A Father's Love Like a Mountain of Wealth

To take control of one's own destiny, one must constantly climb higher, become a person of power in the nation, and be an object of trust and obedience for the people.

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

But it was clear that for Carlo, with two older brothers, becoming the King of Italy was practically impossible.

However, this didn't mean there was no chance at all. According to historical trends, Spain was on the verge of a revolution, and the House of Savoy in Italy was about to gain the Spanish crown.

Although this crown would only sit on the head of the House of Savoy for three years, it was Carlo's closest opportunity to the crown.

If Carlo could just compete with his brother, Prince Amadeo, he would have a chance to obtain the Spanish crown and become the King of the Kingdom of Spain.

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

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

After all, frankly speaking, without startup capital, all plans were just empty talk.

As for property, Carlo's lands and castles were worth at least two to three million Lira (approximately 1 Pound Sterling to 25 Lira, about 7.33 grams of gold). In an era when this currency had not depreciated, they were quite valuable.

Unfortunately, most of these lands and castles were inalienable because they originated from the royal family.

The only property Carlo could truly control was the annual stipend he received as a member of the royal family, which amounted to about 260,000 Lira per year.

However, because Carlo was still underage, this sum had been kept by his father, Vittorio Emanuele II. It was estimated that nearly three million Lira had been saved.

Carlo's target was precisely this 2.6 million Lira annual stipend. If he could gain the right to freely manage his own assets, this sum would be enough for Carlo to accomplish many things.

The good news was that given his father Vittorio Emanuele II's concern for him, Carlo should easily obtain the right to manage 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 preventing Carlo from gaining the right to manage his own assets.

Although Carlo was not yet an adult, this was precisely an opportunity for Carlo to gain a relatively reliable subordinate from Vittorio Emanuele II.

After all, Carlo's assets ultimately belonged to him personally. Vittorio Emanuele II might be able to keep them for Carlo until he came of age, but he couldn't keep them for him his entire life.

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

In the courts of Europe, a royal steward was quite important. A steward was not only a nobleman's most capable and loyal assistant but also shared the fate of the entire noble family.

Moreover, in most cases, the position of steward often became a form of hereditary system. For example, Vittorio Emanuele II's steward, Bellis Bourne, his father was the steward of King Carlo Emanuele III of Sardinia, and his son was likely to become the steward of Crown Prince Umberto. The Italian royal family trusted him immensely, and this was the kind of subordinate truly worth trusting.

If Carlo had a sufficiently loyal and capable steward to help him manage his assets, Vittorio Emanuele II would surely feel at ease allowing Carlo to have the right to manage his own property.

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

A few days later, in the Office of the King of Italy, 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 manage your assets?"

It wasn't that Vittorio Emanuele II was reluctant to part with the more than two million Lira in assets. It was just that this was a vast sum, and Vittorio Emanuele II did not want to see his child corrupted by wealth.

"Investing in some businesses," Carlo replied truthfully, elaborating, "That way, when Brother Umberto and Brother Amadeo get married, I'll have money to give them gifts."

Hearing Carlo's answer, Vittorio Emanuele II affectionately patted Carlo's head, looking both amused and exasperated as he said, "Your money is already enough to buy them gifts, Carlo.

More than two million Lira could build a warship. You're not thinking of sending them a fleet, are you, child?"

Carlo shook his head, appearing quite serious. "That's not my money, Father. I want to give them gifts with money I've truly earned. That's what will make me happy."

"Alright, child, you've convinced me," Vittorio Emanuele II said with a smile and a nod, adding helplessly, "What reason do I have to refuse? This must be the best reason in the world."

"However, Carlo, I still need to remind you. Before you come of age, you will 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 at least need someone who can figure out what all these two million Lira in assets actually consist of, don't you?" Vittorio Emanuele II continued to remind him.

The value of the Italian Lira was not much different from the French Franc. Two million Francs in this era was certainly not a small sum.

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

This was why Vittorio Emanuele II mentioned that Carlo absolutely needed a sufficiently loyal and capable steward to help manage his assets, as the amount of money was simply too large.

Carlo was naturally delighted by this, as the Italian royal family had a relatively ample reserve of talent.

Although the Kingdom of Italy had only recently been established, its predecessor was the Kingdom of Sardinia. While the Kingdom of Sardinia had little presence in Europe, there were still many individuals loyal to the royal family and possessing a certain level of ability.

Seeing that Carlo did not object to him assigning a loyal subordinate to help manage his assets, Vittorio Emanuele II breathed a sigh of relief.

To show his paternal affection, Vittorio Emanuele II then added, "To show my support for you, Carlo, I'll round it up to a full three million Lira. You can come to me to collect it anytime."

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