I Became A Black Merchant In Another World-Chapter 323: One Ghost, Labor Standards Act (1)
This was a huge disaster.
"Lord Rothschild, we’ve come for the audit and tax investigation. We ask for your cooperation."
Whether in the 21st century or the Toscana Empire, when it comes to tax investigations and audits, no one is safe.
Well, in a democratic country, legal grounds might delay an investigation to some extent...
But in the Toscana Empire, refusing a tax audit or investigation would mark you as a traitor.
If you refuse to cooperate, you will be arrested for treason and executed.
"I will cooperate. But before we begin, who is in charge of the investigation?"
"Giovanni Fauzen, an officer from the Ministry of Finance’s Budget Management Office, part of the Accounting Inspection Bureau."
"And who ordered the investigation?"
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.
"I don’t think it’s necessary for me to reveal that. Will you cooperate with the investigation?"
The Accounting Inspection Bureau, which was part of the Ministry of Finance, did indeed have the authority to conduct audits and tax investigations.
However, audits and corporate tax issues that affect the entire country were supposed to be handled by the Ministry of Commerce.
Breaking this would mean...
‘Did some low-ranking officer just undermine the Minister of Commerce?’
If the person standing before me wasn’t some idealistic young graduate burning with righteousness, then logically, something wasn’t right here.
From the way things were going, it was clear that someone with far more power than the Minister of Commerce, probably Duke Sforza or one of his associates, had ordered this.
"Our Rothschild family has always been loyal to His Majesty the Emperor. So, what’s there to be concerned about?"
"Thank you for your cooperation."
"However, I would appreciate it if you could allow my wife and concubines a little time to change clothes."
Normally, someone would respond with, "How could we search the area where your wives are staying?"
It wasn’t like the Toscana Empire had some strange aesthetic where women from noble families weren’t allowed to leave the house or show their faces...
But common sense dictates that you don’t violate a woman’s private space by spying on her room.
However, Giovanni gave a completely unexpected response.
"I’ll wait for about 30 minutes."
It seemed that Duke Sforza had come with a very firm resolve.
He probably promised Giovanni a significant reward for his promotion as a scribe.
That evil bastard.
Even though I played the role of the Crown Prince's teacher and the Crown Prince had become particularly attached to me, do they think I wanted it to turn out this way?
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
The Crown Prince kept pushing me to add a new woman to my collection, and he even said things like wanting to visit the United Kingdom with me, which was maddening.
But to Duke Sforza, I must have appeared to be a new power, a stepping stone to crush him.
Well, from a strategic standpoint, that was probably the right move.
‘Anyway, since you’ve touched me, I won’t let it go easily.’
I was extremely angry.
The little Fabio inside me was even considering whether I should dabble in forbidden knowledge.
Giovanni, completely ignoring my feelings, gave orders to his subordinates.
"Since we’ve received Lord Rothschild’s permission, don’t hesitate—search thoroughly. Make sure to leave no speck of dust behind."
"Yes, Officer!"
"Alright, we begin the investigation in 30 minutes."
Then, 30 minutes later, that evil bastard had gone through all the documents hidden in my house, and leisurely left.
What a disgusting bastard.
Natural disasters are like that.
No matter how well you prepare, damage still happens.
And if something like a magnitude 7 earthquake strikes, no matter how much you’ve reinforced a building, it will still collapse like brittle candy.
Thanks to Duke Sforza’s unexpected assault, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} I suffered quite a bit of loss.
"Sebastian, how much have we lost this time?"
"Altogether, it’s 58,000 gold coins."
"Looks like we were hit exactly as planned."
There’s no one in this world who doesn’t have at least a speck of dust on them.
If someone claims they do, they’re not human—they’re something like a demi-human.
People like Admiral Yi Sun-sin or the only Dr. Yoo Il-han, a businessman and special agent who only has good things said about him, would fit that category.
Someone like me, a regular person, is bound to commit some corruption.
So when it comes to audits or tax investigations, I’ve manipulated the ledgers just enough to be hit, but not too hard.
If they had gone through the real ledgers instead of the fake ones, it wouldn’t have ended with just 58,000 gold coins, so I consider it a relatively cheap loss...
‘It went as planned, but I feel like I’m eating cheap Chinese pumpkin candy.’
"They’ve calculated that the evaded taxes amount to 300,000 gold coins, and the tax imposed was 58,000 gold coins."
"Everything went according to plan, and it seems like we won’t be hit any further. But it’s so frustrating. Don’t you think, Sebastian?"
Instead of answering my question, Sebastian sighed.
"The problem isn’t just the taxes they evaded. The biggest issue is that Duke Sforza has brought the Church into this."
The evil Deusists really don’t deserve to exist in this world.
I’m not some poor, pitiful merchant.
I’m not so poor that I’m desperate for money either.
In Korea, it would be like being the owner of a massive conglomerate like the Osung Group or a major defense contractor—if I were to claim I was poor, I’d deserve divine retribution.
But these churches, exploiting people like me who are just trying to live well...
If they used the tithes for good, it would be fine, but...
‘The clergy will probably use it for their own indulgences.’
"They’ve demanded 30,000 gold coins in tithes and 60,000 in atonement fees. And, in the spirit of repentance, they’ve asked that you attend Mass every morning from Monday to Sunday next week."
"Because donations from the Holy Empire were cut off, the papacy is financially struggling. The money they extorted from me will be a great help. The Pope is merciful, after all, allowing me, a lowly man, the opportunity to donate to those less fortunate."
"...I’m sorry."
The ones responsible for this situation are clearly Duke Sforza and his faction.
Sebastian, our family’s vassals, and our staff are innocent.
What’s the point of getting an apology from someone who didn’t do anything wrong?
If I take out my frustration on them, it will only harm my reputation, and the problem will remain unsolved.
"Sebastian, it’s not your fault. And even though we’ve lost 148,000 gold coins, it won’t be a fatal blow to our Rothschild family."
"If it were another merchant family or noble house, they’d lose their entire annual income or go bankrupt... but our family won’t be shaken by this."
The 148,000 gold coins were probably the entire wealth Sebastian currently had.
He wasn’t originally that rich, but when he invested all of his family’s wealth into building the Abito, he earned a fortune from the land there.
Thanks to that, he became the head of a massive real estate empire in a high-tech industrial city...
"The money we’ve lost is lost, and there’s no way to get it back. Let’s give up on it."
"I understand. For now, revenge must come first."
"Money comes and goes. What’s important is maintaining trust when dealing with others. And even more important is not being looked down upon."
Anyone from Korea would learn this principle in school.
Once you’re labeled as someone who can be bullied, you can’t shake that stigma until you graduate, no matter what the reason.
In extreme cases, it could even lead to school violence.
You learn this in school and then strive not to be looked down upon in society.
If you’re wrongfully labeled, you’ll have people trying to mooch off you, asking for money, or using nonsense to try to take advantage of you.
In a medieval fantasy world like the Toscana Empire, this is even more true.
If you show any sign of weakness, nobles will swarm and gobble up our family’s wealth piece by piece.
"Sebastian, how should we handle these bastards?"
"Audits and tax investigations are too obvious, aren’t they?"
"Right."
"How about doing something covert, without getting caught?"
‘A covert operation,’ huh? That sounds good.
While I can’t burn their territories openly, I can certainly deal them a blow of similar magnitude.
And, while I’m at it, I’ll also take care of the workers' rights.
"Look into the lives of the workers in the cities belonging to the Sforza faction."
"Is this a sudden idea?"
"I’ve got a good idea."
Forget about everything else. I’m planning to summon a certain spirit sealed in my left arm.
