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Chapter 14
“Thank you.”
Jane slowly lifted her teacup and savored the flavor.
After taking a sip, her blue eyes trembled slightly.
“This is…”
“It’s quince. Is this your first time trying it?”
“Yes. It has a rather unusual aroma.”
“It’s good for colds.”
Whether this world also had a continent similar to Asia or not, I had found imported quince syrup in the food storage.
Anna had warned me not to serve expensive ginger to just anyone, so I had deliberately chosen this instead.
Jane brushed a hand against her throat before quietly continuing to drink her tea.
“…”
I had told her to drink it, but I hadn’t expected her to remain completely silent until she finished the entire cup.
An odd silence settled between us.
“…I heard you wanted to propose a business.”
Jane spoke first.
She set down the empty teacup, folded her hands neatly on her lap, and continued.
“Like the Goldrail family motto says, I am always prepared. However, I am merely an insignificant subordinate. I’m concerned that I may not be worthy of the Grand Duchess’s insight.”
I hadn’t even brought up business yet, and she was already politely refusing.
‘She doesn’t mean that.’
An insignificant subordinate… the Grand Duchess’s insight…
Those were obviously just formalities.
It was painfully obvious that she simply didn’t want to get entangled with a troublesome noble.
“I think you’ve misunderstood something. I didn’t invite you here because I want us to become business partners.”
“Pardon? Then…”
“I want to invest in your business.”
I had asked Johan to deliver the letter, and somehow Jane had interpreted it as, ‘A noble lady wants to start a business.’
That wasn’t what I meant at all.
‘Why would I start a business?’
Whether in this world or my previous one, starting a business was practically like buying a lottery ticket.
Besides, if it actually succeeded, my life would become busier than ever.
Why would I want that?
I preferred a peaceful life.
Giving money to capable people and letting them make it grow suited me much better.
“…Forgive me for asking, but do you know what kind of work I do?”
“You can speak casually. I know. You sell grains and seasonings, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
A grain shop wasn’t unprofitable.
However, unlike stores dealing in jewelry, fabrics, or gemstones, its sales were fairly average.
It could generate steady income, but it wasn’t the kind of business that made someone suddenly rich.
That was exactly why Jane kept trying all sorts of bizarre advertising campaigns to break through that ceiling.
She held tasting events comparing grains from different regions, invited chefs to create sugar sculptures, and even sold seasonings she had personally developed.
They were marketing strategies far ahead of their time.
‘Too far ahead, actually.’
This was exactly why starting a business was difficult.
You needed a hundred reasons to succeed, but only one reason to fail.
Trying unusual marketing campaigns for ordinary commoners with limited purchasing power simply couldn’t produce dramatic results.
Perhaps she possessed brilliant ideas and intelligence but lacked the wisdom to combine them effectively.
Or perhaps her greatest strength—her willingness to act boldly—was also what held her back.
‘Either way, that’s exactly the kind of personality I need.’
Someone with courage and decisiveness would also be willing to listen to advice from an outsider like me without prejudice.
“I heard you’ve been selling flour cheaply to orphans like Johan. In appreciation of that kindness, I’d like to make a small investment.”
The important part was that this wasn’t charity.
It was an investment.
I wanted to make it clear that although I bore her goodwill, our relationship was ultimately a business relationship.
‘Even if I told her my business ideas right now, she wouldn’t listen.’
I already had several ideas in mind.
But she was still wary of me, so there was no point bringing them up yet.
Once we’d become better acquainted and built mutual trust, I could tell her little by little.
“I… understand. I’ll do my best to live up to your expectations.”
What merchant would refuse someone who simply wanted to provide funding without interfering in the business?
Jane lowered her head, looking somewhat conflicted.
“I only hope the principal remains intact. I’m not expecting large profits right from the beginning.”
“What? Of course. Losing the principal would be a crime, wouldn’t it?”
“…What?”
Wait.
There were actually laws that protected investors this much?
When I asked in surprise, she looked at me awkwardly, as though wondering how I didn’t know such common knowledge.
According to her explanation, merchants who accepted investments from nobles had to sign contracts guaranteeing that they would never lose the principal.
If they failed, they had to sell all of their personal assets to repay it, just like on Earth.
But here, that wasn’t all.
They were also sentenced to prison.
There was no such thing as personal bankruptcy or legal debt discharge.
Instead, collective family punishment applied.
The debt could be passed down to one’s descendants, and if there weren’t enough assets to repay it, the entire family would be imprisoned.
They would spend the rest of their lives branded as criminals and forced into hard labor.
‘Wow… there goes the romance fantasy.’
Surviving as a wealthy merchant in a world like this…
That wasn’t an ambition I could ever imagine having.
“If the principal absolutely can’t be lost… wouldn’t that make investment capital extremely rigid?”
“That’s why large-scale trading ventures funded by investments are often called gambles that stake one’s entire life. Those who don’t want to shoulder that level of risk usually choose stable trade routes instead.”
After that, Jane and I discussed commerce throughout the Empire.
It was completely different from the theoretical administration I’d studied at the Academy.
The little economics I’d learned in political science had mostly consisted of fragmentary knowledge about managing noble territories and taxation.
‘This is actually useful.’
An expert’s explanation really was different.
It was far more vivid and informative than listening to professors who never left the Academy.
“They don’t even properly inspect accounting ledgers? …Then cooking the books would be possible.”
“Cooking the books? What’s that?”
Jane blinked in surprise.
Apparently she’d never heard the term before.
I assumed the concept existed in this world under a different name, so I casually explained it.
The more I spoke…
The more visibly shaken Jane became.
Jane’s first impression of Wilhelmina had been that of a desert flower blooming in a grassland.
She possessed an unusual beauty, yet somehow felt completely out of place in her surroundings.
‘Even so, she’s still just a young noble.’
When Jane first heard that Wilhelmina wanted to get involved in business, she had secretly dismissed it as nothing more than the impulsive whim of a young aristocrat.
It wasn’t uncommon for newly come-of-age nobles to indulge in the fantasy of creating a merchant company.
She assumed this was simply another one of those cases.
Her plan had been to humor Wilhelmina for a while before quietly leaving.
Even after Wilhelmina offered to invest, Jane had already decided she would simply return the money later.
But Wilhelmina was nothing like an ordinary noble.
‘She’s brilliant.’
It was an insulting thought toward an aristocrat.
But from Jane’s perspective, it was the highest compliment she could give.
Wilhelmina had no difficulty keeping up with their discussion.
At first Jane had assumed she knew nothing about economics.
Yet as the conversation continued, Wilhelmina’s understanding became faster and faster.
It almost felt as though she were speaking with a scholar rather than a noblewoman.
Then Wilhelmina introduced a concept Jane had never heard before.
‘Cooking the books?’
Simply put, it meant manipulating a company’s financial performance for personal gain.
Jane was already familiar with ignorant merchants who exaggerated their results to attract more investment.
Naturally, they never met good ends.
“But that’s not the only method. There’s also reverse cooking the books.”
“Reverse?”
However, Wilhelmina’s thinking didn’t stop there.
Reverse cooking the books was the opposite approach.
Instead of exaggerating results, it deliberately understated them.
“But why? Then you wouldn’t receive investments.”
“No. You understate them just enough, then make it look like the company is steadily growing.”
Saying she’d give an example, Wilhelmina picked up the sugar cube container from the table.
She placed sugar cubes onto an empty plate.
The top row contained one, two, three, then four cubes.
The bottom row contained two, three, two, then three.
“Over four years, both businesses earned exactly the same amount of money. Jane, which one would you invest in?”
Obviously the top one.
Its profits increased steadily over time.
The lower one fluctuated too much to inspire confidence.
“But what if the bottom row represented the real profits, while the top row was the fake ledger?”
“Ah…”
“Anyone looking toward the future would invest in steady growth. That’s why they manipulate it. Of course, that’s not the only advantage… You mix regular and reverse accounting manipulation together.”
It felt as though someone had dumped ice water over Jane’s head.
When she thought about it, it wasn’t actually an extraordinary technique.
She had suspected several merchant companies of doing something similar before.
Most of them had been famous trading companies.
She had never understood how they managed such perfect growth year after year, or why every new venture they launched attracted investment.
Now…
It finally felt as though she had uncovered their secret.
No one taught newcomers tricks like these.
They were closely guarded secrets shared only among the established merchants.
Which meant inexperienced merchants like Jane had no choice but to become victims.
“B-But if you fail… wouldn’t you become nothing more than a fraud?”
“It’s the kind of gamble where people tell themselves, ‘As long as I win and pay it back, it’ll be fine.’ They stake their entire lives on that belief.”
