Ch.195Central Authority (5)

“Y-Your Majesty…”

“What is it?”

At that moment, while I was in the middle of a conversation with Duke Akitan, another nobleman interrupted and stepped forward.

Common sense dictates that one should refrain from interrupting a conversation between nobles before it concludes, but this nobleman seems to have forgotten such basic etiquette.

His expression is practically screaming “I’ve lost my mind” in every direction…

“What are you saying? This is different from our agreement!”

“Agreement?”

“Wasn’t everything supposed to be finished once we disbanded the army?! Then what was that conversation you just had with Duke Akitan about?!”

…??

When did I ever promise that everything would end with just disbanding the army?

Of course, they kept persistently asking if this was the end, so I brushed them off with some pleasant words out of annoyance. But while I might have said things like “I’ll consider it” or “I understand your efforts,” I never once promised that this would be the end.

Why can’t they just say they don’t like it… Goodness, it would be troublesome if they claim I made a promise.

“Why are you acting this way? Agreement? I have no idea what you’re referring to. Above all, Duke Akitan voluntarily offered me administrative and judicial authority, so why are you directing your anger at me?”

…To be honest, this is a bit embarrassing.

There’s no way Duke Akitan would voluntarily offer up something so important.

Well, he did voluntarily surrender the army without me saying anything, but surrendering administrative rights, judicial authority, and even legislative power on top of that makes absolutely no sense.

Even I know it’s clearly a lie, so it’s really hard to maintain my composure.

“…”

That nobleman seems to be thinking the same as me.

His expression is hurling insults at me, telling me to say something that makes sense.

“…Is that truly Your Majesty’s intention?”

“My intention has always been consistent. Is your answer still the same as before?”

As soon as I finish speaking, the atmosphere instantly becomes heavy. It feels like the air has turned to water, creating a crushing pressure.

The nobleman who was conversing with me holds his breath while his lips quiver, and the other nobles who had been openly showing their discomfort also hold their breath as they look back and forth between us.

“I… am not consistent.”

After thirty seconds that felt both long and short, the nobleman finally speaks.

A refusal, then.

“Is that so? How unfortunate.”

Well, things have been going too smoothly until now.

Even though they were taken hostage, it’s about time the nobles started to resist. Despite the rebellion, if they remain passive, they’ll lose all their power and become mere landowners, so resistance is only natural.

Hmm… what should I do?

If I treat him harshly for opposing me, it would create an atmosphere where no one dares to point out the king’s mistakes, no matter how wrong they might be.

If I were some unprecedented, flawless superhuman, such an atmosphere wouldn’t matter since I would always make the right decisions. But I’m just an ordinary person who makes many mistakes.

Moreover, if my son, grandson, and future kings were to go on a rampage, there would be no one to stop them, and the end would be as disastrous as the Russian Empire, German Empire, or Japanese Empire.

“Excellent. You’re the first to directly refuse my words since the rebellion.”

“…What? What do you mean by—”

“I hope you continue to do so. As you all know, people don’t always make the right decisions, do they? Please, if I ever make an incorrect judgment, set me straight.”

“Con-continue to…”

Even though I aim for centralization, I’m not aiming for centralization without any opposition.

Even Joseon, which concentrated all power in the king and had very deep centralization, seemed to be wary of this and created institutions throughout the country to check the king’s power.

This is a good opportunity to instill the perception that even if they openly defy me, I won’t interfere as long as they don’t use force or commit crimes—

“Y-YOUR MAJESTY!!”

“Ugh… what is it?”

Suddenly, the nobleman shouts extremely loudly. We’re not even that close, but it’s loud enough to hurt my ears.

“Your Majesty… is not human.”

“…You’re saying I’m not human?”

What the hell is this guy saying now?

The nobleman who was bold enough to refuse my words to my face just moments ago now has his face contorted in fear, as if that courage had been a lie.

Moreover, the words coming from his frightened face are slightly incomprehensible.

If I’m not human, what am I then? A balding chimpanzee?

“Your Majesty is a being who carries out God’s will to govern this land on His behalf, not a mere human but God’s representative.”

“…??”

This is becoming even more incomprehensible.

Is this that… what’s it called… the divine right of kings, claiming that the king receives authority from God and cannot be interfered with? Why is that suddenly coming up?

Why is he making such a fuss just because I said that I’m human too and might not always make the right decisions?

“I am not an ordinary person but God’s representative, well, that’s fine so far. So what is it you want to say? Is that all?”

“That’s… not all. So… well… ah yes, what I meant by not being consistent just now wasn’t resistance against Your Majesty, but rather that it changed to even greater submission, and I wanted to correct Your Majesty’s misunderstanding.”

“…”

…Anyone can see that’s a lie.

The expression when he said he wasn’t consistent was one of someone prepared for a life-or-death confrontation, so how could that possibly be the attitude of a nobleman declaring greater submission?

“…Very well, I understand. I apologize for the misunderstanding.”

“Apologize? No! The problem was with my poor communication that caused the misunderstanding!”

Stop… please stop…

Even lies have their limits, and such a dramatic change in attitude is painful for me to watch.

……….

‘I don’t quite understand why things turned out this way… but well, all’s well that ends well.’

The preliminary work for unifying administrative authority and laws, which I thought would face tremendous resistance, ended rather anticlimactically.

Whether it was because they were already hostages or because they had lost all their military power, most nobles neither cooperated nor resisted, making it very easy.

After the only nobleman who resisted me changed his stance, the other nobles also suppressed their complaints and acquiesced to whatever I said.

I suspect they misunderstood something I said without any particular meaning and became scared… but there’s no need to correct their misunderstanding. It’s good that they’ve become docile on their own.

“Your Majesty, Luka, the head of the Administrative Office, has sent a petition.”

“…I can guess the content without looking at it.”

At that moment, Leclerc, with a tired expression, brings a crumpled petition.

As always, it’s probably filled with complaints about how unreasonable things are, how the workload is too heavy, and threats to resign if the problems aren’t resolved.

There’s a reason why countless kings throughout history didn’t supervise everything from the center and recognized the autonomy of lords.

Managing everything from the capital would consume an enormous amount of administrative resources, so they had no choice but to recognize lords to maintain control over local regions and collect taxes.

“Would it be impossible to… give him more money?”

“Yes, he’s already saying he’s earned enough and wants to return to his homeland, the Republic of Vines, to enjoy the rest of his life. Would that be possible?”

If Luka, who is a merchant by birth and came to Dijon to make money, is saying such things, the situation on the ground must be truly terrible.

Given Luka’s age, he might genuinely mean what he says.

“Sigh… I’ll have to ask him to put in effort just one more time. If I promise to allow Luka to return to his homeland after this matter is concluded, and also employ members of his family as Rotaring court merchants, he should agree.”

For someone who has risen to such a position, additional monetary rewards have little effect, so if I guarantee honor for Luka’s family, he will have no choice but to work even if he doesn’t want to.

I needed a court merchant who travels as far as foreign countries anyway, so this works out well.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After saying that, Leclerc bowed his head respectfully to me, but then didn’t leave to deliver the order. Instead, he straightened his back, looked directly at me, and slowly opened his mouth.

“…And would you permit me to offer some advice?”

“Hmm? Advice?”

Advice from Leclerc… it’s happened numerous times before.

But asking for my permission before giving advice is a first.

Given Leclerc’s personality, he would normally just speak his mind without asking for consent like this.

“Um… go ahead?”

“I’m grateful for Your Majesty’s benevolence. What I want to say is… please provide compensation to the nobles who have lost their power. If not, there will certainly be major problems in the near future.”

“Compensation? Aren’t we already providing that?”

Well, that was anticlimactic.

My body, which had tensed up slightly at the unprecedented situation of Leclerc asking for permission to speak, relaxes.

Provide compensation? That’s already being done.

We’re handling regional security for them, dealing with their vassals’ vassals to make territory management easier, and although we’ve limited tenant farming fees, we’re conducting population surveys on their behalf and fixing inefficient administrative systems, resulting in a surplus.

“That’s not what I mean. Nobles, as creatures, will not consider it a gain if there is a loss to their prestige and honor, no matter how much financial or material benefit they receive.”

“Then?”

“There’s a reason why many rulers of the past bestowed various honorary positions on nobles, even if they had no real power.”

“…I understand what you’re saying.”

In other words, you’re asking me to let the nobles who have been continuously stripped of power save face?

Leclerc is right.

People aren’t AI robots that move solely based on profit, so no matter how much material gain they receive, they won’t feel good about it.

The nobility of the robe, like in Leclerc’s case, has been open since before my ascension to the throne, so no one would consider this as compensation.

…I hadn’t considered this. Being in the position of king, I’ve had so few people with whom I can truly connect that my mind is starting to go. Politics really isn’t for me.

“I understand. I’ll take care of it.”

I should give them positions that go beyond mere honorary titles, ones that might make them think they can participate in state affairs.

Like the bourgeoisie during the time of the Three Estates?