CHAPTER 4 – I – DAVID VON ALBERT, CROWN PRINCE OF AMARANTH
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CHAPTER 4 - I - DAVID VON ALBERT, CROWN PRINCE OF AMARANTH

 

And so, once the accommodations had been arranged, we went back to the royal palace.  Upon arriving, we were led to a large room, where Maddie and the others were already conversing with the crown prince and his ministers.

 

The crown prince of Amaranth, David, was an intimidating man, physically.  He stood tall—probably about 6 feet or more, towering over anyone inside the room.  The prince carried an unusually long sword on his waist; presumably, it was made so that it could match his physique.  His face, though he may be young as Jessica had told us, was a bit worn-out.  I don’t know if it’s because of the stress of ruling, or something else, but he’s much younger than he looked.

 

In contrast to his physical features, Prince David was a gentle character.  He spoke gently, though we could still feel the royal dignity in his voice.  The prince stood up when he saw us coming, Monfort and I, prompting the others to acknowledge our presence.  He even asked us to take a seat, even though his ministers stood behind him.

 

I think I’m going to like this guy.

 

Honestly, I found it quite hard to believe that this person was accused of things like abuse of authority, or a sex-crazed maniac, as Eris told us before.

 

But well, I guess I needed to observe a bit more and keep my guard up.  Appearances can deceive, after all…

 

“Once again, we thank you for coming to our lands, Your Holiness.” the crown prince bowed in respect before Maddie, and his government was quick to follow, “And, on behalf of my house and my people, I would also like to express our apologies for this situation.”

 

Maddie, meanwhile, never hid her displeasure, “I’m not angry because I was asked to mediate in this.  However, Prince David, you and the Duke of Braunhauer shall be answerable to me for the unnecessary escalation of this conflict.  Why did no one from Amaranth raise this issue back at the congress?”

 

Crown Prince David remained silent, but I could tell that he’s shaken by the rebuke.

 

Jessica was quick to intervene for her brother, “Your Holiness, I’d like to speak for the crown prince if you please.”

 

“Then speak!”

 

“His Highness is still learning the ropes of governance.” the kitchen princess explained, “He is a regent of our father nary two seasons ago!”

 

“Indeed, he is.” Maddie was unflinching, “However, if the prince would just play around and never try to govern, it would be for the good of this entire kingdom to appoint a new heir instead!”

 

Well, that’s harsh.  Coming from no less than the Saint herself, I think Maddie was telling the truth.  If the prince would only concern himself with his own good and never his people, eventually, this was bound to happen.  

 

But as for Maddie, she can gently say it, right?

 

I was looking at the crown prince for a while now, and he never moved from his bow earlier.  As intimidating as he was, he also displayed resolute regret for his mistakes.

 

Makes me wonder…are Eris’ words true?

 

It’s the reason we’re here, to find out the truth and act accordingly.  Hope something came out of it.

 

 

Maddie was not angry for long.  She knew it won’t be of use anyway, since our purpose here was to mediate, not to shower reprimands on the parties involved.  As soon as she calmed down, she immediately went on questioning the crown prince on the state of Amaranthine affairs.

 

“So you mean to say, the nobility here are making stories about you abusing their hospitality?”

 

“Yes, Your Holiness!” the prince was indignant, “I swear by Your Most Exalted Name, on the pain of death to me and my entire household, I implored no one to spend a single coin from their coffers for the upkeep of my retinue.  I have my accounting books to prove that!”  He quickly motioned for someone to bring the books before the saint to nail his point.

 

“That won’t be necessary, Your Highness.” Maddie was quick to retract, “I can see your thoughts, as well as your heart, so I could tell if you’re lying to me or not.”

 

The crown prince had an uncomfortable look on his face.  I could somehow understand his reaction; no one in this world or in my world would love to have their inner thoughts seen or read without permission.  However, Maddie’s ability was helpful to determine if the person she’s dealing with was just double-crossing her.

 

We feel safe with her ability around.

 

“Alright, Your Highness, let’s get to the point.  Tell me, what do you know about the problems plaguing your rule if the nobles’ words were false?”

 

“Your Holiness, I believe that this conflict stemmed from a matter of finances.” the prince explained, as he opened the books that, I believed, contained the lists of transactions the royal treasury of Amaranth dealt with, “As you can see, most of the nobles rebelling against the king have outstanding debts in our treasury.  And since they seldom pay, the interest keeps on rising to where they couldn’t return the borrowed money anymore.”

 

“Hmm…” Maddie, together with Lily, was trying to understand the list, “This is indeed a serious matter.  If your nobility would just keep on borrowing and never paying, soon your kingdom would fall into debt as well.”

 

“Have you tried raising taxes?” Lily asked.

 

“We’ve done that, to a certain limit.” it was Jessica who said that, “Any more of it would anger our people, and it would cause chaos and instability.”

 

“How about taxing the guilds?  They make more of the money than the common folk and the nobility combined.”

 

“We could, and would, never raise taxes imposed on the guilds to cover for the budget deficit caused by the nobility.” the kitchen princess further explained, “Not only it is unfair to them; it is detrimental to the state of our kingdom in the long run.”

 

True enough.  If the Crown would raise taxes at the guilds’ expense to make up for the lost revenue, it could lead to terrible results.  For one, guilds were mostly concerned with making money, thus they control the economy.  If they realized they had to pay more than they could gain, the most logical choice was to leave this place for a more profitable kingdom.  

 

Fewer guilds will mean less work and goods for the people, and the economy will collapse.

 

Another was that, once the guilds learned they were being taxed to cover for the excesses of the nobility, I don’t think they would take it lightly.  After all, it’s not their fault those fools were blatantly spoiled.  Add the fact that they had ‘private armies’, they could trigger dramatic shifts in the economy and politics.

 

The same goes for the common folk.  Though they may be silent for now, once their sentiments reached the boiling point, this monarchy won’t last on its throne for long.

 

Yep, I’m thinking of the French Bourbon king Louis XVI and his family…

 

Third, putting the responsibility on covering for the deficit on someone else would only encourage these nobles to borrow recklessly.  After all, they won’t suffer the consequence of their actions, and so they’d think it’s fine to indulge, and waste resources.

 

Taking the options available to the Amaranthine king will lead to the ruin of their dynasty—and possibly the entire country as well.  Unless…

 

“…”

 

I noticed that everyone inside the room was completely silent and their eyes plastered on me.

 

Err…is something wrong, Your Holiness?” I asked Maddie.

 

Uh, I could hear your thoughts well.” she answered, “So I was wondering if you could share your insights on this matter.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Your Holiness!” the crown prince interjected, “While I don’t mean to belittle your companion, I am having my second thoughts about him.  For one, we don’t even know him.  And second, from his clothes, I could tell that he’s of commoner background.”

 

“Your Highness, this man is Kuro, a friend of mine and Lily, as well as a loyal advisor.” Maddie introduced, with an air of pride in her voice, “He may look simple and unassuming, but his mind is exceptional.  It’s the reason I brought him along with us.  I believe you should hear what he has to say about this matter.”

 

“Indeed, my brother!” it was Jessica who supported me this time, “He’s the one I’m telling you about!  Remember that time when Her Holiness hosted a tourney and a commoner joined it?  He was that man!”

 

Oh?  You mean to say that he is the Fist of the North Lands?” a minister aired his thoughts, “That brave man who socked the accursed face of the Imperial Prince?”

 

“Ah yes, he is!” Jessica proudly answered, as if she’s the one who owned the ridiculous title.

 

A murmur erupted among the ministers, obviously talking about my identity.  I never liked that moniker, but I guess it’s helpful if they’d listen to what I had to say.

 

“Sir Kuro, is it?” the crown prince asked me.  His tone had an improvement compared to how it was before.

 

“Y-Yes, Your Highness.”

 

“Can you read and write?”

 

“Yes, Sire.”

 

“Alright.”  Though I could tell that the prince was reluctant, he relented anyway.  He asked his treasury minister to show me the financial records, “Sir Kuro, as you can read in those books, the debts of the nobility have reached staggering proportions.  Their unwillingness to settle this, as well as the need to pay it, is the ultimate cause of this conflict.”

 

“Your Highness, if I may ask, I believe you said earlier that their debts have interests?”

 

“Indeed.”

 

“How much is it?”

 

Hmm…for every 1000 gold, we add 200 gold coins for every season that it was unpaid.”

 

Whoa…that’s a huge 20% interest per season!” I quickly fished out an example, “So let’s say this Count Tremeraire borrowed 4000 gold; at the end of the season, he’ll be paying 800 gold additional?”

 

“Correct.”

 

“So if there are three short, yet consecutive seasons, he’ll be paying an additional 2400 gold?  For 6400 gold coins in total?”

 

Uh, you’re mistaken, Sir Kuro.  He’ll be paying 6912 gold coins.”

 

I could not keep myself from blurting out, “That’s way too high!”

 

The crown prince and his ministers were shocked by what I just did, so I quickly retorted and continued.

 

“My apologies for the sudden outburst, Your Highness.”

 

“No worries.  Please continue.”

 

“Anyway, it’s hard to pay, indeed!  How do they even get to pay it by installment?”

 

Uh…what?”

 

“What?” I was genuinely confused.  Everyone in the room had this bewildered expression on their faces, “No one among you knows what an installment is?”

 

They all shook their heads.

 

“So you mean to say, the nobles are paying their debts in its entirety this whole time?”

 

The crown prince nodded.

 

“No wonder they’d rebel!  Not only is your interest rate so punishing to them, but your payment conditions would also cripple the lords as well!”

 

“That’s how we do things here, Sir Kuro!”

 

“Better change it, Your Highness, or face a revolution!”

 

“What?” the prince’s soldiers and supporters were quick to draw their swords.  Good thing Lily and the Marquise of Monfort were quick to convince them to stand down.

 

“I apologize for my careless remarks, Your Highness.” I relented, having realized the errors of my words, “However, your financial policies would surely lead this kingdom to ruin.”

 

I could feel I offended the crown prince, “What do you suggest we do then?” his voice was sarcastic.

 

“Well, I recommend three things.  First, make your interest rates lower.  For example, for every 1000 gold, add only 50 gold coins.  That’s a tolerable 5% interest rate.  It is smaller, but that way, the debt would be much easier to pay.  Second, try implementing an ‘installment’ payment.  Basically, it’s just paying the debt by parts until the entire money was returned.  Of course, you may apply the 5% interest rate to that.”

 

“But, as you’ve said, our revenues would be much lower!”

 

“It is.  However, consider this, Your Highness.  If you implement the installment basis, combined with the 5% interest rate, your income would be significantly lower per season, but in a steady trickle.  It also would make the nobles—or anyone who’d borrow—more capable of paying their debts, thus lowering the risk of discontent against your rule.”

 

Hm…you seem to have a point.” the crown prince and the treasury minister agreed, “But what about your third suggestion?”

 

Ah, for the third one, I recommend you require the nobility and the guilds to have a copy of their financial records set aside for the government.  Then, at every end of the season, you may send someone to compute the price of their debt payment according to the revenue of their enterprises.  It can also apply to taxes.”

 

“Well, sounds good.  But let me ask if the fief income is low, it means the debt payment and tax is low as well?”

 

“Yes, Your Highness.  However, just like my two suggestions from before, a revenue-generating scheme like that would significantly lower discontent in your government.  It’s like this, if you have a debt to me—let’s say, 500 gold, and you only have 100 gold coin income per work done.  What would you think is best for your finances?”

 

“What’s the catch?”

 

“Well, I require you to pay me 10 gold for every 100 gold coins, payable once.  Or you pay me with a 10% interest.”

 

“Aren’t those the same amount?  Both are impossible to do!”

 

“But let’s say, for the second option—that is, installment, I only require you to pay me 50 gold coins per season plus the interest?”

 

Hmm…that’d be 55 coins per season to be subtracted from my pockets!  Well, I’d say, I think I’d prefer the installment one.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because it’s easier?”

 

“Precisely!”

 

“Oh!”  Looks like there was enlightenment in the prince’s eyes, “That sounds promising!  Are you following this, Gerard?”

 

The finance minister was also nodding in delight.

 

“Great!  Then let’s implement that as soon as possible!”

 

“Hold on, Kuro!” it was Maddie who called my attention once the crown prince became engrossed in the ‘installment’ payment scheme, “I’m concerned about the financial records in your third suggestion.  See, how are we going to determine if the records are true and correct?”

 

“For that, I have several interconnected recommendations.” I took a piece of paper and showed it before them, “We need to require the guilds and the nobility to issue receipts.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“A receipt is just a piece of paper that contains the number of goods purchased, or the services provided.  Also included are the price of those, and some general information on who availed it, like the name and address of the customer.  From there, you could determine the revenue of the guild or enterprise, and see if it matches the record books they provide you.”

 

“Well, if they’ll be the ones to issue those receipts as well as provide the records, they can still deceive us, right?”

 

“Of course.  That’s why a receipt should be done in three copies.  One copy is for the customer, another is for the guild or enterprise, and the last one is for the government.  The contents should be exactly the same, as well as with the financial books.”

 

“Oh…”

 

“And speaking of financial books, we should require at least two copies—one for the guild or enterprise, and one for the government.  I highly recommend we provide the business owners a uniform copy, and that is the only one they’d issue.  Make sure that the receipts would be impossible to forge.”

 

“We got magic for that.”

 

“Right.  And also, require the customer to sign all three copies to ensure the truthfulness and correctness of the document.”

 

“Sounds plausible.”  It was Lily who raised another concern, “But I’m worried about the amount of paper it requires.”

 

“Yes!” Jessica backed her up, “For the design alone, if for one receipt there’d be three copies, I’m sure the artisan who’d produce it would require at least two assistants to keep up with the demand.”

 

“For that, we should use a printer.”

 

“H-Hold on…” Maddie’s hand was on her head, “This is getting complicated.”

 

Err…I’m sorry.  It’s all I could suggest.”

 

“A printer?  You mean those we used to make books?”

 

“Exactly.  We could produce standard receipt designs by reconfiguring the printers available.  Just put spaces where the customer’s name, his address, the goods he purchased or services availed, and the corresponding price, appear.  Oh, and don’t forget the spot where he could sign the document.”

 

Uhh…I’m sorry Kuro.  I know your suggestions are great, but…” Maddie was trying her best to keep up with me, “…what about the paper itself?  Won’t we need a lot of paper for that to work?”

 

“For that, we should implore the guilds to standardize paper production.  Don’t let one company monopolize the trade and require them to put out a quota for it.”

 

“Well…that could work, I guess?”

 

“Also, try to build a machine that manufactures paper with minimal supervision.  I know Chersea isn’t like my wor—I mean, my country.  This land has yet to industrialize, so such a machine could take time.  But, consider it.”

 

Oh, that reminds me, Kuro…” Jessica put up yet another concern, “How about our people?  Aren’t they the customers?  If you’re suggesting that they sign the ‘receipt’, how can they do it?  Most of our population can’t read nor write!”

 

Hm…you’re right.  I almost forgot about that.”  Well, Chersea was a medieval-level society.  Most of its population was illiterate.  I don’t know the exact percentage, but based on my interactions with the commoners (in Arles) and the nobility, I’d say that all the common folk and a lot of nobility (mostly the lower nobles) were illiterate.  In fact, those who could read and write were from the Holy Palatial Gardens.

 

I turned to Maddie.  Actually, I had a solution in mind, though it would take time to see the results.  However, for that to happen, I needed her utmost support.

 

“…”

 

The Saint nodded, which was her way of showing her approval.  It seemed she understood what I had in mind.

 

“Well, for illiteracy, I propose two solutions; one immediate, and one for the long term.  The immediate one is, we require the guilds, and the enterprises owned by the nobility to explain the ‘receipt system’ to the peasantry.  This one is not the permanent answer to the illiteracy problem; it would only pave the way for the second recommendation, which I hope would destroy illiteracy.”

 

“And that is?”

 

“Education.  I propose we set up schools to educate the young people, as well as those older folks who were interested to learn.  It would certainly take time, but the more literate—that is, they can read and write—your people are, the more they can help in developing your kingdom.”

 

The sound of that last sentence made pleasant music to the crown prince’s ears.  Anyone could see the smiles on his face reached either side of his head.  His ministers were talking amongst themselves, maybe because of my proposals.  Some were nodding in support; some were obvious in their disagreement.  

 

Anyway, to make my recommendations work efficiently, Amaranth has to educate its masses…

 

Though of course, it’s not without negative consequences like revolutions because of the proliferation of liberal ideas, or radical philosophies (ahem, communism).  But if a government was for the people, they’d survive any tumult even if it’s a king who’s sitting on the throne of power.

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