Ch.104Bank (2)

Chloe and Ines are pretty, though not as much as Jeanne. Enough to make an ordinary man fall head over heels.

But when they suddenly act like this in such a situation, I feel more disgust than appreciation for their beauty.

From the beginning, seduction born from genuine love and seduction done purely for gain have completely different atmospheres. This woman’s attempt clearly falls into the latter category. Disgusting.

“…”

It seems she’s used this method of seduction to get out of trouble many times before, but she should know better than anyone that using such tactics in this situation would backfire.

In such a serious atmosphere, making such an inappropriate seduction attempt would naturally provoke anger rather than desire in anyone with even slightly normal thinking.

So why did this woman do such a thing?

‘She thinks I’ll fall for her seduction.’

The fact that I have three wives is now common knowledge even among the serfs in remote villages.

Of course, this isn’t just known domestically but has spread widely abroad as well. I had to sweat quite a bit dealing with the protest delegations from the Laurel Duchy and the Holy See.

Anyway, what must others think about this?

It’s obvious they must think I’m some tremendous lecher who can’t control my lower half and sticks it wherever I please.

“…Haha.”

Change of plans.

I can’t change what people think since I can’t get inside their heads, but I can’t just let it slide when someone tries to manipulate me based on such assumptions.

Originally, I planned to frighten her with the death penalty before sparing her life in exchange for the complete transfer of her assets and business. But seeing this attitude, there’s no need for cooperation. It might be harder to discover hidden assets and I won’t be able to properly take over the vault business, but it’s not like I’m in a position to regret missing out on that.

“I shall pass judgment. For dereliction of duty as a vault keeper, the crime of hoarding, concealment of assets, corruption, and blasphemy, Elisabeth de Rothschild is sentenced to execution, and her assets and business shall revert to me. The same punishment applies to the officials who collaborated with her.”

I deliberately omitted the crime of counterfeiting.

Since she was trading with precious metal deposit documents, strictly speaking, they weren’t currency, so the evidence for counterfeiting charges was somewhat weak. Also, making this a crime could set a strange precedent that might disrupt banking.

After all, banks operate by conducting business with deposited funds, and if such activities were criminalized, banks couldn’t exist.

“T-this… Your Majesty… Your Maj—mmph!!”

Elisabeth, who was about to resist my judgment, is immediately gagged by the nearby soldiers.

Even if I truly were a lecher, I wouldn’t be foolish enough to confuse public and private matters, so her attempt would obviously only have provoked more anger. What kind of men has this woman been dealing with in her life?

Sigh, I don’t know. There’s no point in thinking about it since I won’t be seeing her again anyway.

“Convert the Rothschild vault business to state ownership immediately and begin replacing all Rothschild family crests on documents with the royal crest.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Anyway, I’ll take your idea and run with it.

Tsk, tsk. Judging by how she used precious metal deposit documents for such schemes, she must have been quite intelligent, but she shouldn’t have used that intelligence for such deeds.

Using inflated capital from deposit documents for speculation and hoarding, and even planting spies among officials—even if I had wanted to spare her, I simply couldn’t. To maintain my dignity, I had no choice but to execute her.

Under the old criminal code, she would have suffered a painful death, but thanks to my order unifying all death penalties to the guillotine, she can at least take comfort in dying quickly without pain.

……….

“Huh?”

The Rothschild building, which had been bustling with numerous soldiers and people for days, now bears the emblem of the Burgundian royal family.

Everyone in Dijon knows that the Rothschilds fell from grace and had all their assets confiscated after incurring His Majesty’s wrath for various crimes, but who would have thought His Majesty would take direct ownership of the building.

I was certain he would sell it back to the market… hmm, what a shame.

Well, the location is excellent.

Since the Rothschilds were in the vault business, they placed great importance on security and consequently established themselves on a main street near the barracks with heavy foot traffic. With such a prime location, it makes sense to use it for royal purposes rather than giving it to someone else.

‘I wonder what that purpose might be… A factory would be unsuitable for such a busy area, so that’s out… Perhaps a free soup kitchen or something similar?’

When thinking about a royal-led enterprise, charity is the first thing that comes to mind by common sense.

Charity is the most basic way for the ruling class to gain public favor while simultaneously fulfilling religious obligations. Even heathens consider charity a virtue, so charity projects led by the ruling class can be found quite easily throughout history and across different faiths.

“Tsk, but it’s too good a location to waste on mere charity… Huh?”

The passerby, lamenting the waste of such a prime location on charity, scrutinizes the building and is greatly surprised to see that the sign has changed.

Of course, they couldn’t keep using the sign that said “Rothschild Depository,” so naturally it had to be changed, but this…?

“National Bank…?”

I’ve heard that in the southern peninsula’s Venetian Republic or the Lombard Duchy where commerce is developed, some merchants specialize in lending money or managing assets. Those services are collectively called banking.

But this seems different from those when compared closely.

Given the word “National” attached to it, this is clearly a state-led initiative.

“…I thought they were just leaving it because the vault was too difficult to move.”

The enormous, sturdy vault that the Rothschilds used still remains in this building. It’s so massive that moving it would require tearing down the building walls.

I thought they weren’t moving it simply because it was too troublesome, but they were actually preparing for banking operations.

With such a vault and the barracks right next door, it’s truly the optimal location for banking.

‘I need to prepare right away.’

Currently, there’s too much money circulating in Dijon, causing prices to rise endlessly. Even property and land values are skyrocketing, yet they still can’t meet all the demand.

A new bank for managing money has appeared in the center of Dijon? And the Burgundian royal family, whose prestige reaches the heavens, guarantees this bank’s credibility?

I need to quickly develop a strategy to respond to this situation. Otherwise, small merchants like me will soon become obsolete.

……….

The bank’s operations have been extremely smooth. Using deposit interest and tax benefits as bait, it quickly established itself.

The most basic banking service, deposits, was already familiar to Dijon’s citizens thanks to having absorbed the business of the Rothschilds, who had a high reputation as vault keepers. With the royal crest prominently displayed, citizens seemed to think there was little risk of losing their money, allowing us to smoothly collect substantial deposits.

Lending has been equally successful. With me guaranteeing the bank’s credit and backing it with public authority, we haven’t had a single case of deliberate default. Nominally, the bank’s money is my asset, so naturally few would be bold enough to steal from the king.

Well, there have been occasional cases where businesses failed or people genuinely couldn’t repay, but such instances were very rare, and we didn’t lend to high-risk individuals in the first place. Those unable to repay even after liquidating all their assets were forcibly employed in factories, mines, or farms to repay with their labor.

Bankruptcy? No such thing. I’ll have to establish it someday, but at this point, with underdeveloped finance and administration, bankruptcy carries too much risk. Let such systems be created after my death, when society has developed sufficiently.

Of course, the bank has shown tremendous efficiency not just in deposits and loans but also in tax collection. It’s much easier to take money from assets deposited in the bank than to collect from individuals directly.

“…Your Majesty. Charging interest? This is clearly a sin.”

Of course, not everything has gone smoothly.

[Charging interest on loans.] This act is an undeniable grave sin according to Canaan doctrine.

There’s a reason banks haven’t existed until now. Canaan believers cannot lend money to others and receive interest in return.

I’ve heard that banks in southern countries employ heathens and use them as figureheads to maintain appearances, but that’s impossible for a state-guaranteed bank like ours.

“Armand, I am a devout Canaan believer, but I’m also a king responsible for governing the state. If we compare the nation to a human body, money is the blood, and what I’ve done is ensure that blood clotted in one place flows smoothly throughout the entire body.”

“Personally, I understand completely. As someone from Dijon, I naturally want Lotharingia to grow stronger. But the Holy See won’t see it that way.”

That’s true.

Hmm… As Armand worries, I definitely need to think of a countermeasure.

I’ve already extracted quite a lot just by granting them the Metropolitan Archdiocese. At this point, I should probably offer another concession, but what would be suitable…

Ah, that would work.