[MLV] Epilogue: Alsatian Autumn (Patreon)

A/N

The chapter is finally here!

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As the days went by, and the crisis in Alsatia continued, thousands of soldiers from the imperial army, officers of the interior police, and hundreds of thousands of armed thugs of the Lysard paramilitary flooded major cities across the empire. But, instead of facing disorganized and outnumbered protestors and demonstrators, the Third Estate, using its vast financial and information networks, successfully protected its rallies and gatherings using its paramilitary wing, the Rubicains, a group that was now estimated to have more than a million members around Alsatia.

With the streets of the empire’s cities largely under the control of the Third Estate, a newfangled idea was proposed by its radical factions in what was essentially a pincer attack against Marc’s cabinet.

To force the imperial government into the negotiating table, the Third Estate officially called upon millions of workers to stop working in the coming weeks unless the reforms aimed at improving commoner rights previously enacted by the emperor himself were restored. While most workplaces didn’t follow this due to fears about violent reprisals by the interior police, enough of them were shut down that the economic minister was soon forced to resign in shame. 

Emboldened by these results, the Third Estate committed fully to their pincer attack, tapping into their network of disaffected commoner businesses that already long harbored resentment against Marc’s cabinet. Within a few days, the Lorienval Group, an organization representing Alsatia’s wealthiest commoner businessmen, declared that they would pull back investments out of the economy until the demands of the Third Estate were satisfied.

The Alsatian economy was soon grounded to a full screeching halt, the markets tumbling right on the day of the new economic minister’s rushed appointment.

To Lucille’s amusement, this only led the council of ministers to double down at attempting to violently suppress the Third Estate, which was a failing strategy. She found herself in a situation she didn’t anticipate while talking to her bastard brother. Every day she stalled by adding ridiculous demands he couldn’t accept, her leverage on him improved further. She fully realized that not only did Marc find himself in a quagmire domestically, but even the soldiers of the imperial army were starting to question his legitimacy and the council of ministers’ decision-making.

To prevent him from pulling out of their talks while she played hardball, she threatened Marc over and over again about releasing the information in her hands, knowing that with the imperial army’s morale plummeting, many of them could straight up disobey or mutiny the commands issued by the war minister if they found out how Marc and the army’s brass were responsible for the complete destruction of General Davout’s Army of the Meuse.

Of course, she preferred to keep her spirit recordings private as well, as Lucille understood that the imperial army splitting over this would only turn Marc and his faction into desperation, leading to civil war, but, by dragging her feet, she improved her position a lot, all while giving Marc and his allies an opportunity to have a graceful retreat to preserve the peace.

It was eventually enough that when Lucille dropped her more ridiculous demands, Marc had no choice but to seek common understanding with her.

“There you go,” Marc said, his tone neutral as he handed a piece of paper he signed to Lucille. “Happy now?”

“Let’s see…” Lucille read the paper of their secret agreement. 

On it were the terms she demanded from them. First was the assurance that the army was going to drop its attempts to find deserters and mutineers in the demon brigades’ ranks during the opening days of the Rhonne crisis. Second, they promised that the imperial army was going to respect the terms between it and every Vaelrin soldier who signed up to join the demon brigades. Lastly, the imperial army agreed to never interfere again in the duties of officers and soldiers aligned with the crown princess.

A smile grew on Lucille’s lips.

“I suppose this is acceptable,” she said, looking back at Marc. “I’m very happy indeed.”

Her bastard brother seemed tired and demoralized. Whatever fire she saw in his eyes when he came here for their first day of negotiations had already been long extinguished. She found that amusing. While she wasn’t victorious over him yet, both of them knew that Marc’s upper hand in the power struggle between them was starting to vanish.

All because a certain woman intervened in Lucille’s favor.

Lucille signed the secret agreement, handing it back to Marc, who looked defeated. In contrast, she was very happy about this. The liberation of Alsatian Vaelrin from the unfair duties placed on them was still not achieved, but with this, Lucille was sure that she would have enough influence going forward to at least make sure that they wouldn’t be mistreated to such cartoonish degrees by the army.

The war minister stood up.

“I’m glad that we finally came to a fruitful agreement,” his cold, detached voice said. “I’ll see you next time. I’ve got other business to attend to.”

Lucille grinned.

“What business?” she asked, already knowing the answer, just to press salt on his wounds because she felt like being petty today.

The war minister made no overt reactions, but she knew she struck a nerve. Lucille loved this so much. Being a reserved nice princess was something suffocating to her. Now, she could run rings around people she hated, like this guy.

“The unions sent representatives to the imperial palace,” Marc dryly said. “I am also meeting the chairman of the Lorienval Group for a… potential detente between us and the Third Estate.”

“Dear brother, how did you even manage to gain the ire of both workers and businessmen?” Lucille giggled a bit. “Isn’t that a bit too much?”

He smiled as his right eye twitched.

“...Have a good evening, my dearest sister.”

Then, Marc abruptly left their meeting room.

As for Lucille, she took her teacup and sipped from it, enjoying the sweet taste of victory.

In the end, the council of ministers was forced to concede on many issues to the Third Estate, mostly by reinstating the reforms that Lucille’s father gave to the empire before he became ill. 

First, most of the legal powers of the nobility were once again revoked, especially the right to personally punish any commoner who offended them. The seigneurial rights of the elven princely families over their fiefs were also revoked. This would certainly generate a lot of anger in Alsatia’s nobility, as their fiefs, even with seigneurial rights, were already indebted and unprofitable. With their right to extract rent from their tenants revoked, they would certainly be forced to either sell off their valuable estates or further indebt themselves to commoner financiers, the same people who spearheaded the removal of the nobility’s privileges.

Press freedoms and the right to public assembly previously guaranteed by the emperor were also reinstated, though the right for workers to organize strikes on their own was suspiciously dropped at the last moment by negotiators from both sides, something that Lucille feared might fracture the Third Estate’s unity one day. Luckily, for now, most people were satisfied at the restoration of political liberties in the empire.

Finally, to prevent another disaster like the Rhonne crisis, the imperial army agreed to a set of reforms to professionalize it. Mostly by finally allowing commoners to rise in the ranks and to change their promotion system into a more meritocratic one. It was another blow to Alsatia’s high society.

The Third Estate’s radical wings demanded more, but time was running short. The economic slowdown was hurting the commoners they claimed to fight for, and many feared a potential financial meltdown, something that might backfire on the Third Estate if the war minister used it against them. So they had no choice but to call off the strikes and protests the day after the war minister signed the detente between the imperial government and the Third Estate, preventing them from pushing for more reforms.

And so, about a month since the first tower in the Rhonne Exclusion Zone was destroyed, Alsatia emerged out of it with an emboldened reformist movement, while the war minister’s government took a heavy blow. What started out as a desperate battle for isolated Vaelrin soldiers soon led to the first victory of the common man over Alsatia’s despots, and this time, instead of reforms coming from the emperor, it was the Alsatian people who won it.

Only time would tell if Marc, Pierre, and the imperial government’s new machinations would allow them to bounce back from this disaster and retract these changes, or if Lucille, the crown princess, would finally sit on her throne and solidify the reforms as the new empress.

The future of Alsatian Vaelrin remained uncertain too. While the reforms were celebrated by the common Alsatian man, it meant absolutely nothing for the Vaelrin, who remained alienated from the rest of Alsatian society. The new changes only applied for citizens, and their eternal residency status remained unchanged. They still had to work hard under worse conditions for worse pay, discrimination remained rampant, and Vaelrin men still had to sacrifice themselves in the battlefield to secure the most basic of rights.

Even the agreement between Lucille and the war minister wouldn’t be of any comfort for them, as it was a secret one. As autumn arrived in Alsatia, the average Vaelrin wouldn’t see any difference in their lives. As always, only the seasons changed, and they must still endure to survive another day.

One thing was certain, though, something that gave Lucille more hope for the future.

The wheels of history were now turning faster.

After rewarding the Vaelrin soldiers who fought with her financially, Lucille began writing Alicia a letter inviting her to a meeting. Alicia had many more secrets that Lucille wished to know, but for now, she knew that her good friend was still busy in her homeland, and their only point of contact was Alicia’s proxy. 

Once she was done with writing the letter, she handed it over to Lorraine, who would send it to Alicia’s residence. It was already night, and when Lucille turned to look at the night sky through her office’s window, she let out a small smile.

Regardless of what happens next, thank you, Alicia, Lucille thought, as if she were speaking to her far-away friend. I’ll repay you and your homeland one day once I’m on the throne.

A powerful Concordian battleship, the CIS Warspite, alongside a small flotilla of destroyers and protected cruisers, arrived at the port of Volos.

As a part of another deployment of Concordian troops to be posted in Vael, a few hundred marines departed the CIS Warspite, alongside their heavy equipment and engineering sections to build a base near the Concordian embassy in Vael and to expand Volos’ port facilities. Due to the improving relations between the directory and the Concordian empire, the process of expanding Concordian influence in the realm of demons was unlikely to stop.

But, alongside the marines, engineers, and other professional Concordians departing the CIS Warspite, another entity departed it, almost as if the empire’s tentacles spread out of the Concordian battleship.

To onlookers, they didn’t exist. No one would even know, not even the Concordians, that something powerful from their homeland disembarked at the port today. And the entity liked that.

It had been a long time since they’d last seen the land of demons. Nearly seven centuries.

Vael certainly changed a lot. They’ve been watching over it from afar, witnessing its slow downfall to mankind. But now, something took their attention, and they’ve decided to come here and investigate.

First was the massive explosion reported to have occurred at the center of Vael’s royal capital, an area completely consumed by a black dungeon. Second was the emergence of a certain vampiric noble named ‘Alicia,’ someone who somehow began industrializing a remote town into a small city.

An impossible feat for an isolated and backwards country like Vael.

We shall see, then, the entity thought as they disappeared in Volos’ streets. Alicia Allister, it must be you, right?

The streets of Lorienval were full of activity today.

Ever since the nation protests that ended only a week ago, it seemed that a new kind of energy was awakened in the hearts and minds of the Alsatian nation. At one of the major roads of Lorienval’s 1st Arrondissement, known to be the main area where Lorienval’s high nobles owned massive estates, mansions, and other properties, the Rubicains marched in lockstep, hundreds of them, shouting their slogans and catchphrases against the aristocracy and the old order, their faces full of glee as the people of the 1st Arrondissement anxiously avoided them.

They carried with them the flags of Alsatia, with the imperial coat of arms at the center removed, alongside banners of their organization. There was a lot of energy in their faces, considering they just won a massive victory against the hated nobility of the empire. Instead of a ragtag mob of thugs, they were now uniformed and organized as if they were trying to imitate the imperial army. They were heavily armed too, holding enchanted heavy-duty batons, no doubt capable of easily breaking bones and organs.

No doubt, the aristocrats watching this march from the windows of their estates wouldn’t like this one bit.

Had the Rubicains organized this last month, the 1st Arrondissement would have been a site of another fierce street battle between the Rubicains, the Lysards, and the interior police because they would be deployed to protect the nobility. But this time around, the interior police were suspiciously absent.  It had been this way ever since a group of commoner Third Estate members took power in the city government, replacing the appointed elven aristocrat famous for his strict security policies.

But, while this was a cause for concern for the safety of Lorienval’s aristocratic population, it was one less headache in the mind of a Polonian intelligence officer as he walked freely in the city’s streets.

Never before had espionage in Alsatia been easier, thought the intelligence officer. People spoke more freely nowadays, and information changed hands without any authorities disrupting the flow. It was for this reason that he and his partner, who was now in a long-term task to resolve the case of the Veligrod Incident last year, were here at Lorienval.

At last, they had a new lead about the identity of the woman that their informant, Kornel Sikorski, identified during the early days of his investigations into the Veligrod Incident. While the case was now publicly cold—the Polonian government simply decided to publicly hang a group of Vael Invicta members as a scapegoat—the Veligrod Guards and the Polonian government were anxious behind the scenes about a repeat of this incident, and they wanted it resolved.

Hence why Jozef Tarnow, intelligence officer of the Veligrod Guards, had no choice but to keep chasing every lead to this ‘Alicia Brooks’ person. Apparently, all this time, she might have been living in Alsatia’s capital under the name ‘Alice Kasperska.’

When Jozef first discussed this lead with his partner, Roman Pilsudski, both of them managed to only stare blankly at each other. First, because of their stark realization that this powerful woman was utterly garbage at picking her secret names. Second, because she still managed to evade and escape them for nearly a year now.

Both of them were objectively disappointing.

Jozef turned to his side. Roman was idly eating a sandwich he brought from a nearby store. This younger partner of his was truly a glutton! They just had lunch a while ago, and he already distracted himself once again with food. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was from the Pilsudski family, a renowned family that produced many generals who left their mark in Polonian history, Roman wouldn’t have climbed this high in the Veligrod Guards’ ranks with his severe lack of discipline.

“We’re close,” Jozef snapped at his partner. “Get it over with.”

“Got it,” Roman quickly scarfed down his sandwich and caught up to Jozef.

The two of them continued deeper in the 1st Arrondissement, passing by luxurious boutiques, fine dining establishments, and other high-value businesses that dotted this area. Most of them, however, were closed or filled with well-dressed people who either seemed a little too anxious about the gatherings nearby or very angry.

Literally no one bothered them, and so they continued sneaking around without a hitch until, at last, they reached their target—the headquarters of Alice Kasperska’s little trading company. It was a rather nice house for a so-called Polonian immigrant, and near it was a massive warehouse that she owned as well.

Suspiciously, however, there didn’t seem to be much activity going on inside. Already, the warning signs that something was off in this place became clear to the two as they began gathering information from a distance. That was when the door of Alice’s house was opened, and out came a black-haired human woman.

She wore clothes not too far from the usual fashion of the more educated daughters of robber barons and industrialists, high quality but not too flashy like the ones used by noblewomen. Even so, both of their eyes were drawn to her. Kornel Sikorski described Alicia Brooks as someone unimaginably beautiful that might surpass even an elven princess, and while this Alice Kasperska didn’t exactly fit that bill, she had a rather pristine face for the average human woman.

“...Damn.” Roman’s eyes were distracted as he mindlessly wrote on his notepad. “That’s her?”

“Maybe,” Jozef said, frowning as the two tried to keep themselves out of sight. “We can’t be sure.”

“What now?”

“I didn’t think we’d get this far, so I’m not sure.”

Jozef held his chin. Then, both of them turned to the woman’s residence.

“No, that’s a bad idea,” Roman said, a rare display of levelheadedness for his part.

“I agree,” Jozef nodded. “That’s why we’ll do this very carefully.”

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A/N

And at last, that wraps up Vol I of this series. I know it's a bit of an alt-POV chapter instead of what people are actually waiting for after the last chapter, but don't worry, we're now discussing and working on Vol II of the series. Just had to do this to wrap out the Rhonne crisis arc and set things up for the next book.

As for my thoughts, I really, really love this story. This story is rather ambitious I admit, maybe a bit too much, in that, we're trying to tell the story of an OPMC protagonist but, the world is, as we can see here, clearly moving away from the setting most optimized for that. No longer are nations here only steered by the bickerings of a few noble families behind close doors, and no longer is the world just a standard high fantasy setting with one big bad Demon King to slay. Those days are very much history, and thus, this is very much a world experiencing new growing pains as it struggles to reach the next era.

I think we've shown that a lot with the Rhonne crisis arc. I know many of you will probably want to see Marc-Antoine's corpse dangling on a rope soon to save Alsatian Vaelrin from his tyranny (I share this opinion by the way), but, I assure you, even the all powerful war minister is just one man at the end of the day. Removing or replacing the top won't mean that the state below will automatically change, it won't mean at all that the thousands of Pierres and Valentins of this nation torn between the old and the new will just disappear.

In other words, this is very much a world that is becoming less fitting for a great man to emerge in, capable of steering history through his or her strength, intellect, ideals, and willpower alone.

Or is it?

It's a fantasy world with magic after all, and Alicia is fairly good at it. I believe this is one of the core ideas that this story explores.

Admittedly, when I first imagined this story, I really just had a vague idea of, 'What if a powerful heroine is dropped to a world moving on from the Age of Heroes to the Age of Nations?' and it really got me going I guess. I read a lot about history, I play a lot of video games related to it, and one of the things that really interests me a lot is how those developments would play out if the world was a full fantasy world, with dungeons and dragons alike.

We'll see how it goes, there's still so much to explore.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story so far, and I hope you'll enjoy what's coming next! See ya!