Chapter 293 – Retribution
“Anyway, Joseph, what’s the big deal?”
“Ahhh! Now that I think about it, something urgent happened. “Cardinal, I’m sorry to say this after telling you to talk to me at any time, but please tell me about the other woman later.”
“So there are no other women!”
“Yes, I understand that now. So, just get up and come with me. Before I explain what happened, let me show you what happened.”
After saying that, Joseph stands up.
Jun nodded that he understood and followed behind him, who had started walking ahead.
Fortuna and Dohwa, who were groaning while looking at the snacks in front of them, quickly settled down on Jun’s head, and Elysia, Iris, and Gungseong followed behind Jun as if they were guarding a superior.
Before opening the door, Joseph turned around and saw that figure and asked with a puzzled expression.
“… Cardinal, this is a bit of a random question. Do you ever have time alone?”
“Do you think there is?”
“… Thank you for your hard work.”
“…”
Jun neither confirmed nor denied.
As a male, it was very satisfying and rewarding to see my beautiful wives trying to stay by my side without leaving even for a moment, but as Jun is also human, there were times when he wanted some alone time when he could be at peace and not worry about anyone.
However, for a head of a household with multiple wives, alone time was a luxury.
Since it was his karma, Jun accepted it without much complaint.
Jun laughed off Joseph’s pitiful gaze with a bitter smile.
But that too for a moment
■■■! ■■■■■! ■■■■■!
■■■!
Immediately afterward, he looked very bewildered at the situation that was captured on the radar.
Likewise, Gungseong, who had grasped the situation with clairvoyance, could not overcome his absurdity and let out a small curse.
“What the fuck is this…”
“Looking at the expressions on both of your faces, it looks like you understood the situation. Still, I will continue to walk for the sake of others.”
The footsteps continued.
Fortuna couldn’t overcome her curiosity and asked Jun what was going on, but instead of answering, Jun just let out a series of empty breaths filled with absurdity.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Fortuna’s curiosity was quickly resolved.
She asked as she looked at the line going in a straight line from the square in the center of the capital to the entrance of the imperial palace in the distance.
“Juni, what is that?”
“Um, parade?”
“The parade that Port knows is not that gloomy!”
I guess so. Because it’s a strike parade.
“The caste system is the foundation of the empire! “The denomination must stop shaking up the caste system!”
Stop! Stop!
“A worthwhile job deserves a worthy price! “The religious denomination should relax regulations on merchants and factory managers!”
Relax! Relax!
“The current imperial law and customary law are the result of centuries of work! The church must not modify imperial law and customary law at will!”
Mara! Don’t do it!
Fortuna holds her head and shakes it, denying reality.
However, her slogans chanted became increasingly clear, as if they were forcing her to face her reality.
‘Is that your choice? Leon.’
Jun sighed as he looked at Leon leading the line at the front.
――――――
-Your majesty! The caste system is the foundation of the empire! Please do not try to break down that boundary!
Please stop!
-Your majesty! Anything worthwhile must come with a price! Please relax regulations on merchants and factory managers!
Please ease!
-Your majesty! Imperial law and customary law are the national laws of the empire created over a long period of time. How can you leave corrections to another group? Please stop right away!
Please stop right away!
“… Foolish guy. “Who really needs to stop?”
At the faint sound of his son’s voice, Emperor Arthur held his forehead and sighed deeply.
What on earth are they thinking?
No matter how much he thought about it, Arthur couldn’t figure out what his son was thinking.
If you have an idea, you will know that the caste system must be abolished.
As the church began to rule the empire, countless negative effects caused by the class system were revealed one by one,
Since he was a noble person, even the legitimacy of standing above the commoners was directly denied.
Now everyone in the empire knows.
The caste system is not the foundation that supports the empire, but a poison that shakes the roots, and is simply a means for those who exist to justify their positions.
Above all, didn’t Leon himself suffer because of the caste system?
When he regained his status as a prince, many nobles ignored Leon, who grew up in an orphanage, saying he was no different from a commoner.
His two lovers were also not recognized as the prince’s lovers because they were commoners.
Even after experiencing such things, you still defend the caste system? Aren’t you going to step up and destroy it?
Arthur eventually suspected that Leon had suffered a mental attack.
‘Probably not. Because Leon has nullification.’
Then there was only one answer.
Unlike himself, he may not have been able to give up his greed for his position. And the reason is…
‘I guess it’s because my friend is better than I in every way except blood.’
Arthur smiled bitterly and looked at Jun, who was proudly occupying one of the chairs in the conference room.
At the same time, I felt like my heart was sinking.
Because it was very cold.
Jun’s face waiting for the meeting to start.
The members of the church in the conference room seemed to have realized this as well, their faces becoming cold, and the people from the empire, who had been laughing and criticizing Leon’s behavior as a momentary insult, began to look at them as if they were troubled.
‘Did something happen between the two?’
Arthur screamed inside.
This is because the situation has become very difficult.
No matter how this situation progressed, the outcome was clearly determined.
Even if Leon were to combine the powers of nobles, merchants, and administrators, he would bow down like the Shadow Emperor before Jun’s overwhelming mobility through spatial movement.
After that, Leon will take all the blame as the loser.
At that time, in order for Leon to be a prince, he needed the help of Jun, a powerful figure in the church.
After the meeting, Arthur tried to stimulate June’s friendship with Leon by any means necessary.
But, unfortunately, she felt like it would be of no use.
That’s because Jun’s cold, calm face didn’t show any concern for Leon.
‘It’s better. If he loses the crown prince, Leon will come to his senses.’
Arthur completely buried himself in his chair as if he had been liberated.
Jun proceeded with the meeting on his behalf.
The empire was still governed by religious denominations, and Pope Franco, who did not like troublesome work, handed over all authority over governance to June, so June had the authority.
“First, let’s understand the situation. Joseph, please brief me on the situation.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Joseph quickly stood up at Jun’s call and began to explain, flashing his trademark monocle.
“As everyone here has probably already seen, there is currently a strike taking place in the capital under the leadership of Prince Leon. “Nobles, merchants, and administrators are all of one mind and one mind, shutting down their businesses, merchants, and administrative offices and taking to the streets to hold strike parades.”
Everyone in the conference room sighed in bewilderment.
That’s right, the strike was the last resort of the powerless and the moneyless.
I can’t believe people who don’t lack anything are going on such a strike.
No matter how important the food bowl was, they were truly shameful people.
“The problem is that these strike parades occurred simultaneously not only in the capital but also all over the country. “It is only in areas of a certain size, but as time goes by…”
“Even small-scale areas will agree. “No one wants their food bowl to shrink.”
The church that was able to rule the empire prioritized the safety of the people’s lives first and foremost.
Excessively high taxes and excessive rights of the upper class were drastically reduced, and laws that were too ruthless for those without them and extremely poor working conditions were overhauled.
Thanks to this, the quality of life of commoners clearly improved, but in return, the quality of life of nobles, merchants, and administrators deteriorated.
Therefore, the longer the strike continues, the nobles, merchants, and administrators who have not yet joined the strike will gradually join it.
‘If that happens, it’s the commoners who die, not them.’
Although their quality of life was lower than before, they were still powerful and wealthy.
Even when the administrative system was paralyzed and society became chaotic, they had the power to protect themselves, and even when logistics movement stopped and the price of bread soared, they were able to make cakes and eat them.
On the other hand, those who were powerless and without money could easily lose their lives the moment society turned into chaos, and no matter how hungry they were, they had no choice but to hold on to their hungry stomachs and wait for the situation to end as soon as possible.
This situation had to be resolved as soon as possible to prevent innocent people from being ridiculously sacrificed.
