Klaus handed me an envelope placed on the table.

“This is the original petition brought by Viscount Poyerbach.”

I quickly scanned the contents.

“It mentions why taxes were imposed in the current situation of suffering significant losses last year.”

A bit of explanation is needed here.

The headquarters of businesses within the Empire were mostly located in the capital’s busy district. Each business paid a registration fee to the city’s market to maintain an office space annually.

What’s amusing is that businesses operated by nobles pay only this registration fee without any income tax. This is because nobles, unlike commoners, pay land taxes.

Therefore, businesses operated by non-noble classes were required to report their annual income to the market and pay a considerable amount of tax, not only the registration fee, under the pretext of income tax, much more than nobles.

“I understand why Lady Ferner feels unjust.”

“The part where losses are reflected in tax imposition is not valid. Regardless of the losses, income generated before offsetting losses is undoubtedly present. There’s no legal flaw in imposing taxes.”

“Legally, there’s no problem, but it’s unfair in essence.”

“So she sent a petition to the Ministry of Finance.”

By this point, I became curious about why Lady Ferner became Elfriede’s prey.

The original work didn’t describe the circumstances behind that. It could be because I didn’t remember the original content thoroughly.

Anyway.

I wondered if, despite sending a complaint to the Ministry of Finance, the issue was not resolved, and she sought a political resolution through the Mecklinger family. Perhaps that’s why she reluctantly assumed the role of a villainess.

Klaus chuckled.

“The reason Viscount Poyerbach came to me is because he thinks his complaint has some merit.”

“There’s nothing the Ministry of Finance can do if there’s no legal issue.”

We both sighed simultaneously. The timing seemed oddly amusing, so we looked at each other and chuckled softly.

Ignoring Lady Ferner’s petition felt uneasy.

In the original work, she assisted the villain Elfriede, leading to troubles for Evangeline and infuriating Klaus in the process.

Rumi might be well aware of Lady Ferner’s existence. Depending on how Rumi uses the character of Lady Ferner, she might play a role similar to the original work, exhausting her usefulness and facing consequences.

For now, it was necessary to hear more details from Lady Ferner.

“Your Highness, how about I meet Lady Ferner once?”

“Hmm? You?”

I smiled confidently.
I smiled confidently.

“When the people express their grievances, it’s essential to inform the rulers that the appeal has reached their ears. Knowing that it’s an empty cry with no response coming back can be quite disheartening.”

“But isn’t there something we can do right away? Offering condolences might not have much significance.”

“Still, it’s crucial to show that we took his words seriously. If we don’t react at all, even if there’s no solution, he won’t know that we discussed the matter to this extent.”

Of course, I had other purposes besides this. I needed to find out if Lady Ferner had sided with Lumi or not.

Honestly, I hoped that Lumi wouldn’t use supporting characters in the same way as the original work. Treating people like tools and discarding them – how cruel an act that is.

Even though this is a novel, the beings living here have a definite reality. I wished for Lumi to respect this place enough as reality.

“Your Highness, please allow me to meet Lady Ferner. Surely, we’ll gain something from it.”

“Umm….”

However, Klaus didn’t seem to favor the idea.

“Why is that?”

“Well, you see….”

Klaus hesitated but eventually spoke.

“According to Viscount Poyerbach, Lady Ferner’s reputation in high society doesn’t seem favorable.”

Would an unfavorable reputation alone make him so reluctant?

Klaus glanced at me once and then averted his gaze slightly.

“Well, she’s quite open about her relationships with men…”

“Ah, I see.”

Actually, it wasn’t a surprising story. In the original work, it was mentioned that Lady Ferner had several young and handsome men in her company.

Isn’t that rather fortunate?

Anyway, since she is currently known as a young and handsome man, she probably wouldn’t face any harsh consequences if she received Lady Ferner’s warm welcome.

However, Klaus’s expression remained serious.

“What if he reveals affection for you?”

“To properly understand the situation, wouldn’t it be better to receive favorable treatment?”

“It’s not that…”

Klaus grimaced as if frustrated.

“He’s worried that Lady Ferner might have some ulterior motives towards you.”

What a concern. Such things only apply to real men, and I was out of that scope.

“Don’t worry. Would a woman like me have to reject advances from him?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Klaus, seemingly struggling for words, finally exploded.

“It means, what if he tries to touch you! In the worst-case scenario, he might even attempt to embrace you!”