Tax Reform 2

Translator: Cinder Translations

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Hansel walked to the entrance of the lord's manor; his mind filled with various thoughts. The lord's manor in Alden Town had just undergone some renovations—Lord Grayman finally decided to spend some money to maintain this ancestral residence.

The so-called lord's manor was actually a small castle, covering an area of about 20 acres, surrounded by a circle of walls five to six meters high. Inside stood a three-story stone building, the residence of the successive Earls of Alden.

In the past, pirates at sea and bandits on land were quite common in the Northwest Bay, along with wars between lords. Therefore, having a castle was standard for every lord.

Lords typically built their castles in perilous locations such as cliffs and steep slopes. Those without such geographical advantages would dig a moat around their castle. Alden had the natural advantage of Lake Wes nearby, and there was a small island just dozens of meters from the southern shore of the lake. Thus, the first Earl of Alden chose to build his castle on this island, and his followers also settled around it, making it easier to seek refuge in the castle when enemies landed on the island.

This is the original origin of Alden Town.

As the years passed, although the castle was occasionally repaired, by the time Paul Grayman took over, it still had many dilapidated areas. Broken bricks and fallen wall tiles were evident everywhere, revealing the building's age.

This quality of residence obviously did not match the identity of the most powerful lord in the Northwest Bay. So, after repeated persuasion from others, the Lord of Alden finally spent some money to renovate his residence.

The newly repaired castle had many defensive structures removed, and its design focused entirely on making the interior more comfortable. The windows became larger to let in more sunlight, dispelling the castle's previous chill. The corridors widened to facilitate the movement of staff within the lord's manor.

"Supervisor Abbott!" The guard at the door saluted Hansel with a stomp of his heel.

Hansel nodded slightly in response and handed over his entry permit—now, anyone wanting to enter the lord's manor had to carry this.

After the guard carefully checked it, he stepped aside to let Hansel enter the castle. Hansel walked along a path paved with bluestone slabs to the entrance of the main building. The courtyard was not large, and one could see the situation outside the castle from the third floor.

During the renovation of the lord's manor, following the wishes of Earl Grayman, it was either done with great effort or not at all. In the originally empty backyard, near the northern wall of the castle, a new two-story building was constructed as his resting place, while the original castle's main building was entirely converted into a place for the lord to work and entertain guests.

Hansel glanced up, his gaze fixed on the window in the center of the third floor. It was noticeably larger than the windows on either side, and inside was Earl Grayman's office. This so-called office was originally the study within the castle, where Paul usually handled various tasks and occasionally summoned certain people for small meetings. The Earl did not like to run errands himself, not even to the conference room he set up on the second floor. Only when the number of participants was too great to fit in his office would the Earl force himself to the second-floor conference room through sheer willpower.

As Hansel pondered whether to head to the second or third floor, he ran into the Earl's secretary—Sir Bernard Wood Francis.

Bernard was the person Hansel knew best in Alden Town and even the Northwest Bay, as he had recommended him to Paul. Back then, Earl Grayman was eagerly searching for talent to perfect his administrative system; anyone who could read was considered a potential recruit. It was in this context that Hansel brought Bernard to his side.

Sir Francis, who came from the lower nobility of Crystal Glare and made a living by copying books in the capital, had a remarkable talent—photographic memory. Consequently, Paul arranged for him to work as his secretary. One of Sir Francis's key responsibilities was organizing Paul's schedule. Whenever the lord had a sudden thought, he would call out, "Bernard, help me remember, I want to do this and that on such and such a day," and Francis would dutifully note it down. As the scheduled time approached, the lord would always receive timely reminders.

Having both come from Crystal Glare and known each other since their studies, the relationship between Hansel and Bernard was quite close.

"Good day, Hansel."

"Good day, Bernard. Same place after work?"

"Of course."

The two exchanged smiles. Despite working in different locations, they maintained the habit of visiting a familiar tavern for a drink from time to time.

Hansel asked, "Who else is coming this time?"

Bernard replied, "Almost all the department heads will be there."

Hansel said, "So I should go to the second floor?"

Bernard answered, "Yes, you're the first to arrive; just wait there."

A sly smile appeared on Hansel's face. "What are we discussing today? Can you let me in on it?"

If the Earl were to bring up matters related to his work, he needed to prepare some thoughts in advance.

Bernard shook his head. "This meeting should be a spur-of-the-moment decision by Lord Grayman; I'm not sure either. But..."

"What is it?"

"Lord Grayman has been troubled by the sharp decline in fiscal revenue in recent days, so the discussion will likely revolve around that. Sigh, it's all because of that damned war at Horns Bay."

Currently, the Northwest Bay heavily relied on maritime trade. Once war broke out at Horns Bay, it felt as if the Northwest Bay had its throat squeezed. Maritime trade and the various industries dependent on it contributed significantly to the government's tax revenue, but due to the war, this revenue was rapidly shrinking.

"Oh!" Hansel pretended to be distressed. "Solving the fiscal problem is simply a matter of either increasing revenue or cutting expenses. I've long advised the Earl to build fewer schools, fix fewer roads or reservoirs, or get rid of those alchemical charlatans; wouldn't the money be saved?"

"Haha!" Bernard forced a smile. "What you suggested are precisely what Lord Grayman values."

Hansel said, "If the Earl doesn't want to cut expenses, he will have to brainstorm on increasing revenue."

He pondered for a moment and began to feel that this was quite likely.

Who knows which fat pig will be slaughtered?

(End of the Chapter)

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