The Former Empress Roughly Hides Her Abilities - Chapter 126

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【Chapter 126】

The coming holiday.

“Come, please sit. Sit down.”

Rianel and Asil visited Norman Rikel’s estate after a long time.

“Thank you for visiting this humble place.”

The butler they had seen before greeted the two, and Norman brought out tea brewed to Rianel’s taste.

“It felt unfair to suffer alone, and having nowhere else to complain, I invited you… I hope I haven’t troubled busy people by calling them here unnecessarily.”

Norman trailed off and sighed. Fatigue showed in his hands as he pressed firmly around his eyes.

“I also came for personal reasons, so you don’t need to feel burdened.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

Rianel had also chosen to go out because she felt Duke Vincenheim might barge in if she stayed at Asil’s mansion.

‘There was also something I wanted to check personally.’

“So, you said a contractor came to Arman Bank?”

“Yes. They requested a loan.”

Norman continued, recounting the events from a few days ago.

“The condition was that they would repay when funding came from the Imperial Palace, and they submitted a business plan that had received imperial approval.”

On paper, there seemed to be no problems.

“Upon further review, however, that company had no previous history of similar projects, and it was unclear whether they actually possessed the technology described in their plan.”

It was a project to install a massive statue, no less than 10 meters tall, next to the fountain near the plaza.

Given that residential and commercial districts were densely packed nearby, verification of construction capability was essential.

Yet the Imperial Palace seemed to have selected the company solely based on the lowest bid, without considering any other factors.

“Still, I thought there must be some reason if they won the project from the Imperial Palace, so I investigated further…”

Norman paused to catch his breath before continuing.

“The more I learned about that place, the stranger it became. The person registered as the business owner was already dead, and nothing existed at the address registered as their business location.”

In other words.

“That company was a shell corporation created just for this one bid!”

Norman struck the table with his clenched fist.

Having recovered so much that his days of being brainwashed and out of his mind under the Vice President seemed like a lie, he couldn’t tolerate injustice just like in his vigorous days.

He was indeed the person Rianel had selected as Bureau Director of the Special Tax Bureau.

It wasn’t strange for the Imperial Palace to subcontract, since maintaining craftsmen capable of creating statues full-time would be enormously expensive.

Lowest bid selection was also a preferred method for cost reduction.

“The problem is we might lose the loan money! Just because they won a project from the Imperial Palace doesn’t guarantee payment of the funding.”

Imperial funding is only paid after the project is completed, and it’s the company, not the bank, that receives it.

Even if the company recovered the funding, Norman would have no way to recover his losses if they didn’t repay.

Since that company didn’t actually exist, there would be nowhere to hold accountable.

“So I inquired, but the Imperial Palace just kept repeating that there were no problems with the paperwork!”

The Saint, Yuna, who was the project manager, went even further.

“The Saint said to trust unconditionally since the Imperial Palace was involved in the project. Then she asked if I wouldn’t donate part of the production costs, since this statue was being made for the Empire.”

It was a project with the noble cause of honoring the first Emperor. As a symbolic structure with patriotic meaning, refusing to donate would easily earn one the label of traitor.

“This is robbery without a knife!”

Must one stab with a knife and draw blood in the dead of night to be a robber? Using power and noble causes to acquire others’ assets was also plunder.

Just then, the door opened carefully and a small shadow peeked out.

“But why is the Imperial Palace doing such thuggish things?”

It was Ersen.

Having lingered near the door since hearing guests had arrived, he could no longer restrain himself when money was mentioned and joined the conversation.

Rianel was someone who would tell the truth when asked a question, even to a child, so she answered without hesitation.

“It’s probably because the privy purse is insufficient.”

“So you’re saying the Emperor is broke?”

Norman was startled, having just noticed his son’s arrival, but Rianel remained calm.

“Ersen!”

“Something like that.”

The Emperor had always been someone with severe spending habits.

Before Rianel became Empress, he didn’t distinguish between tax revenue and the privy purse, so money meant for the Empire’s support projects was sometimes used to purchase the Emperor’s luxury goods.

After Rianel became Empress, she made sure to strictly separate the two.

“Even now, part of the tax revenue is allocated for Imperial Palace maintenance.”

It was impossible to completely eliminate the privileges of royalty. Above all, there was also the job creation effect from staffing the palace, so Rianel institutionalized this to reduce wasted budget.

The allocated budget was sufficient for moderate consumption.

“But it would have been woefully inadequate for an Emperor who enjoys luxury.”

Moreover, the Emperor had to share his already insufficient budget with the Saint. Since the Saint wasn’t the official Empress, there was no separately allocated budget for her.

“Still, until now, gifts from nobles to the Imperial Palace probably covered the shortfall.”

Whether to view this as bribes or classify it as development funds was open to interpretation, so it was often dismissed as gifts.

In any case, now that the nobles who used to give ‘gifts’ to the Emperor were under investigation for bribery, the Emperor couldn’t continue financial exchanges with them and was exercising restraint.

“But since money is still needed, this was probably the alternative method he sought.”

Rianel roughly guessed why the Emperor had brought in the Saint.

‘He needed someone to shift responsibility to.’

The Emperor had essentially hired someone cheaply under the name of fiancée to siphon off funds received under the pretext of erecting a statue.

‘Then when the situation worsens, he’ll distance himself from the Saint and end the relationship.’

Wasn’t this a familiar tactic?

Ersen raised a question.

“But why a statue of all things? Wouldn’t it be easier to steal money invisibly?”

Asil answered.

“Because everyone can see a statue when it’s erected.”

“…? So what?”

“So it’s good for packaging as visible results. It’s also good for securing justification to present during budget deliberations, and with large sculptural works like this, it’s not difficult to inflate unit costs by attaching various small tax items, making embezzlement hard to track even when it occurs.”

Still, Ersen looked like he didn’t understand, so Rianel added a supplementary explanation.

“When erecting a statue, transportation and installation costs are incurred in addition to production costs. Also, since the area around the statue must be maintained, infrastructure development costs can’t be omitted. Furthermore, copper is usually used for statues, and it’s possible to deceive about copper mixing ratios and blend in lower-cost metals, siphoning off the difference.”

“Plus, since we’re erecting a statue honoring a historical figure, a commemorative event can’t be left out.”

But this event was also problematic.

Since it’s usually held as a one-time affair, and structures installed and supplies used are discarded when the event ends, it’s difficult to estimate actual costs.

“Also, maintenance and repair are essential for statues. Since they can’t be left to become eyesores, it’s possible to allocate annual maintenance costs under the pretext of managing them, enabling periodic embezzlement.”

It didn’t end there.

“It’s also possible to pursue follow-up projects linked to the statue. Using the logic that the statue installation revitalized the local economy, they could build an additional memorial hall.”

Then they could consume another massive budget.

“You can milk that much from one statue? That’s completely fraudulent.”

Ersen’s eyes sparkled with interest, but Norman was concerned.

‘No matter how good early education is, isn’t showing the world’s rotten evils too early?’

But since he seemed satisfied, Norman let it pass for now.

“Then the statue will actually be erected.”

“Yes. Budget execution will also take place.”

Thus, procedurally, there are no problems with this project.

The problem lies in the essence of the project being to pocket money behind the scenes.

‘Once the Emperor succeeds once, he’ll try to abuse this multiple times.’

Since he hates taking responsibility, he prefers proven methods.

“Are these the problematic documents?”

“Yes. They’re copies, but there are no differences from the originals.”

Rianel slowly scanned the loan review documents Norman handed her.

When her hand stopped while turning pages, Norman asked carefully.

“Do you… know this person?”

“No.”

She just knew the identity of the person using this alias.

“Martan Carcas has gotten involved.”

Norman’s eyes narrowed upon hearing the unexpected name.

“Don’t tell me, that…”

“That’s right, the very Martan notorious for manufacturing smuggled liquor.”

He was the head of a criminal organization that ran all sorts of underground businesses, including smuggled liquor distribution and illegal gambling dens.

Though he had been arrested multiple times, he was repeatedly acquitted and released due to his connections to the imperial branch family and insufficient evidence.

‘He’s also someone the Emperor utilizes when creating slush funds.’

The reason Ensilen was rumored to be an extravagant Empress was because the Emperor allocated excessive budgets for the Empress’s palace and siphoned off the difference using Martan.

‘Right. That bastard held onto me even as I was dying and kept doing such things until the end.’

Rianel put strength into her fingertips to avoid crumpling the paper.

Now was not the time to be lost in reminiscence.

It would be rational to take this opportunity to deal with Martan and cut off the Emperor’s hands and feet.

Norman was not one to miss Rianel’s subtle emotional changes.

“By any chance… are you planning to get involved in this matter for revenge?”

Norman asked while gauging Rianel’s reaction.

It would be a lie to say it wasn’t part of it.

“Revenge is merely a secondary motive. The primary reason is that the planned construction site for the statue is adjacent to my residence.”

“…Excuse me?”

Norman momentarily lost his words and opened his mouth, but Rianel was sincere.

Though Rianel was currently boarding at Asil’s mansion, her lease on the single-room apartment she used to live in hadn’t expired, so she was paying rent and using it like a storage space.

Being a house located in a secluded hilltop area, it was also because no next tenant could be found.

If there was any advantage to this house, it was that the fountain could be seen through the small window.

But if a monstrosity resembling the Emperor were to be built there…

“I judge there will be considerable difficulty in recruiting the next tenant.”

Recovering the deposit would also become distant.

“I, I see.”

Yes, money is important.

Norman nodded and understood, convinced by such a rational reason.

* * *

“Wow, damn. That’s near our house!”

The next day.

As soon as Til heard that a bizarre structure was planned to be built near his house, he jumped up from his spot.

“Well, but when the Imperial Family undertakes various commemorative projects, wouldn’t land prices rise?”

Mel tried to comfort him by adding a hypothetical scenario, but Til immediately shook his head.

“Is that the problem? Think about me having to see that giant thing every day while commuting! It’ll have a bad influence on my mind and body!”

He was making efforts to live ‘roughly’ while cultivating himself daily as the leader of the Dachung Sect.

If he kept seeing such a thing, he might develop a sense of mission to seriously reform the Empire.

‘Come to think of it, that might be an advantage… No, no. Life should be lived comfortably.’

Til shook his head to dispel his thoughts.

It was fortunate that Rianel had come with a plan to nullify the statue construction.

“But Team Leader, on what charges can we arrest that criminal?”

Martan had handled all his crimes through subordinates, and there were no witnesses who testified that he had committed crimes directly.

‘Despite his notorious reputation, there’s no decisive evidence.’

It wasn’t because other investigators were fools that they let Martan go.

“However, the fact that he is a criminal is clear, isn’t it.”

Moreover, among the crimes he committed, there was an item that was easy to prove.

“I plan to utilize this.”

Exactly one week later.

“That’s why you’ve been brought to this place.”

Sitting bound in the investigation room, Martan let out a sly laugh upon facing Rianel.

“So what’s my charge this time, civil servant?”

“You have been arrested on charges of violating the state’s taxation authority.”

In short, ‘tax evasion.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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