Proofread By Thomas F. 30th March 2025
"Thank you again, Jonah and Dan; without you both, I wouldn't have been able to return to Greltheaven in one piece," I thanked as they dropped me at the establishment.
"You have thanked us enough already, Master Remus; if you are truly grateful, then hire us when you need security next time," replied Jonah.
"You can count on that," I told them as I walked through the establishment's gates.
I looked at the mansion, and a smile appeared on my face. I had been away for days and missed it a lot. I hope everything went well.
It should be, considering I have leveled up in the morning.
I had just reached the fountain when the door opened, and Carla walked outside radiantly in a purple spaghetti dress.
"You have arrived early." she said as she stopped before me, "I got a ride," I replied.
She arched her brow in question, and I told her about my ride with Soren Arryn as we walked inside the manor.
Soon, we reached my office, and I sat on my slightly warm seat; Carla was likely sitting on it before I arrived.
"So, how was everything?" I asked. "Good, very good," she said and forwarded the file to me.
I took it without question, and in a minute, my eyes widened before I even finished reading the first page.
I flipped the page, and with each page I flipped, a greater shock spread through my heart, even after I placed the file down twenty minutes later. I wasn't able to calm myself fully.
The first night at opening, the establishment had earned one hundred and thirty-seven thousand crowns.
On the second night, it was one thousand and seventy-nine thousand crowns; on the third night, it was one hundred and ninety-one thousand crowns; and on the fourth night, it was nearly the same.
Seeing nearly the same earnings on the third and fourth nights, I thought the earnings had stabilized, but I was wrong.
On the fifth night, on which I was on my way to the barony, the establishment had earned two hundred and two thousand crowns.
On the sixth night, it was two hundred and four thousand crowns; on the seventh night, it was two hundred and four thousand crowns, the same as the previous day.
Things have changed on the eighth night; several things happened.
The first was an increase in rates; we have increased the rates by a hundred crowns, making them three hundred per hour.
It happened after all the high-class brothels decided to increase the rate; I had asked Carla to follow suit if they did, increasing our rates to be comparable to the brothels charging the highest.
Still, it wouldn't have made such a huge increase; at most, it would have made us around thirty to forty thousand crowns extra.
The increase is more than that; we earned a total of two-hundred and eighty-eight thousand crowns last night, a shocking amount.
Taking the four nights' earnings over nine hundred thousand crowns, even after paying bills and everything, we had six hundred thousand remaining four days of earnings, not to mention little over two hundred thousand we had from the first four days after taxes and all expenses.
So, now we have eight hundred and fifty thousand crowns in our coffers, which is enough for me to do some things, but before I begin to discuss them, I want to ask one thing.
"So, what happened?" I asked directly; she understood the question and even expected it, as she immediately opened her tantalizing mouth.
"A little before midnight, a large group came; they were from Meldhorn and felt relatively high level."
"They stayed till morning before leaving," she replied.
"Were you able to find out who they were?" I asked. She had access to the information I subscribed to from the Grey Guild and our intelligence network.
"Some," she replied, pulling a page from the file before her and handing it to me.
I scanned the names, noting the details listed beneath a few of them. As I read, a smile tugged at my lips.
No wonder we earned so much— it even made me level up. These people were not just powerful but wealthy beyond measure.
"Now, let's move forward with the plans we made," I said as I removed the file from the drawer before opening it.
"We are renewing the teachers' contracts, and this time for three months," I stated, writing something down at the end of the page that I took out.
"We will also be hiring new teachers in these fields," I added, sliding the page toward her. The list used input from the girls, Carla, and my opinions.
The teachers we hired teach them only basic things like etiquette and speech, while these new teachers will teach them different things, mostly art.
Music, painting, dancing, and other things like mathematics and language. Most girls only know the common language; I want them to be fluent in more languages.
I am teaching them these things not only because I want them to be knowledgeable about them but, most importantly, to advance their class.
Learning these things will take their class in the direction I want it to go.
"The girls will be happy," said Carla, her eyes becoming a little emotional. "I am glad," I replied before turning to other things.
"I want you to contact Ms. Rand and ask her whether she is willing to work for the establishment; if she is not interested, then ask Ms. Cooper," I said
"Though, make sure they know they'll be working under Eudo," I added.
Her surprise was evident—she hadn't expected that. This is not something I had discussed with her before.
"Eudo is doing fine," she replied after a brief silence.
"We're making a master artist do assembly-line work here," I replied with a smile. "His true talent lies in finesse—we should let him excel at what he does best."
She seemed to grasp my meaning and nodded in agreement.
"Also, renew the staff contracts and hire a better band. This one is good, but I think it's time to bring in a higher-level group—we can afford it now," I ordered. She nodded and noted it down
For the next few minutes, we went over more minor details before I stepped out of my office with Carla.
Now that I finally have the budget, it's time to implement my plans. The impact will be immediate, and the establishment's earnings will rise.
As I walked down, I could hear the lessons in the different rooms. There will be more noise from the rooms very soon, probably starting tomorrow.
"It is a good thing you have brought in more guards," I praised.
Nearly every room where the lessons are being held has guards, and most of these guards are women. If there is any problem, they will act immediately.
Thankfully, no problem has occurred.
I looked at Carla as if she had read my mind; she shook her head.
"It would have been great if we had dedicated space for learning," I said softly.
While I could rent a building, that is not an efficient approach. The space needed to be close, within walking distance of the establishment.
"We will have it. If the business kept going this way," she said. To that, I couldn't help but nod.
Soon, we reach the first floor, where Ms. Elme is conducting her lessons.
The old woman is directing ten girls to walk gracefully while keeping a glass filled with water to the brim on their heads; spilling even a single drop would cause the old woman to hit the girls' bottoms with the cane.
I still remember the time they used to drop the empty glass, and now, a month later, they are barely spilling a single drop from the full glass.
The girls did not glance as we walked by the hall, and neither did Ms. Elme.
When teaching, the old woman focused on her lessons only, while the girls did for fear of punishment. The old woman did not hold back when it came to punishing.
Soon, we walked out of the manor, and a minute later, the carriage exited the establishment's gates toward River Street.
Around fifteen minutes later, the carriage rolled through the river street.
The street houses the most expensive shops; one could find everything here.
From boutiques to shops that sell enchanted weapons, the only thing one needs here is money in the pocket.
The carriage stopped in front of the three-story building with large glass doors. Carla and I walked out of the carriage and into the building through the glass doors.
As we entered, we saw the hanging sign of 'Harwood Wines' like a chandelier in the air, with tall wooden racks by the wall filled with different kinds of wine bottles, with people purchasing them.
"It seemed like their collection had increased since the last time we were here," I said to Carla as we walked toward the big counter.
We were just halfway there when a familiar young man came toward us with a big smile on his face.
"Remus, you came; Miss Carla did say you would come here the day you returned from the barony," said Aydin as he approached us and shook my hand before turning to Carla with enamored eyes.
"Miss Carla," he greeted, shaking her hand for a little too long before letting go unwillingly.
"Master Silver, welcome to Harwood wines," said the old man, who looked to be in his early seventies, as he appeared in front of us silently.
"Mr. Taylor," I replied.
Aydin might be an owner in name, it's this old man who runs everything. When Harwood left, he left this man in charge of this vast shop and his son.
"Since you have come personally, then there must be an order?" he asked with the eyes of the old man shining softly in anticipation.
"Yes," I replied with a smile.
"Then we should discuss it in private," he said, leading us to the private room with twenty-some wine bottles placed decoratively.
They are not decorative pieces but expensive wines, more than half of which I couldn't afford with the money I have, but one day I will.
"So, what kind of wines do you want? Would you like a catalog?" asked the old man.
"There is no need," I replied with a smile and turned to Carla, who took out the folder from her bag and slid a few pages toward the old man.
"Do you want all of them in this exact quantity?" he asked, "Yes," I replied, and the old man nodded and felt the feeling covering me as he activated his skills.
"Then, it would be nine-hundred, forty-three thousand crowns," he said, and I wanted to agree immediately. "The price is too high, Mr. Taylor; how about nine hundred thousand crowns," I countered with a smile.
"You must be joking, Master Silver; if we sell to you at that price, then forget earning the profit, we will suffer a loss,"
"How about nine hundred and forty thousand crowns," said the old man. The power of his skills increased further, and the smile on my face became straining as I made the counteroffer.
We negotiated while Carla and Aydin watched in silence.
"Fine, we will not earn a profit on this order and take nine hundred and twenty thousand crowns," agreed the old man with a fake sad sigh.
In the next few minutes, I have signed a few bills and paid them half of the amount, nearly half a million.
Half of the wines will be delivered today by five, while the other half will be by the end of the week; that is when I will pay the rest of the money.
Usually, I did not buy wine worth more than a hundred thousand at once, but seeing the guests and how much our guests drank. I decided to purchase the wines from the third list sooner than I had initially planned.
It should last about a month or more, but I would be delighted if we could sell it all before that.
Wine is one of the things we earned the most on; each wine provides at least double margins, and some even give us a margin of five to six times when used through the cocktails.
"Master Remus, a new stock of wines has come from the Meldhorn, ones we seldom find in the empire."
"Do you want to see them?" asked the old man, "Sure," I replied, and half an hour later, I had fifty thousand crowns more added to our bill.
"That old bastard!" I cursed as I sat inside the carriage. "We have gotten them at quite a good rate. If we had brought them outside, we would need to pay fifty to a hundred thousand crowns extra," consoled Carla.
"I know," I replied with a smile.
Harwood is building a relationship; smart ones always focus on that, and if my business continues to grow at such speed, then it wouldn't be long before he started reaping huge profits from me.
We stayed out for two more hours, and in two hours, I had spent all the money I had, even signed the bills I would pay in the coming days.
The establishment had better keep earning as it is right now, or I would be in massive trouble with the merchants.