Merlin took the envelope handed to him by Fate and looked at the Leo family crest on it.

The Leo family's emblem is a dark blue shield with a golden lion painted in the center, holding a silver sword in its front paws, symbolizing courage and justice. On the left side of the shield are three silver wavy lines, representing the family’s deep connection with the ocean; on the right side are three golden lilies, symbolizing purity and nobility.

Merlin looked at the envelope in his hand and slowly opened it, while Louis Fate beside him was still chattering.

"Damn it, the messenger owl is still in my room, and he's almost eaten all my blueberries. Merlin, I don't want you to compensate me, but you can lend it to me to take a look at your alchemy homework. You should have finished it, right?"

"It doesn't matter if you haven't finished writing. We can write together. Of course, you are responsible for writing and I will be responsible for copying!"

"I have been too busy these past few days, and have been meditating on how to break through to the level of a junior magician and get rid of my identity as an apprentice magician. Don't worry, I definitely haven't been to the tavern to hang out with those dwarves these past few days!"

In this world, magicians have a strict hierarchy system, and a magician's level is assessed based on the amount of magic stored in his body and the spells he has learned.

From low to high they are:

Magic Apprentice [A novice who has just started to learn magic, usually learning basic magic knowledge and skills under the guidance of a mentor]

Apprentice Magician [a magician who has mastered some basic magic but still needs further study and practice]

Primary Magician [A magician who can perform some simple magic independently, but still has a lot to learn]

Intermediate Magician [has achieved a certain level of accomplishment in the field of magic, can cast magic of medium difficulty, and has a deep understanding of magic theory]

Senior Magician [has achieved great success in the field of magic, is able to cast complex and advanced magic, and has reached a high level of understanding and application of magic]

Master [reached the top level in the field of magic, not only can cast extremely powerful magic, but also can create new magic theories and skills]

Archmage [a legendary figure in the field of magic, possessing almost omnipotent magical powers, usually the leader of a magic school or organization]

Legendary magicians [who have left a strong mark in the history of magic, and their magical achievements and stories have been passed down by later generations]

Demigods [mages who exist in legends and myths, whose magical powers are considered supernatural and almost impossible to explain with common sense]

The God of Law [the one who has obtained the true name of the world's godhood, the existence that created the world and the rules of magic, their power is beyond people's imagination]

Merlin looked at the letter in his hand. His pupils dilated, his facial muscles became stiff, the corners of his mouth opened unconsciously, and his breathing became rapid, as if he was about to have a convulsion.

Louis Fate was shocked to see his good brother like this, and asked quickly, "Brother, what's wrong with you? You just want to copy the homework, right? Or do you know about my hanging out with those dwarves?"

Merlin took several steps back and slowly fell into a chair. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he covered his forehead and said, "Not really?"

The envelope in his hand slipped, and when Fate saw his expression, he knew that something must have happened to the Leo family, so he picked up the letter on the ground and started reading it. With his relationship with Merlin, it was nothing for him to read the letter from home. He didn't know until he read it, and he was shocked when he saw it.

The Leo family is actually gone!

Of course, it was not because he offended the Emperor of Dawn and was stripped of his title and became a commoner, nor was it because he was destroyed by some hostile family.

This letter from Leo Pate, Merlin's father, described in detail how the Leo family had to sell off their territory and all of their family property due to poor business practices and shipping accidents.

Not only that, but the Xiguang Chamber of Commerce still owes it 500,000 gold coins!

Five hundred thousand gold coins! This is a huge number.

In the continent of Aize, although the currencies of each country are different, they are all based on gold, silver and copper. The purchasing power of a copper coin is similar to that of one dollar in the previous life. Ten copper coins are equal to one silver coin, and ten silver coins are equal to one gold coin.

Five hundred thousand gold coins, converted into RMB, is fifty million.

The Leo family itself is not good at business, and it is particularly difficult for them to manage their own territory. It is not easy to achieve a balance between income and expenditure. Although they can make a small profit every year, it is only enough for the expenses of ordinary nobles.

But even for such a family that is not good at business, every head of the family is thinking about how to make money, how to make a lot of money, but of course the final result is always a loss.

This generation's Count Leo started a shipping business under the introduction of a friend. Just as the business was starting to pick up and his family was becoming increasingly wealthy, this incident happened.

The cargo ship carrying expensive spices capsized, and the expensive spices worth millions of gold coins were all lost. Count Leo had no choice but to sell his territory and property to pay off the debt. Even after selling everything, he still owed 500,000 gold coins.

My goodness, the game started off in hell difficulty, and he hasn't even started to enjoy the salary of an earl. Now, the family is directly burdened with a debt of 500,000 gold coins.

Fate didn't expect that the Leo family would be so miserable. That was millions of gold coins worth of spices, and they were all lost in the shipwreck.

"Brother, there is only one way to deal with this!"

Merlin looked up at Fate with hopeful eyes when he heard his words. "Why, you want to lend me money?"

"Although I am a prince, you know my situation. I rely on you to pay for meals when I go out to eat. You want to borrow money from me? No!"

Fate was telling the truth. He was an unpopular prince with poor talent. He did not have many gold coins at his disposal. What's more, he liked to drink at high prices. He was definitely a moonlighter.

"So what can you do?"

"Sever the relationship between you and your father right now, so that the debt collectors won't be able to find you! Of course, you can also sacrifice your beauty. I think there should be many women in the academy who are willing to pay you 500,000 gold coins."

Fate looked at Merlin seriously. Merlin frowned when he heard his words and immediately released his hand from his shoulder.

"The door is over there, get out of here!"

"Bao, you've changed. You were never this vulgar. Can a family disaster really change a person's character?"

"Don't force me to do it!"

"Then let me borrow your homework so I can copy it! Here are the ones on the ground..."

Bang--

Fate was pushed out the door holding a paper full of homework. He looked at the closed oak door and shouted inside, "Would you like some ice blueberries? They're fresh, and owls love them too!"