Lumière, the capital of the French Republic.
Despite its name, which means ‘light,’ gloomy rain poured down from the gloomy sky of the city.
Even in such weather, the club frequented by the so-called Malopa members, the more belligerent of the republic’s radical factions, was crowded with people.
As a mansion originally owned by an aristocrat, the place was decorated quite nicely and was filled with expensive wine and cigars, and the lawmakers who attended the meeting naturally enjoyed them.
“No matter what, you sent former President Reverie, who was of the same faction, to the guillotine.”
Jean Malraux, the leader of this faction, frowned and opened his mouth.
“Representative Izidor is going too far. Besides, they’re going to bring in the southern nobles along with those cowards. It seems that even the ‘Incorruptible One’ eventually changed his mind.”
“But didn’t you say that the Empire of Germania and the Northern United Kingdom have declared war and dispatched as many as 40,000 troops and are now coming to Franzia? “Is it not enough to accept those who try to fight against a common enemy?”
In fact, the discussions, which had been sluggish due to conflicting arguments over the request of the southern aristocratic alliance, including the Marquis of Lafayette and the Count of Aquitaine, were progressing rapidly after the declaration of war by foreign powers.
“Hmph, so you’re giving the position of commander-in-chief of the revolutionary army to a nobleman? “That’s nonsense!”
Malo, who was already very drunk, snorted.
“What is the use of losing the purity of the revolution? Royalty and nobility are enemies of the people! Isn’t that why the revolution occurred? “Isidore has become corrupted!”
“Oh, I guess the congressman got very drunk with these words. “Please lower your voice.”
A fellow lawmaker tried to stop him, but he shouted loudly, loudly enough to echo throughout the club.
“Hey hey! Bring me another drink! “This is what this revolutionary fighter drinks every day!”
–
“Tsk, tsk, that’s how you’re different from the nobles.”
The employee who was managing the bar passed the alcohol that Jean Malraux usually drank to the clerk who was waiting nearby.
Ellen Darby, who received the drink, slowly climbed the stairs.
The revolution took place and someone said that a lot of things had improved.
Someone also said that not much has changed.
At least not one of the two was the Dabi family, who lost both of his parents who worked at a noble family’s mansion.
The amount of money that a girl who had not yet reached adulthood could earn was enough to feed her younger siblings properly.
When an unknown person sent me money, it was as if salvation had come down from heaven.
In the end, there was no such salvation. Her employer revealed that he had hired her to risk her life.
When her employer sent her a house for her younger siblings and money she had never dared touch, Ellen seriously wondered whether she should run away.
When my employer introduced me to work with a salary that was incomparable to before, I quickly forgot about my life of starvation and wondered if it would be okay to live without my parents’ resentment.
However, when the Republic began to seriously consider cooperation with the southern aristocrats, she could not hold back her rising anger.
I heard the cause of revolution.
Liberty Equality Fraternity.
They are free from the oppression of nobility, are equal regardless of social status, and unite in love for each other.
Everyone is shouting for the revolution and cheering for the cause of the republic.
However, I remember the day when my mother came home covered in bruises, hugged me and cried bitterly because she had offended the nobleman she served.
I remember my father, who was angry at the nobleman who beat his mother, but had to bow down to him the next day.
How atrocious were her parents, who had not even learned properly, and whose actions were against the cause of the revolution, so they had to die along with the nobles?
If it was truly a necessary death, why on earth would those high-ranking people join hands with nobles again?
Ellen slowly climbed the stairs and took out the medicine bottle she had kept in her pocket. Even though I must have prepared myself again and again, my hands were shaking like aspen trees.
Still, the vial opened much easier than she expected, revealing a strangely ominous pink glowing powder.
When Ellen poured the powder into the alcohol, it melted as soon as it touched it and disappeared without a trace.
“Nobles can never be trusted! No one else! “Everything they say in their crafty whispers must be a lie!”
The voice of someone who is extremely drunk and shouts loudly gets closer.
Are nobles bad? Probably bad.
Is the cause of the revolution good? Probably great.
Maybe neither. As an uneducated commoner, she didn’t think she was smart enough to judge such things.
but.
I remember the madness shown that day as the torches fluttered across the city.
I was worried about my parents, so I remember running in front of the nobleman’s mansion and seeing how my parents died as they were dragged outside and begged for their lives.
I remember the sight of her younger siblings, who couldn’t understand the concept of death, holding her and whining about why their parents wouldn’t come back, and eventually bursting into tears from exhaustion.
Ellen couldn’t figure out what was the difference between the nobles who were there originally and the authors who were making a fuss and shouting loudly at the place where the nobles disappeared after the sacrifice of her parents.
Finally, we got close enough to see Jean Malraux’s face clearly.
The congressman sitting next to Marlowe glanced at her, then clicked his tongue and looked away.
Ellen’s heart was pounding like crazy and she had to be nervous to see if the high-ranking lawmakers could hear her heartbeat.
If you spill this drink on the floor now as if it was a mistake, you will be scolded by the store manager, but you will be able to move on as if nothing happened.
However, the sight of her younger siblings laughing happily and enjoying a new home that was incomparable to the one they lived in Lumiere and eating their fill for the first time in a very long time pushed her back.
…But those children probably don’t know what happiness they get in return.
Perhaps the sadness over his disappearance may be much greater.
Just as Hélène was about to hesitate before taking the last step, Jean Malraux suddenly approached her.
“Why are you so late?”
Before Ellen could say anything, Jean Malraux raised the glass, freely shouted a toast, and drank with the lawmakers who reluctantly responded.
Ellen almost collapsed in her seat, but then took a shaky step towards the window.
I could see the cityscape covered in fog, gloomy as the rain continued to fall.
When the clerk who handed him the alcohol did not move out of the way, instead he walked up to the window and looked out, Malo, who was very drunk, started yelling.
“Hey, what are you doing now?”
I tried to hit it.
Before Marlo could finish speaking, a dark red lump came out of his mouth and fell to the floor.
“omg!”
“What’s happening!”
“Ah ah ah ah ah-!”
While the lawmakers were perplexed, Marlowe, with bloodshot eyes, began to scratch his own throat with his hands.
Ellen looked at the scene with blurry eyes.
Words that I was so overwhelmed with that I couldn’t even think of them when we first met.
I belatedly told my contact that I wanted the man to die as painfully as possible, but I did not expect my employer, who did not even tell me his name, to listen.
However, seeing Marlowe struggling on the floor, scratching her neck completely soaked in blood, it seems that her employer has paid for her worthless life.
Malo, who had been screaming for almost a minute and going crazy with blood foaming his mouth, ended up in a hideous state covered in the blood he had vomited and never woke up.
Ellen thought in a daze that he looked like he was dead, drowning in the blood of countless people he had killed.
The attention of those who rushed in, startled by Marlowe’s screams and the devastation in the room, and of the lawmakers who watched their colleague’s horrible death in panic, slowly turned to Ellen.
In the silence, with only the sound of rain falling outside the window, Ellen saw suspicion and anger welling up in all of their eyes.
Sadly, there was no feeling of exhilaration or relief.
Ah, I want to live.
Only deep regret remained.
I want to see the house where my whole family lived once again. I want to see my younger siblings’ faces once again. I want to eat delicious food and laugh with them again.
If only I could meet my younger siblings once again.
If you had done that, you would have told those kids who were just happy and didn’t know anything about what your sister did for you.
Roars began to erupt from the men gathered in the room.
Ellen took a step back toward the window, and the men came closer.
In my mind, a woman with a veil covering her face but a voice so clear as to penetrate my ears came to mind.
A woman who ignored a small wish to at least hear the name of her benefactor, but granted a request that she did not even expect to receive.
Could it be that this cruel consideration is just her own hope, as if she is telling her to rest assured that she will keep her promise to take care of her remaining younger siblings?
-Ellen Darby You overestimate your willpower.
Those words just filled me with excitement when I heard them.
As Ellen watched the men rushing towards her, she finally realized it.
– Are you confident that you will not blame your younger siblings the moment you die?
The smiling faces of my younger siblings, who were extremely lovely and precious, are suddenly becoming unlovable in the midst of fear.
I want to live.
Ellen took a step back again. My waist touched the window frame.
Even if it’s just an insignificant life and an abandonment that doesn’t deserve to even know its name.
At least when I meet my parents, I want to smile.
One more step.
With nowhere to go, her body turned over and the rain hit her body mercilessly.
Ellen reached out her hand in vain towards the sky, which was filled with dark clouds and not a single ray of light could be seen.
She didn’t know whether it was tears or rain that were flowing in her eyes.
mother.
father.
Was I a good sister?
–
The story of Jean Malraux, who was horribly poisoned, and the girl suspect who jumped to suicide created an uproar in Lumière the next day.
As it became known that the poison used was a product of the Abyss Corporation, along with the fact that Jean Malraux led the attack on the Abyss Corporation branch, criticism of the dastardly demons boiled over.
The story of the suspect girl was quickly forgotten by people.
Soon after, when news spread that the Germanic Empire’s army would soon arrive at the Franzian border, even the story of the one-time revolutionary hero Marlowe was forgotten.
?
Revolutionary Period – As soon as Lumière
Christine received news of the Germanian Empire’s declaration of war, she eliminated Jean Malraux through an assassin he had planted in advance.
As we had intended, Lumière, who was in an uproar over the assassination of Jean Malraux, briefly paid attention to the plausible motive of revenge from the Abyss Corporation, but quickly turned his attention to the looming threat of war.
As Marlowe, who was most vehemently opposed to discussing cooperation with us in the National Assembly, disappeared and the fire was put on hold by foreign forces, the discussions in the National Assembly ended quickly, putting to shame the sluggishness that had been going on so far.
The position of commander in chief of the revolutionary army that I had requested was, of course, denied, and Raphael Balian, whose skills had already been proven in battles against the kingdom’s army, took over the position of commander of the northern and southern forces.
Even if the Republic gave military authority, there was no expectation from the beginning that all revolutionary troops would be under the command of nobles, and the reason for requesting the position of commander-in-chief was to lead the negotiations, so I think this is a good move.
Instead, all the lords of our union received not only officer ranks from the Republic but also seats in the National Assembly, and the rule of the territory was suspended for one year to coincide with the period when the Republic took over the management system of the territory.
In addition, each noble was guaranteed the property they already owned and received compensation such as tax exemption, pension, and appointment to public office depending on the territory they decided to hand over to the government.
In particular, Christine will be able to earn enormous wealth through free trade with the Holy Church, as she will now receive tax exemption benefits from the upper Aquitaine region within Francia.
After a long period of preparation, we were finally able to use the same flag as the revolutionary army.
–
The soldiers of the Lafayette territory and those who will accompany them to the capital Lumière are in full swing preparing.
I was seeing Jenny for the first time in a very long time.
“…Are you okay? “Even though you have become friends with Eris, your family will remain here, so there is no need to follow them to the capital.”
Even though there is a grace period, as long as the estate is handed over to the government, I am nothing more than an employer to Jenny and other people who use the mansion.
However, Jenny smiled naturally after hearing my cautious words.
“It’s okay, Marquis. Serving Eris is quite a pleasure.”
When I first brought her in as my attendant, her stiff and nervous appearance completely disappeared, and sometimes she even joined in teasing me by subtly asking Eris.
Two and a half years have passed since I returned. Her expression has brightened considerably now, and she looks so depressed and pitiful that I wonder if she is the same woman who gave me bread and water.
As I was lost in thought, Jenny spoke first.
“Marquis. “If you allow me, may I post something somewhat presumptuous?”
“hmm? “Let’s hear it.”
When I gave permission, Jenny hesitated for a moment and then opened her mouth.
“I come from a family of maids who didn’t learn much. However, if I am not mistaken, the Marquis seems to think that his subordinates were forced to serve him because he is the lord.”
As I was caught off guard and speechless, Jenny continued speaking cautiously.
“The Marquis pays fair wages to his employees and does not treat them unfairly compared to other lords. “I dare say, I don’t think it will be easy to receive this kind of treatment no matter where you go.”
“…okay.”
Jenny paused for a moment and then added, smiling awkwardly.
“…Let me tell you now, when you suddenly brought me in as your exclusive attendant, I was a bit worried…”
“I know that because I saw it myself.”
“I’m sorry.”
Jenny responded by slightly averting her gaze to my answer, but then took a deep breath and opened her mouth again while looking straight at me.
“Not only me, but most of the employees are satisfied with the work of the Marquis and are grateful to him. Many people have thought that way since the previous Marquis vacated his territory. So, you and the others who will go to the capital will follow the Marquis according to his own will, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
After I finished speaking, I smiled at Jenny, who was secretly looking at me.
The answer to the question I couldn’t ask even after returning from the dungeon.
As the lord, I thought that even if I tried to get close to them, they would only be in trouble, and I was constantly concerned about whether I really sympathized with them and treated them properly.
Nevertheless, she found the answer to the question I didn’t bother to ask on her own.
“Thank you for saying that. I’m serious. … There must be a lot of preparation to do, but I don’t know if I’ve taken up too much time.”
“No, Marquis. “Then I will leave now.”
“okay. When we arrive at the capital, we will give a bonus to those who worked hard.”
“I look forward to it, Marquis.”
Jenny smiled brightly and walked away, and as soon as I turned the corner of the hallway to head to my office, I ran into Baron Dumont.
The Baron, who somehow had a bigger belly, was wiping his eyes with a handkerchief, his eyes red.
“Baron Dumont.”
“I wonder how happy Lady Yuria would have been if she saw this…”
I asked, smiling slightly after hearing the Baron’s words.
“Aren’t you angry at my decision, Baron?”
“Hmm, that’s….”
He gives up his territory to join the Republic.
It is said that the Union of Southern Nobles has full power, but even with all its forces combined, its population barely exceeds half of the republic that occupies the capital and the northwest.
It was an inevitable decision for me to respond to the king who had joined hands with a foreign power, and although it had its own rewards, Dumont and his vassals who had been loyal to the County of Toulouse strongly opposed it.
Baron Dumont seemed to ponder for a moment and then sighed deeply.
“I still don’t know. “Is it really that easy to change the foundation of ideas that have existed for so many years?”
He, who had helped me the most during this time but had the most difficulty accepting my joining the Republic, was given administrative authority as governor of the Toulouse region.
In terms of authority alone, it was much greater than the ownership of the barony, but for him, this was probably a matter of emotion rather than reason.
“But Yuria… the previous Count asked me to be the Marquis. In that case, it is my job to be loyal to the Marquis.”
“No, Baron. Now you work for this country, not me. “Not with me and below me, but as equals.”
Baron Dumont looked at me quietly, then sighed lightly and nodded.
“I don’t know if I can get used to it, but…”
“You can, Baron. “Then I would like to ask you for this place.”
When I offered to shake his hand, Baron Dumont accepted it rather awkwardly.
I shook his hand firmly and then gave him a light nod.
“Thank you so much, Baron.”
The Baron sniffled again and took out his handkerchief.
…You can’t pay for a night’s sleep.
Still, because I have him, I can head to the capital without worry.
–
It took quite some time to move, joining the armies and parties of the Aquitaine and Anjou alliances, but we entered the capital Lumière just before winter.
It was an unfamiliar feeling for me to see the flag of the Franconian Republic, which was my enemy before returning, being flown by the army I led.
The revolutionary government eventually compromised with us, but it did not want to be seen as submission.
Despite our demands, the revolutionary government presented our forces as patriots who turned away from the corrupt monarchy that was in league with foreign powers and joined the cause of the revolution.
Thanks to this, the residents of Lumiere responded quite well.
The residents who had surrounded the Lumière Square and cried out for my death were gathered in groups of twos and threes in the same square and were watching our procession as if it were something to be seen.
In the meantime, when the Aquitaine leader, who was leading the procession, started throwing a lot of bread to the residents, the residents immediately started cheering and cheering.
Even residents came out to shout ‘Long live Lafayette’ or ‘Long live Aquitaine’, and it quickly began to spread throughout the square.
It was Christine’s suggestion, and it was actually very effective, but I felt like smiling bitterly.
Freedom, equality, Park Annie, and the destruction of corrupt nobles, I am more happy about the bread that came into my hands right away.
“Even the rioters look up to you so much, the Marquis, that you must be an unrivaled hero. This Damien de Mirbeau! “I will continue to be loyal!”
“….”
I laughed, trying to hide my rotten expression, and answered Damien with a smile.
“Just do your duty well, General.”
“Hahahaha, of course. Yes….”
Damien de Mirbeau, who was the last to join, still participated with his own army and was given the title of general to serve under me, and also received assurances that he would not be prosecuted for his actions prior to joining the Republic.
Good luck too. It’s good for him, but I’m not sure if I did the right thing by accepting this untrustworthy friend.
As we reached the main street of Lumière, we saw a prepared podium and several members of the National Assembly waiting.
I got off my horse and slowly headed there.
“Welcome, Marquis de Lafayette.”
Nicola Brissot, the leader of the moderates, was happy to shake my hand, and while I was shaking his hand, I heard a voice next to me.
“It’s been a while, Marquis de Lafayette.”
Maximilien Isidore nodded lightly, glanced at the residents who were cheering after receiving the bread thrown by the top of Aquitaine, frowned, adjusted his glasses, and then opened his mouth again.
“It’s like looking at the Colosseum of an ancient empire.”
Did you think of the emperors who dazzled the audience with cruel and bloody duels and controlled the public sentiment by throwing bread at them?
I smiled softly at him.
“But we are here to fight for them, not to rule.”
Isidor slowly raised his eyebrows, but instead of speaking any further, he extended his hand toward the podium.
I slowly walked towards the podium. I walk through the square where I was taken and ended my life before returning.
In the distance, I could see a simple court and a guillotine.
The faces of the crowd who were shouting to kill me back then are no longer filled with madness and joy.
Some people are just munching on bread with a satisfied look on their faces, others are talking with a look of disinterest, and some people are wary.
When I finally got to the podium and took a deep breath, something flew into me.
“Dirty noble bastard!”
After reflexively protecting myself with magical power, I realized that what had been blocked and dropped to the floor in front of me was a rotten egg.
I smiled bitterly as the rotten me, like the one who had been beaten defenselessly as I was dragged across this square while being held in shackles that sealed my magical power, vibrated.
“How dare you!”
In the blink of an eye, Gaston jumped in, pushing away the crowd, and instantly attacked the man who threw the egg, knocking him to the ground.
…Maybe this would be better.
“Lord Gaston.”
“Marquis.”
“Let me go. “He is also a citizen of Francia.”
“…as instructed.”
When Gaston let go of the man and stepped back, the man stood up with half anger and confusion, looked at me, spat on the floor, turned his back and walked away.
I opened my mouth with magical energy before my focused gaze dispersed.
“Pierre de Lafayette, who was appointed commander of the Southern Army of the French Republic as of today, greets the citizens of Lumière.”
The loud chatter among the crowd has completely disappeared, and everyone’s eyes are fixed on me.
“I know that quite a few of you are questioning my decision and my people’s decision to join the Republic as a Third Estate.”
We did our best and prepared as many safety devices as possible.
Still, I don’t think that will be enough. We will certainly have to fight against both external and internal enemies in this Lumiere.
“We have lived in different positions for a long time, and your questions are valid. “I cannot dare to say that I also understand your freedom and treat you as equals, and that I have fraternity towards all of you.”
Christine is looking at me from down there.
Those deep, calm black eyes reassure me that he trusts me.
So I can continue speaking without doubt.
“Nevertheless, I am willing to stand here. “I am not with the old regime and the king, but with you, the people of Francia.”
At first, it was just to survive and prove the worth of my life.
I slowly turned my gaze and looked at the being who had placed the weight of justification and responsibility on me.
Even though she’s wearing a robe and veil, I feel like I know what kind of expression Eris is making.
“It is because I have realized that if I do not join you at this moment, my country will be trampled under the feet of foreign powers. “Because, like you, I am also a citizen of Francia who will defend our country against foreign powers.”
Gaston and the drivers are listening to me.
“The very freedom you have achieved is a threat to them, so they will attack us to protect the oppression of the old regime. “They believe they can bind us again with the old chains of the old system.”
Those who fought against the flag of the revolutionary army under my orders without even knowing why they were fighting before returning are now lined up holding the flag of the Republic.
“The people of Franzia, who went through many dark times and shed countless blood. “Your freedom, your equality, your fraternity, which you achieved after the ordeal, are threatened.”
On a battlefield covered with the corpses of those who died without knowing the meaning for the honor of their selfish father, I asked them to follow me and be loyal.
Just words to bring them here for my goal. Even though I know it is nothing but hypocrisy, I have led them this far.
“But our enemies still don’t know what we are. They will be commanded by the King and forced to fight for their commander’s honor. But we will fight for our own freedom, for equality for our families, and for the fraternity of our country.”
Before returning, I couldn’t give them an answer as to what they were fighting for.
so that.
“People of Free Francia, I dare to ask!”
I hope they embrace the cause the moment they go out to fight.
“Will your freedom be taken away again?”
“no!”
Starting with a shout that came out of the mouth of just one person, the same answer quickly spread throughout the square.
“Are you going to become slaves of the old regime again?”
“no!”
“Will you fight the king who betrayed his country and people?”
“yes!”
“Will you fight resolutely against that foreign threat?”
“yes!”
“We are a revolutionary army! These are the people who will stand on the battlefield to defend the republic you have built, not under the pressure of an oppressor! For the first time you will fight for your freedom, for the first time you will fight for your glory! You are Franzia! For the revolution! Long live Francia!”
“Long live France!”
“Long live the revolution!”
I turned my back as I heard the people filling the square shouting as one, echoing with the force of shaking the entire city.
While several members of the National Assembly were shouting for national independence along with the citizens, Maximilien Isidor, who was standing quietly, looked straight at me and said, clap, clap, clap.
You can see exactly three short, monotonous claps.
I smiled quietly at him.
Now.
It’s a good start.
?
