In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Episode 100

Emperor Jovanes was set to attend the Grand Assembly Hall where the noble council meeting was held.
It was to put an end to the fierce debate about the East that had taken place recently.
“Rulac Lombardi’s face will be quite a sight today.”
Perdic Angenas scoffed, loud enough for all the surrounding nobles to hear.
“Haha! I’m quite looking forward to it!”
Taking their cue, the people around him busied themselves with adding a word or two.
The Angenas family head nervously tapped his foot, eager for the meeting to begin.
For the past few days, Perdic Angenas had frequently visited the imperial palace, almost wearing out the threshold.
Every day, he met the Emperor, persuading him again and again to collect taxes from the West.
Thanks to his arduous efforts, the Emperor, who had initially seemed to have no strong opinion, now appeared to have completely sided with him.
He would listen attentively and nod whenever Perdic spoke, showing positive signs.
As these signs accumulated one by one, Perdic Angenas inwardly rejoiced.
Finally, he could defeat Rulac Lombardi!
He didn’t care what happened to the East.
However, humbling Lombardi in such a highly publicized political matter carried great symbolic significance.
It meant that the Emperor had sided with Angenas, that Lombardi’s power was not what it used to be, and that Angenas would finally become the empire’s foremost family.
Perdic Angenas intended to laugh at Rulac Lombardi’s face the moment the Emperor commanded, “Collect taxes from the West!”
Just as the Angenas family head could no longer contain himself, the door to the assembly hall opened.
“Hmm.” But the Emperor wasn’t alone.
He was with Rulac Lombardi.
“Tch.”
Perdic Angenas disliked it, but he managed to compose himself.
No matter how eloquent Rulac Lombardi was, he wouldn’t be able to undo the efforts he had built up over several days in an instant.
The Emperor took his seat at the head of the table, and the meeting began.
Following the chairman’s brief opening remarks, it was immediately the Emperor’s turn.
Gulp.
Perdic Angenas invisibly clenched his fist.
“I hear your opinions are divided in half regarding the severe drought that has continued in the East this year.”
Jovanes’s low, deep voice resonated throughout the assembly hall.
“I have carefully read the opinions of both factions through the meeting minutes. Honestly, it’s so evenly matched that it’s difficult to side with one.”
The Emperor paused, stroking his beard as if in final contemplation.
Even in that short time, Perdic Angenas felt like he was going to burst from impatience.
He gripped the armrest of his chair with sweaty hands.
“But I have made my decision.”
Finally!
Perdic Angenas smiled at Rulac Lombardi.
Just then, Rulac was looking his way too.
But something was odd.
One corner of Rulac’s mouth was slowly curving upwards.
Why is he smiling?
I’m the one who won, aren’t I?
A strong sense of foreboding suddenly struck him.
And Jovanes declared.
“Out of pity for my suffering people in the East who are afflicted by the drought, I shall not collect taxes this year.”
“N-no!”
Perdic Angenas suddenly cried out loudly.
He belatedly covered his mouth with one hand, but it was too late.
The Emperor and the nobles, frowning, were looking at the Angenas family head.
“Do you have a complaint about my decision?”
Jovanes asked crookedly.
“N-no, it’s not that…”
Perdic Angenas quickly racked his brain for an excuse.
“Last year… Last year, you already exempted taxes in the East, didn’t you? So, if you do so again this year, I’m worried the national treasury might run empty…”
“Hoho, I didn’t know the Angenas family head cared so much about my purse.”
Ultimately, the national treasury was the Emperor’s property.
If the Emperor decided not to collect taxes from the East even if it meant a loss to himself, there was nothing a noble could truly say.
They only hoped that the fallout wouldn’t reach them, causing their tax burden to increase.
“Y-yes, of course. Angenas always has His Majesty’s best interests at heart…”
“Indeed. Then, out of consideration for me, Angenas should simply pay more than enough taxes this year.”
“…Excuse me?”
Perdic Angenas belatedly bit his tongue, but the milk was already spilled.
“Thanks to that, my heart is much lighter, which is a very grateful thing.” It was as good as publicly announcing that he would pay more taxes than required this year in front of the entire noble council.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
Having finished his business, Jovanes immediately left the assembly hall.
What have I done?
Perdic Angenas, slumped back against the chair, stared straight ahead.
And his eyes met Rulac Lombardi’s again.
Rulac Lombardi was smiling.
It was the smile of a perfect victor.
It was precisely the smile Perdic Angenas had intended to display at the decisive moment.
***
Crash!
The door to the Pellet Trading Company office was violently flung open.
“Hah, hah…?”
Standing at the doorway, breathing heavily, was none other than Bate.
“How… did you know?”
Bate walked straight towards me and asked.
“What’s that?”
Instead of answering, I pointed at the heavy red box in Bate’s hands.
“Desserts. I had to pretend to be a delivery person to come to Pellet Trading Company in broad daylight.”
Typical meticulous Bate.
As I nodded, impressed, Bate placed two heavy boxes on the table and plopped down across from me.
“Tell me. How did you know?”
“Ah, you must have heard about the East, then?”
I asked back, watching Clerivan shake his head and bring plates to nicely arrange the desserts.
“That’s… Oh, I’ll have the one with the strawberries, Clerivan.”
“Yes, Lady Florentia.”
“Ah, really!”
Bate couldn’t stand it any longer and looked at me with resentful eyes.
I should stop teasing him.
He’s going to cry.
“Bate, why did you think His Majesty the Emperor would collect taxes from the East in the first place?”
“Well…”
Bate answered my question easily.
“If taxes aren’t collected for any reason, doesn’t the national treasury empty? And since this isn’t the first time, the burden would be even greater.”
And Bate’s explanation went on for a bit longer.
He had so much information, so it was inevitable.
Bate finished speaking only when I had eaten a whole slice of cake and, wanting a little more, ended up sharing another one with Violet.
“Hmm. Everything you say is correct.”
“It is! So why! Did the Emperor make a decision that contradicted all these reasons, and how did Lady Florentia know about it?”
“Certainly, this time, collecting taxes from the East would have been the right thing to do, just as you said, Bate. But there’s one important fact you didn’t know.”
Bate’s face became serious at my words.
“What is it?”
“It’s that Emperor Jovanes is a very greedy person.”
“Greedy?…”
?”
“Yes. Much more so than ordinary people would imagine.”
Greed was a genetic trait passed down through generations for the emperors of the empire.
But Jovanes’s particular brand of it was especially pronounced.
“But then he should have collected even more taxes…!”
“What if Emperor Jovanes had another way to profit while still showing off that he ‘cared for the people of the Empire by not collecting taxes from the East this year’?”
“Another… way?”
I showed a piece of paper to Bate, who was still confused.
It was part of Violet’s report that came in today.
“It’s the current status of grain holdings of important merchant groups in the Empire.”
Bate slowly read through the paper.
“You’ll see some familiar names there. Our Pellet Trading Company, and Lombardi Merchant Group is around fourth, right?”
“Yes. But how is this a clue?”
Bate asked, his pride deeply wounded but his curiosity clearly getting the better of him.
“Until recently, Lombardi was listed as the second name on that list, you know?”
“But why has it dropped so much? Unless their warehouse suddenly caught fire or they sold a large quantity to someone… But selling now would be a huge loss.”
“That’s right. Lombardi Merchant Group sold a significant portion of their grain holdings to another merchant group. This one right here.”
I pointed to the name of a merchant group with my fingertip.
It was the sixth one on the list.
“Red… Merchant Group?”
Bate frowned.
“I’ve never heard of that name before.”
“You probably haven’t. Because it’s a newly established merchant group.”
“But how can they possess such a large quantity of food?”
“Our Pellet Trading Company also sold a significant portion of what we had to them.”
“Why…?”
“Think about it. Who would have the financial power to buy this much grain at once as a newly formed merchant group, unless they received it for free?”
“H-perhaps…”
“That’s right. This Red Merchant Group is Emperor Jovanes’s merchant group.”
Bate’s mouth dropped open silently in shock.
“And Red Merchant Group is planning to go on a trading expedition all the way to the distant East with the help of Lombardi Merchant Group.”
“Huh! Huh…”
“I understand how you feel, Bate. You must be frustrated that you couldn’t see the whole picture just because you missed that one piece of information.”
Bate slumped his head and laughed emptily.
“I admit it. I… completely lost.”
“I’m not trying to comfort you dismissively after winning. This isn’t because your abilities are lacking, Bate. It’s just that the level of information you’re receiving isn’t high enough yet. In contrast, I had a bit more inside knowledge. And if I were to point out another difference…”
Bate looked up at me.
“If Bate is simply someone who collects information from the outside, I am someone who directly intervenes in important matters that become information.”
“Directly intervenes…”
“Because I am someone who has the ability to create information.”
Bate’s amber-colored eyes sparkled intelligently.
“Oh, and the fact that I’ve directly experienced Emperor Jovanes and my grandfather?”
This was a strong advantage I had over anyone, not just Bate.
“Who would have expected Lombardi Merchant Group to sell their grain at a loss and even escort Red Merchant Group on their trade expedition?”
“…What’s the reason for that?”
“My grandfather dislikes losing as much as I do. To stomp on Angenas, that much is nothing.”
I shrugged.
I would have done the same.
Bate, now silent, was lost in thought again.
And when he looked up at me again, I asked, feeling as if I was casting my last fishing line.
“How about it, Bate? Would you like to work with me?”
Gaining Bate and Caramel Avenue to my side would be an incredible achievement.
So I added another bait.
“While you work with me, the rent is free.”
“Alright, let’s do it.”
Bate bit the bait.
“I look forward to working with you, landlord.”
Bate extended his hand to me.
“I look forward to working with you too, Bate.”
I inwardly shouted ‘What a catch! I found it!’ and firmly grasped his hand.