Marlina’s Deep Dark Despair

As our Miss Seraphina brimmed with determination, ready to accomplish great deeds, her newly recognized half-brother was out shopping with her sister. 

Ansel was indeed earnestly cultivating Marlina. Regardless of his motives, he has no reason to neglect this kind and gentle girl.

— This also conveniently prevents Marlina from hindering Seraphina.

"Reviewing documents in the study and office fundamentally changes nothing," Ansel told Marlina, who was following him very formally. 

"Even if you read many books and grasp many theories, it's the same."

"Marlina, what do you think is the essence of all the empire's policies?" 

Marlina, her hands modestly folded in front of her, pondered for a moment before answering hesitantly, "The essence of policy should be... control over the state."

"And what about further down?" 

Ansel did not deny Marlina's answer, but smiled gently, "What is the essence of state control?" 

"This..." 

The limitations of knowledge and perspective prevented Marlina from answering Ansel's question. She shook her head helplessly, "Please enlighten me."

"The essence is the management of people." 

"You need to understand one thing, Marlina." As Ansel strolled down the street, receiving the admiring glances and even public salutes of passers-by, he was at ease and dignified. Just a turn of his head, a shift of his gaze, made every person who greeted him feel noticed. 

"The concept of the state itself is not something grand. It is just a tool. Its existence represents the greatest injustice - the difference in class."

Feeling Marlina's puzzled gaze, Ansel, realizing he might have said too much, smiled, "Don't mind, I said too much. These are some... not necessarily useful, but very remarkable knowledge. You don't need to understand it now." 

"Simply put, the state sounds huge and heavy, but it is ultimately composed of people. All the policies of the empire, in the final analysis, are based on people's needs."

Marlina understood this sentence right away. She nodded knowingly, "So what you mean is, just reading books and reviewing documents can't directly understand what people need, let alone formulate good policies." 

The girl, who is only a year older than Seraphina, looked at the increasingly prosperous Red Frost territory and admired it, "If there are more nobles like you Lord Hydral... the empire will definitely become better." 

"Is that so?" 

Ansel paused, turned his head to look at Marlina with a smile that was not quite a smile, "Is this your conclusion?"

The girl, under Ansel's gaze, was first taken aback, then stammered somewhat flusteredly, "Did... did I say something wrong?" 

"From a normal perspective, your understanding is not wrong." 

Ansel's gentle tone calmed Marlina down a lot. She murmured to herself, "Since there is no problem from a normal perspective, then... from an extraordinary perspective..." 

"Extraordinary, that is..." 

Marlina suddenly realized, her fingertips becoming somewhat cold.

"...Transcendental." She utters these words that have nothing to do with her somewhat timidly.

"That's right, transcendental." 

Ansel nodded in satisfaction, "If there were no transcendental elements in this world, and there were no leapfrog differences between people in essence, then the ruler of the state formed by the group, that is, the policies formulated by the emperor, must consider the majority of people." "Otherwise, if the main body of the state is dissatisfied or even revolts, the state will collapse. No matter how high the emperor is, he can't change anything, can he?"

Ansel simplified a lot of knowledge he got from that world, so that Marlina could understand it simply. At the same time, he didn't shy away from his casual evaluation of that great existence, which scared Marlina a bit. 

"Yes... yes." The girl nodded cautiously, "If there is no transcendental, it should... be as you said."

"But there is no if." 

Ansel spreaded his hands, and the delicate scepter turned into a blade in an instant, "The existence of transcendental elements makes this theory inapplicable, because the main body of the empire is not the people, but..." 

Marlina's face turned pale. She said fearfully, hesitantly, and somewhat unwillingly, "It's... the emperor."

"That's right, Marlina, you need to understand one thing. All the policies of the empire are made for people. Here, 'people' does not refer to the majority of the empire's civilians, but the emperor … who is the main body of the empire." 

Ansel whispered... the cruelest reality of this transcendental world.

"Every emperor, when he puts on that crown, will become a god among men in the sixth stage. The power they hold can burn the ocean and destroy the earth. The existence of the empire is not because countless people seek a place to live and establish such a large community—" 

"It's because the emperor wants to show his greatness and provides shelter and order for countless humans." 

Theoretically speaking, any emperor of the empire, without any external interference, can burn the empire to ashes in three days.

At this time, the so-called "majority" has no meaning at all.

"Do you understand, Marlina?" Ansel, looking at the increasingly trembling girl, sighed softly, "The commoners have never been the main body, they have always been... just attached to the emperor."

"But why — " 

The smarter a person, the more unable to accept this kind of profound and pure despair: "If we only exist for the emperor, why... why do we have the current civilization and order? If the empire is just the emperor's plaything, then, what would this world look like? It shouldn't... I..."

She was incoherent, and even showed signs of mental breakdown under increasingly deep thinking. 

Everyone knows that the emperor is great, the emperor is supreme, and Marlina has always thought so, always thought so, but Ansel's words made her suddenly realize--the emperor is not as simple as being great or supreme, everyone knows the gap between the emperor and themselves, but everyone defaults, that is the gap between people. 

But in fact, the gap between the emperor and all people is not the gap between people at all, all people... are just mayflies attached to the emperor.

"Calm down, calm down, Marlina." 

Ansel comforted the girl by gently patting her back: "I know it's hard for you to accept these things at once, but since you are determined to ask me for advice, there will always be a day to face them."

"Let's keep going." He said gently: "If you can't bear it — " 

The handsome blond boy reached out to the trembling girl: "Will this make you feel better?"

Before Marlina could react, Ansel had already held her hand, walking forward while continuing to explain: "Just listening to what I said, you will naturally feel extremely fearful, but this world and the empire are not that simple." 

"First of all, I want to tell you an interesting theory." 

Ansel briefly outlined the theory called "Maslow's hierarchy of needs", and asked Marlina: "Marlina, where do you think the emperor is at that level?"

"Ah... ah?" Marlina came back to her senses and responded nervously, "It should, it should be at the highest level."

"Of course, the emperor, as a 'person' with wisdom and growing up in this society, as long as his education is normal, he needs to satisfy his endless psychological needs, which is also one of the important reasons why the empire exists." 

"A great, prosperous, vast, and peaceful empire can show the greatness of the emperor, and the praise and awe of the people can satisfy the emperor's heart... so, every policy that is beneficial to the public is not for the empire to become better, its essence is just the emperor pleasing himself."

Ansel felt the soft little hand in his palm squeeze a little harder, which made him happy, because Marlina keenly felt the problem and was not entangled in the fear just now. 

"But that... is unrealistic." 

Marlina's voice was still a little trembling, "Putting everything on the personal thoughts of the emperor... is too unrealistic, what if he one day, one day wants—" 

"Yes, people always change." Ansel gently held Marlina's hand to calm her down, "What if the emperor gets tired of people's praise, what if he suddenly wants to see wars and cries, what should we do — you are worried about this, aren't you? Marlina."

"...Yes." 

Marlina held Ansel's hand with both hands and said excitedly: "Please tell me! Tell me... my existence, my family... my everything, is not such a humble thing. At least..."

The girl who had already understood her fragility stumbled a few steps, almost falling to the ground: "At least, everything, does not exist just because of one person." 

"Don't worry, Marlina." 

Ansel supported Marlina's waist, his gentle voice drilled into her mind, the dark and sticky strange thing, silently entwined the girl who felt desperate and collapsed about herself.

"The empire is not so fragile, the founding emperor is a truly great person, he foresaw this situation, so he made a lot of insurance... otherwise, how could the empire continue for thousands of years in ups and downs, but there is no sign of complete destruction?" 

"I can't explain too much to you about this, but you can understand that... there is not only one extraordinary being in this world, is there?"

Extraordinary... 

Marlina, although smart, exquisite, kind and gentle, after all, is still ordinary, so ordinary that she has no extraordinary talent, and can only live an ordinary life... whispering those words in her heart.

Extraordinary... extraordinary... 

Why can't I, why can't I see such a scene, why... my value, only exists in that pleasing others function? 

The smarter the person, the easier it is to get stuck in obsession, the smarter the person... the harder it is to get out.

Even if she lives in how hard, she has never complained about the unfairness of fate.

— Marlina, for the first time, she harbored such pure hatred for the world.