Excessive Taxes, Wheat Yield Manipulation, Tax Evasion (6)
Count Lot’s actions had not strayed far from my expectations. His prior hostility toward the Inspectorate had been one thing; his readiness to cooperate the moment he heard the name Lichtenhaus had been another.
Thanks to that, the work would move faster.
Before long I would be able to cast Marquis Geneva into the abyss.
Thud.
Count Lot set a stack of documents on the desk. Perhaps because they were meticulously organized, the pile was far smaller than the post-station ledgers had been.
“These are the ledgers that record the wheat yields. Look here—harvests that had been only 1.2 million sacks suddenly jump to 1.9 million the following year.”
“That’s when Marquis Geneva began offloading the wheat.”
“Yes. And once the tax settlements were finished, he took it all back.”
In the end the Empire itself had suffered no loss. Others had simply paid the taxes Marquis Geneva should have paid. Yet there was no disagreement that what he had done was something no human being should ever do.
Worse, he had freely wielded power with the Imperial Inspectorate—a direct organ of the Imperial Family—as his backing. No matter how one looked at it, that was not something that could be lightly overlooked.
“I’m asking only for the sake of thoroughness, but did you receive anything in return for paying those taxes on his behalf…?”
“Absolutely not. I can swear it before Heaven.”
“Then there should be no particular problem.”
“Next are the ledgers of wheat export records…”
Count Lot continued producing ledger after ledger. Every one of them was evidence that Marquis Geneva had committed corruption—and proof of the damage the count himself had suffered. He must have prepared them in his own way, even if the results had ultimately come to nothing.
Time passed, and by the time the teacups that had been full stood empty, Count Lot spoke as he tidied away the unnecessary papers.
“If there is anything else you require, please do not hesitate to say so. I will prepare it by any means necessary.”
“This is more than sufficient.”
Before I realized it, a thick bundle of papers had formed in my hands—tax payments, wheat exports, harvest yields, and more. All of it evidence the count had prepared. I tucked the documents into my coat and rose. There was nothing more to do here.
“Before long you may be required to appear as a witness in court. When that time comes, I ask that you respond diligently.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Then I shall take my leave.”
“I will see you out. Let us go together.”
Count Lot and Lena both rose. Escorted by the count, we left the mansion. Eventually, when Count Lot’s castle was no longer visible through the carriage window, Lena spoke.
“What do you intend to do from here?”
“There seems no need to go to him in person. Summoning him will be enough. But with evidence this solid… temporary detention appears to be in order.”
“Temporary detention for a marquis…”
Haha…
Lena laughed hollowly. It was a laugh heavy with meaning.
“I like it. Let’s do it.”
“Yes. Let’s.”
Anyone who commits corruption must pay the price for that crime. Even a marquis—no, even a member of the Imperial Family. If we failed to set things right now, the Empire would someday collapse.
It was already the pale hours of dawn, long afterward, when the carriage finally reached the Inspectorate.
“Then let us call it a day.”
“Yes. You’ve worked hard.”
“You’re the one who worked hard. I didn’t do anything, after all.”
Well—had she truly done nothing? Chief Albert had assigned her to my side for a reason. To monitor my actions and report them, for instance. But there was no need for me to voice that aloud. I simply inclined my head and stepped away.
“I’ve finished drafting the official document to send to Marquis Geneva.”
Lena slowly read through the paper Caenderic had written. It was a summons ordering Marquis Geneva to present himself at the Inspectorate.
“Do they teach official-document drafting at the Academy these days?”
“I’ve never studied it separately, but…”
“I see. There’s nothing wrong with the document. It should be fine to send as is.”
In truth, the complete lack of anything wrong was what was strange. Caenderic was a newcomer who had only just joined the Inspectorate. It was impossible for the very first official document he wrote to be this perfect.
Did the Lichtenhaus family give early education even for things like this…? Lena simply thought as much and let the matter pass without further concern.
And so the official document that left the Inspectorate under Caenderic’s name arrived before Marquis Geneva in less than a day.
“What in the world is this…!”
The marquis’s face twisted. Every year he had poured an enormous sum into the Inspectorate to keep his crimes buried. Yet a summons had still flown in like this—how could he not be furious?
He slammed his fist onto the desk with a bang; the teacup toppled and tea spilled across the wood. But the outburst lasted only a moment.
Author – Caenderic de Lichtenhaus
1st Division, Inspectorate
The name written on the final line of the official document was none other than Lichtenhaus. The marquis had heard that name once before. The boy had been called the sole blemish of the Lichtenhaus family for being so hopelessly dull-witted.
That such a creature was now seizing his ankle only stoked his rage higher. Yes—he had simply been unaware. A fool famous for his stupidity could easily have done something this idiotic.
“Luderik, prepare the carriage.”
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
After giving the order to his servant, the marquis rose. In his hand rested a very modest gift—one that might, just possibly, serve as a bridge to the Lichtenhaus family.
It was the day after the summons had been sent to Marquis Geneva. I was in the middle of organizing documents in the 1st Division office when a knock sounded at the door. I turned my head just as the door opened and someone stepped inside.
The man was so massively built that he would have rolled if pushed down a slope. He stroked his long, protruding mustache with one finger as he spoke.
“I have come in answer to the summons. Where might Inspector Caenderic be?”
“I am here.”
I stopped what I was doing and rose. There was no need to ask who he was. Only one person would arrive after receiving a summons and name me in the same breath.
Galacia de Geneva. Head of the Geneva Marquisate. In my previous life I had faced him several times at banquets, so I already knew his face. Why on earth had he appeared so promptly?
He should have been busy scouring his surroundings and erasing every scrap of evidence. Well—it hardly mattered. What I had to do would not change.
“Let us go to the interrogation room.”
“Very well.”
I gathered the bundle of documents from the desk and left the 1st Division. The interrogation room lay in the basement of the Inspectorate building. Following the central stairs downward, we soon reached a thick iron door that called a prison cell to mind.
“Please enter.”
“Yes, of course.”
Marquis Geneva stepped inside without a single complaint. I followed. The interrogation room was a sealed chamber without a single window. All it contained were two small chairs and one table set in the center; the place felt bleak and barren. Before long I was facing him across that table.
“Marquis Geneva, as to the crimes you have committed—”
“Oh my, why is our inspector so hasty? First, please take a look at the gift I have prepared.”
He drew a small box from his coat. Even at a glance it radiated luxury. When he opened it, a costly-looking red gemstone was revealed. What it meant was, of course—
A bribe.
As expected, he was the trash of trash that needed to be carved out of the Empire.
“Well now—how is it? A gem of such purity that one might appear only once every few hundred years. Its mana conductivity is so high that even for magic tools—”
“It seems I have treated you far too comfortably.”
Thud!
I seized Marquis Geneva by the hair and slammed his head into the table. His face, plump with fat, was crushed into a comical, flattened shape.
“G-ghk—! L-let go—!”
“You ordered the headmen of the small villages. Under the pretext that the Imperial Family had raised taxes, you told them to collect even more from the residents.”
“When did I ever do such a thing—”
“I am not asking for your opinion. I am notifying you of the crimes you have committed. Continuing: because of that act, the authority of the Imperial Family fell among the commoners. That is clear treason.”
He thrashed, trying to wrench free of my grip, but with his fattened body there was nothing he could do. All he managed was to shout and spit curses. Of course, the harder he struggled, the more fiercely my hand pressed him down.
“Until a formal trial is convened, you will be held under temporary detention.”
“O-on whose authority—! Do you know how much money I dump into the Inspectorate?!”
“You bribed an inspector and buried your crimes. Then who is that inspector? Who took your money?”
“Th-that is…!”
“I will make you one promise. You and the inspector who took your money—I will bury you both.”
“Why—why are you going this far—!”
Why, you ask…
Even if I told them, they would never understand. I myself had never expected that so mighty an Empire could fall. So for now, this much was enough.
“…Because you are the worms that are eating away at the Empire.”
Thud!
The table split cleanly in half.