The Fate Of The Dairam People Was Decided.

Two weeks had passed, and by now, the resistance of the Dairam people had shrunk to a small scale. In particular, after the leadership was wiped out, organized movements had almost disappeared.

Even Dallon, their main city, was under the control of the Polia Kingdom Army to the point that one could say 98% of it had been occupied. Amid this, a full-scale offensive against the island began. Even inside the island, resistance remained on a village-by-village basis.

Their numbers were not that great. Considering the size of the island, they could obtain sufficient bombing support from aircraft, so the advance could only become quite fast. Since they advanced with tanks at the front as well, the resistance could only end after a little over a month.

Originally, this kind of resistance would have dragged on for at least a year, but since the leadership that could have united them collapsed all at once, they had no choice but to surrender quickly.

On May 25, Dairam Island was completely occupied by the Polia Kingdom Army. The will to resist still remained, but most people’s hearts had already lost their will to resist. They had no choice but to once again vent their resentment that their people had been brutally killed by the Polia royal family.

Of course, they themselves had provided the cause, but from their perspective, they still thought of themselves as victims. In truth, that might effectively be correct. After all, they too had been used by those blinded by greed, had their will for independence stirred up, and had ended up in this situation.

In any case, amid this situation, the Polia Kingdom Army was seen passing through every day while searching the villages where the Dairam people who had surrendered and survived lived, and the Dairam people could only feel fear because of that. In particular, the role of Beto, the biological weapons, was large, and through actions that placed them at the front, the will to resist could only disappear even further.

In reality, the Dairam Incident had already reached a state where it was practically over. Amid this, in the royal castle of the Polia Kingdom, opinions were being raised about how to deal with the Dairam people.

Royal Palace, Grand Conference Hall.

Several dozen ministers were present. And they were seen denouncing the Dairam people.

“We must thoroughly tear the Dairam people apart. We cannot let them run wild any longer.”

“That is so, Your Majesty. Given their exclusionary nature, there is a high possibility that something like this will happen again in the future. We must eliminate that possibility entirely even now.”

“They still think of themselves as victims. That resentment will eventually be passed down through the generations, and then in the end, they will once again voice dissatisfaction toward the kingdom. We must present a solution even now.”

At these voices, some asked what the solution was.

“What do you mean by solution?”

“Naturally, we should clean out their entire people. That is the cleanest method.”

“A-Are you saying we should massacre millions of people right now?!”

“If not now, there will be no chance. If we carry this out at this moment when no one will care, no one will be able to say anything about it!”

“A-As much as that may be true. Is there any need to take such extreme action?”

“I believe that statement is somewhat excessive.”

At the hardline statement, many of them showed flustered expressions. Seeing that, Ian thought, So we can produce voices like that too? Cleaning out a people—certainly, in this era without human rights, that would be something one could say and do.

‘It means that their feelings toward them are that indignant. Still, those words seem too overheated.’

“In my view.”

The moment Ian’s voice was heard, the conference hall was instantly filled with silence. This sight showed just how absolute royal authority was. Looking at that sight, Ian continued speaking.

“Tearing them apart within us, or in truth, eliminating them, seems as though neither would be a very good choice for the future.”

“What are you thinking of doing? Does Your Majesty have a plan?”

At Chancellor Norwen’s question, Ian spoke as if he too had thought carefully about it. In truth, at first, he too had thought of tearing their people apart within the kingdom. But no matter how much he thought about it, that choice seemed highly likely to develop into a problem that would create internal division in the future.

“What about making them independent instead?”

“Pardon? You mean independence?”

“You are saying we should make them independent?”

“No, were they not suppressed in the first place in order to stop them from becoming independent?”

“More importantly, even if that is done, where exactly do you intend to make them independent?”

“Your Majesty, if that happens, our kingdom’s population will decrease by several million. On top of that, matters related to taxes will also decrease.”

In the Polia Kingdom, which had a population of over one hundred million, several million people seemed small, but even so, it was not an easy matter. They had problems, but they could provide sufficient labor power, and at the same time, the regular taxes that came in would also decrease by a fair amount.

Of course, the greatest problem was where they would be made independent. The Polia Kingdom no longer possessed overseas territories. Since even its colonial territories had already been made independent as kingdoms, there was the question of where they would be made independent.

“They will be independent, but I am thinking of conditional independence. There are already the situations of the Vincent Kingdom and the Rubid Kingdom, which became independent earlier, are there not? If so, would the economic problem not be resolved to some extent? In addition, if we sequentially migrate mainlanders there, the island will come entirely under our kingdom’s influence.”

As Ian said that, his gaze was directed toward the large map located inside the Grand Conference Hall. His gaze touched one part of the massive map that seemed to contain the entire world. He thought it would be good to use that land as the place where they would become independent.

‘We own several islands among the islands that exist in the Sea of Abundance. They are too far away to manage anyway, and their population is even small.’

He thought it was a place with perfectly fitting conditions. Moreover, since he had said it would be conditional, it could become a considerably favorable situation for them. Ian was thinking of attaching various special conditions to their independence.

To begin with, making them independent itself was something they were carrying out while taking a loss, so through those conditions, he intended to continue making them a source of sustenance for them in the future as well. Those conditions were like this.

‘For the next 100 years, except for the islands and the waters within 1 kilometer nearby, we should make all maritime territory be managed by us. In addition, we can also hold the fishing rights and make it so they can only work if they pay taxes too. Rather, the more they work, the more taxes they will end up offering to us.’

They were quite, no, extremely harsh conditions. One could see it as completely reducing any room for development. It was called independence, but the fate waiting for them was to live in economic subordination for 100 years. He knew it was harsh, but because of what they had done, he thought he could not let them become independent on favorable terms.

‘In the end, only after 100 years will they be able to become fully independent.’

Ian boldly told the ministers what he was thinking. Those who heard this explanation initially felt discomfort at the absurd decision of independence, but as they listened to what followed, their expressions immediately began to brighten.

“Oh, it is truly a wise decision.”

“It seems to be a method that can not only resolve the instability regarding them, but also allow our kingdom to continuously gain many benefits afterward.”

“It will take a period of 100 years, but if even that period is not set in the first place, they will not accept these conditions either.”

“It seems to be a very good method.”

Many ministers were agreeing. Of course, several still seemed unable to erase the thought that the people themselves should be exterminated. Seeing them like that, Ian thought that the outline had come out to some extent.

‘This has been decided with this. Come to think of it, the number of people has increased considerably.’

At the time he had first ascended the throne, there had been only around a dozen people at most, but now that number had grown to over seventy. That was likely proof that the nation’s administrative power had improved greatly. In truth, more than half of these people were under his control.

‘This is exactly ideal. In any case, I should meet that man once.’

He thought of someone, and that person was none other than a man called “Luson.” It had not been long since he had learned about him. Only belatedly had he learned that one of the Dairam leadership had been captured inside a prisoner camp.

‘It is a funny thing. He was a bastard who stood at the very front and showed his will to resist us more than anyone, yet when he was captured, he had such a strong will to live that he even sold out the leadership.’

He was an extremely disgusting bastard. But at the same time, because he was that sort of bastard, Ian knew that he would be easy to move. In truth, he also intended to resolve the matter of independence through that man. He was a bastard who should be killed and eliminated immediately, but it would be a waste to do that.

‘It would be better for him to become independent and become king. Then he will be unable to escape me for the rest of his life.’

Since Ian had the weakness that he had betrayed his people in his hands, Luson would not even dream of betrayal. On top of that, since he would become the representative of the independent country, he would be the one to bear all the criticism and hardship. Since he had been so heated about independence, Ian thought that making him that would be good for him as well.

‘Or not.’

As he thought that, the meeting soon ended with a positive response toward the independence of the Dairam people. And not long after, Ian summoned someone to his office and met him.

Thud!

A person in shabby clothes prostrated himself on the floor covered with an expensive carpet. There was someone looking down at him, and that was none other than Ian. Under that gaze, the prostrated man slowly lifted his head, but the moment their eyes met, he lowered his head deeply again. Soon, Ian’s voice reached that man’s ears.

“Was your name Luson?”

“Th-That is correct.”

“It seems rather different from how you originally acted.”

“Wh-What do you mean?”

“I heard that you cursed me quite a lot. According to the witnesses, you called me a devil-like bastard who squeezed the backs of his own people dry. Or you said I showed the hypocrisy of taking good care of children despite being a war merchant bastard. They say you said such things.”

“I-I have never said such things! How could I dare say such things about His Majesty the King? Please believe me!”

“Hmm, is that so?”

As Ian spoke and looked down at him, Luson could not help trembling without realizing it. The king he faced directly was young, like himself. But if there was a difference, it was that the pressure faintly felt from him was no joke.

Was this what a king was originally like? For some reason, he strongly felt as if Ian was crushing him.

‘Wh-What will happen to me? Since my identity was discovered, is it execution? I-I do not want to die. I want to live…’

His desire to live could only be strong. Originally, he was that sort of person. He was someone who believed that it was enough as long as he himself survived, even if many others died. That was why he had incited independence, and he had been thinking of becoming the one who represented the nation.

“I will set that aside for now. I am thinking of making an interesting proposal to you.”

“A p-proposal?”

“Whether you accept it or not will be entirely your choice. Of course, if you do not accept it, there will be no answer but execution.”

“E-Execution!?”

“Of course, if you accept, you will avoid execution.”

This was literally saying that he would make a proposal, and all Luson had to do was accept it. At those words, Luson nodded strongly as if he would accept no matter what and spoke.

“I will accept!”

“Even though you have not yet heard the proposal?”

“I will accept any proposal, no matter what!”

Ian felt quite satisfied with the attitude of the man called Luson. At that, he told him the plan he had in mind. He would gather together the islands that existed in the Sea of Abundance and let them become independent. Of course, as a condition, as he had thought earlier, for 100 years, many conditions would be attached that would inevitably be disadvantageous in areas such as maritime territory and fishing rights.

‘It is independence in name only. The true nature of their people is that a life far harsher than their previous one will be waiting for them.’

“I will do it!”

“Mm? Is it all right for you to say you will do it immediately like that?”

“Does that not mean I will become king?”

“That is right. You will become the king of the Dairam Kingdom.”

“I will accept all the conditions according to Your Majesty’s words. So please make me king. Then I will give you all my loyalty!”

His eyes were full of greed. He was not thinking at all about the fact that although it was called a country, it would become a situation practically no different from a vassal state. Seeing that, Ian thought that he seemed to have made the excellent decision to make that man king.

‘He is truly a disgusting bastard to represent a country, but it is good that someone useful to me appeared.’

Look at that. That appearance full of delight, and that attitude as if everything was fine as long as he alone did well. Well, no matter how difficult and hard things were, the moment he became king, he would be able to enjoy all sorts of pleasures. The ones who would suffer would only be those below him, so he would manage well.

In any case, it seemed that the problem regarding the Dairam people would be resolved with this. He thought that he would probably be quite busy until next year. Starting with transporting the Dairam people all the way to the Sea of Abundance, it would involve even creating a certain level of infrastructure for them to live, so it would be a considerably complicated and chaotic task.

At the moment the decision to establish a place called the Dairam Kingdom was made like that, another festive event occurred in the Polia Kingdom. It was none other than the wedding of Princess Charlotte, the King’s younger sister. Since it was a joyful event that occurred after a bad incident, the wedding was scheduled to be held quite grandly.