CH 13

Chapter 13 – ☆Royg, Out of Money!

More than a month had now passed since Joshua left Chevalburg.

Royg was in the great hall of his house, bowing before nearly fifty nobles.

“Now, ladies and gentlemen. Please enjoy yourselves tonight.”

Like every other day, Royg was throwing a party at his house, and he had invited nobles from all over the continent.

There was a whole roasted pig on the table, rare fruits from every corner of the world, and dishes that were as extravagant as they could be.

And on the walls of the hall, were paintings from the great artists in the world, and the hallways were decorated with rows of expensive pots and statues.

In the midst of all this, Royg’s eyes stopped on a certain noblewoman.

“Vilian. Who is she?”

“That would be Lady Verna. Daughter of Baron Wileia of the Bersos Kingdom.”

“She is quite a woman.”

“Hehe. House Wileia is a close friend of House Ernten. I can introduce you.”

“That would help, Vilian. I am glad that you are my attendant.”

“Thank you, captain. I will continue to be of use to you.”

Royg adjusted the collar of his coat and checked his hair in a hand mirror before he walked over to Verna.

“Excuse me. You must be Lady Verna of House Wileia.”

“Ah, Captain Royg. Thank you for inviting us here today.”

Verna held her skirt and curtsied. And then Vilian opened his mouth.

“In fact, the captain has taken a liking to you. And wishes to talk to you in his private chamber.”

“Captain Royg!? Well, that is quite an honor!”

Verna’s eyes shone and she bowed before Royg.

Royg smiled at this.

This was how he would enjoy the night… Day after day, only the best arrived at his party, and he was never bored. However, within his heart, he looked down at Verna, believing that she only cared about his reputation and money.

She was only a baron’s daughter. And so he could treat her however he liked…

That’s when it happened.

Suddenly, the doors of the great hall swung open.

And in came merchants and traders of Chevalburg, as well as the bankers. They were furious.

Royg was stunned at this sudden intrusion.

“Wh-why are you here?”

“Why indeed! When do you mean to pay for the food!”

“And the building materials! Also, what about the money for sending the carpenters!?”

“Your knights promised that the Knights Order would pay when they took away the weapons and armor. But I have received nothing in over a month!”

One after another, the merchants announced their grievances towards Royg.

“Wh-what are you talking about!?”

And then one of the bankers stepped forward.

“Sir Royg… What is the meaning of this? We have been lending them money. If they do not pay it, then we will have to spread word to the banks of every other country, and…”

“Wa-wait! I had no idea! Vilian. What is happening!?”

Royg demanded, and Vilian stumbled on his words.

“I-I…don’t… No, the Financial Bureau did say that we would be in the red… But it should not have happened this soon.”

“Th-that’s right. We have so much money in our vault! Everyone, calm down! It’s possible that the Financial Bureau have been embezzling from us! I will have the matter investigated, so please give me some time!”

The merchants muttered, ‘Could it really…’ in disbelief, but went home somberly.

At the same time, the guests at the party also started to mutter to each other as they left the mansion.

Even Verna, who had looked at Royg with such bright eyes, had cast him a look as if she was seeing filth, and then she had left.

From somewhere, he heard the words, ‘He’s just the son of a low-ranking knight. People like that shouldn’t be allowed to rise so high.’

Once they were all gone, Royg shouted angrily.

“…Daaaaaaamn it! Why! What is happening!!”

As Royg shouted, he began to throw the food and plates onto the floor.

“Shit! Shittt!!”

In the end, he began to throw them at the servants.

Vilian and the other attendants did their best to restrain him.

“Ca-captain. Calm down! In any case, let us search the vault!”

“Yes! I won’t forgive the Finance Bureau! I’ll have their heads for this!!”

Royg got onto his horse and rode to the castle.

He cursed and spat on any passersby that got in his way.

But when he arrived at the castle vault, the finance bureau was gone.

However, there was an account book left in the corner.

There was nothing false in it.

There were detailed logs of what the Knights Order had purchased out of necessity, and what Royg had spent for personal use.

And at the very end, the words: ‘I went to visit the captain today. However, Vilian sent me away. And when I explained that we had no money, he only demanded that we do something about it.’

And then it said that the whole Finance Bureau had resigned.

Even Vilian had not expected this.

He and the attendants had been swindling the Knights Order, but the money had been drained out at a much faster pace than they had expected.

In other words, Joshua’s work in the Knights Order had been so tremendous, that he had been able to cover the costs of Royg’s extravagances.

However, even now, Vilian protested.

“Th-they are trying to push the responsibility onto me!”

Royg did not answer or nod.

There was no money in the vault. Not only that, but they could not even pay for what they had already bought.

They would not be able to pay the knights then.

The knights that were off on expeditions to hunt bandits would not be able to continue their mission.

Without money, the Knights Order would disappear. And his fate would be shared with it.

Royg’s head was filled with ideas on how to make money as soon as possible.

“It cannot be helped… Vilian. Go to the banks. Find one who will help… And…”

Royg continued with a painful expression.

“Find Joshua! In the meantime, I will continue with the plan!”

“Ye-yes!”

And just like that, Royg’s glamorous lifestyle came to an end.

Hello. Thank you for reading.

I just have to say, things had been very bad recently, and more than ever, I would really appreciate any possible support to keep things running and with regular releases.

Thank you.