༺ I Don’t Need a Guillotine for My Revolution ༻
Written by – 카르카손
Translated by – Mara Sov
༺ Revolutionary Period – Closing In ༻
As spring bloomed completely, following the clashes between the Revolutionaries and the Royal Army, I held a meeting with the Lords sympathetic to Lafayette.
The ones invited were Christine De Aquitaine, the Countess of Aquitaine; the Count of Anjou who became an ally thanks to Eris; and Count Lionel who supported us against the Duke of Bretagne and Count Millbeaul in the final battles of the Civil War due to our protection against their plundering.
However, not everyone reacted well to the proposal I brought up.
“Marquis, I understand that the rebel army fought well against the Royal Army, better than I expected at least. But you want to join hands with this commoner rebellion…Should I worry about your sanity, my friend?”
Count Lionel made no effort to hide his disagreement.
“The surrounding nations see the rebels as a threat and will respond positively to King Louis’s call for aid. Especially the Germania Empire, since they were defeated by us in the last war, they won’t let this opportunity go to waste.”
“Count Lionel’s words have some merit, but we have to remember that we already crossed the point of no return with King Louis. Besides, the revolutionary government will surely be aware of this upcoming crisis as well, so they may react favorably to our proposal. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my ally.”
“Sigh-. Even so…To ally with these commoner rebels. These people even declared the abolition of the feudal system. I trust you realize what this means, Marquis.”
The abolition of feudalism. Essentially this was simply a measure to seize the noble’s assets and distribute them to the bourgeoisie, the main supporters of the revolution, and most of all, this was a way to win public support.
Honestly, I believe that this feudal system is something that will already fade in the next decades.
“I am aware of this. If we were to cooperate with them, we may have to transfer some of our land’s ownership.”
“Snort-. You are seriously considering handing the lands and estates inherited from our ancestors to that rabble?”
Yes, this is not something a noble could easily accept.
“If this doesn’t sound pleasing to you, think like this. You can hand over your title and land for fair compensation. Taxation rights, for example, and both lands and titles are something that could be bought at the end of the day, right?”
Christine’s family is living proof of this, as they are a newly risen noble family who bought the titles and land from the ancient house of Aquitaine.
“……I hear your words, Marquis. But know that I have no intention of joining hands with those rebels who are massacring nobles at will! And much less giving the lands my ancestors secured with their blood, sweat, and tears!”
After saying his piece, Count Lionel stood up from his seat.
“……May peace shine for Lionel County”
“And prosperity for the Lafayette Marquisate.”
With those parting words, Count Lionel stormed out of the room.
His son, Gilles De Lionel looked at me with an apologetic gaze before opening his mouth.
“I wish you the best of luck, Marquis.”
“I’ll always be grateful for all the help the Lionel family has given to me……Should you ever reconsider, I’ll make sure to return the grace given to me, so please do not hesitate to ask.”
“I thank you for those words, I’ll remember them.”
With a bow, Gilles followed his father.
Truthfully, it would be strange if they accepted this proposal immediately. At least, his son seemed to understand the situation a bit, so he could still be persuaded.
After the two men from the Lionel Family left, Count Anjou who had been stroking his beard spoke up.
“Chuckles-. This proposal may have been a little too radical.”
“Do you also oppose it, Count?”
“Hm……”
Instead of answering, the Count looked towards Christine as she nodded and proceeded to speak.
“I’m in favor. Aquitaine has always been a mercantile family, relying more on trade and commerce than its lands……”
After a brief pause, Christine showed a more predatory smile and added.
“It’s an opportunity to expand into the north of Francia, where trade has always been dominated by Bretagne and the Abyss Corporation. So for Aquitaine, this is worth the risk.”
“Once more, I’m grateful for Aquitaine’s support.”
After expressing my gratitude to her, I turned back towards the Count who continued to stroke his beard.
“Sigh-. It’s becoming rather challenging to keep up with the new generation. But if I may, I wish to ask you one thing.”
“Please do, Count.”
“Have the two of you already promised to share a future?”
“Excuse me?”
Why would he ask this right now?
“The engagement decided by the former Count of Aquitaine has been broken. And yet, since then, the two of you have been cooperating rather closely. This old man is merely interested since the Countess of Aquitaine would be a good match for one of my sons, but if the two of you already have a compromise, it would be beyond rude of me to intrude.”
The Count finished his words with a hearty laugh.
My stiff gaze turned towards Christine who smiled as if she hadn’t even heard this.
“Both the Marquis and I just turned 20. So there’s no need to rush into marriage talks in such chaotic times.”
“Hahahaha-. So it’s still on the table? But you won’t give me a direct answer?”
“Why would I lower the value of a disputed commodity so early on?”
The Count smacked his lips at Christine’s soft and kind tone, as she said those words without a single hint of shame.
“Aye, she’s not an easy lass, Indeed. Well, it’s rather shocking for this old man, but all my sons have advised me that it would be good to continue our cooperation, so for now, we’ll consider this proposal carefully.”
After saying this, whether it was muscle memory at this point or simply for the Count’s amusement, he stroked his beard once more and added.
“It’s a fact that my territory has gained much from being involved with you, Marquis. Since the plague had died down and the Aquitaine trading company was back to its usual operations, if our territory got a deal from those reb…No what is what they are calling themselves again? Ah! Yes, Revolutionaries.”
“Then, I shall strive to secure a deal that will satisfy Anjou County.
After all, the other party will be the one in urgent need of aid.”
“With both Lafayette and Aquitaine working on this, I would expect nothing less.”
The departure of Lionel is regrettable, but with Lafayette, Aquitaine, and Anjou we still have a power that encompasses the southern part of this Kingdom.
With the Revolution breaking out earlier than expected and with the King’s forces crumbling just as quickly, foreign intervention is certain. Originally, the revolutionary government would face an invasion after they had a good time to prepare, but the rapid progress of the revolution and the early appearance and subsequent victories of Raphael Valliant had an unintended backlash.
Now that the revolutionaries are facing a bigger crisis, this will be our time to move.
–
When the meeting had concluded, the sun was already setting.
I sat across from Christine and studied the reports she had handed to me.
Raphael Valliant had been organizing and training militias to defend the cities against raid attempts during the Civil War, and recently, he had personally reached out to Prosecutor Maximillien Le Jidor in order to become part of the Revolutionary forces.
Jidor was the very same man responsible for my execution and quickly became known as the ‘guillotine-man’…..Of all people, why does it have to be him?
The fact that Raphael Valliant had been moving through the front-line cities in the north during the Civil War and managed to stay undetected by Aquitaine was surprising enough, but the fact that his sudden recruitment by the revolutionaries, and his win against the Royal Army were disconcerting to say the least.
As far as I knew, Raphale Vaillant only began leading the Revolutionaries way later than now. I don’t understand why he appeared early, but this couldn’t be good for me.
Things have changed from the first time, so it wouldn’t be strange if they continued to change, and the usefulness of my knowledge is fading.
But the more pressing report was one I received from Christine through a messenger bird, but that was only her suspicion……
“So, what do you think?”
I muttered while I stared at those deep black eyes of hers that seemed to suck me in on its depths.
“Emanuel Sierres, Sierres……”
This Sierres has no clue we already suspect him, so instead of choosing another background, he would stick with his current identity as a B-class Mage.
Normally, there would be no need to investigate the origins of the Revolutionary leadership or the book – Theory of Social Hierarchy before these events surfaced.
Not to mention, that no one would know about my doubts on whether the publication date of such a book was moved up compared to before my regression.
Yet, I already knew that the author of this book was none other than Bishop Arnaud Richelieu, and a man named Sierres played a large help in publishing it.
Such a person, just after the revolution broke out, wanted to become a vassal of Aquitaine? That’s not even fishy anymore, it stinks, badly.
Perhaps he’s a spy sent by the revolutionaries?
But, until now we have no hostility towards them; we even sent some friendly gestures through the cities.
So why would the revolutionaries, who should be busy dealing with major threats such as King Louis and the like, dispatch a spy to us, who isn’t even hostile to them?
As I thought about this, Christine suddenly said.
“I’m sorry, My Lord.”
“Pardon?”
“When Count Anjou made that question, I acted without your consent.”
“Ah….That…Matter.”
From Christine’s words, one could understand that she was not against the idea of giving a chance to Count Anjou’s sons, but she had said to me she had no intention of marrying anyone.
After all, if she got a husband, there would be no way to spare her brother.
“It’s fine, I understand the position you find yourself in, Christine.”
Honestly, I’m as fed up with marriage talks as she is. Every day the Baron keeps telling me to marry someone and produce an heir.
I once again stared at Christine’s hypnotizing eyes while I became immersed in thoughts. Since our engagement was annulled, we are nothing to each other.
But, after spending time with her, I must admit that every other lady falls short in my eyes.
As we continued to look at each other’s eyes in silence, Christine hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“What if we-“
Just then, a knock came from the window.
There stood a black pigeon with red eyes, resembling a crow.
When I opened the window, the pigeon flew inside and started speaking with a twisted voice.
“It’s an honor to finally meet you, Marquis of Lafayette and Countess Aquitaine. I’m Halphas, a member of the ‘Pride Corps’ from Abyss Corporation.”
Sigh-. What madness is this now?
Looking at Christine I could see that she seemed legitimately disturbed, which was a first.
“I apologize for this rude greeting, as this bird is merely my familiar and not my true form. I hope you find in yourself some forgiveness.”
The bird spoke with a polite language, courting our favor, but I didn’t want to listen to this nonsense, as I said the first thing that came to my mind.
“……I don’t think I have any forgiveness left in me?”
The moment I drew my sword this blasted bird tilted its head, its eyes almost shining.
“That would be most regrettable, but as I said, I represent the ‘Pride Corps’ and have come here with a delightful proposal for both of-“
“If you have a proposal then come and present it in person.”
Before the pigeon could even say another word, I cut off its head.
Instead of blood, what came out from the severed neck was remnants of dark-colored mana, as the pigeon crumbled to dust.
After watching this scene unfold, I said.
“Christine.”
“Yes, Pierre?”
“The CEO of ‘Sloth’ said we can’t talk over long distances yet, didn’t they?”
“That’s correct.”
Christine was the first to receive that crystal ball and pass it to me.
There, Paimon expressed their clear regret over the lack of such a function.
“So if such means existed, they would have contacted us immediately.”
“I believe that should be the case.”
While I recalled the face of the quirky demon who said he would eagerly anticipate the chance of meeting with us despite the losses we caused to them, Christine agreed.
The publication of the Theory of Social Hierarchy was moved up compared to before my regression.
And now, after the early publication of such an important book that affected the masses, a demon’s familiar appears in my domain?
“Are you sure there weren’t any new additions to your caravan besides that man?”
“Yes, I’m sure. Besides him, I’ve only brought those who usually accompany us to Lafayette. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to confirm his identity as a spy.”
Once again I was impressed at Christine’s cunning.
“I assume you’ll have been keeping a watchful eye for things like this, Pierre?”
“Indeed. Since the revolution, we’ve been thoroughly verifying the identities of those who enter and leave my territory.”
After a short silence, I asked.
“……Could it be that these demons have hidden means for deception?”
“If the one who contacted us months ago had something like this planned from the beginning……
Then they are such an omnipotent force that it won’t matter whatever we do.”
“If you think that is the case…Was it wise to step on their tails like that?”
Christine said this with a sly smile on her face.
“Well, we won’t know until we draw them out. But I’m curious to know whether the Abyss Corporation or another force is hiding their true identity and sneaking in as spies. If we know that a spy exists, then we could deal with it however we want to. What do you say?”
When I asked her stance on this matter, Christine’s smile widened with a hint of venom behind her beautiful facade.
“Now that you have said that, I’m rather curious as well. I wonder what face this demon will make when they realize they were the ones being had.”
TL NOTE: I….Don’t have anything to say in this note……But…..Lets clap sum demon cheeks lads?
Like those
Juice
Demon
Cheeks
Omega GYAAAAT lvs of stuff
Like built in stuff, shockstop stuff.
Im drunk.
