Chapter 281: Unwanted Plan (5)
Even if I rubbed my eyes and looked again, Park Deokgu was still screaming in the square.
I was embarra.s.sed to find him here, but the way he screamed with his fists clenched was even more embarra.s.sing.
“The imperial people are the owners of the Empire! Think carefully! Who has the sovereignty of the Empire?”
“Isn’t that the Emperor?”
“No! Absolutely not! The Empire only exists because of you! The sovereignty of the Empire belongs to the imperial people! All power must come from the imperialists to be the right country! No matter how much power the Emperor has, what can he do without you?!”
“T… That’s right! That’s right!!”
‘What is this…?’
Someone in the crowd cheering eagerly also looked familiar to me.
‘Ahn Ki-mo?’
He looked no better than an imperial commoner, but if you peeled off the magic that surrounded him, you would surely get a familiar figure.
It was not just Ahn Ki-mo.
Blue guild employees, who I could only recognize by their faces, began to appear.
Several people were already screaming and instilling an uplifting sense within the surrounding atmosphere.
“From the very beginning, G.o.ddess Benigore has said that everyone living on this continent is equal! Just think about it! Dear Imperial people! Is this Empire truly equal under the protection of the G.o.ddess Benignore? Think again! This unlearned, ignorant guy also had to send his beloved family to the demons of poverty and hunger!”
“Gosh…”
“Oh…”
“In my daily life, I’d like to think that it is fortunate to be able to eat corn porridge! The thieves in the imperial palace celebrate every day with alcohol and meat! What nonsense is that?!”
“That’s right!”
“Politics for the imperial people, by the imperial people, in the Empire! That’s what this country needs right now. We need to enlighten ourselves to get what we want! We need to remind the self-proclaimed n.o.ble blood that despises us that the owners of the Empire are the imperial people!”
“That’s right!”
“Of course! Absolutely! We have to fight! We have to realize that even stupid guys with nothing learned like us can do something for the Empire!”
“W-What can we do?!”
“Anything dear comrades can do! First, quickly get one of the books here! Our Hyung-nim, no, it’s a book written by someone who is with us!”
“But… Isn’t this treason against the imperial family?”
“Treason against the imperial family! Those imperial n.o.ble blood are the ones rebelling against G.o.ddess Benigore! Are you saying we can’t even read books like this? I’m not armed or spitting directly in front of the Emperor, so why would we be charged with treason? The Empire is not the Emperor’s, but of the imperial people, and the G.o.ddess! Are you saying that a country that prevents you from reading books really seems normal? If that seems normal, run to the lord right now and reveal my sins! I will be proud to sacrifice for democracy!”
“L-Long live democracy!”
“Long live the Democratic Fighter!”
“My name is Bark Teoku! Democratic Fighter Bark Teoku!”
I was forced to be away for quite some time.
It was no wonder that I actually could not afford to look around the world because I had to be cautious and stealthy when digging about Saladin or the masked man and woman.
It felt like the world had changed upon seeing this scene happening in front of me. Both the old and the young were now clamoring around for the books.
It was then that a voice came in from the crowd. An old man had opened his mouth.
“Are you a foreigner?”
“Ah… Yes.”
“I heard that there was no king or Emperor where the foreigner came from… Is that true?”
“Yes, it is, but…”
“There really was a country like that. Oh, I’ll read this book here.”
As soon as I took the book, I saw that it was of a fairly small size.
Seeing that it was made so that it could be easily hidden and fit in a pocket, it seemed that they were also concerned about matters of censorship.
At the bottom of the book t.i.tled Sacred Democracy, an unknown author was marked.
‘Oscar?’
I didn’t know who Oscar was, but as Deokgu had said, Kiyoung had written this.
When I open the book randomly, I can see the full text.
[The imperial people must be able to partic.i.p.ate in the imperial rule actively. The human rights of imperialists must be guaranteed, and laws and procedures for implementing them must be applied equally to all imperialists. The laws of human rights and equality are “basic rights” that must be enjoyed by the citizens of the Empire, and these equality laws, according to the will of G.o.ddess Benigore, apply not only to the Empire but also to all humans living on the continent.]
‘Huh…’
[The Empire must maintain a welfare system that guarantees a minimum life for the imperialists. Listed above are the contracts between the state and the people. The Empire is not maintained by vested interests, but by contracts between the state and the people, and the people need to realize this. The sovereignty of the Empire rests on the imperial people, and all power comes from the people. It is the one thing to keep reminding yourself of.]
It felt like a mix of words I had heard before.
The logic of political scientists was brought to the continent and changed to suit their taste.
I could see that the doctrine that all men were equal under G.o.ddess Benigore was being used as a shield.
‘It’s definitely Kiyoung’s skill.’
That person’s personality was highly visible within the text.
As I kept turning the pages, the contents that popped out in the book were a spectacle.
The Pope’s side, another vested interest in the Empire, was described completely separately.
Although there were many words written on it, this book had only one meaning.
“Equality for all is…”
“This is the will of the G.o.ddess Benigore. That’s it! That’s what Oscar wants to say! That’s our Hyung-ssi with a quick understanding… H-Hyunsung? W-Why are you…”
Deokgu looked embarra.s.sed.
“Mr. Bark Teoku, it would be better to talk for a moment.”
A bitter laugh popped out.
* * *
This certainly worked.
‘It has no choice but to work.’
Considering that 99.9% of the people were Benigorians, it would be weird if this did not work in the first place.
A sentence that had appeared a few times in the Bible was inflated and interpreted politically.
Since religion was woven into democracy, it was natural for this book to gain momentum.
However, since this was also written in a hurry, it didn’t mean that there weren’t any holes at all, but I knew the people would be willing to overlook these holes.
Everyone was equal under the G.o.ddess.
The weight and sweetness of this sentence would be irresistible to common imperialists. It may have reflected sweetly even to the common priests.
As I slowly closed the book while sitting in front of the bonfire, I saw Deokgu and Ki-mo staring at me.
It was good to hear the branches crackling and burning, but I couldn’t help but ask.
“Can I hear an explanation?”
It was natural to wonder what had happened in front of me today. However, I did believe that an explanation was due.
“No, I think I should speak before that… Well, why is the Guild Master here?”
“There was something I had to do personally. I’ll tell you more about it when it’s sorted out, but you can think of it as something related to Black Wizard.”
“What? Did you get a request from the Pope’s or the Imperial Family?”
“You can think so. Then, and Deokgu…”
“Well, I am on Hyung-nim’s errand. This is already the twelfth one. I was told to work slowly starting far from the capital, but… you know that Lee Jihye? I was commissioned to spread this book from where Jihye-ssi picked! Curiously, I haven’t seen any n.o.bles or knights like n.o.bles while working on this. Isn’t that right? Ahn Ki-mo?”
“Yeah. It’s as Deokgu said. Since the troops are concentrated on the eastern side, the western side where we are right now has a lot of room. Also, long time no see, Guild Master.”
“Yes. As I was focused on my work…”
“I heard that it had been a while since you’ve been gone from the royal castle.”
“That’s right. Things happened in the middle… Actually, we’ve b.u.mped into each other just when I was about to return. That… Is Kiyoung-ssi the one who made this book?”
“To be precise, it wasn’t made by him alone… he made it with Jihye-ssi. Hee-young seemed to have often visited the royal castle to help, too. Well, what can I do? More than that, it seems that Hyung-nim is looking for you anxiously… Haven’t you seen each other for a long time?”
“Yes. Actually… a lot of time has pa.s.sed.”
“Oh, Hyung-nim looked for you… well.”
“Ah. Did he?”
“Yes. Absolutely! It seemed like he wasn’t in a good mood, as if something bad happened in the royal castle. In fact, it seems like he has no energy every day. He walks around with a face that he does when he is a little angry. That’s why I’m even doing the Democracy Fighter Bark Teoku.”
“Did you say he wasn’t in a good mood?”
“Yes. I definitely had that feeling.”
“Is this book…?”
“Oh. It’s a book that he made crankily.”
“Hmm…”
‘Perhaps he can be like that…’
I suddenly thought about it, and I realized that I certainly didn’t care much after leaving the job with him.
I thought that Kiyoung would do well, and in fact, I thought that only Kiyoung could control the First Princess.
Perhaps it would be weird if it wasn’t hard.
The Charlotte I knew was a capable Empress, and Charlia was an irreparable idiot.
I, too, couldn’t help it because I had something to do, but if I had to say something about this, it meant that I had made a mistake.
Kiyoung was a really trustworthy person in general, but I knew that he sometimes expressed his dissatisfaction like this.
As we had spent a lot of time together, I can roughly see what kind of person Lee Kiyoung is.
It was the same with Cho Hyejin’s case, and it would be strange if I didn’t know because he showed such behavior in very small things, too.
‘He’s expressing dissatisfaction.’
Considering what Deokgu said, it would be okay to think that this was an expression of his dissatisfaction.
‘I couldn’t take it into account.’
I thought it was definitely a mistake.
I only thought that there was still a lot of time left, and I could not calculate the anxiety Lee Kiyoung would feel, or that the political prestige would be ruined.
The problem was that what he did was too big and radical to be called a mere expression of dissatisfaction.
There was an old saying that the country and home must be at peace.
I had focused too much on the outside and was too negligent to the situation inside.
‘W… What should I do?’
I had to worry about whether it would be better to bring him a gift.