Safitiya caught the flicker of doubt in Lafeier’s eyes and explained.
“I’ve done bookkeeping for the guards before. Many of the guards in this prison can testify to that.”
Lafeier didn’t doubt her claim. There was clearly no need to lie about something like this.
What puzzled him was, just what was this half-demon’s background? Not only can she read, but she can also do accounting?
While it wasn’t an extremely difficult task, without specialized training, relying solely on self-study, there was still a certain threshold.
Preparing journal entries was simple, but preparing financial statements was not.
Lafeier couldn’t help but speculate that perhaps Safitiya was originally a maid trained by some great noble, and for some reason—like her broken horn—was sold into prison.
If that were the case, then Lafeier had stumbled upon a treasure.
This world did not have compulsory education; even the guards had limited literacy.
Hiring a specialized accountant was too expensive. If Safitiya truly had this ability, then there was no reason not to employ her.
Her Sin Level was a bit high, but what mattered most was later Loyalty.
As long as he kept her working by his side, any dirty tricks she might have would have no place to operate.
Moreover, he remembered that the first one to respond to Tina was this very girl.
Thinking this, Lafeier confirmed his next strategy.
Seeing the two fall silent, Safitiya bowed again, then straightened up with a serious expression.
“Currently, the prison is nearly 6 million Crowns in debt. If we use ordinary methods, we won’t be able to pay it off in this lifetime. In that case, we simply won’t pay it.”
Hearing this, Tina’s ears twitched. She was about to drive Safitiya away when Lafeier stopped her.
‘Utter nonsense. If Lafeier were a goody-two-shoes, he would have thought the same.’
‘Even if Safitiya hadn’t said she did bookkeeping, Lafeier would have chosen to ignore her outright.’
‘But…’
‘This is an accountant, after all. They know all about tax avoidance.’
‘Maybe she really does have some good ideas.’
“Miss Tina, don’t rush. Let’s hear what she has to say.”
Lafeier’s reaction surprised Safitiya a bit.
She had originally planned to do a 720° spiraling ascension on the spot to show off her skills, to attract the reader’s interest.
But without doing anything, Lafeier was willing to listen?
‘You humans are quite reasonable!’
“Ahem…” Safitiya cleared her throat.
“Of course, not literally not paying. Under current Imperial law, a private prison is essentially equivalent to a limited liability company. Therefore, the prison can apply for bankruptcy liquidation to the authorities. But if it were just to simply cancel the debt, I wouldn’t need to beat around the bush here.”
“Could it be…” Lafeier seemed thoughtful.
“Exactly. Shed the debt to protect the capital. Find a practicing lawyer or clergyman, sign a trust contract, backdate the signing date to before the debt date, and split the first batch of assets. Register multiple limited liability companies with cross-shareholding, transfer bad debts and liabilities to one of them, inject the assets not in the trust into layers at valuation for balancing, further dividing the assets.”
“Then spread the news outside, creating panic among small creditors. Secure the support of the scattered creditor group with the condition of repaying at least 40% of the debt. These scattered creditors will be just enough to cover half of the claims.”
“Afterward, apply for bankruptcy liquidation to the authorities. With the support of half the creditors, you will naturally be supported as the bankruptcy trustee. Using the trustee’s authority, drag the valuation of bankrupt assets to the minimum, secretly hold an auction, and use a shell company to purchase all bankrupt assets at the lowest price. In this way, you can cancel all debts using less than 40% of the assets.”
“Good idea. You have a deep understanding of Imperial law,” Lafeier remarked.
“You flatter me, Warden Lord,” Safitiya said with a pout, looking smug.
‘Come on, I, Safitiya, am erudite and knowledgeable. Do I only understand Imperial law?’
“But your method here is completely exploiting mechanism loopholes.”
‘Right, exploiting legal loopholes—Lafeier naturally wouldn’t say anything. But exploiting mechanism loopholes—that’s a prison sentence.’
Safitiya’s method had high feasibility.
But essentially, it was about exploiting information asymmetry and the current technological immaturity to deceive large creditors and exploit small creditors.
In this era, information dissemination relied heavily on paper media and word of mouth.
Relying on the Lancaster family’s prestige, her plan could be easily realized. But if someone with ulterior motives looked into it carefully, Lafeier would definitely end up in prison.
Moreover, Safitiya had overlooked a very important fact.
“You said the prison is nearly 6 million in debt, right? But it’s already over 6 million now.”
Lafeier’s words made Safitiya look skeptical.
“Over 6 million? Even if it were 10 million, I could operate it to show you. Mechanism loophole… a very fitting term. Yes, but so what? Risk and opportunity coexist. Moreover, as a member of the Lancaster family, your name itself provides you with a guarantee to bear risk. Does my Lord lack even this much courage?”
Safitiya completely disregarded Lafeier. In her view, the numerous hybrids had already united under Tina’s command. Lafeier? He was merely a defeated opponent of Lady Tina.
Just a mangy stray dog, a roadside cur.
As long as she could be valued by Lady Tina, a mere warden, even if from the Lancaster family, was nothing.
‘What, could you possibly be the eldest son of the Lancaster family? Hohoho~ I, Safitiya, with one plan will settle the prison, then become Lady Tina’s trusted aide, firmly seated in the second chair of the prison. Little Lafeier can only lick the top of my foot and beg Lady Safitiya for a little more favor~☆ Hohoho~’
“Safitiya,” Lafeier said, unable to hold back as he watched her increasingly exaggerated expression, “I’m saying this just to remind you that things are dynamic and changing.”
“Dynamic…” Safitiya was stunned, frowning slightly. “Th-this, of course I know!”
After saying that, as if she felt a bit embarrassed, she deliberately lowered her voice and said mockingly, “You’re not afraid to execute it, are you? Or have you already been won over by my foresight and wisdom?”
Hearing this, Lafeier scratched his fingers awkwardly.
‘Jeez, why is there still a Jiaxin in this other world!’
“Listen up, you idiot. This prison has already been acquired. The person who acquired it is none other than my father, Alexis Lancaster. He bought it along with the prison’s debt. The scattered creditors you mentioned no longer exist. Now, tell me, what method do you have to pull off these little tricks under the nose of the Imperial Finance Minister?”