Chapter 78

The palace was nothing short of magnificent and grand.

In the center stood the Grand Hall, where a woman dressed in luxurious attire was seated.

With blonde hair and green eyes, she appeared to be in her mid-twenties, displaying a haughty demeanor while seated on her throne.

The monarch of the Kingdom of Frantz.

Queen Louis.

Bowing her head towards her…

That person…

General Rafael spoke earnestly.

“Your Majesty. I implore you once more. Please do not turn a blind eye to the suffering of the people.”

“My, oh my… When have I ever neglected the people? It’s merely about hosting a grand banquet; is that such a serious matter?”

“Your Majesty, the Kingdom of Frantz is currently in dire straits due to several years of famine. Holding a banquet during such times could severely worsen the people’s sentiments. We should focus on providing relief instead of celebrations.”

General Rafael earnestly pressed on.

At that moment…

“Who does the general think he is? How dare you suggest that Your Majesty should heed the whims of those lowly creatures?”

“It’s not about heeding whims; I am merely asking for you to understand their hearts! At a time when our nation is struggling, if we fail to soothe the people’s spirits, something truly unforgivable could happen.”

“Unforgivable, you say! Are you daring to utter such sacrilege before Her Majesty?”

“Have you even been to Pare city? The streets are filled with the stench of corpses of those who have starved to death! We cannot afford to hold a banquet when we must urgently think of how to provide relief for them!”

“No, this scoundrel!”

“Enough! What on earth are you doing before Her Majesty!”

The voices were beginning to rise as General Rafael and Duke Ocleang confronted each other.

Ultimately, their quarrel was quelled by Minister Nekker.

Just after ceasing the escalating clash between the two powerful figures, Minister Nekker spoke with a serious tone.

“Your Majesty. I too share the same sentiment as the General. Currently, the financial state of this country… and furthermore, the royal household is not good in many ways. For the sake of smoothly collecting taxes in the upcoming Three Estates Meeting, I humbly ask you to exercise some restraint at this time.”

“…Hmm… If you insist so much, I suppose it cannot be helped. Then we shall hold the banquet the day after the Three Estates Meeting concludes.”

“I sincerely thank you for accepting my suggestion, Your Majesty.”

Thus, the matter was barely settled according to Minister Nekker’s compromise.

Minister Nekker then intended to discuss the next agenda.

“Next up is the modification of tax policies. The only solution to overcome our current financial state is to increase the taxes imposed on the nobles…”

However…

“Yawn… I’m tired. Let’s adjourn this meeting for today.”

“Your Majesty, there are still matters to resolve. You must finish those…”

“I am not feeling well, so we shall discuss that next time. Know this and take your leave.”

“But Your Majesty…”

“Ah! Did you not hear that Her Majesty is tired?”

“Her Majesty has been working hard for the people! Do you not know that pushing further could endanger her noble body?”

As if waiting for that moment, other nobles began to speak up.

In the end, Minister Nekker, General Rafael, and most of the courtiers found themselves being forced out of the Grand Hall.

Immediately following, splendid music filled the air, and various dishes and beverages began to enter the hall.

As they stood by, watching the ‘small’ banquet commence, Minister Nekker and others let out deep sighs.

“Hah… There are mountains of issues we need to resolve…”

“What can we do? For now, we can only be satisfied with halting the grand banquet.”

“Yet still, Your Majesty is being too much. It hasn’t been long since we finally managed to hold a banquet after days. How can you just end it like this with so many matters at hand…”

“This is all due to Duke Ocleang! Once upon a time, Her Majesty showed significant enthusiasm, but ever since that man came close, she has completely changed!”

Dialogue among the courtiers worried about the kingdom.

Their gaze then automatically shifted to their leader, the person holding the most power among them…

General Rafael.

“General, how long will you let this continue?”

“Shouldn’t we be devising some countermeasures? If this continues, our kingdom will truly collapse.”

The entire nation was groaning under the weight of continuous famine, and even the trade with foreign lands was consistently recording deficits for the Kingdom of Frantz.

Amidst this turmoil, while the nation’s finances were nearing ruin, the monarch was utterly engrossed in enjoying banquets among the schemers.

If only the king’s power were weak, perhaps it could be overlooked, but the current power in the kingdom was largely driven by the absolute authority established by the previous king, pushing the will of the king forward.

Power was entirely concentrated in the administrators, yet the administrator was doing nothing.

Anyone with even a modicum of sense knew that if things went on like this, it would result in utter failure.

Except for the nobles centered around Duke Ocleang.

And this was a fact that General Rafael, holding military authority in this kingdom, was well aware of.

“…For now, let’s wait. The Three Estates Meeting will be held soon, right? With representatives from the clergy, aristocrats, and commoners all present, surely we can find some answers there.”

“That may be true, but…”

“Hah… the Three Estates Meeting… is there any possibility something fruitful will come from there? I hate to say it, but we can only expect a meager financial injection akin to pissing in a frozen field.”

Minister Nekker spoke with a tone of half-giving up.

However, General Rafael calmly replied.

“Do not worry. Something good will surely come. An opportunity to overturn this frustrating situation.”

As he offered comforting words to those around him, General Rafael quietly smiled.

Thinking of the massive plan that would soon unfold…

‘Revolution.’

*

The capital of the Kingdom of Frantz, Pare.

I had heard many tales about this massive city with a population of nearly one million since arriving in this world.

The most beautiful place on the continent and the center of art, culture, and wealth, where luxury and extravagance overflow on a daily basis.

Yet, at this very moment.

As we, disguised as soldiers of the Kingdom of Frantz, had just arrived in Pare, our impressions were singular.

“…Isn’t this just a den of beggars?”

“T-That does seem to be the case… We’ve barely reached the entrance and already there are corpses that look like they’ve died of starvation…”

“Hmm… I’ve certainly heard that things have been going poorly as of late, but…”

“Still, I never imagined it could be worse than Marinseu Port…”

Even Magellan and Elkana, both hailing from the Kingdom of Frantz and recently residing in Marinseu, were taken aback.

The stench of rotting corpses filled the air everywhere, and there were countless people begging among the dead.

Having traveled around the world and witnessed many atrocities, I felt this scene was among the most horrific I had ever seen.

Even the rather unpleasant situations I had encountered in the original work seemed to pale in comparison to what I was witnessing now.

Uneasy, I cautiously asked Napoleona, who was walking in front.

“What in the world happened? Is this really the famous Pare?”

“Yes, indeed. This is the renowned city of luxury and revelry, Pare.”

“…What on earth is going on here? It doesn’t seem like it’s just a mere famine.”

“Of course, that’s one reason. But it’s not the only one. Twenty years ago, during the famine crisis, the situation wasn’t this dire. The biggest reason would be… the majestic king’s exceptionally brilliant governance.”

“The king?”

There was a hint of scorn in Napoleona’s voice.

Surely one person couldn’t be responsible for all this mess, could they?

However, a person from my memories suddenly popped into my mind.

The human who caused 30 million to starve to death due to the declaration of ‘the harmful bird’ in my previous life.

Given that there is a clear example of how poor political decisions can lead a kingdom to ruin, some of the horrific sights before me didn’t seem all that hard to comprehend.

“Could it be… our ruler is enacting policies like ‘catching sparrows’ or ‘deep plowing and dense planting’?”

“…? I don’t know who it is, but they sound like a splendid person compared to our king. Although they don’t seem ignorant of basic agriculture, it’s somewhat similar. The problem is that they’re not doing anything at all, instead of commanding strange things.”

“Doing nothing at all…”

I could vaguely grasp the implications of what was being said.

At that moment, Napoleona stopped in front of a rather wide building and turned to us.

“Well, I’ll explain the details inside. There’s someone here who’s even better at explaining the situation than I am.”

With those words, Napoleona opened the door and guided us inside.

Just then, a figure appeared before the eyes of me and my companions.

A knight with sharp features, possessing light blonde hair and crimson eyes.

She immediately stood up from her seat and greeted us with a courteous bow.

“Greetings, Pirate King. My name is Robes Fiora.”

“Pleasure to meet you.”

She knew my identity but was still polite.

However, as I looked at the pleasantly smiling woman, I couldn’t help but slightly furrow my brow.

‘Could it be that I’ve actually met a harmful bird here… no, a harmful milk lady…’