Leonard slammed his fist onto his desk at yet another unpleasant report. At the sound, the subordinates around him flinched and averted their eyes.
“Why are things in such a sorry state?! What are the people of this territory doing?!”
Leonard roared at his subordinates. All they did was apologize; none offered a solution. A month had already passed since Sibyl left the Lockwood territory.
There was only one reason for his anger: the decline in tax revenue. It wasn’t that revenue had fallen so sharply in the space of a single month. He was looking at the projected tax revenue for the year that his subordinate had handed him. It had risen every year until now, only to suddenly take a turn for the worse this year.
“Why is it so low?!”
Leonard ground his teeth in irritation. Seeing that, one civil official timidly raised his hand.
“With all due respect, might the suspension of the agricultural project be the primary reason?”
“Are you saying my decision was wrong, boy?”
When Leonard glared at him, the official immediately looked away and began apologizing. But as Leonard stared at the documents, he noticed an important fact.
“Hm? The tax rate is wrong. It says thirty percent.”
(The tax rate was supposed to be fifty percent. They must have mistakenly calculated it at thirty, which is why the total fell this far.)
That was Leonard’s interpretation.
But upon hearing it, Sebas spoke up.
“Lord Leonard, we began lowering the tax rate three years ago. At present, we collect only thirty percent.”
Because the amount of tax collected hadn’t decreased, Leonard hadn’t even known what the rate was. Now, however, a vulgar smile spread across his face, like a child who had just thought of something wicked.
“This is all that fool’s fault for lowering the tax to thirty percent. From now on, it will be sixty.”
“Th-that is… higher than the original fifty percent. Please reconsider! At least make it forty. Our finances may indeed suffer temporarily, but if you think of the future, lowering the tax rate will make the people wealthier, and the amount collected should ultimately increase!”
That was what Sibyl had believed. More than anyone, Sebas had watched Sibyl work desperately while looking toward the future of the Lockwood territory. He couldn’t bear to see the results of all that effort erased on Leonard’s whim.
“Silence. The revenue fell because he indulged them with a softhearted rate like thirty percent. If the amount is too low, we need only raise the rate. This will give the people a proper sense of crisis and make them work harder for me. Hahahahaha!”
Hearing Leonard’s words, Sebas’s face filled with despair. At this rate, House Lockwood would return to the debt-ridden state it had been in three years ago. He could feel it.
(Still, what was that coward thinking, lowering the tax rate to thirty percent? I’m amazed the territory ran so well with a rate like that. Knowing him, perhaps he was using some sort of trick.)
(My wife has been in a somewhat foul mood ever since she heard the tax figures. But this solves the tax problem. Now I can devote myself to sword training without a worry.)
Satisfied with his own orders, Leonard rose and left the office.