Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

The other one was received from the Church of Judgment. It was engraved with his surname and the Church's seal and could be used as a personal seal. Although it was not as valuable as a royal ring, it was still quite valuable. He was wearing this one now because he had just returned from the bank and hadn't had time to take it off yet.

The landlord wasn't exactly a connoisseur, but just by looking at the material and craftsmanship of the ring, he knew it was something no ordinary government official could afford. So when he looked at Aaron again, his gaze became intense.

Aaron quickly covered up the emblem of the Church of Judgment on the ring, not wanting the landlord to see it.

The landlord, however, interpreted his actions as a deliberate attempt to conceal something, and said excitedly in a hoarse voice, "Kid, you really are making money, otherwise you wouldn't have quit your job at the government building."

"It's really just an ordinary job."

"Don't lie to me. They all say you're getting a promotion next year. Would someone quit their job at this crucial moment when they're about to get promoted? They must have found a good job and made money, otherwise they wouldn't have moved out of here so quickly." The landlord's information network was surprisingly good, which surprised Aaron.

Faced with the landlord's intense gaze, Aaron finally had to admit it. He smiled helplessly and said, "Okay, you found out after all. I did change to a new job, and it's quite well-paying, with better benefits than before."

"Just as I thought, kid, just as I thought." The landlord, reeking of alcohol and with a ruddy face, said, "Kid, now that you have money, you can't treat me like before. The scale and the standards have to be different from before. Otherwise, when you go to move your luggage, people will think you're a poor person who has no money and has to move to the lower city."

"Hey kid, let's pretend we're acquaintances. I'll get your bill, you just sign it, pay me 3 gold coins, and I promise to take care of everything for you, so you don't have to worry about a thing."

"Three Golden Flowers?" Aaron's face showed a look of great interest.

“75 silver snakes are fine too, kid. You’ve got a new job now, you can’t be this stingy, can you? They say you should give away your money when you make it. Just think of it as doing a good deed and giving it to the poor,” the landlord said.

"Give it to the poor?" Aaron smiled, because as far as he knew, the landlord controlled three townhouses in the neighborhood, and he was the one who extorted money from the poor; he was never the one who was poor.

"Kid, aren't you satisfied with 75 silver snakes? That's already a very fair price. It seems we've met before, so I'll give you a discount and guarantee you won't have any trouble."

"Landlord, it's not that I'm unhappy with the price, it's just that I really don't understand why I should pay you so much money when I'm just moving and I haven't damaged any furniture?"

"Just consider it paying to avoid trouble, consider it a favor. Once you pay, the gods will protect you," the landlord said eloquently. "Otherwise, you'll be in trouble, Mr. Aaron, you'll be in big trouble. Mr. Aaron, you don't want to be entangled in trouble, do you?"

"You've started anew, so it's best to say goodbye to your old life. I'm the one who'll help you deal with your troubles, Mr. Aaron. You don't want your new job to start off with a gloomy atmosphere, do you? So pay some money to put an end to the trouble. Otherwise, whether it's a furniture deposit or a contract dispute, it's not something that can be solved by just paying a few coins."

"Oh, I see." Aaron finally understood what the landlord meant. He smiled and said, "So, the landlord is trying to extort money from me? Legally speaking, shouldn't I report this to the police if I'm being extorted by the landlord?"

"This isn't a threat. Even if you report it to the police, they won't find any evidence. We're just following the contract. Until you clean the house, nobody knows how much damage you've done to the furniture. I'm just trying to help you avoid trouble. Can you argue with that?"

The landlord said loudly, "I live in the downtown area, but from the first moment I saw you, I knew that although you were living in the downtown area for the time being, you would leave soon."

“If you want us people from the lower city to stop following you, just give us some money and we promise to stop bothering you and take care of the trouble for you. Isn’t that a good deal? By the grace of the gods, you already have a new job, so just consider it an expense to say goodbye to your old life.”

"Besides, with a new identity comes the need for corresponding spending in order to receive the treatment of the rich. This is a matter of course, and even the gods would approve of it. Otherwise, if you remain as stingy and miserly as before, you will only receive the same treatment as the poor, and contract disputes will naturally come your way. This is a principle recognized by even the gods, and even if you call the police, it won't make a difference."

“I see. So if I don’t pay, I’ll not only have to compensate for the damage to the furniture, but I might also face contract disputes, lawsuits, and even more lawsuits, right? Although I might not necessarily lose in the end, the lawsuits and lawsuits will be enough to make me extremely stressed and ensure that my new life won’t be very pleasant, is that right?” Aaron said with a smile.

"Kid, you can say whatever you want, but I know you don't want things to turn out this way. You know, this is my job, and I have plenty of time to play with you. But you have a new job, so you definitely won't have time to play with me."

"Aren't you busy with your new life? Maybe you even have girls to chase. I know you don't want to see me at all, so give me a few gold coins, just consider it money to get rid of trouble. This is a fair price. Give me the money and I'll disappear from your sight immediately, then take care of everything here for you, and then you'll never see me again. I wish you a happy new life and that you'll never have to deal with someone like me again."

"I see." Aaron still smiled. He took out his wallet. He had just been to the bank, so he naturally had money on him. He held up two fingers and took out three new banknotes from his wallet. They were all gold-plated, and the ink on the banknotes was still very fresh, as if they had just been printed, giving off a "money fragrance".

When he worked as a clerk in the government building, his monthly salary was only 80 silver snakes, while 3 gold snakes were equivalent to several months' salary when he worked in the government building.

"Good lad, you really made money! You really made money!" The landlord reached out to take the three gold flowers.

But Aaron didn't hand the money to Elwood. He looked up at the fresh ink on the gold foil and said to Elwood, "But what if I don't want to pay?"

Elwood's expression suddenly turned cold.

Aaron watched Elwood's expression with great interest, finding it quite amusing.

"Landlord, have you been reading the newspaper lately?" Aaron asked.

"What newspaper?"

Elwood wasn't interested in the topic. He knew Aaron wasn't going to do what he said and wasn't going to make money peacefully, so he said, "Of course you can not pay. If you want to terminate the lease, clean the room for me. I'll give you one day. Let me inspect it after you're done. If I'm not satisfied, don't even think about terminating the lease."

These are all reasonable requests, of course. Cleaning the room before moving out is a matter of course for anyone. But this is just the beginning. The real trouble begins after the room is cleaned. As she said, the rich have their treatment and the poor have their treatment. Since he chose to be treated like a poor person, as the landlord, he certainly has a hundred ways to deal with Aaron.

Tearing off the mask? That's a low-level thing to do. He doesn't need to tear off the mask with Aaron at all. He just needs to follow the proper methods. This is his home turf. How could Aaron possibly be his opponent?

He thought that once he found a new job, he could stop caring about old Elwood in the downtown area and just kick him to the curb, cutting all ties with his old friends and things. But it's not that simple.

He had already given Aaron a fair price on his territory, but Aaron still refused to listen and had to suffer the consequences. So he would make Aaron remember what happened today.

Elwood walked out with a cold smile. He wasn't afraid of Aaron. Aaron didn't know that Elwood not only had a professional law firm behind him, but he also had many friends in the court. He had plenty of ways to get back at Aaron.

"Just do it according to the contract." Seeing that Elwood was about to leave, Aaron lost interest in negotiating with Elwood and simply threw him a sentence.

“Heh, do it according to the contract…” Elwood sneered, but when he turned around, he bumped into an iron wall.

Elwood was about to get angry when he looked up and saw the other man's crisp uniform and unyielding figure.

He was an old man, but Elwood had never seen an old man like him in his life. His hair was gray, his body was strong, but his expression was solemn.

He stood calmly and impassively at the door, looking at him with a serene and solemn expression.

"Hello, my name is Emlyn, and I'm here to help Mr. Aaron tidy up his room."

Emlyn bumped into Elwood and bowed to him. He was polite and courteous, yet he didn't lower himself to the status of a servant; he was the kind of old man Elwood had never met before.

Elwood instinctively stepped back, which allowed him to see clearly the figures behind the old man. Behind this robust old man stood other people.

They were all dressed in uniforms different from the elderly. The men stood on one side, and the women on the other. The men, all young men of good age, wore white gloves. The women on the other side were all dressed in black and white maid dresses. They were all tall, beautiful, and mostly young girls, now humbly bowing their heads. They exuded professionalism, clearly trained from childhood as maids and head servants.

But Elwood still couldn't imagine their identities. These girls were usually not hired, but selected from specialized schools. They were not only beautiful and young, but also usually had to study rigorously for four years as maids. Their temperament and professionalism were naturally different. Nobles would even scramble for maids who came from prestigious schools.

However, the Jag family did not need to hire servants. Only girls were eager to enter the Iron Earl's household, so they were all handpicked maids, and the training cost for each of them was astonishing.

Aaron saw the butler, nodded to him, and the male and female servants poured into the room from both sides of the door.

They passed by Elwood without even glancing at him; the delicate, floral fragrance emanating from the maids was enough to sober him up, and Aaron trusted them completely to handle the matter. They were all maids serving at the Iron Earl's villa, and he naturally trusted their professionalism and was already used to their presence.

Their professionalism is beyond question. As soon as they arrived in the room, they all changed into the protective suits needed for cleaning. In order not to damage anything, they all wore spotless gloves.

The head maid went to the window, opened it deftly, and drew the curtains. The weather was nice today; this room had probably never been so sunny since it was built.

Chapter 196 A New Beginning

They began packing things up one by one. Their movements were swift, efficient, and silent, and soon the room was emptied of everything through packing and sorting.

They were all packed into leather boxes, labeled, sealed, and carried outside by strong male servants.

A horse-drawn carriage was already parked downstairs, waiting to take the suitcase to the next rental location.

Standing in such a sun-drenched room, surrounded by professional maids tidying up his things, Elwood felt momentarily lost. Even though he was still the landlord, the owner of these houses, he felt that his home-field advantage had vanished, and he even felt that the room no longer belonged to him.

He wanted to say something to make them stop and scold them for damaging the furniture, but looking at their professional and efficient manner, he couldn't say a word.

At this moment, not only they, but also the other tenants of the townhouse were alarmed. They peeked out of their doors to look at them. They had probably never seen such a sight in their lives before, and just curiously looked out.

Because of the cheap rent, townhouses often have several tenants in one room, so at a glance, they look like they're full of people.

At this moment, the butler stepped forward, took out a business card from his chest pocket, and handed it to Elwood. Elwood subconsciously took the business card. The card was a high-end silver-gray color, and he didn't know what material it was made of. Just looking at the card, he knew it was worth a lot of money. It had the name of a law firm he didn't recognize written on it.

"Did the landlord just say that he might file a lawsuit against Mr. Aaron on our side?"

The housekeeper calmly said, "If the landlord has any dispute with Mr. Aaron regarding the rental, he doesn't need to contact Mr. Aaron. He can contact us, and we will handle the legal matters for Mr. Aaron."

"If there are any objections to the contract terms, or if you believe that Mr. Aaron has violated any housing regulations, Mr. Landlord and the housing company behind him can contact Maxwell Law Firm, located in Rhodoron. They will handle all of Mr. Aaron's contract issues."

With so much information flooding into Elwood's mind at once, his brain even went blank for a moment.

He had never heard of Maxwell Law Firm before and had no idea what it did. Otherwise, he would have known that it was one of the four major law firms in Rhodoron, specializing in handling legal matters for the royal family and the elite. But even if he hadn't heard of it, it didn't matter. He knew that the firm was located in Rhodoron, so he knew it was definitely not a simple firm.

"If something is damaged, you have to pay for it; it's all written in the contract... and you won't get your deposit back..."

Elwood's voice trailed off. He was used to being threatened by helpless residents, but this was the first time he had faced such a situation. He should have looked for Aaron, but Aaron was standing silently in the center of the room with the photo frame, as if he were detached from the matter.

Standing before Elwood was a tall, upright old man who had just told him that he was in charge of everything.

"Is that so? If a dispute really occurs, we'll have to go to court, and if we really have to go to court, it will be very troublesome."

The housekeeper seemed to have also noticed the potential legal risks: "In that case, let's leave the professional work to the professionals. If we need to assess the damage to the house and furniture, let's hire a professional appraisal company."

If the housing company behind the landlord really wants to file a lawsuit, then we'll have to see them in court. We'll have a professional legal team prepare.

"However, if Mr. Elwood does file a lawsuit, we may also sue the landlord and the housing company behind you after the lawsuit is over. At that time, it may not be as simple as a rental compensation. Please be prepared, Mr. Elwood."

After saying this, the butler bowed slightly to Elwood and left the room, leaving Elwood alone standing at the doorway, mouth agape, unsure of what to say.

In the end, Elwood did not file a lawsuit or withhold the deposit; he only asked Aaron to pay two weeks' rent.

After Aaron got into the carriage, he quickly selected two houses that he thought were good. One was No. 17 Riverside Road, a row house with a bright red exterior. The house had no garden or porch, and the street was right outside the door. Its advantage was that it was close to the Papal District, only a few blocks away. Its disadvantage was that the house was a bit old, and the chimney was broken when Aaron went there.

Aaron was quite satisfied with the second apartment, No. 18 Garden Street. It was an apartment building located in the middle of a commercial street, with a light yellow exterior. Aaron found it without any trouble. The entrance was right on the commercial street, and the environment was very beautiful.

The landlady was a kind old lady named Hermina. The vacant room was the main house on the south side of the apartment building. It was said that the family had just moved out not long ago, and the room had only been vacated a few days ago, so it looked a bit dirty and messy.

The people living in this apartment building all have respectable jobs. A famous writer lives on the second floor, and a post office clerk lives on the third floor. There are shiny ceramic plaques on the doors. The main house on the south side, which Aaron rents, originally belonged to a well-off family of three. It is said that the male head of the family had to move away because his job was transferred to the New World.

The landlady personally led him around and showed him the house. The house had three rooms in total, including a bedroom, a bathroom, and a study, as well as a kitchen and a living room. It wasn't big for a family of three, but it was more than enough for a young person living alone.

In addition, the room is well-equipped, with a separate bathroom, fireplace, and small bathtub.

Aaron's favorite room was the study. The room faced south, and the desk faced the window. When Aaron walked in, it was bare without even a curtain. A blue crystal vase sat on the wooden table, and he could see the bright sunlight casting shadows through the windowpanes. The wind blew across the rough wooden table and wandered through the corners of the room.

Standing by the window, Aaron knew this was the place.

After discussing it with the landlady, the final price they agreed on was 12 gold coins per month for a six-month lease, including a deposit and furniture rental. Aaron did a quick calculation and found that it was actually cheaper than renting a similar place himself. Even if Aaron used all his persuasive skills to haggle with the landlady, he might not have been able to get such a good deal.

Because the butler personally negotiated the price, the landlady became very respectful and all smiles when she saw Aaron with such a butler and male servant by his side. As a result, she offered a significant discount in the rental contract, such as only charging a token deposit.

The reason is that the deposit is to prevent people from violating the rental agreement, but she trusts Aaron's identity and character, and welcomes someone of Aaron's status to live in the apartment, so there is no need to collect too much deposit. The water and gas fees can also be negotiated.

It is said that the landlady is a devout follower of the Seven Gods. Aaron has not yet told her that he is the Judge. If the landlady finds out, the rent will probably be reduced even more.

This is the convenience of having servants and a butler with you, which made Aaron sigh in his heart that the world is still too kind to the rich.

Aaron still remembers his first time in Birmingham, when he rented a room from Elwood. Elwood took him to the room and didn't give him many options. He also questioned him in detail about whether he could read, whether he had been to school, whether he had identification, where he worked, and even asked for a work certificate from a government building. He only let him go after he found out where Aaron came from.

When he signed the contract, he also signed a bunch of clauses. The landlord, Elwood, repeatedly told him that the rent must be paid every month and that he could not be late for more than two weeks. He also warned him that if he was late on rent, he would be evicted immediately and his valuables would be confiscated.

But here, everything went very smoothly. The contract was negotiated in less than ten minutes. After the contract was signed, the painter, plasterer, and wallpaperer came and cleaned the room, erasing all traces of the family who had previously rented it.

The butler assured him that it would only take one day to completely transform the place, and by tomorrow evening at the latest, it would be a newly renovated house with brand-new furniture and decor. He would personally oversee the process, and Aaron only needed to come back tomorrow evening.

While they were renovating, their neighbors on the same floor peeked out to watch them. The housekeeper was polite and courteous to everyone and even prepared a small gift for them. Aaron only needed to stand there and smile, and they were filled with goodwill towards this new neighbor.

The butler handled everything meticulously, so Aaron had nothing to worry about. He strolled around Garden Street, familiarized himself with the area, and even visited the crepe shop on Garden Street. The crepe shop staff were very welcoming and, upon learning that he was new, gave him a free cup of lemon tea.

The following evening, Aaron sat at his desk and placed four white roses into a blue crystal vase.

The house had been completely transformed after the painters and wallpaperers left. The entire house had been repainted white, the window frames had been replaced, new curtains had been installed, new furniture had been moved in, and the hot water pipes had been tested to ensure everything was working properly before they left.

Now, in front of him lies a heavy mahogany desk, which is currently empty except for a blue crystal vase, the only thing he hasn't thrown away.

"From now on, I'll be living here." Aaron gazed contentedly out the empty window, saying to himself.