Chapter 588 This is too expensive
"Yes, Miss Theresa."
Ribak answered meticulously. He glanced at Angel briefly, then quickly retracted his gaze to look at the villa beside him.
Angel was very satisfied with the steward's sense of distance. She boarded the temporary carriage and waited until Ribak sat diagonally across from her and the carriage slowly began to move forward before continuing:
"Next, we need to hire servants and purchase the missing items for this villa. I'd like to hear your advice."
Although he said he was taking advice, Angel actually knew nothing about it and relied on the professional Ribak to save his life.
The latter had been asked a lot of questions by Angel on the way to check out the house, but at this time, he did not show any impatience, but answered in a serious manner:
"Given the size of your current residence and the status of this street, you'll need at least one housekeeper to manage the maids and the household's finances. You'll also need two personal maids, two first-class maids in charge of the bedrooms, two second-class maids in charge of the living room and parlor, three male servants to receive guests, two kitchen maids, two laundry maids, and three male servants to do menial work.
“Besides that, you’ll need a chef, a sous chef, and two gardeners to look after the many plants in your garden.
"If you don't plan to hire a carriage every day, you must prepare two carriages, one two-wheeled for private travel, and a four-wheeled sedan for formal occasions. Therefore, you will need two coachmen and one or two servants."
Listening to Riback's endless words, the expression on Angel's face gradually froze.
After she got in the car, she had taken off her wide-brimmed hat, and her beautiful but dull face was directly exposed to the eyes of her housekeeper. The latter immediately discovered the abnormality of his employer and swallowed up the jobs that were not needed for the time being, such as "nurse, tailor", etc.
But the numerous servants mentioned above had left Angel with only the jingling sound of gold coins in his mind, of course, the sound of gold coins slipping through his fingers.
Excluding the housekeeper, there would be at least 10 maids, 6 butlers, and 7 to 8 employees to take care of other things... Angel's stiff brain began to slowly calculate the required expenses, and soon found that more than 8 pounds of wages would be needed per week to maintain this huge team.
This does not include the two carriages mentioned by Ryback, and the horses that pulled them, which would cost at least 500 pounds. Calculated over a year, that would average out to 10 pounds a week...
The cost of living in Backlund is too high!
She suddenly understood why she had seen dozens of servants working throughout Earl Hall's mansion when she had first entered it with the Scarlet Eyes. She, a single woman without a title, renting a house for 300 pounds a year, had to employ so many servants. An earl's household probably had hundreds of servants.
Even in the home of her former "boss" Severia, there were dozens of male and female servants and workers serving the Baroness. Angel had seen three different maids serving tea and snacks alone.
Thinking of this, Angel tried his best to force a smile and said to the stunned Riback:
"Is that all?"
Of course not only that... Ribak quickly recovered, chanting the name of the Storm Lord in his heart, feeling impressed by the appearance of his new employer, and continued without pausing:
"Further needs will have to wait until your housekeeper is in place, but at least you'll need to stock up on alcohol, coffee, and tea for balls and banquets, as well as for entertaining your neighbors. I shouldn't ask about your personal collection, but Backlund's social season begins in a month, so I'm sure you've already prepared your clothing and jewelry."
No, I don't. All my clothes can be packed into one suitcase, and the only jewelry I have is the "Rose Necklace", "Knight Bracelet" and "Hypocrisy Ring"... Angel nodded stiffly, indicating that he understood the other party's hint.
"Also, as a single woman, it's best to hire two or three professional guards for your villa to deter potential thieves or kidnappers. Of course, male servants can usually do this for you. All you need to do is apply for some hunting licenses and purchase a few single-shot hunting rifles. After a brief training, they will be able to do this job."
Finally found a place to save money... Angel's eyes lit up, he looked at Riback and asked softly:
"Can you train them? I remember you had military experience."
"certainly."
As if he had expected this question, Riback nodded simply and began to talk about obtaining a hunting license and purchasing weapons.
Although Angel felt that with him in charge, not to mention thieves, even real "assassins" who dared to sneak into his house would never come back, but considering that this was a standard configuration for wealthy families, he did not reject the butler's suggestion.
Soon, the two men finalized the hiring list and the initial expenses in the carriage.
Of course, to avoid suspicion, Ribak did not provide a candidate for housekeeper, but planned to let the Hillston District Servant Association find a suitable list and let Angel select it personally.
After all, as housekeepers and butlers, they are responsible for the expenses of the entire family, as well as the management of the corresponding money and materials. If the two know each other or even collude in advance, financial problems are very likely to arise.
Actually, I'm not afraid of these things. Even if you escape Backlund, I can use divination to find you, appear by your side within half an hour, and recover the money with interest... Angel almost lost the ability to think due to the high expenses. Only now did he regain a little confidence and a smile appeared on his face again.
But after agreeing with Ribak on the time to select the housekeeper and sign the relevant contracts, Angel's smile disappeared from his face when he returned to the hotel from the carriage and entered his room.
She slumped on the single sofa, her limbs stretched forward, relaxing her joints that were not tired but a little stiff, and her purple eyes gradually lost their luster.
————
"...I have already returned the 3,000 gold coins I earned from Miss Justice to the Messenger. This way, we only owe her 7,000 gold coins, and we hope to pay off the debt within a few months.
"The cost of living in Backlund is really high. My butler told me that in addition to the villas in the city, most wealthy people with social needs will rent a manor on the outskirts of the city to entertain friends for a happy weekend. I calculated that two properties, the annual salary of the butler and servants, the cost of two carriages, and even without daily expenses, it would be over 1,500 pounds a year!
"Reinette Tinicole reminded me that the Beyonder characteristic of the 'Puppet', due to the 'Mother Tree of Desire', is not suitable for sale to others. It should either be made into a magical item or handled by her. In view of this, I decided to sell the Beyonder characteristic to the messenger, but when I offered 30,000 gold coins yesterday, she didn't respond immediately. Perhaps I should lower the price a bit?
"I look forward to your reply and a 'formal meeting' with you."
At the end of the letter, Angel hesitated for a moment and signed it as "Angelica Sage" instead of her new name Christine Theresa.
We have to keep some suspense, and he hasn't told me his current identity either... Angel, who had lost his smile due to multiple financial blows, finally curled up his lips and felt a little better.
In the bedroom at the deepest part of the hotel suite, she used a spell to summon a headless messenger lady, who slowly floated down from the ceiling and handed her the letter.
"To Gehrman Sparrow."
She used the name that Klein and the Messenger had contracted.
One of Renette's heads picked up the letter, while the other three heads looked around but did not leave immediately.
Why, does she still want to see the extraordinary characteristics of the "puppet", but I didn't bring it with me this time... Angel looked up into the air curiously until eight blood-red eyes gradually focused on him.
"That..." "Gold coin..." "Where is it?"
The three unemployed heads spoke one after another.
Gold coins, I forgot about it!
Angel's expression froze. She immediately reached into her pocket and pulled out a bunch of gold pounds and soli banknotes, but no heavy gold coins.
Last night, she returned all three thousand gold coins to the messenger lady in front of her, not keeping a single one for herself...
Feeling that Reinette's gaze was gradually becoming cold, Angel quickly handed over two one-pound notes, forced a smile, and said:
"Is two pounds okay? In Loen, gold pounds and gold coins are equivalent."
"The rules are..." "Only accept..." "Gold coins..."
Including the one holding the letter, Renette's four heads shook like wind chimes.
“Even if…” “It’s you…” “No…” “No exception.”
The letter slowly fell, and eight red eyes stared at Angel.
Gu...
The latter felt a strange sound in his throat, and recalled the messenger lady's battle against the "Rose Cult" on the outskirts of Bayam. He also thought of the harmonica craftsman on Oravi Island who was buried in the ground for a night because he didn't pay the gold coins. He even had the thought of escaping into the mirror world.
"Yes, yes, this time, the other party will pay!"
At the critical moment, Angel finally thought of a solution and hurriedly began to explain.
She knew that as a fortune teller, Klein always carried a few coins with him as divination tools. After becoming German and his financial situation improved slightly, he exchanged them for gold coins.
As for herself, after she was promoted to "Despair" and could use her eyes as a mirror to perform simple divination, she no longer carried coins.
As if she didn't expect her to say that, Renette, who was floating in the air, froze completely, even her head, which was constantly shaking, stopped moving. After a brief silence, one of her heads opened its mouth and picked up the letter again.
Then, the terrifying headless messenger slowly disappeared in the candlelight.
…
160 Börklund Street, North Side, in the master bedroom.
Klein changed into soft, well-fitting pajamas with the help of a butler. He was about to lie down on his big bed and have his first good sleep in this mansion that cost 315 pounds a year when he suddenly felt spiritually touched.
He calmly ordered the servant to close the door and leave, then he opened his spiritual vision and, as expected, saw the headless messenger lady floating in the center of the bedroom.
One of her heads was holding an unsigned letter, but not many people knew the summoning spell of Renette Tinicole, so it was easy for him to guess who would send the letter at this time. Therefore, he took the envelope with a smile on his face, opened it, shook the letter paper and was about to take a closer look, but found that Renette was still floating in the same place and had not left.
Is she waiting for my reply?
Klein lowered his head and quickly confirmed that the letter was from Angel and that it was not urgent. Then he looked at the messenger and said softly:
"I don't need a reply just yet."
"Need..." "Pay..." "One..." "Gold coin..."
"She said..." "You..." "Pay."
Renette's four heads spoke one after another. The last one, whose turn wasn't yet up, grew impatient and, after a moment, managed two words:
"She has no money..."
Angel has no money?
Klein, who had been feeling the same way all day, froze in his expression.
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