I’m the Only One Who Can Put the Tyrant To Sleep

Chapter 43 Several nobles from the Imperial’s faction, led by Duke Bryden, purchased additional pieces of paper. Even the aristocrats from the aristocrats faction, intrigued by the event, joined in.As time passed, everyone except Count Fergie held a piece of paper.However, just as the Duke had calculated, there was still plenty of paper left. As expected, Caesar spoke.“Not just the nobles, but anyone present here can purchase one—attendants, maids, guards, and of course, you as well.”Adding the last words, Caesar’s gaze turned to a commoner sitting at the very edge of the table.“M-Me? Are you talking about me?”Startled that a member of the royal family would address him, the man stuttered in disbelief.“Yes. Will you buy one?”Even for commoners, 1 silver wasn’t an excessive price. On the other hand, 10 gold was worth a few months’ wages. He hesitated for a moment, then nodded.Starting with him, maids and escort knights rushed to buy paper. The paper ran out quickly.“Then it’s time to open the paper.”After a tense moment, someone exclaimed. It was an escort knight.“I, I…!”Raising his trembling hands high, he could not finish his words. Caesar checked the paper and, with a slight gesture, handed the 10 gold.“Congratulations.”“Th-Thank you.”As he took the money with a bewildered face, silence fell again in the drawing room. Count Fergie shouted as if to break the silence.“What is the meaning of this? Isn’t this just a lottery? I have no idea what you think you’re doing during an official meeting!”The nobles suddenly came to their senses. They too were caught up in Caesar and forgot that they were in a political meeting.“There is one key difference between this and a simple lottery, don’t you think?” Caesar’s gaze swept across the table.The answer came from the Duke of Bryden.“The difference is that the papers weren’t given out for free—they were sold. Is that correct?”“Exactly. And this lottery doesn’t discriminate by status. Be it noble, commoner, or even royalty, anyone can purchase a ticket for a very modest price. What do you think that signifies?”Count Fergie asked, still puzzled.“Are you saying that you are going to earn national tax by selling these scraps of paper? There is no point in being foolish!”“I just sold fifty pieces of paper in less than five minutes. That’s how I got 50 silver. This is absurd”“I just sold over 50 pieces of paper in less than five minutes. That earned 50 silver. What about that seems absurd to you?”“Hah! A mere 50 silver? Didn’t you lose 10 gold in prize money?”“That’s true for now. But what if the number of tickets increases? A hundred, a thousand… What if there are a hundred thousand tickets?”Unconsciously, Duke Bryden gulped. A hundred thousand tickets at 1 silver each would bring in 1,000 gold.“A hundred thousand? Who would buy that many?”Instead of answering, Caesar smiled. Duke Bryden murmured in a daze.“All the people of the Empire….”“What?”“The entire population of the empire will buy these tickets.”The Duke felt goosebumps running down his spine.If every citizen, regardless of status, could purchase these tickets…A hundred thousand tickets would be a trivial number. It was entirely plausible to sell a million, or even ten million, generating far more revenue.Caesar nodded to the duke, added.“Of course, the 1 silver and 10 gold amounts we used here are merely examples. The prize money would be far greater in practice. I plan to allocate half of the revenue as prize money.”Caesar began to explain in detail.“First, we produce tickets that cannot be counterfeited by any means. Second, we distribute these tickets to stores that sell everyday necessities. Third, the general public purchases them from these stores.”“If existing stores are used, the costs for setting up sales infrastructure would be almost negligible.”The Duke of Bryden was excited and clashed.“Exactly. If we offer the store owners 10% of the sales as a commission, there will be no complaints. After that, 50% of the proceeds go toward prize money, and the remainder, after deducting production and distribution costs, becomes national revenue.”The Duke remembered what Caesar had said at the first meeting.‘Everyone voluntarily pays taxes….’Caesar didn’t tell a single lie. Starving commoners will not suffer, and as a result, the nobles had no grounds to oppose the idea.“But, no one knows if it will sell or not. While we were convinced because we witnessed this demonstration firsthand, if the tickets are sold nationwide, people might harbor doubts!”Count Fergie gave a pretty plausible objection. Caesar nodded.“Of course it could be. But over time, the people will come to understand. When a 40% profit is guaranteed, there’s no reason for the state to engage in fraud over the prize money.”“However… someone could fake it… There may also be problems with distribution….”“Count, I never claimed this idea was flawless. How could an idea conceived mere moments ago be without a single flaw?”The ‘National Tax Increase’ was revealed only a few minutes ago. Did the Crown Prince come up with such a thought in those few minutes? The Duke of Bryden’s heart raced even harder.“I’m merely seeking the opinions of those present. Don’t you think it’s worth a try?” Caesar said. “Didn’t you, Count, ask for my insight? I’m only offering it.”Count Fergie keep his mouth shut.“And if my proposal proves sound, you agreed to follow it, did you not?” Caesar’s lips curved into a smile. Duke Bryden sensed the meeting was over.It was the Crown Prince’s complete victory. **** After the political meeting, the Duke of Bryden made an audience request to Caesar on the spot. It was only an informal request for a meeting, but in the presence of all the ministers, it was a declaration.Declaration that ‘The Duke of Bryden has joined hands with the Crown Prince’.Everything ended perfectly, much better than I thought.In fact, my thoughts went as far as to state a policy, given the atmosphere. ‘Buying money,’ as Katana said, or more precisely, buying the hope of winning money, and that’s where the lottery came in.‘For a more intuitive feel, I said Caesar’s luck.’Given that in my previous life, everyone talked about winning the lottery, I figured there was no way it wouldn’t work in this country. After all, the lottery was a national policy to collect taxes.So, although I expected it to go well, it was Caesar’s great contribution to overwhelm me.‘It was partly because he set the tone in the first place.’How did Caesar know of Count Fergie’s estate and the immoral things that were being done there? and his knowledge of Imperial law?“Evelyn.”As I was contemplating, Erinne, who was sitting across from me, spoke to me. We were waiting, sipping tea in a waiting room to the room where Caesar and Duke Bryden were conversing.“Did Evelyn know in advance that something like this would happen?”“What do you mean, something like this?”“Didn’t Evelyn tell me before we came here to keep an eye on the meeting?”“I just trusted His Highness. I knew he was a completely different person from the rumors.”Erinne, who looked at me with suspicious eyes, sighed briefly.“I have to admit, he’s nothing like the rumors, because from what I’ve gotten to know of him during our travels outside, the Crown Prince is a very capable person.”“Isn’t he?”“By the way, was it all because of the political meeting that increased the class time?”“Increasing class time, His Highness?”“You didn’t know? He have been passionate about studying from the beginning, but lately he have been particularly serious. It was to the point that he grabbed his tutor and begged him to teach his more. I heard that he also increased the intensity of his swordsmanship training?”I didn’t know. I was too preoccupied with how to win the Duke of Brayden’s heart and how to get through this political meeting.“He sounded eager, as if he had a promise with someone.”Promise? No way…‘From now on, everything depends on your performance. You must not neglect anything, not your lessons, not your swordsmanship.’Is it because of my word?“Then, if he knew more about the Imperial Law….”“Of course not, he have been so enthusiastic about your imperial studies classes.”‘So that anyone can see him as the next emperor.’Really because of me?As I was smiling, the drawing room door swung open. Erinne and I jumped up from our seats and bowed.“Yiur highness the Crown Prince, I will contact you again very soon.”The Duke of Bryden bowed deeply to Caesar as well, then disappeared. Judging by the satisfied smile on his face, the conversation had gone well.Caesar’s expression was so pleased that I wanted to ask him what had happened, but Erinne was still there. Instead of asking, I gently squeezed Caesar’s hand and let it go. It was my own compliment.Then Caesar looked at me with a surprised face and smiled as if nothing had happened.“Come on, let’s go back to my palace.”