The North's Financial Crisis
I stepped out into the territory with two burly escort knights in tow. Even if I couldn't visit Viola, I needed to inspect the lands firsthand to get a rough estimate of what could be done. But then.
"Hey, I'm gonna hit the bathroom real quick."
In the bustling central district of the territory, I glanced around slyly as I spoke. The two escort knights, who had been sticking to me like shadows, nodded silently from behind.
"Understood, Your Highness. We shall accompany you."
"No, there's no need for that. I'm going alone, so don't follow me."
"It is the Grand Duchess's command. For the sake of Your Highness's safety, we cannot leave your side for even a moment."
"......"
This was enough to drive anyone insane. In the end, I had to do my business in front of a dingy public urinal, with two hulking men standing right beside me, their intense gazes burning into me. Well, they didn't follow me all the way into the stall, but they stood just inside the bathroom entrance all the same.
Damn it, I can't even piss like this.
There was no way I could escape under these conditions—hell, I couldn't even handle basic bodily functions. The moment I adjusted my pants and stepped out of the bathroom, I broke into a full sprint.
Thud, thud, thud!
I weaved through the alleyways, twisting and turning as I ran. This body belonged to the Eighth Prince Kael, after all. All those days spent rolling around with women must have counted as some kind of exercise, because it felt surprisingly light on its feet. But.
"Your Highness! Sudden exercise could strain your body!"
"Huff, huff... Fuck..."
In less than a minute, the two knights—who hadn't broken a single drop of sweat—flanked me on either side as they ran, lecturing me the entire time. Yeah, right. How was a modern-day guy like me, who had possessed this body, supposed to shake off elite knights trained against the North's brutal cold and magic beasts?
At this rate, reaching Viola's tavern was clearly impossible. So I resorted to my last-ditch plan: in the middle of the market square, I unleashed what I called the 'Make It Rain' tactic.
"Hey! What if this cheap fur coat touches the skin of someone like me, a prince? Get this junk out of here!"
I kicked at the stall goods, throwing a full-blown tantrum. "You there, the jeweler! Sweep up everything from those necklaces to the rings over there! Ugh, my legs hurt! You two, carry all this for me!"
I bought up every luxury item in sight and threw a massive fit, but the knights didn't even bat an eye.
"Yes, understood."
They carried mountains of my purchases while maintaining an ironclad defensive perimeter around me. The merchants glared at me with utter contempt, while the escort knights silently protected me.
"Haa..."
In the end, I had no choice but to raise the white flag and return to the Grand Ducal Castle. The only thing I'd gained was the sight of the market showing some signs of life thanks to the food supplies I'd distributed as the Breath of the North. It was a small relief, but it wasn't nearly enough.
There was no other way. Instead of wearing myself out and collapsing, I'd have to make Giselle and the knights so fed up that they collapsed from exhaustion.
"Aaaargh!! This is driving me crazy!!"
The moment I returned to the Grand Ducal Castle, I shouted at the waiting servants.
"I'm trapped inside these cold, stinking walls and I'm about to lose my mind from depression! Women! I need women!!"
The servants flinched, shrinking their shoulders in shock. I deliberately acted even more vulgar as I yelled.
"Run to the most popular brothel in the territory right now and bring the prettiest girl with the best skills straight to my room!!"
At those words, the servants' faces turned bright red in an instant. Their expressions were a mix of shame and disgust. The husband of the Grand Duchess was demanding a prostitute be brought into the annex of the Grand Ducal Castle. It was something utterly unimaginable under the strict moral code of the North.
"Y-Your Highness... No matter what, bringing such a person into the castle is..."
"Ugh, seriously! You country bumpkins have zero sense! Can't you even handle that much? Fine! I'll call her myself, so get lost!"
I chased the servants out and slammed the door shut with a bang. Alone in the room, I flopped down on the bed and rested my chin on my hand.
Should I really call someone from a brothel?
If word reached Giselle's ears, she might immediately pull the guards and cut all ties with me, calling me a truly irredeemable piece of trash. But.
"...Even so, that's going too far."
To be honest, I was still a man with some Confucian values. No matter how much this was a political marriage and how much she treated me like garbage, I was technically a married man on paper. My conscience wouldn't allow me to call another woman—especially through prostitution.
"No choice, then."
I pulled a small piece of paper from the desk drawer and scribbled on it. Then I tied it to the leg of the carrier pigeon perched by the window and sent it flying. The only woman I could summon in this territory. The only accomplice who knew the full story and could play along.
It had to be Viola.
After overcoming the major crises of the first wave of the magic beast assault and the imperial inspection team's visit, Giselle had gathered her vassals for a full-scale meeting on the territory's reconstruction.
"First and foremost."
Giselle began.
"Have you identified who this 'Breath of the North' person is?"
At her question, the patrol captain shook his head with a heavy expression.
"I am deeply sorry, Your Highness. We have not found them yet."
"Not even a single clue?"
"We barely managed to track down one of the porters who transported the food and medicine carts, but..."
The patrol captain swallowed dryly.
"He claims he was only given money and a request to move the goods to a designated location. He knew nothing else. The one who hired him was also completely covered in a robe, and to make matters worse, even that robed figure seems to have been nothing more than a middleman subcontracted by the real client."
"Thorough indeed."
Giselle let out a small sigh. To procure such an enormous amount of supplies without leaving a single trace required both meticulous intelligence and substantial funds. It was impossible to even guess at their identity.
"Understood. Continue the search for this person, but be careful not to provoke them."
"As you command."
Giselle turned her gaze to the treasurer, Godwin.
"Godwin, how much usable funds do we currently have in the treasury?"
At her question, Godwin's expression hardened.
"...It is not looking good, Your Highness."
Godwin flipped through the thick ledger as he answered.
"As Your Highness is well aware, an unprecedented famine struck the entire North this year, so we could only collect taxes at about half the usual amount. On top of that, last month's imperial restrictions on grain distribution and the minimization of medicine support caused us massive financial damage."
The atmosphere in the conference room grew heavy.
"To be completely honest, we are barely hanging on right now thanks to the voluntary donations from Baron Kilian and the other three nobles."
At those words, Giselle nodded toward the four nobles who were quietly huddled in one corner of the meeting table.
"Allow me to once again express my gratitude on this occasion. Thanks to your dedication, the North has overcome this crisis."
"N-No, not at all, Your Highness!! It is only natural and an honor to assist the Grand Duchess!!"
"That's right! We will lay down our bones for the North!!"
At Giselle's thanks, the four nobles jumped in exaggerated panic, waving their hands wildly in denial. In their hearts, they were shedding tears of blood as they remembered the money extorted by Kael, but on the surface, they were the very picture of loyal subjects.
"However, Your Highness."
Godwin continued with a dark expression.
"Even the funds donated by the four nobles are already running dry."
"Continue."
"Do you remember how, at the beginning of this year when we faced severe financial difficulties, we borrowed money from Earl Elrod of the East using the North's mana stone mine as collateral?"
Giselle nodded.
"I remember."
"As soon as the four nobles' donations arrived, we used most of those funds to urgently repurchase the bond. The same goes for the sales revenue from the mana stones we collected after blocking the magic beast wave this time."
Giselle's brows furrowed.
"Hmm... Could we not have delayed it a bit longer? There are more than a few urgent matters that need immediate attention."
"They were pressing so hard for the return of the principal that... I am truly sorry."
Giselle swallowed a sigh inwardly. She couldn't blame Earl Elrod. In the current power structure of the Empire, nearly every noble outside the North was extremely reluctant to form any connection with the Grand Ducal House of the North. Doing so could mark them as sympathizers of a potential rebellion and make them targets for imperial purges.
The fact that Earl Elrod of the East had lent them money at all was only because he owed a life debt to the previous Grand Duke. Even he must have felt incredibly anxious, constantly watching the Empire's eyes. And retrieving the bond before the mine could be completely seized had been the right decision.
"Haa. It wasn't unreasonable. Understood. Continue your report."
"Yes. By some stroke of great luck, right after the imperial inspection team withdrew, we received word that the Empire has slightly eased the grain distribution restrictions—though only in small amounts—and has provided a modest amount of medicine support as well."
It seemed Enoch had returned to the imperial capital and used his influence. A faint look of relief crossed Giselle's lips.
"Is that so? A silver lining in the midst of misfortune."
"However, Your Highness."
Godwin added.
"It is only the bare minimum to save face. When we consider the need to repair the collapsed castle walls and replace the soldiers' worn-out weapons and armor, we are still desperately short on funds."
Godwin closed the ledger.
"Of course, the anonymous benefactor known as the Breath of the North has sent us a massive quantity of food and medicine... but winter is not yet over, and we have no idea when or at what scale another magic beast wave might strike."
Giselle placed her interlaced hands on the table. The conclusion was clear.
"In short, what you're saying is that we need more funds."
"...Yes, it pains me to say it, but that is correct."
Godwin and the other vassals bowed their heads like criminals. There was almost nothing left to sell as private property, nor any treasures left to use as collateral. The North's finances were literally standing on the edge of a cliff.
"Understood."
Giselle rose from her seat.
"I will think further on ways to secure additional funds, so you may all withdraw for now."
"As you command, Your Highness."
Left alone in the now-empty conference room, Giselle stared blankly out the window at the falling snow.
They needed money. At least enough to get through the rest of this winter. But were there really any external forces willing to extend a helping hand to the North?
"...It's not like there are absolutely no options."
Suddenly, the face of one man flashed through her mind. That brazen expression from a few days ago, when he had piled a mountain of gold and silver treasures in the courtyard and mocked Enoch. The imperial trash who held an enormous personal slush fund built by squeezing the four nobles dry.
"Haa."
Giselle let out a sigh. The thought that she might have to swallow her pride and borrow money from the trash husband she despised more than anyone else in the world made her bite her lip hard.