Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Novel
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The tumultuous meeting finally came to an end...
Jin flashed me a bright smile and gave me a thumbs-up.
"As expected of our Aiden! You had a plan all along, didn't you? You deliberately provoked Secretary Jake to show off your skills!"
I thumped my chest confidently, looking up at the admiring Jin as if it had all been part of the scheme, my voice brimming with assurance.
"Of course! Truth is, I've been worried about the Grand Duchy's economy. No matter how I look at it, we can't keep developing long-term like this."
Jin's eyes sparkled exaggeratedly as he gazed up at me in awe.
"Naturally! We all know that! But with no answers, we thought war was the only option! To think you hold the solution to the Grand Duchy's longstanding problem... As expected of you, Aiden!"
What? They weren't clueless?
They knew, but had no solution, so they went to war?
Did I poke at that, and that's why Luna got mad?
No? I just lashed out in frustration... and it turned into this?
"Heh heh, now we can show the other secretaries what Aiden's capable of!"
I could only muster an awkward smile at Jin's sly grin.
This is really bad...
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Luna lay in her bedroom, reflecting on the meeting from earlier.
"Getting land... Sure, we gain land, but it barely contributes to production. Can you explain how that ties to economic power? Our GDP is low, and just blindly taking it to pay back has issues!"
"Fine! But we don't have the population, right? So we can't cultivate the land? Can't develop the mines? Then no money comes in? But we've got a ton of soldiers eating up funds... Who's feeding those troops? We're lucky if we don't go bankrupt."
"Who doesn't know that?"
Anyone who wasn't an idiot would know that part.
The Grand Duchy overflowed with resources, but its population was too small by comparison.
Production was naturally low, and tax revenue followed suit.
The Grand Duchy had been founded for northern pioneering in the first place.
To open up the north, it had received vast authority from the Emperor at its inception.
Coinage rights, veto over troop mobilization, and more...
In exchange, it had to maintain a standing army above a certain size.
At first, it wasn't bad. In fact, it was great.
Reclaiming northern lands with their abundant resources and fertile soil whetted appetites.
But as time passed and low population made production difficult, land prices plummeted. Eventually, to sustain a massive army, they were forced into annual northern raids...
Thus, it became a malformed nation: militarily strong compared to rivals, but economically weak.
"Talking like he knows anything..."
Luna tossed and turned, grinding her teeth.
*Crunch*...
Improving the Grand Duchy's economy...
This was the dream of Luna and her ancestors.
She hated Aiden for speaking so casually about it without understanding.
Her hatred was so intense that the heat that had burned in her body every night finally cooled.
She inwardly cursed Aiden to her heart's content.
'You idiot. Do you know how hard my family worked to escape this situation...'
Since her grandfather's time, the Valmore family had sought wisdom from the empire's brightest minds to fix this.
But...
They all shook their heads, declaring it impossible.
The land was vast, but people few, and the unimaginable winter cold offered no reason to gather there.
"Acting like he knows when he doesn't... Who does he think he is?"
What Aiden said was... a pipe dream.
An utterly vain hope.
The world's greatest geniuses had visited the Grand Duchy and marveled at its precarious state.
Luna truly believed Aiden's words were empty.
That's why her anger burned hotter.
No one desired a transformation of the Grand Duchy's economic structure more than she did.
But no sharp solution existed right now.
What good were vast lands and resources without people?
They couldn't kidnap them, either.
With the Grand Duchy's meager finances, hiring or subsidizing migration was impossible.
"If you're just toying with my feelings..."
Luna's eyes gleamed ferociously.
For the first time, she felt true rage toward Aiden.
Rage at the man toying with her goals, her dreams.
'Pay the price with your life.'
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The next morning.
As soon as I arrived at the Financial Secretary's office, I examined the surrounding maps and city layouts.
I'd originally planned to bolt, but with Jin watching me like a hawk, I quickly gave up on escaping.
With my frail body, dodging a mana-wielding squire was near impossible anyway.
"Hmm..."
I pored over a map detailing the territories around the Grand Duchy—their owning families, and population figures—lost in thought.
"Hmm... Sure enough, just a bit south and the populations are pretty high?"
But the Grand Duchy's cities and castles had very low populations.
Of course, with more cities and castles overall, it had more than them individually, but in total, it was tiny.
"And... the nearby cities..."
Collect more tax revenue than us.
They maintained similar tax rates overall, yet gathered more...
"Means higher productivity..."
Buy raw materials, make something, sell it—value is added anew.
In other words, they were good at turning raw materials into products and selling them.
The Grand Duchy, by contrast...
"Is agriculture-focused."
Agriculture matters. Especially food—it's crucial.
But low value is the problem.
No matter how I sliced it, this wasn't a quick fix.
The Grand Duchy's issues wouldn't resolve without years-long economic restructuring.
"Then I'll propose a direction that takes a few years."
With that, I calmly reviewed the documents, deep in thought.
"But... what to propose?"
Honestly, I had modern-level knowledge, but I wasn't an expert.
Just what I'd picked up from news and Wikipedia.
How was I supposed to overhaul a medieval economy?
If I scribbled some plausible nonsense and handed it over, Luna would scream it's bullshit, right?
Maybe I'd dodge execution that way?
On that hopeful note, I asked Jin, who was sorting documents nearby.
"Jin, if my proposal's too radical and the Grand Duchess rejects it, do I get the death penalty?"
*Rustle*...
Jin, mid-sort, looked at me and shook his head.
"No? They wouldn't execute for that... Even a sensible proposal might be rejected by the sovereign. You've just suggested a good method, and refusing isn't lèse-majesté. You might get some dirty looks, though."
Even these barbarians had some common sense, it seemed.
"Yeah? That's good to hear."
The economy wouldn't shift overnight.
I'd submit a verbose, long-term improvement plan.
If Luna rejected it, I'd be safe.
If... she bought it...
With years to play with, I could escape later.
She wouldn't kill me right away for a multi-year plan, right?
Bide time for the right moment to flee.
Even if she thought it nonsense, I'd jazz it up with modern knowledge to sound convincing.
Like in today's meeting.
"Heh heh..."
With that in mind, I sat and started drafting the plan.
How much time passed?
"This is actually kinda fun to write?"
Using modern terms and concepts like something out of a novel, weaving a plausible story— it looked pretty good.
"No one would've thought of lowering taxes to attract population. Heh heh..."
I was patting myself on the back when...
"Why lower taxes?"
A woman's voice from my office startled me. I scanned around...
Luna stood in the open doorway. I shot to my feet.
"Ah? Your Grace?"
Glancing out the window, the sky was already dark.
What time was it?
A sidelong peek at the desk clock... Past 9 PM already.
I'd been so absorbed, time flew by unnoticed.
"I knocked, but you were so engrossed you didn't hear?"
I gave a sheepish smile at her mild rebuke.
"Well..."
As I tried slipping the paper into a drawer, her eyes flashed red.
"Is that the plan you're writing?"
Oh no...
I hadn't shown it to Jin yet, so I was worried.
In this world, they might dismiss it as pure fiction.
If it was too outlandish, I'd get torn apart at the secretaries' meeting—I needed Jin's input first.
"Ah... Yeah, but it's just a draft, really lacking, not ready to show..."
"Hand it over."
I swallowed hard at her fierce glare.
What? Why did that night flash in my mind?
Like the first time our bodies intertwined, she glared down at me with predatory eyes.
Like a beast eyeing prey.
"But..."
"I'll consider it's a draft. Give it."
Luna wasn't backing down.
I handed over the draft limply. As her eyes scanned it, I squeezed mine shut.