Good People Get Targeted, So I’ll Be the Villain

"Sur–surrendered? They capitulated without a fight?"

Seeing the completely submissive fairies of Sheffield, Banquix's eyes widened in astonishment:

"Is that even possible?"

"Exactly why I told you there was no need to dispatch troops to Sheffield," Guinevere said calmly beside her.

"Because it simply wasn't necessary. After Bogart's death, Sheffield lost its unifying pillar. Though our reputation across Britain is abysmal, in a sense this works to our advantage… since they dare not risk incurring our wrath."

She shook her head in reflection:

"If you were renowned as a benevolent lord, those fairies might scheme against you, refusing your rule because they know you are kind and assume you won't punish them severely… but if everyone knows you to be a brutal, merciless ruler, it's entirely different. The fairies will submit out of fear; they hold no illusions about you. Even if they harbor resentment, they won't dare defy you—unless they think they can't be killed. Though they may hate you inwardly, since they won't receive any kindness from a supposedly good lord, why bother being benevolent?"

"I don't understand, Guinevere," Banquix's brow furrowed anew. "But you said earlier that when not strictly necessary, we should treat our subjects kindly, not make their lives too hard—so long as they aren't driven to despair, they won't rebel against us, right?"

"That depends on whom we're dealing with. If they are honest subjects who merely wish to live peacefully, why oppress them? In that case, one shouldn't be overly harsh," Guinevere shrugged.

"But in this world, some fools believe that good people must live with a gun to their head: if you are gentle toward them, they take advantage. For such shameless idiots, my advice is simple: kill them and be done with it."

"Oh!" Banquix pondered. "So when you filtered and killed fairies in Salisbury, it was for that reason, right?"

"Exactly. Among fairies, those shameless fools are far too many. With them, there's no use in conciliation."

"Then… since that's the case, me being gentle and asking you to marry me—but you always avoid the topic—could that be because I'm too kind to you? Should I be more forceful? Like locking you in prison and refusing to release you unless you marry me?" Banquix suddenly said.

Guinevere nearly fell from his riding beast at her words. Yet seeing his reaction, Banquix covered her mouth and laughed:

"Of course I'm joking, you dummy. I'm not someone who can't tell weighty matters from trivial ones. You're nothing like the others; of course I wouldn't treat you that way."

(Guinevere's inner alarm: "Are you really not that naive? Do you misjudge how you appear in others' eyes?")

He dared not voice that thought; instead, he quickly steadied himself and nodded quietly:

"…Is that so."

After a brief pause, Guinevere continued:

"But even if you say that, you know we have many issues to handle right now, and I lack spare energy here… please give me more time."

"After all, Lico also said that a forced melon isn't sweet—though I don't know what that metaphor truly means, she thinks such matters can't be rushed, right?" Banquix turned to him:

"Still, she said that, but I really look forward to it. You must give me an answer soon."

"…I will," Guinevere said, insincerely.

…

[Queen Era 2018 November: After several days, your subordinates successfully took control of all of Sheffield.]

[As when you governed other territories, you continued quietly administering various small "human-nature tests" to Sheffield's fairies.]

[Unexpectedly, the pass rate among Sheffield fairies greatly exceeded expectations—about three times higher than Salisbury's fairies, and excluding smith fairies, several tens of percent higher than Norich's. Sheffield's army passed at an even higher rate than its inhabitants.]

"…Truly surprising. Though still only a minority pass, it seems the quality of fairies overall is tied to their lord," Guinevere remarked.

"Bogart's competence as lord appears unexpectedly decent."

He reflected on other fairy lords: Myrien's Gloucester and Nocnary's Edinburgh outshine Sheffield economically, but comparing as leaders, perhaps only Nocnary rivals Bogart. It's a pity—had he recruited Bogart, that ambitious lord might have been a fine subordinate… but his ambition means he must die. Yet leaving a whole Sheffield intact proved a boon to Guinevere.

[To maintain stability, you did not purge Sheffield's fairies all at once as in Salisbury. Instead, you enacted harsh laws in Sheffield and stationed many agents disguised as commoners to monitor them. Upon discovery, fairies would be arrested and either executed or conscripted into the cannon-fodder corps.]

[Sheffield's original army was reorganized: those who passed tests were mixed into your forces; those who failed were also sent to the cannon-fodder corps.]

"Of course, overly harsh laws aren't good… but in turbulent times, strict measures are needed. Our reputation can enforce them—for now, we have no choice."

Guinevere explained to Banquix's future queen training:

"Once those to be purged are mostly dealt with, you can gradually relax these laws to normal levels—perhaps even win some goodwill from remaining fairies. If you start by treating them well then must become ordinary later, they will resent you. But if you begin harshly then ease off, they may end up thanking us."

Banquix tilted her head: "Why? Both approaches end similarly, right? Why does starting harsh yield better results?"

"Because we aren't benevolent," Guinevere said, shrugging. "We play the villain from the start—who points a gun at a known evildoer? You also asked me to marry you gently, but I avoided it—perhaps because I was too kind? Now you think you should be more forceful?"

He continued: "You might call it transitioning from luxury to frugality being harder than from frugality to luxury… For example, a jerk once said about raising cats: if you feed a cat good food every day, then one day lack meat, it might scratch you; but if you beat it before every meal, then the day you forget to beat it, it might be overjoyed. Cruel, but logical."

Banquix nodded, half understanding: "Then why not kill all filtered-out fairies directly? Why create a cannon-fodder corps?"

"Because excess is also problematic. Killing them all at once risks internal unrest and unsettles newly surrendered fairies, possibly sparking rebellion. But forced conscription sounds less severe… and lets us extract more value from them."

"Value?" Banquix asked.

"In this realm, war is inevitable, and war kills fairies. No strategy avoids all casualties. So why not send those we plan to discard into battle? Their battlefield deaths won't be blamed on us exclusively—war naturally consumes lives. That way, we remove troublesome fairies yet reduce our own losses. A true win-win."

"Win-win?" Banquix blinked. "Besides us, who else benefits?"

"No one," Guinevere corrected. "We win twice."

He watched Banquix grow dazed: "You just need to know that these corps are used as expendables; give them a grand name, anything will do—only we need understand it."

"But, Guinevere, do we really need so many cannon fodder?" Banquix asked. As Guinevere's lessons deepened, she asked him more follow-up questions.

"That's one downside of being the villain," Guinevere shook his head. "Time's ticking; they'll act out soon."

…

[Queen Era 2018 November: As you consolidate control over Sheffield, Oxford Lord Woodworth condemns your actions.]

"How dare you! You scoundrel! How dare you?" Woodworth fumed through the water mirror.

"You treat Nocnary and Bogart well; I'd not object. But how dare you press Sprigen to death? He was not a rebel but a loyal lord, one of the six clan leaders! How dare you force his demise and seize Norich?"

"And that Banquix girl—who granted her authority to give you Norich? Does she fancy herself the new queen of the Fairy Realm? Her Majesty isn't dead, only missing!"

"Treachery! Ambition unbounded!"

Suddenly Woodworth's expression shifted:

"No, no, something's wrong… You tricked me! You and Tristan are the same breed! You've been slaughtering fairies! Norich and Sheffield drop fairy populations daily! All by your hand!"

"You released the Morses in Salisbury too, didn't you? You're exterminating fairies!"

Enraged, Woodworth bared fangs:

"Mark my words! I declare war on you! I will rid the Fairy Realm of you two villains!"

Guinevere turned to Banquix: "As we choose to be the villain, we naturally become targets for self-styled champions of justice."

"But it's fine; at this point our forces are strong enough."

She looked into the water mirror:

"All right, Woodworth, I accept your declaration of war."

Guinevere replied calmly:

"Bring it on."

"Eventually, you'll be next anyway."