༺ I Don’t Need a Guillotine for My Revolution ༻
Written by – 카르카손
Translated by – Mara Sov
༺ Revolutionary Period – Black Rose (1) ༻
Lumiere, Capital of Francia – Saint Just’s Club.
“Councillor Saint Just! What is going on?!”
“How is it possible that every attempt has failed?”
Amidst the accusations, Saint Just bit his lip.
“Speak up! Weren’t you the one confident about handling that Evil Seductress!”
They had boldly set out to assassinate Christine De Aquitaine, but all their attempts had utterly failed.
Despite their numerous tactics, every single person they had sent to assassinate her had lost contact without exception.
“How many have been captured? And how much information have they leaked!”
“At this rate, we’ll be the ones being dealt with!”
And yet, despite this, Christine De Aquitaine had taken no action.
If she had discovered the assassination attempts, the usual response should have been a swift retaliation or at least a warning. But nothing happened.
Like a spider quietly lurking in the darkness, weaving its web intricately, ready to engulf anything that approaches.
Instead, it only heightened the anxiety and unease of Saint Just and his fellow councilors.
‘Damn it, that cursed Seductress…!’
Saint Just shivered as he recalled those inhuman eyes, the deep abyss barely contained within those dark orbs.
“The Marquis will arrive in the Capital at any moment! Do you think that the witch will remain docile then?”
In such a moment of despair and helplessness, Saint Just clenched his eyes shut and said.
“There’s no other way. Shall we accept their proposal?”
A dreadful silence ensued.
It was their taboo, a proposal they would have never accepted under normal circumstances.
But no one dared to voice the objection.
If they remained passive, the radicals, especially the instigators like Saint Just and the others present, would certainly be dealt with.
Prosecutor Maximillien Le Jidor wasn’t one to forgive such actions simply because they were of the same faction.
“……We are past the point of choosing our methods. It’s a matter of life or death for all of us, so let’s borrow strength for a common enemy.”
Rather than being devoured by the witch, these men joined hands with the devil.
And so, they committed the taboo. They borrowed power from the enemies of the Republic.
–
The assassination attempts of the Radicals were crude and simplistic.
Having learned how to conduct her father’s merchant empire when she was ten, Christine was well aware of the power of information, and how to best utilize it to achieve her goals.
Therefore, it was a trivial matter for her to deal with those poor attempts from those clearly inexperienced in writing off the lives of others.
Above all, her pride wouldn’t allow her to fall for such cheap tricks.
However, this didn’t change the fact that warding off those attempts was an exhausting effort, so Christine took the opportunity to rest a little inside the carriage.
“Are you alright, sister?”
“……Yes. I’m fine, Louis. Just a bit tired.”
Christine answered Louis with her eyes still closed.
In truth, since she had decided to send Louis to study abroad in the magic kingdom, there was no need to teach him how to manage the family’s trade.
Yet, Christine didn’t wish to make it seem as if she was exiling Louis.
And she certainly didn’t want to make him believe that the affairs of Aquitaine were no longer of his concern should he ever become a mage.
“My Lady, we’ve arrived.”
Christine sighed as she heard the voice of Baron Charon outside the carriage.
Despite being tired, there was work to be done.
Opening her eyes, Christine could see the concerned gaze of her little brother as he looked at her.
So, she tried to give Louis one of her most gentle smiles.
Just like the ones she used to give him before that night.
Louis looked at that nostalgic smile for a moment before averting his gaze.
Looking at his small figure, Christine let her thoughts wander.
He resented her of course, but the boy was simply too pure to hate her.
The son of a traitorous wench.
To this day, her vassals still pestered her to eliminate the boy, as he could become a treat to her in the future.
Indeed, Christine was well aware of such a possibility.
Nevertheless, the reason she had spared Louis’s life was that she did not have the right to harm her brother.
When Yvonne had failed in using Millbeau to kill Christine, she, with the help of Pierre, managed to take control of all their trading operations.
She was already aware of Yvonne’s last-ditch effort to poison her father to frame her for it and pass on the title directly to Louis.
Being forewarned, she was able to smuggle out the ledger of the deal between Baron Duna and Abyss Corporation, which would have otherwise been destroyed.
Knowing full well that her father would be blatantly poisoned, she left for the Marquisate to complete her plan, just as her father had ignored the plot that would lead to her death.
If one day her dear little brother ever learned that besides killing his mother, she indirectly allowed the death of their father……
If he ever learned that she too, was a sinner, who simply spared him so that his death wouldn’t weigh on her conscience……
What would this child say?
Would he curse me? Hate me? Or perhaps, despise me?
“……My Lady the Countess?”
Lost in her thoughts, Christine slowly closed her eyes to the repeated calling from Baron Charon.
“Let’s go.”
The good Baron opened the carriage’s door as Christine took his hand and stepped down.
She was exhausted.
After being betrayed by her family and having enacted her revenge, all that remained within her young heart was a deep and all-consuming void.
Sometimes, she would even entertain suicidal thoughts.
After all, without her, Louis would regain all the titles that were rightfully his.
Then, her thoughts wandered towards a certain man…But this only served to intensify her self-loathing.
She had known for quite some time what feelings Pierre harbored for her.
But the moment Christine married someone, Louis, who would be a threat to their children, had to die.
Even if Pierre did not wish it, the vassals with a clear cause would not let it be. Therefore, she could not be with Pierre.
When Louis becomes of age, she would have to return to him all the rights that he should have had as the Heir.
Taking a moment to calm her thoughts, Christine faced her employees as she always did.
“We welcome the Countess Aquitaine.”
However, as soon as her company’s employees greeted her, and Baron Charon helped Louis descend the carriage, a group of men burst out from an alley.
“Identify yourselves!”
They didn’t answer the shouts from her security.
Seeing the muskets in the hands of her – would-be – assailants, the guards quickly drew their swords and firearms.
“My Lady! Be careful!”
Baron Charon also drew his sword and rushed towards Christine, but before he could reach her, one of the assailants threw a rod-like object in the air.
Her reflexes kicked in as she ducked, but the rod soared into the sky and exploded with a loud bang.
“Aaahh-!”
“Ughh….”
Shrapnel scattered, and those guarding the carriage and the company writhed and screamed from every direction.
“Baron–Argh…..!”
Christine tried to rise but collapsed back to the ground as she felt a searing pain in her leg.
The hem of her dress was stained dark red, just like that day.
“My Lady–!”
Baron Charon rushed over in panic, and Christine, enduring the pain, quickly gave her orders.
“I’m injured in the leg. I won’t be able to move from this spot right away. Go help the guards, and deal with these enemies.”
“But I must protect you My Lad–-”
Christine frowned at the screams echoing around her and replied firmly.
“If they dare to do this in the middle of the city in broad daylight, they must be well-prepared. If you only look after me and the guards are overpowered, it’s all over anyway. Go!”
“As you command!”
As Baron Charon left, Christine pulled out the pistol she had holstered under her skirt.
She forcibly erased from her mind the sight of the fragment embedded in her leg and the amount of bleeding, then let out a bitter laugh at the absurdity.
Just a moment ago, she had thought she wanted to find peace.
Screams, shouts of profanities, and gunshots erupted from all around.
The once peaceful cityscape at midday had, in an instant, been plunged into chaos.
The radicals had been rampant with assassination attempts recently, but even Christine couldn’t have imagined they would dare to attempt such madness in broad daylight, in the heart of the Capital.
What was that explosive just now? It was an object she had never seen before. There was no way she could have been prepared for such a thing.
Where is Louis? That child……he must not die.
Her usually quick mind, perhaps due to the extreme fatigue or maybe the blood loss, wasn’t functioning properly.
“There she is—Ah!”
Christine reflexively fired her pistol at the man who was pointing and shouting at her.
The man collapsed with a thud, and Christine immediately attempted to reload her pistol.
“Kill that witch!”
But before she could, another man who had spotted her aimed his gun.
“Ugh.”
The instant Christine flinched, a familiar blond head moved in front of her.
Gunshots rang out, and as bullets flew, the boy’s brooch shone and a protective barrier erected in front of them deflected the bullets.
“Wha—?”
Before the shock could settle, Christine, having finished reloading, fired and the man collapsed, blood spurting from his head.
“…Louis.”
Her brother, panting heavily, turned to her in surprise.
“Sister, you’re hurt?”
His worried and angry expression couldn’t hide his concern.
“If we were going to end up like this, you should’ve just bought your own artifact!”
“……I am always with an escort.”
Christine avoided his gaze, making excuses.
With Pierre always being present on the battlefields and fearing for her brother’s life, Christine had bought those artifacts for them, but never one for herself.
Ironically, her pride wouldn’t let her die in such pathetic attempts on her life, yet, her self-loathing barred her from spending a fortune just to protect her worthless life.
It was only when she saw her foolish little brother, rushing towards her with a frightened and angry expression on his face that she realized how much of a fool she had been.
“My Lady! We have almost secured the perimeter! Are you alright?”
Christine sighed in relief as Baron Charon reappeared.
“I’m fine……”
No, she wasn’t fine. Truthfully, she felt dizzy from all that blood loss. Her trembling hands couldn’t even hold her gun properly.
But she didn’t wish to burden her cute little brother or the loyal Baron with such a fact.
Then, more gunshots echoed all around them, as the sound of glass being shattered followed.
“Argh–!”
“Baron!”
Through the fallen body of the Baron, whose mana had been shattered, Christine could see a man reloading his musket with an exotic pinkish bullet.
That thing shouldn’t exist in the Republic. The all-too-familiar hue of an object crafted by demonic magic.
The mana shield surrounding the Baron’s body, a Knight, had been shattered.
Having already used the Theocracy’s holy bullets, Christine immediately grasped how this new weapon worked.
Slowly but surely, the man reloaded the weapon and aimed.
Louis’ body trembled, but he remained in front of her.
No! Even the artifact wouldn’t be able to block that!
The exact second her mind processed this though, Christine leaped forward, pushing Louis with all her might—
And a gunshot echoed once again.
TL: BRUH
