A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 233 A Huge Uproar

It wasn't just the clubs that reacted strongly, but also the general public.

"By the God of Order, how much does the King and the other gentlemen spend in a year?" Whether in teahouses or taverns, on the streets or in workshops, people are discussing the "Report."

Consequently, there was an increase in people pondering the text and speculating on rumors about the royal family.

"Let me tell you, one day I saw several boatloads of large white geese being brought into the palace."

"For eating?"

"Heh heh, guess!"

Some of them couldn't even read all the words on the cover, and the news was mainly passed down by word of mouth, which inevitably became distorted as public opinion fermented. The poor simply couldn't imagine how the palace could spend astronomical sums of money; they could only guess that His Majesty ate white bread every day, sprinkled it with gold leaf, and slept with hundreds of women.

As a result, more people began scavenging for gold in the palace sewers.

"How could I, as king, possibly spend so much money?" Two men, carrying cheap liquor, chatted as they walked home after work, when they heard someone shout from a nearby building, "Someone's trying to kill themselves again!"

After the passersby left, body collectors entered and exited the building, lifted the stretcher covered with burlap, threw the "goods" onto a carriage, and drove away.

The mining company has closed down. All the high-priced flat glass windows imported from the southern tip of the mainland have been smashed to pieces by angry investors who threw stones at them. Large areas of red paint have been splashed on the exterior walls, and the word "liar" has been written in big letters!

The broken windows made it easy for people to come and go, and valuable tables, chairs, lamps, and other valuables were all taken away, but these were insignificant compared to the money the company took from the public in the stock market.

The neighboring securities building was not spared either; bankrupt people wandered around every day with red eyes, and the patrols and expulsions by the security team could not stop the angry people from demanding answers.

"Ups and downs are normal market phenomena. Don't lose your mind just because you're losing money, citizens, subjects of the kingdom!" The spokesperson was a newly promoted nobleman in robes. Seeing so many people storming the stock exchange building, he felt it was time to be loyal to His Majesty the King. He came out of his office to try to "educate" everyone.

"Get out of here! You're all in cahoots to cheat people!" A stone struck the person in charge squarely on the forehead, and blood gushed out.

Soon, a second and a third stone flew in; it turned out that loyalty alone could not withstand the anger of the people. "Security team! Sheriff, what are you doing!" The person in charge, who was running away with his head in his hands, could only slip through the door.

The security guards could only stop people from approaching, while explaining to the person in charge, "Sir, I've also lost a lot of money in this damn place. I don't have money for breakfast, so of course I don't have the strength to stop people's anger."

Recently, many people have truly lost everything due to the bankruptcy of mining companies! As a chain reaction, public bonds and annuities have also collapsed.

After the meeting of dignitaries concluded, nominally, government bonds and mining company stock dividends would be devalued by one-third through the new currency. However, considering the already depressed value of the old currency, ordinary people's wealth evaporated by more than two-thirds. Furthermore, government bonds and stocks themselves became worthless in the blink of an eye because no one was willing to buy them anymore. Those ownership certificates bought with real money became worthless in the blink of an eye.

Former middle-class individuals are unable to adapt to life after unemployment and a significant reduction in assets, and some may choose to end their lives with dignity.

Others, burdened by debt, could only resort to dramatic displays to demonstrate to their creditors their inability to repay. Unfortunately, while newspapers initially reported on those who jumped, the sheer number of suicides eventually reduced to small sections, providing only a rough estimate of bankruptcies and suicides.

The most tragic are probably the elderly. Some had worked as servants to their employers their entire lives, saving up some money to buy government bonds and other financial products, hoping for a pension that would provide them with a stable and comfortable old age. Now, all their beautiful expectations have vanished, and the managers and agents who sold them those financial products are nowhere to be found.

Some resilient elderly people went back to work to earn their own food, living one day at a time; while many others who had lost their ability to work bid farewell in secret, leaving this world filled with only pain and despair.

In this contrast, while the citizens suffered losses to varying degrees, the extravagant spending of the royal palace was exposed, making their anger understandable.

The report angered not only the public, but also His Majesty the King himself.

Inside the palace, Charles XVI was angrily writing a secret letter, muttering to himself, "Necker! Necker, I was truly blind to have placed such high hopes in you, only to have you toyed with me and my people."

The secret message was simple: send the former minister who had unauthorizedly disclosed and published the kingdom's financial situation to Basti prison—a tall and sturdy fortress right next to Valuwana, coldly watching over the city, and the common home of special prisoners such as ministers secretly arrested by the chief guard on the king's orders and opponents of the royal palace.

Duplesci watched silently as His Majesty wrote. The king he served was always like this. Just the day before yesterday, he had parted amicably with the finance minister, letting him go and giving the cunning Necker the opportunity to publish this pamphlet. Today, however, he had finally decided to put him under control.

It will probably be too late for regrets. By then, they will likely be on their way to the Empire or Istani, or seeking refuge with others.

But as always, the red-robed prime minister did not try to dissuade the angry king; he simply waited for His Majesty to finish his draft before speaking about the more important matter at hand:

"Your Majesty, I feel it is inappropriate to let Duke Merovinga take charge of the establishment of the currency bureau. You should appoint a new finance minister as soon as possible to intervene and prevent the public treasury from being manipulated by him and his cronies."

Charles XVI's anger clouded his judgment: "Hmph! Treasurer, I've had enough of cunning bankers! Of course, you're right, Lord Deplecy. Merovic is an ambitious man; we can't let him get away with this. Let me think about it... Fine, Lord Deplecy will make the recommendation."

He rang the chief guard with a small bell and handed him the secret letter.

The head guard casually inquired, "Your Majesty, there are quite a few idle men and shabby men loitering around the palace."

"What are they going to do?" This successfully alerted the king.

"According to my investigation, they are trying to collect valuable items that have been leaked from the royal palace."

"What kind of stuff could be in the sewers? Just seal off the surrounding entrances. Don't report this little thing."

"Yes, as you wish!" The chief guard left with the secret document.

Because the chief of guard had been too close to Necker, he had now been neglected by Charles XVI, and Duplessie was finally being relied upon by His Majesty like never before, but he only felt deeply tired.

Only those at the top knew that the entire scam and financial scheme was orchestrated by Necker, but the public regarded the former minister who dared to reveal the truth as a brave man.

In his book, he defended himself and promoted the theory of public opinion monitoring the royal family and the operation of the entire kingdom, winning the favor of many citizens. In addition, the newspapers dug into the glorious deeds of the person involved, who rose from a commoner, was determined to change the status quo of the kingdom, and was forced to resign by the nobles. Necker actually became a grassroots hero in the hearts of many people.

The mining company's predicament was blamed on the missing Varang, with everyone accusing this well-bred young man of being a fraud, while also implying the king's role in the scheme and how much he benefited from it.

"They even treat me like a hero," Necker, sporting a fake mustache, chuckled as he overheard the conversation in the teahouse. This, of course, proved the effectiveness of his defense in the pamphlet.

(End of this chapter)