Jin asked her what this was about and she simply stated with a smirk: "Belonged to Harold"

Jin drew a cold breath. Just how much did he steal from that man?!

Before they could continue the discussion, the manager of the restaurant arrived. It was a beautiful woman in her late thirties. Voluptuous and seductive in a bright red and gold dress. She exuded a mature charm and a luxurious vibe.

She bowed at ninety as she reached Jin's table. Then, she straightened herself and smiled beautifully as she introduced herself: "It is a pleasure to see you, Master Baem, and even more of an honor to have you pick our establishment as the first you visit. I would like to extend our warmest welcome to you as the owner of this establishment"

Jin understood that this was purely the woman being polite and hoping to retain her position. Quite often, a change of owner meant a change in management and such... She was probably quite fearful of this even though she did not show it. A woman of her age was past her prime, regardless of what beauty remained. If she lost her place here, where would she go?

Jin had no plans to make things difficult her anyways.

He greeted her warmly and after they exchanged a few pleasantries, she promised on her name to bring out the tastiest of dishes to celebrate his getting out of jail.

After she left them alone, Jin glared at Ame. This time, he really needed some answers.

They chatted for long minutes as the dishes were served one by one. The next more exquisite and delicious than the previous.

In the end, it could be summed up to a few sentences. Harold and his clan had grown too much to the King's taste and they used him and Ame as a trap. Harold was deprived of his wealth and he and his clan were sent to guard the North. The old Captain's vice-captain was promoted to replace him. And Jin earned the Vice-Captain position under Ame as well as all the wealth of Harold. All that the clan could not take with them and some at least.

It amounted to a few restaurants, a few auction houses and a few dozens of shops of all kinds.

Jin had no experience managing anything and this kind of ownership would likely be more of a burden than anything else... But that aside, the news of Harold's departure was a great one indeed. Not only him but his entire clan would no longer be a threat. The guy was likely not dumb enough to not understand who was behind his demise.

As for having been used as a pawn...It was not the first time. He could easily get over it.

...

Once they finished their meal, they left the restaurant. As they did, all the waiters bowed to them. It was quite a peculiar feeling to be a wealthy owner...

But Jin did not enjoy it that much.

It felt more like a burden.

Though he did like the fact that he did not have to pay for his sumptuous meal.

As they walked back to the palace, he told Ame of his plans to sell the shops and houses he now owned. It was too much to manage. Instead, Ame told him: "Just hire someone to manage it for you and reap the profits instead"

This was a very sound advice and he decided to follow it.

Three days later, after he had visited all his new shops, he promoted three people to become the managers of three business sectors.

The first manager he met at the restaurant he ate with Ame would be responsible for all restaurants.

Another one would take care of the auction houses and another would deal with the rest. Every month, they would bring him the profits and numerical sheets detailing the business operations.

Ame was the one to suggest that he also be given the accounting books. It would, according to her, minimize the embezzlement. She also told him to hire an accountant or maybe a few. He did.

He had no abilities to manage his new businesses and had absolutely no knowledge on those areas. It was indeed better to leave this in the hands of professionals and only reap the profits.

That's what an owner should be like.

Having others work while he earned the cash!

...

Beyond that though, he still had duties as a royal guard. Even though he wanted to quit as soon as he had settled the businesses and learnt of the monthly profits... Ame would not let him. He did not care about her opinion though. The problem was that the royalty would not let him quit either. Apparently, there were some rules related to the job.

Once you had it, you kept it.

Till the end.

So, he had no choice. That being said, both him and Ame planned to half-ass it.

At the end of the week was the recruitment fair. After every round of recruitment by the Palace, there would be a fair in which soldiers could try their luck at a different position or job. It was basically the day when people could advance in their careers.

When the day came, Ame and Jin were nowhere to be seen even though they were the only ones belonging to the newly created 11th division. Even though hundreds of applicants waited before their booth...

While every soldier harboring some hope was waiting for them, the two were debating on how to organize their recruitment and who to pick.

It took them a while to settle.

Jin was fearing that some spies would try to join their Squad while Ame wanted the spies to join her because she believed that they would be strong and work hard.

Both were right in their own ways.

However, it was not so simple. In the end, they decided to first check out the applicants. The argument remained, they pushed it aside. But they were fine with that.

And so, the fair began.