Sebastian immediately summoned Chris, who was in my room, and asked,
“What kind of information have you obtained?”
“Well, it hasn’t visibly surfaced yet, but Baron Olbia from the Sforza faction is preparing some cute tricks.”
Politicians are also warriors living amidst endless struggles.
Some people jokingly say that to become a politician, one must first be a complete psychological wreck.
While reporters around us are performing rituals hoping to catch just one politician, even members of the same party can be ruthless if their factions differ during election seasons.
Our Toscan Empire is an absolute monarchy, so we are quite far from democracy.
Even if times and ideologies change, human nature doesn’t.
Even if the Emperor and Duke are in favor of me, it’s obvious there will be resistance from those who have their sights set on me.
‘They didn’t bother me as long as I was a Young Baron.’
Now that I’m on the same stage, they’re aiming their knives at me.
They’re trying to stomp me down in advance because they’re afraid their share could be taken away.
“They’re spreading rumors citing that I’m purchasing coffee from the clan, raising suspicions about my faith, claiming I’m a wicked fellow who would ally with heretics for profit.”
The very act of me reincarnating is something that cannot be explained by science.
So I don’t exactly disbelieve in Deus, but—
I don’t think that if you don’t believe in Deus, even a good person like Schweitzer from South Sudan would definitely fall into hell, and if you do believe in Deus, serial killers and rapists would automatically go to heaven.
However, here, the moment you express any doubts about that, you could be branded as a non-believer and executed, like those North Koreans who opposed the “Juche” ideology.
‘Well, my position isn’t weak enough to be executed just for having my faith questioned.’
The issue is that if I get hit with that, I might have to contribute half of my publicly declared assets to the church as atonement all at once.
To recover my political influence, I’d have to crawl for at least 1–2 years.
Who said nobles fight elegantly?
“If Baron Olbia speaks alone or gathers other nobles, credibility drops. I’ve heard he bribed a church law research officer from the Florence Cathedral.”
When bribing, since he lacks funds, he supposedly promised to appoint the research officer’s nephew (illegitimate child) as a knight in our family’s service, right?
I can’t believe these guys from the Deus Church are about to start selling indulgences soon.
That’s something I can’t handle at all.
Chris responded as if she was in disbelief after hearing this ridiculous story.
“But is that information credible? Right now, the spies affiliated with the Rothschild Clan are only at the lower levels of various guilds, merchant associations, and noble families, aren’t they?”
Honestly, it hasn’t even been a month since they were deployed; how could they possibly infiltrate key positions?
No matter how hard I try, it would take at least several decades to elevate them to important roles.
‘But as the scope increases, weaknesses become more visible, right?’
“True, our spies are only lowly staff and servants. But wouldn’t they be far more reliable than thieves who just gather rumors? They can obtain a lot more useful information.”
It’s often said that to leak technology or confidential information that might lead to losses of hundreds or even thousands of billions in large companies, one must at least be at the manager level.
The “at least” implies a theoretical minimum, and in reality, it’s more akin to directors and executives.
Once you’re an insider, you can observe who’s desperate for money and who’s needlessly greedy among them.
‘Those who are in dire need of cash tend to open up given a little money.’
They provide about twenty times more accurate information, documents, and evidence than torture that forces a confession through pain.
They’re clamoring for even more money, after all.
“So, we’ve gathered all sorts of tiny ‘information’ that could be helpful, and among them are a few vassals who are also running a bit short on funds.”
Excluding my Rothschild Baron Clan and the Medici Clan with Albert as its Baron, basically all the noble families in the Toscan Empire are indebted.
As long as titles and real power are somewhat maintained, merchants often consider lending money like bribing, so they hardly make demands.
Just paying 10% of the borrowed amount annually means that nominally inflated annual interest rates of 50% to 100% don’t require any additional principal repayment.
But what happens if this starts to shake a little?
‘The pressure to return money gradually intensifies.’
Even paying back just 10% of the principal annually requires additional loans for “maintaining dignity,” and if principal repayments start to come due at just 15%, what then?
What happens if those additional loans (bribes) also get cut off?
With no money to maintain power, one gets pushed further into a corner, and the more pressed they get, the more intense the demands for repayment.
Eventually, it’s common for estates or anything else to have only their names left while practically everything has been sold off.
‘There are merchants who effectively buy the daughters of bankrupt noble families, you know?’
On the surface, they’re concubines, but if you break it down, they’re just high-end toys.
Similar to a Lamborghini or Ferrari.
“And then for those lacking funds, I send members of the Information Guild to ask if they have any interesting information. If they share, I’ll pay a decent sum.”
Of course, everyone would want to live rather than die, especially if their whole family is at risk.
Naturally, a fair number of noble families have been ingrained with loyalty from a young age, and they’d rather die than betray their lord’s secrets.
However, if a knife is held to their throat, there are plenty who would abandon their lord to save themselves.
‘If there are too many faithful ministers, none would even receive praise as faithful.’
The same holds for Joseon, and surely for the Toscan Empire too.
“And for really valuable information like the one we just acquired, if the total amount of debt isn’t too enormous, I secretly pay off their debts. The crucial thing is to hold on to the bonds.”
Tearing up the bonds is like throwing away the chain I just painstakingly filled.
If money is spent, I have to squeeze every drop out of it.
“After that, I ensure there’s absolutely no pressure for repayment as long as they keep providing information, and I pay them just enough money so that it doesn’t get traced back. This way, I can plant a spy in a particular household without much effort.”
Upon hearing what I said, Chris’s jaw dropped.
Then she covered her mouth with her hand and said,
“…… That’s really a method that no one would think of. Planting members at the bottom and then selecting the ‘short on cash’ individuals to coerce based on the information they gather… What do you think, Butler?”
“Isn’t it just three years since you became a Young Baron? So we shouldn’t expect to understand it from the perspective of ordinary people like us. And most nobles are ordinary folks too…”
The “ordinary” reference here probably differs a bit from our interpretation.
It feels similar to this.
Even if we gather Nobel Prize winners in Physics, folks like Einstein or von Neumann are on an entirely different level from them.
I’ve heard von Neumann understood and resolved issues that dozens of geniuses spent two hours pondering about during the Manhattan Project.
I would say I’m relatively ordinary among nobility.
However, as Newton said, I have lessons and knowledge left to me by the true geniuses of this world written in blood, which has allowed me to come this far.
“It’s just a conclusion earned by pondering a bit more than others.”
Chris and Sebastian both chimed in unison.
“I’ve heard geniuses don’t understand the thoughts of ordinary people…”
“It seems the Young Baron is undervaluing himself.”
Those two, saying that, aren’t exactly ordinary themselves.
But considering such thoughts right now is a waste of time.
I decided to steer the conversation in another direction.
“I’ve already devised countermeasures.”
“What measures do you have in mind? Do you plan to take action personally again?”
A righteous noble wouldn’t directly get their hands dirty even if they know the other party hates them and is preparing to do something.
I won’t step in directly just because our Young Baron is doing a little trick.
The most important part is ensuring I leave absolutely no trace of my involvement.
‘I must keep the Duke and Emperor clueless as well.’
“I’m thinking of playing fairly with provocation and fabrication.”
Just like causing a conflict between the Sultanate and the Kingdom of Granada, wouldn’t it be an appropriate action to make two nobles from the opposing faction fight each other?
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