Chapter 17: The Authority of the Moon
Entering the house, Klein's first sight was an entrance hall, which was very spacious, with many chairs and umbrella stands, and was elegantly furnished and decorated, so that if he hadn't known the structure in advance and had visited the site, Crane would have even thought it was a living room.
Through the second door, he saw a cheerful hall for dozens or hundreds of guests to dance.
In the center of the hall is a brightly colored thick carpet, surrounded by bright marble tiles, placed with pianos, stone carvings and other objects, and stone pillars inlaid with ornaments to support the second floor.
It has a row of floor-to-ceiling windows on the left and a green lawn and blooming garden on the outside, and walls, wooden doors and hallways on the right that lead to places such as the lounge, pantry, washroom, kitchen and butler's room.
The hall is two stories high and has crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, giving you a glimpse of what night will look like.
At the end of the road, there are stairs on each side leading to the second floor.
The cloister here is square, and the empty part in the center is exactly where the hall is carpeted, and Klein can take a glass of wine and stand behind the railing on the second floor to enjoy the dance below.
There are many rooms on the second floor, there is a living room, a living room, a dining room, a washroom, a billiard room, and a large number of bedrooms, so guests will stay here if they need to stay overnight.
Similarly, on the second floor, there are two staircases leading to the third floor, where Daun Dantès lived, with an exaggerated master bedroom, a semi-open room with a bar for a sunbath, a study that could be called a small library, two cloakrooms and a small bedroom where the valet and the maid on duty lived, as well as a room for the family and a bathroom, although Klein was currently single.
As for the other servants, they were in the row of bungalows at the back of the building, and in the other direction were the stables.
The basement of the building is equally spacious, with a large storage room and wine cellar.
Crane, who took off his coat, stood on the large balcony of the semi-open room on the third floor with his back straight, looking at the scenery of the surrounding blocks, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart:
"It's still expensive if it's expensive, and the £315 rent isn't too wasteful......"
He had paid a year's rent yesterday afternoon, and he could only force himself to be more and more pleasing to the place.
At the same time, he also paid Walter 115 pounds a year's salary, because he was likely to abscond after he got his hands on the Antigonus family notes, and the housekeeper was unemployed.
Based on this concept, he also paid the housekeeper Tanea an annual salary of 42 pounds this morning, so that the lady could initially feel the generosity and bearing of Mr. Dawn Dantès.
Under the consultation and busyness of the two butlers, the servants were all hired, a male caretaker of the family property was paid 30 pounds a year, a personal servant Richardson was paid 35 pounds a year, two male servants who were responsible for receiving guests at the table were paid 25 pounds a year, two maids of the first class were paid 18 pounds a year, two maids of the second class were paid 12 pounds a year, and two male servants of rough work were also paid 12 pounds a year.
In addition to these, the cook was paid £30 a year, a kitchen assistant £15, a kitchen maid 13 pounds, a pantry maid 11 pounds, a domestic nurse 25 pounds, a small worker 10 pounds, two coachmen 25 pounds each, two gardeners 20 pounds each, and two washing maids 10 pounds each, for a total of 413 pounds, almost 8 pounds a week.
Counting the annual salaries of the two butlers, Klein had to pay 570 pounds a year, or about 11 pounds a week, not counting the expenses for food, clothing, and various daily necessities.
Every Monday when I open my eyes, I have no income at all, and I have to spend ten or twenty pounds...... With a casual mental calculation, Klein forced himself to look away from the garden.
After paying the rent for the two carriages and the maids' first week's salaries at noon, and giving the housekeeper Tanea 1,000 pounds in cash for her daily expenses, he had only 1,286 pounds of money and 18 gold coins left on him, but the money for Miss Justice and Miss Hermit would be "in the account" within a week.
I don't know how long the 1,000 pounds from Tania can last, just to store enough alcohol and drinks for the ball banquet, at least a few hundred pounds...... The billionaire Mr. Dawn Dantès was lost in thought.
In order to calm his mind, he decided to take advantage of the fact that the butlers and servants were busy with the affairs of their new home, and went around the gray mist to study the strange puppet that Emlyn White had sacrificed.
- After the blood moon, Crane had to return to the mysterious space, pull Folth in, and listen to the other party's chatter about Bakeland's daily life, and when everything subsided, he was too sleepy, and after accepting Emlin's sacrifice and confirming that there was nothing abnormal, he returned to the real world and fell asleep.
After straightening off his well-styled dark waistcoat, Klein walked to the entrance, opened the door, and said to Richardson, the valet standing outside:
"I'm used to taking a three-quarter hour nap at this time and not letting anyone bother me. ”
"Yes, sir. Richardson humbly responded.
He was a mixed-race illegitimate son, his father was a Rune, steward of an estate, and his mother was a native of East Bailang, a slave on that estate. After he was born, he was discriminated against and bullied, and developed a cowardly and obedient character, because he was quite good in appearance and suitable for receiving guests, and was chosen by the owner of that manor to be taken to Beckland.
By the time the House of Lords and Houses of Rane passed the bill abolishing slavery, he lost his job and had to ask for help from the Metropolitan Association of Helping Domestic Servants.
Before Klein, he served two families, made some mistakes, gained a lot of experience, and was noticed by the butler Walter and became the valet of Daun Dantès.
Glancing at Richardson, who was tall and about the same height as himself now, Klein shook his head invisibly and sighed in his heart:
"This kind of guy who can be a star in appearance can only be a servant in this era, and he is obviously so tall, but he is timid and cowardly, but this is also an advantage, obedient, silent, obedient, do whatever the master tells him, and never make his own decisions......
"If I had only one valet and I needed him to handle all kinds of affairs, then Richardson would certainly not be qualified, but I still have Walter's butler, and so many servants, and the rest of the things, with his experience and ability, will be enough to deal with. ”
Without further ado, Crane closed the door and locked it, returned to his easy chair, and took four steps backwards into the gray mist.
He sat down in the position belonging to the "Fool" and made a gesture of his hand, causing the blackened "Moon Puppet" to fly over and fall in front of him.
After repeated scrutiny, Klein did not find anything peculiar, so he took out a pen and paper and wrote the following divination statements:
"Where it came from. ”
Putting down the pen, Crane waited a few seconds before picking up the paper and leaning back in his chair.
Well, spiritual intuition didn't stop me from divination, which shows that the dangers of the "moon puppet" are not as great as the extraordinary properties of the Rose School...... Klein muttered, expertly whispering the divination sentence.
In the gray sky, he saw an altar with a ring of torches.
The altar was covered with what appeared to be human skin, and there were bloody marks everywhere, with three candles and several slender dolls like wooden stakes in the center.
These small puppets have crooked eyes and crooked mouths, which seem to correspond to the crimson crescent moon in the sky.
Therefore, they always have a strange smile on their faces, and their bodies are inlaid with withered grass and dried flowers.
A priest in a dark red robe was circling the altar with his feet, as if he were doing a dance invented by an epileptic patient.
At some point, the moonlight converged and shone on the puppets, getting brighter and brighter, and at the end, there seemed to be water waves gently swaying.
The ritual soon came to a close, and the priest picked up a slender puppet, walked over to the human being tied to a nearby shelf, and inserted it into the other's eye sockets.
In the terrible screams, the picture changes rapidly, and the dead with "moon puppets" in their eye sockets are regularly buried in one place.
The scene begins to leap and bound, and every time there is a full moon and a blood moon, the glow will fall on the burial place, seeping into it like water, and the surrounding area will be dark and deep.
Klein opened his eyes, adjusted his sitting position, and roughly understood the origin of the "Moon Puppet":
They originated from a ritual of invoking the "primordial moon", a ritual that lasted for hundreds of years!
In the past few hundred years, they have absorbed the power of the Red Moon, mutating little by little, until they are excavated by some colonists.
They don't usually have anything strange about them, and only the followers of the "Primordial Moon" can open them in the right way, and as for what the effect is, Crane doesn't know.
In a sense, these puppets are the benefactors of the "primordial moon...... After I hacked one to death last night, the evil god was furious, so there was a blood moon? Klein tapped his fingers on the edge of the mottled table, and made a preliminary judgment.
Well, the wrath of the "primordial moon" directly changes the lunar sign, manifesting itself as a blood moon...... If this guess is correct, it means that in the realm of the Red Moon, the goddess is inferior to the "Primordial Moon", and may even just occupy a name, holding a "0" level seal...... Crane nodded slightly, trying to soothe the weakness of the "moon puppet".
This time, he saw the sunshine and the lightning.
That is, the extraordinary abilities of the "Sun" realm and the lightning of the "Storm" realm are best suited to deal with it...... While reading the contents of the revelation, Crane throws the "moon puppet" into the clutter pile and returns to the real world.
An hour later, Walter, dressed in neat clothes, knocked on the door and entered the room with white gloves, and saluted:
"Sir, I'm going to print some of your business cards and deliver them to the neighbors along with small gifts.
"They will observe you for a few days, confirm your condition, and if they are willing to accept you, they will return the favor and invite you to be a guest.
"What title do you need to add to your business card?"
Title...... Isn't a fool of this era?Klein spit to himself and responded with a smile:
"Dawn Dantès, a businessman from Diesey, is enough. ”
Val nodded and said:
"Depending on your intentions, I will immediately arrange for you to have an etiquette class, with a focus on dancing, and I will ask a professional tutor to come over. ”