Chapter 6: 6

The important thing was the flow of funds from the Principality. I had to check what the liquidity of his ongoing business and taxes was. I thought that the reason he was obsessed with money must be in the flow of money, and my prediction was exactly right. Over the past 10 years, the overall budget of the Principality has been decreasing by 5% every year. It didn’t matter if it’s 1-2 years, but it was quite a problem that it continued to decrease by 5% for 10 years.

The sudden decrease in budget was due to several reasons, but the most obvious reason was debt. No matter how wealthy a manor or property owner was, debt existed unconditionally. Debt, if you looked at it badly, was tied up somewhere and gave you room to suffer from debt, but it also worked as collateral for business. That’s why the Ajtain family also had a fairly large amount of debt. Of course, the scale wasn’t enough to affect the family, but the Principality’s debt was blowing as time passed. It was not a case of increasing interest by using debentures. Literally short of money, it was a situation where the size of the debt was increasing every year.

The principality needed a huge amount of goods to maintain its army. I had heard that they also had to prepare for the northern allied countries, which are raising their military maintenance costs every year. And even before returning to the past, I read a newspaper that said that the principality and the allied countries bordering on it were continuously carrying out military actions.

“Hmm.”

In that situation, Ian, who was called the Grand Duke, enjoyed debauchery? The back and forth didn’t match. I thought that at least he was a person who knew how to discern the lyrics.

I scratched my brow and looked at the information guild member who was standing blankly.

“I heard that the imperial family spares no military support, but the incoming budget is smaller than expected. Did I miss something?”

“You saw it correctly. The imperial family, that is, the central government, has prepared and sent a budget to maintain the army, but the scale is not enough. It can be seen that the reduction in armaments is clearing the debt so that the Duchy of Berdian will not think nonsense.”

So, what was power? Although they could not provide unsparing support to the Duke’s family who had devoted 600 years, it seemed that they only ordered to increase the army to fill the shackles and set the actual amount of support to a minimum. The saying that hunting dogs were not fed in abundance was a perfect fit for now.

“By the way, the scale of the debt is huge. It’s all debt that was brought in with collateral, right?”

“He has a debt with 12 mines that can be mined in the principality as collateral.”

I looked at the papers. It was a jaw-dropping amount just by looking at the interest. Well, the debt and interest accumulated over 10 years must be enormous. It was a terrible price for Grand Duke Paulind Berdian, who was his predecessor, to trust the imperial family too much. I scratched my head and thought for a moment. At this scale, it was safe to say that he was owed about half of the entire empire’s annual budget. So he must have been obsessed with money.

“Good.”

“Yes?”

“It’s nothing.”

It seemed that there was a clue.

* * *

Before leaving, I conveyed a message to Ian asking for a moment. When I asked the attendant, he said that he was doing business in the office, and I moved. I knocked lightly on the door and went inside with the reply asking me to come in. Amidst the dense piles of paperwork, seeing Ian sitting on a chair and rolling his pen holder made me smile. The thought that if I was good at this man, I might be able to include him in my plans lifted my spirits.

“Oh, isn’t it Miss Laurencia?”

“How about a little talk?”

“Well, it’s not bad. My eyes were just about to get tired.”

He leaned back in the chair with his eyes closed and approached her with a tired face. I turned my head and looked at the papers on the floor. It was a document related to winter preparations. I bent down, picked up the papers from the floor, tapped them out, and handed them to him.

“It’s a mess.”

“Well, the office is always like that. By the way, what’s wrong with Miss Laurencia over here? Did you come to give me the two gold coins you mentioned yesterday?”

Two gold coins. I smiled, put my hand in my pocket and tossed two gold coins at him. He looked at me in amazement, but took the gold coin lightly and put it on the desk before grinning.

“There’s a side that doesn’t look like a noble lady.”

If one did business with older men, they had no choice but to do that.

“Winter hasn’t come yet, but I’m sure you’re busy preparing for winter.”

“Winter is a tough season. Food is scarce and it’s doubly difficult to defend the border. The morale of the soldiers is low and we have to prepare their winter supplies.”

“It certainly is. But it’s fortunate that it’s not that cold in the west.”

“This town is like that. But the soldiers defending the country on the northern border must be shivering in the cold…”

He slowly turned the pen holder, then lifted his upper body leaning back on his chair, leaned forward, and his eyes shone. The corners of his lips went up.

“So.”

“Yes?”

“Young lady didn’t come here because she was worried that the soldiers in charge of protecting and defending this country would get cold, right?”

“…Well, that’s right.”

He nodded his head with a confused face. Ian put the pen on the desk and looked at me quietly. I also stared at him. He had no reason to avert his gaze, no desire to avoid it. Thinking that it was a very important match, I gazed at him, and the silence naturally grew longer. He stared at me as if he was looking into the abyss, drew a crack between his eyebrows, and then broke the silence and opened his mouth.

“I’m not a merchant. I’m not a businessman. Besides, I’m not a civil servant who goes to war with my mouth, so I’m asking straight-forward.”, he swallowed. “What is the purpose of your visit?”

Direct speech. Not familiar, but not bad.

“Are you worried?”

“Worry?”

“Yes. A very big worry…”

“There is no such thing.”

“Lies. Everyone lives with their worries.”

“Is Young Lady like that too?”

“Sure.”

I smiled. His expression turned sullen.

“So I’m going to have trouble too?”

“Yes, of course.”

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“Oh, that’s interesting. I would have thought that the daughter of the Viscount Ajtain’s family, who has a background in business, is actually a magician who reads the inside.”

“Because you have to be able to read the inside to stand on top of the contract.”

“That’s fun.”

He lazily straightened his back. However, unlike the words, the slightly frowning eyes reflected his mood.

“Then the young lady must know what I’m worried about.”

“To some extent.”

“Would you like to tell me?”

I laughed as he watched. Raising it at an exact angle, as if copying the corners of her mouth, “You don’t have any money.”

The moment I saw that his face was frowning, I continued to speak.

“I know you have a lot of debt. It was not a debt you owed because you wanted it, but a debt you owed unjustly.”

“My internal financial situation is a secret, so how do you know?”

“What in the world is a secret?”

Let’s smile ‘ha!’ With a sigh he rose from his chair and approached. Staring into the Grand Duke’s eyes, his neck stiffened as he approached. Before long, he faced me at a distance of about four steps.

“So, did you come to tell me to be careful because I have a lot of debt? You have a lot of debt, so save your money, something like this?”

“It’s pretty accurate.”

Seeing the wrinkles on my face, he thought I was almost done. This time I took a step closer and looked up at him.

“Do you want to make a deal?”

“Personally or publicly?”

“Both.”

He seemed to be satisfied with my answer and put on a pretty fresh outfit. I also smiled and continued.

“Your Excellency, Grand Duke of Berdian.”

“What do you want from me, Lady Laurencia?”

“I am the next head of the Ajtain family.”

“I see.”

Seeing him shrug his shoulders, I shrugged my shoulders as well.

“The debt that is unfairly weighing down on the Grand Duke in the name of power, the weight that puts a burden on the shield and sword of the empire like not feeding the hounds in abundance…”

I clicked my chin. In a very arrogant way I parted my lips, enjoying his expression.

“Your Excellency, Grand Duke of Berdian, I’ll take care of that debt. Debt me instead.”

It’s best to pay back the original debt.

* * *

The total amount of debt incurred in the Duchy of Berdian for 10 years was 30,000 gold coins. Adding the increased interest to that, a total of 45,000 gold coins were placed in debt. In fact, when I first heard the amount, I thought it was a joke.

Imperial gold coins were highly valued on the continent due to their high gold content. It was so precious too. Gold coins were a unit that commoners did not use well. Silver coins were used for most transactions between individuals, and gold coins were used for public affairs.

45,000 gold coins, no matter how much it was the Principality, it must have come as a big burden to pay this much debt. Moreover, as military maintenance costs increased and debts increased, the debts would have naturally piled up as debts. The imperial family probably didn’t think that the principality would solve this problem on its own. After refusing two or three times, it was clear that at the end, he would have reluctantly extended a helping hand and run into a huge debt. I vaguely remember hearing it. Later, after the Principality was dissolved, this man gave up the title of grand duke.

Not a detailed memory. At the time, I couldn’t pay much attention to this information. It was because I was distracted with the problem that was right in front of my eyes.

“Are you going to pay the debt instead?”

“Yes. And you will owe me.”

“Then, isn’t it the same in the end? How is Ajtain trying to swallow the principality by taking all the debt? Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.”

He might think so. But I didn’t want to take such a complex and risky gamble.

“No. You don’t have to pay the debt with money.”

“What?”

He grimaced as if it was ridiculous. Anyone would be like that. It’s amazing just to hear that someone would pay off a billion-dollar debt instead of one, and knowing one didn’t have to pay it.

“Are you kidding me, young lady?”

This reaction was understandable. However, I thought it would be cheaper if I could protect my life and family with only money.

“I’m going to suppose this is a joke to be safe.”

No matter how good-natured a person may be, one would get very angry if they made a prank like that. But I was not kidding, I was serious. Ian looked at me quietly. It would be complicated to explain and he would want to know what else this was. But because he couldn’t tell if it’s a scam or a joke, he prepared the next card.

“I guess I’ll have to convince you.”

“Assurance?”

I passed him and approached a desk piled with stacks of papers. I picked it up one by one and looked at the contents. There were many things related to the operation of the manor, but most of the items were related to projects that could circulate funds and budget reduction.

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