Secret To Getting Rich?

Mina stared with great confusion at the two make up kits in her hands. She had already been comparing the two for a few minutes now. Even after juxtaposing them in great length, she couldn't come to a conclusion about which to get.

"Just pick one already. Why are you taking so long?" Vincent spoke in irritation after running out of patience.

"But I don't know which one to get. This has more colors and shades but the other looks like it's of higher quality. The worse thing is that they both cost six silver coins."

"Then why don't you just get both?"

"They are so expensive. Even your pocket money wouldn't be able to handle it if I got both."

Vincent smiled smugly at the chance to show off his wealth and spoke while putting up a nonchalant front. "Hehehe, you don't have to worry about the price. You master is practically swimming in riches. Just get them both. Let's go."

Mina stared at her usually stingy master in surprise and did the math on her fingers. "12 slivers, that's 120 bronze coins. Since one bronze coin is worth 12 pennies, that's a grand total of 1440 pennies. Oh my god, that's my salary for 2 months. Are you sure I can get both?"

"Of course. Your master is kind and generous. This is nothing. Tell me if you want anything else. I am feeling specially good today."

Mina denied the offer and walked out the store with the makeup kits packed in a handheld bag with a pink ribbon decorating it. "Even the bag here is so fancy. Waah. I wonder if I will ever be able to shop in places like this with my own money one day."

"It will be difficult. I only see one way for you to be able to do that."

"What's that?"

"You have to find yourself a sugar daddy." Vincent teased with a serious face and started walking towards his next destination.

Mina held down her coif with her free hand and chased after him. Soon, the bickering duo reached Gordock's Book Store, the largest supplier of books in all of Mistellia, hence the biggest in all of northern region of Libsidia Kingdom.

Looking at the serious and professional workers in the store, the maid quieted down and followed meekly behind her master. A staff approached Vincent and welcomed him into the bookstore with a smile. "What could you be looking for?"

"A compendium of magical beasts. An encyclopedia on magical beasts' biology or anatomy. Also a book on advanced potion concoction."

"Please follow me." The staff spoke politely before guiding Vincent and Mina to a massive repository. Books of every kind were arranged neatly in shelves that reached up to the ceiling. Several other staffs could be seen using ladders to reach out and grab the books that other customers wanted.

After a few minutes of searching, Vincent found everything he was looking for. As he stood in front of the counter, he couldn't help but look at the book featured on hot arrival.

"What's this?"

The man behind the counter took a look at what Vincent was pointing at and answered, "That is the latest book by chef Leleteen, the personal chef of Duke Romiro. It contains ten of his most prized recipes. Recently, it has taken over the capital like a storm."

"Oh. How much is it?" Looking at the book, Vincent was suddenly struck by an idea to make money.

"Since it's a premium print, it will be three gold coins."

'Isn't this daylight robbery? Could this be the power of food?' Vincent thought to himself as he scrutinized the book closely. "I will take this as well."

"Excellent choice sir. The recipes inside are truly wonderful." The cashier spoke enthusiastically and continued while calculating the price for the books. "I took the opportunity to try one last week. And I must say, I was shocked by how good it tasted. It even rekindled some of the old passion between my wife and I."

Vincent looked at the cashier who was ranting off about how he met his wife and hurriedly passed five gold coins to him. Grabbing the change, he turned around and left abruptly.

"Master, why are you in such a hurry. Aren't you interested in what happened when they first eloped without any money?" Mina asked curiously as she looked back, still wanting to hear the cashier's full love story.

"What's so interesting about that story?"

"What are you talking about? Isn't it natural that anyone would be interested to know how their love eventually came out on top? I can't stop my heart from worrying when I think of all the hardships they went through."

Listening to his maids' words, Vincent realized that people here really liked cheesy love stories. It was understandable given the lack of entertainment. 'Wait, shouldn't I be capitalizing on this?'

"You should start counting your lucky stars. As fate would have it, you are going to have the honor of being the beta reader for the tragic love stories that 'I' am writing by myself." Vincent increased his pace while trying his best to hold back an evil smirk.

For the next few days, Mina was completely entranced by the tale of 'Lomeo and Julien'. It told the tragic story of two lovers who couldn't be together because of their family's long vendetta filled story.

Never had Mina heard of such beautifully crafted story. The fact that Vincent wrote it himself surprised her even more. By the time she was done with the story, she had newfound respect for her master.

Satisfied by the reaction of his first reader, he then handed a copy to his sister and mother. He wanted feedback from women of higher social standing since they were much more likely to read such works.

*****

"Dear, this is bad." Renee ran up to her husband with tears in her eyes.

Having gotten used to this pattern, the viscount sighed in defeat. "What did he do this time?"

"Vincent wrote a romance story."

"Isn't that good? Means that he isn't traumatized by the duel as you said. Or it could be his way of venting all the built up emotions." He tried to calm his wife with logic. "But why are you crying."

"It's worse than we originally thought." She narrated the story in short and continued. "I think he is completely head over heels for Velma's daughter. I fear he is contemplating suicide."