Ch.268To the Edge of the Cliff (8)

“No… please…”

And of course, Claude never wanted this custom.

For Claude, who had experienced living freely in modern society, Lotaring’s current social structure couldn’t help but appear extremely deformed.

Strict order under control? What is this, Nazi Germany or Communist China?

“Your Majesty, please give us your command. Is there a problem?”

“Please issue your orders.”

“…Leave me.”

What gnawed at Claude’s mind even more was that medieval people didn’t question such social customs at all.

Strict order under control doesn’t work well in modern society where civic awareness and social structures are developed. This is because the average education level of individuals is high, there’s an advanced sense of democracy, and information spreads quickly through various mass media.

The reason modern society has developed to such an advanced degree is thanks to the freedom possessed by each individual. The order under control that applies in modern society is nothing but a terrible custom that only pushes human civilization backward.

However, medieval times are different.

In this era, the divine right of kings is still accepted as an unquestionable truth, and more than 95% of the population are merely simple farmers who can’t even read.

Since they’ve grown up under constant oppression from birth, order under control isn’t met with resistance—it’s extremely familiar to them. Beyond familiarity, they even prefer it.

“My head aches too much. I want to be alone for a while.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

As soon as Claude’s order was given, the attendants around him cleared out instantly, as if they had been waiting for it.

The room that had been filled with various attendants until just a moment ago was suddenly left with only Claude, who felt relief at being alone for the first time in a long while.

‘…I just want to forget everything and move on.’

His head hurts terribly.

Solving one problem makes two more appear, giving him the feeling of facing a Hydra. He’s not sure if Hydras exist in this world, though.

‘Am I the only abnormal one?’

He once heard that in a world of one-eyed people, a normal person is considered abnormal—and that’s exactly his current situation.

Everyone treats Claude with good intentions, but the more these good intentions pile up, the more uncomfortable he feels.

Starting with the death of his father—for whom he felt little paternal emotion but did feel gratitude as a benefactor—to the increase in notoriety from unnecessary assassinations, the birth of a faith and culture that worships Claude, and the culture of unconditional obedience, there are countless stress-inducing events that have affected Claude with good intentions.

What amplifies this stress is that the people involved don’t think there’s anything wrong with their behavior.

Rather, they believed their actions would benefit Claude, which narrowed their perspective and led to increasingly extreme results.

Of course, from a medieval perspective, the actions of those showing goodwill to Claude represent the pinnacle of loyalty and favor.

Normally, he would never have obtained a title but became a monarch, eliminated political enemies to secure a good position, is worshipped as a living god by the people, and has subordinates who follow his orders without question—this is the ideal that every medieval monarch dreams of.

“Haaaaah…”

But not Claude.

Though he is a medieval monarch, Claude has the fixed ideas and memories of having lived as an ordinary citizen in the modern world.

For Claude, honor and prestige are merely vague concepts, and unconditional obedience and praise without any questioning only remind him of the embarrassing deification of dictators in Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and China.

“…Maybe I should get some fresh air for a change.”

Unable to think of a way to eliminate this culture no matter how hard he tried, Claude decides to take a walk outside after a long time to organize his tangled thoughts.

The original Claude would have gone for a walk with at least one of his wives, but the current Claude doesn’t want that. He just needs time to think alone.

……….

“…It’s still better than before.”

When he previously came to Dijon with Ellen, people were all caught up in war fever, but now it’s not like that.

Dijon is still bustling but has regained its healthy vitality, and there are no longer people unnecessarily stepping forward to incite others.

However, the problem hasn’t disappeared. It’s just become invisible.

“Excuse me, may I ask you something?”

“What… can I do for you?”

Having spoken with nobles for too long and being cooped up in the palace, Claude’s manner of speech had become quite aristocratic, causing citizens to become wary when they saw him, afraid of committing some offense.

Of course, it didn’t reach the point where they were too frightened to speak with him. After all, Dijon is the imperial capital where all nobles of Lotaring gather, so the citizens there have become accustomed to it.

“It’s nothing much, but what exactly were you doing just now?”

“Why, I was offering prayers to His Majesty.”

“…Prayers? Why would you pray to the Emperor when he’s not a god?”

“What blasphemy…!”

As soon as Claude finished speaking, the old man he was questioning looked around in alarm. It was like watching a criminal afraid of being caught for committing a crime.

“I don’t mind, but you should never say such things to others…! You may choose not to pray, but if you speak that way about His Majesty, you could be beaten by a mob!”

“Beaten by a mob? Isn’t private punishment strictly prohibited by law?”

“Well, yes, but…! No matter how upright and excellent the soldiers are, there are always blind spots, aren’t there?”

“…You’re right.”

Claude feels devastated.

He had prided himself on working hard to eliminate various illegal activities, but that pride was instantly shattered.

Of course, such things only happen in blind spots rather than openly, but having his achievements denied from the start is quite mentally burdensome.

“So why were you praying to the Emperor?”

“Well… isn’t it obvious? Young people these days may not know, but old folks like me remember the reign before His Majesty.”

As the old man spoke, his eyes were fixed on a distant point, reflecting not the light but memories.

“What’s wrong with offering prayers to His Majesty who has made me and my family live well? Not just me, many others do it too.”

“Doesn’t the church take issue with it?”

“Take issue? On the contrary, the church encourages it. Of course, some clergy might frown if you pray to him as if worshipping the Lord, but if you just pray as a way of showing gratitude… like you would to saints, nobody says anything.”

“…I see. Thank you for answering my questions. This is for your trouble.”

“…? Thank yoㅡ gasp…!”

The old man, surprised by the unexpected compensation, hurriedly tries to catch up with Claude thinking there must be some mistake, but his attempt is immediately blocked by plainclothes guards. Claude walks away, ignoring the commotion behind him.

No, to be precise, he’s not ignoring it.

He simply has too many thoughts in his head to notice the commotion.

‘…What on earth has Jeanne been doing?’

There’s no way Jeanne wouldn’t have known about this custom becoming popular… Did she deliberately encourage it?

Why… No, I somewhat understand. Since Jeanne has been elevating me as a saint from our first meeting, she probably did this to make everyone look up to me as a saint. And incidentally raise my authority too.

Why didn’t she tell me… No, never mind.

‘This isn’t a solution, it’s just lamenting. I should stop thinking about it. It’s just making my headache worse.’

Claude stopped thinking.

There’s nothing he can do right now anyway, so this is just a temporary measure to get a moment’s peace.

“Now, here is the food bestowed by His Imperial Majesty. Let us all eat with gratitude to His Majesty, chewing thoroughly.”

“””Yes!!!”””

“…”

Of course, such temporary relief is instantly shattered.

Visiting Lotaring’s orphanage—which is heavily influenced by Chloe’s ideology and also trains secret agents—Claude feels acid reflux as he recalls the Supreme Leader’s country in the north that he had seen on the internet in his previous life.

It’s not just the orphanage.

The custom of praising and worshipping Claude could be easily found anywhere in Dijon, and their common trait was that they acted this way not because someone forced or incited them, but entirely of their own will.

Moreover, Dijon has been placed under quite strict control due to the previous armed riot, so the rigid society that Lotaring currently has can only appear extremely abnormal by Claude’s standards.

Claude can clearly see Lotaring’s future—losing hegemony and collapsing.

‘…I can’t leave this to Lothar.’

He doesn’t want to be a pathetic father who passes his mistakes on to his son.

By any means necessary, he must normalize the madness that Lotaring has become.