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“This is ridiculous...”
After reading the estate report brought by the butler Albert, I collapsed on the sofa and sighed in the air.
“Your Excellency... is there anything wrong with the estate report you reviewed...?”
Tano Albert, who had been indifferent until a moment, now stood next to me, moving his head and looking at me.
“Twenty years ago, available cash was 333,029,384 gold.
Ten years ago, it was 210,293,931 gold.
This year, available cash was 113,904,023 gold.
However, the Archduke’s fixed expenses averaged 20,134,220 gold per month.
The Archduke’s revenues averaged only 12,984,246 gold per year over the twenty years past!”
“Is this true?”
Albert anxiously looked through the thick reports, checking the numbers.
He was shocked.
He thought she had turned the pages without reading them carefully, but how could she tell twenty years of data with such accuracy?
Anyway, I reminded him of the bleak future of the Archduke's residence once again.
“Until last year, you were somehow getting by with budget support from home, but now this support will be cut off.”
I sighed deeply.
I expected this, but the Archduke's financial situation was worse than I expected.
At this rate, no matter how economical he is, he will run out of money within six months.
Not only would he be unable to pay his employees, but he might even go bankrupt and lose the archduke's old residence.
‘There is even a special loan agreement.’
The report included a private loan agreement, and I shuddered remembering the exorbitant interest rates.
This was the only solution Albert found to the financial crisis.
There was no way to make money in this barren land, and given the Archduke's current situation, the only ones who would lend him money were unscrupulous moneylenders.
But if he resorts to private loans and the interest increases...
‘Even if I get his property back, my share of wealth will decrease after paying off the private loans!’
I thought about this beforehand, and shook my head firmly.
Fortunately, the Archduke had not signed the contract yet.
At that moment, a group of young men stormed into the office, amidst a commotion.
“…..?”
I stared at the familiar young men with ambiguous faces.
They were all soldiers, including Victor Genoa, who were demonstrating for the Archduke in front of the prison.
Victor's eyes met mine and he laughed heartily.
“Hahahaha, Her Excellency the Archduchess!
From today, these friends and I will be staying at the Archduke’s residence.”
“Huh…?”
My mouth suddenly opened when I heard this unexpected sound.
Then Archduke Richard, who had entered with them, added in a hoarse voice.
“The 107th Regiment was disbanded by order of the Crown Prince.
Therefore, I decided to recruit them as private soldiers for the Archduke.”
“Uh... no...”
I closed my eyes tightly.
There are only three months left until the Archduke goes bankrupt.
After a moment.
In the office, where everyone had been evacuated, I stood in front of Archduke Richard, my eyes wide open in a triangle, protesting.
“Please, enough nonsense!
Private loans are very dangerous!”
“What do you mean by this nonsense?
The Archduke’s budget is entirely my responsibility.
Therefore, it is my responsibility to solve this problem.”
After Archduke Richard received a financial report from Albert, he looked gloomy as he was about to sign the private loan agreement.
Fearing that he would sign the contract, I hurriedly stopped him.
“Why don’t you invest the remaining amount?
You have made a lot of money investing previously.”
It is clear that the Archduke in the novel made his fortune by stealing all of the Crown Prince's business opportunities.
The Archduke's current capital is small, but if he uses this ability, he will somehow be able to…
“……”
But he remained silent, and turned his head toward the window without answering.
He stared silently at the soldiers of the 107th Regiment milling around outside, then his face turned serious again.
“Protecting my people is my job.
The problems caused by private loans are my responsibility.
It is none of your concern.”
I sighed involuntarily at his stubbornness and touched my forehead.
Then I turned to him with a dead face.
“Let's look for another solution.
If it doesn't work, I won't interfere with what you do.”
***
'How come there is nothing worth selling?'
My heart almost broke.
The compromise I reached with the Archduke was to sell the valuables in the palace to make ends meet for a while.
However, no matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find a single thing that looked expensive in this spacious palace.
At this rate, a special loan agreement was imminent, as the Archduke had intended.
After a careful inspection of the study, living room, and bedroom, I descended the spiral staircase, almost surrendering.
“…I told you.
There is no other way.”
The voice of the Archduke, who was descending before me, was somber.
Of course, he wouldn't have wanted to use private loans either.
It was the responsibility he felt towards the many who depended on him that pushed him to his limits.
I looked at his back and answered weakly.
“I know...I was worried about you, Your Excellency.”
His safety and wealth, of course, will have a great influence on my future success.
Suddenly, the Archduke, who had been walking in front of me, stopped and turned to look at me.
But I was walking so recklessly that I did not notice his movements, and my steps became tangled, causing me to stumble down the steep stairs.
“Oh...oh my God!”
Only a second passed before I extended my arms to him, screaming.
At that moment, the Archduke quickly wrapped his arms around my waist.
“...!”
The Archduke's body froze in place.
As my weight settled on his paralyzed and unbalanced body, he fell to the ground.
"Your Excellency!
The stairs!"
I was afraid of his sudden and strange reaction, so I quickly screamed, but we were already entangled and floating in the air.
‘Oh God, please don’t let anything break.
It's going to cost me money if I get hurt!'
I called out, bracing myself for the impending collision, and closed my eyes tightly.
Crunch-!
“…..?”
Unlike the loud crash that sounded like the ground was collapsing, my body wasn't significantly hurt.
I slowly opened my eyes and felt a strong sensation under my body.
This…
“Your Excellency...?
Are you okay?”
I was horrified when I realized that the body I was using as a pillow was the body of the Archduke, so I straightened up.
The Archduke was lying on the ground, closing his wide eyes as if he had lost consciousness
‘لـ ليس ارتجاجًا، أليس كذلك؟’
If he died here, it was over.
I was terrified, so I grabbed his face, without realizing that I was sitting on his stomach.
I slapped him and raised his eyelids, checking his physiological responses to see if his dilated pupils were working properly.
He seemed to have stopped breathing, unable to even catch his breath.
“Breathe, breathe!”
I nervously unbuttoned his shirt and the straps that were constricting his chest.
Without realizing it, his eyes became blurry and slowly closed.
I was close to his lips, thinking about the emergency, considering whether I should even try to give him artificial respiration.
Whoosh! - A noise erupted from somewhere.
I was surprised, and turned to see a maid passing by, as if she had been stunned at the sight of us.
"Oh my god!
I-I'm sorry.
I didn't see anything, so go back to whatever you were doing!"
The maid muttered something unintelligible and ran, covering her face with both hands.
At that moment, the Archduke suddenly stood up, as if he had never fallen.
“If you're not hurt, get up quickly!”
"brother."
The recoil pushed me away from the Archduke, and I fell to the ground.
As I lay on the floor, he nervously buttoned his open shirt.
"What?
Are you okay?"
It was clear that he had been badly injured moments before, unable to move or breathe.
I muttered, massaging my lower back at the Archduke's sudden change in position.
“Are you okay?”
He must have finally noticed me, leaning on the ground funny.
I puffed out my cheek, annoyed by his indifference.
“Even if you don't like it, isn't it too much to push me just because I'm sitting?”
Among them, a crooked and untidy shirt button caught my attention.
I stared.
Given the lack of movement in his fingers, he must have suffered a traumatic brain injury.
While I was thinking about this, something huge entered my field of vision, catching my attention.