Foreign and Commonwealth Office, FCO
My wealth is a bubble....
All this Hohenzollern wealth is a bubble?!
I scratched my head as I thought about using the family fortune to hedge against future bad events or to make a huge profit.
Even if you know the future, shouldn't you have some seed money to start with?
Then.
Something clicked in my head.
"By the way, don't you have a stack of foreclosures from top lenders?"
"Oh.... I forgot to put that on the asset list."
Bismarck claps her hands as if he's finally remembered.
Did she really not know?
"The Junkers have so many assets scattered all over the world, not to mention their hideouts, that we haven't even gotten to the bottom of it yet."
"...And it's been a month since the Purge ended?"
"That means the wealth of the top Junker families and cartels is astronomical. Of course, we've found most of their hiding places through the Treasury, which has grown fifty times. It's just that there's so much of it, it's hard to put a value on it."
"Oh! How much?"
"About ten times the fortune of the Hohenzollerns, not counting the eastern lands we're giving to the Junkers, of course."
"...!!!!"
I could not bear her words.
How dare she say slave.... and not vassal, to be the rightful monarch of the German Empire with her mouth, while embracing more wealth than the Emperor himself....
It is a sin to dare to accumulate more wealth than the Most High.
Unlike the United States of America and the United Nations, where no one cares if you make astronomical profits by grinding down the proletariat, the German Reich was a caste system.
"Nah.... Good thing, though, because the purges brought them all under my thumb."
"..."
"All the top Junkers will be purged, so my cash fortune will be one billion marks ($80 billion in 2024)?"
At my words, Bismarck shook her head emphatically.
"No. Dream on. Most of my accumulation is in illiquid assets that will take years to cash out. And most of the assets are invested in something so promising that investors are drooling over it."
"Tsk.... Is that right?"
"Cancer. Yes."
"Uhhh.... I can't believe we only have 100 million marks to invest in airships and cars.... What a waste."
My remark stunned not only Bismarck, but also Friedrich Hermann Wolpert, Bismarck, Princess Louise and Bertha Benz, who were listening to the story.
Especially Friedrich Hermann Wolpert, who lived for airships, and Bertha Benz, who lived for automobiles.
"Do you really intend to invest all 100 million marks in our airship?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Why should our emperor invest 100 million marks in a flying coffin? It's all seed money he's saving up to invest in the automobile industry. Isn't that right, Wilhelm - hehe!"
"Flying coffins? Where are the flying coffins now?"
"A flying coffin?! This old man has the audacity to call me a pierced mouth."
"Pierced?! You bitch?"
"Bitch?! Does that mean the emperor bought me?! You damned old cunt! Look it up!"
"Yes. Let's see if you die or I die!"
-Wagglewaggle
-Wudangtangtang
Is it because they came from the militaristic and mercenary nation of the Teutonic Knights?
Or is it because they were warriors from a hardy Germanic nation?
Or is it because it's the end of the 19th century in a romanticized, dueling culture?
Friedrich Hermann Wölfert and Bertha Benz meet in a fistfight.
Off to the side, Princess Louise and I are engaged in serious negotiations.
In contrast to Karl and Bertha Benz, who were merely early investors and inventors, Princess Louise was the majority shareholder of Benz & Cie. with a 40 percent stake in the company.
At the very least, there is no doubt that Princess Louise is heavily involved in the management of Benz & Cie.
"50 million marks ($4 billion in 2024) for a 90 percent stake."
"Hmm.... That would reduce her share in our dual kingdom of Baden-Württemberg to 4%."
"That's right."
"And when you say you'll invest 50 million marks, you're asking us, the royal family, who, unlike the two managers, are mere investors, to put in more money to match the value of our stake."
"Yes. But that's only two million marks ($1.6 billion in 2024), which is not a lot of money for the Duchy of Baden-Württemberg, the third largest in the German Empire."
At my words, Princess Louise immediately shook her head, her cheeks flushed red, as if embarrassed by the fact that she was still short of money....
Awww. She's so damn pretty.
"In the process of annexing the Kingdom of Baden, the Kingdom of Württemberg ran out of money."
"You mean they can't afford to invest any more?"
"Of course not, but it would be a big decision."
Princess Louise fidgeted with her hair and looked shy.
I asked, sighing at the sight of her rubbing her thighs together.
"...What do you want?"
"A beautiful child to blossom between the Emperor and me!"
"Shut up!"
"If that doesn't work, I want you to do me a favor that I've been writing to you every day on a piece of stationery."
"...That's rejected too."
"I'll limit it to the Dual Kingdom of Baden-Wuerttemberg instead."
"...!!!!"
From being in charge of the entire German Empire, you're limiting yourself to the Dual Kingdom of Baden-Wuerttemberg, which is only a small part of the Southern German Confederation?
...Not too bad.
I'm just a little obsessive, and Princess Louise would never betray me.
How do you know that?
...Because it happened.
Don't try to get too deep.
***
Of the 100 million marks I have in cash, I invested 50 million marks in Benz & Cie. in exchange for 90% of the shares.
I decided to keep 30 million in savings for possible cash flow.
With the remaining 20 million I founded the Aryan Airship Group with Friedrich Hermann Wölfert as CEO.
A purely ethnic Aryan company with 100% of my shares was established in the German Reich.
"But you don't have to have shares?"
"You don't have to. I could have designed the airships, but I would have had absolutely no power to make them happen without the absolute support and investment of the Emperor. He paid for the expensive helium gas and the huge concrete airship airports."
"....."
"Besides, didn't the Kaiser send me the best engine designer in the German Empire, and unlike my mother, he's smart, lovable, cute, and brilliant. Heh, heh, heh!"
As Friedrich Hermann Wölfert laughed maniacally, a pretty girl walked by in the distance with glasses perched on her forehead, showing off her long, angular features.
Her name is August Horch, a name that seems to have more to do with her personality than her intelligence: she is the world's leading developer of gasoline engines and the next CEO of Benz & Cie.
"Pleased to meet you. My name is Wilhelm."
"Nice to meet you, rightful monarch of the German Empire."
"....."
"....."
"....."
.
.
.
.
'Ugh.... Fuck. This is so fucking frustrating. Even if I'm the one with the iron plate on my face, can't I see the victim's face properly from the perpetrator's position?
'It doesn't matter if it's a peasant, an imperial overlord, or a member of the Fang family. The dreaded emperor who purges without distinction? Do I have to look the other way if I don't want to be found?'
As if it were the first time, not really.
At that point, things were still awkward between us.
So I didn't know what to expect.
I didn't know if she would turn out to be the cute, flirty, adorable girl she was before me.
***
After the Kaiser of the German Empire spends some awkward time with his future lover.
About 21 days after being taken by his captor, Bismarck, to the capital's Berlin Palace, where he spends his time dealing with mountains of paperwork.
August 31, 1888.
The social circles of the British Empire, which had risen to superpower status by watering down one unwelcome empire after another-Russia, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, the United States of America, and the Qing Empire-are abuzz.
Metropolitan Police.
"Fuck. How is this possible?!"
"What's going on?"