Chapter 182 Instruction

When I stood against all those people crowded around Yuri and admiring her, the only thought going through my head was that this was all a chore to deal with.

Somehow, my blood was boiling when I thought of Divan, who had caused such a mess.

If I didn’t want to lose, I needed to rouse myself.

“Let’s write a letter for Moneda first.”

“For what purpose?”

“We’re going to recall all the currency flowing through our territory, and change to paper bills instead.”

“P-paper bills?”

“Yes. Or perhaps I should call them exchange tickets? Papers that you’re guaranteed to be able to exchange for golden coins. Thankfully, he was the one who suggested it in the first place: since paper bills are less weighty, they are far more convenient, and that it would be quite beneficial to promote further usage…he even brought samples. But either way, suddenly switching currencies would cause quite a riot in the palace…so we’ll still preserve gold for the moment.”

I at least had the self-awareness to understand how my own policies affected the palace.

This country’s government allowed various territories quite a lot of freedom. This freedom is a result of all the previous policies proposed by various families have remained safely within what they can accept.

Whenever I made a report, I always talked it over with Dean, while turning the thought over in my mind myself.

Of course, my father was a huge factor as well.

That and the intensity of the political battles within the palace.

In comparison with what was going on in a territory, most people in the palace were more worried about their own positions within the palace and what might come of that.

They wouldn’t realize what I was doing until my policies were already beginning to take effect.

Even though I’m sure there would be plenty of onlookers who would like nothing better than for me to fail.

No matter what, introducing paper bills meant deviating from a centralized currency system.

No amount of explanation would be able to justify this, but…in our current situation, the benefits outweighed the potential losses.

We needed to get started as soon as possible, before the market began to grow messy.

I was grateful for Moneda’s flexibility and capability.

Since we could start work anytime, all we needed to do was notify the officials.

“We’ll collect the golden, silver, and bronze coins in the bank. Of course, we need to confirm that they’re pure. Impure coins are worth less, but thankfully they don’t seem to have saturated the market yet.”

“What about the golden coins from other territories?”

“Collect them after confirming their purity. From now on within our territory we won’t allow any other kind of currency other than paper bills. Spread the word that if you bring golden coins from other lands, they will be unusable without exchanging them at the bank.”

“How are we planning to confirm all these coins at the bank?”

“Moneda’s report mentioned that the false coins are somewhat lighter. If we weigh them, we should be able to see.”

“But just like you said, milady, if we introduce paper bills, won’t that impact the whole country?”

“First let’s notify Earl Sagittaria. While he still holds the position of finance minister. Plus, the plan to spread paper bills that are exchangeable for golden coins…shows that we have no intention of making national currency obsolete in our territory. Well…at least it won’t be called that for the time being. My priority is protecting my territory. While those in the palace play their political games, it’s a perfect time for us to act. Please, call Sei here.”

Tanya began moving as quickly as possible.

To observe our competitors in the capital and see what the Azura Conglomerate was up to, Sei had come with us.

“Is something wrong, milady?”

Panting, Sei rushed into the room.

Tanya, on the other hand, walked in alongside looking cool as ever…but it wasn’t really the time to ponder those distinctions.

I told Sei everything that Tanya and I had discussed. By the time I finished, his face was completely white.

The fact that he understood immediately the gravity of the situation was a great start.

“The Azura Conglomerate is quite active in other territories. What should we do about them?”

“Do any of the official teahouses* in the capital use golden coins extensively?”

“Well, um…not really, since it’s supposedly a location priced for the average citizen.”

“In that case of our territory, if they do come in with golden coins, I think it would be best to remind them that they needed to be weighed. If they end up being lighter, then they would need to use other coins. If that person didn’t have those coins, they could only accept it and keep those coins separately. If a certain shop has accepted more than 10 lightweight coins, all merchandise items need to be have their prices raised to reflect that.”

“I understand. I’ll let all the state-owned stories know, and inform them of the disqualifying weight.”

“Thank you…ah, if it’s a nobility membership store I think it’s best if we raise prices right away. In other shops, we should also raise prices on the most high-class items. Please give me a report on that right after you finish. When accepting a large amount, they should still take care and check for light coins. But I don’t think it’s wise for us to reveal the rationale behind this, especially to consumers.”

“Yes, milady.”

Sei bowed to me. The jitteriness that had characterized him earlier had disappeared now.

His arms had relaxed, and he was calm. It almost reminded me of Sebastian, back in the territory.

After bowing, Sei immediately left the room.

“Well, then, although there’s still the instructions for Moneda and the officials…Tanya. If there’s anything else you wanted to report, can you let us know now?”

“I’m afraid that the first prince has his eye on this incident.”

“Hm…why do you think that?”

“When investigating, I bumped into other intelligence agents…”

Tanya’s report made my eyes go wide in shock.

Although I was surprised at the fact that there was an opponent that would warrant intervention from Tanya, I was more shaken by the fact that he made her feel like she was in danger.

“As you say, it’s quite a high likelihood that he’s an agent for the first prince…”

The first prince…Sir Alfred. He seemed to have quite excellent subordinates. I couldn’t help but admire him a bit more.

“Well, if he has such excellent servants investigating, I’m sure he has his own aggressive policies to deal with everything that’s happening. All in all, let’s report the business of the false currency to father and hand this off to him.”

Tanya looked surprised.

Was it so shocking? I laughed.

“Did you think that I would act out immediately to try and resolve this?”

Tanya nodded slightly.

“I wouldn’t do that. I understand my own limitations. I can’t even deal with everything happening in the territory right now. Right now the people are what matter most. Trying to help them means I have very little time of my own…And now in the capital, no matter how hard I work from behind the scenes, there’s always Queen Ellia and Marquis Maelia’s party around to interfere…”

There wasn’t much I could do. In the best circumstances I would still be punished, and the worst be assumed guilty by association.

“Even so, we need to investigate Baron Messi. Could this be the reason he isn’t in the capital during social season? Earl Monroe doesn’t have much space left for discretion. Plus, if he’s caught by the first prince, that would be quite exciting for us.”

Tanya nodded in silence.

“In that case, it’s time for me to start writing letters to officials. Tanya, help me spread the word to Priest Ralph.”

“Understood.”

“Tell him that the Langley family’s engagement must be delayed.”

“I see…”

In this country, you needed the approval of the Church of Daryl to get married.

Reporting your marriage to God, making your oaths in God’s presence, was of the utmost importance.

The Church of Daryl’s approval of a wedding meant that God approved of it.

In other words, without their approval the wedding ceremony couldn’t even proceed.

“I’m sure that we’ll suffer pressure from Queen Ellia, but…to delay it as long as possible, this is all we can do. It’s a favor that we can call on right now.”

Only a while ago I received a letter about how thankful he was for being able to eliminate Van, along with all the others who were loyal to the previous pope.

He also mentioned owing us a favor. This was the perfect opportunity for us to use that.

Even though it ended up causing a lot of trouble, I’m still glad that I responded to Van the way that I did so that we ended up being able to proceed.

“Understood. I’ll let him know.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Please continue surveilling Mimosa as well.”

“Understood.”

After Tanya left, I started writing letters to Sebastian and officials throughout the territory.

I paid special attention to my letters to the financial and civil procedure departments.

I kept writing with full focus. By the time I came back to myself, the sun was setting.