An Honest Business, a Crooked Merchant

With the meal over, they called it a night.

Elza and Azu headed to their room to sleep, but Alexia stayed behind.

Azu gave her a curious look, only to be pushed along by Elza.

Good children go to bed, she said.

"I'd like to hear what you're planning, just to be safe."

"Hm? What's up, Alexia?"

Tracing the rim of her cup with a finger, Alexia leaned on one elbow and looked at Yohane.

There was something faintly melancholy in her gaze, so Yohane, who had been about to stand, sat back down.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten what happened before. Running off on your own like that. Do you have any idea how I felt when we came back and learned our master was sitting in a jail cell? My vision nearly went dark."

"That was… no, you're right, I know I was in the wrong. I never expected things to go that far. You're the one who got me out smoothly, though. I'm grateful."

"It was your money I used, but I'll graciously accept your thanks."

Even now, she couldn't exactly call it a fond memory.

Looking back, it wouldn't have been strange if he'd been executed right then and there.

They'd only managed to get Yohane out of the cell in one piece because the cardinal of the Church of the Sun God had accepted their donation without fuss.

For Elza, whose Creator King faith had been destroyed by the Church of the Sun God, the experience must have been complicated, but she'd reportedly gone along with it without protest.

What thoughts she truly harbored, even now, remained unclear.

"My life is worth more than money. And this time, I intend to make money."

"As a merchant, I trust you. And I don't think you'll make the same mistake twice. But still, something about you just feels… reckless."

Alexia sighed.

Azu lacked the experience to navigate schemes and stratagems.

Elza seemed to deliberately hold back in that area.

It felt as though she would only step in to guide things when absolutely necessary, and forcefully at that.

As a result, the mental burden fell to Alexia, who had been educated as a noblewoman despite her family's poverty, and Yohane, the young merchant.

That was precisely why Alexia wanted to know what Yohane was planning.

"That worried about it?"

"I'd rather not end up on the streets twice."

"Same here. I'll pass on that."

They both let out a small laugh.

"I don't know how it was in the Empire, but in the Kingdom, getting into the moneylending business is hard. As long as you can collect, it's profitable. Plenty of merchants would love to break in."

"It's the same in the Empire. The larger lenders will even extend massive loans to nobility. Some nobles can't repay and have their interests seized."

Conversely, there were also cases where nobles tried to renege on debts, creating enormous disputes.

We didn't even have any interests to seize, though, Alexia added quietly.

The name of Alexia's house, swept away by the machinations of a powerful noble family.

That was precisely why Alexia was here.

Their relationship was technically master and slave, but by now she was a dependable member of the household.

Alexia, for her part, had gradually been opening up to Yohane, something she herself was aware of.

"Right. The bigger a merchant's assets, the greater their power. The amounts of money they handle grow accordingly. Merchants who represent entire nations are often more powerful than most nobles. Moneylenders deal directly in money itself, which makes that tendency even more pronounced."

When royalty found themselves short on funds, the discussion came down to two options: raise taxes, or borrow.

Tax increases bred resentment toward the crown, and once rates went up, bringing them back down was notoriously difficult.

There was even a saying about it: once you've tasted the fruit, you never forget it.

The Kingdom had been born from the collapse and fragmentation of a nation that once ruled the continent.

Its first king, having witnessed that collapse firsthand, was said to have been exceptionally cautious when it came to taxation.

So what was the alternative?

Borrow.

A moneylender who lent to the royal family gained insight into the crown's finances.

They'd be consulted with increasing frequency, and their power would grow accordingly.

Some moneylenders even rose to become a nation's Chancellor of the Exchequer.

While the positions of Home Secretary and Minister of War were reserved exclusively for nobles, the Chancellor of the Exchequer was the exception.

Running a nation's economy demanded talent over bloodline.

And that was exactly why the crown didn't grant moneylending licenses easily.

The norm was for rights to be inherited, passed down through generations of the same family.

New licenses were virtually impossible to obtain.

If a moneylending family could no longer continue, a major merchant would buy them out, rights and all.

The crown found that far easier to approve.

Yohane himself had considered it once, only to give up in the face of the impossibly high barrier to entry.

It was nothing like buying a single inn.

"Setting up shop in the south means they're newcomers. Someone like that running a moneylending operation, obviously they don't have a license. On top of that, they've expanded enough to generate rumors. They're certainly up to no good. Jacob might be aware of the situation, but… Now, if someone like that had their money disappear, who do you think is going to care?"

Alexia processed Yohane's words in her mind.

Then she realized what he was planning.

"What a devious mind you have. Though it may also mean you trust our strength that much."

Alexia was far more knowledgeable about politics, but when it came to money, Yohane was the superior by far.

That was why he could sniff out the scent of money.

And when the means were available, he naturally reached for it.

Alexia was somewhat exasperated, but her questions had been answered.

She'd likely been worried about Yohane doing something reckless again.

"I'm counting on you. Let's get some sleep so we're ready for tomorrow. I'm turning in too."

"Very well. Good night."

Alexia rose from her seat and returned to her room.

Yohane watched her go, then extinguished the lights.

In the pitch-dark room, Yohane wore a faintly wicked smile.

"Breaking the law to make money must be fun, huh. Watching those gold coins pile up tax-free must really get the heart racing. But the law protects those who follow it. I'll wring you for every last coin."