Chapter 2: Wealth Like a Mountain of Fatherly Love

To hold one's destiny in one's own hands, one must constantly climb upward, become a person in power in the country, and become an object of trust and obedience for the people.

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

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

However, this did not mean there was no chance at all. Because according to the historical trend, 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 Carlo's closest opportunity to the crown.

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

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

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

After all, to put it bluntly, without start-up capital, every plan was just empty talk.

In terms of assets, the land and castles under Carlo's name were worth at least two to three million Lira (1 Pound Sterling was about 25 Lira, roughly 7.33 grams of gold), which was quite valuable in an era where currency had not yet depreciated.

But unfortunately, most of these lands and castles could not be sold, because these assets belonged to the royal family.

The only assets Carlo could truly control independently were the annual royal family annuity he received, averaging about 260,000 Lira per year.

However, because Carlo was not yet an adult, this money had been kept by his father, Victor Emmanuel II, and it was estimated that at least nearly three million Lira had been saved.

Carlo's goal was precisely this 2.6 million Lira annuity. If he could obtain the right to freely dispose of his assets, this capital would be enough for Carlo to accomplish many things.

The good news was that, judging by the degree of care Victor Emmanuel II had for him, it should be easy for Carlo to obtain the right to dispose of his assets.

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

Although Carlo was not yet an adult, this was precisely the opportunity for him to obtain a reliable subordinate from Victor Emmanuel II.

After all, Carlo's assets ultimately belonged to Carlo personally; Victor Emmanuel II might be able to keep them for Carlo until he reached adulthood, but he could not keep them for him forever.

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

In European courts, the royal steward was quite important. A steward was not only a noble's most capable and loyal assistant but also lived and died with the entire noble family.

Moreover, in most cases, the position of steward often became a kind of hereditary system. For example, Victor Emmanuel II's steward, Belis Burn, had a father who was the steward for King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia, and his son was very likely to become the steward for Crown Prince Umberto; the Italian royal family trusted him deeply, and this was the kind of subordinate truly worth trusting.

If there were a sufficiently loyal and capable steward to help Carlo manage his assets, he believed Victor Emmanuel II would feel 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, Victor Emmanuel II would select one from his trusted subordinates.

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

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

"To invest in some enterprises." Carlo answered in a matter-of-fact manner, explaining in detail: "That way, when Brother Umberto and Brother Amedeo get married, I will have the money to buy them gifts."

Hearing Carlo's answer, Victor Emmanuel II patted Carlo's head lovingly, looking both amused and exasperated as he said: "You already have enough money to buy them gifts, Carlo."

"Two million-plus Lira is enough to build a warship; you surely don't intend to buy 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 happy."

"Alright, child, you have convinced me." Victor Emmanuel II smiled and nodded, helplessly saying: "What other reason do I have to refuse? This should be the best reason in the world."

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

"Of course, how you spend it is up to you, but you must at least have someone who can figure out what these two million-plus Lira in assets actually are, right?" Victor Emmanuel II continued to remind him.

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

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

This was also the reason why Victor Emmanuel II mentioned that Carlo must have a sufficiently loyal and capable steward to help manage the assets, because this money was simply too much.

Carlo was naturally happy to do so, as the Italian royal family's talent pool was relatively abundant.

Although the Kingdom of Italy had not been established long, its predecessor was the Kingdom of Sardinia. Although the Kingdom of Sardinia had no presence in Europe, there were quite a few talents loyal to the royal family who possessed certain capabilities.

Seeing that Carlo did not reject his sending a loyal person to help him manage his assets, Victor Emmanuel II also breathed a sigh of relief.

To show his fatherly love, Victor Emmanuel 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, seeking recommendation votes, seeking collections, seeking follow-up reading, seeking investments!

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(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 3 =====