It surprisingly worked, even without her saying anything truly deep, relying only on quotes from big names… even though everything she used came from the real world, from history books.
The main thought in Daisy's mind was simple, if everyone already wants to rebel, if people are standing that close to the edge, then words mean nothing. Yes, emperors and kings once ruled with their voices, but in those times their people idolized them like gods, manipulated into believing that change would come, while in her era such faith was impossible.
Her father had ruined everything, pushing the nation into starvation through endless fighting and by driving away everyone who came near the borders, and Daisy knew that no speech, no matter how perfect, could fix that.
No, she had to show it.
She had to show that she was the Empress, the rightful ruler of the Empire, and she did it with intent, not for show, but to carve the idea into the people's minds that even nobles would die if they dared to stand against her. She showed them power and influence, showed them that the highest figures of the Empire stood with her, on her side, Orsen, Fern, the other nobles, the two generals of the military. Their presence alone spoke louder than any speech, and it meant far more than she had originally expected.
The plan to have them on the stage was to show people that the names they know are with her, to show them that the military leaders, the best ones, are with her, just like Orsen, and well, when they pulled out their swords from the sheath, it truly meant something special.
Seeing them on her side gave the people more hope, gave the poor more belief that the change might truly happen, and of course the dead bodies of the nobles helped too, because everybody knew them.
The big houses, the nobles who lived in lavish luxury, who paid nothing to their workers, who watched them starve every day but did nothing, everyone could feel it, everyone knew they were plotting something because it was too obvious as out of nowhere these nobles had started paying more, giving out food, distributing land, and handing seeds to the poor they treated like slaves.
What Daisy hadn't fully realized was that even starving, even poor, people understood their own value… they couldn't be bought by those who made profit out of them and gave nothing back.
They didn't just know their own worth… they understood the value of the Empire itself. They knew that if the Empress were somehow killed and the nobles seized the throne, it would bring even more starvation, a total collapse of the Empire.
[System: Congratulations, you have earned an achievement.]
[Achievement Unlocked: Be the Empress Who Is Recognized by the People]
Recognized, huh… she thought as goosebumps ran all over her body but she knew pretty well… that she did nothing so far. It's just the capital, these people aren't the ones starving to death.
[System: Correct. The capital residents are starving, but not at the same level as those who are outside of it.]
Which means the capital people are with me, but no more?
[System: The message you sent will be whispered throughout the Empire. Executing nobles is a rare move that gives the people hope, but you must push the idea of change even more.]
Daisy wasn't happy about it, no, not even for a second because she knew what she had just done would have consequences. It wasn't about the other nobles scattered across the Empire, no, it was about the very people she had just spoken to. She had promised them change… but if that change didn't come, the capital would surely burn. And yet she had only spoken to them… she hadn't said a word about the people who were truly living in suffering and despair.
List me the poorest regions where people starve, only the worst ones.
[System: Gibral, Vermunth, and Kistiy regions. Around four million people.]
What the fuck are these numbers… how do I feed four million people… she thought as it was just impossible to even think about, she never even saw something like this in the game… and now she needed to do something about it for real.
[System: The answer is simple. You can't. The game is about being an Empress, and to remain one, you must do everything. Even if a few million die, you must stay focused on the goal and adapt your rule to the changing world, situation, and economy.]
Well… Daisy immediately understood what the System meant. Within the game, there were countless players, each following their own style. Some chose to kill everyone, even the starving, until starvation itself no longer existed. If disease appeared again, they would kill everyone, and disease would disappear with them.
There were many approaches, brutal ones, calculated ones, and everything in between… but she decided to go with another route… the route that is reality.
"Spread my voice!" she shouted as she stepped forward, and everybody just went silent. "Gibral, Vermunth, Kistiy, and every region, every city, every town and village… the change includes everybody who lives within these borders!"
[System Alert: Do not try to help every—]
"And I beg for all of your forgiveness from the bottom of my heart, not as an Empress, but as a person!" she shouted as she bent down a bit… and the silence was absolute… the mass couldn't even believe what they were seeing… the Empress had bowed down… the Empress had begged for them.
Even Albert and the others were… shocked by the move, but they knew she needed to do it as well, so they followed her, bowing down.
"But words mean nothing!" she shouted again, still half bowing. "That's why, from tomorrow onward, our soldiers will be sent out to help! Not only the soldiers,I ask everyone, from the bottom of my heart, to help me, help the people, help the Empire! We are one! We are the Imperial!" She shouted as now she stood tall and pushed her sword up in the sky high and the cheer flowed as fast as she finished it, the shouts in unison, the city screaming… everybody was shouting the same four words that she ended with.
"We are the Imperial" was what they took from her speech—the "we" she used to reach everybody, from poor to rich, from farmer to noble… one single word carrying so much power.
One single word that unites the whole… that unites the Imperial.
Her Majesty Daisy did it. She grasped that last remaining faith of the people, but the question remains… what is she going to do with it?
Will it slip from her hands? Will civil war or rebellion follow? Will the Empire fall? Will she live up to that change, or were her words nothing more than empty promises?
Only the future will tell.