionary army’s sphere of influence.
“King Louis failed to enter the capital and is now in the Duke of Orléans’ territory. “The loss of troops is great, and as of now, the Duke of Orléans’ territory is the only sphere of influence left to the king.”
The Duke of Lorraine touched his beard-covered chin with his hand and continued.
“So, Marquis. In this case, if we, who have relatively intact power, unite the other lords and fight, we can achieve a decisive victory.”
“Well, the people of Franzia are probably causing unrest all over the kingdom right now. Even in the duke’s domain right now. “Let’s say you get the king, would that have much meaning in the current situation?”
“All the rebels must be wiped out. “The King said he was defeated by you and lacked power, but if we unite, we will be able to wipe them out.”
Rebel. Yes, the Duke of Lorraine’s perception of reality ends here.
However, those who have already seen the success of the uprising in the capital and are still rising at this moment cannot be easily swept away.
To suppress them by force, it would probably be necessary to wipe out several percent of the entire population of Francia, but does the Duke of Lorraine know that?
I roughly shrugged my shoulders.
“Lafayette served as the main force of the southern and central armies in the last battle.
The duke doesn’t fight very fiercely, so I’m not sure, but our troop losses are serious. “At a time like this, if we vacate the territory and go on the march, even our relatively intact territory will likely be shaken.”
“…From what I understand, the repercussions of the rebels won’t be that severe in the southern region?”
Oh, that’s right.
As a result of doing my best to prevent additional war taxes and plunder, the public sentiment in the Marquis is relatively good.
In addition, while I was leading the army and heading out, Eris went around the villages in the territory as an agent for the Marquis de Lafayette, giving charity and even helping those who suffered from civil war and plague.
Not only do I have personal assets, but thanks to the income I earned from defeating King Louis and the loot that Christine distributed after dealing with the remnants of the southern army that I defeated, I have enough funds to appease the public sentiment.
Thanks to this, compared to the revolutionary fever spreading throughout the North, the Marquis de Lafayette is still relatively calm.
The rate of dependence on the top is relatively high, so it is more effective to revitalize commerce and industry rather than trying to exploit the territory, and the same is true for Aquitaine, which Christine shares with me.
It’s a bit of a lucky case, but the situation in the County of Anjou is not that bad, with Eris moving around and taking care of the citizens just before the revolution, and the Count being relatively cooperative.
“Hey, Marquis. Although they were neutral, I know that the Aquitaine and Anjou families who participated in the war were all your people. “If the southern families in relatively good situations want to step forward, they will be able to do so.”
“I think you’re mistaken, but that doesn’t mean they’re my vassals, does it?”
It is true that I helped Christine ascend to the throne, but she repaid me abundantly.
Christine herself is actively helping me, but that’s because I’ve continued to do things that benefit her and Aquitaine as well.
If I try to treat her, an independent lord, like a vassal, the vassals of Aquitaine before her will not remain silent.
The Count of Anjou, who had sent decisive reinforcements in the last battle, was in fact merely repaying Eris for curing her sick son and gaining public support.
But the duke’s expression hardened as he thought something, and he put his chin down and put his feet on the living room table.
…This bastard?
“Hey, Marquis. Let’s talk comfortably. Comfortably. “To be honest.”
After saying that, the Duke of Lorraine paused for a moment and then opened his mouth.
“If we deal with the Duke of Orléans and push back the rebels, we can install King Louis as a puppet and control this kingdom.”
Wow, this is quite a fresh idea.
Since the king’s support base has completely collapsed anyway, should we get rid of all his remaining aides, throw the royal power into the gutter, and then become the real power?
“You are actually the leader of the southern powers, but in the end, you have no influence in central politics.
What you lack is leadership to lead other high-ranking nobles. So leave it to me. “I will make you the second in command of this kingdom.”
I smiled at him.
“Are you presumptuous, Duke? “Don’t you think you have the power to single-handedly capture the king or suppress the rebellion that has spread throughout the North, so you’re throwing your hands up here?”
The Duke’s face immediately turned red.
“At best, you, a brat wearing the glory of a blue knight, dare to ignore me now!”
“I think we can ignore the people who started a fake war while we were fighting and shedding blood.”
“Yes you bastard. What do you believe in and do this to me? How dare you act so arrogantly in front of the Duke of Lorraine! “If you keep acting like this, I might join hands with the king!”
I answered harshly, suppressing the feeling that I was about to burst out laughing.
“Just kidding, wasn’t the Duke a close associate of His Highness the First Prince? There is no way the King would accept this. Anyway, we were on the same ship, and the duke was disappointed by the other lords in the last battle. From now on, I hope you will understand that Lafayette is not the Duke’s subordinate, but your equal comrade.”
“You know you’ll regret it!”
The Duke of Lorraine was so angry that he left the drawing room after making such a fuss.
A moment passed and Baron Dumont, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation in the next room, entered the room with a worried look on his face.
“Do you mind? Your Excellency the Marquis? “If the Duke of Lorraine really joins hands with the King…”
I’m not worried at all.
“No problem, Baron. There is no need to hide what happened today. “It would be better for the author to leave our alliance.”
From his point of view, as he is extremely arrogant, he would stab the king because he could not bear the insult that I, a member of a family of common knights, had treated him with such contempt.
What if he reaches out to the king? The king will probably catch it.
In fact, before returning, the King reached out to us as he became more desperate after several clashes and an uprising by the revolutionary army.
To make that more certain, rather than simply conveying the end of the alliance on purpose, he went out of his way to provoke the Duke of Lorraine.
They will probably have at least three people on either our side or the Duke of Lorraine’s side, so if news of the discord between factions spreads, suspicion will decrease.
Unlike Lafayette, who became a bitter marshal, the last battle with the Duke of Lorraine ended in a fake war, so there would be relatively less hatred towards the Duke of Lorraine.
The Duke of Lorraine is in a situation where he has lost all his troops and the capital has fallen, so he is in a position to keep his army intact from the last battle, so the Duke of Lorraine is quite attractive as he reaches out to the king, who would otherwise hate me, after the feud with me. You will see it.
If the King and the Duke of Lorraine join hands like that, there is no need to worry about them launching an offensive against Lafayette. For them, the more urgent priority is to recapture the northern part of their sphere of influence and the capital.
By cutting off the Duke of Lorraine and handing him over to the King to lead them into conflict with the revolutionary army that took control of the North, we can be seen as a separate force that has drawn a line from the old regime.
“Let the abandoned join hands and fight against the revolutionary army. “They will buy us valuable time.”
Managing public sentiment and image is important, but what is more important is stabilizing our sphere of influence.
In any case, the revolutionary army right now is probably a disorganized and confusing group that even they themselves don’t really know what they are doing.
When they go on a rampage and establish the minimum form of government and grasp the situation, we must maintain sufficient strength so that the revolutionary army cannot hastily oppose us.
“haha. The Duke of Lorraine is a powerful lord who has been on the same side for quite a long time, but you are abandoning him. “It is difficult for me to follow the Marquis’ thoughts.”
I smiled wryly at Baron Dumont’s words.
“From now on, we have no choice but to choose who will go with us and who we will abandon.”
If we clumsily try to bring in one power or another, we will all fall together. Because it’s that kind of era.
–
After returning to the office, I glanced around and looked at a corner where the sunlight coming through the window did not reach.
Eris is sitting diagonally on the sofa there, playing the harp with a very drowsy look on her face.
After looking at Eris for a while, she stopped playing, turned her gaze to me, and asked.
“Do you have any business for me?”
“Wouldn’t you normally think that someone who comes into the Marquis’s office and is playing music has some business to do?”
“What’s new? They told me to be comfortable when I’m in the mansion? I just do what I feel like. “It’s not a hindrance, right?”
It would be a bit outrageous for someone to come into the office out of nowhere and claim she wasn’t disturbing someone while she was playing the harp, but honestly, she’s right.
Surprisingly, when I listen to her performance, instead of being disturbed, I feel less tired and can concentrate better. This too is probably a power of origin or divine power.
I chuckled.
Come to think of it, when I returned to the Marquis’ Territory with the Blue Knight’s body, Eris came into my office without saying a word and played the harp.
-I don’t mind, Eris. Honestly, if I had a choice, I would have considered letting the Marquis die.
-It looks like you had a very bad relationship.
-It was a bit more severe than the usual conflict between father and son in an aristocratic family. It probably didn’t leave a very good impression on you either, did it?
-I did. To be honest, I was the type of person I really disliked.
-Okay, so you can do that. Because I really don’t care.
-But it doesn’t seem like he’s very happy.
Eris silenced me with those words.
I was not happy at all when the Blue Knight died and became a marquis.
Is it because you don’t like the fact that he gave up countless lives and ended up with no regrets?
Or did I just die before I could show him how much I had grown, having achieved a feat that would become a legend?
Either way, it is true that her performance that day was quite comforting to me.
When I didn’t say anything, she naturally started playing again.
She has quite good skills and the music that flows from her unique atmosphere definitely has the power to touch your heart just by listening to it.
Not only that day or today, but when she is away for charity work, she sometimes performs like this to anyone or anywhere she likes.
Should I say that I am truly a free spirit?
I was quietly listening to her music and then laughed.
“Are you feeling good today?”
“Yes, I have some feelings. “Today, I was drawn to the Marquis’ office.”
“I thought you were reluctant to me, Eris?”
“Me? “The Marquis?”
The purple eyes looked like they really didn’t understand what was going on, so I was rather dumbfounded.
“…You looked really disgusted when you said that if you marry me, Lafayette will become the family that produced a king, right?”
“Ahaha, it’s just that I didn’t want to be ‘married’! “You’re so timid, you keep all that in your heart!”
My face got hot for no reason so I put my hand on my forehead and Eris started teasing me.
“No way, Marquis. Are you hurt because you have feelings for me~?”
“Arthur, I’m not interested in children.”
“…Even though she’s a princess, she’s still rude.”
“You’re the one who asked me to treat you comfortably.”
Eris had a sad expression on her face, and I naturally laughed when I saw her like that.
Is it because of her origins or is it her natural free spirit that gives her comfort in this bleak situation?
After a brief pause, I cleared my throat and opened my mouth.
“Her Royal Highness Princess Eciliste Liliane de Francia.”
After hearing those words, Eris looked up at me with her unique transparent purple eyes, paused a little, and then answered.
“Please speak, Marquis Pierre de Lafayette.”
“If there comes a time when you have to ascend the throne for the sake of this country, will you do so?”
?
