Gospel of Blood

"What? No money?"

Charlotte's tone slightly rose, her expression somewhat incredulous.

She really couldn't understand it. The wealthy Castell family could actually have a day when they had no money!

"Yes, Countess... um, that person seems to have spent all the money in the accounts. I specifically checked after your orders, and now there's only a little over 5000 gold Tana left in the family accounts..."

Casimodo scratched his head, looking troubled.

Charlotte: ...

"5000 gold Tana..."

She couldn't help it, she even smirked slightly.

No wonder... Because this amount of money was not insignificant, even for ordinary people or even for extraordinary individuals who had not reached a high level, this was already a huge sum.

After traversing so many days, Charlotte wasn't exactly a novice anymore, even during the days she spent in the hospital, she feverishly self-studied the common knowledge of this world.

Let's talk about it, in the Myria world, regardless of any race or country, the currency used was the "Tana," issued jointly by the Holy Court leading several other divine churches.

Tana was a circular metal currency, divided into gold, silver, and copper, with a very simple and crude official exchange ratio of 1:100:1000.

Of course, this setting was quite ridiculous, absolutely something the responsible issuing priests came up with on a whim, completely out of touch with reality.

In fact, depending on the quality of the minting, the economic situation of the local area, and differences in gold and silver ore reserves, the real exchange rates of various countries and regions were different, and they were always changing, mostly higher than the official ratio.

Take the Borde Duchy for example, the current real exchange rate of Tana on the market was 1:117:1316, slightly lower on the black market, but still considerably higher than the official rate.

As for the income of ordinary people...

Charlotte had once chatted with citizens who came to worship at the church. The other party was shocked and told her that in Borde City, a skilled craftsman's monthly salary was probably around 2-3 gold Tana. 5000 gold Tana... The other party wouldn't earn that much even if they didn't eat or drink for three lifetimes!

That was for skilled craftsmen in the western city area. The income of commoners in the outer city area would likely be even less!

The income of extraordinary individuals would certainly be a bit higher; the monthly allowance for apprentice priests in the church hospitals was generally around 15 gold Tana. But even so, it was outrageous! 5000 gold Tana would be enough for an apprentice priest to live without eating or drinking for over twenty years!

Ridiculous... And he still called it being broke? She didn't plan to hire one or two hundred servants like she used to, she just wanted enough to maintain the normal operation of the estate!

Not to mention, a considerable sum of money would be sent to the estate at the end of each month.

Although Charlotte didn't know exactly how much money was sent to the estate each month, in her memory, there was always a large group of armored knights escorting the money carts when this happened!

In other words, we just needed to hold out until the end of the month.

5000 gold Tana... Could it not even last half a month? How was that possible?

Charlotte was about to complain, but when she saw the lunch on the table that she hadn't finished, she suddenly had a thought and asked.

"How much is this steak?"

"This is an imported steak from the Northern Duchy, a royal exclusive, probably around 30 gold Tana."

Charlotte: ...

"And this pan-fried goose liver?"

"It's an imported Highland Hill Wild Goose liver from the Fallen Star Kingdom, marinated with secret sauce, this small piece... at most 50 gold Tana."

At most...

Charlotte felt her eye twitching.

"And the Truffle Cheese and Creamy Mushroom Soup?"

"It's the same as the one supplied to the Crescent Royal Family by the Honey Factory, limited production, transported directly by mages after preparation, it costs 25 gold Tana, the vegetable salad is cheaper, only 5 gold Tana."

Charlotte: ...

Damn cheap! This plate of sparse leaves costs as much as two months' income for a skilled craftsman?! Was she eating gold?! No, even gold wasn't this expensive!

She finally understood why the money wasn't enough... Was she really spending over 100 gold Tana on one lunch?! Equivalent to a regular artisan's income for ten years?! And this was considered a "simple lunch" as Casimodo said?

"Has the estate... always been like this?"

Charlotte took a deep breath and asked.

Casimodo scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"No, it wasn't like this before, the quality used to be better, but now, we're tight on finances, so we can only be a bit more frugal."

Charlotte: ...

Damn frugal!

"What's wrong, my lady, are the dishes not to your liking?"

Casimodo asked cautiously.

"No, they're fine; I just feel... my stomach is quite valuable."

Charlotte sighed.

Casimodo tilted his head, seeming not to understand.

"How much do you spend on your meals each day?"

Charlotte suddenly asked.

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"Me?"

Casimodo blinked slightly.

"Yes."

Charlotte nodded.

The old servant thought for a moment and said.

"Reporting to my lady, our family has always been very generous to the servants; when we're at the inn, we have about 10 silver Tana per day for meals, and when we're at the estate, it's a bit higher, about 30 silver Tana."

Charlotte: ...

So the daily meal allowance wasn't even enough for a single leaf of vegetables on the table!

"What did you have for lunch?"

Charlotte asked again.

"Um... I haven't had anything today. Yesterday... I had a grilled pancake, a ham sandwich, half a roast chicken, and a large cup of wine."

Casimodo answered honestly.

Isn't that quite sumptuous?! And... it's only 10 silver Tana!

Damn financial crisis! It's obviously just the estate being too extravagant!

The price of a dessert after a meal was equivalent to a monthly allowance for a church priest... The life of nobles was truly extravagant!

"From now on, reduce the cost of my meals to about the same as yours, I don't eat much anyway."

Charlotte thought for a moment and said.

"This... isn't appropriate, my lady. You're the master, we're the servants... and this is also beneath the dignity of nobility..."

Casimodo hesitated.

"Being dignified when you're rich is dignified. Being dignified when you're broke is just being a poser and asking for trouble."

Charlotte shook her head.

She picked up a crystal goblet and took a sip of milk, continuing.

"Now that I am the head of the Castell family, everything goes as I say. Since there isn't much in the family coffers, we need to be frugal and save some money, and the extra money can be used to hire more servants."

Casimodo hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Yes, my lady. It's just that..."

"Just what?"

"Just that... I'm afraid no one would be willing to come to our estate."

Casimodo smiled wryly.

Charlotte was taken aback for a moment, then instantly understood. The Castell estate had seen deaths, and not just ordinary deaths, but a notorious case involving bloody ritual, with the previous head of the family likely being involved with a blood demon cult.

In a place involving blood sacrifices to evil gods, any normal person would probably not dare to come. After all, nothing was more important than one's life.

With the recent activities of the blood demon cult, no one dared to guarantee that the Castell family wouldn't have another incident...

"Give it a try; increase the commission a bit, there will always be brave ones. Um... or, we can also call back some servants from the family's shops in the city."

Charlotte thought for a moment and said.

Casimodo was even more hesitant.

"About that... actually... I wanted to report to you..."

"Hmm?"

"Most of the clerks of our shops... have left..."

Charlotte: ...

"Huh? What's going on?"

"It's just rumors... in the days after the incident, rumors were spreading underneath, saying that the blood demon cult was eyeing the Castell family, and if they didn't leave soon, they'd end up being sacrificed sooner or later, or turned into undead. As a result... most of them left in a few days..."

Charlotte: ...

"Sigh, forget it, let's try our best."

She rubbed her temples and sighed.

After receiving the orders, Casimodo prepared to clear the table and leave.

"Hold on, let me finish eating first before you clean up."

Looking at the remaining lunch, Charlotte hesitated for a moment and said.

Although she was already full, she couldn't bear to waste this meal when she thought about its cost.

This was all money! A meal like this could cover her food expenses at the church hospital for several months!

Forcing herself to finish the last piece of steak, Charlotte finished lunch, and Casimodo cleaned up and left.

When the old servant left the estate, only Charlotte was left. Casimodo wouldn't be back for a while, so Charlotte glanced at the time and decided to try out the Blood Summoning that had already been fully charged.