While our Miss Sitana is brimming with determination, ready to make a big impact, her newly acknowledged half "brother" was out to take a walk with her sister.
Anselm had indeed been seriously nurturing Malena, and for whatever the actual reason was, he had no reason to neglect this kind and gentle girl.
--And it also prevented Malena from interfering with Sitana.
"Sitting in the study or office and reviewing documents doesn't fundamentally change anything."
Anselm said to Malena, who was following him very properly from behind, "Even if you read a lot of books and master a lot of theories, it's the same."
"Malena, what do you think is the true nature of all the policies of the Empire?"
Malena, with her hands nervously clasped in front of her, thought for a moment, then answered hesitantly, "The true nature of policies should be... the control over the state."
"And what about further down?"
Anselm didn't deny Malena's answer but smiled gently, "What is the nature of state control then?"
"This..." The limitations of her knowledge and perspective prevented Malena from answering Anselm's question. She helplessly shook her head, "Please enlighten me."
"Its nature is, the management of people."
"You need to understand one thing, Malena." Walking down the street, receiving the respectful gazes of passersby and even greetings, Anselm's expression was relaxed, his demeanor proper. Just a slight turn of his head and a shift of his gaze was enough to make every person who greeted him feel noticed.
"The concept of a nation itself is not something great; it's just a tool. Its existence represents the biggest unjustness there is—the difference in classes."
Feeling Malena's bewildered gaze, and realizing he might have gone a bit too far, Anselm smiled, "Don't worry about it, I've said too much. These are some... not necessarily useful, but very remarkable pieces of knowledge. You don't need to understand them now."
"Simply put, a nation sounds vast and heavy, but it's ultimately made up of people. All the policies of the Empire, in the end, are based on human needs."
This sentence, Malena understood immediately. She nodded, "So, your point is that just reading books and reviewing documents doesn't allow us to directly understand what people need, and it's even less likely to formulate good policies."
The girl, only a year older than Sitana, looked at the increasingly prosperous Scarletfrost, and with admiration and affection, she sighed, "If only there were more nobles like you... the Empire would certainly become better."
"Is that so?"
Anselm paused in his steps, turning to look at Malena with a half-smile, "Is this the answer you've come up with?"
The girl, being looked at by Anselm in such a manner, was first taken aback, then became flustered and stammered, "Did... did I say something wrong?"
"From an ordinary perspective, your understanding is correct."
Anselm's gentle tone calmed Malena down quite a bit. She murmured to herself, "If it's correct from an ordinary perspective, then it must be from an extraordinary angle..."
"Extraordinary, which means..."
Malena suddenly understood, and her fingertips grew cold.
"...Beyonder."
She uttered the word that seemed unrelated to her with some trepidation.
"Exactly, beyonder."
Anselm nodded with satisfaction, "If this world had no beyonder elements, and there were no such leap-forward differences among people in essence, then for a nation formed by a group, its ruler, the emperor, would have to make policies that consider the majority, which is the main body of the population."
"Otherwise, if the main body of the nation becomes dissatisfied, even revolts, the country will collapse. No matter how high and mighty the emperor is, he can't change anything, can he?"
Anselm simplified the knowledge he had gained from that world to make it easy for Malena to understand, while also not shying away from his casual evaluation of that great existence, which somewhat frightened Malena.
"Yes... yes," the young girl nodded cautiously, "If there were no beyonder elements, it should... be as you've said."
"But there is no 'if.'"
Anselm spread his hands, and his elegant cane transformed into a sharp blade in an instant: "The existence of beyonder elements makes this theory inapplicable, because the main body of the Empire is not the people, but..."
Malena's face turned pale, filled with fear, trepidation, and yet also a hint of bitterness, as she spoke in a low voice:
"... The Emperor."
"Yes, Malena, you need to understand one thing: all the policies of the Empire are made for people, but the 'people' here are not the majority of the Empire's commoners, but the main body of the Empire... the Emperor."
Anselm spoke softly... revealing the cruel reality of this beyonder world.
"Every emperor, upon donning that crown, becomes a god-like being of the sixth stage, walking among mortals, wielding power capable of scorching the seas and devastating the land. The Empire exists not because countless people have come together to establish such a vast community for shelter—"
"But because the Emperor, to demonstrate his greatness, has provided shelter and order for countless humans."
In theory, any emperor of the Empire, without any external interference, could burn the entire Empire into ashes within three days.
At this point, the so-called "majority" had no significance whatsoever.
"Do you understand now, Malena?" Seeing the girl trembling more and more, Anselm sighed softly, "The commoners have never been the main body; they have always been... dependent on the Emperor."
"But why—"
The smarter one is, the harder it is to accept such deep and pure despair: "If we only exist for the Emperor, then why... why do we have our current civilization and order? If the Empire is just the Emperor's plaything, then how could the world be the way it is now? It shouldn't... I..."
She was babbling incoherently, and with deeper contemplation, there were even signs of an impending mental breakdown.
Everyone knew the Emperor was great, the Emperor was supreme, and Malena had always thought so, always believed it, but Anselm's words suddenly awakened her—the Emperor was not just great or supreme; everyone knew the gap between the Emperor and themselves, but everyone tacitly agreed that it was just the gap between people.
But in reality, the gap between the Emperor and everyone else was not the gap between people; everyone... was just a mayfly clinging to the Emperor.
"Calm down, calm down a bit, Malena."
Anselm comforted the girl by gently patting her back, "I know it's hard for you to accept these things all at once, but since you've made up your mind to seek knowledge from me, there will always be a day when you have to face them."
"Let's continue walking."
He spoke gently, "If you really can't bear it—"
The handsome golden-haired young man extended his hand towards the trembling girl, "Would this make you feel better?"
Without waiting for Malena to react, Anselm had already taken her hand, walking forward while continuing to explain:
"Just hearing what I've said, you naturally feel an immense fear, but this world and the Empire are not that simple either."
"First, I want to tell you an interesting theory."
Anselm briefly outlined the theory known as "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs," and then asked Malena, "Malena, where do you think the Emperor is on that hierarchy?"
"Ah... ah?" Malena came back to her senses, responding nervously, "Should be, should be at the highest level."
"Of course, as an Emperor who possesses wisdom and has also grown up in this society, as long as he receives normal education, he needs to satisfy his endless psychological needs. This is also one of the important reasons why the Empire exists."
"A great, prosperous, vast, and peaceful Empire can demonstrate the Emperor's greatness, and the people's praise and awe can satisfy the Emperor's heart... Therefore, each policy that benefits the public is not for the Empire to become better; in essence, it is just the Emperor pleasing himself."
Anselm felt the soft little hand in his own tighten slightly, which pleased him, as it showed that Malena had acutely sensed the issue and was not continuing to be entangled by the previous fear.
"But this... is unrealistic." Malena's voice still trembled slightly, "Relying everything on the Emperor's personal thoughts... it's too unrealistic. What if one day, one day he wants to—"
"Yes, people always change." Anselm gently held Malena's hand, calming her down, "If the emperor becomes tired of people's praise, if he one day has a sudden whim to see war and chaos, to hear wailing all over the wilderness, what should we do—you're worried about this, right? Malena."
"...... Yes."
Malena held Anselm's hand with both of hers, very emotionally speaking, "Please tell me! Tell me... my existence, my family... my everything, is not something so insignificant. At least..."
The girl, who already understood her own fragility, staggered weakly for a few steps, almost falling to the ground, "At least, everything, is not just for one person."
"Don't worry, Malena."
Anselm supported Malena's waist, his gentle voice penetrating her mind, and the dark, sticky, sinister presence wrapped silently around the girl who was in despair and collapse over herself.
"The Empire is not that fragile. The founding Emperor was a truly great figure who foresaw this situation and took many precautions... otherwise, how could the Empire have lasted for a thousand years through ups and downs without any signs of collapse?"
"I can't explain too much about this to you, but you can understand it as... this world does not have only the Emperor as beyonder, right?"
Beyonder...
Malena, although intelligent, delicate, kind, and gentle, in the end, was still ordinary, an ordinary girl without any extraordinary talents, destined to live an ordinary life... she murmured those two words in her heart.
Beyonder... Beyonder...
Why can't I? Why can't I see such a sight? Why... is my value only in the role of pleasing others?
The smarter one is, the more likely they are to be trapped by obsession, the smarter one is... the harder it is to escape.
Even though she lived in hardship, Malena never complained about the unfairness of fate.
--For the first time, she harbored such pure hatred for the world.
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