Brainwashing the Revolutionary in a Romance Fantasy (2)
Brainwashing the Revolutionary in a Romance Fantasy (2)
There, deep inside, I could see the female protagonist of the novel that is the original world I've possessed—"The Fallen Noblewoman is Good at Revolution."
Golden hair shining like gold, purple eyes, a body like a work of art.
A woman with a perfect appearance, and from what I heard outside, she speaks quite well too.
If she had been born in Korea, she probably would have debuted as a young politician, making a name for herself as a "congresswoman with idol-level beauty" while building an enormous presence.
As soon as I barged in, Flora gestured for the people behind her to move back.
"Run away quickly! I'll be fine, so go!"
This is the aspect of the goddess of revolution who stirs up the people—no, convinces them—and turns the Empire upside down.
In an Empire with no dreams, no hope, and no food for tomorrow, how could I bear to see such a beautiful woman standing up against the oppressors through action?
If I were on the side of the exploited, seeing this woman, I might have harbored hope that she could burn down the corrupt Empire and grant us a new life.
The poor serfs here started desperately fleeing, following Flora's words.
"Everyone run! If you get caught, you die!"
"If you don't want your head on the gallows in the square, run!"
In the Empire, traitors are uniformly sentenced to death.
That means those here who can't escape will become living corpses.
"Captain of the Guard, arrest every single one of these traitorous bastards without exception. You may kill any who resist."
"Yes, Baron-nim."
As the Captain of the Guard gestured, the soldiers I had brought pointed their spears at them.
"Put your hands behind your heads and kneel! If you don't want to die right now, follow the orders!"
Some bastards tried to survive by swinging their fists or attempting to escape, resisting as much as they could...
But they were all brutally beaten until they became bloody messes by the Baron's soldiers, then had their limbs bound.
"If you want to die with all your limbs intact, don't resist!"
Even in this situation, Flora, the female protagonist of this world, walked toward me after seeing that sight.
She strode forward without any hesitation, making it look like she had no fear of death...
But looking closely, her body was trembling slightly, and her gaze was wavering back and forth.
"I'm the one who incited the rebellion, so let those people go."
Most politicians—or rather, leaders of any group—when cornered, often abandon their colleagues and struggle to survive alone.
Along those lines, politicians, as soon as they're arrested, don't take all the blame themselves but quickly confess who else took bribes with them and which close aides were involved.
The Korean Criminal Code states that if a confession is made, the judge has the discretion to reduce the sentence by up to half... so they do it to reduce their sentence.
Having seen many such humans, in my eyes, Flora—who tried to take all the blame herself—looked quite beautiful.
Because it's not easy to have the mindset of trying to take responsibility for what you've done.
"A woman who was inciting rebellion, yet you speak quite smoothly. Yes, all the responsibility lies with you."
If this were a romance fantasy—or any fantasy novel—I might let those rabble go after seeing the heroine's boldness like this.
But the world I live in, "The Fallen Noblewoman is Good at Revolution," is a stark reality, and I am a politician.
Do you think I'm crazy enough to let go of the woman who incited rebellion and her companions?
"Arrest them all and throw them into prison."
"Yes, Baron-nim."
Thus, I succeeded in capturing all the would-be rebels who were preparing treason in our territory.
Now, how should I deal with that woman...
No, Flora, who said that if she just drove out the tyrant and evil nobles, she could solve all the difficulties of the Empire's people.
I wanted to break that arrogant nose of hers.
Saying that just driving out the "corrupt politicians" she claims would automatically improve the people's livelihoods... is something I, who have lived as a politician my whole life, can never tolerate.
It's similar nonsense to claiming that raising children without vaccinations is better.
"Throw that ringleader woman into a solitary cell separate from the others. I've become curious to see if she can still act noble in solitary confinement."
That's what I said on the surface, but I came here to suppress the revolution in advance and to persuade that woman.
I need to persuade her so I can borrow her eloquence at the crucial moment, rally public opinion to my side, and become an emperor praised by all.
**
The public sentiment in our territory is at its worst.
To the extent that a woman like Flora, with no social status or wealth, could plot a rebellion just by speaking a little well.
"Butler-nim, put those arrested to work building the new workshop."
"...Aren't they traitors?"
"Traitors they are. But they are also someone's sons and daughters, and someone's parents. If the territory's situation were normal, executing all the traitors wouldn't be a problem, but..."
With everyone barely able to feed themselves, if I killed their families too—
In a situation where the urge to rebel surges ten times a day, it would just be me encouraging them to rebel.
"Now is the time to give the territory's people a proper scare, then show the mercy of the Kreuz Barony's family."
If you want to last long in politics, you must never appear weak to your subordinates or close aides.
Because the moment you look weak, your political protégés will stab you in the back.
Similarly, it's fine if the constituents in the district satirize me or make me a laughingstock... but if I let them spread blatant false rumors?
Then political YouTubers will see me as a pushover and churn out all sorts of clickbait rage-bait videos.
'Congressman Kim of Party A, turns out he's a regular at Room Salon B?'
They'd just crank out videos like that. Because money.
While talking with the butler, we had somehow arrived at the solitary cell where Flora was detained.
Now the political talk is over.
"Put weighted shackles on both legs of the criminals mobilized for the workshop construction, and treat them harshly enough that they don't die."
If I just let off the bastards who committed treason without consequences to win public favor, they'd see me as soft.
So I need to instill in those bastards the fear that they might actually die.
Otherwise, they might try to stab me in the back again.
After saying that, I entered the solitary cell where Flora was held alone.
She was confined there with both arms and legs bound.
"So, your name is Flora, is it? How does it feel to be locked in a cell?"
Instead of answering, Flora spat at me upon hearing my words.
"Shut up, you rotten Baron bastard."
I reached out my right hand toward her face that had spat.
Flora turned her head sharply to prevent my hand from touching her face.
"You'd better not resist. You'd be done for if you died like this, but if you upset me, I could hang those locked up in the prison right now."
I reached out again.
Flora, trembling, no longer rejected my touch.
No, she couldn't reject it.
It seemed she could endure the humiliation she suffered herself, but couldn't bear others being mistreated.
Instead, she made a counteroffer.
"Do whatever you want, but the others..."
I covered Flora's mouth with my right hand.
I know what she's trying to say, but I didn't come here to rape Flora.
I know she's beautiful enough that it wouldn't be strange if she were an idol, but I have the power of a Baron.
And with the support of the Empire in this romance fantasy setting, if I wanted, I could enjoy replacing her with several slightly less beautiful women.
'I'm not some sex-crazed lunatic.'
What I actually want is to tell her with my own ears how messed up the world would be after eliminating the "corrupt power holders" she talks about, and I want to see her despair at the fact that her ideals are wrong.
To me, who lived a life of politics until I died, the claim "I'm better at politics than you" was extremely annoying.
"Flora, I didn't come here to use you as a plaything."
"Then why are you here?"
As soon as she realized I held her followers hostage, she became polite. That's good to see.
"I came to show you how worthless the delusions you spout are."
"Are you saying... what I've claimed is all a delusion?"
In this novel, Flora only kept repeating that once the corrupt power holders were driven out, a new world would come.
And in the novel, Flora succeeded in the revolution with the support of numerous romance fantasy men...
"Do you really believe that once the emperor obsessed with power and women and the greedy nobles are gone, a paradise on earth will come?"
Flora succeeded in sweeping away all the corrupt emperor and nobles.
But here's the problem.
If you eliminate all corrupt politicians and have ordinary people who have never done politics become president or congressmen, will the country run well?
History has given a clear answer to this.
The French Revolution freed the French people from absolute monarchy, but the lives of the people who lived afterward sank even deeper into the gutter.
In an era where a 10% increase in prices over 100 years was considered a lot, milk prices shot up fivefold in a single year, and the streets overflowed with the unemployed, right?
"You seem to think the world is some kind of fairy tale."
I will use Flora as a tool to become emperor.
To make that happen, I must first persuade her—no, brainwash her.
I need to tell her that if she follows what I say, she can create the value she desires: "a world where everyone can live well."
That way, I can use that woman to become emperor.
And the first condition of brainwashing is to break the beliefs and spirit of someone with clear convictions.