I’m the Only One Who Can Put the Tyrant To Sleep

Chapter 40 “I wouldn’t say it that way… because the imperial treasury is actually quite low right now.”The weakness of the imperial power was partly due to the current emperor’s lack of direction, but it was also fundamentally due to the empire’s long-standing economic system.The nobility had their own estates within the empire and taxed the commoners who lived within them. And although some of them were dedicated to the imperial family for various reasons, it was not obligatory.There were, of course, taxes collected from the lords of the territories owned by the imperial family, and as commerce grew, there were additional taxes on goods bought and sold, but that was about it.The empire had yet to impose mandatory taxes on individual citizens that went directly to the imperial treasury.This lack of certainty about how the imperial treasury would be funded, and the fact that it wasn’t very large, gave the nobility a reason to use their own money to keep the imperial family in check‘Calling the national treasury is also to strengthen the imperial power.’Power enough to crush the nobles, who were no longer equal. The imperial treasury could provide the capital to do so.‘But why is this being discussed on a day when Caesar is present?’The political meeting, as explained earlier, was not just for the imperial factions. There were also other aristocrats present, and they would not welcome the imperial treasury being overflowing.‘There is a high possibility that it will lead to a battle between the imperial faction, who want to impose a mandatory tax on each individual, and the aristocrats faction, who want to prevent it.’The aristocratic faction, of course, would pretend to say it’s for the commoners. As long as there was such a public justification, the imperial family could not collect the tax by force. Because it will only lower your reputation.One could then suggest that the nobles could share the taxes they were collecting with the imperial family, but of course the nobles would not accept that.‘In the end, we have to find a way to increase the wealth of the imperial family without reducing the taxes that go to the aristocrats and not burdening the commoners…’“Evelyn, you look funny.”Katana, who had been playing with my hair while I was lost in thought, chuckled.“Silly.”My braided hair flopped around under Katana’s magic. Katana was right, I looked silly, but I couldn’t be bothered with that.‘Does it make sense? Is there a way?’I felt like an express train going downhill, and I had seized the opportunity. **** “Ha….”I grabbed my head and lay down on the table. There were only two days left until the political meeting. Before that, I had to come up with a plausible idea.‘What do you think the Duke of Brayden wants?’Perhaps the Duke doesn’t have high hopes for Caesar. A few words from Caesar won’t change a policy that hasn’t changed before.So if there’s even the slightest possibility, wouldn’t that be enough? Bold, experimental, but realistic. Outlandish, fresh ideas…ideas…….After a few days of wracking my brain, I came up with the idea of ‘arbitrary tax’. Let the commoners pay the taxes themselves. This way, the aristocracy would have no reason to stop it.But no one would be happy to pay. So something had to be given in exchange for the payment, something that required little capital.“Ugh…”‘So what is it!’I squeezed my head so hard I was almost in tears.“What the hell have you been up to lately, Evelyn?”Devit, who was lying on the bed in the same room, spoke up.“Uh?”“Hmm, that’s suspicious…”Devit’s eyes narrowed and she got up from the bed. She seemed to be coming towards me, so I roughly folded the paper I was scribbling about and hid it.“What’s all this? The Art of Business, The Tithe, The Principles of Money Circulation, The Poisons and Divination of Trade…”Devit’s hand suddenly approached without permission and ran through the books on the table.“What… Do you want to do business?”“Just, uh, it can’t hurt to know.”I groaned and waved my hands. Still, Devit did not back down.“What’s the harm in knowing? You’re not a merchant family.”Why are you so interested in other people’s business? I turned my head to look at Devit. Devit, who had a rather serious face, averted my eyes, and then returned to normal.“Well, the world has changed. Some say it’s a world where capital trumps dignity, so it’s good to know how to make more money.”“Yeah, right…”“Ugh, still, I wouldn’t be able to study like this. It hurts a bit. I wish I could just eat and drink for the rest of my life.”Devit put the book down and went back to her bed and lay down.‘Devit, it’s Devit…’I gathered up the books and papers on the table, slid them into a drawer, and locked it with a key. There was a constant stinging sensation in the back of my head. ***** “How did it go?”The next day, I rushed to Katana’s cabin as soon as I got off work, because I had one more favor to ask her.“As Evelyn said, I’ve been trying to find out what people want most…”What I asked for was to find out the most popular words among commoners. Because Katana’s intelligence also includes rumors floating around.Then I thought I might get something. For example, people are willing to pay taxes and want to get what they want.“Honestly, I don’t know. Everything I hear about taxes is bad, and they don’t like the imperial family.”Katana took a deep breath.“Is there anything they want?”When asked eagerly, Katana shrugged her shoulders.“Of course there’s something they wants.”“And what is that?”“Money.”“… Yes?”“It’s hard not to have money, I wish money would just fall from the sky… That’s what they say most of the time.”“Oh….”“I agree too. After I was kicked out of the magic tower, the thing I needed the most was money.”Come to think of it, it was no different than my country.In this world, I was born into nobility and had a steady job, so I’d never had to worry about money, but in my previous life, I’d been begging to win the lottery every day.“So Evelyn, how about selling money?”Katana, who sat down next to me, spit it out as if it had to be done.“You want to sell money formoney?”“Yes. Money is just gold coins anyway, so why don’t you print a bunch of them and sell them for money?”At Katana’s unfamiliar words, I burst into laughter. If you did, you might be able to save a lot of money right away, but eventually the value of the money would decrease and the economy would be in turmoil.‘Does that make sense? From the beginning of selling money for money… What?’Suddenly, I got up from the sofa.‘Why didn’t I think of this?’A lightning bolt of realization flashed through my head. Katana, startled by the sudden movement, looked up at me.“What? what’s the matter?”“Katana….”I mumbled blankly, my eyes fixed straight ahead, and Katana slowly backed away.“Why, why, why. Isn’t your head in a weird place because you’re tired?”“You are a genius.”“Yes?”“Huh?”“You’re a genius, a real genius!”Hugging Katana so tightly that it crushed her, I laughed like a madman.“Let go of this!”The sound of my laughter drowned out Katana’s screams.Selling for money. There was the answer in those stupid words. What I had to sell was money.No, it was the hope of having money. ***** The next day was the day of Caesar’s political meeting.Erinne, who traveled with Caesar on his out-of-town itinerary, accompanied him as his personal maid, and I slipped in beside her. I slipped in beside her to make sure Caesar’s clothes were in order.No one cared whether there was one or two handmaidens, so no one thought me strange.“It’s been a long time, Erinne.”I sneak a word to Erinne as we make our way to the private chambers where the political meetings are held. I’d seen her briefly after the banquet, but this was the first time I’d had a long conversation with her.“Yes.”Erinne responded lightly.“I really appreciated it what you do that day.”“It’s no big deal.”After taking a look around, Erinne quickly confirmed that some of the attendants around us were busy chatting with each other, and added quickly.“Actually, it’s not a big deal, the imperial seal of approval, you just have to get the right paperwork and the secretary will stamp it for you, and I just chatted with the secretary for a bit, if you know what I mean.”“Still, I couldn’t have done it without you.”I smiled brightly and spoke.“Thank you, you saved my life.”“No, it really wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t dangerous.”Instead of taking credit, she was downplaying it, wanting to pretend that her involvement in the day’s events had never happened.Even then, I was worried that the Emperor would find out about it.But I had no intention of letting Erinne go as it is.She was an excellent source of information. She was the best of us in the tests to select a personal handmaiden, and she knew a great deal about the Emperor. She would be of great help in the future.