Ch.159Bread and Circus (1)

“…What?”

Ines couldn’t follow the flow of the conversation.

She had been happily chatting with someone from her homeland about what had been happening in Lorel, asking about her father and mother, and her brother, when suddenly they uttered something completely incomprehensible.

“If His Majesty Claude decides to invade the Empire, could you let us know at least a month in advance?”

“…”

The person from Lorel, thinking Ines hadn’t understood because they had been too indirect, spoke more plainly, but this only left Ines more dumbfounded.

Really? Do they think I wouldn’t understand something like that? I clearly remember raising the standard of the servants when I was in Lorel…

“…What makes you think that?”

First, she needed to understand why Lorel had come to such a conclusion.

Perhaps my husband sent someone to Lorel without my knowledge?

“Isn’t it obvious? While taking no action externally, internally he’s constantly preparing for war. Not just the Duchy of Lorel, but any country would think the same.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“Above all, His Majesty isn’t particularly enthusiastic about improving relations with other countries, is he? Everyone knows Lotaring is preparing for war as soon as possible.”

That’s simply because my husband finds it bothersome.

“When he neither coaxes nor placates the monarchs who joined the defense treaty, but only insists on dissolving the defense alliance, who would actually listen?”

‘…My tongue is itching.’

No matter how close her homeland was, once married, she was an outsider, and she couldn’t reveal information that would damage her husband’s dignity.

She wanted to clear up all the misunderstandings right now and feel at ease… but no, she had to endure.

“I see.”

What do you see?

Seeing that I kept my mouth shut, the person from Lorel seemed to think they had hit the mark and came to their own conclusion.

“…So, not just Lorel but other countries also think that His Majesty will eventually invade the Empire or Albion, and Lorel wants advance notice before he starts a war?”

“Yes, Your Majesty Ines.”

Where… where should I even begin to correct this?

If Lorel has gone this far, other countries must have already accepted it as a given that Lotaring will attack first and are preparing accordingly.

I want to shout that everything you’re thinking is completely wrong, but I can’t. The evidence presented by the person from Lorel is highly convincing, and to refute it, I would inevitably have to mention my husband’s laziness.

“…Yes, I will inform Lorel before His Majesty starts a war.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty Ines.”

Well, he has no intention of attacking anyway, so I just need to make the promise.

My husband wouldn’t attack countries that are part of the defense alliance.

Since there was a possibility of absorbing Caroling, we engineered a war to place its crown on my husband’s head, but with the Empire or Albion, I see no such possibility.

My husband has no intention of fighting them either, so if we just stay put, there won’t be any war.

……….

“…Voluntary, you say?”

“Yes, Saint.”

The next morning, the answer I received from Jeanne was shocking.

I had thought that such unified movement of the public and students must have been orchestrated by someone behind the scenes, but Jeanne says it wasn’t the intervention of organizations like the Faith Inquisition.

She explains that the reason many theology students are among the leaders promoting pro-war sentiment is not because Jeanne or Armand deliberately guided them, but because while Jeanne was a student, she changed the culture of the theology department to be loyal not only to the Lord but also to His Majesty.

…What’s that about? How did she—well, I suppose she could have. It is Jeanne after all.

It seems strange to realize this now, but Jeanne originally had a peculiar ability, didn’t she? She once brainwashed an entire city, so manipulating university students would be easy for her.

Jeanne’s ability suddenly disappeared after I scolded her severely, but she says it has somewhat recovered, though not to its previous level, since our relationship normalized.

“Hmm… well, it’s not just theology students anyway.”

If only theology students were leading this movement, I would have thought Jeanne unconsciously brainwashed them with strange ideas, but since other students and ordinary citizens are not only voluntarily participating but even taking the lead, it’s unlikely they’re acting under Jeanne’s unconscious influence.

Above all, Jeanne has only partially recovered her ability, not fully, so we can’t expect the same level of power as before.

“Is there a problem?”

“People are being too extreme. There’s no need to start a war, yet everyone is clamoring for one.”

Jeanne tilts her head slightly, not understanding my words.

Of course, peace is good. But the basic thinking of people in this era is that fleeing from an enemy is dishonorable… even for clergy like Jeanne.

“War? Of course it would be good to win. But whether we win or lose, war never ends without death, right? Yet the very people who would be the victims of that death are calling for war… don’t you think that’s too strange?”

I feel incredibly guilty since people are acting this way because of the ambiguously written bulletin.

Next time, I’ll have to think carefully before posting anything.

“That’s… true.”

“Sigh, everyone should just stay in their place and live modestly until they die.”

Even though I made a small mistake, why is everyone so desperate for war?

Above all, even if we win a war, it doesn’t bring that much benefit to the people.

If the spoils of war were distributed to the people as dividends, they would be split among so many that each person’s share would be tiny.

They’re not fools, so they must know this… which means people aren’t advocating for war for profit, but truly out of conviction.

“You’re so kind, Saint.”

“What’s with that all of a sudden? I’ve always been kind.”

“Hehe. Yes, that’s true. I understand your feelings, so I’ll try to talk to my juniors about not doing this.”

“Huh? You don’t have to. It’s not just theology students doing this.”

“But isn’t it better than doing nothing?”

“It’s fine. No matter how much students and citizens act up, they can’t influence national policy.”

They’ll calm down eventually.

The best way to suppress such social phenomena is not to forcibly block them, but to wait until they naturally subside.

You know, they say if you want to make a book famous, the most effective way is to ban it.

“We just need to make it so people can’t focus on war, right?”

“How would we do that…?”

“First, for students, we can make exams extremely difficult. They’ll be so focused on studying that they won’t have time for other thoughts.”

This is a method that has been useful throughout history. If you oppress students socially, there will be fierce resistance, but if you press them down with legitimate academic work, there’s less pushback.

Exercise? Sure, go ahead. If you finish all your work first.

The university has established itself properly, and the professors have accumulated a lot of expertise, so it’s about time to treat the students more harshly.

“And for the people…”

But it’s harder to think of ways to prevent ordinary citizens from participating in such extreme movements.

Students can be pressed down with academics, but we can’t do that to citizens, can we? Making their livelihoods more difficult to prevent them from caring about movements would just be cruel.

I want to divert people’s attention from such nationalistic claims to something else… but how? Religion? That doesn’t have enough impact to subdue the extremists.

“Hmm…”

In ancient Rome, they extensively used bread and circuses to divert citizens’ attention from politics.

They distributed bread to quell citizens’ discontent and used spectacular circuses to make them interested in entertainment rather than politics.

If I were to apply that to today’s Lotaring… um…

‘Horse racing… novels… newspapers… gladiatorial combat… board games…’

Each has its own flaw.

Horse racing could produce high-quality horses, but it’s essentially gambling, which makes me hesitant. People inclined toward extreme views are unlikely to be interested in novels. Newspapers require a large quantity of paper, which is expensive.

Gladiatorial combat feels like it would shatter ethical standards by turning bloodshed into entertainment, and board games, while innocuous, already exist in abundance in this world, so their effect would likely be weak.

“…I’ll go with horse racing.”

It’s a bit concerning because it’s gambling, but precisely because it’s gambling, it can definitely divert people’s attention.

Well, if things get too heated, we can cool things down with regulations like limiting betting prices.

Above all, by holding horse races and managing bloodlines, we can produce many high-quality horses, right? This isn’t an era of tanks and rifles—excellent horses are essential for national power.