In the end, they settled with Lionel telling his parents that he would think of it thoroughly before answering.

Now that it was done, Lionel sat alone in his room. He let out a sigh and shook his head. It was only now that he felt the exhaustion from today.

But his day wasn’t even done.

Lionel looked at the gold delivered to his room. He had a whole chest of it.

It was the rewards he got from the academy, mixed in with a few gold coins he got from his grandfather. He asked his mother to let him have this one, while the others would be deposited in his own bank.

He could still use it if it were in his bank, but having the physical form of their money is better and more discreet.

"Now, where should I even spend this?" he muttered under his breath. He leaned forward slightly and rested his elbow on his knees.

The money he has right now isn’t small. For someone his age, this was more than enough to get a lot done. However, the question was... what exactly should he do with it?

Lionel stayed in that position for a while; his gaze became fixed on the chest as his think hard.

"Wait a minute..." His brows slowly furrowed.

There was something that suddenly flashed in his mind. His fingers curled slightly against his knee as he tried to grasp the memory before it slipped away.

"Right." His eyes widened when he remembered it now.

In a month’s time, the empire will impose stricter taxation rules on some of the goods being sold in the empire.

And among all those goods, sugar would be the one to cause the biggest uproar.

It was because the sugar in the empire came from the southern provinces, where the climate allowed the growth of cane. The process itself was long and labor-heavy. And on top of that, it had to be transported across long distances.

But that wasn’t even the main issue.

"It was the warehouse," Lionel murmured as his gaze sharpened more.

Now the memory was all fresh in his mind. He remembered that one of the largest sugar warehouses in the capital had burned down.

However, the worst part was that it was because of a feud between the two owners that caused it. Because of it, everything escalated. Most of the sugar supplies in the kingdom burned with it.

Its loss didn’t just hurt the merchants involved, but it also sent shockwaves across the entire capital.

The real problem came when the nobles became involved with it.

Many noble houses relied on sugar because it was used everywhere. When the supply lessened, a lot of banquets were disrupted, and prices began to rise on top of the added price of the tax.

"It was so terrible back then that I remember complaining so much," Lionel shook his head as he let out a small laugh.

With supply already crippled and demand at its all-time high, the price for sugar skyrocketed 10 times, even more than that in some stores.

At that point, sugar became something only the wealthiest could afford without hesitation. Even high-ranking nobles had to start limiting their use because of the price.

"Now I need to move before that," A slow smile formed on his lips.

He planned to stock up on sugar now while they were still at its normal price.

"Diana!" he called out loud as the thoughts settled in.

Even with just one call, the door of his room quickly opened. Diana entered hastily, "Yes, my lord?"

"Call Rylan and Eiden. Tell them to come here at once."

Diana bowed her head and didn’t ask any more questions, "Right away."

As soon as she left, Lionel wasted no time. He stood and walked straight to his desk. He pulled out a sheet of parchment and grabbed a quill. He started writing on it.

"I need to buy as much sugar as I can..." he muttered under his breath as he wrote.

"And not just. I need a warehouse too."

If he bought sugar without proper storage, it would spoil or attract pests. Worse, if people found out he was hoarding it, it could raise suspicion. So he had to be careful with it.

This was also something he wished to keep from his parents, so he couldn’t use his or his family’s name.

I can only depend on Rylan and Eiden on this one...

He pressed his lips together and continued writing. A moment after and loud knocks came from the door.

"You may enter," Lionel said without looking up.

The door opened, and Diana stepped in first, followed by two young men.

"My lord, you called for us?" Rylan spoke first before bowing slightly. Eiden followed right after.

Lionel finally set the quill down and picked up the letter.

"Yes," he said, turning toward them. "I have a task for the two of you."

Rylan and Eiden quickly glanced at each other after that. "Rylan. Eiden," Lionel called again, as he stood up to face them, "from this moment on, the two of you will serve as my most trusted aides."

Their eyes widened almost at the same time.

"My lord...?" Rylan spoke in disbelief.

Lionel met their gaze without wavering.

"Do you two swear your loyalty to me?" Lionel knew the two were loyal to him, but he had to say it because from now on, what they would do was far more than what a training knight does.

Without another word, both of them dropped to their knees.

"We swear it," Rylan said firmly, his head lowered.

"We will follow your orders, no matter what you ask of us, my lord," Eiden added right after, his voice determined.

Lionel watched them for a moment. Then, slowly, he nodded.

"Good." He stepped closer and handed the letter to Eiden.

"Eiden," Lionel mentioned his name, "I want you to begin purchasing sugar. As much as you can acquire without drawing attention from the people."

Eiden straightened slightly and received the letter with both hands. "Yes, my lord."

"In that letter," Lionel continued, "I prepared a different identity and a reasonable cause for the purchase. Use it if the merchants grow suspicious or refuse to sell in bulk."

"I understood." Eiden nodded.

"And listen carefully," Lionel added, "You are not to use my name. Not once. And you are also not to act as a knight of this house while doing this. They shouldn’t know any connection with this family."

"Yes, my lord," Eiden replied again without hesitation.

Lionel then moved his attention to the other.

"And you, Rylan."

"My lord." Rylan immediately lifted his head.

"I have a separate task for you," Lionel said. "Search the outskirts of the capital. Make sure that it’s not too far, and it can still be reached."

"A warehouse?" Rylan curiously asked, already catching on.

Lionel nodded. "Yes. I need one that is large enough to store everything we will gather. It must be secure."

"I understand, my lord," Rylan answered firmly.

Lionel turned slightly and pointed toward the chest resting near his bed. The gold inside it was shimmering under the room’s lights.

"Use everything in that chest if you need it," he said.

Rylan and Eiden’s eyes widened at that. It was too much gold!

"I’m entrusting this to the two of you."