–Hold.
I took a sip of the warm milk tea in my cup.
The ingredients were a typical British-style royal milk tea, made by mixing black tea and milk in a 4:1 ratio, with two spoonfuls of sugar.
Ah, but here I should probably call it “Albione-style,” right? Anyway.
“Excuse me… what did you just say to me?”
While casually savoring the sweet flavor of my drink, the young lady, biting her teeth, glares at me.
If she weren’t the person I needed to cooperate with, I swear she’d be ready to smack me.
With a light snort at the murderous glare, I spoke in a calm tone.
“Didn’t you hear me? Well then, let me say it again. I told you to save your useless delusions for when you get home.”
“–!! This isn’t some kind of delusion! It’s a carefully prepared plan, one that my allies and I, with great ambition, have worked on! For the revival of this country!”
“Then I suppose all your efforts were in vain. To think that the result of many people working together turned out like this.”
If I had come up with this idea alone, I would’ve easily criticized it for being childish, but this? Even with a group effort?
There’s no hope for this.
These armchair revolutionaries, who don’t know the first thing about reality, always come up with nonsense like this.
I set my cup down and leaned forward. With my back no longer against the chair, I rested my chin on the desk.
“Arschach Young Lady. It seems you’ve accumulated quite a bit of knowledge and refinement for your age, but there’s something important you still don’t seem to understand.”
“….What’s that?”
“The world doesn’t revolve the way you want it to.”
I heard you’re barely twenty this year. Considering your age and gender, it seems you’ve worked hard on your studies.
Most noblewomen around that age only know how to gossip in salons.
But if you want to get into politics, this level of knowledge won’t cut it.
You’re talking about overthrowing a centuries-old power struggle and reforming the country, yet you seem satisfied with such a half-baked approach?
“Contrary to what you hope, even if you kill the king and overthrow the royal family, there’s no chance the country will stabilize or that the system will change smoothly. In fact, it would likely plunge the country into even greater chaos.”
“But executing a tyrant like that is the right thing to do, isn’t it?”
“That’s not how the people will see it.”
Humans are creatures whose behavior changes depending on whether they act as individuals or as part of a group.
While each individual’s opinions may be radical and oriented toward change, once they become part of a collective, they tend to become more conservative, seeking stability.
This holds true in politics as well. No, in fact, the more political the field, the more pronounced this tendency is.
Especially in a country like the current kingdom, where illiteracy is high and the educated population is low.
“Our Ularnor Kingdom has been a monarchy for centuries. All the citizens have been taught to revere the monarch’s existence and authority for generations. Now, if we try to deny the very institution of the monarchy, do you think they will accept it?”
“That can be corrected with proper education–“
“In the provinces, there are no schools. The monasteries are the ones teaching the children. Who is going to educate them? Are you going to explain the evils of the monarchy and the legitimacy of a republic to illiterate, ignorant peasants? Ridiculous.”
How are you going to convince people who have spent their entire lives serving the king as the representative of a god to accept a system without a monarch? It’s like trying to convince modern Koreans that the universe is a giant dinosaur.
It won’t work. Absolutely not.
“No matter how many pamphlets you distribute and how much you preach, no one will be convinced. If they don’t even come to the point of screaming, ‘The traitors have killed our king! Let’s go take revenge!’ then consider yourself lucky.”
If it were just the civilians, that would be one thing. But once the military gets involved, there’s no hope.
“The same goes for the soldiers on the front lines. If they hear that the monarch has been killed while they’re risking their lives for the country, their morale will be completely shattered.”
“Why would they react like that? If they find out the queen used the money for her tiara instead of supporting the front, I’m sure they’d be as furious as you, sir.”
“Have you forgotten that the soldiers were originally commoners before they were conscripted?”
If we’re talking about a unit like the Northern Army, where survival was a daily struggle and the bonds between comrades were sky-high, that might be different. But what about the Western or Eastern Armies?
They likely still retain a bit of their “innocence” before conscription.
Their reactions when they hear the news will probably be quite similar to that of any civilian.
“And, Lady Arschach, the majority of the kingdom’s military officers are nobles. They’re overflowing with loyalty to the royal family.”
I took another sip of my milk tea and continued.
“The moment they know their purges are being planned from the rear, they’ll betray you. If I were leading the army and heading toward the capital like this, I’d at least be a noble man of honor… but there’s also the chance they’ll side with the enemy and open communications. Whatever happens, they won’t just sit back and let it happen.”
When the royal family falls to the republicans, any fool knows the nobility will be the next target.
It’s only natural for the noble-born officers to start looking for ways to save themselves.
And since they’ve been conveniently assigned to the frontier, they’ll likely stir up trouble at the drop of a hat.
If you want to purge them, you’ll first need them to return to the capital or their own estates, secure their positions, and then go after them.
“Not to mention what about foreign powers? Do you think the major continental nations will just sit idly by while a republic suddenly emerges?”
“What’s wrong with that? A republic is a time-honored system that has existed since ancient times.”
“Well, yes, it did exist. But it has never once been the dominant system.”
There were certainly a few countries in this world that weren’t monarchies. But most of them were small city-states or remote frontier regions.
There has never been a time when a republic became the main political system on this continent, at least not in recorded history.
“Take the Northern Confederation, for instance, or the Eastern nations of Ormera and the Kingdom of Kailas. Even the Western kingdoms like Caledona and the Daiching Empire. And countless other countries—every one of them will turn against us.
Do you understand? The entire continent will form alliances to erase our existence. The moment the monarchy falls, we’ll become enemies of the world.”
This was exactly what happened to France after the Revolution.
After they beheaded Louis XVI and established the new government, Spain, Prussia, Britain, and the Habsburgs all jumped in to gang up on them.
Ultimately, Napoleon ended up defeating everyone and crowned himself emperor.
However, there’s no guarantee that we could do the same.
I may have some confidence in my abilities, but I’m no insane monster like Napoleon.
It’s far better to not make a move at all than to gamble on a miracle and end up in ruin.
That’s why Carl VII was right—monarchy cannot be allowed to disappear. At least not yet.
“Ha, but the Republic of Albione is still standing! They’ve never had a king from the start!”
Ah.
A rebuttal from Lady Arschach, unable to accept my point. I shook my head and pointed out the flaw in her logic.
“That’s because they’re an island nation. They have a powerful navy to protect their waters, so no one dares to touch them. It’s not because they’re left alone out of goodwill.”
Albione’s navy is stronger than any other nation on the continent.
There was a time when the Kingdom of Ormera’s military could rival theirs, but that’s a story from the distant past.
Now, even if we combined our Ularnor navy with theirs, we’d still be outnumbered.
Thanks to that, the Republic of Albione has been able to avoid invasions, earn recognition for their system, and freely engage in trade.
This is a privilege they would never have achieved if they were located on the continent.
“Not to mention that the majority of the key bureaucratic positions are still held by nobles and royalty. Should we get rid of them too? If suddenly all administrative power disappears, do you think the country will run smoothly?”
Maybe for low-level officials it wouldn’t matter, but the higher-ups are almost all from prominent families.
Bloodlines and connections are essential from the moment they’re appointed.
If you eliminate the group that holds all the core information and knowledge, you can probably guess what’ll happen, right? The governance will become a complete mess.
“Considering the backlash from the Holy Kingdom, the religious fallout, and the public’s disillusionment… by the time you even attempt something, everything will fall apart. I’d boldly bet the country will be extinct within three years.”
“…”
“Next time, I’d suggest you consider the practicality of your proposals before making them. And one more piece of advice,”
I flicked my finger and activated the magic.
[To secure the future of this country, you must kill Carl VII and destroy the royal family…]
“Eh?”
“Don’t be so reckless as to share your innermost thoughts with others. What would you do if I played this recording for the king?”
It’s a recording spell. I learned it back in the Northern Army days, when the parachute commander kept running his mouth.
He’d give stupid orders, and then deny ever saying them. So, I’d record them and throw the evidence back in his face.
When Lady Arschach heard my voice echoing from the magic circle, her face drained of color.
She really is young, huh? She didn’t even anticipate this kind of situation.
“Well, don’t be too scared. I have no intention of using this to harm you, so you can relax.”
I poured her a fresh cup of tea, adding sugar with my own hands.
“Instead, I’d like to make a counterproposal.”
At first, I was just planning to mess with her and kick her out, but my thoughts shifted midway. This woman’s influence has potential value.
No matter how much of an armchair expert her group might be, they are highly educated elites. And they’re full of ambition and drive.
If I raise them right, they could serve as attack dogs, tearing apart anyone who gets in the way.
And there’s a way to align their goals with mine.
“Lady, would you consider joining the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction? I can offer you a position where you can put your ideas into action.”
“I have no desire to be part of the old regime.”
“I’m not asking you to support the king. In fact, I’m probably one of the few in this country who despises Carl VII. What I’m suggesting is that we help limit his power.”
“…Limit his power?”
Seeing her confusion, I kindly explained.
“We’ll change the laws and establish a system that strips the monarch of their power. The monarch won’t be able to rule freely anymore and will have to follow the will of the government and the parliament. In a way, this is closely aligned with the republic you’ve been hoping for.”
It’s a system like that of Spain, England, and the Netherlands.
The monarch remains alive, but power is divided, with the executive and legislative branches holding authority.
“If I were to give it a name, it would be something like constitutional monarchy.”