The Administrator's Ruthless Proposal
Instead of returning to the rest area in the competition venue, Mikhail headed straight for his private office located at the highest point of the casino. With the banquet underway, finding any real peace and quiet down there would be impossible anyway. Besides, this place was destined to see far more use than his office back at the Grand Duke's Mansion from now on. He'd already furnished it with the finest bed and sofa available, making it the perfect spot to unwind in silence. His plan was to catch a quick nap here before heading to the banquet hall for a meal.
Just as Mikhail was about to drift off, a sharp knock echoed through the room. From the sound of it, he knew exactly who it was. Josepina.
"Come in."
She opened the door with careful precision and stepped inside. She looked a little worn out, probably from working straight through until now.
"How did you know I was here? Never mind that—your work's done, so why aren't you down at the banquet stuffing your face with whatever you can grab? They've got piles of those sweets you love."
"I asked Chief Butler Boris, and he said you hadn't returned to the Grand Duke's Mansion, so I came here," Josepina replied, bowing her head with her usual composed expression. In her arms was a thick bundle of documents.
"As for the banquet... I intended to submit the Toto business results report before leaving."
She handed the papers over. Mikhail took them and gave them a quick skim. The pages were packed with dense columns of numbers. After overworking his brain all day, none of it was really sinking in.
"Just give me the bottom line. How much did we make?"
"It far exceeded our projections."
Her voice remained calm, but the excitement hidden beneath it was impossible to miss.
"Please refer to the report for the exact figures. However, one thing is certain—at this level of profit..."
She paused for a moment, locking eyes with him. Her blue irises gleamed with a cool, calculating light.
"...it will be more than enough to fund the next venture Your Highness has in mind."
Mikhail wasn't entirely sure what she meant by "next venture." His original plan after finishing the casino was to just kick back and enjoy himself. Still, it was clear she was genuinely thrilled.
He let out a small chuckle and set the documents aside.
"Good work. Now go enjoy yourself. You're one of the key contributors, after all."
Josepina shook her head.
"No, thank you. If it's alright with you, I'd like to discuss something briefly."
"What is it?"
"While observing this competition, I noticed one regrettable aspect."
She spoke carefully.
"It was too... civilized."
"Civilized?" Mikhail echoed.
"Yes. It was undoubtedly a successful event, but it lacked 'madness.' That special something that drives people insane, like the gacha event last time."
Mikhail raised an eyebrow, intrigued. He was curious why someone who usually only obsessed over numbers and legal technicalities would bring up something like this.
"So I gave it some thought."
Her voice dropped slightly lower.
"For the next competition, we should allow participants to take on 'debt.'"
"......"
Mikhail was momentarily speechless. He genuinely wondered if his ears were playing tricks on him. What the hell had this little brat just said?
"What the... what did you just say?"
His voice was laced with disbelief. But Josepina didn't shrink back at all. Instead, as if she'd been waiting for this exact moment, she began laying out her logic.
"This competition had no entry fee—no buy-in—so we'll set that aside. However, starting with the next event, you plan to charge a participation fee, correct? And once a participant loses all their chips, they're eliminated. That's precisely where we can create a new revenue model."
"So you're saying...?" Mikhail frowned, half-dreading what was coming.
"We provide instant loans."
Her blue eyes flashed with an almost inhuman gleam.
"Of course, with a modest interest rate attached. Gamblers who have lost their minds—pardon, players—won't care about interest if they can just borrow money on the spot. Most gambling houses in the Capital already operate this way to generate profit."
"Hold on a second."
Mikhail raised his hand to cut her off.
"You're talking about giving them extra lives mid-tournament? Re-buys or re-entries exist in some formats, sure, but that should be done with their own money. Lending it to them? That's a hard no."
There were certainly tournaments that allowed re-buys or re-entries. Some people staked their way in by splitting prize pools, or borrowed from friends. But those were all private transactions. No official organizer ever lent money directly. Organizers had to remain strictly neutral, which made such arrangements impossible. It was also why Mikhail had withdrawn from this very competition midway—to avoid any accusations of bias. That was the whole reason he'd removed the entry fee in the first place.
"Then... we can abandon the idea of lending directly to competition participants. The important part is this 'loan' system itself."
Josepina answered without a shred of hesitation. Her sheer audacity nearly made Mikhail laugh in disbelief.
"You were already planning to run a pawn shop right next to the casino, weren't you? Adding a lending operation alongside it wouldn't cause any major issues."
Anyone desperate enough to borrow money just to keep gambling would clearly be a hopeless addict with nothing left to pawn. Lending to people like that... it was insane.
"And we should apply this same system to Toto as well."
But she wasn't done. She doubled down.
"For those who want to bet more than they actually have, we provide credit in a manner similar to 'short selling.' Naturally, we would take their bodies as collateral."
Mikhail felt a headache coming on. Lending businesses existed, of course. Some nobles made their fortunes that way, and a few had even bought their titles with the proceeds. But they always operated through clever proxies and layered identities to hide their involvement. And here he was, already on the Emperor's bad side. Starting a lending operation now? If auditors came knocking one day, everything would be exposed. He'd be dragged back to the Capital, thrown in a cell, or worse—his head might literally roll. And lending to Toto bettors on top of that?
This was a romantic fantasy world where human rights were practically nonexistent. If someone couldn't repay their debts, the lenders could force them into labor, sell them into slavery, or do whatever it took to collect. But that didn't make it right. There was a line. A line that members of the imperial family simply could not cross. When he thought about how Anastasia had fallen in the original story after crossing that very line, the idea sent a chill down his spine.
"Administrator Jugashvili."
Mikhail spoke in a voice gone ice-cold.
"Are you out of your mind? Did you drink a few glasses or something?"
"All I've had today is tea and juice. And legally, there are no issues whatsoever."
Josepina answered as if she'd been expecting the question. She continued in the crisp, precise tone of a top student reciting the correct answer to her teacher.
"If these are worthless degenerates who fall into gambling deeply enough to go into debt, then forcing their bodies into honest labor would benefit the entire Empire. Wouldn't it be better for their own lives as well? A life spent contributing to society as a sailor or miner is far more productive than wasting away pointlessly squandering money."
Mikhail was at a complete loss for words. It was truly deranged. And yet, at the same time, it was brutally logical. It was extreme, yes, but within the values of this world, it was an airtight argument with no room for rebuttal. That fact alone was driving him even crazier. The original novel's 'Iron-Blooded, Cold-Blooded, Bloody Witch' really was in a league of her own.
"Haa..."
Mikhail let out a deep sigh and rubbed his forehead. He could clearly see his exhausted eyes reflected in her blue gaze.
Then, in a voice that sounded like he'd given up on everything, he asked,
"Do you..."
Mikhail said quietly,
"...want to see me stripped of my title and exiled? If we do this, I'm seriously going to die."
He stared at her in silence for a moment.
"The law, you see..."
After gazing into her blue eyes for a long while, Mikhail finally spoke again. His tone was lazy, but the cynicism within it was as sharp as a blade.
"...is nothing more than a tool for governance. It's not about punishing those who committed crimes. It's about finding crimes to pin on those you want to punish."
He crossed his arms with a sneer.
"That gacha event. Was it actually illegal?"
"..."
"Let's be real—what was the real problem? It just looked bad, right? That was it. Sure, they slapped on some legal nonsense about promoting luxury or violating imperial dignity, but fundamentally..."
Mikhail let out a small laugh.
"...it was just that it displeased His Majesty. In this country, the heaviest sin isn't treason—it's the crime of being an eyesore."
Josepina slowly nodded. She seemed to understand, but her expression showed she wasn't fully convinced. Mikhail didn't miss the way her shoulders and the corners of her eyes drooped ever so slightly. Maybe she was just tired, but this rare display of emotion actually suited her appearance quite well.
'She really is kind of cute...'
The thought slipped into his mind before he could stop it.
"Still, like you said... recycling trash does sound pretty good."
Mikhail cleared his throat, deliberately softening his tone. It was partly to comfort her disappointment.
"But forcing groups of debtors into hard labor usually has terrible efficiency. They don't work properly, and you need extra manpower just to watch them."
A mischievous smile crept across his lips.
"Do you remember 'Human Racing'?"
"Human Racing, you mean? The one you mentioned holding with criminals or 'crab catchers' instead of Toto?"
Josepina asked immediately, as if she'd been waiting for it.
"Now that you mention it, when will I be able to see that proposal?"
"Umm..."
Mikhail was momentarily lost for words.
"That was just a joke."
He scratched his head awkwardly. A much larger, clearer wave of disappointment flashed across Josepina's face.
"No, anyway, what I'm trying to say is..."
Mikhail continued, almost defensively.
"If we're going to make use of human garbage, it's much better to utilize them as 'entertainment' rather than forcing them into direct labor. It reduces the perceived cruelty, you know?"
He gestured with his fingers as he explained further.
"People usually care more about appearances than what's inside. First impressions matter, right? The same goes for every policy. How you package and present it—that's the most important thing."
Mikhail paused and studied her reaction. She had lowered her head, deeply lost in thought. Then, suddenly, she looked up. Her clear blue eyes stared straight at him. There was no longer any trace of disappointment or frustration in them—only pure curiosity.
"Does that apply to you as well, Your Highness?"
Josepina asked softly. Her voice sounded gentler than before.