She’s so Cheeky for a Commoner! - Chapter 82

Only a few days after the provisional government announced its plans to increase taxes, the capital was rife with commoners in protest. When I opened the window, I saw commoners as far as the capital’s main road stretched. They made no effort to conceal their anger as they marched on with their signs in hand.

“Really, it only makes sense…”

Ever since the eruption, the kingdom’s agriculture industry had suffered a huge blow. On top of that, the scalpers buying out all the goods meant that prices had risen exponentially. Even before all of this, most commoners had already been struggling to survive, so it only made sense that their frustrations would reach their boiling point now.

“I wonder if the meals we gave out really helped…”

Based on Rei’s suggestion and Yuu-sama’s advice, I began offering rations and free meals to commoners in poverty. Of course, everyone had expressed their appreciation, but it was a known fact that all of this had been caused by my father’s provisional government in the first place. As a result, many also thought that this was all staged, that I was taking advantage of the circumstances to prop myself up.

“Let’s just focus on doing everything we can. And I mean, if that’s not enough, then we’ll just have to accept that.”

“You really are quite easy going, aren’t you, Rei.”

When I closed the window and sat back down, Rei offered those words as a form of consolation as she offered me freshly brewed tea. I simply found myself unable to be as optimistic as her.

“Well, Claire-sama, you’re too pessimistic. As the one by your side supporting you, I think this balances us out.”

“… Perhaps you’re right.”

To some degree, I had always considered myself to be a pessimist. That was because while also being a perfectionist, I was painfully aware that I could never meet my own standards. Repeatedly lamenting over myself… Had stained me to my core.

―No matter what I did, I was sure that things wouldn’t turn out for the better.

That thought had stuck itself somewhere in the depths of my heart.

But Rei was different. To me, it appeared as though she was able to accept and deal with things as they came. For better or for worse, she always remained herself. While she never overestimated things, she never underestimated them either. It was probably precisely because she was like that, that she was able to see me in a positive light.

“Claire-sama, you’re not overthinking yourself into a negative spiral, are you? I can see the wrinkles as you furrow your brows.”

“… As usual, you’re quite attentive, aren’t you.”

“That’s because this is about you, Claire-sama. Here, please enjoy this tea and take a short break.”

“You’re right, I think I shall.”

Taking the cup in my hand, I let the tea’s gentle fragrance waft up and tickle my nose.

“What a nice scent.”

“This is a chamomile tea. It’s said to have a calming effect.”

Even in such dire times, how could the commoner waste something so luxurious―was not a reprimand I directed at her. That was because I knew that, thinking ahead, Rei reserved some of the flower beds at the academy to raise various plants. In all likelihood, this chamomile too was something that she had grown herself.

“Absolutely perfect for my current situation. Thank you, Rei.”

“… You really aren’t your usual self today, Claire-sama.”

“Eh?”

Even though I just spoke honestly, for some reason, Rei looked worried.

“If you were, you’d probably say something like, ‘Hmph, considering it’s you, you’ve done alright I suppose.’ But instead, to think that you’d say something so meek and gentle…”

“Now listen here. Even I know to be thankful when someone shows me earnest kindness. The only reason I lash out like that is because you ruin the moment by taking things too far.”

“Oh, is that right? In that case, let’s go ahead and take things too far right now. We could do this, or we could do that…”

“No, I will not.”

“Just what did you imagine us doing? Claire-sama, you perv.”

“Cough, bft…!? You…!”

In response to Rei’s ridiculous words, I nearly allowed myself to get riled up, before,

“… You’re doing all of this in order to lift my spirits, aren’t you.”

“Really, Claire-sama, you just aren’t your usual self today. As the simple and easy heroine, you need to bite harder when I lay out the bait.”

“I don’t know what you mean by simple and easy, but, Rei, I know you don’t possess any ill will.”

“Argh! When you’re like this it’s just no fun.”

When I saw Rei stomping on the ground so clearly dissatisfied with my response, somehow, I felt just a little lighter.

“Moving on, today is the day of our negotiations with both the provisional government and the revolutionaries, isn’t it.”

“That’s right. In the morning, we’ll meet with Dor-sama and the most influential members of the provisional government. In the afternoon, we have a meeting with Arla and the revolutionaries.”

At the moment, I found myself in a rather peculiar position. Despite being noble myself, I had also garnered a lot of support among the commoners. As a result, I was directly between the provisional government and the revolutionaries, trying to find middle ground that both would accept. This was another thing that I had tried to do based on Rei’s advice, but the two parties’ stances could not be further apart.

The provisional government saw the revolutionaries as nothing more than insurgents. Their demands were for the revolutionaries to dissolve and cease activities as soon as possible. On the other hand, the revolutionaries saw the provisional government as an enemy that they must tear down. Their demands were that the provisional government concede the rights to govern the kingdom over to the people. It was clear that there was no middle ground to be found between these demands.

The sole path that I found that seemed perhaps promising was a theory from a political scholar in a country called Lens. In that country, it was sad that a revolution had occurred and most if not all of the nobles had been killed as a result. That scholar, lamenting over the history of their motherland, said that perhaps, had the nobles compromised to give the commoners suffrage, the ability to influence the country’s political decisions… Perhaps, they may have lived on. I saw potential in this idea.

If we gave the commoners the right to participate in our kingdom’s politics, the revolutionaries would have achieved something, meaning that they wouldn’t feel that their efforts were for naught. And on the other hand, the provisional government would have compromised, but they would still be able to hold their status as nobility. In that sense, both sides would be able to share the pain. I felt that if there was common ground to be found, this was it.

However, at this point in time, even that seemed to be impossible.

The provisional government saw it as unthinkable to confer suffrage to the commoners, and the revolutionaries were intent on fighting until the current system was overthrown. It seemed that both sides would need to suffer losses―blood would need to be shed―before either side was willing to come to an understanding.

“So, what do you think, Rei?”

Before I was about to once again lose myself in the labyrinth of my own thoughts, I asked Rei what she thought.

“Hmm, well… It does seem like both sides need to learn things the hard way.”

“No…”

“Right now both sides are blind with rage. If they suffer losses, things will likely only get worse, but eventually they’ll have to realize, ‘Ah, this can’t go on.’”

“But at that point it’ll be too late!”

Unable to hold myself back, I stood from my chair and screamed.

“If both sides turn to violence, the greatest victims will be the weakest―the women and the children.”

Among those women and children, some may be able to protect themselves with magic, but at this point, the people who had learned to use magic were still in the minority. Without a magic stone, they wouldn’t be able to use powerful magic, and even the cheapest wands were an extravagant expenditure to commoners.

“We have to do… something… We have to settle this matter before it gets to that point.”

“In that case, all we can do is do our best.”

As she spoke, she again put her hands on my shoulders, gently easing me back into my chair.

“If possible, I don’t want blood to be spilled either. Let’s do everything that we can.”

“Will you support me?”

“Of course. If it’s something that Claire-sama wants to do, then I want to do it as well.”

I felt slightly flustered looking at Rei’s smile as she said that.

But, in retrospect, it was clear that there was something off about Rei at this time. She managed to smile and smooth things over, but simply put this is what she was saying:

―Why not just do as you’d please?

For her, who had always managed to keep one step ahead and seize the initiative, it was unthinkable that she’d be so haphazard. At that time, the truth was, that she was already thinking about something else.

And I, in my foolishness, hadn’t realized that and gave her my blind trust.