NOVEL WEB Chapter 25: Revolutionary Period - Do You Hear The People Sing?
Translated by – Mara Sov
༺ Revolutionary Period – Do You Hear The People Sing? ༻
Southwest of Lumiere, in the Namur’s plains.
King Louis and the remnants of his army encountered the eastern forces led by the Duke of Orleans while returning to Lumiere.
“Thank God! It’s a relief to see you unharmed, Your Majesty.”
The Duke of Orleans rushed towards them, but King Louis was visibly perturbed.
“Why are you here, Duke?”
“I heard of the defeats in the southern and central fronts and hastily retreated, Your Majesty.”
“What about the east?”
“…I beg your forgiveness, Your Majesty. However, I could not risk the central heartlands and the Capital Lumiere……”
“You mean you couldn’t risk your lands.”
At the sharp words of the King, the Duke of Orleans closed his mouth.
The Duke’s lands lie to the southwest of the capital.
With the King’s main forces defeated, should the enemy march north, the Duke’s territories would be at risk before the capital.
Thus, under the guise of loyalty, he had abandoned his assigned front and rushed back.
However, the King, exhausted by an unimaginable defeat in both body and spirit, no longer had the strength to press the Duke any further.
“Provide me with a place to rest.”
“……As Your Majesty commands.”
King Louis was escorted into a tent by servants acting on the Duke’s orders and, as soon as he entered, he sent everyone away and collapsed onto the bed, uttering words of despair.
“H-Have I really lost?”
In place of his brother, who indulged in noble extravagance and lavish feasts, he remembered the late King who had favored him.
The great late king was called the Knight King. However, he dared not even think to fight against the man in the presence of the Blue Knight.
Once upon a time, he would have charged into enemy lines with valor on the battlefield, admiring the late King. But since when has it come to this?
When the much-respected late King died without naming him as the crown prince?
Or when he became arrogant after ascending to the throne?
No, that’s not it.
It was from the moment after the late King passed away, and the Knights completed their pledges of loyalty, supporting him.
He believed himself to be the rightful heir to the throne and was only concerned with defeating his brother. Since the moment he took the Knights’ loyalty for granted and thought it was natural for him to command them, he had become despicable.
They had preferred him over his brother, who favored flattering nobles rather than valiant Knights, and they had sworn loyalty to the great Knightly late king, merely continuing that loyalty.
While King Louis continued to wallow in his misery, a bizarre voice was heard.
“Such a sorry sight you have become, Your Majesty the King.”
King Louis sprang up from his place, startled by the sudden appearance of a pitch-black pigeon he hadn’t noticed entering.
“You, why are you here…”
“Is it so surprising, Your Majesty the King, for a businessman to make contact with a client?”
King Louis shut his mouth, seeing the pigeon, which should have no expression, seemingly sneering with its red eyes gleaming.
“As you know, our company has provided Your Majesty with the necessary funds. Of course, Your Majesty has also promised things to complete our deal.”
“I am aware of that! But wait. I will subdue the Marquisate of Lafayette as you have desired…!”
“Forgive my intrusion, Your Majesty, but according to our assessment, it does not seem possible for you at this time.”
King Louis gritted his teeth at the pigeon’s, Halphas’, assertion.
“It appears our company has overestimated Your Majesty’s credit rating. It is regrettable, indeed doubly regrettable, that you will no longer be eligible for the special benefits we provided.”
The promise was to forgive a substantial amount of the borrowed money if he subdued the Lesser Marquisate of Lafayette. King Louis believed it was certainly possible and had accepted the offer from Abyss Corporation.
“Of course, even so, Your Majesty’s ability to pay remains intact. Thus, Abyss Corporation must now demand the repayment of the loan.”
“What? The civil war is ongoing, and I have just suffered defeat in battle. I do not have the means to pay you back right now-“
“Forgive my intrusion, Your Majesty, but why should our company consider Your Majesty’s circumstances?”
As King Louis glared at it with his eyes wide open, the pigeon made a cooing sound that was indistinguishable between a cry and a scoff, then opened its beak again to release a bizarre voice.
“Your Majesty has taken a loan from our company, and we have decided to downgrade Your Majesty’s credit rating somewhat due to this battle. Therefore, it is entirely natural and reasonable to demand repayment of the outstanding balance before any principal loss occurs.”
“I told you there’s no money to give!”
“That is for Your Majesty to figure out. You may set heavier war taxes or pay more of your subjects as ‘compensation’ to our company. The important thing is, if Your Majesty does not comply, our company will inevitably have to proceed with enforcement.”
“Are you daring to threaten me now, you devil?”
“Oh, Your Majesty. A threat? We are fundamentally a corporation and a group interested in profit. What is wrong with exerting influence for the realization of our interests?
Of course, our company values common sense and strives for coexistence with humans. Plans such as mobilizing force to recover the loan are still a secondary option. This is even though almost all the Knights the Kingdom used to boast about have perished, and the strength of your country, as we have assessed, is extremely inferior.”
The threat implied in the words spoken without hesitation caused King Louis to clench his mouth shut with a pale, ashen face.
“Instead, we wish to proceed in a more gentlemanly manner. Seizing the overseas assets of the Kingdom of Francia, and if a price is given, it would be effective to commission a force willing to recover the outstanding loan balance on our behalf. Perhaps, those who have risen against Your Majesty.”
“Ah, understood! I will pay! Isn’t that enough?”
The pigeon, Halphas, let out another cooing sound.
“A wise choice, Your Majesty. Let’s set the deadline for three months.”
“Th-three months? How am I supposed to raise such a large sum in just three months!”
“Then, we hope you will continue to enjoy advanced technology and innovative services provided by the Abyss Corporation.”
Having said its piece, the pigeon vanished right before the King’s eyes.
King Louis remained silent, then raised his hands to his face and rubbed it.
“Sigh-. What foolish thing have I done….”
—-
In Lumiere the capital of Francia.
The city was plunged into chaos as the tax collectors declared the creation of another special tax by the King’s order, and those who wouldn’t be able to pay would receive a dreadful punishment.
It was an open secret that those who failed to pay their dues would be ‘sold’ to Abyss Corporation as punishment.
“We can’t take this anymore! Where would we even find the money for those absurd taxes?! They are selling us to those demons!
We can’t stand by and watch as that tyrant completely disregards the law!”
“The King is marching towards Lumiere with his defeated army. If we can’t arm the citizens before they enter the city, they will massacre us! We must act now!”
Amidst the shouts and cries, Bishop Arnaud Richelieu, who once led the revolutionaries with grace and prudence was now pale, with cold sweat streaming down his face.
He was the one behind the book The Theory of Social Hierarchy, with the help of his aide and friend Sierres.
While most of the clergy were corrupt and greedy, Richelieu truly cared about the people of Francia.
He wished for them to awaken. While it was true that a commoner was weak, when united they had the power to change this wretched kingdom for the better.
His ultimate goal was for the Third Estate to unite and pressure the King, forcing him to correct this Kingdom’s wrongs.
But at some point, the movement he created became hungry for blood.
“Now it’s the time! The sons of Francia must arm themselves and protect our lives!
Death to the oppressors!”
“The King must die! And all of those who exploited the Third Estate must follow him!”
Even Bishop Richelieu himself, upon hearing the King’s order, harbored severe doubts about the man’s sanity.
He could never have predicted that the seeds he sowed would bloom in blood.
His compatriots now looked like mad beasts in his eyes.
The sheer anger and madness filling this space pierced the Bishop’s skin.
Where was Sierres, his friend who used to offer him good counsel and encouragement? Where was the man who supported him, even when he doubted himself?
The eyes of his compatriots were filled with hatred and their throats only uttered murderous words and wrathful cries.
“It’s time to make a choice, Bishop.”
The only one who maintained a normal tone of voice was the Prosecutor Maximillien Le Jidor.
Yet, to Richelieu, his composed tone, coupled with the coldness in his gaze was more dangerous than those mad beasts yelling at the top of their lungs.
Everyone had become insane.
Should he try to dissuade them now, he would be branded as a supporter of the First Estate and dealt as such.
With a resigned tone, Richelieu spoke.
“Sigh-…….May Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity be with you all.”
—
In the darkest hour in Lumiere, the sky was strangely as bright as day.
“They treated us as nothing until now!”
A gigantic crowd marched through the streets with torches in hand.
“They never considered us humans!”
Their yells shook the entire city.
“Are they listening to our voices now?”
The tax collectors who used to roam the streets were nowhere to be seen.
“Are they listening to our anger?!”
The clergy who exploited the people under the guise of God’s will now hid in their dark and decrepit churches in search of a mercy that wouldn’t come.
“The voice of the people who won’t be enslaved again!”
The honorable Knights were no more, and those nobles who grew fat with their oppression hid in their mansions, trembling in fear.
“Now they will listen!”
The mad crowd reached the armory of Lumiere.
“If they don’t listen, we will carve our words upon their bodies!”
The guards defending the armory pointed their cannons at the furious crowd.
“Son and Daughters of Francia-“
Despite the distance, the guards could feel the heat of their torches prickling their skin.
“Come to the streets and join us!”
As they were confronted with the madness emanating from the crowd, some even fell to their knees.
“Let’s build a new future together!”
The pale guards could only direct their fearful gazes to their commander in search of guidance.
“Those who will not join us stand with the oppressors!”
The commander, overwhelmed by this situation, grasped his scabbard with a trembling hand.
“Fall with them, or stand with us!”
At last, when the chorus of the crowd ended, their bloody gazes were directed toward the commander and his guards.
The commander worked his mind at a furious pace.
They had no troops, no provision, and no ammunition to hold this crowd, the only thing still keeping those man in their places was a fragile loyalty to their King.
Above all, the families of some soldiers were among the crowd,
“I…I surrender if you promise to spare the lives of my men.”
“Ah, a reasonable choice. We accept.”
As the man leading the crowd accepted his proposal, the Commander ordered his men to lay down their weapons with no small amount of relief and a tinge of guilt.
However.
When the commander and his man tried to leave, one man among the crowd charged forward and struck a guard’s head with a club.
“Y-You! What are you doing?! We had a deal-“
“Tax collector.”
The crowd’s eyes focused on the man who rushed forward, as tears slipped from his eyes while he held the club.
“Last month, they said there wouldn’t be more taxes for this season……S-So, I…I…Sold Lucy…M-My Little one…To keep my family alive.”
The man lifted his head, his tear-stained face was furious with veins throbbing all over.
“And what did the King say today?! You break your promises like they are nothing of value! So why should we keep ours?”
With those words, the crowd rushed forward, raiding the armory, and in the next moment, they turned their sights towards the noble’s mansions and the churches.
Countless priests and nobles were killed, and among those, quite a few died just for being near them.
Finally, as they reached the main street, the crowd marched with the severed heads of the commander, his guards, the nobles and the clergy impaled on stakes.
Seeing this, Bishop Arnaud Richelieu collapsed to the ground as tears streamed from his eyes.
“W-what have I unleashed……”
TL NOTE:
VIVA LA FRANCE
VIVA LA REVOLUTION
BAGUETE!!!!!!!!!!!
Do you hear the people sing?
Singing the song of angry men?
It is the music of the people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Then join in the fight
That will give you the right to be free!
***
https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken