Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Using Others' Logic as a Weapon (3)
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Having finished speaking, I deliberately curled up the corners of my mouth.
"......"
A smile flashed across Carlo's lips, as if he had seized an opportunity.
"......Tch."
Mikel shook his head ever so slightly.
And just like that, the conference hall froze over. Everyone stared at me with dumbfounded expressions.
Soon, their gazes crossed paths.
*What did I just hear?*
*Did you hear it too?*
They blinked vacantly, doubting their own hearing.
"What did you just say?"
The one who broke the silence was the Emperor, his face hardened. His tightly shut mouth finally opened.
"I said the current method is unjust."
I replied innocently, as if oblivious to his anger.
Emperor Theodore fell silent for a moment. He seemed utterly unprepared to hear such words in this setting.
He gestured to an attendant, who hurriedly brought him a glass of water. The Emperor drank the cold water wordlessly, as if trying to suppress his rage.
Stepping forward in his stead was,
"Young Lord Abel."
Carlo, wearing the same incredulous expression.
"Do you even know what you just said?"
"Of course."
He let out a hollow laugh at my brazen response.
"What you're saying right now undermines the very foundation of the nobility."
"Me?"
"Yes. What do you think allows us to exist as nobles?"
Carlo began lecturing me in a scolding tone, as if instructing a naive boy.
"His Majesty the Emperor grants us territories and the titles that match them. In return, we pay taxes."
"......"
"If you think that's unjust, then you must renounce everything you've enjoyed as a noble."
He shook his head side to side and asked,
"Surely you know the term *noblesse oblige*?"
*Noblesse oblige*.
The notion that wealth and power come with accompanying responsibilities and duties. In other words, the obligations that nobles must bear.
"Who doesn't know that?"
"And yet you say such things? What you said earlier is extremely dangerous."
He was indirectly asking if I was contemplating treason—with the Emperor and the other lords listening.
*Ha, that sly old fox.*
He reeked of long years in politics. Cunning enough to make a fox blush twice over.
"Young Lord Abel."
Perhaps feeling sorry for me being cornered by Carlo, Mikel stepped in.
"I too find flaws in this system. But isn't it unavoidable?"
His tone was gentle, like soothing a young boy. Beneath it lay pity for me, having fallen for Carlo's obvious ploy.
"So I'd appreciate it if you didn't think that way."
He didn't forget to add, glancing at Carlo,
"I hope Lord Carlo doesn't misconstrue Young Lord Abel's intentions."
Carlo merely shrugged instead of replying.
"Of course, I know the Ovest Territory is in dire straits."
Benifer jumped in, unwilling to back down. She spoke with a seemingly kind smile.
"But this is the duty of a lord governing a territory. It's unavoidable."
Her eyes flickered with zeal toward the Empire—no, toward the Emperor.
"Only by paying these taxes can the Empire function smoothly, and in turn, the people of the Ovest Territory can prosper."
Words, words, words.
Uttered as if out of concern for me, as if offering advice.
But beneath them lurked a coercion to bow down and obey the status quo.
"I see."
I flashed them a brilliant smile.
"Your words only strengthen my conviction."
I swept a mocking gaze around the room.
"That the current tax assessment method is unjust."
"You still haven't come to your senses......"
As Lord Carlo raised his voice,
"Then how about this?"
My lips curved into a smooth smile.
"Change the tax system to a proportional one."
The conference hall froze once more. The glances exchanged held a similar yet subtly different meaning from before.
*Did you hear that? Proportional?*
*What does proportional mean?*
They seemed not to grasp my words immediately.
However.
"......"
Carlo clamped his mouth shut. Discomfort and wariness crossed his face.
*Oh, he understood right away.*
As expected of someone with ambitions to devour the Empire. He must have guessed my intentions by now.
"P-Proportional? What do you mean by that?"
One of the lords asked in a dazed voice.
"Exactly that."
I raised my voice to carry clearly throughout the hall.
"Take each territory's net profit—revenue minus expenses—and levy a fixed percentage as tax."
I added with a touch of amusement,
"The rate? Well, say... 10%?"
Thud.
It wasn't an actual sound. But the atmosphere in the hall grew as heavy as if a massive boulder had crashed down.
No one could respond to my words. They merely worked their lips, struggling to process what I'd said.
"So, what Young Lord Abel means is,"
Carlo's voice laid down heavily like a foundation.
"That the current system is unjust, so we should switch to proportional?"
"That's right."
"Why bother?"
Carlo crossed his arms and tilted his head.
"I don't see why we should change from a method the majority of lords approve to such an inefficient one."
"Inefficient."
I chuckled as if I'd heard something amusing.
"Well, I believe this method would actually collect taxes more efficiently."
"I'm very curious what strange notion led you to that conclusion."
Carlo's face twisted as if he wanted to bite me. The emphasis on "strange" betrayed his intent to crush my idea.
*Think that'll scare me?*
I opened my mouth with a composed expression.
"Naturally, because each territory has different environments and circumstances."
My calm voice flowed with logic.
"If a territory's net profit is high, it pays more tax; if low, less."
"......"
"That's the rational way—fair according to each territory's equity."
"What you're saying is......"
Cutting off Carlo as he prepared a counterattack,
"And this very method,"
I declared firmly, like stamping a seal.
"Is the true path for the Empire."
The lords began murmuring at the unexpected statement.
"The true path for the Empire?"
"What nonsense is that?"
"It sounds like fancy packaging."
Amid the rising debate, Benifer raised her hand.
"I'd like a more detailed explanation."
Her face openly showed intrigue.
"About revenue and expenses."
*Playing coy when you already know.*
But since it was the explanation I needed anyway, I smiled and replied.
"First, revenue—as you all know—is the income generated in each territory."
The lords began leaning in with curious expressions.
"It includes taxes, as well as profits from goods sold to other territories under the lord's full authority."
Carlo's eyebrow twitched the moment I finished. Pretending not to notice, I continued.
"And expenses are the opposite, of course? The amounts spent on territory operations."
"Territory operations......"
Benifer bloomed a vivid smile.
"That seems to be the key. Right?"
"Exactly."
I returned her smile with one just as dark and sly.
"This includes costs for internal security, technological development for agriculture, and so on. And......"
I drew out the end of my sentence before concluding.
"Expenses for defending the borders."
"What?!"
Carlo shot to his feet in fury.
"You're the one being biased toward equity! Isn't this logic solely for your own territory?"
"The Ovest Territory isn't the only one bordering the frontier."
I retorted without flinching.
"And why would that be biased toward equity?"
I shook my head and rose to my feet, spreading my arms toward everyone in the hall.
"Think about it. Why do countless knights risk their lives on the borders?"
The room fell into stunned silence at my sudden question.
"Isn't it for His Majesty the Emperor, the sun and beacon of this Empire? And to protect the Emperor's subjects?"
Finishing, I stared straight at Carlo.
"So how is this logic only for our territory?"
My amethyst eyes flashed as I drove the point home.
"Unless you have a knight order that works solely for your territory? That would be quite... *pitiful*."
Carlo bit his lip upon understanding. Veins bulged on his forehead as I turned his own words against him.
*So why did you even step up?*
Having silenced Carlo, I addressed the entire hall.
"Any more questions?"
No more hands went up. Everyone pondered my words in silence.
Soon, realizations dawned in their eyes.
"......"
Emperor Theodore stroked his chin. Greedy light shimmered in his red eyes.
*His mouth must be watering.*
He would have instantly grasped how this system would bring him immense profit.
"......My, my."
Benifer propped her chin, smiling faintly. Her scarlet nails tapped her cheek like abacus beads.
Quick with calculations, she knew her own taxes would increase.
*And that's exactly why she likes it.*
A legal chance to funnel her territory's money to Emperor Theodore.
"......Heh, well now."
Mikel leaned back in his chair with a hollow sigh, his eyes relaxed as if utterly caught off guard.
*He finally gets it.*
That his taxes would drop significantly under this system.
Mikel looked at me with eyes full of surprise—clearly impressed. There was also relief that his territory's worries had eased.
"......"
Carlo shot me a piercing glare. If he had a knife in hand, he'd have stabbed me then and there.
*How's that taste?*
I grinned triumphantly at him and slowly licked my lips.
A blatant sneer.
"-!"
Carlo's face twisted viciously.
*Oh dear, getting that worked up already won't do.*
He still had mountains to climb.
In a somber voice, I murmured,
"Have you heard of Magna Morten?"
All eyes focused on my saddened face.