When the Financial Sector Screamed

Around the time the financial sector was screaming in agony, Deviang, the mastermind behind it all, frowned as he looked over the documents Karl had left behind. "This is a problem."

I had thought winning the war would solve everything, but a massive problem had reared its head. The issue giving me a headache was that we had made far too much money from this market manipulation. We had made so much that most of the small and medium-sized financial firms were on the verge of bankruptcy. Currently, the Grand Duchy's bonds were trading at over triple their original price.

This was the side effect of my sweeping up all the Grand Duchy's call options. Honestly, the soaring bond prices weren't the real issue. The biggest problem was that these smaller financial firms would fail to honor their contracts, leading to mass bankruptcies that would inevitably drag down the giant financial institutions and major investors along with them.

Although this world was incredibly primitive compared to modern Earth, stock, bond, and commodity trading were surprisingly active. Consequently, there was a substantial number of large-scale individual investors. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠If they were forced to cough up astronomical sums of money to me, it would inevitably trigger a catastrophic collapse of the Empire's economy.

"What should I do... I told them to buy indiscriminately, but I didn't expect them to buy this much."

Just before the war broke out, investment firms had assumed the Grand Duchy would lose and recklessly sold off massive quantities of call options. Karl had snapped up every single one of them, which led to this absolute mess.

If we enforced all these contracts, the value of gold coins would skyrocket. Worse, the investment firms that suffered devastating losses would freeze up and stop circulating currency altogether. The surviving mega-banks would also shift their behavior drastically. They would likely recall as many outstanding loans as possible, refuse to extend credit lines, and slash investments, completely choking the flow of capital. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

"I suppose... I'll have to compromise."

I had to prevent the financial sector from collapsing at all costs.

"Whew... I thought winning the war would mean a happy ending. What is this?"

With a heavy sigh, I began drafting a letter. The anti-Grand Duchy faction that had yet to surrender, and the financial sector on the brink of ruin due to a war that was about to end—these two realities weighed heavily on my mind.

Well, actually, scratch the former. They wouldn't last long anyway. They were probably in a state of absolute panic by now... If I just waited a bit, they would crawl back on their own to negotiate.

In fact, the strategy Agrippa and I had drawn up was to reclaim our fortress after this battle and march straight toward Huntington Fortress. They might try to hold out until Huntington Fortress fell and they could secure a stable supply line, but it would be a futile effort. Even if they squeezed out every last drop of their resources, they wouldn't have even ten thousand troops left. No mercenary in their right mind would stand with the defeated anti-Grand Duchy faction now. Frankly, I heard even the Halberd Mercenaries, who had been on their side, surrendered the moment they laid eyes on the Golden Knights.

"Ah... the Parliament is going to tear me to shreds over this."

I had deployed the Golden Knights—a force meant solely to combat the Enemies of the State—for my own private affairs, so they wouldn't just sit idly by. Still, they had no immediate solutions. If Yohanes tried to attack me now, he would risk dragging the Emperor's Faction into a civil war. He would likely focus on keeping his own house in order for the time being.

Honestly, if the Emperor's Faction tried to use this to attack me, I could simply leak my secret pact with Yohanes. That would either pit the Emperor's Faction against Yohanes or trigger a massive internal schism within their ranks. In the meantime, I could easily absorb the anti-Yohanes faction into the Anti-Emperor Faction.

"The board is set in my favor."

"This is treason!"

"The imperial army is maintained by the taxes of all imperial citizens to fight rebels and enemy nations! We cannot tolerate the Grand Duke using such a military force for his private affairs!"

"Hear, hear! We must declare the Grand Duke an Enemy of the State!"

Charles sighed as he looked over the roaring floor of the Imperial Parliament. "Sigh... Everyone, please calm down..."

"Speaker, what are you doing?! Call a vote immediately to designate the Grand Duke as an Enemy of the State!"

The Emperor's Faction, the Neutral Faction, and the anti-Grand Duchy faction raised their voices in unison. Charles found their demands utterly absurd.

An Enemy of the State. Anyone declared as such by the Imperial Parliament would be stripped of all legally recognized rights. Anyone could kill them without facing legal consequences; in fact, they would be honored as a savior of the nation. While the authority to declare this was a unique power held solely by the Imperial Parliament...

'Are they fools? Do they honestly believe the Grand Duke won't just exercise his veto power if the vote passes?'

The sovereign's absolute veto power currently rested in the hands of the Grand Duke. The moment he exercised it, any declaration would instantly be rendered null and void.

"Order... Order in the court," Charles said with a heavy sigh.

"Right now! Let us vote to declare him an Enemy of the State!"

"Indeed! Speaker, proceed with the vote immediately!"

At their insistence, Charles replied, "Since so many of my fellow members demand it, we shall proceed with the vote to designate Grand Duke Deviang as an Enemy of the State." He struck his gavel.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

As soon as he finished speaking, parliamentary staff began distributing ballots to the members. "Mark 'O' for in favor and 'X' for opposed, then step forward one by one to cast your ballot in the box." At his declaration, the members marked their papers and lined up to cast their votes.

'This is nothing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but a political show...'

Speaker Charles was no fan of Deviang's actions either. Deviang, who manipulated the sacred Empire and acted entirely as he pleased, was a tyrant. A tyrant bringing chaos to the land. Yet, there was currently no legal way to depose him. Legally, he was the husband of the Empress and held the authority to exercise her sovereign powers.

And putting politics aside, how on earth were they supposed to deal with the Grand Duchy's army currently occupying Roman?

'Even if the Emperor's Faction rallies and marches on Roman, it will still be a disaster.'

Empress Theodora was a sovereign of immense legitimacy. Even if the forces of the Emperor's Faction fought Deviang and successfully seized Roman, the current Empress—as Deviang's wife—would inevitably be dethroned.

'That cannot happen. It would only invite fresh chaos.'

In the early days of the Empire, there had been a few instances where emperors were deposed by armies from outside Roman. However, after the great Gold Dragon, Empress El Dra Shamhat, witnessed these recurring tragedies befall her descendants, she gathered elves, dark elves, dwarves, and orcs to construct the legendary triple-layered walls. Since then, it had never happened again. Overcoming those impregnable triple walls was simply impossible.

"The voting is complete, Speaker!" A staff member's voice snapped Charles out of his thoughts.

"Then we shall begin the tally," Charles announced, starting the count in full view of the assembly.

The staff unfolded the crumpled ballots one by one, repeatedly calling out "Passed." Though a few "Rejected" ballots appeared occasionally, the overwhelming majority favored the motion.

'A vote designed solely to paint Deviang and Her Majesty as tyrants in the future... How disgusting.'

Their intentions were transparent. Declaring Deviang an Enemy of the State was practically impossible from the start due to his veto power.

'They want to publicize to the citizens that the Parliament passed this motion, only for Deviang to dismiss the legislature by exercising his veto... Is there not a single true loyalist left in this hall?'

Swallowing his bitterness, Charles announced the final results.

"With a final tally of 243 in favor and 57 opposed, the motion to declare Grand Duke Deviang an Enemy of the State has passed. In the name of the Parliament, this proposal will be forwarded to Her Imperial Majesty and the Grand Duke."

'How laughable... If the late Emperor were alive to witness this, what kind of faces would these people make?' Charles mechanically signed the document drafted by the staff.

"Your Grace, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an envoy from the Parliament has arrived." The voice from outside made my hand pause mid-signature.

"Send them in." At my command, the door opened, and the parliamentary delegation entered.

I felt a pang of curiosity upon seeing Pompeius, whom I hadn't seen in a while, accompanied by several other members of Parliament I recognized from past sessions. I greeted them with a bright smile.

"What brings you all the way here when you must be so busy?" Pompeius replied to my query.

"A declaration has been passed by the Parliament, and we are here to deliver it. We shall present it once Her Imperial Majesty is present." I nodded at his words.

"Her Majesty is in the adjacent room. I will send for her. Lucius! Inform Her Majesty that envoys from the Parliament have arrived." Lucius's voice drifted back from beyond the door. "Understood!"

I gestured toward the seating area. "Please, make yourselves comfortable. Her Majesty will be here shortly." Once they had settled onto the sofa, I broached the subject.

"So, what is this declaration about?" Pompeius answered, "We shall present it once Her Majesty arrives." I nodded in understanding.

A short while later, Lucius announced, "Your Grace, Her Imperial Majesty has arrived." "Show her in."

At my word, the door swung open and Theodora stepped inside. The members of Parliament immediately rose and bowed deeply.

"Your Imperial Majesty, have you been in good health?" "Greetings, Your Majesty." Theodora offered them a radiant smile in return.

"Indeed. Thanks to your tireless efforts for the Empire, We have been at peace. You may raise your heads." Once the members stood straight, Theodora took a seat beside me and asked, "Now, what brings you to Our presence?"

Pompeius spoke up. "We have come to receive imperial assent for a declaration passed by the Parliament today." He pulled two letters from his breast pocket and handed them to Theodora and me.

Theodora cast a puzzled glance my way. I shrugged, equally clueless, and broke the wax seal of the envelope bearing the Parliament's crest. I unfolded the parchment with a soft rustle and skimmed past the formal pleasantries.

Huh? A dry chuckle escaped my lips as I read the contents declaring me an Enemy of the State. It was almost comical. How did these old geezers never fail to meet my exact expectations?

I had already anticipated they would protest my deployment of the Golden Knights in a territorial war. However, Theodora apparently hadn't expected this at all... She began to tremble, her entire body shaking with rage.

"How dare they!" Theodora bolted upright, grabbing the parliamentary declaration. *Rip! Tear!* She violently shredded the parchment. "How dare they send such an absurd declaration to Our face?!"

Seeing Theodora fly into a rage on my behalf was actually quite touching. Heh... I guess she doesn't hate me as much anymore. Our relationship had been fairly decent lately. Although she constantly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pestered me at night while I was trying to review documents, I had come to view it as her own unique way of showing affection. She did have a bit of a feline charm to her, after all.

Wait... what if this was all a calculated act? The thought suddenly crossed my mind. Remembering the highly revealing outfits she had been wearing at night recently, a cold shiver ran down my spine. Could this be... a deception tactic? What if she was acting as though she had no intention of harming me, only to poison me the moment I let my guard down...? I imagined myself collapsing mid-meal while Theodora glared down at me with a sinister sneer. I quickly shook my head to dispel the absurd delusion.

I analyzed the situation calmly. For any parliamentary bill or declaration to carry legal weight, it had to be officially promulgated by the sovereign. That was why they had to deliver the declaration to either the Empress or me first. In other words, there was absolutely zero chance of me actually being designated an Enemy of the State. They knew perfectly well this wouldn't pass, so their sole purpose was likely to slander my name. With that in mind, I spoke in a composed tone.

"Ahem... While I respect the Parliament's declaration, I shall be exercising my veto power on this matter."