IBVM 21

Chapter 21

I asked Chou about the progress of the task I had entrusted to her.
“I did exactly as you told me. It was chaos.”
“I told you it would work out.”
“More importantly, you seem happy. What’s going on?”

Maybe because we shared blood, Chou noticed my mood more keenly than anyone else.
“I’ll tell you later.”

I wanted to brag to the whole town that Cassion had accepted my proposal, but it wasn’t yet time to announce it.
I planned to reveal it only when there was no turning back. Words are strange—no matter how careful you are, they leak somewhere.
So, if it’s a secret that must absolutely be kept, it’s best not to tell anyone, no matter how close they are.
‘If Count Kolkos and Julia find out before the marriage is confirmed, it would be disastrous.’

Cassion wouldn’t easily change his mind after making a difficult decision. The variable was King Karman.
‘Will he actually allow the marriage?’

“What are you thinking about so seriously? I get scared when you concentrate like that.”
“Worried about sitting on a pile of money?”
“You little one, you can’t say anything you don’t understand.”

Every time I got lost in thought, Chou would get a new assignment, so I thought she was worried about money, but apparently not.
Chou smiled wryly and ruffled my hair.
“You keep making me do things you can’t even imagine.”

She said she worried I might get into danger.
“Lies. You like it when I make money.”

I was on the verge of getting flustered by her concern, so I made a joke to lighten the mood.
“Yeah, that worry’s valid. So, what are you making me earn money for this time?”

Chou casually played along. A couple of light jokes passed between us.
“You planted someone in Phoenix Bank, right?”

I brought up the matter of business.
“Of course. But how did you know Julia is secretly dealing with Phoenix Bank? She hid it really well.”

Chou was proud, albeit a little irritated, that I discovered the relationship between Julia and Phoenix Bank before her.

After she gave me the first report on Phoenix Bank, when Chou returned, I asked her to focus on the connection between Julia and the bank.
A little later, Chou uncovered evidence that jewels and buildings had exchanged hands between Julia and the bank manager.

“How did you even know?”
“Ah, that.”

I answered nonchalantly. There was no need to make a fuss about it.

I learned about the relationship between Phoenix Bank and Julia thanks to experiences from my past life.
Julia had made me run many errands back then. She treated me like her maid or a marionette she could control.

Once, Julia urgently needed to see someone but had no time, so she sent me to meet them.
She told me not to speak at all, just stand there, and that the person would recognize me and receive the item.
I did as instructed without thinking much. The person who came for me was from Phoenix Bank.
I didn’t remember their face, but the Phoenix Bank badge on their collar stuck in my mind.

I added the information Chou brought to that memory, and everything started to fall into place.

“You said it was strange that the late Queen Mother owed a debt, right?”
“Yes.”
“You checked, and Aunt said the Queen Mother never met anyone from the bank?”

Chou nodded.
“So I thought.”

I moved a pen to the center of the desk.
“It’s the perfect timing for a new player to appear.”

“Spit it out quickly. Time is money, don’t you know?”

Chou was impatient; her curiosity was in full swing.
“Alright, Aunt. I never heard that the Queen Mother struggled with debts during her lifetime.”
“You were too young to know.”
“There are no records either. Even third-rate reporters would have caught it if it was juicy news, but there’s nothing.”
“Well, maybe it was well hidden.”
“Impossible. There’s a record that tens of guards monitored her at the Twilight Mansion.”

Chou rubbed her chin thoughtfully. She was forming her own hypothesis.
Then, as if she remembered something, she clapped her hands.
“Debts made after death? That was your theory!”
“Yes! Someone impersonated the Queen Mother after her death to create debts. And those debts…”
“Were with Phoenix Bank, right? So you suspect the current Queen, Julia?”

“Yes. She’s related to Phoenix Bank and was the one who actively tried to acquire the Twilight Mansion when it went up for sale. And if people discover how the mansion ended up being sold…”
“The late Queen’s reputation would hit rock bottom. Julia gains two advantages at once.”

I nodded vigorously. Chou was clever, too clever to just linger as a mere informant.

“Hey, the look in your eyes just now was like a hunter laying a trap for herbivores.”

Half of her comment was right. I considered tying her down next to me for a moment but gave up. And she’s not a herbivore—she’s a carnivore.
A cute rabbit or a doe-eyed deer? Chou does not fit that image at all.

“Alright, let’s wrap this up.”

I clapped my hands, passing off Chou’s words as a joke. She straightened and focused.

“People with deposits in Phoenix Bank started withdrawing all at once, right?”
“Of course. A savings guild promising triple interest popped up. Diana, let me ask—are you really giving them triple interest?”
“It’s a promise.”

Chou looked at me doubtfully.

I had identified the bank’s depositors to shake Phoenix Bank.
Then I sent Chou’s subordinates to encourage them to move their money, promising triple interest.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t the bank but the savings guild. Establishing a bank required complex procedures, but starting a guild was simple.
People didn’t believe Chou’s subordinates at first, so we pre-paid interest to a few.
Through them, word spread: “If you invest, it’s a jackpot,” “It’s reliable.”
Soon, people came of their own accord to deposit money.

‘One of the classic scams.’
I’m not scamming—they will receive the promised interest—so it’s fine.

“Where will you get the money?”
“Aunt, don’t you know? I have a lot. It’s not triple the principal, just triple the interest.”

Chou’s lips parted in surprise. My own funds weren’t enough, so I planned to use my mother’s treasury.

“Are you really 13? I can’t do business with you—you’re too aggressive.”
“You’re mistaken. You need someone like me. If we fail, there’s no damage.”

I tilted my chin, and Chou laughed heartily. I let her feel proud for a moment.

“Go on.”

She dragged a chair in front of me and sat.

“If deposits leave all at once, Phoenix Bank will collapse. But Julia won’t sit idle if she’s related, right?”

I believed she was involved. Her reaction when I mentioned Phoenix Bank was proof.
“Even so, Julia seems to have invested a lot in Phoenix Bank.”
On the surface, yes. That way she could legally claim dividends from the bank’s profits.
She left loopholes to legally escape liability.

“Isn’t it a problem for a royal to invest all over the place?”
“She did it before becoming queen.”
“That’s even stranger. Wasn’t she supposed to be poor?”
“Exactly why her dealings with Phoenix Bank smell fishy.”

Chou raised her hands, giving up on further involvement.
“Phoenix Bank is going to fail.”
“Good, it will fail. Then what about Twilight Mansion? You’re doing this because of Twilight Mansion, aren’t you?”
“Yes. That’s why I plan to take over Phoenix Bank, which has the mansion as collateral…”

I grinned meaningfully.

“What? Tell me.”

Chou was eager to hear my answer.
“I’m buying it.”
“What?”

Chou dropped the cigarette she had been holding.

After meeting Chou, I became even busier.
Since it mustn’t be known that the Irenberg family was involved, I had to find someone to meet the Phoenix Bank manager in my place.
I searched thoroughly through the past for a suitable proxy but came up empty-handed.

At times like this, I resented my parents for not introducing at least one trustworthy retainer.

“I need a completely new person.”

I briefly considered asking Chou’s subordinates, who helped establish the savings guild, but immediately dismissed the idea.
‘Chou’s people are too rough. They’re not suitable to acquire a bank.’

If someone is truly rich, appearances don’t matter. But if it’s a fake, appearances are everything.
No one suitable was around, and Chou’s people were out. I couldn’t give up, so:
“Let’s write down the requirements first.”

What conditions must someone meet to handle the Phoenix Bank matter on my behalf?