TVBDS 31

 Chapter 31

Of course, it was the latter.

If word spread that in Nantes’ market, fans from the East that usually cost a hundred francs could be bought for eighty, and that people could see and choose them in person, it was only natural that crowds would flock there.

“But still, I find it difficult to agree with Miss Adele’s suggestion to give them shops. Why should we take responsibility for people who have been unable to run even a proper stall so far due to lack of ability?”

Ah, there it was.

The implication that they are poor and struggling because they are lazy or incompetent.

But is that really true?

Some people are born to parents who are barely scraping by day to day. They survive childhood without even contracting a single disease, yet they never receive an education, and they never even learn how to write their own name. They work twenty hours a day to feed their entire family. And such people existed right behind the bank building even now.

Do they really deserve such a hard life because they are “lazy” or “incompetent”?

Surely, they never wished to live like that their entire life.

If only they had a proper home, if their family hadn’t fallen ill, if they could have shared the work instead of doing it alone—then at least they could have learned how to write their name in the time left over.

“If we just leave them be, they are merely a nuisance to Nantes. But if we give them shops, they could become a proud part of the city’s scenery and dependable workers who help sustain the port.”

“Hmm…”

Helping sustain the port would, in turn, fill the coffers of Rivers Bank.

Yet Mr. Rivers still looked unconvinced.

My mother, too, maintained an awkward smile as if she didn’t understand what I was saying.

Times were what they were, and people’s perceptions couldn’t be helped—but the conscience and common sense of modern people still made my neck stiffen.

“Interest… interest…”

Still, Mr. Rivers did not seem to regard my words as a complete waste. He tapped his fingers on the teacup handle and sank into deep thought.

Eventually, when he looked at me again, his gaze had changed slightly. Or was it just my imagination?

“It’s not a matter of indiscriminately giving shops to all street vendors. We should strictly screen them and give opportunities only to those qualified.”

“And based on what criteria? If they smell money and start offering bribes? If they demand special treatment because of connections, bloodlines, or school ties? If nobles deliberately make demands, what chance do commoners like me… really have?”

I opened my eyes wide and blinked as much as I could.

“Oh my. I always thought all the merchants my father is friendly with were gentlemen, but… they aren’t? Mother told me not to make friends with bad people, so Mr. Rivers, don’t do business with them either!”

Connections, bloodlines, school ties—just the mention of them makes you feel you have to yield immediately.

But the one who has to yield isn’t me, right? And the one responsible for what comes after isn’t me either.

“And setting the screening criteria is something for adults to figure out. What would a child like me know about loan evaluations?”

Well, then, the rest should be handled by the adults. Why not?

I blinked coquettishly and pouted my lips, and the adults laughed awkwardly as if exasperated.

That evening, Damien Rivers spent the night in his study, lost in deep thought without even eating.

In front of him lay a document that had arrived recently in the name of the royal family.

Henri Domoeu de Corduruoy, the current King of Loire, could not be called a tyrant, but neither was he a wise ruler.

Even this king had a weakness and a flaw, his own painful vulnerability.

It was his lover, Violetta Diane de Satin, Marchioness.

Henri Domoeu de Corduruoy’s legal wife was Princess Victorica Marian Albion of Albion. Yet his love belonged entirely to Violetta.

After Queen Victorica passed away, Violetta, who had even received the official title of Metresantitre, effectively acted as queen in the Loire, filling the role in the absence of a formal queen.

She received foreign diplomats, participated in political affairs, and her child was recognized as the heir of the king.

Yet historically, her position was limited to that of a consort, not an official queen.

Violetta was anxious about this, constantly urging the king.

It was natural for anyone to want to do anything for the one they love. And the king, above all, was first a man, and then her lover.

He wanted to achieve something, however small, to cover up minor flaws with a great accomplishment.

The method the king came up with was urban development.

During a period of rapid technological change, with railways and gas lamps appearing every other day, it was unreasonable that the streets of Loire, especially the capital Cite Lutetia, remained old and dirty.

But no one was unaware of the true reason behind this plan.

‘If this project succeeds under her guidance, no one would oppose her becoming queen.’

Even Albion, the homeland of the late queen, could not voice opposition.

And if it failed?

Then she would go down in history as a tyrant and villainess who bankrupted the country.

Although the project had not yet been officially announced, it would soon be communicated to all sectors.

The eldest daughter of the Charmeuze Marquis household, Adelaide, seemed as if she already knew this plan and effortlessly visualized the future of Nantes.

Not with childish fantasy, but with concrete and realistic reasoning.

At first, adults humored her seemingly whimsical ideas to appear kind and gain favor with the Marchioness.

But at some point, they found themselves listening to her as if spellbound.

Taking a pen from his pocket, Damien refrained from taking notes—a last vestige of adult pride and stubbornness.

But could he resist the urge to write next time?

Damien could not guarantee it.

‘If things really turn out as Adelaide says…’

He loved the port where he had grown up.

As a child, his friends became fishermen who brought in Eastern ceramics instead of fish, and he too wanted to handle not only Loire currency but foreign money.

If he could, he wanted to make Nantes the largest port not only in Loire, but in the world.

And now the opportunity was right in front of him.

Moreover, the money invested wasn’t even his own.

It is said that investing with someone else’s money is the most enjoyable.

Damien Rivers willingly placed Adelaide’s advice atop the stakes he was already risking.