Chapter 2: Civil War Period - The Marquis of Lafayette (1)

Chapter 2: Civil War Period - The Marquis of Lafayette (1)

Translated by Mara Sov

Civil War Period The Marquis of Lafayette (1)

Aaah!

The horrifying sound of the falling guillotine blade echoed in my ears.

Heuk..HuuufffHuff..

The feeling of the wind passing through your neck is not something anyone should feel.

While trembling, I managed to put my hands around my neck.

..It was still there.

The last thing I remember seeing my headless body still hanging on the guillotine the image is still vivid in my memory.

My body.

My headless body.

At that moment, I got up.

Where am I?

In my room.

My room?

This was not the filthy dungeon.

This was without a doubt my room in the Marquiss mansion.

With weak legs, I managed to reach a mirror on the other side of the room, but my reflection shocked me.

What the hell.

The figure in the mirror looked to be a young man leaving his teenage years behind.

The maid who came to wake me up was startled to see me already awake as she brought me a basin with water.

Instead of being imprisoned in a dark and cold cell, here I was, washing my face with clean water in this warm room.

Am I dreaming?

The convoluted mix of memories of the dungeon, of fighting in the god-forsaken battlefields without time to even eat or sleep, and of my youth being served by a myriad of maids and butlers always helping mewas disconcerting, to say the least.

Perhaps this is all a hallucination made up by my severed head?

With engrained movements, I mechanically repeated the daily routine I had in this mansion 10 years ago.

Wake up, wash up, get dressed, and head to the dining room when Im notified that my meal is ready.

A luxurious meal that I had forgotten even existed while rolling around on the battlefield or being locked up in the dungeon.

Well-done chicken and vegetables, hot soup, and a piece of soft white bread.

I still could taste my last meal, that hard and molded bread that not even commoners would eat.

As I was still disconnected from reality, I didnt even touch the meal, so the butler called me out worriedly.

Young Master?

Young Master. Yes, that was what I used to be called.

If this meal is not good enough Ill

The butler must have thought that my hesitance to eat the banquet in front of me was a sign of distaste.

No, theres nothing wrong.

Suddenly, I noticed a maid standing in the corner of the room, the one elected to serve me during my meal.

A young girl resembling the woman who brought my last meal.

If this was 10 years ago, she would have looked like this.

You, whats your name?

IMy name is Jessie, Young Master.

The girl answered my question with a wavering tone, perhaps surprised that I even asked her that question.

Arent the nobles required to memorize a long list of names and titles for people they might not even see in their whole lives? If you didnt consider them worthless to even know their names, surely you would know at least one among your people whom you cherished

The accusations and mockery of the crowd gathered around the guillotine continued to echo in my ears.

Jessie. A name I never bothered to either learn or remember in my past.

Then, I picked a piece of white bread.

Feeling such softness from the bread was truly unfamiliar as I slowly dipped it in the soup and ate it.

The soft and warm taste slowly filled my mouth.

And then, only then, did I realize that this was real.

Young Master?!

My father believed that he would be rewarded for all his efforts once the First Prince became the King, and as such, he had staked everything in this war.

But that loyalty wont be rewarded, and my father, the Marquis, will die in vain.

Taking his place as the next Marquis, I fought against the recently formed revolutionary forces, but the nobles of Francia, the ones hailed as the strongest military force in the continent, were crushed by the revolutionary army.

This was because the Revolutionaries had an unprecedented genius general in their ranks, a monster of a man.

Raphael Valliant.

This general actively used firearms discriminated against and pushed aside in favor of Knights and magic users and scored consecutive wins against the royal army with tactics no one could stop.

Im lucky to have this second chance.

But even then, I cant possibly imagine a scenario where I face Raphael himself and win against the Revolutionary Army.

As a result of the civil war, It became difficult to make a move against the core members of the Revolutionary Army, who were all influential people in the cities, since after the war, most of these cities managed to buy the status of autonomy from the King and the nobility.

No, even if you didnt factor in the Revolution, this rotten kingdom will collapse one way or another.

Kill them!

Death to the corrupt nobility!

Every time I closed my eyes, I could hear their mad screams and vicious mockery that filled the city.

I have seen the madness and insanity the revolution brought to Francia. The number of people who were executed after the republic rose in power didnt fall short of the number of people who died in the civil war.

The revolution would take place in the fourth year of the civil war, which would be two years from now.

So, while I must procure the funds at the Marquiss order, I have to avoid exploiting or looting the people too much during these next two years.

Only then, I can join the Revolution as a noble who hasnt been corrupted, and as a protector of the common people. While also making sure the moderates are the ones leading the army, not the radicals.

By doing this, I could prevent the chaos and madness of the Revolutionary Army from spilling so much blood.

In this life, I refuse to stand by as I watch everything I fought for be so futilely denied.

While I was strengthening my resolve, someone knocked at the door, and a gruff voice called out.

Young Master.

Come in, Knight.

The door opened and a large man, in full armor, came in and bowed.

Although he was just about my age, he was already a head taller than me.

Knight Ran Gaston sees The Acting Marquis Pierre de Lafayette.

Since the Marquis has taken the main forces of the territory, this man is the only Knight left, except for me.

At the same time, hes a man who makes me feel conflicted.

He is the main reason the Marquis distrusted me since he was a commoner, but this man pledged his loyalty to me till the very end, even when the Kingdoms forces were suffering the ultimate defeat.

I stared at him for a moment while I sorted out my feelings.

What is the matter, Knight?

The cavalry sent as patrol, per your order, has returned with this report. They say a force of 100 men strong, including Knights, entered the Marquiss territory from the direction of Milbeau County.

Looters, I presume.

Yes. It appears to be so, Young Master.

Theres no time for leisure then.

Sigh-.

Rally the cavalry. Were going out immediately.

Just the cavalry, Young Master?

Yes.

Knight Gaston looked puzzled, but if we waited to mobilize all of our forces and marched, by the time we were done, the enemy would have already reached the villages.

To prevent the moderate party of the Revolutionary Army from being dethroned, I must maintain some considerate power to support them. And in order to do that, we cant let our territory be raided.

Thinking about this, I finished strapping my breastplate, and now Knight Gastons look had become downright disbelieving.

Young Master. Are you also going out?

Yes.

I replied while picking up my sword and bow.

As of now, our territory has little to no actual army.

So Ill have to dance to the music.

I have to make those who dont know their place and have come to threaten the people of my territory, pay.

TL note: And we are here!

I wanted to wait a little more to post chapters but one little shit started posting 2 MTL chapters on NU, so I have to drop the chapters now..I wanted to drop 30 chapters not 10. (I had translated until 20 but I need to revise the last chapters and my editor needs to well.Edit them)

But please leave good reviews on NU to bump our numbers!

/genesisforsaken