Chapter 43: We Are Poor?

[Distance: 1,745 Meters.]

Elias’s expression darkened as he stared at the black system screen floating before his eyes. The spatial rift was dangerously close to the city’s outer wall, and if it wasn’t closed before it became overloaded, monsters would eventually pour out of it and flood the surrounding area.

He clenched his fist as the seriousness of the situation settled over him, and the next moment, a loud BONG! echoed throughout the city.

The sound of the giant bell belonging to the Sun Church rolled through the streets, shaking windows and alerting everyone that a spatial rift had appeared near the city.

’It must have been the priest,’ he remarked inwardly.

Swordsmen couldn’t sense spatial rifts, while Mages could only detect them within a range of roughly one hundred to five hundred meters depending on their strength. Spiritualists, however, possessed a much greater ability to sense disturbances in space, allowing them to detect spatial rifts from several kilometers away.

That was why every city needed at least one Exalted spiritualist. Without one, a spatial rift could remain hidden until it was already too late.

That was why each city of the Dracarian Kingdom had a branch of the Sun Church, and each one was overseen by a priest – an Exalted spiritualist.

Footsteps suddenly echoed through the manor.

Benjamin and the two maids hurried into the hall, having abandoned whatever tasks they had been performing the moment the church bell rang. When they saw Elias standing there, all three immediately stopped and bowed.

"My lord," they said together.

Elias waved his hand and said, "Get up."

Lena, the other maid, stepped forward and carefully took the bowl from his hand before carrying it back toward Sara, who was standing nearby.

Benjamin remained focused on Elias as he stepped closer and asked, "What should we do, my lord?"

Elias remained silent for several seconds.

His mind was already running through the situation. A Grade Two spatial rift meant that its guardian was at the Lord level, and although he had grown considerably stronger over the past few days, he was still only a Warrior.

More importantly, the spatial rift was close to the city wall.

If the rift became overloaded, the monsters that emerged wouldn’t simply threaten a handful of people. They could enter the city and cause widespread destruction before the authorities managed to contain them.

Benjamin’s expression gradually became bitter when Elias remained silent.

"Do we even have a choice?" he asked.

"The City Lord was already looking for an opportunity like this. If you do not go, that wretch will frame this as insubordination and make exaggerated demands."

Elias’s expression darkened.

Berlic Draveon had already made his hostility obvious during the inauguration, and Elias did not doubt that the man would use any excuse available to make trouble for him.

"You are right," Elias admitted.

He rubbed the lower part of his face thoughtfully before saying, "Prepare a carriage."

Benjamin stared at him for a moment.

"We do not have a carriage, my lord," he muttered.

"What?"

"The clan never provided us with one," Benjamin explained.

Elias frowned.

’Was I not supposed to get full support from the Clan?’

The Head Lady had promised him that he would be provided with full support from the clan, but what he had received was far from enough compared to what should have been expected of him as a member of the Crimson Ducal Clan and the son of the Crimson Duke.

Perhaps the promise had simply been a lie because even if Syrion Crimson was now acting as the interim patriarch, he couldn’t just ignore Palensia Crimson’s words.

He pushed away the thoughts and commanded, "Buy one then."

Benjamin immediately fell silent.

Elias noticed the silence and turned toward him.

"What is wrong?"

Benjamin hesitated before answering, "That would prove troublesome."

"What do you mean?"

"We were given three hundred gold coins," Benjamin explained carefully. "That is far from enough to go through this and the next two months before the clan reaches out again."

Elias stared at him.

"...What?"

Benjamin lowered his gaze slightly.

"We have to manage the manor, food, servants, transportation, medicine, and everything else with those three hundred gold coins."

Elias’s expression became increasingly strange.

"So you are saying that..." He paused as if trying to make sure he had understood correctly. "...we are poor?"

"Unfortunately, my lord."

Elias blinked.

For several seconds, he simply stood there.

He already had three wives to take care of, a city lord who clearly wanted him dead or humiliated, and a spatial rift that was about to become a serious threat.

Now he also needed to earn money.

’What the fuck happened to that full support?’

He slowly shook his head, deciding that he would deal with the matter later.

"Let us go meet the priest first," Elias said. "I will deal with this afterward."

"As you wish, my lord."

Benjamin bowed.

Elias turned toward the staircase. He needed to change his attire.

But before he could take the first step, he glanced toward the upper floor.

’Should I tell them?’ He asked himself as he began climbing.

Did he truly need to worry his wives, but... was leaving them unaware of something so important the right choice?

While thinking about it, he entered his room and looked around.

Natasha and Stella were no longer there.

"They must be in Stella’s room," he mumbled and walked to the wardrobe and took out a set of black shirt and pants embroidered with red and blue flower patterns across the chest and cuffs.

He took off his tunic and pants and began wearing them as he made his decision.

"I have to tell them."

He remembered how worried Natasha had become when she didn’t find him sleeping beside her, so keeping something like this hidden from her or any three of them was no different than leaving them on their own.

Once he finished dressing, he wore black polished shoes, styled his hair, and stepped out of his room.

His feet moved toward Stella’s room.