Chapter 2. Kneel! (6)
Chapter 2. Kneel! (6)
Me as Rosalyn. Me as a being with memories of a past life.
Both are me. They have big differences, but also big similarities. Perhaps it is because the essence of both is me?
I don't really like good people.
People considered kind and good. People whom everyone praises and looks up to, saying they deserve awards. I hated those kinds of people.
Rosalyn had the power to crush such people. Of course, that was only within the Duchy, but since Rosalyn was the type not to bother thinking about what lay outside the Duchy, she didn't really care.
But in my past life, I had no such power. Those better than me—good-looking, tall, kind, and loved by everyone. I wanted to crush them with the tip of my finger, but I couldn't. And I had thoroughly learned the 'reason why I couldn't.'
"That was so, that was so."
Me as Rosalyn, I know now, too. Those who must not be crushed recklessly.
If I'm not going to accept the Demon King's magic and corrupt everyone in this Duchy, I know I must at least be mindful of others.
If only there were no Hero. If only there were no Saintess, I might have gladly chosen that path.
"As I thought, you seem to have something you desire, Brother Arno-nim."
I hate being mindful of others. But I also hate becoming an enemy of the Church. I want to live well and eat well here as Rosalyn von Artena for the rest of my life. Without getting caught up in war, while maintaining a moderate amount of peace.
Then there is only one way, isn't there?
To clear away the beings I have to be mindful of, one by one. Preferably without any major conflict.
Well, honestly, I don't think he'll really rise to an important position in the parish with just a single recommendation letter. Because personnel authority within the Church is the Order's exclusive right.
But that doesn't mean noble influence doesn't reach it at all. If that were the case, would so many noble families try to send their third or fourth sons to the monastery?
"You don't want to be stuck in a remote place like this, do you?"
"I don't think it's remote, though."
"But it is a fact that it is too far away from the Church's holy sites."
I nodded and said.
"If you go directly to the parish, at least you'd be able to read all the books you want and do research to your heart's content, wouldn't you?"
Arno as a clergyman who desires nothing is scary and uncomfortable. Because he is a being I cannot understand.
But if he's a trading partner, it's different. If the 'thing desired' is sufficiently worldly, both the me of my past life and the me of now can accept it completely.
"......."
Brother Arno-nim looked at me silently for a while.
"If I leave this place, who will take care of those poor children?"
"Those who are properly paid will take care of them. I, this girl, will supervise it myself."
"Are you speaking of it yourself, Duke-nim?"
"That is so. Gladly, in the name of the Duke."
"......I apologize, Duke-nim. The reason you are doing this is......."
"If I were to say it is to go to heaven, would you be able to fully understand, Brother Arno-nim?"
"......."
No, his expression says he cannot.
That would be the case. Brother Arno-nim already told me. That there would be 'another way I could help.' And that if I helped people even in that way, I could go to heaven.
But this is a story beyond that. There is no reason for a Duke to protect orphans in her own name. In the first place, the Church steps in directly because nobles don't protect them like that.
"Orphans abandoned on the streets often grow up to become evildoers. If left alone, public order becomes unstable, so it is clearly better to gather and manage them like this."
"Is that so?"
He must have expected an answer to this extent.
And it was still an answer not like Rosalyn. My answer, Rosalyn von Artena's, doesn't fall into place so neatly like this.
"Brother Arno-nim, do you know when a person becomes the most vicious?"
"That would, of course, be the moment they are hungry."
"That is so. If someone is clutching a starving stomach but has nothing to put in their mouth, they will kill even a person for a tiny bit of food. It can't be helped, can it? They are lowly people with no honor or pride as human beings."
Brother Arno-nim shrugged at my words, yet he was listening.
"Then, there is only one way to keep such lowly people from harming others. Putting something in their hands. Giving them their daily bread, and whispering in their ears. 'If you want to receive this tomorrow, behave well.'"
Those who don't want to give up what they have in their hands, even if it's small, don't bother fighting. Because they don't know if the person who gave it to them might come back to take it away, or if they might lose it by fighting for no reason.
Besides, if they are gathered in a place where they receive it—a place like an orphanage, so to speak—control isn't as difficult as one might think.
In modern society, this concept is shortened to one word: 'welfare'.
"......."
Brother Arno-nim stared at me intently.
Is he wondering how much of my words to believe? He must also be questioning how much I can actually do.
The Duchy is a small place compared to the Empire. Can I really manage the orphanage properly and maintain public order with just tax revenue here?
Well, it wouldn't matter.
This world is a class society. It would be hundreds of years before anything like universalism could even germinate. In this world, it's fine if welfare isn't universal. If they catch my eye, they live; if not, they just die on the street. What I bestow is merely a personal favor, nothing more, nothing less. At least maintaining a level where 'it doesn't get worse than when the Church managed it' should be enough.
"Is that so."
Perhaps thanks to the explanation that sounded like Rosalyn, Brother Arno-nim seemed to understand well enough. At least he must have known that my words were sincere.
"I want to live doing what I want, far away from strange beings that cannot be controlled, are noisy, and even look bizarre."
While I'm at it, I'll aim for some power, too. Yes. I'm not sure if I'll go to a very high place, but it wouldn't be bad to have at least one acquaintance deep within the Order. The Artena Duchy is indeed too far away from the center of the Church.
"......I will think about it a little."
Brother Arno-nim said slowly.
It must be an offer he has never received before. Father didn't do that for him either. There was no reason to do so in the first place.
Was it too abrupt? Did it look like a young lady who just became a Duke was spouting nonsense?
Well, that doesn't really matter either.
After all, am I not Rosalyn? A villainess who has lived as she pleased all this time. This level of caprice isn't even at the level of tyranny, so it should be fine.
"Think about it at your leisure. This offer will be valid for a few years."
I answered with a smile.
Yes.
If possible, please give me an answer within 5 years.
Because the Saintess will come here in 5 years.
.......
No, I really think I need to chase her out before then. I feel like I need to think of a way to chase out the Saintess in advance, too.
The fewer clergy members belonging to the Church who are too famous within the Duchy, the better.
Because if I'm not careful, I might end up falling out of the favor of the Demon King who will take over the Empire in 5 years.
Cutting off a clergyman's head with my own hands to get into the Demon King's good graces and provoking the Hero, or bringing a bunch of clergymen into the Duchy and falling out of the Demon King's favor, are both things that would make my head roll.
......No, thinking about it like this, it's truly terrifying.
Is it even possible for me to survive?
*
*
*
In Arno's view, the young Duchess, that is, Rosalyn's state, was very stable compared to right after the Duke's death.
Of course, there are still many capricious parts, but compared to the previous Rosalyn, it is much better. It even makes one think that she suddenly became a different person.
"......A recommendation letter."
But among such capricious actions, that sudden proposal felt particularly capricious.
I know that Rosalyn doesn't like me. Even when we met today, the ends of her eyebrows twitched.
So, that proposal probably isn't just out of goodwill. Especially if one thinks that Rosalyn's nature is the same.
"Is she terrified?"
Coincidentally, Arno made an inference that was quite close to the truth.
The father who had been protecting her all this time suddenly died. Rosalyn, who had no special aides until now, was as good as being suddenly thrown out into the world.
So, Rosalyn must have been worried.
I heard the story from Frida. She is gathering and training her knight order that had only been for show until now, and is trying to improve relationships with those she didn't have good relationships with.
Perhaps this hasty proposal is also an extension of that.
Isn't she the Rosalyn who has consistently ignored the Church until now? To such a Rosalyn, I was a 'Church connection' that had just been formed.
If it's a judgment to build a connection with the Church as the next Duke of the Artena Duchy...... it was an unexpectedly accurate judgment.
"Did you aim for this from the beginning?"
Arno muttered with a small laugh.
That's right. Ever since she approached me with the strange reason of 'to go to heaven,' she must have been thinking that.
"Hmm."
But whether or not to accept the story was something to think about a little more.
If it were a 'Duke's recommendation letter,' the Church wouldn't be able to completely ignore it, but in the first place, if one could rise to a high position by sending people like that, each noble family wouldn't try to exert as much influence on the Church as possible.
Besides, if one were to be precise, the one benefiting from that recommendation letter was the 'Hagen family' rather than the Artena Duchy.
Did she understand that much when she said it?
I feel like she might have, and I feel like she might not have.
But at least one thing is certain: the current Rosalyn is different from the Rosalyn of before.
Arno decided to think about it a little more.