Faust and his party soon found a nearby cafe and sat down. In a private room of the cafe deep in the night, Faust and Charlotte sat alone together. This was at the request of the imperial princess, who clearly had private matters to discuss.
Despite Viviana’s slight resistance, Faust temporarily asked his childhood friend to step outside.
Faust could share any other piece of information with Viviana, but he had a feeling that what Charlotte was about to say was related to the wheel of destiny. That was not something that could be shared with a 【witch】.
Under the dim yellow light, Charlotte used a silver spoon to gently stir her rich milk coffee. Propping her cheek with one hand, she spoke slowly:
"I remember that the Qingxi Kingdom was once a province of the empire. Since gaining independence, have your people harbored hatred for the empire’s past actions?"
Faust took a sip of his hot drink.
"I was born after that. I have no right to speak on behalf of the suffering people of that era regarding forgiveness. However, as it stands, rather than hating the empire, the commoners of the Qingxi Kingdom are more afraid of the empire settling old scores."
Charlotte gave a mocking laugh.
"Heh. Most of the peripheral provinces under imperial rule are like that. They see us as cold-blooded tyrants and live in constant fear, as if the empire’s very existence is meant to oppress them."
Is it not?
Faust almost blurted out the retort. In the eyes of the world, the Radiant Dynasty was an absolute conqueror and oppressor. Wherever the empire’s iron hooves trod, the land was ruthlessly ravaged. If not literal bone-marrow-sucking exploitation, then certainly perverse and tyrannical governance.
"That is probably what everyone thinks now."
Charlotte’s eyes looked lonely as she continuously added sugar to her coffee.
"But a long time ago, the empire wasn't like this."
"Since the empire’s founder established this realm, the royal family has only ever had one instruction. The philosophy our Radiance family upholds has only ever been one: to create a unified great empire and lead humanity toward eternal glory."
"With the superhuman power of the royal family and the empire's manifest destiny, we expanded our borders to our heart's content, unifying warring nations under a single banner. We built schools and hospitals, reclaimed farmland, built bridges and roads, and allowed the people to prosper... As a ruler yourself, you know that achieving all this is not particularly difficult."
Faust nodded in agreement.
The productivity of this world was incredibly high—it was almost nonsensical. Even in a pastoral kingdom, as long as there were no extreme wars, there would never be a shortage of supplies.
"But lasting peace is not permitted. No matter how hard the empire tries, after a certain amount of time, accidents inevitably occur, causing turmoil in some part of the empire and destroying the fine situation we built."
"The empire is forced to suppress while simultaneously expanding, forever exhausted by the struggle between the two."
Maybe the aggressive expansion was just too high, Faust thought. It was normal to face instability when swallowing too much territory.
Faust didn't find this very confusing, but then Charlotte interlaced her fingers and rested her chin on them.
"Those things might still have explanations, but... do you know about the demon front on the empire’s western border?"
"I've heard of it."
Rumor had it that when the empire expanded to the borders of the western kingdoms, they discovered a vast land of death. Ever since the empire's borders touched it, endless demons and monsters have surged from those mountains and forest seas, launching frenzied attacks against the Radiant Dynasty.
The Radiant Dynasty's once-unstoppable expansion slowed down from that point onward, as most of its energy had to be used to deal with the impact of the monster tides.
"To combat the endless stream of demons and monsters, the empire constructed a defensive line, constantly devised strategies, and iterated on its weaponry, finally deploying the ultimate heavy artillery."
Faust immediately recalled the empire's signature weapon. "The Earth-Shattering Cannon?"
"Yes, that one. A weapon capable of blasting through mountains and tearing the earth asunder."
Charlotte continued, but the princess's face grew increasingly dark.
"But even though the artillery clusters completely washed over every inch of the land where the demons resided and leveled the mountains obstructing the empire's path, no victory was achieved. Not only that, but the situation grew even worse—more and stronger monster tides came crashing in."
"As the empire was being driven back step by step, it was Lady Lian who delivered the revelation to us—the blade is mightier than the cannon."
"Against demons and monsters, the Earth-Shattering Cannons can never stop the monster tide. They only increase its activity."
The Prince of Qingxi was struck with realization. "To think such a thing was happening..."
In truth, Faust had been puzzled for a long time. The empire's technology tree was clearly quite advanced; their techniques for various artillery, vehicles, and airships were very mature. Yet, all the kingdoms seemed to ignore this, stubbornly sticking to cold weapons.
Even the empire itself was constantly reducing the size of its firearm-based legions.
Faust had once thought everyone was simply too conservative. He had planned that once he started developing, he would definitely form a modernized legion and greet feudal knights with firearms.
Sir, the times have changed!
But looking at it now, sir, the times haven't changed at all.
Charlotte clenched her fist and struck the table, trying her best to remain composed.
"Thus, the empire could only throw bodies of flesh and blood into the breach to block the monster tide."
"It requires the painful partings of lovers, the burning blood of warriors, and countless sacrifices and tears. Only by offering up the precious emotions displayed by humans under disaster as a sacrifice can the monster tide be calmed. Since then, hundreds of thousands of casualties have been paid every year. The demon front has become a festering, bleeding sore on the empire."
"The blood tax and exploitation of other provinces are mostly to fill this hole."
The imperial princess gave a self-deprecating smile.
"It wasn't until I awakened that I learned the truth from Lady Lian."
"Ha, this is fate... We have been toyed with by fate all along. Everything we do is meaningless; we are just repeating the same cycle over and over again."
Faust swirled his bone china teacup. He could understand the imperial princess’s helplessness and resentment, but he didn't share her indignation toward fate.
To him, fate was merely a low-level mechanism. Rather than hating it, the more important thing was to understand it.
【Most awakened Sons of Man show a degree of resentment after believing in fate. For a son of man, it is understandable... Only you basically don't care, and instead think about how to utilize fate.】
Charlotte controlled her emotions well. Her resentment lasted only a short while before she regained her composure.
The princess downed her coffee, stood up, and extended her hand to Faust.
"Prince of Qingxi, because you are the ally Lady Lian has chosen, I must be honest with you."
"Our goal is to follow Lady Lian and break free from this cage of fate, liberating humanity from this endless cycle of despair! We will grant humanity true freedom!"
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