"That's because…" William paused, knowing that Alfred here wasn't aware of what he just did wrong, "I wasn't looking for alchemists, but artisans."
"What?!!!"
It landed over Alfred's ears like thunder and lightning. William laughed, taking amusement from the funny expression over his face.
Alfred got what bad he did just out of his fear. In the middle of his panic, he didn't make sure about William's next target. And when he spread the rumours, he didn't even try to control and limit it to his circle of profession.
He never thought that William was after artisans or something, only feared his deal would be stolen and got deadly worried over his shop's future.
He didn't believe that William would win this bet, but he was sure of William's ability to transform his shop and even give him a free golden piece of land on top of that.