CH 216

Earl of London (1)

a week ago from now.

Count Rondon received disappointing news.

" Golden Bank has sent you an ultimatum. after a fortnight. If you do not repay the 100,000 gold, you will exercise your creditor's rights and formally protest the matter. What should I do with this? As you know, Redford's royal treasury cannot afford to pay that debt. If you spit out 100,000 gold in a situation where the operating expenses for next year have to be covered from the outside right now, the country will collapse."

10 million gold.

That's a lot of money, obviously, but it's not an amount worthy of the collapse of a country at the national level.

The problem was with Redford.

Due to the king's careless luxury and gambling, the national treasury dried up day by day, and debts piled up that could not be afforded by now.

Belatedly, he rose to control the king.

But when he realized the reality, debt, which was apparently the size of a snowball at first, caused an avalanche and swept over the kingdom.

Count Rondon said.

"Is there no room for negotiation?"

Yes. Golden Bank nailed it not to allow a single word of room."

" Whoa."

I let out a big sigh.

last few years.

Count Rondon moved from east to west to save the country.

In the process, he lost a significant portion of his fortune, but there were still many problems that the country had to solve.

100,000 gold debt. As of now, there was no way to repay.

To be precise, even if he pays off his entire fortune, Redford will repeat the same situation in the future.

It was cumbersome.

Golden Bank.

They acted for the entire continent, and those who could not pay their debts were thoroughly punished.

It didn't matter what country the opponent was.

It was clear that rioting by sprinkling money from the inside was basic, and he was trying to bring down the country by supporting the war funds of the enemy countries.

If you can't afford to spit it out. It was their way to get it back on their own.

Historians have clearly shown what happens if you ignore the Golden Bank warning.

"What did your Majesty the King say?"

"It is always the same. His Majesty is not the one we already knew. He is addicted to alcohol and women every day, and heads to the gambling board whenever he has time. We have placed restrictions so that we can no longer touch the national treasury, but there is no way we can control the debt pile with the national seal stamped on it."

"There is a force outside that encourages the departure of His Majesty the King. As long as they are alive and well, the problem will inevitably repeat itself."

Redford.

The country was falling apart.

The general public is still unaware of the seriousness of the situation, but the Earl of Rondon knew that its downfall was imminent.

The treasury is dry.

If there is a riot.

The meaning of the country will be lost.

Knowing that this was the Empire's desired purpose, as Earl of Rondon, he used evil and raised money.

In the process, I thought of rebellion countless times.

However, according to the information he found out, the king's deviation was the result of external forces.

They hoped that their country's safety-conscious class would revolt, and it was clear that the moment they raised an army, they would use it as a cause of purge.

was an outsider.

With his options limited, all he could do was support the pillars of a collapsing country.

person who came to see him.

He was a treasurer.

The fact that the person who had to go to the king and report to the king secretly came to Count Rondon meant the reality of the country.

'Is there really no way?'

at the end of the desk.

I saw a picture with my father.

The picture, taken by magic while he was alive, showed a man who looked just like the Earl of Rondon, smiling wildly.

In fact, people remembered his father more than Count Rondon.

He was a man of great patriotism that earned the respect of everyone, and he did not put his worries about the country out of his mouth until the moment he died in an accident.

he dies

People blamed the new London heir.

Unlike his father, he had a reputation for being trash that loots people and reveals only money.

Count Rondon said.

"Redford is running towards the cliff. Knowing that this country will fall to pieces at any time, we cannot abandon this country and run away. We must draw a list of forces that will help us. Once the debts of Golden Bank are settled, Redford can survive."

Okay.

Treasurer bows his head.

Count Rondon leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling.

tinted ceiling.

That seemed to represent the reality of this country.

* * *

It wasn't the first time he had been looking for Dmitry.

I first visited the forces I had been close with, but they all said it was difficult.

"Count Rondon. Rumors are circulating on this floor that I won't lend money to the Kingdom of Redford, and to you. No matter how much interest we promise, if it goes down before we get it back, wouldn't it be our only loss? I'm sorry. Shouldn't we be thinking about reality now?

Ten encounters.

Ten rejections.

Count Rondon's feet swelled.

He walked a long distance and asked earnestly, but most showed a cold reaction to the point of refusing to even meet him.

Then I remembered the Dmitry family.

Although they were not normally friends, they had a hostile relationship with the Kronos Empire, but they did not know if there was a possibility if they were called the great wealthy.

a word of possibility.

It was a feeling of holding on to even straw.

He went to visit Roman Dmitry, and swallowed dry saliva at the sight of the opponent entering the door.

'Roman Dmitry. The continent's greatest talent who defeated the Gustavo Knights Commander with one blow. Rumor has it that Roman Dmitry is a really cool-headed person. If he knew Redford's circumstances, the chances of lending him the money would be slim.'

He also knew the reality.

However.

There was no other option.

Rumors spread that Dmitry was actually led by Roman Dmitry, not Duke Romero, and for that reason, he went to Roman Dmitry.

Opposite Roman Dmitry. They simply revealed each other's identities, and immediately talked about the main point.

"I am sorry to ask you this in the first place, but please lend us only 100,000 gold. Of course, I am well aware that this is an unreasonable request. There was no relationship in the first place, and even if we borrowed money, we are not in a situation where we can repay it quickly."

revealed the teeth.

Instead of borrowing money with plausible words, he spoke frankly about the circumstances.

Rondon and Dmitry.

Both are families of merchant blood.

It was clear that a plain excuse would not work, and even though it was a loan of 100,000 gold in the first place, there was no benefit for the Dmitry family to gain.

The existence of interest was meaningless.

If Redford and Rondon are destroyed, there will be no one to receive interest from, and the money will also evaporate.

"If Golden Bank cannot pay off its debts at this rate, Redford will have no choice but to collapse. I'd like to block that. Roman Dmitry. You know the importance of Redford. The Kingdom Confederacy barely maintains its existence if it doesn't, and if Redford falls, the Kingdom Confederacy will lose its power to stop the Kronos Empire. So, give me a little bit of strength. Redford, on the other hand, has no strength to survive without help from other countries."

this deal.

turned the situation upside down.

Rather than simply a relationship of gain, he appealed to Kronos and Chuck Dmitry about the importance of Redford.

Count Rondon.

He was a clever person.

To be honest, I made Redford's problem everyone's problem.

series of situations.

Roman Dmitry, who had been quietly listening to what the other person had to say, drank tea and asked in a low-pitched voice.

"I have heard rumors about Count Rondon. Redford's great wealth. A being who plundered the property of people around him and accumulated enormous wealth through brutal trade skills. People call you scum, or an idiot without blood or tears. But the Count Rondon I met seems to be a different person from the rumors."

public reputation.

It was different from what was in front of me.

At least the people of Redford didn't consider the Earl of Rondon a patriot.

"Please explain to me. Why do you, with such a reputation, work so hard for Redford? In fact, people with money don't have enough money to live if they let go of their patriotism, don't they?

* * *

Roman's words.

fell into silence

Count Rondon looked at the opponent without saying a word.

public evaluation.

he knew it too

Even in the process of the collapse of the country, people sweared at the sight of Count Rondon, who confirmed the business and robbed the surrounding property, calling it garbage.

And I didn't spend a penny for anyone else.

It was the Earl of Rondon who was seen holding money until the end, despite being pointed at by people.

The reality was different.

Most of the hard-earned money has been used to solve Redford's problems.

Count Rondon said.

" Just a few years ago, I was not very interested in the situation in this country. My goal was to inherit my father's family business and become the best merchant on the continent. But that's it. Accumulating huge wealth will reveal truths that people don't know. The departure of His Majesty King Redford. People say that His Majesty makes the country difficult, but those who know the truth are unaware that the process is abnormal. I am convinced that the Kronos Empire is behind this."

king.

He stepped into the gambling board by someone.

At first, he was delighted by earning a large sum of money, but within a year, he became a gambling addict.

A gambling board where the giants of the continent gathered.

How did the king get there in the first place?

Questions lingered, and Earl Rondon learned that the forces behind Redford were leading the fall.

"Redford's great wealth. How do you think our family will be viewed by the tyrants who are trying to destroy the country? Father's death is no accident. A person with patriotism and wealth would have thought they would be a major stumbling block to their plans. So I turned my back on public opinion. He trampled on other people's business, took his property, and was criticized by people, but he has no regrets about it. The beings I destroyed. They are all guys who took part in the country. I took their property and returned it to the state."

beyond memory.

The Earl of Rondon, the first heir to the family, wasn't really a patriot enough to devote everything so much.

But.

As time went on, something hard began to form in my chest.

Watching the series of events that led to Redford's collapse with the death of his father, the Earl of Rondon could not let the situation go as Kronos intended.

So now he has dedicated his life to Redford.

It didn't matter to him how people judged him.

only one purpose.

In order to protect this country built by his father and his predecessors, it didn't matter what his reputation was.

Count Rondon said.

"I have no intention of taking on all the responsibility of 100,000 gold. As collateral for this transaction, I will bet not only the land of London, but also the heirloom of the family. Even if the situation goes to the worst. For Dmitry, it wouldn't do much harm. And if Redford solves the problem and gets it back to its original shape. London House. Furthermore, Redford will never forget this grace for the rest of his life."

when you have finished speaking.

Count Rondon had a gut feeling.

'I'll refuse again this time.'

Dmitry.

If it was a family of merchants who sold steel to their current position, there was no reason to accept this proposal.

A poignant story?

Relationship with Kronos?

It's not the problem they face.

The fire that fell on the feet of others did not know the danger until it spread to himself.

But then.

Okay. I will accept your offer."

returned answer.

Count Rondon, who had already given up, could not hide his bewildered expression for a moment.