"Ten thousand gold coins?" Adelle was stunned for a moment.
"Yes, ten thousand gold coins," Jones confirmed seriously again.
All at once, the air seemed to freeze.
Adelle blinked, looking at Jones in disbelief, "You don’t even have ten thousand gold coins? Oh no, I mean, I thought you would ask to borrow a few million gold coins, and I was worried I couldn’t come up with that all at once. But you only need ten thousand gold coins, which means I can lend it to you anytime."
Adelle let out a couple of dry laughs, as if trying to ease the awkward atmosphere, but only made it more awkward.
Jones’ eyes flickered as he explained with a helpless determination, "Actually, I just bought a castle and I’m a bit short on money to develop it... I just need a bit more. I’ve covered the main cost myself."
"Oh, so that’s it," Adelle breathed a little sigh of relief, "I thought something had happened to you. Generally speaking, if the castle itself is valuable, the bank that sold it to you would be very willing to support the development costs. There’s not even any need for interest, just a priority procurement agreement for future outputs."
"Of course, all three Hilda banks are owned by my family. Would you like me to introduce you?"
Oh, what fantastic news. Meaning Adelle could know everything with just a glance at the ledger?
Jones’ face turned red to his neck, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into.
The situation was awkward, extremely awkward.
Adelle looked at Jones in puzzlement.
Jones stared back at Adelle with a tingling scalp.
Helplessly, Jones could only grit his teeth and confess, "Alright, I admit it. My father didn’t give me any pocket money. I have to earn it myself. Ten thousand gold coins is already a lot for me. The castle I bought is only worth ten thousand gold coins, and it was bought with a loan. From your family’s bank. They’re not willing to lend me any more money now..."
By the end, Jones’ voice was as low as a mosquito’s buzz.
"Even the Lich King doesn’t give you pocket money?"
"He doesn’t have money himself. Liches aren’t interested in gold coins. But I found a gold mine on the castle’s territory."
"Oh, a gold mine," Adelle completely ignored the mention of the ’gold mine,’ frowning and muttering to himself, "There’s really a castle worth only ten thousand gold coins in this world? My heavens. I thought the minimum cost for a castle was five hundred thousand gold coins. It’s unbelievable. Can a ten thousand gold coin castle actually be lived in? Might there be quality issues? I must see this castle with my own eyes someday."
Jones’ face had turned purple with embarrassment, and he stammered, "If... I mean, if you could lend me twenty thousand gold coins, I might be able to repay it a bit faster."
"Say no more, Jones. You’re my brother, how could I stand by and do nothing?" Adelle wore a kindly smile, saying with a grin, "I’ll lend you one hundred thousand gold coins, no interest. Repay whenever you’re happy to; if you aren’t, you don’t have to. Just consider it a small support from a brother."
While speaking, Adelle had already taken paper and pen from the butler beside him, walked over to the desk, and started writing.
"No, it has to be with interest," Jones quickly stopped him, "How about three percent interest? I might not be able to pay more, after all, I only have one gold mine."
"If you insist on paying interest, then I won’t lend to you," Adelle looked up at Jones with a smile, "I could never charge my brother interest, it’s a matter of principle. If you insist on interest, that means you’re not my brother. In that case, I have no reason to lend you money."
The atmosphere turned awkward once again.
Jones, sweating profusely, could only nod vigorously.
When leaving the Adelle family’s home, Jones carried a letter with a note inside, bearing the words "Withdraw one hundred thousand gold coins," signed by Adelle, and stamped with a seal.
Jones had received a hundred thousand gold coins, ten times the amount he initially sought. However, at that moment, Jones only wanted to find a place to have a good cry.
Yes, Jones’ fragile self-esteem had taken a thousand hits, left hanging by mere threads. Why is it that, even within the Blood Clan, the disparities are so vast? Is it just because of a different father?
*"No way, I have to work hard and make money! My children will never face what I have!"* the young Blood Clan Lord secretly swore in his heart.
Wiping away his tears, Jones took the note and once again went to the previous bank, placing it in front of the goblin teller.
The goblin was dumbfounded and skeptically asked, "Are you... a member of Young Master Adelle’s Brotherhood?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?" Jones replied with a blank expression.
"Please wait a moment." The goblin shrank his head, walked away, and found a slightly larger, seemingly stronger goblin. The two goblins whispered to each other.
The big goblin took the note and examined it carefully against the light. After a while, he handed it back to the teller goblin.
There was no need to guess, he certainly didn’t trust Jones and went to verify the seal’s authenticity. Jones couldn’t be bothered anymore. These past few days, his face had been trampled on repeatedly, so what harm would one more stomp do? Instead, he just sat there expressionless, waiting patiently.