Chapter 1937: Chapter 1937

"No, I'm not going to present an example of financial crime. Even if I were to describe one now, many would still not understand it clearly, and it might even allow clever people with ulterior motives to devise other, more subtle and dangerous methods of crime."

He replied in a loud voice, a response that won the crowd's approval, as it implied that Jenkins considered everyone present to be intelligent.

"Do you all recall the public lecture I gave last year on the 'Fabry Fraud'?"

He asked again. The "Fabry Fraud," which he had scripted, directed, acted in, and ultimately exposed himself, could be considered the single riskiest thing Jenkins had done since arriving in this world.

A murmur immediately rose from the audience as everyone nodded in assent. Few could forget the incident. The speech from that day had since been transcribed, and after a certain number of gold pounds were paid to Jenkins, the transcript had become a public publication. It was said that its print run had already surpassed that of the "Stranger's Story Collection" and "A Tale of Ice and Snow."

Of course, if the public ever learned that Jenkins himself was Miss Fabry, the print run of that lecture would likely soar even higher.

"The Fabry Fraud, while still somewhat simple compared to the financial games of manipulating numbers, shares an almost identical essence with a certain type of scam in the financial industry. I must say, that Miss Fabry was truly a genius."

Hathaway, sitting with Briny and a downcast Jessica, suppressed a smile. Thinking back on it now, the fact that Jenkins was Miss Fabry still astonished her. Once she knew that Jenkins was the leader of the Believers of Lies, the true identity of Miss Fabry naturally became clear.

To this day, Hathaway still found it hard to believe that the figure who, in her mind, could represent "the most intelligent woman of this era" was, in fact, the seemingly simple, honest, cat-loving young man she knew so well. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel~fire~net

Although Miss Fabry was an out-and-out villain, the scam had unexpectedly caused little harm to the public, and its brilliant execution had left people in awe. As a result, the persona of Miss Fabry had become a symbol of female intelligence. If civilization managed to continue, she might one day become synonymous with women's rights, a historical marker symbolizing an era of female awakening.

"I'm actually marrying Miss Fabry."

Hathaway said to herself, the smile finally breaking through her composure.

"Please, do not underestimate a scam . From the continent's west coast to its east, from Nolan's Westminster River to the Faris Leaning Tower in Eldron, the City of a Thousand Trees, from the manors of those of you present to the tents of primitive tribes in the southern forests—only these most universal deceptions can truly represent the simple, fundamental truth of a financial scam.

We must look through the surface to see the essence, and before we dissect that essence, understanding what has already happened—not what I might hypothesize—is the most important and useful step. Therefore, although today's lecture still revolves around financial reform, the main topic I will discuss is another scam, one that has already happened and is taking place right here among us."

In the center of the front row, Queen Isabella's expression remained unchanged. Salsi II stroked his chin with a smile. The young Alecio watched Jenkins with a bewildered expression; he did not really understand much, but he felt that Jenkins's speech was indeed impressive.

This time, no one interrupted to ask what Jenkins was going to talk about. He pulled the tulip from the breast pocket of his coat and held it high for all to see:

"Investing in tulips. How many of you in this room have earned gold pounds from it? Oh, congratulations. The swindlers have succeeded. Today's theme is the tulip."

The words hit the lecture hall like a cannonball, and a clamor of discussion erupted almost instantly. People maintained their decorum, speaking in low voices with those beside them, but the collective sound revealed the turmoil his topic had caused.

The high price of tulips had long been noticed by the observant, and while not everyone with enough capital to invest heavily was in the hall, many who had come to listen were indeed involved in the tulip business.

Jenkins placed the flower on the table. Chocolate was not particularly friendly to its "new neighbor." With its belly flat against the table, it crept forward and sniffed at the vase. After a few twitches of its whiskers, the cat pushed the flower with its little paw but was immediately swatted by Jenkins. At that, it lost all interest and returned to its original spot.

"I imagine many of you have noticed that, starting about a month ago, the price of tulips in this city began to rise significantly. If you compare it to prices from previous years, you'll understand just how absurd this increase has been."

He waved a hand toward the audience. Servants immediately brought forward a massive, pre-drawn canvas, climbed ladders, and affixed it to the top-left corner of the blackboard.

It was a line graph drawn by Jenkins, showing the trend of average summer tulip prices over the past several years, as well as the price trend from last summer to this one.

He had not only completed the chart but had also filled the blank space on the side with data sources and simple statistics like arithmetic means and variance. This was the benefit of preparation; even though Jenkins had not studied economics in his past life, organizing and analyzing data in charts was something he was very familiar with.

He picked up the retractable pointer from the table, nudging away Chocolate, who had for some reason decided to press down on it with a tiny paw. With a flick of his wrist, he extended the pointer and, moving to the foot of the blackboard, gestured toward the data above.

Those seated in the rear of the tiered lecture hall had already stood up and raised their opera glasses. These were not military-issue binoculars but exquisite instruments with brass-colored metal rods connecting the twin lenses, more like delicate works of art. Such accessories were common in theaters and at the racetrack but were rarely seen among the audience of a lecture.

"This data clearly proves that this year's tulip price trend is different from any in the past decade. Whether you look at the daily statistics at the top or the monthly bar graph, the conclusion is perfectly clear."

He explained in great detail, then affirmed the reliability of his data sources. Finally, he gestured to a portly merchant standing nervously in the audience. The merchant nodded quickly, wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief, and walked to the stage, clutching his hat in both hands.

"This is the owner of the Peter Pan Flower Shop, located two streets from City Hall. He will share his experience with the changes in tulip prices this year. I believe this will help you understand this strange price curve."

The flower shop owner had been found with the help of the Church of All Things and Nature, and the content of his speech had been reviewed by Jenkins. The scam was his to execute, and its exposure was his to control.

Unlike the last time, when he had hastily decided to reveal the truth of the scam for the sake of Mr. Barnard's family, this time he was thoroughly prepared. Even if someone in the audience was foolish enough to try and refute him, he could handle it with ease. After all, he had left his mark on every single corner of this affair; it was impossible for him to make a mistake.

As the nervous shopkeeper recounted the changes in the wholesale and retail prices of tulips at his shop over the past two months, a faint rumbling sound seemed to carry from the distance.

At first, it sounded like thunder, a sign of impending rain. But upon closer listening, it seemed to be a series of explosions. They were very far from City Hall; wherever the explosions were happening, it was definitely not in Nolan's central district.

Jenkins thought of the news the Church had relayed before the lecture began, about mechanized corpses appearing in the city.

"Haven't they dealt with it yet?"

He felt a flicker of concern, but the mechanized body curse was not a major problem, nor was it something only he could solve. For now, the matter at City Hall was paramount. The throne was connected to the Savior's Emblem, and the tulip affair to his godhood. Neither could be delayed.

Once the shopkeeper's three-minute explanation concluded, most of the audience understood what Jenkins was trying to convey. He then invited Fini's friends to the stage to describe what they had seen selling flowers on the streets.

Their accounts differed from the shopkeeper's. While he had focused on price changes, they spoke of the public's obsession with tulips and the various incidents it had caused.

The flower girls were active on the streets, and people often overlooked the small girls when they were not looking to buy flowers. As a result, they occasionally overheard things they were not meant to hear.

Using what they had heard as a foundation—accounting for about ten percent of their stories—Jenkins added the other ninety percent himself, weaving tales of people "borrowing money to buy tulips, then using the profits as collateral to borrow more money to buy even more tulips" or "a fishmonger spending his family's savings of thirty years to buy a single, rare-colored tulip bulb." Together, these stories painted a terrifying picture of a "Tulip Mania."

"Tulip Mania" was a term Jenkins had coined. He wrote it in chalk on the blackboard next to the word "Finance." Many in the audience realized that this phenomenon was not normal. While the concept of finance might be new, price gouging was something that happened in every era and was not difficult to understand.

"No, this is not simple price gouging."

Jenkins shook his head as if he had guessed their thoughts, then turned to the Duke of Rochester, who was seated behind Queen Isabella.

"Duke, what is the most severe consequence of price gouging?"

"The citizens would be unable to buy necessities at a fair price and would have to pay exorbitant amounts, which would cut into their other living expenses and cause a decline in their family's standard of living. If prices remained high, it could potentially lead to civil unrest."

The duke, though young, still possessed this basic knowledge.

"Exactly. So this isn't price gouging. If tulip prices are too high, you simply don't buy them. Tulips are not a necessity."

He looked out at the people below:

"The consequences of this Tulip Mania, however, could directly destroy all the wealth Nolan has accumulated since the dawn of the Steam Age."