The Leader Leads the Way (3)
The Leader Leads the Way (3)
A month after the promised date, I granted Flora the freedom to act.
I told her she could run away freely if she wanted, or if not, she could stay as a guest in the mansion.
And she chose to remain in this mansion.
"Was our mansion's hospitality satisfactory?"
Flora turned her head at my words.
Biting her lip slightly as if reluctant to admit it, she replied.
"Th-Thanks to you, I've been well, Baron-nim."
"You can just call me comfortably, like when you were in the prison."
"How could I treat Baron-nim informally?"
"Alright, then feel free to call me comfortably."
Saying so, I naturally sat down beside Flora.
"Two months ago, I made you a promise. To watch and see whether I was right or you were right. So, who do you think was right?"
"Well..."
Flora trailed off mid-sentence.
She bowed her head, bit her lip, and continued.
"B-Baron-nim was right. With my methods, I could give people a loaf of bread for a meal, but I couldn't open a path for them to make a living. During the two months I stayed in this mansion and looked around, I realized that fact deeply."
"I'm glad you admitted I was right."
In this novel, Flora is a woman who raises a popular uprising on a scale no less than the French Revolution.
If I only considered my survival, I would have executed her immediately upon arrest on charges of being the ringleader of a rebellion, but...
To become Emperor, I need her ability to appeal to the hearts of the people and transform their resentment into a desire for revolution.
If she uses that skill to incite revolution, she becomes the trumpet of revolution; if she uses it for me, she'll become the trumpet to enthrone me, Mikhail von Kreuz, as Emperor.
I expect her to play a role similar to Joan of Arc, who restored the morale of the fallen French army during the Hundred Years' War.
Flora clicked her tongue and bowed her head.
"Now do as you please, Baron-nim. Whether you kill me or make me your plaything... as you wish."
"Is that so? Then become mine as promised."
When I said that, Flora tried to unbutton the shirt she was wearing.
I reached out and stopped her.
"I'm telling you to entrust me with that resolve, that will you harbored—all of it."
"...... You have no intention of killing me or making me your plaything? Even though I'm the woman who tried to raise a rebellion and kill you, Baron-nim...?"
Hearing that, anger welled up inside me.
I'm sparing Flora because she's essential to my plans going forward, not because I like her.
"I am neither a god nor a virtuous priest. So of course, I don't feel pleased about your actions that tried to kill me. However, I have a reason to bring you to my side."
"I don't think a girl like me could be of help to Baron-nim..."
"If I kill you, Flora, I will lose the public sentiment that is just barely recovering."
Flora tilted her head at my words.
"Everyone else in the Barony is grateful to you, saying they can safely get through this winter thanks to you... I don't think killing a traitorous girl like me would lose you public sentiment..."
"In ordinary cases, that would be true. But you are particularly beloved by the people of our domain."
Flora has no money, no social status, not much education, and she even has the penalty of being a woman.
Even if the serfs are uneducated, they aren't foolish dullards.
Unless the words Flora spewed were exceptionally compelling, they would have reported her the moment she suggested revolution.
She's not a fallen noble doryeonnim—no one in this world would want to entrust their lives to a fallen noble young lady.
Even in the 21st century, there is a strong tendency to think that you can't entrust your life to a woman, so most female politicians tend to not become political heavyweights.
Furthermore, if someone has even a bit of common sense, who would be crazy enough to entrust their life to a woman in a pre-modern romance fantasy world?
"Ordinary people hate those who put them in danger. Even if it's their own family. But among the guys I captured this time, there was almost no one who pleaded to save themselves by killing you."
Flora replied in a slightly tearful voice.
"Even if not all, most of them didn't abandon me to the end... They would have thought of surviving by abandoning someone like me..."
"Even the guys who were captured because of you and almost lost their lives followed you that much, and the domain's people, knowing they could be beheaded for treason if they didn't report you, still kept their loyalty to you to the end. If I kill you, even if they don't say it outwardly, rather than feeling favor toward me who just barely came to my senses... they will harbor resentment in their hearts for killing you."
If I keep improving their quality of life, Flora will gradually be forgotten in the hearts of the domain's people.
At the same time, there will be no one to serve as the focal point for rebellion, so no rebellion will occur either, but...
Nevertheless, the difference between having Flora or not is like heaven and earth.
"But if I bring you to my side, the domain's people will believe that I truly regret and repent for living lavishly in the capital. Furthermore, seeing my merciful act of sparing you, they will open their hearts. Then I can quickly regain public sentiment."
In comics, novels, and dramas, scenes where the protagonist reconciles with characters who were villains or enemies often appear.
People often say this doesn't happen well in reality and is unrealistic, but...
In politics, guys who fought tooth and nail for their own interests often stage a reconciliation, pretending to practice 'politics of inclusion.'
Apart from approval ratings decided simply by numbers, just the act of taking a step back increases the probability of winning the hearts of the moderate public.
"And I need you so that the domain's people can easily accept the reforms I will push forward in the future."
Even if I've improved the lives of the domain's people to some extent, I am still nothing more than a high and mighty figure, like an immortal above the clouds, from their perspective.
No matter how much I, a person from a different world, tell the domain's people that we should try new farming methods, it will be impossible to move their hearts.
When even someone close to me suggesting a new business makes people hesitant, who would just go along with it when an immortal appears and suggests a new business?
At least if someone they feel close and intimate with persuades them, they might lend an ear.
"If you follow me, I will show you hope."
Politicians are people whose job is to show hope to those who support them by any means necessary.
Even when I was a member of the National Assembly, I spoke of hope to countless people, and I actually made some of it happen.
I managed to build a Starfield in my constituency somehow, and I even went to the Minister of Health and Welfare to demand an increased budget for the elderly welfare center, threatening to expose their corruption if they didn't increase it, and finally succeeded in getting the budget increase.
Every step I take toward the position of Emperor, those who follow me will see hope.
Because that is what a politician must do.
"If you need me, I will gladly do whatever it takes."
"Good, then let's work on one thing together right now."
Since I succeeded in persuading Flora, the internal crackdown on this domain is virtually over.
For the time being, I won't have to worry about a sudden popular uprising behind my back.
But aside from that, I have a mountain of things to do.
Even if I invest the money from selling armor and weapons into the domain's development, I still need to push forward many more projects to turn this Barony into a thriving city and make it the foundation of my power.
"I also need to change the trend of relying on the inefficient three-field system, build a steel mill to increase steel production—the most important thing—and also distribute things like soap to improve hygiene..."
Soap is especially important.
In this era, the infant mortality rate reaches 30-40% among serfs, and it's said that even among children born to nobles, 2 out of 10 die.
And the cause is just one thing.
Because they don't wash properly.
Additionally, since mothers give birth in unsanitary environments, the mortality rate during childbirth...
"Even if I've saved some money, I still don't have any connections to the central government, so... I might as well open an obstetrics and gynecology department."
A miraculous obstetrics and gynecology department that lowers maternal mortality.
There is no noble who wouldn't go crazy for this.