A Benevolent Deception
A fairly large conference room. Here, under the auspices of the Pieta Guild, investment firms and individual investors who had failed to honor their call option contracts on the Grand Duchy's bonds were gathered. The reason for this briefing was simple: if they went bankrupt, it would deal a devastating blow to the imperial economy. Thus, the meeting was held to present them with an alternative.
Officially, I had no connection to the Pieta Guild. My presence at this briefing was justified by a carefully crafted narrative: I had proposed the management of a Technology Investment Fund to the Pieta Guild, and they, having accepted the proposal, had invited me as an honored guest.
"Why is the Grand Duke here?"
"From what I hear, the Pieta Guild invited him."
"For what purpose? Could it be... has the Pieta Guild made a secret pact with the Grand Duke?"
"Shh! Quiet, man. You'll get us all killed talking like that. Personally, I find it highly suspicious that the Pieta Guild reaped such astronomical profits, but... the man himself is sitting right there, isn't he?"
I can hear you, you bastards.
As I muttered that to myself, Karl, the current head of the Pieta Guild, stepped up to the podium.
"Ahem... Thank you all for traveling such a long distance to be here. We have gathered you today to mediate the outstanding call option contracts. First and foremost, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to His Grace, Grand Duke Deviang, for providing us with such a monumental investment opportunity."
Karl began reading the speech I had drafted for him.
"As you are all well aware, many of the call options our guild purchased at a high premium have defaulted, which would normally result in catastrophic losses for your firms."
Losses, my foot... In truth, we had reaped an astronomical fortune. The sheer madness of capitalism was truly terrifying. To think that there were far more bond contracts circulating in the market than the actual volume of bonds I had issued... What a completely insane situation. Thanks to that, we had made a ridiculous amount of money. In fact, we had made so much that it was becoming a problem. It wasn't just a few giant investment firms on the line; the vast majority of the empire's financial institutions were on the brink of bankruptcy.
"However, we believe it would be unconscionable to turn a blind eye to your plight during these difficult times. That is why we have organized this gathering."
Karl then brought out a large sheet of paper, pinned it to the wall, and continued.
"The Empire is currently establishing a Technology Investment Fund. Therefore, we have decided to sell the debts you owe us due to your contractual defaults to the Empire, and in turn, inject those funds directly into this investment fund."
"W-what? How does that work?"
"The Empire is buying our debt?"
The room erupted into a noisy clamor.
"What on earth is going on here?"
"Stop beating around the bush and give us a straight answer!"
"It is exactly as it sounds. The Pieta Guild has sold the debts incurred from your defaults to the Empire. However, His Grace, the benevolent Grand Duke, has proposed a highly generous offer to you all."
"A generous offer...?"
"His Grace has agreed to write off one-fifteenth of your total debt. This is on the condition that you invest in the Technology Investment Fund."
"I-is that really true?"
Reducing their debt by one-fifteenth would allow quite a few of them to survive. Well, even if some of them did go under, I planned to acquire them under dummy names and run them myself. It would be foolish to let the infrastructure and talent they had built up go to waste. Besides, to minimize the financial vacuum created by the collapse of these investment firms, we had to prevent them from going bankrupt in the first place.
"What exactly is this investment fund?"
"Please, explain it in detail!"
I couldn't even count how many nights I had stayed up trying to design a fantasy-world equivalent of a mutual fund. After all, the concept of a 'fund' didn't exist here yet. The atmosphere in the room quickly shifted to one of ecstatic anticipation, and the clamor grew louder.
"Ahem... Allow me to explain."
Karl immediately began gesturing to the document pinned to the wall.
• Annual Contribution: 3% of net corporate profits to be pooled into the state fund.
• State Management: The Empire will utilize the capital to fund advanced technological research and industrial development.
• Guaranteed Returns: A 6% return on investment to be paid back to contributing firms after 10 years.
The room fell dead silent. Everyone seemed to be frantically running the numbers in their heads, calculating their potential gains and losses. Even if the companies they invested in eventually went bust, it was an offer they couldn't afford to refuse right now. Their own firms were on the verge of immediate bankruptcy; who had the luxury of worrying about the long-term survival of some distant startup? If anything, they were probably already plotting how to cook their books to underreport their net profits and minimize that 3% contribution. Creative accounting was practically a sport in this world, after all.
"Furthermore, you will be issued investment certificates representing your shares, which you will be free to buy and sell on the open market. And since the Empire has pledged to absorb your outstanding debts directly into this fund, the starting capital will be immense."
Clap! Clap!
Suddenly, a solitary applause erupted, and one by one, the investors began to stand up.
"Glory to the Empire! Glory to the Empire!"
"Oh, merciful Grand Duke..."
"May peace reign over the Empire forever!"
Watching them sing my praises, I did my best to suppress my mounting guilt, forcing a warm smile and waving back. Seeing their tearful, grateful faces made my conscience sting fiercely. I was the mastermind behind the entire market manipulation scheme. To see the victims worshiping their culprit was a deeply surreal, self-loathing experience. Well... my conscience hurts, but at least the reception is excellent.
A few days passed.
I stood at the harbor of the Tiber River, waiting for an old friend. A grand vessel was making its way toward the docks, passing through the majestic underwater ramparts. As the splendid mast bearing the emblem of a lion came into view, the guard standing beside me spoke.
"Your Grace, Commander-in-Chief Agrippa's ship has arrived."
I nodded in response.
Once the ship was safely moored, a handsome blonde man disembarked and bowed respectfully to me.
"Your Grace, have you been well in my absence?"
"Thanks to you, I have."
We looked at each other and shared a warm laugh.
"Come, let us head to the Imperial Palace. I have prepared a grand banquet in your honor."
I couldn't possibly let the triumph of my dearest friend go uncelebrated. The moment the war concluded, I had made arrangements to invite Agrippa to the Imperial Palace for a feast. I had wanted to invite Mary as well, but she had chosen to remain in the Grand Duchy to keep an eye out for any suspicious movements.
"Haha... You don't think I know you're just using this as an excuse to dump all the Empire's paperwork on me, do you?" Agrippa asked, his tone laced with his usual blunt sarcasm.
I gave him a bright, shameless nod. "Of course I am."
We climbed into the carriage and began catching up on recent events.
"So," I asked, "how did it feel to experience your first real war?"
Agrippa closed his eyes briefly.
"It was far more gruesome than I anticipated."
Sensing that he was lost in some grim recollection, I waited in silence. After a moment, he slowly opened his eyes.
"Whether they are ally or foe... watching people die is not a pleasant sight."
"I imagine so..."
Though I had never personally stood on a battlefield, I could easily understand his sentiment. A heavy silence settled between us.
"They must resent me, don't they?" I murmured.
Agrippa fell into thought for a moment before replying, "Perhaps they do."
Yes... they must.
"Your Grace, you are no ordinary commoner. Why do you let such things weigh so heavily on your heart?" Agrippa chided, noticing my slumped shoulders.
"On a small scale, you lead the Grand Duchy of Francesco, and on a large scale, you govern the entire Empire on behalf of the Empress. For someone in your position to grieve over the loss of a few thousand lives is a mistake. War is never a good thing, but just as a festering wound must be lanced to save the body, you know as well as I do that we must wage war resolutely when the situation demands it."
I knew that. I knew it all too well.
"I know... I know, but..."
Agrippa shook his head firmly, cutting me off.
"There were sacrifices, yes, but it was done for the sake of those who survived. Do not dwell on it. My only concern is that a fear of war might cause you to waver on the path you have chosen."
"Sigh... You're right. There's no turning back now anyway. Don't worry. It aches, but it's not as if we had any other choice."
I had already stepped onto the chessboard of absolute power. In this game, defeat meant death. And it wouldn't end with just my demise; everyone I loved would be dragged down into humiliation and despair. Agrippa nodded, a faint smile returning to his face.
"Indeed. We have come far too far to give up now."
Shortly after, the banquet in Agrippa's honor commenced at the Imperial Palace. When Agrippa saw Theodora, Lucius, and Joy all gathered together, his jaw dropped in sheer disbelief.
"Th-the Princess is... a sl—cough, I mean, is Her Highness also working in the Grand Duke's Office?"
Joy could only offer a sheepish, awkward laugh. "Hehe... Well, things just sort of turned out that way..."
Ah... I realized I hadn't told him that she had been conscripted as an administrative slave for writing BL novels. I simply couldn't bring myself to look him in the eye and explain that the Princess had been writing explicit male-on-male fanfiction starring the two of us.
"For Her Highness to dedicate herself to the state like this... it is truly a blessing upon the Empire," Agrippa praised warmly.
A blessing? I thought. Is a princess getting arrested for writing smut about her brother-in-law and his general really a blessing? Because I certainly don't want any part of it.
The completely oblivious Agrippa smiled brightly, but the more he smiled, the more my expression and Theodora's darkened into despair. Agrippa looked at us, thoroughly bewildered by our grim faces. However, to protect Joy's reputation, we had agreed to keep the truth from him. In this world, writing BL novels was a severe crime—one that could easily land you in the deepest dungeons of the Holy See to be tortured without any right of appeal. No matter how royal she was, if word got out that she wrote homosexual erotica, she would never find a husband. Unlike the modern world, homosexuality was treated as a heinous crime here. It wasn't that it didn't exist; a few nobles were heavily suspected of it, but they evaded arrest solely due to the immense power of their houses. A commoner caught in such acts would face brutal torture followed by being burned at the stake.
"Hehe... Sister! He said I'm a blessing to the Empire!" my brainless sister-in-law giggled, completely unfazed.
She was indeed her mother's daughter—undeniably beautiful. Joy possessed a delicate, lovely face that naturally evoked a protective instinct in anyone who looked at her. Yet, looking at her and Theodora, I was reminded of the bitter truth: when it came to women, looks weren't everything. To think someone with such an angelic face was obsessed with BL...
"Yes... a blessing indeed," Theodora replied, her eyes cold enough to freeze water.
But Joy, entirely oblivious to the danger, beamed with a radiant smile. "Your Majesty~ aren't you glad to have a sister like me?"
At those words, Theodora's brow furrowed. She reached out and grabbed both of Joy's cheeks.
"Ow! Ow, that hurts!"
Squeezing her sister's cheeks with all her might, Theodora hissed through her teeth, "Yes, We are absolutely thrilled to have such a lovely! Little! Sister!"
"Ouch! S-stop pinching me!"