Ch.197Central Authority (7)

[“Y-Your Highness… His Majesty’s administrator has barged in! What should we do?”]

[“Military camp relocation? My lord is Your Highness, and I serve only Your Highness!”]

[“Your Highness, if we limit the tenant fees, we cannot properly maintain the territory! Please persuade His Majesty!”]

Ever since that day when I was forced to attend that banquet that I had no choice but to go to, every day has been a continuous nightmare.

With my body confined in that prison called a banquet, I could only helplessly watch as my family’s foundation was torn to shreds by the king.

Even when countless people from my domain sent letters begging to be saved, there was nothing I could do.

Escape? How could I possibly do such a thing in front of a king who wouldn’t hesitate to kill even his cousin from the same family?

If I were to escape, my domain would no longer be mine from that day forward.

Since living even a little longer is better than dying immediately, I had been holding my breath and praying for this suffering to end quickly.

“Senate, I intend to put any political matters with debates to a vote, and I will give you the right to vote in those decisions.”

What is this?

His Majesty, who until now has never treated anyone except the royal family as equals, is extending such an offer?

It doesn’t make sense, it absolutely doesn’t make sense.

What reason could His Majesty possibly have for doing this? From His Majesty’s perspective, when considering practical benefits, there’s nothing but loss, not gain.

His Majesty has built the power to control state affairs with a single word, yet he’s now dividing that self-built power to share with the nobles?

Hasn’t His Majesty always regarded nobles as mere obstacles? So why on earth is he sharing power with us?

‘There must be another motive… No, the gain from this is too trivial compared to the enormous loss.’

If we remain confined in Dijon as time passes, we would lose our nobility and power, being demoted to mere landowners, which would make us easy to manipulate according to His Majesty’s whims. So why maintain our power?

If I were in His Majesty’s position, I would have seized this opportunity to push harder and consolidate all domains under the throne.

No matter how I think about it, I can’t imagine what benefit comes from not cutting off our lifeline, maintaining our power, and even giving us the opportunity to participate in state affairs.

“Just think of it as one of my whims. I’ve always received concessions from you all, so it’s about time I made a concession.”

“…!”

Concession…

A concession, he says.

Haha… Yes, that’s right.

Because my lord lacks moral character, even I have come to think of our relationship purely in terms of gain and loss.

His Majesty may be too aggressive in pursuing power and wealth, but it seems he has no intention of eradicating us.

[What would shake the foundations of the state and the royal family?]

[Eliminating all nobles, abolishing the monarchy to create a republic, or refusing to recognize the legitimate heir according to succession law?]

Didn’t he just declare in the recent exchange that he wouldn’t eliminate the nobles?

What His Majesty wants from the nobles is not simple loyalty but complete submission—a flawless and absolute submission that would be hard to find even throughout history.

Like children following their father’s will, like dogs obeying their master’s commands.

‘…His personality is truly twisted.’

When His Majesty was merely an illegitimate child, he wasn’t welcomed by anyone in the House of Bourgogne except the Duke.

No, it was beyond unwelcome—it was a continuous series of contempt and abuse.

Listening to what the servants who worked at Dijon Palace during that time say, one can only think how truly horrific it was.

Though his bedroom and meals were adequate because the Duke looked after him, behind the Duke’s back, he was constantly doused with water by the legitimate children, insulted about his mother, and subjected to various humiliations that were too painful to watch.

No matter how much one’s personality is innate, the influence of one’s environment growing up cannot be ignored, so those experiences as an illegitimate child must have affected His Majesty’s character formation.

That’s why His Majesty wants absolute submission from his vassals rather than loose loyalty.

From the perspective of His Majesty with his twisted personality, loose loyalty is an element of anxiety that must be eliminated.

The intolerance of anxiety-inducing elements is a symptom often seen in those who had poor developmental environments, and His Majesty is likely the same.

‘…Your Majesty.’

To be honest, the Senate position His Majesty has given us falls far short of the power we originally held. Being able to participate in state affairs? That was possible before too.

But… we should focus on the fact that His Majesty has returned even a portion of power.

He could have easily grasped all the power in Lotaring by keeping us confined in Dijon and crushing us with his power, but instead, he has prolonged our lives.

Since this action cannot be explained by practical benefits, it must be explained in the emotional realm.

In other words, His Majesty’s actions… no matter how I think about it, can only be considered simple goodwill.

“Y-Your Majesty…!”

“Thank you for your benevolence!”

It seems the others are thinking similarly to me.

Just moments ago, they were questioning why His Majesty would give us something so good, but now they’re showing expressions of gratitude as if they never doubted him.

…Well, I suppose I’m making a similar expression if others were to look at me.

‘Just one more time… I’ll trust him, even if I’m being deceived.’

Although the administration, taxation, judiciary, and many other aspects of my domain are greatly restricted, and the army has been disbanded, my ancestral domain still remains, and I can still manage it within limited boundaries, and my noble dignity is maintained in the form of the Senate.

Of course, the army’s disbandment is somewhat concerning… but well, the neighboring lords are in the same situation, so I shouldn’t worry too much.

……….

‘…Did they all eat something wrong?’

Those who used to frown and interfere with whatever I did have become so docile just because they were thrown a Senate position.

They should know better than anyone that a Senate position is far from enough to make up for what they’ve lost?

Hmm… Hmmmm…

‘I don’t know, let’s just take the good with the good.’

I tried implementing a parliament because it can suppress dissatisfaction from various classes and easily gain cooperation, but the effect is surprisingly good—too good, in fact.

If I knew why the nobles are behaving this way, it would make governing much easier in the future… but I really can’t figure it out, which is the problem.

Sigh, I’ll put it aside for now and deal with other matters.

“Illegal serfs… Tell them that these serfs will be restored to free citizens with freedom of residence, and the lords won’t be held responsible.”

“For tax evasion, tell them to pay the missed taxes calculated at an annual interest rate of 10%, and if they don’t pay, we’ll take their territory.”

“The nobles are inquiring about the scope of limited lordship rights? Hmm… It might be a bit early, but schedule a banquet for tomorrow.”

In the past, handling such tasks would have been beyond troublesome—it would have been terribly painful, but now with many well-trained officials and efficient administrative decentralization, it’s very comfortable.

I just set the direction, and the administrative office takes care of all the miscellaneous details. Wow, it feels like running auto-battle in a mobile game.

“Your Majesty, how should we establish the Senate and set the authority of its members?”

“That… wait a moment, I have it organized in a document.”

However, this Senate matter is a subject I can’t leave to the administrative office’s auto-battle; I must handle it myself.

Still, thanks to auto-battle, I can focus solely on the Senate, so it’s not a big problem. I used to do this kind of thing a lot in the past anyway.

“Here, take this. I’d appreciate it if you could read it here and then tell me if there are any issues or points for improvement.”

“I won’t decline.”

I asked Leclerc to evaluate the document I had prepared, and he eagerly accepted it as if he had been waiting for this.

Well… Shouldn’t a person at least pretend to decline once when the king asks them to point out his flaws?

But I don’t feel bad about it. I’ve known him for so long that I’ve grown fond of him, and this is Leclerc’s identity.

“…Your Majesty, wasn’t the Senate only open to nobles?”

I was silently watching Leclerc read through the document when suddenly he stiffened and asked in a surprised voice.

Ah right, I hadn’t told him.

Since the Senate matter is something I’m handling independently without delegating to the administrative office, no one except me knows much about it.

“Of course not. If the parliament consisted only of nobles, it might be manageable for me, but my son and grandson would find it extremely difficult, wouldn’t they?”

“But this is…”

“Why are you concerned? Aren’t the clergy and citizens all important pillars supporting my reign?”

The extremely aristocratic Leclerc seems unable to properly understand the current situation.

Giving voting rights in parliament to some high-ranking clergy and mayors seems to him like merely increasing troublesome variables, from the perspective of someone who has never experienced parliamentary politics.

Well, generally speaking, he’s right.

But this parliament wasn’t created due to demands from below; it’s a parliament I created out of necessity.

Wasn’t it said that a revolution from below requires paying close attention to the members’ moods, but reform from above doesn’t?

With my authority as an absolute monarch, such variables are virtually useless.

Moreover, these troublesome variables don’t apply only to me. As seats increase, the power of the parliament doesn’t strengthen; rather, the power of each seat diminishes.

The more diverse members increase, the more opinions and factions will inevitably emerge, causing division and discord that will tear the parliament apart, and such a fragmented parliament cannot resist me with my singular, great power.

And the members will only attack traitors and political opponents who hinder the unification of opinions. They won’t even consider me.

Coalition? I need to ensure that doesn’t happen by instigating discord between them as much as possible.