Chapter 12: Betting Strategy and Financial Realities

Before the Queen's Golden Jubilee, Arthur received an audience with Her Majesty at Buckingham Palace. While it wasn't his first time within the palace walls—his predecessor's memories included a few royal celebrations there with his father—a personal audience with the Queen was indeed unprecedented. To be precise, had the Duke of Devonshire Family not been left with Arthur as its sole heir, it would have been highly improbable for him to be granted such an audience before formally inheriting the ducal title.

Though he had anticipated it, the reality of the meeting still filled Arthur with a sense of poignant emotion. The Queen's audience was brief, a mere appearance and a few words of conversation. She expressed regret for the recent misfortunes suffered by the Duke of Devonshire's Family, stating her original intention to personally attend the funeral but being genuinely preoccupied. Consequently, she had sent His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in her stead. In Arthur's assessment, a contributing factor was likely the ongoing Queen's Golden Jubilee, marking 50 years of her reign. Neither she nor her retinue would have supported her attending such a funeral, especially given her age of 76, despite her apparent robust health.

The Queen specifically mentioned the venerable old lady of the Duke of Devonshire Family: "I heard of her name when I was young, and later had conversations with her at several gatherings. So many years have passed, and now hearing the news of an old friend's passing truly saddens me." Furthermore, Her Majesty promised to personally bestow the ducal honor upon Arthur at his investiture ceremony.

Beyond these courtesies, nothing more was offered. The unspoken meaning was clear: the Royal Family was aware of the Duke of Devonshire's Family's current predicament. If Arthur could navigate this crisis, the family's rightful position would be maintained. However, if he failed, their assistance would likely be limited. Arthur harbored no illusions about this. It was evident that ever since World War II, successive British Governments had consistently sought to restrict the aristocracy, a weakening that, even in the new century, had begun to extend to the Royal Family itself. Under such circumstances, maintaining harmonious relations with the Government precluded the Royal Family from overtly supporting the nobility. Moreover, World War I and World War II had witnessed countless British aristocratic families fall into historical oblivion; the Royal Family had shown no inclination to intervene then, and would likely not start now. If they were to aid one aristocratic family, they would set a precedent, opening the floodgates for countless others—marquesses, earls, viscounts, and so on—seeking assistance. Their days would never be peaceful again. Thus, while expressing regret for the Duke of Devonshire Family's plight, the Royal Family maintained an observer's stance.

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This audience with the Queen was merely a preliminary step before the official commencement of tomorrow's Queen's Golden Jubilee. In addition to Arthur representing the Duke of Devonshire Family, numerous other nobles and prominent political figures also received audiences with Her Majesty.

Arthur had long since embraced the adage, "It is better to rely on oneself than on others." Upon returning to his apartment, he immediately delved into studying the upcoming betting opportunities. He had placed no wagers on today's matches. The FIFA World Cup would span a month, and betting on every match would be too conspicuous and high-profile. Furthermore, he didn't recall the results of all the matches, only about one-fifth of them remained vividly in his memory.

However, he did retain clear impressions of tomorrow's matches, which notably included Argentina and England. The 2002 FIFA World Cup was one of the very few instances where Argentina failed to advance from the group stage. Group F—comprising Nigeria, England, Sweden, and Argentina —was truly a "group of death." Ultimately, Argentina finished with one win, one draw, and one loss, accumulating four points, and was jointly eliminated by England and Sweden, who each had one win and two draws. For tomorrow's matches, Argentina was set to defeat Nigeria, and England would draw with Sweden. Both of these matches, particularly the latter, presented excellent betting opportunities.

Despite their somewhat unpleasant previous meeting, Yulia, the family trust fund manager, visited Arthur again after his audience with the Queen. After hearing his account of the day's events and probing for details, Yulia sighed. "Even if they could just put in a word with those banks, it would be good. But that's how it is now; everyone always expects perfection from the nobility, so the Royal Family is very cautious in this regard."

"What is the attitude of those banks now?" Arthur inquired.

Yulia shrugged. "Fortunately, we still have time. The earliest maturing loan is only two months away, but within this year, a total of over £15 million in loans will mature. If we cannot properly resolve the loss issue beforehand—or at least give them some confidence—even extending the loans might not be so easy."

"How much capital do we need to resolve in two months?"

"In two months, Barclays Bank's £2 million loan will mature. This money was collateralized by some of our assets in London at the time. So we either abandon these assets, or we have to find a way to raise funds, perhaps by selling other assets. But at this time, many properties are not selling for a good price, and London real estate has even fallen quite a bit in the past six months."

The ripple effect of the large-scale internet bubble crisis, which erupted last year, has impacted the global economy significantly. America's stock market was severely affected, with the NASDAQ index plummeting by nearly 80% from its peak and remaining in a continuous slump. As the most vital component of world finance, America's crisis had spread globally, initiating an economic downturn across Europe.

"Of course, Your Lordship," Yulia added as she prepared to leave, "for you right now, the primary task is to find a way to pay the inheritance tax and complete the inheritance procedures for the family title and assets. Also, London will be very lively during this recent period, but you still need to be extremely careful, especially at night. Do not appear in nightclubs or any wild parties again...Once those gossip tabloids get hold of it and report it, the negative impact could be very significant..."

Arthur reflected with a bittersweet irony: it was precisely because of the substantial losses in the family trust fund that the inheritance tax he needed to pay to inherit these assets had been greatly reduced. Due to the tax-exempt nature of the trust fund, after calculation, the inheritance tax he now faced was less than £2 million. It was a stark contrast to his grandfather, who, over half a century ago, had faced an inheritance tax as high as £7 million. This stark difference underscored the significant decline of the Duke of Devonshire's Family in the present day.