Chapter 14

As the morning sun shone bright in my face, I groggily woke up and changed into more suitable clothes. I called Andrew into the room and asked him to read me my schedule for the day.

"Andrew, can you go over my schedule for today?" I asked.

"Yes, my lord. Today, you will be heading out to the city to inspect your properties before the opening. After that, you have class with Mr. Beckett. Then, you will have lunch with your family in the dining room. Following that, you will practice your magic, eat dinner, and then sleep," Andrew replied.

I let out a deep sigh. It was going to be a long day, but I had to ensure that everything was in order before the opening in a few days.

"Have you finished the list of journalists that I should sponsor?" I asked, hoping to buy some influence within the journalist world.

"Yes, my lord. I have 100 candidates who could help us," Andrew responded.

"Good. Send all of them a little personalized gift based on their issues and make sure to use flattery or a sentimental note," I instructed. Andrew looked confused, so I asked him to give me one of the names on the list.

"John, 28, has been a journalist for eight years. He recently suffered the loss of his father and has had trouble making ends meet for his family," Andrew said.

While he was talking, I already knew what to write for John's gift. "For this gentleman, send him a pouch of money worth around 100 silver and write a message along the lines of, 'I, Lucas de Clare, son of Count George, have heard of your father's passing and the difficult times you and your family are going through. As I see all of my citizens as family, I can only offer an extended hand,'" I said. I was hoping by tugging on the journalist heart strings that It will create a good image about me before fully buying them out.

"Is the carriage prepared?" I asked Andrew.

"Yes, my lord. We are ready to go," he replied.

"Alright, take me to the carriage," I instructed. Andrew led me outside of the estate, towards the front gate where the family emblem adorned a waiting carriage.

"Everything is ready, my lord. You will be guarded by me and ten guards during the trip," Andrew informed me.

I climbed into the carriage and instructed the driver to start moving. It didn't take long before we arrived at the second building, only a few minutes away.

As I stepped out of the carriage, I was greeted by an older woman, around 40 years of age, who gracefully bowed to me. " I greet the young lord" I had hired an experienced forewoman who was familiar with the industry to supervise the business while I was away. I wont be able to control every aspect of the business so getting help is necessary.

"No need to bow to me, Philippa. I just came to check on the business and make sure everything is in order for the opening day," I said, trying to put her at ease.

As I entered the building, I was pleased to see that the assembly line I had set up for maximum efficiency was working wonderfully. All five stations were operating at a great speed and in a synchronized fashion. I had a total of 31 workers in the building alone, and I was hopeful that the production would be successful.

I turned to Philippa and asked, "How many garments are we producing a day?"

"Roughly 450, give or take, young master," she replied. We were producing more than I had expected, but I considered it a good thing.

"Have there been any problems with the workers?" I asked, concerned.

"None so far, young lord," Philippa reassured me.

I continued to survey each section of the assembly line. The spinning section was operating as expected with no delays, as was the weaving section. However, the cutting and sewing section was the longest part of the process with the most workers, and they appeared to be a bit overloaded due to the huge amount of yarn being produced. 'I might have to hire more people,' I thought to myself.

Next, I inspected the quality control section, which was running smoothly. Finally, I saw everything being loaded onto carts and transported to the store.

"Andrew, is the store fully stocked and ready to open?" I asked.

"Yes, my lord," he replied.

"Okay, change of plans. Move the opening date to the day after tomorrow. I don't want to have too much stock now. We are producing at an incredible rate, but it would be better to start selling so I can begin making a profit," I instructed.

"As you wish, my lord," Andrew acknowledged.

I turned to Philippa and complimented her on her work. "Very good, Philippa. If you continue like this, you could receive some benefits. After all, when we are doing well, I want all of us to benefit," I said, raising my voice slightly so that the workers could hear. I was planning to establish performance-based bonuses to increase productivity, but right now, it wasn't needed.

Leaving the building, I quickly entered the carriage and headed home. I had to attend Mr. Beckett's class later, so I couldn't stay any longer. Despite that, I had many plans in action, and so far, they were proving fruitful. The tax break and hygiene plan had been a huge success, and I had become known as a young benevolent genius.

After a few minutes, we arrived, and I entered Mr. Beckett's class. "Good morning, Master Lucas," he greeted me, but I could tell he was a bit distracted.

"Good morning, Mr. Beckett," I replied.

"Today, we're just going to do a quick check on your magic, so sit down while I channel some mana into you," he explained.

Assuming a meditative position, I sat down, and Mr. Beckett placed his hand on my back, channeling mana into me. Ordinarily, my inner mana would have prevented any external mana from entering, but I allowed his to pass. The mana enabled him to detect my core and stream, but it couldn't detect my elements, so I managed to keep my teleportation ability a secret, not that I wanted to.

Mr. Beckett finished the quick check on my magic and turned to me. "Okay, everything seems in order, so just keep up with your training, okay?" he said.

"Alright, Mr. Beckett," I replied, standing up. Before I left, I couldn't help but ask, "Is something bothering you, Mr. Beckett?"

He hesitated for a moment before responding. "You don't have to worry about me, Master Lucas," he said, trying to brush it off.

"Come on, Mr. Beckett," I said, using a friendly tone. "You are like family to me! You can tell me if something's bothering you."

He sighed and looked at me, seeming to make a decision. "It's my father's territory," he said. "With the royal family decreasing their funding of the territories, things are getting tight, and I'm worried about the people there."

I nodded sympathetically. "I understand how you feel, Mr. Beckett," I said. "Maybe I can help. After all, I have some influence now, and I could talk to some people who might be able to assist your father's territory."

Mr. Beckett looked surprised but grateful. "I would appreciate that, Master Lucas," he said.

I smiled, gaining influence of the southern territories will be hard but I could use Mr.Beckett territory as a stepping stone to begin my influence