When the Saintess Arrives, No King Exist
Chapter 50: Bursting Gold Coins

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Bursting Gold Coins

After quelling the Door Seizure Rebellion, Horn got up early the next day.

Not sure if it was because a weight was lifted off his chest, but he felt much more refreshed.

Last night, after locking Tommy in the dungeon, Horn quickly ordered the house arrest of Chervis and Grampwen.

These two are Tommy’s strongmen, but to connect with the Secret Faction, Horn still needs them, hence the house arrest.

As for Tommy himself, Horn is not a devil; he only had him flogged ten times and broke his legs to prevent escape.

The remaining thirty floggings would be executed over time, with or without interest, depending on whether Chervis and Grampwen cooperated.

After sending people to take control of all aspects of the monastery, Horn immediately headed to the monastery’s warehouse to survey the spoils.

Before, these warehouse areas were controlled by Tommy and the others, and Horn had to notify Grampwen in advance for anything he wanted.

And possibly get denied! The answer would just be no!

Is there still law? Is there still justice?

Is the treasury of the Pope Country his Tommy’s family property or my Gallar Family’s?

"Your Eminence, this way, please."

Under the guidance of a Treasurer Monk, Horn, escorted by several Pope Guards, followed the monk slowly forward.

The corridor before him was about two shoulders wide, paved with marble, intricately carved with vines and bindweed leaves.

The faint scent of wild chrysanthemums drifted in through the rose windows of the narrow corridor, mingling with the smell of books, ink, and the musty scent of rotting wood, almost forming a brown-black smoke that floated before Horn.

"Your Eminence, this is our Indulgence Ticket warehouse." The Treasurer Monk opened a wooden door, "We recently imported a set of exquisite raised print indulgence tickets from Norn."

Horn made no comment and stepped into a room about the size of a study.

On the boxes and the floor, seven or eight bundles of indulgence tickets were tied with hemp rope, while under the window sill, a messy collection of raised prints lay scattered.

"Your Eminence, see here, if someone has killed their own blood relatives, such as parents, brothers, sisters, they need to buy this type of indulgence ticket." The Treasurer Monk introduced, picking up a bundle of indulgence tickets from a box, "One is 20 dinars, and they may need to buy around 10 to 20, depending on the situation."

Having said that, the Treasurer Monk picked up another indulgence ticket bundle from the other side: "If someone killed their wife and wants to remarry, they should buy this one, which is 10 dinars each, or they could buy this large full sheet one, which is 50 dinars, more convenient."

"Or this one, which is the latest print, the Blood Conviction, 4 dinars."

"If someone has committed bestiality or chicken theft crimes, like someone did last month with a giant lizard, they need to buy this one, 2 gold pounds."

The Treasurer Monk described each bundle of indulgence tickets like treasures, but Horn’s attention shifted to the not-so-distant raised prints.

"Do you use these wooden raised prints for printing?"

"Yes, Your Eminence, we generally use raised prints."

"Have you tried disassembling the letters, combining them for printing?"

"Oh, you mean movable type printing, just say so. I’m ignorant, but I’ve heard of movable type printing."

Horn felt a twinge of disappointment, thinking he had finally found a way to make a fortune.

The Treasurer Monk picked up a raised print: "Movable type printing exists, but it’s more expensive than raised prints, we simply can’t afford it."

"Why?"

While a set of movable type made of metal could indeed be more costly than raised prints, it could be reused many times to print different books, isn’t it better than raised prints?

"Because ordinary metal movable type can’t hold ink, only specially made ink can cling to it, but that’s too costly." The Treasurer Monk smiled, opening the door, "This is about all for the Indulgence Ticket warehouse, do you have any other questions?"

"Let’s go to the next room."

"As you command, Your Eminence."

Following behind the Priest of the Treasury, Horn toured the entire warehouse until they reached the last two rooms.

"Your Grace, this one is called the North Ice Room, connected to the cellar, it’s where we get ice in the summer. As for the other, it’s the treasury, holding land deeds, gold, silver, and promissory notes."

Horn knew the real interest was here: "Show me inside."

Unlocking two iron doors, three large chests were placed inside, each containing either gold and silver currency, land deeds or promissory notes.

The Treasurer Monk opened the largest chest, and a golden light instantly filled Horn’s eyes.

Stepping forward, Horn picked up a gold pound to observe it carefully.

Back when he was an accounting apprentice at the grocery guild, Horn wasn’t allowed to touch such high-value currency.

Now that he could touch it himself, of course, he would examine it meticulously.

According to his accounting master in High Castle City, this gold pound, adhering to royal minting standards, should measure about one Falan inch (3 cm) in diameter and be made of ninety percent pure gold, weighing about one ounce (30 grams).

The front of the gold pound features portraits of successive Holy Ael Emperors, while the back depicts the Holy Tree propping up the world.

The Empire’s Currency Act mandates that a gold pound must be exchangeable for one pound of silver.

One pound of silver is then minted into 120 dinars, with each dinar measuring approximately 10 Falan points (2.2 cm) and weighing one-eighth of an ounce (3.8 grams).

The minting right of the dinar is largely delegated to each duke, resulting in a variety of patterns, some featuring their own portrait, others a family crest.

Falan’s Duke Maenon even printed his family’s little hunting dog on the dinar, humorously called the "dog coin" by people.

As for the price of one dinar exchanged for copper coins, it fluctuates between 30 to 60, enough to purchase half a gallon to two gallons of grain.

Based on past estimates, the Horn family could produce approximately 2,200 pounds of grain on 25 acres of land.

Deducting the 220 pounds tithe to the Church, 220 pounds as in-kind land rent to the Master Knight, keeping 250 pounds as seed grain for the next year, 500 pounds for food and reserves, leaving 1,010 pounds of grain to sell for 112 dinars.

From these 112 dinars, further deductions include 50 dinars for rent payments to the Master Knight and the Church, 5 dinars for the Head Tax, along with 24 dinars for horse rental fees and fodder losses to the Armed Farmers.

Adding in tools and housing repairs, grain brought for unpaid labor work for the Church and Knight, and some miscellaneous costs, totals 13 dinars.

The Horn family’s annual land income amounted to 244 dinars, with a mere 20 dinars left as surplus.

How about the purchasing power of these 20 dinars?

Equivalent to five linen tunics, equivalent to a horse yoke, or a roe tongue dish at a noble’s banquet, a simple appetizer.

This 20 dinars, based on when Old Gallar was around, when there were three young strong laborers in the family, and grain was sold at one dinar per gallon.

Since Horn went to work at High Castle, they must hire refugee day labor, for the Knight’s land cannot be left fallow.

According to the unwritten rules of the Escaped Slave Law, the dues owed to the Master Knight must be fully paid to avoid being captured and having "illegally obtained" income confiscated.

Otherwise, if a Public Register Farmer made a small fortune in the city, knights would immediately hire a slave hunter or personally capture and confiscate their property, or even hold their family hostage for coercion.

The Knight Castle is the true underworld den.

Horn persistently chewed on black bread while sending his wages home, only to see them either distributed to the villagers or stolen by the Master Knight with cunning.

In the present small chest, there were a total of 125 gold pounds, 344 dinars, and countless copper coins.

Equivalent to the Horn family’s land income for 63 years or 767 years of annual surplus.

Dust danced in the light, and warm sunlight fell into the chest, reflecting bits of gold.

When Horn reached into this pile of gold coins, the touch was both slippery and cold.

Like stirring a basin of thick blood.