Chapter 321: 321

Chapter 321 – Winter King (Rex Hyemis) (9)

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Individuals whom you could say were the cream of the crop of their respective countries arrived in the city in droves.

For the past four years, there has been a large-scale uprising of republicanism with the wealthy cities at the center. Nearly twenty free cities had popped up as a result.

Free cities that recently had their autonomy guaranteed, cities that had been secretly supporting republicanism, and areas where the lords had a personal interest in republicanism—ambassadors were dispatched from a total of seventy places.

 

There was no instance of an ambassador arriving alone. Every faction made sure to make a fancy-looking ambassador group in order to overstate their power.

There was probably only a small minority of people who could smile bitterly at this.

“Ivar, look at them.”

I was seated on a terrace attached to an estate that we were borrowing temporarily. The estate was located in the center of the city, so we had a clear view of the road. Currently, the ambassadors from the <Northern Frankia Free Cities Alliance> were marching down the street while loudly playing music.

“Those are the individuals who have risen up to secure the rights of the people. It seems ‘the people’ they are talking about only consist of wealthy individuals.”

“My apologies, Your Highness, but those without military power cannot obtain autonomy.”

Ivar was standing next to me in a maid outfit.

“A city’s military power is determined by whether they are able to hire and maintain mercenaries. It would be illogical to say that a city without money could be autonomous. It is only natural that the wealthy would take key positions in cities.”

“Is that so…….”

I fiddled with my pipe.

“In the end, only the rich cities were able to rise up. But, Ivar, do you not think that it is actually the poor who truly need freedom?”

“This humble one thinks differently.”

The vampire girl who had pledged her loyalty to me but still voiced her opinion without hesitation continued.

“The poor do not have an eternal or static interest in their nation. It would be unreasonable to give these individuals the right to vote on how a nation is ruled.”

“An outlook that truly suits you.”

I chuckled.

Ivar’s statement was probably the most common opinion among republicans right now. People should be given the right to vote who they want into their nation’s parliament. However, giving everyone the right to vote would be illogical.

This is because the amount that individuals contribute to their city is different from person to person. Wealthy people pay much more taxes in comparison to the poor. Mercenaries are hired with that tax money. Cities are able to protect their people thanks to their armies.

It was only natural for the rich to have a stronger right to vote since they contributed more to the protection of their cities. That was their reasoning. The right to vote shouldn’t be given to some poor farmers. Furthermore, slaves who didn’t pay even a coin of tax to the city were further out of the question.

“Ivar, there is a rotten smell coming from somewhere. It is the smell of contradiction. Am I the only one who can smell this rancid smell coming from that parade?”

I jeered.

“The people who need a meal the most are none other than the hungry. People who are full do not require more food. Similarly, the people who desperately need freedom more than anyone else are none other than the slaves. But what is this? The so-called people crying out for the freedom of the people are saying that slaves should not be given freedom and should actually be forbidden from receiving any.”

“…….”

Ivar lowered her head for a moment as she thought to herself.

“But, Your Highness, would it not be unfair to equally give freedom to those who do not contribute or make very little contributions to society?”

“Many people seem to make this misunderstanding. The claim that they are not making contributions is incorrect. They have nothing to contribute would be the more accurate statement.”

Let’s say that a wealthy person has 1000 wealth while a poor person has only 10 wealth.

If a city is threatened, then the wealthy person would gladly pay an additional 10 in taxes. However, even if the world were ending, the poor person wouldn’t be able to offer 10. They would only be able to offer 1.

“……But the rich worked hard to increase their wealth to the thousands.”

Ivar refuted after hearing my comparison.

“On the other hand, the poor remained lazy and wasted their time even if they could have worked hard. Of course, there are people who are born with missing limbs and people who are unable to work hard even if they wanted to. Naturally, those people should be helped at a medical relief station.”

She lost her entire family when she was little and built the greatest merchant firm in the demon world with her own two hands. It was because of this that Ivar Lodbrok could say these words with the utmost certainty.

“Excluding those cases, the poverty of the poor almost entirely comes from laziness.”

I see.

This is it. This is the decisive part that makes Ivar different from Laura.

Thus it can’t be helped that the reason why Laura loves me is different from why Ivar loves me.

A forlorn feeling came over me as I unconsciously lowered my voice.

“Ivar, if your life was fated to end after only fifty years, then you would not have been able to create Keuncuska. Am I wrong?”

“That is correct.”

“You were able to succeed like this because you were born a vampire. But let me ask you this. Were you born a vampire because you wanted to be?”

Ivar shook her head.

“Of course not.”

“Let me ask something else. Were the rich born rich because they wanted to be? And were the poor born poor because they wanted to be?”

“……That is also not the case.”

I let out a puff of smoke from my pipe.

The smoke drifted faintly through the winter sky that was as white as cellophane.

“Ivar, does that not mean that everything is the same? Do you think I was born as Dantalian because I wanted to be? Do you think people became lazy because they wanted to and people had earnest personalities because they wanted it?”

I fell into this world and became a Demon Lord against my will.

It’s because of this that I can say these words with the utmost certainty.

“We were tossed out since the moment we were born. We are all the same in the fact that whether you are born with no limbs or as a lazy person, all of this is determined from the moment you are born.”

“……This humble one has to disagree. Everyone has free will.”

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I simply smiled.

Ivar, the reason you fell in love with me was not because of your free will. I manipulated you. I tricked you. There is nothing about your feelings toward me that is ‘free’. You simply think it is.

I didn’t intend on revealing this, and I probably never will.

“Well, we are politicians, not philosophers. Let us discuss a more practical issue. You said that it would be unfair to give the poor and slaves the right to vote, but there is actually a way to fairly give everyone the right to vote.”

Ivar tilted her head.

“And that is?”

“It is simple: war.”

I shrugged my shoulders jokingly.

“The lower-class people can act as a militia when wars break out. They would then risk their lives to protect their cities. The value of a person’s life easily goes beyond a thousand gold. Therefore, the people will become more equal as more and more wars occur.”

“As more and more wars occur…….”

Ivar must have been stunned.

“A great war will most likely be necessary for republicanism to truly take hold in the continent. The Crescent Alliance war is far too lacking. A war where people only die in the thousands is not enough. A war where tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands die off with ease is required.”

“That……would be a calamity. No one wants a calamity like that.”

I nodded.

I could never tell Paimon this. Fundamentally, Paimon became a republican because she hated the Crescent Alliance wars. Start a massive war for the sake of an equal society? She would probably get upset and call it hypocritical.

Ivar looked at me with shock.

“Do not tell me, Your highness. Then was that the reason you started the Crescent Alliance and Puppet War……?”

“Haha.”

I laughed.

“I was simply tossing that idea out. If someone cries out for equality, then that is because they love everyone equally. There is no way that someone who loves people would start a war. That would be contradicting yourself.”

“…….”

“No one would do something like that.”

I didn’t say anything more as I lowered my gaze to the plaza. The weather wasn’t that cold today despite the winter season, so a lot of civilians had come out to watch the ambassador groups.

“But they are still foolish. Putting on such a show will only give the opposite of their desired effect. They may be able to show off their power, but they will be unable to genuinely impress the masses. If, among the people participating in the meeting, there is someone who is genuinely impressive, then they will contrarily display a neat and tidy procession.”

With that, our conversation came to an end.

The representatives of each faction arrived at the city one at a time for 15 days. A day before the meeting, there was a group that displayed a procession that appeared vastly poorer than all the processions before it.

Normally, the groups had at least 50 and at most 200 members. However, this group only had about 10 people. There was nothing luxurious about their appearances either. They were at the level of a somewhat well-off farmer who dressed well.

The flag they were carrying was red with a white eagle in the center.

It was the flag of the Habsburg Republic.

A silver-haired woman wearing a military uniform was walking in the lead.

At first, the people gathered in the plaza mocked them for having such a poor appearance. There were even some people who ridiculed them in loud voices. However, once they found out that the person at the lead was the Consul of the Habsburg Republic, a bizarre silence fell over the street.

“Glory to the Republic!”

Someone shouted. That opened the floodgates.

The civilians welcomed the Habsburg Republic’s ambassador group with cheers. The applause didn’t end until Elizabeth entered the Government House. Even after she was gone, groups of people gathered together to talk about the procession they had just witnessed.

“…….”

I watched them from the terrace while drinking wine.

‘Glory to the Republic’, was quite the appropriate phrase. Not only did it refer to the Habsburg Republic, but it also referred to the Batavia Republic. This probably made it easier for the people here to join in. Thus, there was a very high chance that Elizabeth had planted someone in the crowd.

“Truly, what an absurd woman.”

I could only smile wryly.

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The first day of the representative meeting went by calmly.

I guess you could say it was a day of introductions. The big shots of the continent were gathered in the banquet hall and chatting happily. I attended the meeting with Saintess Longwy as my partner.

Saintess Longwy wasn’t very happy about this arrangement.

“To think I would go to a banquet with you…….’

“This is also for Brittany’s sake. Please endure it.”

“I am aware!”

Longwy gnashed her teeth.

“You do not have to remind me every single time. Aah, O Pallas Athena. Please do not forgive this lowly servant of yours…….”

She prayed to her goddess in a despair-filled tone throughout the entire carriage ride. I discovered this after being in the same estate as her for a few days, but this human isn’t exactly right in the head either.

We received a rather large reaction the moment we arrived. A Demon Lord and Saintess had shown up as partners. It was only natural that they would start doubting their eyes after seeing a pair that should’ve been impossible.

When people approached us and asked in a roundabout way why we were together, Saintess Longwy displayed her usual perfect smile and answered them.

“I heard that this function will not discriminate between humans and demons. For the sake of peace between races, I asked Count Palatine Dantalian to come with me. The Count Palatine gladly accepted my request, so that is how we are here today.”

Naturally, people showered praises on the Saintess’ blessed piety.

I modestly looked around as I responded to the people gathered around us. I was obviously looking for Elizabeth.

It was when I had turned my gaze to the other side of the banquet hall. I felt a gaze that was practically pulling me in.

There was a silver-haired girl standing there with a glass cup in one hand.

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