Chapter 405: Deserved Rewards
"Dinner with Marquess Balfour?! Really?!" Molly cheered wildly, acting more like a young child who received the toy she had been dreaming of rather than the mature, young adult she was.
There was good reason for the young woman’s excitement, however.
To put things into perspective, even her uncle, Count Lester Randolph, had only ever shared a table with Celestina a couple dozen times in his life, and that was counting formal banquets. If one was talking about truly private meals with the Marquess, the number dwindled to less than the number of fingers on one hand.
For a woman with no noble title and no substantial backing like Molly Foster to be invited to dine together with Celestina was practically unheard of.
Smiling somewhat wryly at Molly’s ecstatic reaction, the young boy continued, "Of course, this is just the beginning. We will need to hold some formal discussions and negotiations about long-term cooperation between you and the Balfour Family."
"Long-term cooperation? What kind?" Molly, who was still coming down from her high, tilted her head curiously.
"Continued searching for more Lych trees, building new settlements and infrastructure, wide-scale forest management, there will be plenty of opportunities for the Balfour Family to call upon you in the future," Lucas listed.
Hearing this, Molly at first seemed quite eager, but a moment later, her brow furrowed.
Although it was her dream to meet Marquess Balfour and to be of service to her in some way, she also had her own career to consider.
Molly’s mother and father were owners of one of the biggest, most productive lumbermills in the South East Province, and as their eldest child, she was set to inherit the family business eventually. What Lucas was talking about, however, sounded less like an occasional extra task or two, but rather a full-time job.
"I understand your concerns, Lady Molly," Lucas, seeing the complicated look on his conversation partner’s face, comforted, "But rest assured, the scale of this project is much, much bigger and will involve many more people than you are imagining. It will have its own dedicated staff and workforce both here and eventually in other provinces of the kingdom."
"Uh..." Molly was taken aback, wondering just how this revelation was supposed to make her feel ’less’ conflicted.
Grinning, Lucas shook his head and explained, "What I mean to say is, we will certainly be consulting you and leaning on your expertise in the future, but much of the actual work will be carried out on our end."
"You will still be compensated handsomely for your cooperation, but it won’t require you to abandon your current position," Lucas concluded, though he added, "Unless, of course, that is something you are interested in."
"No no, I like my current job very much," Molly shook her head firmly, "Everyone at the mill is like family to me, so I don’t think I could ever just leave them behind."
"Good," Lucas smiled, "I was hoping you’d say that."
"Hm? Why so, Young Master Lucas?"
"Because there is going to be a massive construction boom in the South East Province in the coming years," Lucas declared confidently, "We are going to need as many lumbermills producing high-quality timber as possible in order to keep up with the demand."
"If that’s the case, Father will certainly be happy," Molly smiled, having finally fully composed herself.
"En, in any case, I think we’re done here for today," Lucas concluded, standing up from the sofa and beckoning for Molly to follow him, "I’ll have someone show you to a guest room where you can freshen up and prepare for tonight."
Molly’s heart, which had just settled, suddenly began pounding again when Lucas said this; after all, preparing for tonight meant preparing for dinner with the Marquess.
Jumping to her feet, Molly bowed deeply, "Thank you, Young Master Lucas!"
"No no, thank you, Lady Molly," Lucas said casually, "this is the reward you deserve. In fact, considering how much your efforts mean to me, the Balfour Family, and the Rockwell Kingdom as a whole, it is far from enough."
"Please take a moment while you are getting ready to think of what else you would like as compensation for the work you’ve put, and the work you will be doing for us in the future should we reach a mutually beneficial arrangement. I say this because I’m certain my Master will ask you at dinner tonight."
"Surely you jest, Young Master Lucas. I haven’t done anything to warrant such attention from the Marquess!" Molly waved her hands frantically.
Chuckling lightly, Lucas shook his head, "Wait until you speak with my Master tonight, then you’ll understand."
"Ah, um, en," Molly nodded, feeling so anxious she lowered her head and began fiddling with her clothes.
Doing so, however, made the young woman realize she was all dusty and dirty from traveling and hadn’t brought anything appropriate to wear!
How could she show up to dinner with a Marquess in her work clothes? Wouldn’t that be extremely disrespectful?
Seeing the young woman before him start fretting, biting her nails as she muttered something about going out into the city to buy a dress under her breath, Lucas quickly caught on and suggested, "I will have a few maids help you with your preparations, Lady Molly. Washing, dressing, fixing your hair, just leave everything to them."
"Really? Then I’ll take you up on that offer, Young Master Lucas," Molly breathed a sigh of relief as she thanked the young boy for his consideration.
.....
After seeing Molly to the door, and giving the servants waiting there appropriate instructions, Lucas collected the documents from the table, stuffed them into his Space Bag, and ran off to find his trusty Head Manager.
The young boy was definitely the most excited about the future prospects of the sugar industry, but the former Viscount he had head-hunted probably came a close second.
Victoria was in charge of the sugar project, and it was currently her biggest responsibility, so she took its swift and stable establishment extremely seriously. Part of her motivation was her sense of professionalism, but if she was being honest, it was the extremely lucrative payout she had been promised that was really driving her.
5% of all the shares of the sugar business, plus the full trust of her young boss and Marquess Balfour.
The second point seemed like a less tangible benefit, at least compared to the first which represented an astronomical amount of wealth, but it was actually what Victoria was most interested in.
Celestina had promised her that if she proved her worth and loyalty, she would provide her with an advanced Cultivation Technique which would allow her to break through to the Grand Spirit Realm within a decade.
The prospect of becoming a Spirit Initiate, with all the respect, strength, and lifespan that came with it, was an irresistible temptation.
With such profound rewards being offered to her, it only made sense that Victoria Moore would go all out to see the Maple Sugar project become a resounding success.