The very next day, William woke up feeling tired and a bit stressed out. A lot was going to happen today and he had to navigate it all somehow.
He dragged himself from his bed with the help of Laura, freshened up a bit, got a change of clothes, and then headed for the dining area to have his breakfast.
Upon arriving, he greeted his father and brother and sat down for the meal.
"How was your night? Judging by your appearance, It must have been very eventful." Lord Ulric asked his son with a slight smile on his face.
Hearing this and looking at his father's expression, Marek turned to William in shock as he exclaimed. "I can't believe it! When did you start having and partaking in the pleasures of the flesh? You grew up so fast brother!!"
Hearing this, William was left speechless; Marek had obviously misread the situation, and after looking at his father's amused expression, he understood that the marquess did not intend on clarifying the misunderstanding.
'What desires? I was working my ass off for a good portion of the night, what the hell man! How can your first reaction when seeing a tired person who just woke up from sleep be (This fifteen years old boy just got lucky)'. William thought to himself.
He sighed deeply, he was too tired, had better things to do than to correct his brother's ridiculous thoughts, he still had physical training, the "talk" with his father, checking up on Edmund and the warehouse to see how the new products have turned and on top of all of this he would have to attend the celebration tonight.
Just thinking about his ridiculously busy schedule made him want to just temporarily quit life and seek better prospects elsewhere.
"About yesterday, can we talk after I finish training, there is something important I need to tell and show you." William addressed his father, changing the subject to something that was actually important.
The marquess looked at his son in the eyes for a few moments before he calmly nodded. "I will be in my study room this afternoon, though I have much to do for tonight, feel free to come whenever you want."
With that, William ignored his elder brother's further questions, quickly gobbled down his breakfast, and made his way to the training ground without delay, lest Oswin "upgrade" his training regiment for being late.
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By the time William was done with the exhausting drills, the sun had no more than an hour before reaching noon. Out of energy; William went for a quick nap, after which he made his way to his father's study room.
Upon reaching his destination, he knocked on the door, and upon being allowed to enter, he made his way inside.
William found his father sitting behind his desk, quill in hand, as he wrote something while listening to Alfred.
"Should I come later?" William asked.
"Not at all son, please sit." Lord Ulric replied.
William looked at Alfred, who looked as professional as always in his head butler's uniform, before following his father's instructions and taking a seat in front of the desk.
"So son, what was it that you wished to speak to me about? I am all ears." Lord Ulric put his quill down, looked at his son with a slight smile adorning his face, and said.
William felt a bit uncomfortable talking about his private matters while Alfred was around; he knew that he was trustworthy yet he nonetheless was not looking forward to him being present at the moment.
Seeing the hesitation in William's eyes, the marquess understood what was on his mind and tried to reassure his son, "Alfred is one of us son, whatever you say even if it were treason he would never divulge it to an outsider."
This was a grave thing to say, especially coming from a Marquis, considering he was not exactly a low-level noble, yet William got the hint, took a deep breath, and started his explanation.
"Father, Do you remember the merchant I had saved a while ago by buying his debt?"
"Yes I do, what of him?"
"Well you see, he had lost everything to the bandits, I saw some potential in him and therefore invested my money starting a business together...." William went on explaining everything that had happened so far, all while tweaking some details to his liking in accordance with what he and Edmund had agreed upon.
He made sure to emphasize the fact that the discovery of the soap was just a coincidence, as well as what soap is and what its effects are.
The more Lord Ulric learned, the more intrigued he was; he quickly understood the potential health benefits such an "invention" could bring to the territory.
Once William was done with the basic explanation, a long period of silence befell the room as the Marquis looked at his son while being absorbed in his thoughts.
" Why are you telling me this now?" Lord Ulric eventually asked; he did not seem happy nor angry either, his tone was simply neutral.
"I think we have a scented version that could be sold to wealthier people, nobles even especially the ladies, and seeing that tonight many would be present in the castle..."
"I see." The marquess cut his son off, he already understood what William was trying to do.
"First of all I need samples of this soap, the regular one and the scented one, I need to see this with my own eyes first. But if what you say is true, I will help you sell this soap of yours to noble society and wealthy merchants." Lord Ulric demanded.
William sighed when he heard his father's agreement, the hardest part was over. Yet he still needed to ask for another favor.
"I have a few favors to ask of you father."
"Go ahead."
"I want you to not divulge the fact that i or Edmund are responsible for the production, at least not for now, I also hope that you can help us keep the formula under wraps as well, I understand that this is a very valuable resource for Landow and I think you would know best how to protect us from the shadows. Of course, I will pay taxes as well and give ten percent of our profits to you."
Lord Ulric looked at his son for a while seeming to be struggling to keep his emotions in check, after a while that seemed like an eternity to William, he simply nodded.
"Alright, now go and get me some samples."
As soon as William heard this, he left the room without delay and headed for the warehouse.
Soon after William had left, the marquess exploded into a burst of almost uncontrollable laughter that lasted for around a whole minute.
" My lord!" Alfred called the marquess, seeing as his emotions had escaped his control for too long.
"So this was what he was doing in that warehouse with his new friend! Great, just great!! HAHAH.." The marquess exclaimed as he went into a shorter burst of laughter.
"What do you think of this my lord? Should you not be upset?" Alfred asked.
"Upset? UPSET!! It's brilliant, just god damn brilliant, he is young, far too young to play games with me, his story is full of holes and he thinks I had no idea about his little business affair, but look at the potential Alfred, he is still fifteen years old, yet could give novel and interesting ideas, could analyze the situation well for his age and overall has a good head over his shoulders." The marquess exclaimed, a very broad smile plastered on his face.
"So are you going to cultivate him? Have you changed your mind about the order of succession?"
"Not completely, William still lacks aggression, without it, he might survive in noble circles but he will never prosper. I definitely need to cultivate him from now on, if he could gain that spark of aggression and coupled with his good sense, then I can sit back or even die in peace knowing that the Blackwell family will continue on and prosper."