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My Dear, You're Swallowed by Debt (6)
The lord, who had accurately grasped the situation, decided to take care of his own side first.
He knew that they were the only ones who could protect him in an emergency.
'First of all, I need these guys on my side. That's the only way I can survive.'
Although it was not very common for a lord's neck to be taken away by the rebellion of angry citizens, it happened quite frequently during the times of war and chaos in the past.
In most cases, it was the result of the lord's steward and military leaders, who were supposed to protect the lord, leading the incidents.
They had the power to punish the incompetent lord, unlike the powerless citizens.
The lord, remembering this well, hurriedly raised his voice.
"First, calm down. I will never take away your gold coins. I'm not sure about anything else, but I'm certain about this."
The overseer's gaze looking at the young lord was cold and icy.
Was it because of the deep disappointment in him?
There seemed to be no loyalty in his eyes.
"Then, please hurry. At this moment, our steel-like loyalty is being tested a little. I sincerely hope... that our loyalty does not end tonight."
Fortunately, the lord had the gold coins he had not paid as interest to Carter Bank.
With those gold coins, he thought he could at least prevent the imminent claims from the seers.
The problem was what came next.
'I can prevent it for now. But...'
The young lord did not have enough gold coins to give to all the citizens who had his promissory notes.
What would happen if he couldn't appease the angry citizens due to a lack of gold coins?
The lord, who quickly thought about it, could also think of the tax issue.
'If I can't collect taxes on top of this...'
The citizens who could not get gold coins from the debt-ridden lord were now potential creditors.
As there was money to be collected from the debt-ridden lord, most of them had a reason not to pay taxes.
'It will be much harder to manage the territory.'
If the citizens refuse to pay taxes due to their claims, it is only natural that a significant problem arises in operating the territory immediately.
However, he couldn't see a way to solve the promissory notes he had issued excessively.
If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have issued them in the first place.
'Damn it...'
The lord, who was leading the angry overseers with an unknowingly angry expression, was quite a sight.
Late at night.
The lord, who was forced to give the gold coins he had to the seers, thought about the huge nightmare he would face in the future.
'I'm in big trouble. Really... big trouble.'
On the other hand, the seers' expressions brightened up as they regained their gold coins.
"It's truly fortunate. I was worried, but our gold coins were still there."
"Our gold coins have been found, so we don't need to worry about the rest."
"Thank you so much, my lord."
As the short-sighted seers expressed their gratitude to the young lord, he could feel a slight tension easing.
Fortunately, the gold coins he had prepared in advance allowed him to put out the urgent fire.
But the problem was what came next.
'What should I do now?'
He didn't know, but all this started because he didn't have gold coins.
He needed gold coins right away.
But where should he get them?
'Where should I borrow gold coins from?'
To borrow gold coins, one usually had to visit a bank.
Carter Bank in this case.
However, since Carter Bank had become an enemy, the option to go to them and borrow gold coins disappeared.
'Should I go to another bank?'
He thought so, but any bank that knew the situation of this territory would know that lending gold coins to a lord with massive debts due to excessive promissory notes would be as good as crazy.
At that moment.
A commotion began outside the lord's castle.
Judging by the angry voices of the citizens reaching their ears, it seemed that the group of citizens that started at Carter Bank had arrived at the lord's castle.
Hearing this, the overseer narrowed his eyes and spoke.
"It seems that the group from Carter Bank has come to protest to the lord."
No one objected to his words.
Just by the shouts coming from outside, it was obvious why they had come.
The lord sighed briefly.
It was only for a moment.
The lord growled at the seers who had become his subordinates again after getting their gold coins.
"What are you all doing? If you've got your gold coins, you need to move quickly."
He didn't know about the future, but at least the seers were on his side for now.
"You're not going to leave them like that, are you?"
Was it because they got their gold coins?
Their loyalty, which had been absent, suddenly sprang up, or perhaps they remembered the scary lord of the past.
The seers, who got their gold coins, began to move quickly.
The followers had returned to their original duty. ***
Pausing her life as a cadet at the military academy and heading hastily toward the Montefeltro territory, Stella was mad with worry.
"So, it's come to this after all."
Dense evening hours.
Her father Chester, who was both a feudal lord and her father, was still vivid in her mind as he worried about the debt issues of the Carter Bank.
"He has contracted far too much debt than he can handle.” With no other way to go, Stella had to suspend her life as a cadet and hurriedly return to her territory.
"He should be fine."
Although she knew little about the exact state of her domain, all she could do was worry on her journey back. Her companion on this trip, Andrew, also seemed to have a grim look on his face. He had his reasons for keeping his distance from her.
That wasn’t something Andrew was unaware of.
He had been exchanging letters with Rockefeller all along after all.
But people’s hearts don’t easily change, and this journey was realized due to her earnest plea. Because Andrew was Rockefeller's younger brother, she fervently asked him to accompany her, hoping that he would be of help in resolving the issue.
Andrew knew that logically, he should not follow her, but what could he do when his heart was inclined to?
Thus, Andrew followed behind Stella, sighing softly. Whether she was aware of it or not, Stella, who was riding ahead, spoke to Andrew, who was behind her.
“They say its because of the debt issue."
About the sensitive issue, Andrew chose to remain silent, Stella knew no less.
“Andrew.”
“Yeah?”
“Can you help me?”
“You know. Father has landed a big debt on your brother’s store.”
"That's not even my brother's store, though. Why?"
“Don’t beat around the bush. As far as I know, Carter has already retired from the frontline. Carter Bank's business is all done by your elder brother, isn't it?"
"I don't really know."
“Again, this?”
“Seriously.”
Although he often appealed to her that his brother's work had nothing to do with him, she didn't seem to listen at all.
"Help me, Andrew. You can help, can't you?"
"What can I do? I really don’t know anything.”
"Will it hurt to ask? Can’t you help with this?”
Who would've thought that the day would come when the daughter of the Lord would plead with him?
Of course, he knew that she never showed an authoritative attitude towards her during their time together. But what should she do with her feelings?
"Alright. I'll try to talk. Even I can't guarantee anything."
"Really? That's a relief. Thank you, Andrew. It's only you."
How happy he was to hear that! Though it was not comforting, it was a joy to his ears.
"I suppose I'm going to get a scolding from my brother. After all, it's unlikely that it'll mean anything. He won't ever back down."
"Whatever, it's a request from the Lord's own daughter."
And so they returned to the Montefeltro territory.
As far as Andrew could remember, the natural scenery there was always Stella, the Lord's daughter, gracefully exchanging greetings with everyone with a sweet smile.
But now, that smile no longer exists and it seemed as if only the gaze of hatred was left. 'It seems like a problem has blown up big'.
Stella too, must have felt the unfriendly gaze of the domain's residents and as they got closer to the Lord's castle, she parted from Andrew and headed towards the castle.
On the other hand, Andrew, who headed straight to Carter Bank, paused for a moment in front of the store.
"Well, it's been a long time," said Andrew.
It had been a few years since he became a cadet, and during that time, he had grown surprisingly.
A moment of silence.
Seeing Andrew, Rockefeller, who had been sitting, quickly stood up with a bright expression.
Andrew looked just as good as before.
"Yes, brother, I'm back." The two of them embraced each other warmly in the store and expressed their emotions.
But not for long.
Rockefeller was suspicious from the start when Andrew, who had never mentioned coming back, returned to his territory without warning.
"But what brings you here? You didn't say you were coming?"
Only then did Andrew, scratching the back of his head awkwardly, begin to seem flustered. Rockefeller, seeing that, quickly caught on, "You're supposed to give a heads up, right?"
"Um... I apologize, brother. I guess it just happened that way."
Learning of the reason for Andrew's visit, Rockefeller returned to his seat with a slightly scrunched-up expression.
"Your coming doesn't change much. I'm going to proceed as I planned." Andrew didn't particularly want to argue with Rockefeller.
"I thought you would say that, brother. My words won't change your mind, right?"
"But why did you come here?"
"Well, she said I was needed, so I couldn't refuse. Besides, he’s one of the few friends from my hometown."
Rockefeller chuckled and shook his head.
"You're really a helpless guy. I've told you so many times."
"There must be many good women around you, right? I actually wanted you to get involved with other women in the Royal road, or even at the military academy."
"I know what you're thinking, brother. There are many women around me, as you said. But they just don't catch my eye?"
"Well, I suppose if you're smitten with somebody, there's nothing we can do about it." But for Rockefeller at this moment, his voice was clear.
"But I won't be accommodating the lord here because of you. As I've said in my letters several times, that position is naturally something we should avoid."
Upon hearing this, Andrew's expression turned slightly disappointed.
Knowing that things were leaning in that direction meant that his relationship with her would not improve.
Despite this, Rockefeller's view was different.
"There's no need to be so gloomy. She's the daughter of the nobleman here, so she'll get along well with you no matter what."
A certain doubt arose in Andrew's mind. "Is that... really possible? If things go as you think, won't Stella and I definitely become enemies?"
Rockefeller nodded silently, as if understanding what Andrew finally grasped.
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