Chapter 6 - Chapter 6: The Turmoil

We dropped of Nathan at his mansion earned by his diligent work as one of the first employee in our Milling Center. He was then reminded by mother not to speak of today's events to anyone before alighting the carriage. It was late in the evening, so we headed back home. "It seems those two girls are not yet done with work. I think I will prepare supper. Chrono, go rest I will call for you once supper is ready." Mother said. I nodded and went to my room. I now need to carefully plan my next move carefully. It seems that becoming a blacksmith is still in the future cards. I mean if I am The White Eagle, this then means the Earth Talon, head of all earth mages will report to me. In essence I have just acquired a sizeable workforce of earth mages. I can already feel my mood improving considerably.Supper was set and we ate only the two of us. My aunts still were nowhere to be found. It was not uncommon for them to skip coming home so nobody was worried.The next day, I rode with mother to the mill. At the gate to the entrance of the milling center, we were met with soldiers fully armed with spears and swords. "Are you Miss Ruby?" A guard bellowed. "Yes I am. Is something the matter?" Mother asked. "Your employee assaulted the baron as he was visiting. This establishment is indefinitely closed until a time that it is proven not to be a violent zone. The criminal is now in jail awaiting execution." The soldier concluded. I was shaken to the core by those words and from mother's expression, she was no different. Mother ordered the carriage driver to head to Nathan's home then head to the Baron's manor immediately. A small crowd had gathered outside Nathan's home. After a brief exchange of greetings, mother identified that it was her youngest sister who was arrested. According to the eye witnesses, the baron tried to forcefully kiss her. She then fought hard to remain free as a result the baron's nose was broken. In court it would be the words of a baron versus the words of a commoner. There was no helping the situation. We were in deep trouble."That stupid bastard. I will head there to negotiate with him. Nathan would you mind coming along?" Mother asked. Nathan shook his head and off we went to the Baron's manor. We were ushered in almost immediately, if I was to guess the idiot hardly slept at night due to the excitement of being in control. The negotiations were successful but very pricy. It was concluded that my aunt would be set free but as compensation, the milling center would be given to the baron. The plans and technical knowledge of how the water wheel was built and operates was also to be transferred. Finally we were forbidden from opening up another milling center in the kingdom.My aunt was returned to us unharmed which we were grateful for. In return, we now had no source of income. The savings from the one and a half years of operation amount to a little over 1200 gold coins. Not a bad amount of money, in fact, our current cost of high-end food annually is around 24 gold coins. If we reduce the quality of food and factor in costs of other necessities, I believe the figure will remain the same. This amount of money should theoretically last for 50 years. "Chrono, how much starting capital do you think the carriage business will take?" Mother asked. "I think that making new carriages from scratch is out of the question. Instead I believe that we should procure old carriages to modify and renovate. If both the carriages you bought at 10 gold pieces each were brand new, I assume that an old one will not cost more than 5gold pieces. We should start by purchasing around 50 of them and another 50 gold coins will be used for hiring additional employees and buying materials such as paint and metal." I answered. "Hmm, yes I believe with that approach around 300 gold coins will suffice. After all there are different types such as merchants' carriages, war carriages and the nobles' carriages. With your modifications I believe the carriages can sell at almost 12 gold coins. How soon can you start?" Mother asked. "Well if I get money right now in the morning, Mr. Duran, Nathan and I would be out shopping by the afternoon." I answered smiling. Mother also reacted with a smile of her own. "The outdoor research area has a large compound that can be used as both a workshop and showroom if you don't mind." I added. "That's fine. Nathan and Duran will be coming here in the afternoon. You should be ready with solid plans and figures before they arrive. After all this is your long awaited project. You are responsible for it. Do not forget that we will have guests next a week to see you." Mother added. I headed to my room to carefully think over this new and exciting business venture. In the Kingdom of Capel alone, I estimated that there are at least 5000 carriages in total. Most of the merchants' carriages however do not last more than 5 years without needing an extensive overhaul. This is due to travelling on rough roads on all corners of the kingdom while carrying heavy cargo. This I came to the conclusion is where our focus should be. Investing in merchant carriages after all is the smart choice as they are more I number and are prone to breaking down.