Chapter 53: Marina’s Profound Despair

While our Miss Hitana was brimming with determination, ready to achieve something grand, her newly acknowledged half-“brother” was strolling the streets with her sister.

Anselm was genuinely nurturing Marina.

For whatever reason, he had no cause to neglect this kind and gentle girl.

—And it conveniently kept Marina from interfering with Hitana.

“Sitting in a study or office reviewing documents won’t change anything at its core.”

Anselm said to Marina, who followed respectfully a step behind: “No matter how many books you read or theories you master, it’s the same.”

“Marina, what do you think is the essence of all the Empire’s policies?”

Marina, hands clasped modestly in front of her, pondered for a moment before answering hesitantly: “The essence of policies should be… control over the nation, right?”

“And deeper than that?”

Anselm didn’t deny her answer, only smiled gently: “What is the essence of national control?”

“This…”

Limited by her knowledge and perspective, Marina couldn’t answer further.

She shook her head helplessly. “Please guide me.”

“Its essence is the management of people.”

“You must understand one thing, Marina.”

Strolling down the street, accepting the reverent gazes and even bows from passersby, Anselm remained poised and composed.

A mere tilt of his head or shift of his gaze made everyone who greeted him feel noticed.

“The concept of a nation isn’t some grand thing. It’s merely a tool, and its existence represents the greatest injustice—class disparity.”

Sensing Marina’s confused gaze and realizing he’d said too much, Anselm smiled: “Don’t mind me, I spoke too much. This is… not necessarily useful but quite remarkable knowledge. You don’t need to understand it now.”

“Simply put, a nation may sound vast and weighty, but it’s ultimately made of people. All the Empire’s policies, at their core, stem from people’s needs.”

Marina understood this immediately.

She nodded knowingly: “So you mean that just reading books or reviewing documents doesn’t directly reveal what people need, nor can it lead to good policies.”

The girl, only a year older than Hitana, looked at the increasingly prosperous Chishuang Territory, admiringly exclaiming: “If there were more nobles like you… the Empire would surely become better.”

“Is that so?”

Anselm paused, turning to Marina with a half-smile: “Is that your conclusion?”

Caught by his gaze, the girl froze, then stammered nervously: “I… did I say something wrong?”

“From a normal perspective, your understanding isn’t wrong.”

Anselm’s gentle tone calmed Marina somewhat.

She murmured to herself: “If it’s not wrong from a normal perspective, then it must be from an extraordinary one…”

“Extraordinary, meaning…”

Marina suddenly understood, her fingertips growing cold.

“…Extraordinary.”

She uttered the two words, so distant from her, with a hint of fear.

“Exactly, extraordinary.”

Anselm nodded with satisfaction: “If this world had no extraordinary elements, no leap-like differences between people, then a nation, formed by groups, would require its ruler—the Emperor—to make policies for the majority.”

“Otherwise, if the majority forming the nation grows dissatisfied, or even revolts, the nation would collapse. No matter how lofty the Emperor, he could change nothing, could he?”

Anselm simplified knowledge from his original world to make it understandable for Marina, while casually commenting on that great existence without reservation, startling her.

“Y-Yes.” The girl nodded cautiously.

“Without the extraordinary, it… should be as you say.”

“But there is no ‘without.’”

Anselm spread his hands, his elegant cane instantly transforming into a blade: “The existence of extraordinary elements makes this theory inapplicable, because the foundation of the Empire isn’t the people, but…”

Marina’s face paled with fear, trepidation, and a trace of unwillingness as she whispered:

“…The Emperor.”

“Yes, Marina, you must understand one thing: all the Empire’s policies are made for the people, but the ‘people’ here are not the majority of the Empire’s commoners, but the foundation of the Empire… His Majesty the Emperor.”

Anselm softly spoke… of the cruelest reality in this extraordinary world.

“Every Emperor, upon donning that Crown, becomes a sixth-stage divine being among mortals. The power they wield can incinerate oceans and devastate lands. The Empire exists not because countless people sought a home and built this vast collective—”

“But because the Emperor, to showcase their greatness, provided shelter and order for countless humans.”

Theoretically, any Emperor of the Empire, without external interference, could reduce the Empire to ashes in three days.

In such a case, the so-called “majority” holds no meaning whatsoever.

“Do you understand, Marina?” Looking at the trembling girl, Anselm sighed softly.

“The commoners were never the foundation. They have always been… merely dependent on the Emperor.”

“But why—”

The smarter someone is, the harder it is to accept such profound, pure despair: “If we exist only for the Emperor, then why… Why do we have the civilization and order we have now? If the Empire is just the Emperor’s plaything, then, then how could the world be like this? It shouldn’t… I…”

She spoke incoherently, showing faint signs of mental collapse under increasingly deep thoughts.

Everyone knew the Emperor was great, supreme and Marina had always believed so.

But Anselm’s words made her suddenly realize—the Emperor wasn’t simply great or supreme.

Everyone knew there was a gap between themselves and the Emperor, but they assumed it was a gap between people.

In reality, the gap between the Emperor and everyone else wasn’t a human one at all.

Everyone… was merely mayflies clinging to the Emperor.

“Calm down, calm down, Marina.”

Anselm gently patted the girl’s back to comfort her: “I know it’s hard to accept this all at once, but since you’ve resolved to learn from me, you’ll have to face this truth one day.”

“Let’s keep walking.”

He said gently: “If it’s too much to bear—”

The handsome blond boy extended his hand to the trembling girl: “Would this help?”

Before Marina could respond, Anselm had already taken her hand, continuing to explain as they walked:

“Hearing just what I’ve said would naturally make you feel immense fear, but the world and the Empire aren’t that simple.”

“First, let me tell you about an interesting theory.”

Anselm briefly outlined a theory called “Marlow’s Hierarchy of Needs,” then asked Marina: “Marina, which level do you think His Majesty the Emperor is at?”

“Ah… ah?” Marina snapped back to attention, responding nervously, “It should, should be the highest level, right?”

“Of course, the Emperor, as a being with wisdom and raised in this society, as long as their education is normal, must fulfill their endless psychological needs. This is one of the key reasons the Empire exists.”

“A great, prosperous, vast Empire with content people can showcase the Emperor’s greatness. The people’s praise and awe satisfy the Emperor’s heart… So, every policy benefiting the masses isn’t to make the Empire better—its essence is the Emperor pleasing themselves.”

Anselm felt the soft hand in his grip tighten slightly, which pleased him, as Marina keenly sensed the issue without being consumed by her earlier fear.

“But that… isn’t realistic.” Marina’s voice still trembled slightly. “Basing everything on the Emperor’s personal whims… is too unrealistic. What if one day, one day he wants—”

“Yes, people always change.” Anselm gently held Marina’s hand to calm her. “If the Emperor grows tired of the people’s praise, or if one day he suddenly wants to see wars rage and cries of anguish fill the air, what then? You’re worried about that, aren’t you, Marina?”

“…Yes.”

Marina gripped Anselm’s hand with both of hers, saying with intense emotion: “Please tell me! Tell me… my existence, my family… everything I have isn’t so insignificant. At least…”

The girl, already aware of her own fragility, stumbled weakly, nearly collapsing: “At least, everything doesn’t exist just for one person.”

“Rest assured, Marina.”

Anselm steadied her by the waist, his gentle voice seeping into her mind, a dark, sticky, eerie presence silently wrapping around the girl collapsing in despair over her sense of self.

“The Empire isn’t that fragile. The founding Emperor was a truly great figure. He foresaw this, so he put many safeguards in place… Otherwise, how could the Empire endure for a thousand years through ups and downs without any sign of collapse?”

“I can’t explain too much, but you can understand it this way… the Emperor isn’t the only extraordinary being in this world, is he?”

Extraordinary…

Marina, though intelligent, perceptive, kind, and gentle, was ultimately ordinary, devoid of any extraordinary talent, destined to live an ordinary life… She murmured those two words in her heart.

Extraordinary… extraordinary…

Why can’t I be? Why can’t I see that kind of world? Why… is my worth only in pleasing others?

The smarter someone is, the more they fall into obsession.

The smarter someone is… the harder it is to break free.

Marina, who had never complained about fate despite a harsh life, felt—for the first time—such

pure hatred for the world.

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