Episode 257 ‘That was what I was aiming for. ‘It was all prepared from the beginning.’
Jacques Juan’s hands were shaking not only from fear.
A tremor mixed with the anger of someone who belatedly realizes that he or she was bait.
But even though he realized it now, there was nothing more he could do.
“Get out of the way!!”
“Count Pear!”
“Where are you going now!?”
“I have to go out and command the soldiers!!”
The nobles who tried to stop him flinched at the sight of Jacques screaming.
However, his actions after leaving the inner palace were completely different from his previous words.
“Rike! Where is Rike!”
“Here you are, Your Excellency!”
“Gather the guards! Let’s escape!”
“Yes yes?”
“hurry!”
“Oh, I understand!”
Jacques Juan gathered his guards and ran towards the east gate faster than anyone else.
‘You have to live and see first. Damn it, what did I do…’
Blood flowed from my bitten lip, but I didn’t feel any pain.
The only thing eating into his mind was regret.
While living as a noble all my life, I have never been very greedy. No, to be precise, there were many predators who would bite off the leash at once if they were too greedy, so I came to buy them.
Thanks to that, he was able to survive the first and second civil wars, but only after the predators disappeared did he raise his head, and his liver swelled because he thought there was no one to threaten him.
‘I forgot that it was that king who ate all those predators.’
The series of difficult-to-understand circumstances was a move to sort out those who were dissatisfied with him.
When the situation turned out like this, I couldn’t help but feel goosebumps.
He could not imagine that he had been chosen because he was an obstacle in the progress of the king’s plan.
‘Run away. A union of small kingdoms… no, an empire. ‘I live there holding my breath.’
Fortunately, I had some assets accumulated.
With just a few jewels in my possession, I could buy a decent mansion in the great city of the empire.
The next thing….
‘Let’s live and think for now.’
I didn’t have time to think any more.
Doo doo doo.
“Faster! Faster!”
I forcefully control my impatience and ride the horse with the escort knights.
“I found it. Count Jacques Juan.”
With the dreary voice suddenly heard, Jacques Juan suddenly felt like the world was spinning.
The moment he lost consciousness, the last thing he saw was a silver wind.
thud.
“Your Majesty, you have decapitated the leader Jacques Juan for treason.”
“Sniff. When will Japsap again…”
Ignoring his old rival’s complaints, Wicken raised his head straight and looked at the young king.
“Thank you Lord Wicken.”
The king nods and smiles.
The king was once just a passionate young man who stood in his way, but now he has become a superman who easily surpasses him.
The kid who thought he was just the sprout of a hero suddenly became the ruler of this country and was standing in front of him.
From a young hero who quelled the civil war to a traitor. Back to king.
And again as a tyrant.
They were even now waging war, saying they would make the people more comfortable by lowering taxes.
Wicken asked the young king, whose actions were so unconventional that his actions were unpredictable.
“By the way, Your Majesty, is it true that you will drastically lower the taxes of the residents of your territory?”
“That’s right. In fact, the past year has been very taxing. The burden on the people must have been great.”
Even though he knew this, this king used taxes to raise his army. Wicken wondered where his gaze was directed this time.
“Limit the lord’s authority and then…”
“Hey, you’re talking too much. If your Majesty tells you to do it, just do it.”
“Shut up, lump. Not everyone is as thoughtless as you.”
Although his eyebrows twitched at Luther’s interference, Wicken still fixed his gaze on the king.
In fact, he had been skeptical about staying in this country ever since it was defeated in the civil war.
It is said that he was legally bound by the swordsman, but unless the swordsman was watching him every day, there was nothing he could not do if he decided to run away. Except for the swordsman, there was no one who could catch up with him…
‘Ah, except for this king.’
I smiled bitterly at the foolish thought.
Nevertheless, the reason he continued to stay in this country was because he had no particular goal.
What would you do if you went to another country and enjoyed power again? A superhuman could become a high-ranking noble anywhere, even in that empire.
So I wasn’t motivated any more.
Because no one is obsessed with something that can be easily obtained.
That’s why Wicken wanted a goal that would motivate him again.
Fortunately, the young king seemed to have a rough understanding of his psychology.
“Lord Wicken wonders what I will do next?”
“Yes. Can I hear the answer?”
Is it because of his skinny physique?
The reflection of myself in the king’s red eyes seemed strangely earnest, and I laughed inwardly, but an unexpected answer came back.
“We must protect the people.”
“…yes?”
“I will protect my family, my people, and my country from all threats, both internal and external. Everything I do is for that purpose.”
“But why…”
Logan immediately understood the omission of the question about whether Count Juan was not your people.
“It was necessary.”
“Really, Your Majesty is an unknown person.”
“…?”
For Wicken, it was even more absurd to see a puzzled expression on the king’s face.
The hero who ended the civil war became a traitor, eventually became king, and was called a tyrant by collecting ridiculous taxes. Then, he started a war to lower taxes again, beat up the nobles under his command, and said that the purpose was to protect the country.
If I hadn’t seen the unwavering, shining red eyes in front of me, I would have thought these were the footsteps of a crazy person.
But Wicken knew that some of the crazy people recorded in history were called by completely different names.
‘Hero or great man.’
A person who seems crazy because he cannot predict what the criminal will do, but ultimately achieves great results.
In a country where such a person is king, how many changes will occur while he is in power?
‘At least I won’t be bored.’
I suddenly thought of such a thought and laughed out loud.
“Phew…”
It felt like the flame in my heart that had died down after the defeat in the civil war was burning again.
“Fuhahahaha!”
“Skinny. You suddenly turned…?”
Wicken ignored the thoughtless voice of the evil-guy with one ear and planted his favorite sword, Transfixio, on the floor with a reassuring smile.
The sword, named ‘Piercing’ in the ancient language, penetrated deep into the stone floor of his inner room as if it represented his thoughts.
“Sin Wicken Kalia. I pledge allegiance to the King of Macraine.”
The king’s eyes wavered at that sudden action.
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about after coming all the way here?”
Although the evil actor’s nonsense bothered my ears.
“I accept it, Lord Wicken. Please take care of me in the future.”
Soon the young king’s laughing voice was heard, and Wicken responded with a bright smile.
* * *
– The king subjugated the traitor.
The entire kingdom was in an uproar as the battle ended in just a few hours, if not a day.
“No, just looking at it, the difference in troops is huge, so why did those nobles revolt…”
“I don’t know. They must have had something in mind.”
“It’s been a day or two since the nobles became stupid. They were blinded by greed.”
Self-proclaimed intellectuals who did not know the inside story laughed at the foolishness of Jacques Juan and other dead nobles.
However, those who knew even the slightest bit of the inside story were horrified by the king’s terrible plan and kept their mouths shut.
In that atmosphere, Logan once again held a grand meeting convening all nobles.
Logan, with an expressionless face, spoke in a calm tone.
“The tax levied by the royal family on the nobles of the territory will remain at 60% as before. However, the tax levied by the lords on the people will be limited to a maximum of 40%.”
The tax limit was lowered by 10% compared to when Jacques Juan opposed it.
However, despite that shocking declaration, most of the nobles had no choice but to keep their mouths shut and bow their heads.
It was just after all the key figures among the nobles who had risen up to undermine the foundation of the feudal system were killed in Huan Castle.
If you know that life is precious, there is no way you could object…
“Your Majesty. The foundation of the kingdom is feudalism. I hope you will think again about limiting the lord’s authority.”
Where on earth does such a thoughtless hero keep appearing?
Logan, who was looking around Daejeon with a calm complexion, laughed.
Faeron Esther, an old noblewoman full of courage but unfortunately with bad eyesight, took the smile as a positive sign.
“Implementing policies that shake the foundation for immediate gains will ultimately lead to great trouble in the future.”
Of course, Payron didn’t go out like this because he had no ideas.
He is a king who has already seen great bloodshed.
Others may be afraid, but if they see blood again at a time like this, there will no longer be any nobles speaking directly to the king in Daejeon.
A king who cares deeply would definitely consider that.
Payron had made such a calculation.
Moreover, there was a desperate reason of its own.
‘If it’s 50%, I don’t know, but if it’s 40%, our family can’t even maintain the Knights. Rather than slowly drying out and dying. I have to hold on somehow.’
Faerun was determined to persuade the king by making the most of his old experience.
Looking at him like that, Logan couldn’t help but laugh and spoke in a cruel voice.
“The traitorous cabal still remains.”
“…yes!?”
It was only then that Faerun came to his senses after hearing the king’s frightening words.
But it was already too late.
“Take it out.”
The king issued a fearful command in a calm tone, and immediately the waiting knights approached and grabbed Faerun’s arms.
“Your Majesty!? I was just expressing my opinion! Oh no, I’m sorry! That was a slip of the tongue!”
Payron hurriedly tried to collect what he had said.
Although he moved his tongue faster than at any time in his decades of life as an aristocrat.
“It’s noisy. Make it quiet.”
“lung…!?”
Ugh.
The only thing that came back was the loyal knight’s punch.
Sloppy.
“Hmph.”
“How dare you…”
There were pitiful groans here and there, but no one was able to raise their voice openly.
It was right after all the hardliner nobles, including Jacques Juan, were wiped out.
The only remaining people were cautious people who did not easily step forward even when the aristocratic faction was judged to be advantageous, or in other words, cowards. Naturally, there were no more nobles who opposed Logan’s decision.
* * *
– Reduce the taxes of all territorial residents to below 40%.
The new tax policy quickly became known throughout the kingdom.
At first, the people were skeptical. However, after the royal inspector dispatched to the estate made the announcement again and saw the lord simply bowing his head in silence, they too had no choice but to become aware of the changed reality.
Naturally, cheers erupted from all over the kingdom.
“Wow!”
“Long live His Majesty the King!”
“Long live the Kingdom of McLane!”
Even excluding last year, which was like a nightmare, the majority of people living in the territory had a daily routine of paying 50 to 60 percent in taxes. As such, all those who had been criticizing Logan and the royal family until last year were now busy praising him.
In addition, the policy that followed was something that the territory residents were only happy about.
– All citizens are under the protection of the royal family, so even if you are a lord, you are prohibited from arbitrarily engaging in unpaid labor or engaging in exploitation.
– Any nobleman who extorts property from the people by means other than taxes is subject to severe punishment, regardless of position.
Although they were merely policies aimed at blocking the expedient extortion of lords through tax reduction policies, these were also enough to receive cheers from the people.
As a result, the nightmarish memories of last year have come to be glorified.
“You went to great lengths to drive out evil nobles.”
“That’s right. He was the one who overthrew the tyrant and became king in the first place, but we were too hasty.”
One by one, smiles began to bloom on the faces of the people of the Kingdom of McLane, who had truly entered a world where life was truly enjoyable.
