Chapter 65: Airael: So It Turns Out I’m a Rich Lady!

Chapter 65: Airael: So It Turns Out I’m a Rich Lady!

By the time Airael recalled this incident, it was already evening.

At this moment, she had returned to the Elven Royal Palace.

On the balcony of her chamber, gazing at the night view of Elven Royal City, Airael couldn’t help but smile wryly as the memory struck her.

She had calmed down from her excitement.

She had thought she was quite mature, considering she was a mother with a child and had lived for hundreds of years, yet here she was, feeling so “full of herself.”

In her excitement, she had forgotten some important matters.

Fortunately, it wasn’t anything urgent; otherwise, she would have been in serious trouble.

“Well, it’s not appropriate to seek out Domiya-sensei at this time. I should wait until next time to discuss this matter with her!”

After muttering to herself, Airael turned and returned to her chamber.

She needed to get some sleep.

Starting tomorrow, she’d be busy.

Since Linis had decided to let her take charge, the affairs of the kingdom would gradually be handed over to her.

The next morning, Airael woke up on time, brushed her teeth, and then had breakfast.

Thanks to the arrangements of the palace steward, Hela, her life was quite regular.

Notably, after learning that Airael was pregnant, all her meals had been urgently switched to those suitable for expectant mothers.

“Hela, the news of my return should have already been communicated, right?”

After finishing breakfast, Airael asked Hela.

“Your Majesty, the news of your return was conveyed by Lady Linis yesterday.”

“Great! Let’s call in my Minister of Finance this morning!”

Airael smiled.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Hela bowed and left to deliver Airael’s orders.

Meanwhile, Airael diligently prepared herself so as to leave a good impression on those under her.

In the grand hall of the palace, Airael sat elegantly on the magnificent golden throne.

Standing beside her were palace maids, led by Celia and Aurora, while below were two rows of upright Royal Palace Guards.

Rugus, the Minister of Finance for Elven Royal City, was reporting his work to Airael.

He recited a string of numbers, representing the city’s income and expenditures.

“Your Excellency, aside from the taxes collected by the city itself, the primary source of revenue comes from the fixed contributions made by the Elven Lords each year. Together, along with other incomes, the total income of the city last year amounted to 1,490,000 gold coins, of which 800,000 coins came from the contributions of the Elven Lords, 500,000 coins were from the city’s own tax revenue, and the remaining 1,900 coins came from other sources.”

“Wow! Is there really that much?”

Airael looked completely like a rich lady at that moment.

She remembered that the bounty for defeating a high-ranking pirate gang was only 200 coins.

That was equivalent to taking down 7,245 high-ranking pirate gangs!

However, after thinking, it wasn’t entirely impossible.

The Elven Race may be small in number, but their overall strength was quite formidable, and their purchasing power was relatively high.

High consumption prompted them to work even harder to earn money.

At the same time, some Elven goods were also popular overseas through Menas City.

Rugus adjusted his monocle and continued, “Your Majesty, although our annual income exceeds one million gold coins, our expenditures cannot be underestimated either.”

“And how much do we spend each year?”

“When all expenses are combined, it doesn’t fall below one million gold coins annually. For instance, last year, the city spent a total of 1,110,000 gold coins, leaving only 390,000 gold coins remaining.”

“So that means we ended up with roughly 390,000 gold coins after a year of taxes.”

While 390,000 gold coins was quite a sum, compared to the previous large number, it still felt very little.

“Where did all that 1,110,000 gold coins go?”

“500,000 coins were for various military expenditures. Along with the Royal Guards, the city has about 5,000 active troops. After deducting the fixed military salary of 300,000 coins, the remaining 200,000 coins were for various weapon and equipment purchases and maintenance. The last 600,000 coins: 100,000 are allocated for the navy on Silnas Island, and the final 500,000 coins are used for salaries of public workers and maintenance of various infrastructures in the city, including palace expenses.”

Airael nodded.

In short, expenses were plentiful.

Rugus was quite detailed in his explanation; she may not have known the whereabouts of every gold coin, but she could get a sense of where they generally went.

Finally, Airael asked a very important question: “Rugus, how much gold is currently left in the city treasury?”

“One billion gold coins!”

“How much?”

“Reporting to Your Majesty, there are currently one billion gold coins in the city treasury!”

One billion gold coins!

Upon confirmation, Airael was completely stunned.

Wait, I’m actually that rich?!

Oh heavens, forgive me for my ignorance.

And Domiya-sensei, please forgive my response to you yesterday.

I genuinely had no idea I was this wealthy.

Gradually regaining her composure, Airael realized that having one billion gold coins wasn’t all that shocking after all.

After all, the Elven Race was once a world superpower. Even though they had declined later on, they still had their foundations.

Moreover, aside from the great war three hundred years ago, the Elven Race hadn’t experienced conflict in recent years.

Even if they didn’t accumulate much annually, after hundreds of years, it added up to quite a bit.

Understanding that this wealth was the accumulated savings of the Elven Race over thousands of years, Airael knew she had to spend it wisely, making sure every gold coin was put to good use.

Noticing that Airael had been silent for a while, Rugus spoke up, “Your Majesty, is there anything else you wish to discuss?”

“Nothing else, you may leave.”

“Yes! Your Majesty!”

Rugus bowed and exited promptly.

Next, Airael called in several other ministers.

But it was clear that the spotlight of the day belonged solely to Rugus.

He had given Airael a surprise that was just too huge!

One billion gold coins?! Airael could have never imagined she was so wealthy!

But she didn’t neglect the other ministers either.

After all, she still needed their assistance to manage the city moving forward.

At the moment, Airael had no intentions of replacing these ministers.

Although they were promoted by Linis, her relationship with Linis was pretty good.

The power transfer between them was of a mutually agreeable nature, without any contention.

So for now, there was no need to make any changes.

As long as they were willing to listen to her without harboring any improper thoughts, Airael might even keep them around indefinitely.