140 – 144
After finishing the meal with Agrippa, we walk through the city.
– Retreat, Grand Duke! Retreat!
– Return to the Grand Duchy!
Agrippa’s face paled at the sight of the imperial citizens marching in protest.
“Your Highness… What is this?”
“How is it? Fun, isn’t it? That’s the protest I orchestrated.”
As I chuckled at the scene, Agrippa turned to me with a bewildered expression.
“Your Highness… You orchestrated this protest?”
– Nod.
“Yes. The citizens were showing resistance. It’s better to control a protest than deal with an uncontrollable one, right?”
“What… What kind of bizarre reasoning is this?”
Ignoring the frozen Agrippa, I spoke.
“Shall we join them? Come here. I’ll show you something more entertaining.”
With those words, I joined the protesters, raised my right hand, and shouted.
– Evil rebels, retreat! Retreat!
“Evil rebels, retreat! Retreat!”
“Uh… Evil… rebels… But… What is going on here?”
Unable to follow the fervent chants by my side, Agrippa whispered to me, puzzled.
“What’s wrong? We’re protesting.”
They were targeting me. Yet, as I participated in the protest, Agrippa’s eyes widened.
“Uh… Have you developed a mental illness?”
Was my behavior that outlandish?
“No, not at all.”
Nonchalantly shouting slogans, we followed them towards the Roman Square, where a massive stage was set up.
On it stood a familiar figure.
– Oh! Can you hear me?!
– Yes, we can hear you!
– Wow!
Though at a distance, the voice and appearance resembled Lucius.
Was it just me who thought so?
“Huh? Isn’t that… Lucius?”
Agrippa also wore a bewildered expression.
Why is Lucius… there?
Is there an important gathering today? Is it a meeting to condemn me?
“hahahaha… Unbelievable.”
As I pondered, Lucius spoke up in a booming voice.
“I am Lucius from the Grand Duke’s office. Everyone!”
“Why did the Grand Duke’s dog show up here?! Get out!”
“Woo~!”
As Lucius revealed his affiliation, the audience immediately started booing.
– Hold on! I may work in the Grand Duke’s office, but I’m being exploited by the Grand Duke!
Lucius’s sincere words briefly silenced the jeers.
“My parents run a small weapons shop at 134 Fifth Street. Perhaps many here know the place. From a young age, I excelled in my studies, and with the meager savings my parents had, they managed to send me to the academy. I barely graduated sitting on a straw mat due to the lack of resources.
Then Lucius continued, opening his mouth.
“While I was there, they were recruiting people from the academy, and I was selected. I thought it was the highlight of my life. But it wasn’t. The academy is nothing but a torture chamber. They work us to the bone every day, depriving us of sleep, cruelly torturing us with heavy tasks. I work like a madman at the academy, putting in 18 hours a day, overtime, and working through the night!
“I tremble as I watch the academy devour us like beasts. The academy treats us, civil servants, like animals, making us work day and night, giving us unreasonable tasks, and abusing us!
The room fell silent at Lucius’s words.
“Even if you despise the academy, I won’t hate it as much as I do! Do you know how much I want to kill the academy? A ruler younger than I am, holding a position high above, forcing us into tasks close to torture! Do you know why there’s a shortage of people at the academy? It’s that wicked, insane academy… Since the war broke out, they’ve been trying to kill us all! Do you know why you can’t afford food? Do you know why you’re losing your hair? It’s all because of the academy! You are our hope! Because of that wicked academy, my hair is falling out…”
As the gossip about me took a strange turn… People behind subdued Lucius.
“Let go! How can you interrupt when I still have so much to say!”
Even as they were going down, it seemed like a lot had piled up against me…
“For the love of… Please kick that academy bastard who’s burning in hell out!”
“What did you say?”
“That’s right. Isn’t the academy supposed to be elite?”
“Have you lost your mind from overworking?”
I mean… It’s not like watching some dark comedy film…
As I was having those thoughts.
Goran stood on stage and spoke.
“All… Next, we have Professor Engels from the Academy’s Philosophy Department. Please come up.”
The atmosphere tensely called the next person.
A man with white hair not well-combed, with white beard flowing long, giving an overall round impression, stood at the podium.
He spoke.
“Workers of the world, unite!”
Upon hearing those words, I rushed into a black carriage on the street.
“Hey! Karl! How are you even doing this?!”
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I yelled at Karl, who was calmly drinking coffee inside the carriage!
“What? What’s up?”
“Who called that communist to join the protest?!”
“There’s no homeland for the workers, everyone is family until our working class seizes the empire!”
“What’s a communist?”
Seeing Karl’s puzzled expression at my words, I shouted.
“Arrest that guy and throw him into the underground prison of the Imperial Palace!”
Who’s spreading communism here?!
“What?!”
No, we’re in the middle of a protest now… Instead of such extreme actions…
“Inform the intelligence officers to kidnap him when he goes home!”
As someone who knows how terrifying a communist revolution can be, I want to arrest that guy and throw him in prison right away, but…
I might go too far, so when no one’s around, I give the order to kidnap him and head towards Agrippa.
“Eh? Big brother?”
“Brother-in-law?”
“How come you guys are here?”
Mary and Joy faced each other.
How did it turn out like this?
Currently, all the nobles in the royal palace cannot leave the palace.
It is because Johannes might attempt another assassination, or Joy, Theodora, or Mother-in-law could be kidnapped and used as hostages.
Moreover, since there is a protest going on, it is hard to say that the security is good…
At that moment, Mary stepped forward and spoke.
“Oppa, don’t say anything to Joy. I’m the one who wanted to come out. Surely you don’t think something dangerous would happen to Joy while I’m here, right?”
Well, with such a monster following around, it shouldn’t be dangerous.
As I was thinking that…
“Mary? Your Highness, hello.”
Agrifa emerged from the square and greeted Mary and Joy.
[Everyone! Society is in the wrong!]
– What are you saying?! Quickly drag that lunatic out!
– What nonsense are you talking?! Aren’t you afraid of El?!
[Religion is the opium of the people. We must liberate ourselves from the nobles and capitalists who monopolize the means of production.]
– Get out and die!
– Drop dead!
Well, considering… they can be seen as the bourgeoisie class within the entire Roman Empire…
Spreading communism in front of such people.
They are ignorant of reality.
Nevertheless, we cannot leave communism to spread here unchecked.
We must definitely kidnap that guy.
“Hey? Did you see something interesting over there? Unni, should we go there?”
Curious about the sounds coming from the square, Agrifa awkwardly smiled and said.
“Your Highness, you shouldn’t go out of the palace. Mary? Let’s escort Your Highness back to the palace. And you know you’re leaving today, right?”
“Ugh. It’s just something said after a long time seeing each other…”
At Agrifa’s words, Joy’s eyes widened.
“Uh… Unni? Where? Where are you going?!”
Not understanding Mary’s words, Joy scratched her cheek with her finger.
“Me? I’m going to the battlefield?”
“Uh…?”
Joy, not understanding Mary’s words.
Her red eyes trembled intensely.
As if she couldn’t even imagine.
“Unni? Why are you going to the battlefield? It’s dangerous there, you know?”
Shrugging her shoulders at Joy’s words, Mary replied.
“It’s dangerous, but I am a knight, you know?”
“But… still, your husband? What does your husband say? Going to the battlefield.”
This time, Mary and Agrifa are the main characters in this war.
I’m the one being sent to the battlefield.
Honestly, I don’t want to go either… But I think I have to send Mary to protect Agrippa and for any potential dangers.
No matter what anyone says. She’s the strongest warrior in the Empire.
So, as I try to speak up, Mary reaches out her hand in front of me and says,
“Sorry, Joy. It’s been fun. I’ll come back later. Don’t make such a sad face.”
“Sister…”
– Hug.
Taller than Mary, Joy tightly embraces her.
Who would see that and think of Mary as a sister?
“Sob… Do I really have to go?”
“Yeah, I’ll go defeat Jonas there and come back. So, just wait.”
“Sob…”
In the end, Joy can’t hold back her tears.
And that evening.
After taking Mary and Agrippa to the port, Joy heads to the palace with only the two of them.
“Sob… Brother-in-law is so mean. How could you send cute and fragile Mary to the battlefield?”
I don’t know if she’s cute, but she’s not fragile.
I can’t help but think of how a fragile woman would crumble under words that even adult men can’t bear to hear, but it’s not something to say.
“Well… She’s the strongest warrior in the Empire, right? Don’t worry too much. Mary is strong.”
Joy, wiping her tears with a handkerchief at my words.
“But still… What if she gets hurt?”
Hurt…
In the original work, Mary had a large scar on her face from a fight with demons.
But there doesn’t seem to be demons in this upcoming war.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine.”
“Sob…”
Seeing Joy in distress, a thought comes to mind.
Did she know that I was planning to marry Jonas’ son?
Theodora and my mother-in-law already know. Seeing Joy so indifferent, I cautiously bring up the topic.
“Hey… Joy. Did you hear about that?”
At my words, Joy asks back.
“What are you talking about?”
“About me trying to get you engaged to Jonas’ son.”
At my words, Joy blinks her reddened eyes and says,
“I heard.”
Unlike Theodora and my mother-in-law who came upon hearing the news, Joy casually responds, leaving me puzzled.
“Am I not to your liking?”
At my words, Joy, seeming slightly thoughtful, says,
“I don’t dislike you. And… Noblewomen often have strategic marriages, right?”
A rather indifferent Joy.
“Of course… It’s a bit disappointing that I unknowingly promised to be engaged… But still, it’s not completely ruined, right?
Stronger than I thought…
“Right, it’s ruined.”
As Joy said, the war with Johannes had already broken out, so the engagement was off.
Of course, if Johannes wins, he might argue that it’s still valid, but there’s no way for him to win.
Instead, I’m more worried that if he overwhelmingly wins, the Imperial faction will become too strong.
“Then I won’t worry about it. You don’t need to worry about your brother-in-law either.”
Looking at Joy, who smiled with a face twisted by dried tears… It hurts a bit.