Chapter 21: Refuting and Taming

--*clink*.

I took a sip of the warm milk tea in my teacup. Four parts black tea to one part milk, with two spoons of sugar. A typical British-style Royal Milk Tea.

Ah, should I call it Albione-style here? Regardless.

"Just now....what did you say to me?"

As I calmly savored the sweet flavor of the drink, the Young Lady, her teeth clenched, glared at me. If she weren't the one I needed to cooperate with, she'd have probably hit me by now.

I gave a light scoff at her ferocious gaze and opened my mouth in a calm tone.

"Didn't you hear? Then I'll say it again. I told you to go home and indulge in your futile fantasies."

"--!! This isn't some fantasy! It's a meticulously prepared plan by me and my comrades! For the revival of this nation!"

"Then you've wasted your efforts. The result of everyone's combined efforts is this?"

Even if she’d come up with it alone, I would have ripped it apart as childish, but it was a group project?

This is hopeless. As always, these armchair revolutionaries, ignorant of reality, come up with arguments like this.

I put down my teacup and leaned forward. Lifting myself from the backrest, I rested my chin on the desk.

"Young Lady of Arshakh. It seems you've accumulated a considerable amount of knowledge and culture for your age, but you seem to be unaware of something crucial."

"....And what is that?"

"That the world doesn't revolve around your wishes."

I heard she just turned twenty this year. Considering her age and gender, it seemed she'd studied hard. Usually, noblewomen of her age only know how to chatter merrily in salons.

But that's not enough if you want to play politics. You want to defeat the old hags who've been fighting power struggles for decades and reform the nation, and you’re satisfied with this clumsy idea?

"Contrary to your hopes, even if you kill the King and dismantle the Royal Family, there's no guarantee the nation will stabilize and smoothly transition to a new system. On the contrary, it'll likely fall into even greater chaos."

"But we'll be executing a tyrant who engages in foolish acts?"

"Because the commoners won't see it that way."

Humans are creatures whose actions differ when they're individuals versus when they're part of a group.

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

This is the same in politics. No, it’s even more pronounced in the political sphere. Especially in a nation like the current Kingdom with a high illiteracy rate and a low percentage of educated citizens.

"Our Ulranor Kingdom has been a monarchy for the past several hundred years. All commoners have been taught from generation to generation to venerate the existence and authority of the Monarch. If you try to deny the monarchy itself now, do you really think they'll accept it?"

"That's if they receive proper education--"

"In the countryside, monasteries teach children because there are no schools. Who will educate them? Are you going to preach the ills of monarchy and the legitimacy of a republic to illiterate ignoramuses? That's absurd."

Suggesting a system without a Monarch to those who've spent their lives believing and serving the King as the Goddess's representative?

That's like trying to convince a modern-day Earthling that the universe is actually shaped like a freaking awesome dinosaur.

It won't work. Absolutely not.

"No matter how much propaganda you spread and how many pamphlets you distribute, no one will be convinced. You’ll be lucky if they don’t react with something like, 'The traitors killed Our Majesty! Let's go get revenge!'"

If it were just civilians, it would be somewhat manageable. But if the military gets involved, it becomes even more hopeless.

"The same applies to the army on the Front Line. If they hear that the Monarch has died while they're risking their lives for their country, their morale will be completely destroyed."

"Why would they care? If we tell them about the Queen's Tiara purchase that led to the abandonment of the Front Line, they'll surely be enraged just like Your Excellency, wouldn't they?"

"You seem to have forgotten that soldiers were originally commoners before they were conscripted."

Perhaps if it were like our Northern Army, where the daily struggle for survival fostered strong bonds, it would be different. But what about the Western Army or the Eastern Army?

Many of them will likely still retain their pre-conscription innocence(?). Surely their reaction to the news would be similar to when they were civilians.

"And, Young Lady of Arshakh, the majority of the Kingdom's officer corps are of noble birth. The Royal Loyalists are overflowing."

I took another sip of milk tea and continued.

"The moment they realize a purge was planned against them in the rear, they will betray you. If they lead their armies to the Royal Capital like I did, that's the best-case scenario....They might even collude with enemy nations. Whatever the case, they won’t sit idly by and be taken down."

If the Royal Family is destroyed by republicans, anyone who isn't a fool would know the nobles are the next target.

So, it’s only natural that noble officers would seek their own survival. Since they are conveniently stationed in the periphery, it’s clear they’ll wreak havoc.

If you want to purge them, you need to do it after they return to the Capital or their own territories and their safety is secured.

"Moreover, what about foreign nations? Do you think they'll stand idly by when one of the Continent's major powers suddenly declares itself a republic?"

"So what? Republics have been a long-standing system since ancient times."

"Well, they certainly existed. They just never became the mainstream."

Even in this world, there were indeed a few countries that weren't monarchies. Most were small city-states or remote regions in the hinterlands.

Since time immemorial, a republic has never been the dominant political system on this continent, where the Kingdom resides.

"The United Empire to the north, Orm era in the east, the Kailas Kingdom, the Kingdom of Caledonia in the west, and the Daiching Empire—all of them, along with countless other nations, will undoubtedly become enemies.

Do you understand? The entire continent will unite and try to erase our very existence. The moment we abolish the Monarchy, we become enemies of the world."

The French Republic immediately after the French Revolution was exactly like this.

The moment they chopped off Louis XVI's head and established a new government, Spain, Prussia, Britain, and Habsburg all came together for a good old-fashioned beatdown.

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

But there's no guarantee that we can do that. I have confidence in my abilities, but I'm not a crazy monster like Napoleon.

It's better not to gamble on a miracle and lose everything than to not try at all.

That's why Charles VII, the Monarchy, shouldn't disappear. At least not yet.

"But...but the Republic of Albione is doing just fine! They never even had a King in the first place!"

The Young Lady of Arshakh refuted, 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. They're left alone because they protect their territorial waters with a powerful navy, not because other nations like them."

Albione's navy is stronger than any other nation's on the continent.

There was a time when the Orm era Kingdom's navy was comparable, but now, in its decline, that’s just a distant memory.

Even if our Ulranor Navy combined with theirs, we'd still be outnumbered.

Thanks to this, the Republic of Albione avoids invasion, has its system recognized, and freely engages in trade.

These are rights they would never have obtained if they were a continental nation.

"Moreover, most of the key officials are nobles and Royalty. So you want to eliminate them too? I'm sure the country will run wonderfully with the sudden evaporation of administrative power."

Low-ranking officials are one thing, but high-ranking officials are mostly from prominent families. Family ties and connections are essential in the appointment process.

You know what will happen if you eliminate the group that monopolizes key information and knowledge, right? State affairs will become an absolute mess.

"Considering the backlash from the Holy Nation, the religious repercussions, and the alienation of the populace… it’ll fall apart before we even get started. I dare say the country will be gone within three years."

"......"

"Next time, I'd advise you to consider the practicality before making a suggestion. And one more piece of advice,"

I flicked my finger, activating magic.

"[For the future of this country, Charles VII must die, and the Royal Family must be overthrown--]"

"Huh?"

"Don't be so reckless as to reveal your true intentions to others. What if I played this recording for the King?"

It's Recording Magic. I learned it back in the Northern Army when that parachuted-in Commander-in-Chief kept messing things up.

He’d give idiotic orders and later deny ever saying them, so I recorded him like this and fired back.

The Young Lady's face turned pale as she heard her own voice from the Magic Circle. She's so naive. Did she come here without even considering this kind of situation?

"Well, don't be too scared. I have no intention of harming you with this, so rest assured."

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

"Instead, I'd like to make a counter-proposal."

At first, I was just going to tease her and kick her out, but I changed my mind. This woman's faction has its uses.

Even if they’re a bunch of armchair experts, they are still highly educated elites. And they're full of motivation and enthusiasm.

If I nurture them well, couldn’t I use them as hounds to tear apart those who get in my way?

And I happen to have a way to merge my goals with theirs.

"Young Lady, wouldn't you like to join the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction? I can offer you a position where you can fulfill your ambitions."

"I have no desire to join the old regime."

"It's not about protecting the King. I'm probably one of the people who hates Charles VII the most in this country. On the contrary, I'm asking you to help me restrict the King’s Power."

"....Restrict?"

I kindly explained to the puzzled Young Lady.

"We'll change the laws and establish institutions to strip the Monarch of power. The Monarch will no longer be able to control State Affairs at will, but will have to follow the will of the government and the Assembly. In a way, it’s similar to the Republic you desire."

It's the system that Spain, Britain, and the Netherlands have on Earth. Keeping the Monarch alive, but transferring power.

"We could call it a Constitutional Monarchy."