༺ I Don’t Need a Guillotine for My Revolution ༻
Written by – 카르카손
Translated by – Mara Sov
༺ Civil War Period – Damien De Millbeau (1) ༻
I had just returned to the mansion when I suffered a sneak attack.
“Young Master! Do you want to scare me to death?!”
An older man, around my father’s age with a prominent belly was making a fuss in my office……
“Well, I’m here safe and sound, so there’s nothing to worry about, right? Baron Domont?”
“By sheer luck! Pure luck I say! Which noble goes to confront raiders bringing only a handful of soldiers and a single Knight! How am I supposed to report this to His Excellency the Marquis?!”
Well, I suppose my father would be elated now that I finally did something chivalrous.
“If I had taken all the soldiers, the village would have been a wasteland by the time we would have arrived. So this was necessary, and look, we even got us some prisoners.”
“Hmm. That is indeed quite the achievement, Young Master. However, as a representative of His Excellency the Marquis, I must condemn such reckless behavior.”
The Baron paused for a moment and looked at me with a serious glint in his eyes.
“Even though you faced this danger, the village still suffered significant damage. You even exempted them from tax for a period of time, so apart from defeating the enemy invasion, nothing was gained from this adventure of yours.”
I looked at him with a bitter smile.
“Do you think exempting them from tax was foolish?”
“It was a generous decision without a doubt. Those villagers would surely praise your actions. But that’s it, Young Master. Even the most powerful of Knights can’t go about gallivanting around the villages as they please; that’s why it’s far more practical to simply attack the enemy’s territory. Besides, aren’t we also in a tight spot due to our military expenses and resources?”
That’s the norm around these days.
Even if you want to protect the commoners, there are limits to how many troops you can commit to this effort.
Back then, I agreed with this and followed my father’s orders and the Baron’s advice to raid the enemy instead of protecting our subjects.
“But we can’t keep doing this, or the peasants won’t be able to endure it. Eventually, they won’t manage to pay the taxes, and those from the enemy territories will end up the same, if not worse.
And If this civil war doesn’t end soon, we’ll have to squeeze them even more, so what else will be left for them, but the desperate need to rebel against us?”
That was how it happened; the revolution erupted among the wealthy commoners and intellectuals of the cities, and the peasants who had been suffering under the constant exploitation during the five years of the civil war were more than happy to join the movement.
The flames of revolution burned down the Kingdom that was already at its limit due to the long civil war. And thus, a republic born from the hatred for The Royals and the nobles took control.
Countless nobles had paid the ultimate price of being publicly executed by the guillotine.
……Even me.
“I have a plan, my good Baron. As you so expertly put it, most nobles are plundering other territories instead of protecting their subjects. But this time, Milbeau County suffered a loss after trying to raid us. They lost a hundred soldiers and two Knights. They might believe that it was just a matter of bad luck, but what If this keeps happening again and again?”
The Baron seemed to think for a moment before he answered.
“They……They would aim for the other territories rather than this Marquisate.”
Most of the noble’s main forces are fighting in the North, close to the Capital.
The Marquisate, being the province under the control of the ‘Blue Knight’, was already less targeted than the other territories, and if those foolish enough to attempt raiding the province continue to suffer loss after loss, they will be made an example of.
“Exactly. After all, there are many other territories the Second Prince’s faction can aim for besides our Marquisate. If we secure our territory to an extent, we’ll have some leeway to support our allies or attack our enemies.”
Of course, I had no intention of raiding anyone.
“Hmm, good point. But It doesn’t seem like such results would come just from stopping small-scale raids. And it’s a bit, well……To keep doing such reckless things when we don’t even know for how long we have to guard the territory……”
“That’s fair.”
I also agreed with the Baron’s opinion.
However, since the Revolution is imminent, I have much to do.
The plundering must be prevented, but I don’t know how many times I have to stop them for it to stop, and I can’t simply sit here waiting for them to try again.
Above all, my father, the Marquis, won’t hesitate to take away my title of the Acting Marquis if I don’t send him a satisfactory amount of military supplies.
The ransom of the two Knights we have captured is far from enough to cover all the war expenses.
“That’s why I need to catch a big fish. Tell me Baron, who is the one managing Milbeau County?”
“It should be the second son of the Count, Young Master.”
Count Milbeau’s second son.
His name was……Damien De Milbeau.
Although all I know of him is his name.
It’s regrettable that his name is all I know when I’m sure he must have raided our territory before.
At least, from what I remember, he didn’t succeed his father.
“Do you have any other information about him?”
“I’m sorry, Young Master. But there is a severe lack of intel on him……”
Baron Domont wiped the sweat off his chubby face as he bowed.
Well, something like this wasn’t strange at this time.
Even if it’s a neighboring territory, it’s hard to know, in detail, about the second son of a family when there has been little interaction between their son and the broader nobility.
“But we can make some guesses about him.”
If the Count and his firstborn, the heir, are on the front lines earning merits, while the second son is in charge of the State instead of a vassal or the countess herself, it’s likely that the Count doesn’t favor his second son.
Furthermore, although the Lafayette family is a newly risen noble family, we are a martial family. My father, the Marquis, is the strongest Knight in the Kingdom of Francia, the one called the ‘Blue Knight’.
And the second son of Milbeau sent a raiding party to this Marquisate, knowing about our martial roots.
While it’s true that most of our forces have gone with the Marquis, and we were left with a small contingent of soldiers……
“The main forces of the Lords participating in the civil war are on the front lines, so most territories are left with only a skeleton crew to defend it, making them the perfect target for plunder. But the second son of Millbeau targets our Marquisate, instead of prioritizing others.”
“Hmmm, Yes.”
“With this, it is reasonable to assume that he is aggressive enough to attack places the other Lords wouldn’t touch and that he has some inside information about the situation of our Marquisate.”
The Baron’s eyes narrowed.
“Hmm, you could be correct, or he’s an idiot. It’s one of the two.”
Shaking my head at his words, I continued.
“It seems unlikely that even an idiot would go for the territory of the ‘Blue Knight’ if he didn’t have some sort of information beforehand. And that’s not to speak about his vassals, no matter if he is the acting Count, I believe they would refuse to obey someone who isn’t even the heir.”
Hearing my words, the Baron looked at me in surprise as he slightly lowered his head.
“Hmm. I may have misjudged you, Young Master. My apologies.”
No, you see Baron. I think you’re right on this one.
At this age, I was quite timid and hardly did anything about those raids.
I did go to the villages to offer some aid, but thinking about it now, that may have been just for self-satisfaction.
Ah, let’s not think about this anymore, Pierre.
“No, Baron Domont. I’m always grateful for your dedication to our Marquisate.”
“Ah, It’s an honor to have my efforts recognized by you, Young Master!”
The Baron wiped his tears with a handkerchief.
It’s not like I can’t deny it, because I may or may not have been pushing more than half of my work as the Acting Marquis to him ….But he doesn’t even pretend to be humble about it……
I coughed a little to change the mood.
“He must have wanted to show his usefulness to his father and become the heir, but now he has to send ransom for the Knights instead of sending his father the spoils of his conquest, so he will seek a change to make up for this. Let’s just give him one then.”
“Young Master, I don’t think he would fall for it, he already suffered a loss at our hands, to try it again……”
“Well, in this case, we just need to throw him something so good he won’t be able to refuse……
I’ll have to ask around for some help with this.”
Since I won’t be raiding any territories, the best way to get those supplies to the Marquis would be to strip the nobles naked.
—
Millbeau County.
Damien De Millbeau, the second son of Count Millbeau, scowled in frustration.
In this civil war, the second or third sons who were usually the Acting Lords pursued their safety first, choosing to only raid easy targets, and sending mediocre war funds as a result. But he was different; he wanted more.
His elder brother, the heir simply because he was the firstborn, received the honor of fighting in the front lines; however, he still hasn’t accomplished anything of note.
Because of this, If he could surpass the expectations and provide plenty of funds, his father, the Baron would be delighted. That was why he wasted time and resources planting spies in the Marquisate, which was still relatively safe, and therefore wealthy.
Through them, Damien learned that the Marquisate’s defenses were scarce, and he also managed to hear rumors about the Marquis’s son.
Every year, the Marquis of Lafayette, a national hero, would organize a competition inviting promising boys and young men from within his territory or even from outside his borders, and grant the winners of the bout the opportunity to work as Knights under his banner.
While this prospect of becoming a Knight based solely on their skills was attractive, in reality, it was extremely unfair for commoners to compete with nobles who had been tutored since a young age.
Naturally, most of the top-ranking competitors were nobles, but it was said that the Marquis’s son lost to a commoner named Gaston in one of the tournaments.
For the Marquis hailed as the strongest Knight in the kingdom this was a disgrace, his shame was so great that he never held another tournament again.
Such a pathetic person was the acting lord of the Marquisate simply because he was the Marquis’s only child. When Damien learned this, he didn’t hesitate to plan a raid on the Marquisate.
He managed to appease his distrustful vassals with the information he had acquired and planned a light raid on the outskirts of the Marquisate, so they could learn about the land as well……
“You worthless fool! You couldn’t even defeat the Marquis’s son who managed to lose to a commoner of all things!”
“My apologies, My Lord.”
The Knight standing before Damien, Peter De Casselle, was mortified.
He was fooled by the cowardly tactics of the Young Lord, who despite being a Knight, used only a bow. But he also underestimated him due to the information Damien had given to him.
If he had been properly informed, he wouldn’t have been caught off guard and fallen for such a despicable trick.
Of course, he couldn’t say this in front of Damien, since he would be punished even more, so Cassele simply kept his mouth shut and proceeded to endure his Lord’s tirade.
“Damn it……”
After venting his frustrations for quite some time, Damien clutched his head.
He had received reports that the Young Lord had started doing some strange things, like using his cavalry as scouts, but there was no way he could have known that the Young Lord would appear with only his light cavalry and ambush the raiding party, which was just on the outskirts of the Marquisate.
His troop’s incompetence led to a defeat by a mere ten men, but because of this, Damien had to ransom his men and paid a steep price for this.
Furthermore, when he received the information that the Young Lord, upon receiving the ransom, ordered an abundance of food and supplies from a neighboring territory that was under his father’s servitude, Damien felt like he was about to lose it.
If he reported that he had no war funds to send and that he even managed to lose some money paying the ransom, he would ruin the hard-earned trust his father had put in him. And to make matters worse, the Marquis’s son was making a windfall because of his incompetent subordinates.
He was tempted to rush and intercept this cargo immediately, but considering the Young Lord had responded to his previous raid unexpectedly quickly this was too risky of a plan.
Just then, a carrier pigeon flew in.
With practiced movements, Damien removed the message tied to the pigeon’s leg and read it.
[ An eastern village of the Marquisate has been attacked. Acting Marquis of Lafayette has assembled his troops and has marched east.]
Damien narrowed his eyes. East is the opposite direction.
If they rally the troops now, he could intercept the supplies before they reach the Marquisate’s main castle, and even if the Young Lord finds out, he wouldn’t be able to turn back in time.
This was a heaven-sent opportunity!
But at the same time, it was too good of an opportunity.
It was just too convenient, that this piece of news just happened to reach him the moment he needed it the most.
Damien hesitated for a moment, but his choice was already made. If he couldn’t send the war funds to his father, then he would lose it all.
The chance to make up for the previous failure was right before his eyes, and it would be foolish to miss it because he was wary.
Moreover, there was no sign of his spies being hunted. So the Young Lord didn’t suspect a thing!
“Gather our men! Intercept the supplies heading to the Marquisate!”
“What? I-I mean, Yes! Yes, My lord.”
Damien rolled his eyes at the Knight’s hesitation.
After all, if he couldn’t comprehend the magnitude of such an opportunity, then he was simply an idiot!
No, he couldn’t rely on this incompetent idiot for such an important task.
Yes, that’s right. If he sent this fool once more, even the troops wouldn’t be at ease, so he had no choice but to take the initiative here.
Finally, Damien stood up.
“No objections! Follow me! I’ll lead our troops myself!”
TL: Oh lil mama boy is gun get his ass whooped by a french toast!
