༺ I Don’t Need a Guillotine for My Revolution ༻
Written by – 카르카손
Translated by – Mara Sov
༺ Revolutionary Period – Wretched Lives ༻
When Damien De Millbeau knelt before me, I wondered what he was doing, but after thinking about it some more, I got the gist of it.
Millbeau County possessed the southernmost territory within King Louis’s faction. It was located just above the Marquisate and close to Aquitaine County.
In such a situation, King Louis’s vassals, spread around the south and northwest were swept away by me, and their lordless lands fell into disarray and crumbled before the revolution.
The only territory left was the Duchy of Orleans, but I had just received some news that Raphael Valliant managed to conquer that place as well.
With King Louis retreating to the Duchy of Lorenne, a former ally of the First Prince, as he awaited reinforcements, Millbeau County was left to fend for itself, isolated in enemy territory.
While I don’t regret moving against Damien at the time, it is a fact that Millbeau has suffered greatly.
“I see. But why have you come to us, instead of Aquitaine? I think it’s obvious by now, but I am your enemy.”
If he was going to surrender, wouldn’t it be better to choose Christine, who at least pretended to be neutral during the Civil War, rather than me, the man who killed both, his father and his brother?
At least that was what I thought, but as soon as I mentioned Aquitaine, Damien’s face paled.
What’s going on with him now?
“M-Marquis, you may not be aware since you rushed towards the Nivernais Plains. B-but the Countess, that woman, she……”
I only knew that Christine shared a substantial amount of spoils with me, but I never bothered to ask her what she did……
Damien shuddered as he spoke.
“Initially, I intended to rally the remnants of the army within Millbeau. But the Countess didn’t pursue our forces, instead, she seized control of the roads and the nearby villages, only then did she unleash the cavalry.”
Ah.
So she secured the paths and possible rally points in advance while chasing the scattered remains with the cavalry.
The King’s army, unfamiliar with the land and without a leader, must have been plunged into chaos. And for Aquitaine who constantly traveled around, it must have been rather easy to outmaneuver them.
I can imagine how it turned out.
The retreating army, with no supply or camping equipment would have wandered to the point of starvation until they were captured by the Aquitaine’s forces.
Either Christine is a good strategist or she has good advisors.
That was as far as my thoughts went, but Damien wasn’t done.
“The Countess blocked all routes to Millbeau’s capitol, Bergerac, and sent all the disarmed prisoners to me.”
“…”
“Since we weren’t on lockdown, I couldn’t refuse the soldiers entry, but with all routes blocked it was impossible to procure supplies.”
……With the morale on the drain, and with all their weapons plundered, it’s unlikely that the Royal Army would have any loyalty to Count Millbeau.
Now, if you add starving soldiers and a blockage to this, it wouldn’t be weird if the very allies he saved would have pressured his surrender.
While I clicked my tongue, Damien continued his tale while trembling.
“So…I surrendered, and only after scraping the bottom of my coffers and paying the Countess what she demanded did she withdraw. Then she used the money extorted from me to buy supplies from the occupied villages.”
“Hahahaha-.”
What a masterpiece. Sure it might have been more profitable for Christine to simply plunder his domain, but this would have incurred the wrath of those living in his territory, and Damien might have even been able to maintain some control over his lands.
But what would happen if the invaders paid a fair price for their supplies, while their own Lord could neither protect nor collect his people’s taxes?
Even if that money was gained from extorting their lord, that would lead them to think – ‘Things were better when our Lord was being attacked.’
With the advent of the revolution, it might be clear what his subjects must be thinking.
“Only after all that did I hear that King Louis had suffered a major defeat. Curses! Had I known that this would happen, I wouldn’t have let the Royal Army take refuge in my city……!”
Damien in his rage seemed to forget that I was in front of him as he proceeded to grind his teeth.
Ah, what is this called again? A present that keeps on giving?
While I was thinking about this, Damien looked at me, his eyes sparkling. No, don’t look at me like that.
“Revered Marquis.”
Since when did he become so polite?
“The Countess Aquitaine, that vile woman, she is without a doubt a witch! Cunning and disgusting…..”
When Damien saw my expression in his babbles, he quickly changed his course and continued.
“……Is indeed a very beautiful lady. Ah, her lustrous midnight hair, her eyes….Oh, her eyes, those deep obsidian orbs……”
Realizing my expression was souring even more, he stuttered, but with a lightning-fast change of course, he gave me a beaming smile as he continued.
“She is truly a woman fitting to be by the Marquis’s side as his one and only partner.”
Now that’s better. Even he has some sense in him once in a while, doesn’t he?
After all, it’s because of his wits that he was the acting lord, even though his elder brother was perfectly capable.
Right, now that I think about it.
Isn’t Damien completely ruined?
He’s completely isolated from his faction, his forces are in tatters and he has no money. Thanks to Christine’s actions, should he squeeze his subjects to regain some money, he would incite a rebellion.
But, if he doesn’t do something it will be his demise, trapped between the Revolutionary Forces that toppled the Duke of Orleans and the territories of Christine and I. That’s why he’s here.
Damien continued to look at me with those pleading puppy eyes.
“Though I was once a villain who raided the neighboring domains, I have been enlightened by the Marquis, and have become a new man! If you accept my surrender I shall become your most loyal subject!”
……Wasn’t it Eris that whipped you into shape?
I weighed the pros and cons of this decision while looking at his face.
While his past actions were disconcerting, the revolutionary government’s draft had a clause stating that nobles wouldn’t be held accountable for their crimes committed before joining the Republic.
This would grant him some immunity, and it might curry some more favor from the revolutionaries if I added the Millbeau territory to the Republic.
Moreover, the revolutionary army is in a severe drought of capable commanders, and with Count Lionel breaking off from our alliance, there’s no one else capable of leading a large operation besides me.
Christine could be an option, but I wouldn’t want that. She’s a master at psychological warfare, and from what I’ve heard she seems to have a talent for military strategies.
However, if I have my way, she won’t be on the battlefield ever again.
Finally, I extended my hand to Damien with a sly smirk.
“As the Marquis of Lafayette, I welcome you, Count Damien De Millbeau.”
“Ah! What a merciful lord! Truly! The Marquis is more worthy of being my lord than the likes of that Tyrant! As your new vassal, I-“
“Ahem-. You won’t be my vassal.”
“Pardon?”
“I just need your lands, there’s no need for your oaths of loyalty. After all, we are jumping ships to the revolutionary government.”
Damien went completely still for about five seconds before screaming.
“WHAAAAT—?!”
Heh-. That’s what you get for not doing proper research before striking a deal.
Ah, this gift just keeps on giving~
Well, if he doesn’t take my hand here……He’ll be as good as dead anyway.
–
Lumiere – Capital of the Republic of Francia.
Despite the meaning of its name – Light – A dreary rain poured down from the gloomy clouds.
Even with such dreary weather, the club frequented by the more belligerent of the radicals, the so-called ‘Maloists’ was teeming with people.
As a testament to its origins as an ex-noble mansion, the club was adorned with costly wines and luxurious cigars, which pleased the usual customers.
“No matter what, sending the former president Levier to the guillotine was a bit too much……”
The Journalist Jean Malo, the current leader of radicals frowned as he spoke.
“Prosecutor Jidor is going too far. What’s worse, he’s planning on bringing the southern nobles in the fold, those cowards. It seems that even the ‘Unbribable’ can be swayed.
“But, Senator Malo, isn’t it true that the Germania Empire and the Northern Alliance have declared war and are mobilizing a force of 40,000 to invade Francia? Perhaps it’s not a bad idea to welcome them in, after all we share a common enemy.”
The discussions concerning the requests from the southern nobility led by the Marquis of Lafayette and the Countess of Aquitaine had progressed rather quickly with the advent of war.
“Bah-. Granting that Marquis the rank of commander-in-chief of our army? Preposterous!”
Malo snorted, having downed quite a few mugs by now.
“What’s the point of the revolution then? The Royals and Nobles are the enemy of the people! That was why we stood against them! Jidor……That man has been corrupted!”
“Senator Malo, you may have one too many at this point. Please keep your voice down.”
One of his comrades tried to calm him down, but Malo continued to shout loud enough for his voice to echo around the club.
“Woah! Someone get this republican hero another drink! Keep ’em comin’!”
–
“Tsk-. They are just like those nobles.”
The barmen handed Malo’s usual drink to a waitress who was waiting nearby.
And the waitress, Ellen Davy, slowly ascended the stairs.
After the revolution, some believed that things had improved.
Others said that nothing had changed.
But for the Davy family who lost both parents who worked in a noble’s mansion, things were different.
A girl who wasn’t even out of age couldn’t earn enough money to feed her young siblings, even if she starved herself.
That’s why when an unknown person sent money to them, she felt like God was finally answering her prayers.
But there was no such thing as a miracle from the Lord in this world. Her benefactor revealed that he was only doing this to use her as a disposable pawn.
When that person provided a home for her siblings and a large amount of money Ellen never dared to touch, she wondered if it would be better if she fled.
Because of her benefactor’s introduction, she finally had a well-paying job, and for the first time in a while she didn’t feel hungry, so Ellen wondered if it would be okay to simply forget about her revenge.
However, when the Republic started to consider an alliance with the southern nobles, she couldn’t contain her anger anymore.
She could never forget the Revolution and the principles behind it.
Liberty. Equality. Fraternity.
Liberty from the noble’s oppression. Equality regardless of status. Fraternity among one another.
Everyone cheered the Revolution, hailing the birth of the Republic.
But she still remembers the day her mother came back home, filled with bruises while crying as she embraced her for dear life, just because she angered the noble she served.
She remembers her father, who had to kneel and beg before the noble who assaulted her mother just so he could spare them.
What sin had her parents committed? What two uneducated peasants could possibly do against the revolution that they were killed alongside the noblemen they served?
If their deaths were truly necessary, then why on earth was the Republic reaching out to those accursed nobles again?
While Ellen made her way up the stairs, she took a vial from her pocket. Even though she had resolved herself, her hands trembled like a newborn calf.
However, despite the weight of her actions, the vial opened with a devilish ease, revealing an ominous pink powder.
As Ellen powered the powder into the drink, it dissolved instantly, disappearing without a trace.
“Those blue-blooded nobles can’t be trusted! Not a single one of them! Everything that leaves their mouth is just a bunch of lies! We cannot be deceived by them!”
The roar of a drunk man, yelling at the top of his lungs drew closer.
Were the nobles bad? Probably.
Was the Revolution a righteous movement then? Probably.
Perhaps both were in the wrong. Regardless, Ellen was a mere daughter of 2 lowly servants, she lacked any sort of proper education, therefore she didn’t believe herself to be smart enough to judge such complicated matters.
However,
She can’t forget the madness in the people’s eyes illuminated by their torches on that nightmarish night.
She remembers how her parents rushed to the noble’s mansion, worried, only to be dragged out by the mad crowd while they pleaded for their lives.
She remembers that her young siblings were incapable of understanding that their parents had died as they clung to her, crying without knowing why their parents wouldn’t return, until they fell asleep, exhausted from crying.
For the life of her, Ellen couldn’t see the difference between the dethroned nobles, and the commoners who took their place. All of that sacrifice was meaningless.
Finally, she had come close enough to clearly spot Malo’s face.
The counselor sitting next to Malo glanced at her, clicked his tongue, and looked away.
Her heart kept pounding in her chest so loudly that Ellen even worried that the counselor might hear it.
If she spilled the drink by ‘accident’ she would get scolded by the manager, but that was that.
Yet, when she remembered the sight of her younger siblings enjoying a real meal to their heart’s content for the first time, unlike anything they had before, she pushed forward.
……Those children would never know the price of their happiness.
Perhaps the loss of her might hit them harder than their parent’s death.
Just as Ellen hesitated to take the last steps, Jean Malo barged into her.
“Why were you so goddamn late!”
Before Ellen could even say a thing, Malo picked the drink, raised his glass, and called a toast of his own accord, drowning in one go.
Ellen almost collapsed on the spot, but she managed to command her shaky legs toward the window.
There, she could see the city still shrouded in the gloomy rain and fog.
The waitress who should have made herself scarce after handing his drink, kept staring at the window prompting the drunken Malo to shout out to her.
“You! Why are you still he-Ugh!”
He tried to yell at her.
But before he could even finish his sentence, A darkened red mass burst from his mouth and splattered on the floor.
“Gasp-!”
“W-Whhat is happening?!”
“Aaaarghhh-!”
Amidst the bewildered councilors, Malo’s eyes bulged, his blood vessels popping one after the other, as he clawed at his throat, almost ripping it off.
Ellen simply watched this scene with blurred eyes.
The words she spoke to her benefactor during their first contact echoed in her ears.
She had asked her benefactor for his death to be painful, but she didn’t imagine that person would listen to her.
Nonetheless, seeing Malo writing on the floor, his throat soaked in blood from his scratches, it seems that person granted her a tiny wish.
Malo screamed for a full minute, frothing in his own blood before his face became ghastly and he stopped, never to wake up again.
In one dark corner of her mind, Ellen cheered his death, imagining the man drowning in the blood of the countless innocents he had killed.
Startled by Malo’s dying screams, a crowd of people rushed into the room, some were even doctors as their eyes slowly turned towards Ellen.
Amidst raindrops outside and the tense silence that ensued, Ellen could see the rising anger in their eyes.
However, she felt no triumph or relief.
Ah, she wanted to live.
But now, she could only wallow in regret.
She just wanted to see the home her family lived for all her life. She wanted to see her little siblings’ faces. She wanted to laugh with them while they ate a delicious meal.
If she could meet them again……
Then, she would tell those innocent, blissfully ignorant children what their sister had done for them.
Angry shouts erupted from the crowd.
Ellen took another step closer to the window as the angry mob came closer.
Her benefactor’s face, even though veiled, was vividly etched in her mind.
Although she didn’t disclose her name, that woman had granted a small wish of Ellen’s; she didn’t even hope it would be fulfilled.
The cruel kindness seemed like an unspoken promise to take care of her younger siblings.
-Ellen Davy, you overestimate yourself.
Those words filled her with a sense of defiance.
But as she watched the mob charge at her, Ellen finally understood them.
-Are you confident that you won’t resent your younger siblings since you’re the one fated to die?
The faces of her siblings, their joyful faces…Now were tainted with terror.
She wanted to live.
Ellen took another step back. The windowsill pressed against her waist.
Even if her life was worthless, not deserving to even know the name of the person who orchestrated her death.
At least, she wanted to greet her parents with a smile.
One more step.
Her body flipped over, with nowhere else to go but down, as the rain greeted her.
Ellen reached towards the sky, but the only thing granted to her was the dark clouds without a single speck of light.
She didn’t know if what streamed in her face was her tears or just the rain.
Mother.
Father.
Was I a good sister?
–
The terrible tale of the poisoned Jean Malo and the prime suspect, a young girl who committed suicide stirred the Capital the following day.
During the investigations, it became known that the poison used hailed from the Abyss Corporation, coupled with the fact that Jean Malo was the one leading the attack on the Abyss Corporation’s branch in Bretagne, the public’s hate towards the demons skyrocketed.
The story of the young waitress was quickly forgotten.
A couple of days after this, news that the Germania’s army was approaching the borders of Francia made the people even forget about the death of Jean Malo, the Republican Hero.
TL Note:
My dro Damien is switching gears faster than me when Im late to buy em chicken nuggies on discount.
Also, Also, I was listening to Space Song while Tling this chapter and almost had a meltdown.
WTF is a HEALTHY MIND??????!!!! RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
