Chapter 308 - The Network Of Spies

"Master, should our man remain there?" A soft voice rose in the silent study room.

Earlier, the only sounds heard were those of the nib of a pen scraping against the paper emanating from someone writing in the room.

Rutherford glanced up as his hand stopped writing the letter that needed to be sent to the fief.

He had already ordered his Butler at the fief to assign tasks to their people in order to implement the suggestions that his daughter had given to him.

From the letter he had received from the same man, he knew that the foundation of the third clinic that would be located at the center of the fief had been laid already.

The construction would also soon begin and within three to four months, a third clinic would be up and running at the very center of their fief.

One task had been taken care of and others had begun as well.

Once the clinic was built, the next thing needed would be physicians to look after it.

For this, Mr. Toone, the St. Claire family's physician was given the responsibility of finding new and promising recruits who were interested in joining their fief's clinics.

Finally, the recycling scheme would be introduced today in the fief and this was the reason for the letter that he had been writing to his Butler in the fief.

He wished to learn about how this idea would be either accepted or rejected by the people of his fief.

However, while he was still addressing his letter to the Butler of the fief, Butler Limo had interrupted him by asking a question that had come to his mind.

Rutherford glanced at the man and knew what he was talking about.

After all, that was his idea from the very beginning so how could he forget about it.

"No, let him continue working there. We need to keep an eye on the Baron." He commanded and Butler Limo nodded with a bow.

The 'Him' they were talking about was one among the many spies whom Butler Limo managed to assist his Master in a multitude of purposes.

Every noble household had its own inner methods on how to brave the troublesome and sometimes treacherous waters of their society.

The St. Claire's family also had a deep and mysterious network of men who worked together under the command of their Master and his aides to protect and serve this household.

One such man from the network of spies under Butler Limo was assigned the duty of keeping an eye on the Baron and reporting on how he ran the cafe.

The reason for this task was none other than the doting father who was worried about his child's hard-earned money.

Rutherford had been worried that his daughter's recipe would be wasted in the hands of this clumsy Baron whom he had seen panicking at the time of signing the contract.

'He is restless for such a small issue then how will he manage his cafe properly?' The concerned father had thought when he saw the Baron's restless face while he paced about their Parlor, worried that he would not make it in time for his Parlez with the King.

He could not just sit still and watch his daughter's hard work and effort go down the drain. Hence he had come up with an idea to help her from the shadows.

Rutherford did not have to think too much about how to keep an eye on the Baron and his cafe as the odds were in his favor.

This was because the very next day, news of the Baron's cafe hiring helping hands due to the increase in the workload for the preparations of the Princess' birthday celebration was spread in the Capital.

Baron Quinn MacIntyre had used this excuse to not only hire new employees but also to spread the word about his latest endeavor.

The Earl did not care about his sneaky methods to attract the nobles' attention as this had helped him as well.

After hearing this news, all he had to do was command his Butler who did the rest for him.

Butler Limo picked his smartest man and sent him over to apply for the job of a cashier at the cafe.

It was without a doubt that he would be selected for the job due to his quick thinking and people-pleasing attitude as that truly did happen.

Once he was given the job at the cafe, all Butler Limo had to do was leave everything in his hands.

This cashier worked every day for the Baron and took his salary from him but every night, he would report the events of the day to Butler Limo through secret letters that they exchanged.

Not once did the cashier appear near the St. Claire Mansion, as he stayed in the lodge provided by Baron MacIntyre in the commoner area of the Capital.

However, news about the cafe would reach the Butler at the same time every night.

This news contained the information that his Master needed to know at all costs.

{They sold 144 cupcakes today.}

Each day, such notes would arrive at their Mansion which Butler Limo made an account of in his ledger.

Once the news of Princess's celebration broke out, this small number multiplied vastly along with the price that Baron sold it for.

Earlier, he was selling cupcakes for 5 silver coins each but once its popularity increased, he began selling them at 1 gold coin for 6 pieces.

One could not buy individual pieces and could only buy them in a set which further increased the original price.

When Rutherford heard of this increase, he was surprised yet pleased with the shrewd mentality of the man who ran the cafe.

Baron hiked the prices based on its demand but this did not deter people from buying it.

Many of the nobles flocked to his cafe and supported his business by purchasing the treats sold there in large quantities.

This resulted in the little girl earning twelve banknotes in just the first month but this could not continue forever.

There would certainly be a decrease in the novelty of the treats as time passed and their sales might decrease.

However, both Rutherford and Yvonne were not worried about this.

The father was willing to add in more money if her allowance fell short while the little girl was already preparing new business ideas to deal with this issue if it ever arose.

Butler Limo waited for his Master's answer who seemed to be deep in thought.

Rutherford glanced up and nodded his head in reply.

"Let him remain there for another month. We need to be sure that Baron MacIntyre will not cheat Vonna of the money that she deserves." The doting father declared and went back to his work.

This command denoted that the spy working as the cashier would have to stay undercover for one more month and report back each day's earnings made just from the cupcakes.

The Butler would then keep an account of the same and after calculating 30% of that amount, they would know whether the Baron was being fair in the money he paid them or if he was deceiving them.

A calculative businessman like Rutherford St. Claire would not allow anyone to cheat him out of the money they owed him however, this matter concerned the money owed to his beloved daughter.

How could he ever allow her to be wronged while he was still around?

Therefore, the spy would remain until next month to gauge the goodwill of the Baron.

Having concluded this matter, Rutherford returned to the letter that would be sent to the fief.

Butler Limo did not disturb him any further and went to complete his other duties and also to contact the spy who worked in the cafe.

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Oblivious to the hard work that her father was doing to ensure that she was not cheated out of her money, Yvonne was right now glancing out of her window and at the lake below.

Demon also stood there as he gazed at her and wagged his tail like the good little pet that he was.

Asmodeus had given Demon the task of guarding her hence he would often come over to this part of the Mansion to take a look at her during the afternoons before he returned to his stable.

Now too, he had come around to complete his routine checks on his Master and would soon return to get some rest before his evening snack time with the Butler.