My dear, drowning in debt #3(3)
"Hasn't there already been enough compensation?"
To her, this seemed like a case where the cure was worse than the disease.
The debt that the lord currently held was so massive due to the overwhelming interest that the principal amount seemed insignificant.
"If it goes on like this, my father won't be able to repay the interest and will go bankrupt. Wasn't it because of the land collateral that he couldn't collect taxes? Doesn't that mean you're telling my father to do nothing and die?"
From the beginning, this matter was due to the lord's mistake.
If he couldn't repay it, he should have been careful from the start.
"Miss. Please think about the excessive promissory notes that the lord has issued. I cannot know what the lord was thinking at that time, but promissory notes are issued to repay them. That means the lord must have had some plan. Otherwise, he couldn't have thoughtlessly issued promissory notes like that."
Stella argued.
"Wasn't it all for the territory?"
"For the territory... I'm sorry, but I cannot agree with that. Of course, I know that most of the funds were used for the defense of the territory. However, some of them were for the lord himself, and he spent too much on the defense of the territory. There was no need to spend that much, and it's clearly the lord's fault for recklessly spending the borrowed money without considering the consequences."
"Even so, if this place became safer because of that, shouldn't you show some goodwill? The defense of the territory isn't just the lord's responsibility, right? You pay taxes, but you also have some obligations as long as you live on this land, don't you?"
Rockefeller had something to say about this as well.
"Duty... We fulfill that duty by paying taxes. Please don't belittle the taxes we pay. Our duty ends with that, and the defense of the territory is solely the lord's responsibility. Otherwise, we wouldn't need to pay taxes, and we wouldn't have any reason to be loyal to the lord."
The lord imposes taxes on the people of the territory, and the lord provides a safe haven for the people with that money.
"That kind of logic... Alright. But people can make mistakes at least once, right?"
"Mistakes... Isn't it more of a wrongdoing than a mistake? It seems clearly intentional rather than a mistake."
"Even if it's a wrongdoing."
Rockefeller calmly shook his head.
"Miss. In a battlefield filled with blood and flesh, one wrong move with a sword can lead to death. That's how scary a mistake can be. On the battlefield, one mistake can cost a life, so is it that strange for one person to go bankrupt because of a single mistake with money?"
Rockefeller showed a faint smile.
"Isn't that relatively better?"
As Stella was trying to find a rebuttal, Rockefeller continued.
"Besides, discussing the lord's debt problem here is meaningless. All the people of the territory are creditors holding the lord's promissory notes. That means everyone in the territory has a debt to collect from the lord. In other words, even if you persuade me well, it doesn't mean that everything will be resolved."
Stella couldn't argue with this, so she clenched her fists on her knees in frustration.
Seeing her like this, Andrew wanted to say something but held back, considering Rockefeller.
How much time had passed?
In the quiet banquet hall, Stella slowly opened her mouth.
"Is there... really no way? After all, Carter Bank is the biggest creditor, right?"
At her question, Rockefeller began to pretend to ponder.
'Of course, there's a way. The problem is that we have something to gain. Whether we give it or not depends on this conversation.'
"A way. Hmm..."
Rockefeller tried to lead her in the direction he wanted.
"First of all, due to the lord's indiscriminate issuance of promissory notes, the people of the territory are suffering endless pain. They are now holding Gold promissory notes, which have become utterly useless, and are furious. Why? Because a promissory note that can't be exchanged for gold coins is no different from a scrap of paper."
"I know... about that."
"You speak as if the lord is the only victim of this issue, but in fact, the biggest victims are us, who trusted the lord and lent him gold coins, and the numerous people of the territory who used the Gold promissory notes as if they were real money."
She had nothing to say about that either.
As she bowed her head in apology, Rockefeller secretly felt satisfied.
"The lord has committed an unforgivable sin."
"..."
"He has already made a mistake, has no self-help measures, and shows no will to resolve the situation. In this situation, the only ones who have to clean up the mess are us, the victims. But when you suddenly come to us and criticize us as if we were the perpetrators, we can't help but feel very disappointed."
"Listening to you... I was too short-sighted in coming here. The biggest victims of my father's actions were you, and I only thought of my father and spoke thoughtlessly. I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable."
"I'm sorry? There's nothing for you to apologize for, Miss. What did you do wrong? The one who made the mistake is the lord."
The atmosphere was extremely tense, and there was no sign of improvement.
However, Rockefeller, who knew the solution to this issue, began to slowly guide her in the direction he wanted.
"As for a way to solve this issue... Ah, there is just one."
Stella raised her head slightly at Rockefeller's words.
"Is there a way? A way to solve this issue?"
"Yes, there is just one way."
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