The next day, Holy Year 741, July 12th, the weather was overcast.

At 7 in the morning, Ciel got up. After washing up, she had Tara call the others to her room.

Everyone had a bumpy journey all night and basically slept well, except for Adele who had trouble sleeping in a strange bed. She arrived at Ciel’s suite with dark circles under her eyes.

The maids brought the breakfast prepared by the hotel into the room one by one. Ciel, sitting at the head of the table, looked at Avena on her left and asked, “Did you sleep well last night?”

“A little unaccustomed.” Avena gently shook her head, taking a sip of coffee from her cup.

They hadn’t slept together last night because Avena had slept for quite a while on the train and couldn’t fall asleep at night. To avoid disturbing Ciel’s sleep, she returned to her room to read newspapers.

However, judging by Avena’s complexion, she had rested well last night.

“I’m also not used to it. The mattress here is a little too soft.” Ciel also nodded, empathizing.

Avena glanced at Ciel, but didn’t say anything.

Her feeling of being unaccustomed wasn’t because of the bed, but because Ciel wasn’t beside her.

After everyone had almost finished eating, Ciel lightly wiped her mouth with a napkin and said, “Regarding renting a house, do you have any good ideas?”

Hearing this, Adele, who was still staring at the untouched smoked salmon on Ciel’s plate, immediately raised her right hand.

“Adele? Tell us.” Ciel looked at Adele and asked.

Although Adele didn’t seem to have been to Ansu City either, perhaps she had received some guidance from High Priestess Uris. After all, Uris had lived in the Church of the Savior Goddess Holy See in Ansu City for several years before.

“Do you still want the salmon?” Adele looked at Ciel, her eyes shining.

Ciel: “...”

She expressionlessly picked up her plate and handed it to Adele.

Lichie was just listening carefully to Ciel. She didn’t interrupt, because she didn’t know what to say. She basically knew nothing about Ansu City.

At this moment, Amy looked at Ciel and said, “My father gave me some money. He said it should be enough for me to rent a house in the West District and hire a few maids... They will come to find me after a while.”

Baron Hastings and the Baroness were a little worried about Amy being alone and unfamiliar with Ansu City, so they planned to take a few days off and come visit Amy after finishing their matters there. This was something they had known about before.

“Last night, Avena and I discussed it. Our ideas are basically the same. I think we should all live in relatively close locations so we can look after each other.”

Ciel said, “The area we decided on is also the Mayfair District in the West District.”

The Mayfair District was one of the most luxurious and expensive areas in Ansu City. A large number of wealthy people and nobles lived here. The hotel Avena originally wanted to go to was also located in the Mayfair District, adjacent to the Crown Splendor District where they were currently staying. Both were located in the western part of Ansu City.

Since Amy had no objection, this matter was basically settled. After all, Lichie would definitely live with Ciel, and Adele had no money, so she had no other choice.

The task of finding properties was entirely left to Avena, who was more familiar with Ansu City, for her to arrange.

If things went quickly, they might be able to sort out housing within two days.

After breakfast, Lucy, who learned from the hotel staff that Ciel and the others had woken up, arrived at Ciel’s room at the perfect time.

Upon learning that Ciel was planning to look for a house, Lucy immediately took on the task without a second thought, preparing to act as a guide and take Ciel and Avena to find a house.

Adele, who had eaten her fill, decided to catch up on some sleep. Amy was going to visit her relatives in Ansu City to let them know she had arrived safely.

Lichie planned to walk around and familiarize herself with Ansu City by herself—she didn’t really want to bother Avena and Ciel—Lucy arranged for two attendants from Deton Group to accompany her.

In the carriage, Ciel looked at Avena before her and asked, “Avena, why can’t we all rent a house together?”

Ciel’s idea was simple, similar to co-renting. They would rent a large house together so they could look after each other. When school started in October, they could also go to and from school together.

But Ciel’s somewhat naive idea was rejected by Avena.

“In Ansu City, whether it’s nobles or wealthy people, they place a lot of importance on privacy... If your residence is not independent, it represents your financial status and social standing in their eyes. It is considered a undignified act by others.”

Avena shook her head and explained, “Your house, your carriage, the number of your servants... Everything that others can see represents your class and wealth. If you want to blend into that circle and earn their money, you have to do this.”

“In a small place like Berren City, there might not be so many rules... But Ciel, have you forgotten about the time you asked me about buying a peerage? If you want to gain their recognition, you must appear sufficiently wealthy and generous.”

Everything Avena said was true. Ciel was just thinking of it as simple off-campus co-renting for university students and hadn’t thought as deeply as Avena.

If the “Musician” potion truly had to be achieved by buying a peerage, then Ciel really had to do as Avena said and own her own house, at least so other nobles wouldn’t think she was putting on a show.

One of Avena’s purposes for returning this time was also to make a statement to her family. She couldn’t do anything that would make those people look down on her.

“I see...”

Ciel nodded.

Ciel truly didn’t know as much as Avena about the intricacies and etiquette of nobles. At times like these, listening to Avena was the best course of action.

“Amy is a baron’s daughter. In the Mayfair District, at the very least, she would need to rent a villa with a garden, with an annual rent of around 700 pounds. One butler, one housekeeper, footmen, maids, kitchen staff, and other servants, numbering around 7. One luxury carriage with 4 horses, and one private carriage with 2 horses. That should be enough.”

Saying this, Avena paused for a moment and then continued, “Judging by the money Baron Hastings gave her, it is basically planned according to this configuration.”

“So much...”

Ciel gasped slightly upon hearing the expenses.

Many of these were, in her opinion, unnecessary expenses... One could only say that the amount of money nobles had to spend to maintain “face” was frightening.

“What about you? What kind of setup do you need?” Ciel looked at Avena and asked curiously.

She wanted to figure out exactly how much it would cost to maintain Avena’s current status and appearance.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com