Chapter 81: Turbulent (1)
Chapter 81: Turbulent (1)
The news of the Kingdom of Ireon's surrender—so swift it was almost hollow—spread across the continent in an instant.
And naturally, it reached the ears of the Revolutionary Army, who had been intently focused on news of the Empire, almost immediately.
The members of the Revolutionary Army quietly seethed.
What kind of organization was the Revolutionary Army, after all? Was it not a gathering of those who opposed and raged against Emperor Eduardo's acts of forced conquest?
Above all, the majority of them hailed from kingdoms that had been annihilated by the Emperor's hand.
The Emperor's relentless advance and forced subjugation of a kingdom rubbed salt into the Revolutionary Army's painful wounds and dredged up agonizing memories.
The damnable Eight-Year War that had wiped so many kingdoms from the map. And their own nations, erased among those "many."
'It's been quite a while since all operations were halted. How long are we going to keep holding our breath like this?'
'Even if we can't kill the Emperor, fine. If we can just make him eat dirt.'
'Why did we even stop all activities now of all times? Wasn't the whole point of what we've been doing not so much to kill the Emperor, but to punch holes in his forces and lower his approval?'
'What the hell is the leader thinking?'
They wanted to move. They wanted to punch holes in the Emperor's forces. They wished to see the Emperor's face twist in utter ruin.
The Emperor's actions had set the Revolutionary Army's thirst for revenge ablaze.
Yet upon hearing this news and the reactions of the members, the leader's answer was simple.
[No change to standing orders.]
They would preserve their strength as before.
Naturally, many protested. But the leader's subsequent message instantly silenced their voices.
[Prepare to cut off the Emperor's head.]
A new wind began to stir within the Revolutionary Army.
* * *
Meanwhile, Daniel, the leader of the Revolutionary Army who had issued all these orders, was quietly preparing to leave the headquarters. His face, layered heavily with exhaustion, was subtly hardened.
He slipped on his outer coat and let out a faint sigh.
'Exhausting.'
His body was holding up more or less, but the mental fatigue was another story entirely.
He had long known and braced himself for the fact that controlling those consumed by rage, those who wanted to blindly charge ahead, would never be easy. But it felt as though it was growing more grueling by the day.
The longer the grand operation was delayed, the more precarious this position would surely become.
To be honest, he felt wronged.
'Who do they think kept everyone together and from scattering until now?'
With people from various kingdoms gathered, there was no way factions wouldn't form.
Among those dividing into factions, opposing and snarling at one another, it was Daniel who mediated between them and held them together to keep them from scattering.
If even that one element went wrong, the Revolutionary Army would surely splinter apart, unable to properly unify.
"Brother."
"Ah, Paul."
"Are you going to see Mother?"
"Yes. So wait here. I'll be back."
Leaving Paul behind, he strode out into the darkened road. As he traversed the old secret passage, true to its nature and devoid of any light, all sorts of stray thoughts came to mind.
And once again, he recalled. The reason the Revolutionary Army had gathered.
It had begun for a very simple reason.
[My kingdom was destroyed. I'm angry and I want revenge, but there is no royal family left to rally around and raise an army.]
Because the brutal Emperor had hunted down and killed every last bloodline of the royal families, including collateral branches. Because even if someone wasn't royalty, anyone with popular influence was mercilessly slaughtered.
They wanted to rise up, but there was no focal point.
While they had been suppressing themselves and merely watching for an opening, someone stepped forward as if giving voice to their hearts.
[I will kill the Emperor. Those who wish to join, gather. Origin does not matter.]
A purpose that aligned with their own: killing the Emperor. And that final statement: origin does not matter.
Countless people gathered.
The numbers exceeded imagination. It felt as though they could accomplish their goal at any moment.
Then, even though nothing had yet been accomplished, those with a newfound sense of leisure began to worry about what came after the grand act.
[If we kill the Emperor and all the imperial family, what do we do about the vacant throne?]
They couldn't install a crown prince or princess as a puppet. They had to die too.
But if one of their own sat on that vacant throne, that would bring its own set of problems.
This was a group of people from various kingdoms trampled by the Emperor. If someone took the throne, those from other kingdoms would undoubtedly harbor discontent.
While they were engaged in an awkward, unspoken standoff without being able to produce any clear solution, someone's voice rang out.
[Must the vacant seat be filled? Can't that 'seat' itself be eliminated?]
Simply killing the Emperor would make us nothing more than rebels.
Let's create a new system under the name of 'revolution.' Let's do away with the class system and make a world where everyone is equal.
This statement gained the consent of the majority and became the core ideology of the Revolutionary Army.
Thus, an extreme and violent organization born primarily of vengeance and rage transformed into the current Revolutionary Army, which now garnered support not only from those who had lost their countries but also from civilians, and even from some imperial citizens and scholars.
'It's only natural, since it captured the palates of so many.'
Those enraged by the loss of their nations were drawn to the violent aspect of killing the Emperor.
Scholars were captivated by the new concept of abolishing the class system.
Civilians were entranced by the dreamlike future of a world where all are equal.
But did they ever truly know?
That all of this process and outcome was never a coincidence, but something that emerged from someone's meticulous plan.
Daniel, who had stopped briefly before the door he had arrived at without realizing it, raised his hand and knocked.
-Knock knock.
"Mother. It's Daniel."
"Come in."
The 'someone' who had gathered people under the banner of 'killing the Emperor.'
The 'one person' who, at a time when they were all worrying about what would happen after the deed was done, had said, 'Rather than that, let's eliminate the vacant seat and create a world where all are equal.'
Daniel had known of the concept of 'a world where all are equal' for a very long time.
A world without kings and nobles, without a class system. A world where everyone is the master of the nation, and everyone is a worker for the nation.
"Welcome, my son. Are you hurt anywhere?"
Inside the room, a woman with an elegant air sat in a rocking chair, welcoming him. Her eyes were clear and deep like the sea, as if piercing through the world, and the fine lines around them suggested she had often worn a gentle smile.
She had apparently been knitting; she placed the scarf, which had already taken some shape, on her lap and met Daniel's eyes. Her eyes curved softly.
Standing in that spot, Daniel smiled with his eyes in a way that resembled hers and took the steps he had paused.
"I'm fine. More importantly, are you well, Mother?"
......His mother was the daughter of a noble family who had eloped with a commoner.
It would be a mistake to dismiss it as merely the story of one foolish person crazed by love. She was considerably, no, more than considerably brilliant.
Falling in love with a commoner, she questioned the fundamental rules that no one else deemed questionable.
Ideas that went beyond basic rules and approached the very root.
The class system.
Since he was young, Daniel had sat on her lap and listened to his mother divulge such thoughts of hers.
While she maintained a simple married life with his father, when his father died after tangling with the wrong noble, even when his mother herself grew frail from severe stress.
She had laid out her thoughts and methods before Daniel, and Daniel had meticulously stacked that knowledge in his mind.
And watching his mother grow weaker day by day, he made a resolution.
He would show her that kind of world she envisioned, before she closed her eyes.
"I'm quite alright. My son, what brings you here today?"
"I'm planning to visit Ireon."
Speaking the name that was now a region of the Empire rather than a kingdom, Daniel knelt at his mother's feet.
They had to build up their forces further before the grand operation.
Unlike during the Eight-Year War, the King of Ireon and his bloodline were still alive, but the fact that the Empire had forcibly obtained their surrender remained unchanged. Naturally, there would be those dissatisfied with this outcome. If things went well, they might even receive the king's support.
'No, the Revolutionary Army's ideology might make them uncomfortable.'
Even without support from the high and mighty, if they could draw in those discontented with the current situation, that would suffice.
"It will be dangerous."
"So many have died."
Resting his face against his mother's knees, he slowly closed his eyes.
The faces of those who had thrown away their lives flickered past.
"......At this rate, we cannot achieve our purpose. We need to replenish our forces."
"Son."
"Mother, I am a sinner."
It was he who had issued the bombs, telling them not to die alone at the very least if the situation was unfavorable. And it was he who had made them carry out actions with death all but certain.
Then, whenever news arrived that civilians had gotten caught up and died, Daniel had to suffer in agony all day long.
He opened his eyes. As if not even feeling the hand gently stroking his head, Daniel's eyes shone with determination as he murmured quietly.
"For their sake as well, we must accomplish our purpose."
"Do you intend to go yourself?"
"Yes. How could I gain their trust without going myself?"
"The Emperor will be expecting it. He may have even stationed soldiers in wait."
The Emperor was cunning. There was no way he wouldn't anticipate such thoughts from the Revolutionary Army.
If things were so chaotic and busy that he was out of his mind, perhaps, but... well.
"......The Emperor will wage war yet again. I'm certain of it. The Emperor doesn't stop. He'll use this as an opportunity to go all the way. So...."
Even while thinking them himself, he voiced aloud the assumptions he was skeptical of.
"He won't be able to spare attention over here. Besides, the Revolutionary Army hasn't caused any major incidents lately either, so he might have pushed us back on the priority list."
As if having noticed such inner thoughts, the woman, instead of rebutting him, smiled benevolently.
"You don't need to try to persuade this old mother. My son, do as you wish."
"Ah...."
"But before you leave, there is one thing, a gift I'd like to receive from my son... could you give it to me?"
"Whatever it is, if Mother desires it."
The woman's mouth, bearing a smile, opened. And at the words that followed, Daniel, who had been listening quietly, soon turned white as a sheet.
.......
"Brother, you're back?"
"Yes. Nothing happened?"
"No."
"Ah, Paul. Could you deliver a message to Iram and ask him to select a few competent people? And of course, you'll be coming along."
"Huh? Yes. But brother, are you alright? You don't look well...."
"Ah."
Reflexively, he touched his face.
"......It's nothing. More than that, Paul, there's one more message I want you to pass on."
"Tell me."
"Find me... a poison that allows a painless death."
"......!"
"Please."
Looking at Paul's shocked expression, Daniel smiled bitterly.
This was the best he could do.
[What mother could lose her child and go on living soundly?]
[My son, you absolutely must return safely.]
[Because if my son dies, this mother will follow him in death.]
He could not stop his mother.
* * *
Contrary to expectations, the Emperor wasn't paying the Revolutionary Army any mind at all. That was because at the second convened council, the nobles, who valued their own necks, had brought forth countermeasures regarding the Revolutionary Army.
They seemed to have been more diverse than expected. The Emperor, having listened to each of those measures, selected the most useful one and entrusted the subsequent work to others. So there was no need to waste attention on such places.
'Was it that once the Kingdom of Ireon is conquered, the Revolutionary Army would make a move there, so they proposed stationing soldiers?'
It was probably something like that.
So he recalled throwing out roughly one remark.
[Send the Lofty Knight Order.]
Known by another name: the Murderer Knight Order.
There were two reasons for specifically sending these bastards.
First, they caused so many incidents that cleaning up after them was a full-time job.
Out of boredom, out of irritation, out of joy... they made every kind of excuse and caused incidents every single day, which made his already severe headaches feel even worse. Why did they wreck perfectly fine buildings? Why did they juggle blunt swords and nearly get a perfectly good arm blown off? And on top of that, it wasn't even their own arm, but the arm of a passing servant.
And the second reason was....
'Who else is there fit to deal with madmen?'
The Murderer Knight Order was an organization universally acknowledged as insane. And the Revolutionary Army was full of bastards who were crazy in a different sense.
Weren't madmen best dealt with by madmen?