[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-don-t-need-a-guillotine-for-my-revolution":3,"chapter-i-don-t-need-a-guillotine-for-my-revolution-i-don-t-need-a-guillotine-for-my-revolution-chapter-140":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","I Don’t Need a Guillotine for My Revolution",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1763209,2334,"Chapter 141: Iberica - Showdown of Shadows","i-don-t-need-a-guillotine-for-my-revolution-chapter-140",140,"\u003Cp>Mittelburg, the capital of the Krafte Kingdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Justin von Wittenfeld, the Chancellor of the Krafte Kingdom, smiled faintly as he looked at the document in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You seem to be enjoying yourself, Mr. Chancellor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing his aide's words, Wittenfeld laughed and replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hahaha… It is amusing, very amusing indeed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He then waved the document in his hand, adding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It seems the Black Witch of Aquitaine is trying very hard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did she do something of interest?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pardon?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“According to the report, it seems she’s focused on attending council meetings, managing her merchant guild, and exchanging letters with Marquis Lafayette, who is out on the Iberian Peninsula.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, how romantic.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At his aide’s words, Wittenfeld adjusted his glasses and laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They’ve known each other for quite a long time, yet they’re still so heated. They show it off so much, you’d wonder why they haven't married yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, Marquis Lafayette is rarely in the Capital, after all. If they were living together day in and day out, the sweetness would quickly fade and only look like burns.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, you too? I feel the same! How that once-pretty wife of mine became so detestable! Ah, if only I could meet my younger self, I’d tell him, ‘Stop right now!’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Isn’t that just life? Hahaha!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hahahaha!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wittenfeld, who had been laughing with his aide, abruptly stopped as if flipping a switch and asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is it about that time?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The aide, as if he had never been laughing, immediately replied calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It is time, Mr. Chancellor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wittenfeld slowly twisted his lip into a smirk and rose from his seat, his aide naturally following him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two left the official residence, took a carriage, and entered a certain mansion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their movements were as smooth as flowing water, with no one bothering them, and those they encountered simply bowed their heads respectfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon entering the mansion's basement, Wittenfeld inhaled the damp, foul-smelling air and remarked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He seems to have ripened well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if Wittenfeld's words were a signal, a man tied to a chair laboriously lifted his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His sweat-soaked clothes were already in tatters, and his body, visible through the torn fabric, was covered in scabs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ugh, I, I’ll talk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man forced his mouth open as if begging for mercy, but Wittenfeld simply extended his hand to a subordinate standing beside him and received a pair of tongs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll, talk, I’ll—ugh, uwaaaaargh!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man’s last fingernail was torn out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aargh, aaaaaargh—!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While the man screamed, Wittenfeld handed the tongs back to his subordinate and threw his glove onto the floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The aide naturally took out a new glove and deferentially handed it to Wittenfeld. Wittenfeld took it and leisurely put it on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll talk, I said I’ll taaaalk!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the man screaming his lungs out, tears and snot streaming down his face, Wittenfeld opened his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I would appreciate it if you didn't misunderstand.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His leisurely voice was, at least, extremely polite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wh-what are you talking about….”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Talking does not stop the pain. You can, and will, suffer at any time and for as long as it takes until you have been ‘properly’ and ‘completely’ squeezed dry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing the trembling man, Wittenfeld gave a faint smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So please, feel free to give a false confession, remain silent, or feed us false information to confuse us. For a schemer, watching this process is, in itself, quite, quite an enjoyable thing. We have a great deal of time, so let's take our time and enjoy it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man trembled in terror, as if that slow, almost kind voice were the whisper of the grim reaper himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A short while later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man desperately spilled everything he knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While acting as if she were simply enjoying a long-distance romance with her fiancé in the Capital, Countess Aquitaine was steadily planting spies in the Krafte Kingdom’s army and its key bases.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wittenfeld was inwardly impressed that, even after capturing several of them, he had failed to get a proper lead on their primary manager.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And at the same time, he felt it was a limitation befitting her merchant origins, given her obsession with risk management.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Managing agents in a cell-based structure like this might reduce the information leaked when an agent is captured, thereby increasing security. However, it also makes coordination between cells and efficient infiltration much more difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most importantly, it couldn't protect all the information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wittenfeld was methodically cross-referencing the information extracted from each agent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Information was about collection and deduction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Information extracted from a single agent was insufficient on its own, but a comprehensive analysis of information from several agents would eventually lead to a coherent conclusion, even from small, disparate pieces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the puzzle pieces slowly fall into place, Wittenfeld let a small laugh escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What she had shown so far fell a little short of his expectations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that, in the end, was only what was visible on the surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, was this really all there was to it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lumiere, the capital of Francia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Christine Aquitaine was mechanically reviewing and processing the piles of documents on her desk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sudden bird's chirping made her glance out the window, and the sight of the lush, green foliage of the mansion’s small garden, typical of summer, met her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Christine’s eyes rested on the scenery for a moment before returning to her documents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the summer of her 25th year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Louis, now 15, was apparently distinguishing himself and rapidly rising in the Magic Kingdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Christine was nearly a total layman when it came to magic, but that her brother's desires and talents overlapped brought her satisfaction and relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if it was a kind of shallow compensation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Christine worked through the documents, her eyes fell upon a report about the victory on the Iberian Peninsula, and she smiled faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their engagement had been decided when they were quite young, but her true connection with Pierre began when it was broken, when she was 18.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seven years had passed since then. Both of them had long missed the prime age for marriage, but the time ahead was much shorter than the time already passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as she had that thought, a knock sounded at the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Excellency the Countess, it’s Lina.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To prepare for that future, she needed to properly handle the tasks at hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Christine closed and reopened her eyes, and in that instant, her warm expression gave way to a colorless one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come in, Lina.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her handmaiden and trusted subordinate, Lina, opened the door carefully, entered, and presented a report deferentially before speaking with some hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’ve lost contact with two more agents on the Krafte side.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see. Be sure to compensate their families properly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Yes, Your Excellency the Countess.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Christine glanced at Lina's expression and asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is the reaction from the other staff?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Everyone is taking it as a warning and acting cautiously. …I believe the Countess’s intentions have been properly conveyed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Christine smiled coldly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since allying with Pierre, the Aquitaine Merchant Guild and the organization she commanded had enjoyed a long period of success.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only had they expanded to an astonishing degree economically, but they had also secured enough influence to sway Francia itself if they so chose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in the core of such an organization, complacency inevitably builds up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were those who, despite being justly rewarded for their contributions, remained unsatisfied, mistaking the organization’s power for their own and deluding themselves into believing they could enjoy unpermitted privileges.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among them, those who did not know their place and crossed a line that could no longer be overlooked were assigned the most dangerous mission and sent to Krafte, where contact with them was subsequently lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one within Christine’s organization was foolish enough to be unaware of their fate; such individuals would never have risen to a position where they could access such information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Christine took a sip of her long-cold coffee, savored its bitterness, and then asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And you, Lina?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I… I too… will take it to heart.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Christine gave a faint smile to the handmaiden who had once followed her around, affectionately calling her ‘Young Miss.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The meticulous handmaiden, who had once considered it an honor and worked diligently when Christine first entrusted her with intelligence missions, now carried the demeanor of one in power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Christine, who remembered the moment her first handmaiden succumbed to money and framed her, hoped that her second handmaiden had fully understood her warning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Christine didn't know what choices Louis would make.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if Aquitaine fell into Louis's hands, it would be a problem if those who had served Christine from the beginning deluded themselves into thinking they were the masters and treated Louis as a mere puppet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why she was culling her organization while simultaneously drawing Krafte's attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“However… Your Excellency the Countess. Forgive my impertinence, but at this rate, will a proper operation against Krafte not be difficult…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Lina’s worried question, Christine readily nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, you’re right. It seems they have ample capability to confidently declare war.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although there was still time before the war Krafte had foretold, their Chancellor had already sent a very polite, advance declaration of war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, even now, their daggers were being prepared against Francia, one by one. While Christine was also capturing their agents, she couldn’t think it would be perfect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then, what do you intend to do…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at Lina’s anxious face, Christine smiled faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I never expected to be able to deal a direct blow to Krafte’s army. I am preparing something on another front, so you just need to do the best you can.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lina’s face showed a flicker of wounded pride, but she quickly bowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I understand, Your Excellency the Countess.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was unfortunate for Lina, but Christine didn't rely on a single person for everything, not even a trusted subordinate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had merely entrusted Lina with the most effective, yet most easily discoverable, approach to be revealed to the enemy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Christine looked down at the map spread on her office desk, then took a pen and drew a circle around the Krafte Kingdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her intention from the start was not to measure their strength, but Lina’s attempt had, in any case, allowed her to gauge their capabilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a schemer in military operations, Justin von Wittenfeld was likely a cut above her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly, Christine's organization had ultimately started as a merchant guild.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its structure and operational methods were somewhat disadvantageous against their organization, which had been created from its very foundation to support war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They would understand the methods of agents infiltrating armies and military bases better than anyone, and how to infiltrate more efficiently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, he had time to investigate her movements and prepare before she did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their Chancellor had likely judged Christine to be a schemer like himself and thrown down the gauntlet, confident that he could win.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, ability as a schemer does not decide the outcome of a contest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the first place, Christine did not think of herself as a schemer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A Merchant Guild Master, a politician, an admiral, and a schemer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she had to define it, scheming was merely one of a number of tools at Christine’s disposal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as her fiancé, Pierre de Lafayette, became the victor despite not surpassing Raphaël Valliant in military genius.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no need to march into the enemy's field of expertise and fight a head-on battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything was for Pierre de Lafayette, and for herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Christine drew a line on the map connecting the circle to another country and said,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I cannot win with tactics and schemes, then I must face them with strategy and statecraft.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1944,"2026-06-08T09:46:09.371Z",1,"novelbin.me","6c8b290595a5a9ec123d91383d5d54415cb0199e1a90fe595e74f5eb7d02e73d","i-don-t-need-a-guillotine-for-my-revolution-chapter-141","i-don-t-need-a-guillotine-for-my-revolution-chapter-214",257,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-don-t-need-a-guillotine-for-my-revolution-cover.jpg"]