I Became the Master of the Empress

45 – Episode 45

-Boom!

Theodora roughly places a bunch of papers on my desk.

“Huh?”

I say this while looking at Theodora, who seems to be in a really bad mood unlike usual.

“What’s going on?”

Living by her words I get goosebumps watching her with her young eyes and her bizarre smile.

“No? “Nothing’s going on?”

“Well… Really? “Then I’m glad.”

He spoke while looking at the documents, avoiding his lifeless red eyes.

“The yield is not good.”

I grumble as I look at the mana stones being used to make fertilizer.

“The unit price is too high. First of all, next time you meet with professors, ask them to resolve this issue first. “There is no point in making fertilizer if it costs as much as the same weight of silver.”

“Yes.”

And there is silence for a moment.

“Are you… angry at me?”

I cautiously asked her because she looked unusual, but…

She smiles brightly and shakes her head.

“No? “Nothing at all?”

I don’t know why I get goosebumps on my arms when I see such a beautiful smile.

“Well… Then I’m glad.”

And when there is silence again, he brings up a plan to manipulate the market.

There is less than a month left until the war begins.

Finally, check to see if there are any problems.

“What is that?”

“This is…”

Can I tell this to Theodora?

I look at her now that she has just finished her basics in administration.

I guess I have to teach them these dirty things.

I want to teach you how to rule the empire cleanly, but I don’t know any such method.

“Now, I’ll tell you something new today.”

I say that and stand up.

“Would you like to sit on the sofa?”

Seeing her obediently following my words, I hand her the market manipulation plan and say,

“Read it.”

He took the plan from me and spoke with trembling eyes.

“This?”

“Finish reading.”

As soon as she turned the first page, Theodora’s complexion became pale.

“Da… Are you going to start a war with the anti-imperialist nobles who defected?”

I nod my head at those words.

“Why… Why are you doing this?”

I say to her as she looks on in disbelief.

“It’s so that we don’t collapse.”

With that said, I sit down opposite her and continue speaking.

“Theodora, what do you think of the current situation in the empire?”

“What does this have to do with the current war?”

I say this while looking at Theodora, who is glaring at me with gritted teeth at my words.

“It has to do with it. Soon the empire is engulfed in civil war.”

The peace I signed with Ioanes was the result of negotiations aimed at gaining political benefits without causing harm to either side.

In order to achieve this result, Ioanes was given wings called Epirus and Ezip.

“You… How do you know that?”

I speak to her as she looks at me in her calm tone.

“Emperor faction, anti-emperor faction. Do you think the fight between these two factions is over? No… This is the real start.”

He speaks with a calmer expression than I expected.

“Didn’t you make peace with Ioanes?”

I say those words as she nods her head.

“That’s right. But why do you think he, who is in an advantageous position and has the support of all the nobles except Roman, made peace with me?”

Was it an unexpected question?

“I’m not sure about that either.”

-Pisik.

“It’s simple. “Ioanes wants to make this empire his own.”

“…”

Was my words shocking?

Theodora looks at me with her expressionless face, then she trembles slightly and bites her lip.

“Are you very surprised?”

He shakes his head and says that he disagrees with what I said.

“No. When you forced me to marry you. “I did think that one day he might try to take me off the throne.”

I nod my head at those words.

“That’s right.”

“Then are you trying to unite the anti-emperor faction again to win the war?”

-Clap clap!

Is it because he grew up in the imperial family?

I applaud her words, which are sharper than I expected.

“That is correct.”

“But what is this market manipulation plan?”

I answer that question.

“It’s no big deal. “I plan to earn the money I need to make fertilizer.”

He nods slightly at what I say and turns to the next page.

-Sureuk.

She flips through a few more pages and asks with a curious expression.

“Can you really make money with a put option even if the Grand Duchy or the breakaway anti-emperor faction loses?”

“Yes, it’s true.”

Options, a famous derivative product that has existed on Earth since before BC.

An option refers to the right to buy or sell 100 specific products in the future at the current price.

A simple and easy contract method in which a contract is concluded by paying the price of one product out of 100 as a down payment.

Among them, a call refers to the right to purchase in the future at the current price, and a put refers to the right to sell at the current price in the future.

The original method of using options is mainly as a means of hedging to reduce risk in trading companies or banks.

Knowing that it was here too, I decided to put this plan into action.

The reason I issue bonds is to secure the funds needed for the war.

Probably the same goes for the other person.

Currently, the military power of the anti-emperor faction I belong to and the military power of the anti-emperor faction that broke away are on par.

In other words, it is a method of market manipulation based on the fact that if I issue bonds, there is a high possibility that they will also issue them.

If I could decide whether we win or lose, what would happen to the bond market?

In fact, the war plan that Agrippa and I came up with was to deliberately give up important bases and make a sweeping attack on the territory of the Grand Duchy in order to catch the anti-emperor faction off guard.

This is a way to easily defeat enemies as quickly and easily as possible when they are caught off guard.

It would be risky if I thought about it alone, but since it was created based on the method suggested by the master craftsman Agrippa, I think it is probably a sure way to win.

In other words, the moment when I intentionally induce defeat.

The company under my name is planning to sell put options on the Grand Duchy’s bonds in large quantities.

Those who already own the Grand Duchy’s bonds will sell like hot cakes out of fear that the Grand Duchy may lose the war and suffer losses.

At the same time, call options on the bonds of the anti-emperor group that broke away will also sell like hot cakes, even if sold in large quantities.

Considering the anti-emperor faction that stands to gain enormous profits from the Grand Duchy of France, it is bound to be appealing to investors.

When they see me, I will look like a bigot who got a lot of money from somewhere.

There is no time to be suspicious.

Because I see so much benefit right in front of me. From the perspective of those who buy put options, it is literally a right, so if you buy it, all you have to do is throw away your money.

In other words, if you don’t buy it right now, it will be considered a loss.

With the money raised by selling 300,000 tons of gold bonds and options with all the credit and assets available to the Chamber of Commerce, a large amount of call options on the Grand Duchy bonds will be purchased.

If you purchase a large amount of call options on bonds that are rumored to be losing, I think many trading companies will think you are crazy and sell a lot.

Because the possibility of the Grand Duchy losing is too high.

If I cannot buy as much as I want within the Empire, I am thinking of proposing to purchase call options at the United Kingdom’s investment company.

And all the investment companies will think of me as a fool.

You may be able to buy more options than the bonds released on the market.

Originally, that wouldn’t have happened, but if I just sold the Grand Duchy call option, I would feel like I was getting tens of thousands of gold with empty money, so I don’t know if I could bear it.

Maybe more call option contracts will be released than the bonds I sold.

Then a really interesting situation will arise.

Anyway, they are at the moment when the Grand Duchy loses.

Those who sell call options will expect to sit on a huge cushion of money.

But in the end, if I win, all of this will turn out to be the opposite.

You can buy Grand Duchy bonds, whose prices have risen significantly, at a bargain price.

The breakaway anti-imperialist bonds that are now scraps of paper can be sold at exorbitant prices.

In other words, with one put option for the defected anti-emperor group, you can buy anti-emperor bond worth less than 1 bronze and sell it for more than 1 million gold.

The minimum trading unit for bond options is 1 million gold.

It is difficult to predict how much it will cost if you buy as many bonds as possible on the market.

This alone is a huge benefit.

There is another benefit here.

Bonds originally have an obligation to pay interest and share in the profits gained when a war is won.

However, if I purchase the bonds I issued at a low price, there is a clear difference between the issued amount and the repurchase price.

In addition, the interest to be paid actually disappears.

Because I can purchase my own bonds and burn them.

In other words, I explained it at length, but in the end, if I just cut my conscience, I would cover all the money needed for the intelligence department and fertilizer production and have a lot left over.

But Theodora reads everything and sighs as if she doesn’t understand.

“Whoa… Honestly, this is so complicated that I don’t even know what it is.”

I nod my head and say those words.

“Of course it is difficult to know. “It’s normal for people who aren’t in commerce or finance to not understand what’s being said.”

“Then… With this? “Can you make all that money?”

I nod slightly at those words.

“Yes. That’s right.”

At my words, Theodora looks at me with her blank eyes and sighs.

“Whoa…, You… Are a real genius. “I probably won’t be as good as you.”

I said that with a puzzled expression.

“Huh? Why?”

“That’s right… I’ve never heard of anything written here called a call option or a put option.”

I nod my head and say those words.

“It’s okay. You can learn from now. “It’s a good thing I took care of the bond.”

As I said that, I searched through my desk drawer, took out a piece of paper, erased the word “Bond” Written on it with a fountain pen, and handed it to Theodora.

“Now take it.”

He takes the paper I hand him and asks.

“What is this again?”

“I’ve organized things you might not know. Memorize all of this, and starting today, I will give you an hour of finance and commerce class before you go to bed. “Learn hard.”

Theodora, whose face becomes pale at my words, shouts.

“You… That’s too much!”