Chapter 2: Fatherly Love as Vast as a Mountain of Wealth

If one wishes to hold their own destiny in their own hands, they must constantly climb upward, becoming a person in power within the country, someone the populace trusts and obeys.

And in a country like Italy, there is only one way to do that: become the King of Italy.

But clearly, for Carlo, who still had two older brothers above him, becoming the King of Italy was basically impossible.

However, this did not mean there was absolutely no chance. Because according to the trajectory of history, a revolution was about to break out in Spain, and the Italian House of Savoy was about to obtain the Spanish crown.

Although this crown only sat on the head of the House of Savoy for three years, it was the closest opportunity Carlo would ever have to a crown.

He only needed to outcompete his older brother, Prince Amedeo, and Carlo would have hope of obtaining the Spanish crown and becoming the King of the Kingdom of Spain.

But this was, after all, just a plan, and realizing it would be fraught with difficulties.

Regardless, in order to prepare for the plan in advance, it was necessary to reserve a certain amount of talent and wealth.

After all, to put it plainly, without starting capital, every plan is just empty talk.

If one speaks of assets, the land and castles under Carlo's name were worth at least two to three million Lira (1 Pound Sterling is about 25 Lira, roughly 7. 3 grams of gold), which was quite valuable in this era before currency devaluation.

But unfortunately, most of those lands and castles could not be sold, because these assets came from the royal family.

The only assets Carlo could truly control independently were the annual annuities he received as a member of the royal family, which averaged about 260, 00 Lira per year.

However, because Carlo was still a minor, this money had been kept by his father, Vittorio Emanuele II, and it was estimated that at least nearly three million Lira had been saved up.

Carlo's goal was precisely this 2. million Lira in annuities. If he could obtain the right to freely dispose of his own assets, this capital would be enough for Carlo to accomplish many things.

The good news was that, judging by the level of care Vittorio Emanuele II showed him, it should be easy for Carlo to obtain the right to dispose of his own assets.

After all, Carlo's mother, Archduchess Adelaide, had passed away more than ten years ago, and there were no longer any obstacles to Carlo obtaining the right to dispose of his own assets.

Although Carlo was still a minor, this also happened to allow Carlo to obtain a fairly reliable subordinate from Vittorio Emanuele II.

After all, Carlo's assets ultimately belonged to Carlo personally; Vittorio Emanuele II might be able to keep them for Carlo until he came of age, but he could not keep them for Carlo forever.

And now, if Carlo wanted to properly handle and manage his assets, he needed more capable assistants, such as a role like a court steward.

In European courts, a royal steward is quite important. A steward is not only a noble's most capable and loyal assistant, but also shares the fate of the entire noble family.

Moreover, in most cases, a position like a steward often becomes a kind of hereditary system. For example, Vittorio Emanuele II's steward, Belis Burn, had a father who was the steward for the King of Sardinia, Carlo Emanuele III, and his son was also very likely to become the steward for the Crown Prince Umberto; the Italian royal family trusted him deeply, and this was a truly trustworthy subordinate.

If there were a sufficiently loyal and capable steward to help Carlo manage his assets, he believed Vittorio Emanuele II would be at ease letting Carlo have the right to dispose of his own assets.

And where would this sufficiently loyal and capable steward come from? Naturally, from those Vittorio Emanuele II selected from among his trusted subordinates.

A few days later, in the Italian King's office, Vittorio Emanuele II looked at his son Carlo with surprise and asked curiously, "Little Carlo, may I know your purpose in exercising your right to dispose of your assets?"

It was not that Vittorio Emanuele II was reluctant to part with the two million-plus Lira in assets, but this was, after all, a massive fortune, and Vittorio Emanuele II did not want to see his child fall into depravity because of money.

"To invest in some enterprises." Carlo appeared to be telling the truth and answered in detail, "That way, when Umberto brother and Amedeo brother get married, I will have the money to buy them gifts."

Hearing Carlo's answer, Vittorio Emanuele II lovingly patted Carlo's head and said with a look of being unable to laugh or cry, "Your money is already enough to buy them gifts, Carlo.

Two million-plus Lira is enough to build a warship; you surely aren't thinking of gifting them a fleet, child."

Carlo shook his head, looking quite serious: "That is not my money, Father. I want to use money I truly earned to buy them gifts; only then can I feel happiness."

"Alright, child, you have convinced me." Vittorio Emanuele II smiled and nodded, saying helplessly, "What other reason could I have to refuse? This must be the best reason under heaven."

"However, Carlo, I must still remind you. Before you come of age, you need a capable and loyal steward to help you manage your assets.

Of course, how you spend it is ultimately up to you, but you must at least have someone on hand who can figure out what exactly this two million-plus Lira in assets consists of, right?" Vittorio Emanuele II continued to remind him.

The value of the Italian Lira and the French Franc did not differ much, and two million-plus Francs was definitely not a small number in this era.

Even converted into the most valuable precious metal currently, gold, it would be over 700 kilograms, nearly a ton in weight.

This was also the reason why Vittorio Emanuele II mentioned that Carlo must have a sufficiently loyal and capable steward to help manage the assets, because this sum of money was simply too large.

Carlo was naturally happy to have this, as the Italian royal family's talent reserve was relatively abundant.

Although the Kingdom of Italy had not been established for long, its predecessor was the Kingdom of Sardinia. Although the Kingdom of Sardinia had little presence in all of Europe, there were still quite a few talented people who were loyal to the royal family and possessed a certain level of ability.

Seeing that Carlo did not reject his sending a loyal hand to help him manage his assets, Vittorio Emanuele II also breathed a sigh of relief.

In order to show his fatherly love, Vittorio Emanuele II then added: "To show my support for you, Carlo, I will round it up for you—a full three million Lira. You can come to me to collect it at any time."

New book setting sail, requesting recommendation tickets, collections, follow-up reads, and investments!



(End of chapter)