Chapter 501: Chapter 2.222

A hundred people. A hundred. Those were all who took upon the opportunity to meet me, a kingslayer who feigned to be worried about the citizens of this country. But a hundred people were more than enough, especially because I saw a few more people approaching from the distance.

I didn’t sit on a throne or anything resembling one. Instead, I sat on the stairs, just high enough for everyone to see me but not enough for me to look distant.

“I heard you want to abolish nobility … who is going to keep us safe from bandits now?” A merchant asked worried about being robbed. So far, it was true that nobles took care of banditry, but they tended to outsource that task to adventurers anyway.

“Those who protect you will be the same people as before. Brave soldiers, putting their life on the line to keep you save. When was the last time you have seen a noble protect you with their own life on the line? Never. On the contrary, while my army besieged this city, the nobles spent their time in the inner district, using you as a shield instead of doing what they were meant to do. Even the king – arguably the most powerful person in this country – did nothing to resolve the situation. He waited, hoping a solution would appear by itself. And why? Because he could do nothing. He was too incapable to solve anything. The nobles never protected you. They merely took a chunk of your hard earned money and wasted it to live in luxury.” I claimed and pointed towards the needlessly large palace behind me. The crowd´s gazes followed my finger right away and I could see that most of them were agreeing, but some better clothed didn’t.

“We are keeping this country together!” A thirty year old man – probably a noble – claimed. He wasn’t exactly wrong, but the truth in that matter was subjective, something I was very well aware of.

“Are you? I think not. The rules are enforced by guards, the fields ploughed by farmers and the borders protected by soldiers.” I claimed rightfully so. Administrating was important but to the everyday farmer, that was something far, far away. So far away in fact that most citizens wouldn’t be able to grasp it, no matter how much the nobles tried to explain themselves.

“And we made the rules. We made the foundation of what this country is! And you are trying to take that away from us.” Yeah, I was simply because I thought this country needed to be coloured in fresh paint, preferably red.

“The rules are heavily screwed in your favour, are they not? You all went through the noble district. You have seen their mansions, you have seen their wealth with your very eyes. Did they deserve such a fortune just because their predecessors happened to have the right ideas in the past? I don’t think so. They never had to work hard for their money. They never had to hunger during a cold winter.” Rhetorically the nobles partaking in this event were clearly outmatched by me. I spoke to the heart of the people while they never grasped them at all. All, except one.

“And you? You never have to thirst because there are enough of us around, isn´t it?” That guy stroked the unnecessary fears of the population and finally managed to put me into the defence.

“Three years ago, a famine cut down the eastern population by around thirty thousand. The king had the option of opening up the royal reserves … but he didn’t do so. Because it would reveal that nobles sit on a bunch of money and food. Your money and food! So am I worse than that? Am I worse for keeping the casualties during the invasion of the undead to a minimum? Look at this palace! What does its size serve except but to be a stark reminder of power for everyone visiting? It’s a huge waste of money, no matter how you look at it. And in there lives a family which just happened the gather people around itself hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Once again, the royal family isn´t wealthy because of their merits in the present, but rather because of the past.” I wasn’t entirely sure I convinced everyone with this, but at least I got the majority on my side.

“Every ruling class will be distant from the others. We need nobles. Nobody can rule alone, not even an old vampire like you.” And even more untrue claims. Nobody could rule alone, that was for sure. But that it needed to be nobles was just plain false.

“I´m not advocating for me to rule alone. I´d rather advocate for the citizens to rule themselves.” I proposed loudly which seemed to surprise most of my listeners.

“We aren’t capable of that.” A farmer explained woefully.

“What are you talking about? Don’t village decide on their village chief already? Why not push that concept a little further? Why not vote on people who are going to represent your interests? Why don’t we vote the prime minister directly? Why don’t we form a nation where each voice is heard equally, where everyone can decide on their own future?” Simply put, I wanted a form of democracy. A very abridged one, but democracy nonetheless.

“That’s not possible. People have different opinions, so there needs to be a strong voice to direct everyone.” One again, that noble was wrong. The king certainly wasn’t able to do that anyway and even I could claim to satisfy everyone. There was always this one person complaining after all.

“And why can´t the elected leader be that?” I asked rhetorically.

“Because the masses could decide that a fool would be their representative.” Yeah, I could see that happening. But if the stupidity of the masses led to a stupid leader, so what? They wouldn’t deserve it any other way then.

“And the king wasn’t a fool? That was his title … and yet he was our ruler.” I pointed out enthusiastically, completely glossing over that his blood was on my hands.

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“My point still stands. At least a king is raised to be one while this elected person wasn’t.” Technically, a king didn’t need any education whatsoever. As long as he distributed the resources given to him cleverly, more fitted people would do the job for him. But the noble´s point seemed to resonate with my audience, which was why I needed to propose a solution right away.

“That only matters if education isn´t free for everyone.” If everyone could receive the best education, his point was null and void.

“And that’s the case.” He told me, question marks appearing all over his face.

“Not if the people want it to be free. You all have the choice! Band together, form groups and sway the opinion of your fellow citizens. Everyone has a voice, everyone has a choice to be made. Noble or not, peasant or beggar … it all doesn’t matter. In this new country, we will decide on our path together as equals.” I told them enthusiastically. The technicalities of it all didn’t matter. What did was the vision I wanted them to have, something very crucial in spreading the word.

“And what is your role in this?” The noble asked again, nearly tripping me over by attempting to present me in a power hungry light. If I said anything wrong there, they would be able to paint me in a very bad light, something I had to avoid at all costs. The kings blood was already enough to frame me after all.

“I will be crowned empress and represent you all. I may be a vampire, but that also allows me to watch you from the side lines … so please grant me the power to correct your grave mistakes if you make them. I do not wish to cause any harm, I merely want to keep this world together like I have always done.” I told them and directed my gaze towards the ground demurely.

“Let me help you. If anything, you have proven to be kind and brave … with a few exceptions. But I am willing to overlook them for the sake of the future you are proposing.” This time, nobody from the audience spoke to me, but rather from behind me. My oh so beloved princess stood on  the stairs, looking down on me unsurely. “I always disliked the fact that power was hereditary and not given by the people. I want to see a democracy happen here.” Well, at least I got one surprising ally on my side. But hey, that seemed to have shut up the nobles entirely as she was a princes and with me being the queen, there wasn’t much room to argue for them even though my previous actions of murdering two dukes and the king himself were clearly unlawful. Breathing out quietly, I turned my gaze east for a little bit, but then returned my whole attention back to the crowd which had grown a bit in size.

Neither the princess nor I were entirely sure we conveyed successfully what democracy meant to all these people, but I firmly believed we had planted a seed in them. A simple dream would sprout in them, a dream in which they too could live a comfortable life.

And as I returned back into the palace which had its door open so that everyone could visit it, I had a slight smile on my face. Finally, something was going the way it was intended.

“Democracy, huh?” Juliette followed after me quietly, at least until I met a napping Hannah on the second floor after following the arrows painted on the ground.

“You can be lucky I didn’t chose authoritarian communism as the preferable alternative.” This type of communism could work as well, but there was always the option of the ruler deciding to ignore me because the power went over his head. With a democratic structure it could work as well, but I chose against that option because I didn’t want to call everyone ‘comrade’.

“… you are one of us, aren’t you? Nobody else knows about that stuff.” And like usual, I wasn’t exactly put off by telling those whose help I desired a secret about me. It always worked wonders in regards to gaining their trust after all.

“I am … kind of. And I’m also in desperate need of help right now.” I thus told her without any remorse. The others already knew about my past after all.

“I … I will help you as long as your actions serve the broad population.” She said which was broadly in line with what I expected from her after listening to her talking points.

“Juliette Worchester, I always believed you were quite arrogant, but maybe I was wrong with my assessment. Just to clarify, I will be an absolute ruler because this time I won’t be happy with staying in the second row.” I told her right away. Here were some actions I would take which directly went against the core values of democracy, that much was obvious.

“In that case, I will watch you closely.” I smiled brightly, knowing for the duration of my stay in the capital, I would have at least one person who knew how to administer a country by my side.

 

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