CLAIRE’S POV
Protests broke out in the Royal Capital only days after the provisional government announced they would be raising taxes. I opened my dorm room window and looked out to see angry commoners marching down the capital’s main thoroughfare with placards raised.
“Of course it came to this…” I sighed.
Most of the kingdom’s crops had been ruined by the eruption. Merchants bought up all the food on the markets, causing prices to rise exponentially. Life had already been hard for the common man, and it was only going to get worse. It was no wonder they were taking to the streets.
“Will the rationing be enough?” I wondered out loud. Acting on Rae’s suggestion, and with Yu’s help, we’d been distributing rations and free meals to the needy. I’d received many words of gratitude from the commoners, but an equal share of hurtful words too. A major reason for their suffering was the very provisional government my father led, after all.
“I don’t know, but let’s do what we can anyway,” Rae consoled. “I’m sure things will work out. And if they don’t…at the very least, we should make it so we can look back and say we tried our best.”
“You can be so hopelessly optimistic sometimes, Rae…” I closed the window and sat down. Rae began making me tea. I didn’t have it in me to be as optimistic about the future as she was.
“And you’re too pessimistic at times. Looks like we balance each other out perfectly.”
“…Perhaps so.” I had to admit she was right about me being a pessimist. I often demanded perfectionism, but at the same time, I knew all too well where I fell short. My disappointment with my own performance had sapped me to the point where that pessimism was deeply rooted in me. There was always a voice within me telling me not to even bother trying because failure was guaranteed.
But Rae was different. She saw things for how they were and accepted that. For better or worse, she always kept her frivolous attitude. She never overestimated things, but she never belittled them either. Perhaps it was that power that allowed her to accept someone as hopeless as me?
“Miss Claire, are you thinking yourself into a negative spiral again? Your brow is creased with worry.”
“…Nothing ever gets past you, does it?”
“Only when it comes to you. Now, have some tea and relax.”
“I shall.” I picked up the teacup and inhaled its sweet fragrance. “What a lovely smell.”
“It’s chamomile. It has a calming effect.”
Serving such luxurious tea in the current economic climate would seem galling to most, but I knew this was actually something Rae had cultivated herself. She’d predicted the coming crisis and rented out a flower bed here at the Academy to grow various plants.
“It’s just what I needed. Thank you, Rae. I feel better now.”
“…Do you really?” she asked, worry on her face.
“Pardon?”
“It’s not like you to be this meek. You usually say something with more of a bite to it, like ‘This is surprisingly tolerable, considering it was made by you.’”
“Excuse me? I’m capable of showing proper gratitude every now and then. The only reason I have to fuss at all is because you always say such crass, uncalled-for things.”
“Is that right? Then maybe I should try saying some of those crass, uncalled-for things right now. Maybe it’ll lead to a little bit of this, or a little bit of that…”
“I respectfully decline.”
“Decline what, Miss Claire? Just what were you imagining? Perv.”
“Wh-what?! I, but you…wha…” I grew flustered and annoyed, but then realized what she was doing. “…You’re trying to cheer me up with all this, aren’t you?”
“Aww. See, you really aren’t your usual self. Normally, you’d play along like the gullible noob you are.”
“I haven’t a clue what a ‘noob’ is supposed to be, but I can tell you mean no harm.”
“Oh, come on! You’re no fun to tease when you’re being like this!” She made a face and stamped her feet in irritation. My shoulders felt a bit lighter than before.
“Anyway,” I said, “I believe today is the day we negotiate with the provisional government and the revolutionary government?”
“That’s right. We will be meeting with Master Dole and the other heads of the provisional government in the morning, then Arla and the other revolutionary government leaders in the afternoon.”
I was currently in a complicated situation. I was a noble with a lot of support from the commoners, so I became a middleman between the two sides to find a compromise. The problem, however, was that the wants of both sides did not mesh in the slightest.
The provisional government saw the revolutionary government as nothing more than a mob. They had no intention of hearing their demands and just wanted them out of the picture as soon as possible. On the other hand, the revolutionary government only saw the provisional government as something they had to overthrow. They demanded nothing less than a full transfer of power as soon as possible. A compromise could not be found between the two groups. Rae warned me beforehand that this might be the case, but it was still disheartening, nonetheless.
The only way forward I saw lay in a theory made by a political scientist from Phrance. Some time ago, a revolution had occurred in Phrance that led to almost all of its nobility being killed. Grieved by the tragedy, the political scientist proposed the nobility might have lived if they had granted the commoners suffrage, the right to vote. I saw potential in the idea.
If we gave the commoners of Bauer suffrage, allowing them to influence government matters, the revolutionary government would be able to say they had succeeded and that their efforts weren’t in vain. It would be a compromise on the provisional government’s part, but this way of doing things allowed them to retain their status of nobility. Neither side would be perfectly satisfied, but this was the only compromise I saw that could be made… The only problem was that it was currently infeasible.
The provisional government would laugh at the idea of giving commoners suffrage, and the revolutionary government seemed hellbent on overthrowing the current government. There would be no attempt at a compromise from either side until things escalated and blood spilled.
“What do you make of things, Rae?” Realizing my thoughts were spiraling yet again, I sought Rae’s opinion.
“Hmm… Personally, I don’t think either side will relent until they take some damage. They’re both too worked up right now, they’ll get even more worked up once things get violent, but eventually they’ll realize things can’t go on.”
“But it’ll be too late by then!” Without thinking, I stood up and raised my voice. “If things turn to conflict, then it’ll be the powerless who suffer the most—the women and children!”
There might be a few commoners who could use magic to defend themselves, but they were the overwhelming minority. One couldn’t use powerful magic without a magic stone, and even the cheapest magic wand was prohibitively expensive for most commoners.
“We must end things before it reaches that point.”
“All we can do is give it our best effort.” Rae put her hands on my shoulders from behind, gently pushing me back down onto the chair. “I don’t want to see blood spilled either, so let’s just do all that we can.”
“Will you help me, Rae?”
“Of course. Your wish is mine.” She smiled, making my heart race slightly.
Looking back on things, however, I realize Rae was off at this moment. Despite her smile, what she was really saying amounted to nothing more than a “Just do what you please.”
Rae always thought ahead, anticipating events and planning countermeasures. It wasn’t like her to be so dismissive. Her mind had already moved to other matters.
And like a fool, I put my full faith in her, suspecting nothing.