I Became the Master of the Empress

40 – Episode 40

“You? “What’s going on?”

Theodora, seeing me in the room, opens her eyes wide and says:

“That… Wow…”

It hurts my pride as a man to say that I was forcibly taken by my mother-in-law, so I have a hard time holding back.

He looked at me with a strange look in his eyes and urged me to answer.

“I’m going to sleep here for a while.”

She blushes and becomes embarrassed at my words.

“Suddenly?”

“Yes.”

He said that and took out the documents.

“Because I came after washing up. “Wash up and sleep first.”

Theodora, who hesitates at my words and stares at me, soon heads to her bathroom.

“It’s not… Easy.”

***

-Gurgling!

I think while taking hot water in the bathtub.

Are you doing it today? You’re probably sure, right?

I don’t know what kind of wind blew in Vian, who was always busy working, but he came to the bedroom…

I’m sure he wants to do what I think.

I don’t like it…

I know he’s definitely not that bad, but he doesn’t love him, so he doesn’t want to do that with him.

But I know.

I don’t have a choice.

“Haa…”

I take off my clothes and get into the bathtub.

Although he was born noble, he cannot get the marriage he wants.

How many noble women marry ugly and sinister men for family interests?

But my father told me and Joey that we didn’t have to get into an arranged marriage, but we ended up having an arranged marriage like this.

I think as I dissolve my fatigue in warm water.

I can’t avoid it like this forever. In the end, this empire must be inherited by his and Devian’s child.

I can’t stay like a child forever…

An emperor without power.

I can’t pass that sad situation on to my children.

In the end, the Archduke and my child will inherit the empire and the Grand Duchy, as well as everything the Archduke owns.

“If I just… endure it… it’ll be okay, right?”

Thinking like that, I try hard to strengthen my mind, but when I think about sleeping with him, I feel ashamed and afraid.

They say it hurts the first time… It must hurt a lot, right?

I don’t think it will be done too drastically due to the nature of Debian, but it is true that it is scary.

“Because you are more considerate than I thought.”

I really hated it when I first saw it.

Why?

Is it because he knows that he is not such a bad person?

I hate him and all that, but I think he’s warming up a little to the idea that he’s not as disgusting as he used to be.

“Ugh…”

Is it because it was in hot water for a long time?

Looking at the watch, it doesn’t seem that old, but…

-Splash…

Rise your body from the bathtub.

***

“Whoa…”

When I look at the data on the imperial gold reserves in front of me, I sigh.

If a huge amount of money is spent to establish the Ministry of Intelligence…

My head is pounding.

-Sreuk…

And in the next chapter, we check the gold reserves of the Grand Duchy.

Is it because 30 tons were leaked?

It won’t collapse or suffer a major blow right away, but if a war begins in the future and it becomes a long-term war, it is expected that the gold written here will quickly run out.

“Is there really no other way than to issue bonds?”

I think of bonds as a makeshift measure due to war.

You can borrow a large amount of money, but the interest rate is high, and if you win the war, you have to share the new profits with the merchant or bank that lent you, but where can you borrow?

“Ugh…what is it?”

Should we issue bonds and manipulate the market price with a borrowed-name bank?

If you are caught, you may be stigmatized as a major market manipulator, and even if you are not caught, there is a high possibility that your commerce will suffer a blow.

In the end, I am a little reluctant to burden the private sector, such as banks or merchants, with the costs of my war.

“Hmm…”

First of all, if market manipulation becomes known, the Grand Duchy’s credibility may fall.

With that thought in mind, I finally decided not to sign the document.

“It’s unfortunate, but there’s nothing we can do.”

If you manipulate the market price, you may not only put out an urgent fire but also gain extra funds, but there may be some side effects that come back.

“Anyway, the merchants here are really great.”

The various systems they created.

I thought about using them to manipulate the market price, but eventually decided to give up.

You can issue wartime bonds to cover urgent needs, and if that doesn’t work out, you can borrow money from your uncle.

If your credit rating goes down unluckily, it may be a hindrance when you make a big splash in the war with Ioanes later.

When you think like that.

-Squeak…

I say this as the bathroom door opens and someone comes out.

“Are you here?”

“…”

When I turned her head to look at her, there was no answer from her.

My cheeks are flushed, probably because I took a bath in hot water.

Gray hair that looks slightly moist.

Reddish eyes.

I stare blankly at Theodora coming out wearing transparent pajamas, then quickly turn my eyes to the documents.

“Hmm… I have a lot to review and do today, so sleep first.”

“Yes…”

I feel like someone is climbing into bed and I try my best to get my mind off the bed.

I’m sure I’m reading the text, but nothing enters my mind.

Whoa… Don’t be shaken. If you go beyond this point, you will really be poisoned.

She is clearly looking at the documents, but the image of Theodora she saw a moment ago cannot be erased from her mind.

Somehow, I grit my teeth and focus on the paper.

The white paper was not as white as Theodora’s skin.

The gorgeous handwriting here is not as gorgeous as Theodora’s body…

-Tak!

Let’s give ourselves a night’s sleep as an appropriate punishment for a head that keeps falling into idle thoughts…

“What are you… doing?”

Theodora asks in a puzzled voice if she saw what I was doing.

“Oh, it’s just that I can’t concentrate.”

I don’t want to reveal that I can’t seem to get my head around her body and feel restless, so let’s talk about it…

“But what did you talk about with your mother today?”

-Finch.

You were asking for a grandchild?

But it’s a bit hard to say it like that…

“I was just saying… How are you?”

I may be vague about it, but it seems like she has no intention of letting go that easily.

“Huh…, It’s suspicious.”

“Huh?… What… What’s suspicious?”

Let’s turn her head towards her, acting out her expression that says I’m completely relaxed.

I meet her eyes as she narrows her red eyes and looks at me.

“I’ve only known you for a short time, but this is the first time I’ve seen you so visibly upset.”

“Oh… No? But what did you do today?”

It’s clear that he didn’t leave the imperial palace. I think it was in the imperial palace.

I don’t even know what she did.

Theodora starts to think differently about what I say.

“Well…”

Looking at her not being able to say anything, I question her as if I were suspicious of her.

“You didn’t do anything strange, right?”

She, the emperor, acted lightly, but she claims to have read the emperor’s intentions, and she is worried that there are many bastards who will do strange things.

“Isn’t that strange? “I was looking for something that could be helpful to the empire.”

Is it true?

Hmm… I doubt it.

“Oh, that’s right! “Do you know what fallow is?”

I say this while looking at Theodora, who speaks triumphantly.

“Isn’t that a method of farming four lands in turns to preserve the soil’s potential?”

It is important to maintain soil strength in a place where fertilizers have not been invented.

In fact, if the fields are not fallow, the wheat grains or crops will grow small, the crops will not grow much, and they will be vulnerable to pests and diseases.

“Ugh… How do you know that?”

I say that with a soft smile.

“It is agriculture, which is the basis of the country. “It’s strange not knowing that.”

I have never farmed before, but I learned about basic farming at a military academy.

A long time ago, when the war with the Babylonian Empire was fierce, the Dunje system was used.

“But why fallow?”

Theodora speaks with her eyes shining at my words.

“If there is a way to eliminate fallow, would you do it if it costs a lot of money and time?”

I nod my head firmly at those words.

“Isn’t it obvious? “I have to do it.”

On modern Earth, enough food is produced in a year to feed 8 billion people.

It’s just that because of distribution and price, it doesn’t go to poor countries in large numbers.

The secret to producing so much is fertilizer.

It is a substance that does not require fallowing and promotes growth.

If fertilizer could be produced now, all citizens of the empire would not have to worry about food prices.

Of course… Food prices may drop drastically, making it difficult to make a living.

Currently, most of the occupations engaged in by the people of the empire are primary industries such as agriculture, livestock farming, and forestry.

The development of fertilizers will reduce the amount of money earned from the agricultural and livestock industry.

Instead, other industries and commerce may develop accordingly.

So, I visited the academy to see if there was any data on fertilizers, but there was no significant result.

“But why is that?”

Theodora smiles charmingly at my words.

“That’s right…”

“Huh?”

After a long pause…

“It’s a secret. “I’m going to sleep now, so take care of it.”

Saying that, I turn over on the bed.

What is it? At best, it makes you curious.

Thinking like that, I process the documents again.

The Ministry of Information will be established soon.

Missing something you hadn’t thought of or how to operate and manage the intelligence department after its establishment.

Make a plan on where and how to establish an intelligence network.

First, let’s focus on Nicaea and the Emperor faction…

When making plans like that one by one.

I feel the surroundings slowly starting to become brighter.

“Ugh… I really couldn’t sleep a wink.”

-Saegeun… Saegeun…

I wake up to the sound coming from above the bed.

A pretty gray-haired woman.

“Phew… Let’s go and do some work.”

After catching a glimpse of her, she changes her clothes and heads to her office.

***

“Terra, did you sleep well last night?”

I speak to her mother, who speaks with a bright smile.

“I didn’t sleep well last night because my bed was uncomfortable.”

I tried to fall asleep yesterday, but I couldn’t sleep well because he kept getting on my mind.

“hehehe… It’s always like that for the first time.”

Am I asking a question to my mother who is saying things that are difficult to understand?

“Yes? What?”

My mother smiles softly at my words, as if she knows very well, but that is not important right now.

“Mother. “She understands that her mother has been managing the imperial funds for a long time… Can she get some money out of there?”

My mother smiles slightly at my words.

“Is it possible? How much do you need?”

With that said, she hands over the paper she received from her professors.

“This… This much?”

Her mother’s eyes widened rapidly at my words, but then she shook her head.

“It’s too much… If we spend all of this, there won’t be any spare money left in the palace.”