Jack broke the ice after a relatively short period of brainstorming.
"What do you think? Do I put a tail on him? A woman maybe? Even though he doesn't look like the type, it seems he much rather prefers the company of women."
Leoneol dark eyes were lost in deep thought. Even when he did not have an audience, he still retained his dignified air and his soft spoken nature that made him easily approachable to others. He finally replied his mentee;
"No. There's no need for that. Can't you tell? He is a very wary man. He's currently on edge, and therefore would be suspicious of everything and everyone around him."
Jack finally understood why his mentor hadn't bothered to offer Lucas sanctuary for the night. He agreed with the Prince. "That's true. But something has to be done. We can't just sit back and hope he would cast his lot with us."
"Indeed..." Leoneol stroked the tufted beard on the left side of his chin; "The best course of action right now would be to continue to suffocate him with kindness. I have to be friendly to pull him in."
Jack caught on immediately to the prince's line of thought. "You're worried someone else might get to him before you do?"
"He is a genius. Sooner or later, my brothers will hear about him and encircle him like bees. And then, having bought him over to their side, they will turn that weapon on me."
"You really think they would do that?"
Leoneol shrugged. "It's what I would do."
......
Jack did his best not to shadow Lucas too much. Knowing that The Grand Prince had suggested that Lucas buy a house, he knew it was only a matter of time before Lucas came to him for assistance in that regard. So, all he had to do was wait for him to come. And come he did. Jack could't help but feel like he was playing chess- only this time, it was with real life pieces.
Lucas turned to the elderly man for counsel and Jack graciously played the part of a benefactor well enough. He guided him and helped him navigate the turbulent waters that was the real estate market in the capital city. Taking great care not to reveal his true motive, he helped Jack until he finally secured a stunning villa in a decent part of the city. All with a budget of fifteen hundred gold coins.
The villa itself was a wonderful sight for sore eyes. In fact in the sight of normal people, it was nothing less of a mansion. A magnificent edifice of stunning build. But for the members of the noble class who had practically known nothing but wealth, it was very much an odinary residence.
Alighting from the horse drawn carriage, the three girls eagerly drank in the scene before them hungrily. The constable (who also doubled as the head of real estate department) led them through the grounds, feeding them with information about the land, its history, its neighbourhood, and the architecture.
But the girls could not care less about some boring history lesson. They were still struggling to control their excitement at the thought of living here. They could not believe it this was going to be their future residence.
"Well, what do you think girls? It looks like a home doesn't it?" Lucas asked them as he pulled them aside, away from the agent.
"Yes!" they all chorused excitedly. "It's so beautiful!! And big!!"
"Yeah I guess you all are right. It is kind of big isn't it?" Scratching his head, he said casually; "I might actually need to hire servants to take care of the property. It looks like---"
"No!" Lolita protested, bringing a wave of apprehension on Lucas. "What's wrong? What did I say?"
Catherine intervened with an explaination; "There's really no need for servants master. Why hire strangers in your home when we are more than capable of handling the day to day affairs?"
Lucas raised his eyebrows; "Oh I really don't know about that girls. This is a really big property, Only the yard work and kitchen duty alone looks like a lot of work."
Lolita proposed a counter offer; "Okay, how about we test run it for a few days, just to see how well this arrangement works? If you're not satisfied with us, you can always go ahead and hire the servants."
Lucas really did not mind getting servants. He would have preferred not to have the girls wait on him. But they were pretty adamant about it. so he conceded to their request. Delighted, the girls settled in an went about their daily routines.
The days ran by smoothly. Well, as smoothly as when a new landlord does his best to settle in his new estate. Lucas found out he was enjoying the experience more than he thought he would.
The Grand Prince gave Lucas a few days to settle in before he made his next move.
On one sunny morning, Lucas was alerted by one of the girls that about half a dozen horsemen were at the gate with a message for him. Not sure what to make of this, he went out to meet them.
Their bright yellow flags and silver armor were colors Lucas had only seen on one man- Leoneol. The first horseman dismounted and saluted energetically.
"Greetings to the master of the estate, The Grand Prince sends his regards. He had instructed us to deliver personally these four chests to you. He hopes you will be pleased."
He signalled the others and they brought forward the wooden chests with artfully crafted designs on them. Without waiting for anything, they mounted their horses in one swift movement and rode off. One would have thought they had actually choreographed their movements here.
Lucas quietly transported the chests to a temporary hiding place in his basement. Even wihout opening them, he knew already that each chest contained a total of twenty five thousand gold coins. As an astute thinker, he also knew that Leoneol had done this with the sole aim of having the pleasure of Lucas owing him a favor. It was a calculated gambit, and Lucas had no option but to accept the gold. They were his sweet annoyance.
The problem was he was currently dependent on others. This inadvertently put him on a metaphorical leash. If he wanted to break free, he needed to finance his own life. And thus, the idea of developing a sound business plan was concieved.
In essence, the plan was simple. This was very important as it was a general law in business that the less complex the business plan, the better.
Moving with the energetic speed of one who was eager to become independent, Lucas got to work immediately.
In a time and world where the economy and technology had not been integrated into digital commerce and financial technology, Lucas was forced to do things the traditional way. That is, get an actual physical location (a store) from which he could conduct the business of manufacturing and marketing. This time, he did not consult Jack.
Alone, he took a personal tour of the city and scoured the sights that had the widest reach and the best potential to be great locations to sell from. It took a while, but he found the right place. In the heart of the city, there was a prime piece of real estate that sat right on the edge of the main road. Lucas could hardly believe his luck. He was never one for supersitions and omens, but he took this to be a sign that his business was about to takeoff smoothly.
The process of inquiry was a bit more tedious. It seemed everyone could tell that he was a stranger, and therefore sought to rip him off. He was mildly annoyed, but respected their hustling spirit. Eventually, he met the landlord. A fat balding man with worn out clothes and a fat gold chain on his neck, he reminded Lucas of rich loan sharks who were wealthy enough to dress well, but (for some odd reason), still decide to ignore their wardrobe.
Lucas promptly stated his business and declared his intentions.
Feasting on a trayof steamy boiled ham, without even looking up, he blurted out the price as his jewelry danced to the tune of his knife and fork assaulting the meal.