The Genius and Calamity of the Villainous Noble: A Brilliant Prodigy Unaware of Their Reincarnation as the Game's Antagonist Defies the Scenario and Dominates with Talent and Hard Work - Chapter 1.7

What is the most profitable business in this world?

There are many possibilities, but one that undoubtedly stands out is moneylending.

History from my previous life on Earth provides plenty of evidence—Jewish moneylenders wielded immense influence, and the Rothschild family grew powerful enough to lend money to entire nations.

I decided to make The Keepers of Gold handle the moneylending operations.

When it comes to controlling, manipulating, and gathering information, no one surpasses the Reinhardt ducal family. With trading companies in every conceivable industry, they dominate the flow of information.

With the full might of the Reinhardt family’s network and resources backing me, there was no way my venture into moneylending would fail.

In just one year.

That’s all the time it took for me to seize control of the world’s financial systems, establish banks across the globe, and place the majority of the world’s capital under my management.

Honestly, it was almost too easy.

This world had no equivalent to the Jewish financiers of Earth, no one monopolizing financial knowledge, and no organized infrastructure for large-scale lending. The people engaged in lending here were amateurs operating on a small scale with minimal expertise.

Even I hadn’t expected things to go this well.

“Mmm! This is so delicious!”

“I’m glad you think so. I made it myself, after all. Seeing you enjoy it makes it worth the effort.”

Having accomplished nearly all the tasks my father set for me, I was now living a relaxed, carefree life.

My fiancée, Marina, was by my side, and we were enjoying a pleasant tea party together.

“What? You made this, Ark-sama?! That’s incredible—it’s on par with a professional chef!”

“Well, of course. I am a genius, after all.”

“…There’s no one in this world who would doubt that you’re a genius.”

“Fufu.”

I puffed out my chest with pride at Marina’s compliments.

“Still, it feels like something out of a fairy tale. The world has changed so much in just one year. Gold coins, which used to feel so heavy, have now been replaced by a single sheet of paper.”

Marina waved a banknote issued by one of the banks I’d established.

“…Are you sure this system is stable? Won’t it collapse someday? What if there’s no longer enough gold to back the paper bills, or if the collected gold gets used up for other purposes?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m the one minting the gold coins now. Worst-case scenario, I’ll just lower the gold content in the coins.”

“Wait… Did you just say something alarming?”

“Yep, I did. But don’t worry—I’m managing everything.”

That’s right.

The one managing the banks is me—a member of the Reinhardt ducal family.

In this era, where nobles hold absolute power, even if something catastrophic were to happen, I could brute-force my way through it with authority.

That’s why I went all out and established banks on such an absurdly large scale.