Chapter 21

–Odd or even.

I took a sip of warm milk tea from the teacup.

The ingredients were a 4:1 ratio of black tea and milk with two spoonfuls of sugar. A classic British royal milk tea.

Ah, should I call it Albion-style here? Anyway.

“Did you just… say something to me?”

As I calmly savored the sweet flavor of the drink, the young lady, gritting her teeth, glared at me. If she weren’t someone I needed to cooperate with, she’d probably slap me right now.

I chuckled lightly at her murderous gaze and spoke in a calm tone.

“Didn’t hear me? Then I’ll say it again. Take your delusions home with you.”

“–!! This isn’t a delusion! It’s a plan carefully prepared by me and my comrades who share the same vision! For the revival of this nation!”

“Then it’s a waste of effort. For a group effort, this is pretty pathetic.”

If it were just her own idea, I’d have torn it apart as childish nonsense, but this was a group effort?

This is hopeless. Typical armchair revolutionaries who don’t understand reality.

I set down the teacup and leaned forward. I propped my chin on the desk, moving away from the backrest.

“Lady Arshah. You seem to have accumulated quite a bit of knowledge and culture for your age, but there’s something important you’re still missing.”

“…And what’s that?”

“That the world doesn’t revolve around your thoughts.”

I heard she just turned twenty this year. Considering her age and gender, she must have studied hard.

Most noblewomen her age only know how to gossip happily in salons.

But if you want to do politics, this level isn’t enough.

You want to overthrow the old guard who’ve been fighting for power for decades and reform the country, yet you’re satisfied with such a half-baked idea?

“Contrary to your hopes, even if you kill the king and destroy the royal family, the country won’t stabilize or smoothly transition to a new system. Instead, it’ll plunge into even greater chaos.”

“It’s about executing a foolish tyrant!”

“The commoners won’t see it that way.”

People behave differently as individuals and as a group.

Even if individual opinions are radical and seek change, as a group, they tend to become conservative and seek stability.

This is especially true in politics. In fact, the more political the field, the more pronounced this tendency becomes.

Especially in a kingdom like ours with high illiteracy and low education rates.

“Our Kingdom of Ullanor has been a monarchy for hundreds of years. All the commoners have been taught to worship the existence and authority of the monarch for generations. Now, if you try to deny the monarchy itself, do you think they’ll accept it?”

“If we educate them properly–”

“In the countryside, where there are no schools and monasteries teach the children, who’s going to educate them? Are you going to preach the evils of monarchy and the legitimacy of republicanism to illiterate fools? That’s nonsense.”

Trying to persuade people who’ve worshipped the king as the goddess’s proxy their whole lives to accept a system without a monarch?

That’s like convincing a modern Korean that the universe is shaped like a badass dinosaur.

It won’t work. Absolutely not.

“No matter how much propaganda you spread or pamphlets you distribute, no one will be convinced. At best, they’ll think, ‘The traitors killed our king! Let’s get revenge!’”

If it were just civilians, it might be manageable. But once the military gets involved, it’s hopeless.

“The soldiers on the front lines are the same. They’re fighting for their country, risking their lives, and if they hear the king has been killed, their morale will completely collapse.”

“Why would they? If we tell them the queen abandoned the front lines to buy a tiara, wouldn’t they be furious like you, Sir?”

“Have you forgotten that soldiers were commoners before they were conscripted?”

Unless it’s a unit like our Northern Army, where daily survival struggles forged unbreakable bonds, what about the Western or Eastern Armies?

Many of them probably still retain their pre-conscription innocence. Their reaction to the news would likely be similar to when they were civilians.

“And Lady Arshah, most of the kingdom’s military officers are from noble families. They’re loyalists to the royal family.”

I took another sip of milk tea and continued.

“The moment they realize their purge is being planned, they’ll betray you. If they march on the capital like I did, that’s the best-case scenario… They might even collude with enemy nations. They won’t just sit back and take it.”

If the royal family is destroyed by republicans, it’s obvious to anyone with half a brain that the nobles are next.

So it’s only natural for noble-born officers to seek their own survival.

They’re conveniently stationed on the borders, so they’ll have plenty of opportunities to cause chaos.

If you want to purge them, you need to bring them back to the capital or their estates and secure their safety first.

“And what about foreign nations? Do you think they’ll just sit back if a major power on the continent suddenly becomes a republic?”

“What’s wrong with that? Republics have existed since ancient times.”

“Well, they’ve existed, but they’ve never been mainstream.”

There are certainly a few non-monarchical nations in this world. Most are small city-states or remote regions.

There’s never been an era where republicanism was the dominant political system on this continent.

“The United Empire to the north, the kingdoms of Ormela and Kailas to the east, the Kingdom of Caledonia and the Daicing Empire to the west, and countless other nations will all turn against us.

Do you understand? The moment we abolish the monarchy, we become the enemies of the world.”

It’s exactly what happened to France after the French Revolution.

After Louis XVI was beheaded and the new government was established, Spain, Prussia, England, and the Habsburgs all ganged up on them.

In the end, Napoleon beat them all and became emperor himself.

But there’s no guarantee we can do the same. I’m confident in my abilities, but I’m not a monster like Napoleon.

Rather than hoping for a miracle and playing a losing hand, it’s better not to play at all.

That’s why Karl VII, the monarchy, must not disappear. At least not yet.

“But the Albion Republic is doing just fine! They’ve never had a king!”

Lady Arshah’s rebuttal, unable to accept my words. I shook my head and pointed out the flaw in her logic.

“That’s because they’re an island nation. Their powerful navy protects their waters, so they’re left alone, not because they’re liked.”

Albion’s navy is stronger than any on the continent.

There was a time when the Ormela Kingdom’s navy rivaled theirs, but now that’s a distant past.

Now, even if we combined our Ullanor navy with theirs, we’d still be outnumbered.

Thanks to that, the Albion Republic is recognized for its system and freely engages in trade.

This is a right they’d never have achieved if they were a continental nation.

“Moreover, most of their key officials are nobles or royalty. Are you going to eliminate them too? If the administrative power suddenly evaporates, the country will run smoothly, won’t it?”

Lower-level civil servants might be fine, but the higher-ups are mostly from prominent families. Connections and bloodlines are essential in the appointment process.

If you eliminate the group that monopolizes core information and knowledge, you know what will happen, right? The government will go completely haywire.

“Considering the Holy Kingdom’s backlash, religious repercussions, and the alienation of public sentiment… It’ll all fall apart before you even get started. I can confidently say the country won’t last three years.”

“……”

“Next time, I suggest you consider reality before making a proposal. And one more piece of advice,”

I flicked my finger and activated a spell.

[For the future of this country, we must kill Karl VII and destroy the royal family–]

“Huh?”

“Don’t recklessly reveal your true intentions to others. What would you do if I played this recording for the king?”

It’s a recording spell. I learned it during my time in the Northern Army when the parachute commander kept acting up.

He’d give stupid orders and later deny it, so I’d record him and throw it back in his face.

The young lady’s face turned pale as she heard her own voice coming from the magic circle. She’s still young. She didn’t anticipate this situation at all.

“Well, don’t be too scared. I have no intention of using this to harm you.”

I poured her a fresh cup of tea, even adding sugar myself.

“Instead, I’d like to make a counter-proposal.”

At first, I just wanted to tease her and send her away, but I changed my mind midway. Her faction has potential.

Even if they’re armchair intellectuals, they’re highly educated elites. Plus, they’re full of passion and drive.

If nurtured properly, they could be useful as attack dogs to tear down obstacles.

There’s also a way to align their goals with mine.

“Lady Arshah, why don’t you join the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction? I’ll even give you a position where you can pursue your ambitions.”

“I have no desire to join the old system.”

“It’s not about protecting the king. I’m probably the second most anti-Karl VII person in this country. I want you to help limit the king’s power instead.”

“…Limit his power?”

I explained kindly to the puzzled lady.

“Amend the laws and establish systems to strip the monarch of power. Make it so the king can no longer wield national affairs at will and must follow the government and parliament. In a way, it aligns with the republicanism you desire.”

It’s the system used by countries like Spain, England, and the Netherlands on Earth. It keeps the monarch alive while transferring power.

“If we were to name it, it’d be a constitutional monarchy.”