Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World - Chapter 150

In the royal capital of Anhalt, the Polydoro family has been granted the use of a lower residence by the royal family.

As an advantage of being the advisor to the Second Princess, the right to use this residence originally belonged to me, the Second Princess, and I could use it freely in Faust’s absence.

“Is this all right?”

“Yes. With this, the contract between Her Highness Valiere von Anhalt and the citizen of Anhalt, Ingritt, has been established.”

After signing the documents on the desk, Ingritt takes them.

I thought of leaving the on-site matters to Sabine.

For the sutler contract, Ingritt would not consent unless I signed directly.

Well, that’s fine though.

“Um, Miss Ingritt?”

“You may call me Ingritt, Your Highness. I am aware of my place as a citizen.”

“Then, Ingritt, why are there so many merchants?”

I’m leaving the day after tomorrow, and since neither Sabine nor I know about the sutler business, I’ve dumped it all on Ingritt.

I’m not saying to reduce them, but clearly, there are too many.

The Second Princess’s guard troop has only 100 soldiers, so why are there 300 accompanying merchants?

The ratio of personnel is odd.

I blurt this out.

“No, I have already obtained permission from Lady Sabine for this.”

“I know that, that’s why I signed it too. But explain it to me. Sabine might deceive me; I want to hear it from you, Ingritt.”

I cannot trust Sabine.

She’s the type who only reports after everything has been completed, saying, “Actually, this is what happened.”

And then, when I’m furiously angry, she gets excited from the pain I inflict.

I understood that Sabine had such a perverted side.

“Your Highness, this march will be a journey from this Kingdom of Anhalt to the Imperial City of Windbona in the Gusten Empire.”

“That’s right.”

Ingritt murmurs with shining eyes.

Then, she articulates a principle that anyone with a reasonable education would understand.

“The basic job of a merchant is to transport excess goods from where they are not needed to where they are needed, and make a profit from the difference. You understand this, right?”

“Basic stuff.”

“There is everything in the imperial capital we are heading to. Whatever is lacking in this royal capital, if you look in the imperial capital, there is nothing you cannot find. Do you understand why that is?”

I hum and respond.

“Because of developed distribution?”

“That’s one correct answer. The imperial capital of Windbona in the Gusten Empire has the most developed distribution, utilizing the great river for water transport. But well, that’s not it. Even for water transport, you have to reach the river by land first, and the roads we take to the imperial capital are barely paved enough for a carriage to pass.”

Ingritt corrects me.

It’s not wrong, but that alone doesn’t gather all the goods.

If there’s another reason…

“Simply because the market is large?”

“That’s another correct answer. There are many places to sell, and many people to buy. Simply, the population is large. Because there are places to dispose of the goods, merchants transport them. However, we merchants from Anhalt cannot obtain permission to sell in the imperial capital. The commercial guild of the imperial capital controls all the places and rights, and there’s no free market.”

I could pay the guild dues, but I don’t feel like it.

All the goods we bring will be sold to the commercial guild of the imperial capital.

Ingritt answers, and Lady Valiere murmurs again.

“I get what you’re saying. After all that trouble to transport it considering it can’t be freely sold in the market. But simply transporting goods still makes money.”

I haven’t said anything wrong so far, but ultimately the reason merchants move is just one.

“It makes money.”

No need for a complicated reason.

“Yes, whether it’s the chicken or the egg that comes first. Various conditions like location and water transport exist for a city to develop, but ultimately, for merchants, it boils down to whether it makes money. Bringing goods and simply making money from them is what makes the imperial capital so attractive.”

“I see.”

I understood the reason merchants want to go to the imperial capital.

I could understand that, but…

“Anyway, all our merchants want to purchase goods in the royal capital and bring them to the imperial capital to make a profit. If I just give the word, about 300 people would gather immediately.”

“I get that, but wouldn’t it have been better to do that during my sister’s time?”

There’s no need for them to join a journey of the Second Princess’s guard troop.

Already departed as the sutlers for the First Princess Anastasia—ah, I see.

“So basically, these are the people who couldn’t get permission from my sister, right?”

“That’s exactly it. The royal family’s sutlers will serve, and Ingritt’s trading company isn’t regarded highly enough. There’s no gap to squeeze into.”

Thus, this Ingritt trading company serves the Polydoro family.

She is the fiancée of the current lord, Faust, and will bear the Polydoro name in the future as Lady Valiere’s sutler.

She smiles and murmurs happily.

“Even if it’s Her Highness, the Second Princess of the House of Anhalt, urgently traveling to the imperial capital, there are various tolls set up along the routes and bridges, and normally there’s a fee required to pass through. Does Her Highness intend to pay these tolls diligently?”

“Uh, well, no…”

I found myself at a loss for words.

I felt a bit awkward about it, but honestly, I didn’t want to pay the tolls.

If it were possible to avoid paying, that was my intention.

After all, the Second Princess’s guard is short on funds.

If it were up to me, I’d rather increase the rations to the soldiers than spend money on tolls.

“Anyway, we needed to increase our numbers for intimidation. To maximize profits, it was necessary to gather as many merchants as possible. With 100 of Her Highness’s soldiers and 300 from Anhalt merchants, we would appear as an army of 400. With such numbers, and Her Highness’s authority, the tollkeepers would certainly not dare to demand a toll.”

So, I understand what Ingritt is getting at.

She doesn’t want to spend a single copper coin.

I could painfully relate to that feeling.

I am, after all, the Second Princess who is supposed to be collecting taxes.

Originally, my sister would say something like, “What? You’re imposing a toll on Anastasia’s troops? Do you realize they are traveling for an audience with Her Majesty the Empress at the Electoral Succession Ceremony? This insult, I will certainly speak to Her Majesty and have your entire family destroyed! Be prepared!!” and, no doubt, she hasn’t paid a single copper.

She absolutely hasn’t paid.

More than that, the local nobles she passes would say, “I will speak directly to Her Majesty on your behalf, so if there is any trouble between the territories, tell me. Well, yes, that will be the consulting fee,” and then demand money.

And having received the money, she would argue, “That was a consulting fee. Who said I guaranteed the results of petitioning Her Majesty?”

That’s why once a month it’s rumored she kills a disagreeable noble and eats their heart.

Let’s not talk about my sister anymore.

Let’s get back to the topic.

“Are we really okay not paying the toll at the checkpoint? I thought it was an important source of revenue for the lords.”

“This is a merchant’s wisdom. Please take it as a gesture of respect from the Ingritt Company, trying to cut costs as much as possible for the sake of the storekeepers.”

But that felt less like a merchant’s wisdom and more like extortion with violence lurking behind it.

I thought Sabine was foolish to bring along 300 sutler merchants.

If those were the circumstances, it couldn’t be helped.

“Of course, on the road, we will still perform our duties as sutler merchants. Naturally, we must resupply, so we will purchase goods in the towns we pass through.”

“It will be so.”

It’s a cruel fact that soldiers and mercenary bands would pillage to resupply.

And in those towns, seasoned merchants would handle the negotiations.

Embarrassingly, if I handled the negotiations, there was a chance they’d take me lightly.

If Sabine negotiated, she might kill the leader on a whim and start pillaging.

To prevent that, we desperately needed the Ingritt Company as sutler merchants.

“Her Highness’s guard of 100 will surround the city with muskets, and we 300 merchants will negotiate with the town leaders while playing flutes and percussion. Surely the negotiations will conclude favorably at a low price. This too is a merchant’s wisdom.”

“Wait a moment.”

So again, this wasn’t really about a merchant’s wisdom, but about using brute force as a backdrop.

I understand, though.

There really is no other way if we aren’t to be underestimated.

“We aren’t bandits, you know? Nor are we a rough mercenary band?”

“Please rest assured, we merchants are also armed with pistols. We’ve hired some mercenaries too. Even if the leaders feel cornered and act rashly, we won’t be overrun.”

“Are you even listening?”

Probably not.

Or rather, Ingritt was deliberately not listening.

“We are going to the imperial capital, and while I accept that the sutler merchants will trade, and I’d prefer not to pay tolls if possible, and want to resupply cheaply, let’s keep those issues separate.”

We aren’t going on a plundering expedition.

Does this merchant named Ingritt understand that?

“I understand.”

I looked into her eyes.

Ingritt, of average height, had slightly moist eyes.

For a vast profit, she had the eyes of a merchant, even including madness.

“Everything will be handled by this Ingritt. Her Highness hasn’t ordered anything.”

Incredible, this merchant.

She understands nothing.

I didn’t want my hands dirty, so it’s not like I’m telling you to dirty yours.

“So, uh, Ingritt. That’s not what I was talking about.”

“Leave everything to me. As per your heart’s desire, Your Highness Valiere.”

That’s not what my heart desires, hence my complaint.

But maybe it can’t be helped.

Since Sabine said she’d handle the finances, she’d surely extort the necessary funds for the march.

But a stingy finance officer wouldn’t easily part with money.

If it’s only the absolute minimum, it would be a poor march.

I couldn’t bear to command my dear soldiers to march with just a piece of bread.

If it means my dear soldiers won’t cry, then…

“…I’ll leave everything to you, Ingritt. Just make sure my soldiers aren’t starving.”

I compromised.

There was nothing else I could do.

If there’s nothing to be done, I can’t refuse just because I don’t like it.

“I’ll handle everything! We’ve already liaised with the Cologne Sect Church for ammunition, and mercenaries among the Cologne Sect followers are prepared. If it comes to battle, we’ll leave everything to Her Highness’s troops and won’t hold them back. We intend to fight to protect our wagons and wealth!!”

There’s no denying that the journey won’t be peaceful.

The roads are narrow, just wide enough for a single carriage, and we could be attacked by bandit gangs.

So, it makes sense that the merchants are armed.

But still…

“We’re not going to war, we’re not going to trade, we’re just going because my sister told us to come…”

We’re just going, and that’s all there is to it.

Isn’t this whole thing getting blown out of proportion?

I was about to mutter that, but the words didn’t seem to reach Ingritt, who was shining her eyes fiercely.

I gave up, hoping that Sabine would properly seize the budget from the finance department and that the sutler merchant in front of me wouldn’t trouble the good people, as I let out a deep sigh.