NOVEL WEB Chapter 2: Civil War Period - The Marquis of Lafayette (1)
Translated by – Mara Sov
༺ Civil War Period – The Marquis of Lafayette (1) ༻
“Aaah!”
The horrifying sound of the falling guillotine blade echoed in my ears.
“Heuk…..Huuufff……Huff…..”
The feeling of the wind passing through your neck is not something anyone should feel.
While trembling, I managed to put my hands around my neck.
…..It was still there.
The last thing I remember seeing – my headless body still hanging on the guillotine – the image is still vivid in my memory.
My body.
My headless body.
At that moment, I got up.
Where am I?
In my room.
My room?
This was not the filthy dungeon.
This was without a doubt my room in the Marquis’s mansion.
With weak legs, I managed to reach a mirror on the other side of the room, but my reflection shocked me.
“What the hell.”
The figure in the mirror looked to be a young man leaving his teenage years behind.
—
The maid who came to wake me up was startled to see me already awake as she brought me a basin with water.
Instead of being imprisoned in a dark and cold cell, here I was, washing my face with clean water in this warm room.
Am I dreaming?
The convoluted mix of memories of the dungeon, of fighting in the god-forsaken battlefields without time to even eat or sleep, and of my youth being served by a myriad of maids and butlers always helping me……was disconcerting, to say the least.
Perhaps this is all a hallucination made up by my severed head?
With engrained movements, I mechanically repeated the daily routine I had in this mansion 10 years ago.
Wake up, wash up, get dressed, and head to the dining room when I’m notified that my meal is ready.
A luxurious meal that I had forgotten even existed while rolling around on the battlefield or being locked up in the dungeon.
Well-done chicken and vegetables, hot soup, and a piece of soft white bread.
I still could taste my last meal, that hard and molded bread that not even commoners would eat.
As I was still disconnected from reality, I didn’t even touch the meal, so the butler called me out worriedly.
“Young Master?”
Young Master. Yes, that was what I used to be called.
“If this meal is not good enough I’ll……”
The butler must have thought that my hesitance to eat the banquet in front of me was a sign of distaste.
“No, there’s nothing wrong.”
Suddenly, I noticed a maid standing in the corner of the room, the one elected to serve me during my meal.
A young girl resembling the woman who brought my last meal.
If this was 10 years ago, she would have looked like this.
“You, what’s your name?”
“I……My name is Jessie, Young Master.”
The girl answered my question with a wavering tone, perhaps surprised that I even asked her that question.
—Aren’t the nobles required to memorize a long list of names and titles for people they might not even see in their whole lives? If you didn’t consider them worthless to even know their names, surely you would know at least one among your people whom you cherished—
The accusations and mockery of the crowd gathered around the guillotine continued to echo in my ears.
Jessie. A name I never bothered to either learn or remember in my past.
Then, I picked a piece of white bread.
Feeling such softness from the bread was truly unfamiliar as I slowly dipped it in the soup and ate it.
The soft and warm taste slowly filled my mouth.
And then, only then, did I realize that this was real.
“Young Master?!”
I couldn’t stop the tears flowing from my eyes.
“……I’ve returned.”
—
The Knight Kingdom of Francia was a land engulfed in chaos.
Normally the eldest son would become the successor of the crown, but the former King, known as the Knight King for his brave and fearless actions, didn’t favor his more politically inclined firstborn.
On the other hand, the Second Prince was a knight with excellent martial skills, who gained the King’s favor by directly leading the battles in the war against the Germania Empire.
Because of this, the King wanted to make the Second Prince his successor, but the First Prince, who made use of his political influence, managed to gather the nobles dissatisfied with the King in an alliance, keeping both the King and the Second Prince in check.
Thus, the faction of the First Prince, which consisted mainly of nobles, was formed. And the faction of the Second Prince consisting mainly of the royalists, began to keep each other in check, transforming the succession process into chaos. Unfortunately, in the middle of this battle, the King suddenly passed away.
The First and Second Princes each claimed their own right for the throne, and like that, the conflict between the two factions soon escalated into a civil war.
This civil war ravaged the kingdom for three years.
—
“Ugh, are you really okay with this, Young Master?”
Baron Robert Le Domont, a rotund man who was about my father’s age, asked as he wiped away his sweat with a handkerchief.
Summer sure is hard for overweight people……
“What are you talking about?”
“With the shortage of troops left by the Marquis, sending our precious cavalry is a bit……”
My father, the Marquis of Lafayette, a key member of the First Prince’s faction, was leading our armies near the capital of the kingdom – Lumiere, in the midst of this civil war.
One might ask, why did the Marquis of Lafayette, the strongest Knight in this kingdom known as the Blue Knight align himself with the more politically focused First Prince, instead of the Second Prince, who had the backing of the majority of the Knights?
That was because when my father first was Knighted, we were not a Ducal family.
As a mere Knight, my father demonstrated overwhelming prowess, and as such, he was awarded the title of Blue Knight and received the rank of a Marquis.
However, as a new noble, and a high-ranking one at that, my father naturally faced the opposition of the existing aristocrats, making the new House Lafayette isolated from central politics.
With the civil war, most of the existing Knights followed the Second Prince, so the desperate First Prince offered a lot of benefits and privileges to ensnare our House to join his faction.
That is why my father and the main force of our family are fighting for the First Prince in the North, while I am managing the territory in the South, quite a distance away from the main battlefield.
And in this situation I have now ordered the remaining light cavalry left in the territory to patrol our border.
“Our remaining troops are all light cavalry, and besides, should we ever be besieged, the patrol party would find and inform us of the enemy movements, giving us some vital intelligence and time.”
“W-Well, that is true, but……”
Baron Robert wiped the sweat off his face while looking at me with a strange gaze.
Originally, I wasn’t this proactive in this period of my life.
Since this was the Kingdom of Francia, a nation of Knights, the fact that I, the heir, was left in charge of the territory while a civil war was going on was not because I was trusted, but because my Father thought I was not capable enough to join him on the battlefield, and earn my share of merits.
So, from the perspective of Baron Robert, who was tasked with assisting me in the administrative work while my father was fighting in the war, it must look like I’ve become another person overnight.
“Don’t worry, this is just a precautionary measure.”
“I believe the Young Master has thought this through.”
Even if you say that, your face is telling me the exact opposite……
“Yes, well then, I’ll be sure not to disappoint your faith in me, Baron.”
“Cough, hmm…Yes, speaking of faith, I’ll take my leave now, Young Master.”
Dismissing the Baron, I slowly closed my eyes.
A month has passed since I woke up at the age of 18 while holding the memories of my execution at 28.
When I first opened my eyes, I was confused, wondering if those 10 years had only been a horrible nightmare.
But now I know those years weren’t a dream.
Not only that, some minor events or encounters were happening exactly as they did in the ‘dream’, with the news coming from the main battlefield in the North only cementing this belief.
At this point, this can’t be a coincidence.
I was killed by the Revolutionary Army and regressed into the past.
I don’t know why, or how.
But even now, I can still remember my feelings of bitterness and despair from that day, and my wish for a second chance.
And if this is truly my second chance, then I’ll change my fate.
Opening my eyes, I looked at the Marquis’s orders that came from the North.
The Marquis, who is leading the main force of our territory in the north, was asking for more military supplies and funds.
Back then, I remember answering that I couldn’t increase the tax in a territory that had been ravaged by ceaseless plunder.
Then, the Marquis ordered me to send the supplies, either through war taxes or by plundering the nearby territories that belonged to the Second Prince’s faction.
However, I now know that in the future a revolution will start. And since the First Prince will die soon, I have no intention of resorting to this method.
Of course, there’s no way the Marquiswould accept this.
My father believed that he would be rewarded for all his efforts once the First Prince became the King, and as such, he had staked everything in this war.
But that loyalty won’t be rewarded, and my father, the Marquis, will die in vain.
Taking his place as the next Marquis, I fought against the recently formed revolutionary forces, but the nobles of Francia, the ones hailed as the strongest military force in the continent, were crushed by the revolutionary army.
This was because the Revolutionaries had an unprecedented genius general in their ranks, a monster of a man.
Raphael Valliant.
This general actively used firearms – discriminated against and pushed aside in favor of Knights and magic users – and scored consecutive wins against the royal army with tactics no one could stop.
I’m lucky to have this second chance.
But even then, I can’t possibly imagine a scenario where I face Raphael himself and win against the Revolutionary Army.
As a result of the civil war, It became difficult to make a move against the core members of the Revolutionary Army, who were all influential people in the cities, since after the war, most of these cities managed to buy the status of autonomy from the King and the nobility.
No, even if you didn’t factor in the Revolution, this rotten kingdom will collapse one way or another.
—Kill them!
—Death to the corrupt nobility!
Every time I closed my eyes, I could hear their mad screams and vicious mockery that filled the city.
I have seen the madness and insanity the revolution brought to Francia. The number of people who were executed after the republic rose in power didn’t fall short of the number of people who died in the civil war.
The revolution would take place in the fourth year of the civil war, which would be two years from now.
So, while I must procure the funds at the Marquis’s order, I have to avoid exploiting or looting the people too much during these next two years.
Only then, I can join the Revolution as a noble who hasn’t been corrupted, and as a protector of the common people. While also making sure the moderates are the ones leading the army, not the radicals.
By doing this, I could prevent the chaos and madness of the Revolutionary Army from spilling so much blood.
In this life, I refuse to stand by as I watch everything I fought for be so futilely denied.
While I was strengthening my resolve, someone knocked at the door, and a gruff voice called out.
“Young Master.”
“Come in, Knight.”
The door opened and a large man, in full armor, came in and bowed.
Although he was just about my age, he was already a head taller than me.
“Knight Ran Gaston sees The Acting Marquis Pierre de Lafayette.”
Since the Marquis has taken the main forces of the territory, this man is the only Knight left, except for me.
At the same time, he’s a man who makes me feel conflicted.
He is the main reason the Marquis distrusted me since he was a commoner, but this man pledged his loyalty to me till the very end, even when the Kingdom’s forces were suffering the ultimate defeat.
I stared at him for a moment while I sorted out my feelings.
“What is the matter, Knight?”
“The cavalry sent as patrol, per your order, has returned with this report. They say a force of 100 men strong, including Knights, entered the Marquis’s territory from the direction of Milbeau County.”
“Looters, I presume.”
“Yes. It appears to be so, Young Master.”
There’s no time for leisure then.
Sigh-.
“Rally the cavalry. We’re going out immediately.”
“Just the cavalry, Young Master?”
“Yes.”
Knight Gaston looked puzzled, but if we waited to mobilize all of our forces and marched, by the time we were done, the enemy would have already reached the villages.
To prevent the moderate party of the Revolutionary Army from being dethroned, I must maintain some considerate power to support them. And in order to do that, we can’t let our territory be raided.
Thinking about this, I finished strapping my breastplate, and now Knight Gaston’s look had become downright disbelieving.
“Young Master. Are you also going out?”
“Yes.”
I replied while picking up my sword and bow.
As of now, our territory has little to no actual army.
So I’ll have to dance to the music.
“I have to make those who don’t know their place and have come to threaten the people of my territory, pay.”
TL note: And we are here!
I wanted to wait a little more to post chapters but one little shit started posting 2 MTL chapters on NU, so I have to drop the chapters now…..I wanted to drop 30 chapters not 10. (I had translated until 20 but I need to revise the last chapters and my editor needs to well….Edit them…)
But please leave good reviews on NU to bump our numbers!
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