Chapter 81

I pointed to a map depicting the Northern Federation and said,

“Although the esteemed King of the Northern Federation has unified it, Your Majesty’s royal authority is still weaker than that of the Emperor of Romania, who governs the realm through consultation and compromise with the seven Electors. According to information garnered through trade, it seems that the Dukes under Your Majesty’s rule act as if they are kings of their respective territories. Furthermore, a few years ago, I understand the Duke of Helsinki revolted against Your Majesty.”

Upon hearing this, the king made a serious expression that suggested he would strike me down at any moment, then sighed and replied,

“Indeed, if things were as they should be, all the territories of the Duke of Helsinki would have been directly governed by me… but my royal authority is still weak, and I had to distribute the lands of that scoundrel to nobles who haven’t accomplished much.”

“I sympathize with you. However, if Your Majesty accepts my proposal for a ball and cultural event, there will be less need for such concessions going forward.”

To draw the king’s attention, I paused my speech for a moment and added,

“Nobles live with dignity and grandeur, and they simply cannot afford the burdens of military expenses and estate management, let alone a refined culture. We will supply Your Majesty with the cultures of Italica, Romania, Franche, and Elaline exclusively through Blueport. If that happens, Your Majesty will become the creditor to the nobles who have excessively imported culture.”

Many might think that nobles have little association with debt, but such thinking only holds true if one sells resources like sugar and salt directly, alongside various specialties.

Most nobles cannot cover their necessary expenses merely from taxes collected from their estates, thus they generally incur debt with merchants.

Lords put on airs and live with false grandeur, yet they often suffer from debts reaching two to three times their income.

To exaggerate slightly, the interest on their debts amounts to what they would earn in several months or even half a year.

When combined with immense expenditures to maintain their nobility, even a grand ducal house would find it difficult to endure.

Thus, the scriptures contain this saying:

“The borrower becomes the servant of the lender.”

“Your Majesty, bind the nobles in debt. Simultaneously, if you impose the most lavish banquets and balls through the Northern Federation, demanding the minimum luxuries and culture, consider the results.”

Hearing my words, the king, or rather the aspiring emperor, smiled slyly and replied,

“Yes, nobles heavily in debt would tremble in fear if an agent sent by a large merchant were to come merely to collect interest. Now imagine if I, as king of this confederate state, forced them to incur debt…”

“Yes, having their debts forgiven would put you in a vastly advantageous position for occupations like that of the Duke of Helsinki’s territory. No, it’s not impossible for you to become their absolute ruler. You can see that even I, SIEL von Croilet, merely twenty-four years old, wield absolute power as the Count of Nante and Helzman, can’t you?”

“Thinking I could wield that power gives me a thrill. However, looking at your expression, this seems to be merely the beginning. You didn’t pull out the map just to describe the Northern situation, did you?”

I feigned reluctance and replied,

“No, Your Majesty. This is just the beginning. First, host a ball to bind the nobles in debt and drive them toward war. If you achieve victory, you could attain the unified imperial throne that the late king so desired. As for the location of this war…”

The king, in a playful tone, said,

“It seems our thoughts align. Let us speak it at the same time.”

Both of us spoke in unison,

“The Holy Romanian Empire.”

“Indeed, our thoughts were in sync. You likely proposed to Duke Brussels to restrain Romania and Franche in exchange for protection from Elaline. So, we must strike the weaker of the two… Romania seems the easier target, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, and the Emperor of Romania would naturally want to break the influence of Maxburg, which has been monopolizing the sugar supply to Romania and Franche due to my presence… If we only attack Duke Maxburg, they’ll likely overlook it to some extent.”

“Then, what territory do you wish to acquire?”

Ideally, I would want to acquire Hamburg, but doing so would lead to pressure from Romania on the right, Duke Brussels on the left, and Franche below.

Currently, the Count of Croilet does not have the capacity to handle all three powers at once. Therefore, it seems best to temporarily forgo Hamburg.

“Gaining Hamburg would be wonderful, but if that happens, we would likely face a joint attack from Romania and Franche. Hence, we will not occupy any territories in this war.”

“Then, I have no reason to trust you.”

As the king finished that sentence, he placed a white piece on the northernmost Mainz Count’s territory of Maxburg.

“Elaline is already engaged in a civil war since the Emperor’s death, and Romania and Franche are eyeing our Count of Croilet. Hence, we must first defeat the main forces of Maxburg to deter their will to attack us. If they suffer a defeat, they will mostly remain on the defense unless Croilet takes the initiative. Then, we will only need to restrain Franche afterward, right?”

“Indeed. And now, do you plan to attack Franche?”

Honestly, attacking Franche isn’t a bad idea, but it’s not the optimal strategy. The moment we strike at Franche, other Electors of Romania and counts from Franche will covet my prosperous territory…

Negotiating an arduous battle once again.

Thus, the best strategy is to strike at Maxburg of Romania, just after we solidify our positions against the adversary in front of us.

“Once Your Majesty has constructed a foundation for a great army based on Mainz and embarks, we will respond from the opposite direction. Then, we’ll acquire at least one count’s territory ourselves.”

“Even after testing, you don’t easily fall for my words. I was concerned you might be dazzled by Franche’s fertile lands and abandon somewhat barren Romania.”

“Loyalty to Your Majesty is more precious than obtaining a fertile count’s territory. How could I breach my loyalty as Count of Elaline?”

“You’re quite the slippery one. Now, when do you think the war will begin?”

Surely, I wouldn’t be suspected during the period I had sworn to remain in Blueport…

After leaving Blueport, I could still buy some time under the pretense of organizing my troops, making it roughly a year to a year and a half.

Moreover, the Northern Federation’s army cannot cross the sea in the winter when the waters freeze.

“In a year, let’s simultaneously invade Maxburg. Your Majesty will take the Mainz Count’s territory, and I’ll attract the attention of the Maxburg scoundrel from Romania.”

“And we shall discuss the rest afterward… Sounds like a good plan. So, what collateral do you offer to gain my trust?”

In a typical situation, such alliances often entail the younger party marrying the daughter of the older party.

However, given the secret nature of this alliance, we cannot have visible marriages or engagements…

Thus, it must ultimately be resolved by land or money…

Offering land in the North implies that as a count, I cannot defend my territory, which would severely impact someone like me who has just become a count.

Conversely, if money is paid, I will be in a position of dependency, and the other party would demand exorbitant costs as compensation for the alliance.

While pondering ways to assist the other party without spending a cent of my own, a brilliant thought struck me.

“I happen to be without a wife, so I wished to seize this opportunity to have Your Majesty’s princess, but as you know, this alliance must remain hidden for at least a year, so I cannot marry.”

At my words, the king nodded.

“However, offering land raises concerns that my vassals will consider I’ve given up on protecting them. Because lords must protect their own lands, it seems ultimately unavoidable to offer money.”

The king seemed very pleased with my statement, smiling as he said,

“Haha, it’s quite tough right now as you’ve just acquired your territory, but there’s no need to push. Your sincerity is significant; how could we only discuss a marriage alliance and land transfer? Speak freely.”

I then began fishing for the bait I had set out earlier to recover.

“In fact, the documents I showed Your Majesty were calculated based solely on the cost of goods plus transport fees. Naturally, if labor and various profits are added when purchasing goods, it would take more than that. Roughly 3000 gold coins, or perhaps around 3200.”

The king, hearing this, seemed to understand roughly how I would provide the money, responding with a slight smile.

“3200 coins… that’s an impressive sum. However, as the Emperor of the Empire, I need to host banquets of a scale larger than yours… Naturally, the Dukes, Marquises, and Counts under me must also host events as grand as that of your kingdom, so there would be considerable expenses.”

“Yes, indeed. That’s why I intend to forgo all profits and offer my services at cost to reduce your future expenses.”

“At cost, then does that mean you’re…”

“Of course, I will charge much more to the other nobles. The ice cream used in today’s banquet cost 5 silver coins. I plan to charge them at least 8 silver coins or 1 gold coin. And given the distance, as most of the materials will be sourced from there, the base price of the ice cream will come to 6 silver coins.”

“Goodness, what extravagantly expensive food was served.”

With a more sinister smile than Shylock, I added,

“Of course, I will only charge Your Majesty 1 to 2 silver coins for the base price. That’s my cost. If all nobles obtain goods from the merchants, Your Majesty will likely see a net gain of three times the purchase price for base costs, as they acquire base materials, orchestras, clothing, etc.”

“You’re securing a threefold profit and amassing debt on top of interest… not a bad plan.”

“Or would you prefer it in gold coins?”

“This is better. Is that all?”

I then presented the contract summarizing the exchanges we had so far to the king.

“This is the end. Please seal it with your signet ring.”

“Very well. By the way, is the banquet about to conclude?”

“It should be nearly over now. And Your Majesty, will you ensure that when you return, you pack the finest drinks from the North?”

“I shall prepare it for you on your way back.”

Thus, I was able to establish an alliance to destroy Maxburg while pretending to generously supply the Northern Federation with base materials and culture at threefold profits.

The emperor seemed to have an inkling of my margins for supplying base materials and culture, but he would likely turn a blind eye since I could profit far more from the inflated prices.

Indeed, a king of a nation, seated in a position that moves numerous people, was different from a Schwabin.

If it were a Schwabin, they would have tried to extort twenty times the amount.

**

As I sent off Count Croilet and turned to catch a glimpse of the banquet’s final moments, my butler Magdroff, who had assisted me for decades, approached and asked,

“Your Majesty, did you conclude your discussion with Count Croilet satisfactorily?”

“Oh, Magdroff. I didn’t acquire as much profit as expected. I assumed he would be flustered by the urgency, but I never imagined he’d think of a way to satisfy me without suffering any loss even in that situation.”

“Is that so?”

“Using the inferiority complex of the states in the center of the nobility, he planned to spread the lavish culture they could not enjoy and shared the rights and profits with me. The audacity to give those boasting nobles something for free and then ensnare them… He was quite the Shylock.”

Hearing this, Magdroff chuckled and said,

“Your Highness has always preferred Shylock among Italica’s merchants. A true ruler willing to risk his life to avoid losing even a fraction is a perfect example of one. Did you like him that much?”

“Indeed. With him, I could send that child away without worry.”

“Ah, she would be the daughter of the lady you deeply loved, Michaela.”

“Both are quite the rascals, so they should make a good match.”

I then watched the nobles attending the banquet one last time.

I wondered if they knew what poison they were indulging in, or perhaps some among them did but chose to ignore it.

All were immersed in the pleasures and splendid culture provided by Croilet, as if they lived only for the moment.

Unaware of what the consequences would bring.