"Boss Will has a date tonight with Marlicia vont Hernandes, the heir to the Baron vont Hernandes merchant empire. A future marriage would merge the two most successful merchant families in all of Fermion," Vanessa said matter of factly.

Anne whose greatest dream was one the precipice of coming true, immediately deflated. Anne's face has gone from pink, to red, and now to white. To have misread the situation this badly, made Anne's heart almost give out.

"Anne, please bring us some tea and bread," Vanessa commanded before sitting down at the table with Will.

Vanessa was holding a thick dossier, which she handed over to the Will. Will was momentarily stunned. A dossier of this size should have taken months to gather. How long and his mom, been researching the families. Will was curious.

Will asked curiously.

"Boss Will, your mother and I began researching potential candidates since left the barony this summer. Unbeknownst to you, several families have reached out to your father. However, your mother quickly took charge and asked me to help. Your mother asked me because she wanted to present the candidates to you in a way that would draw your interest. I told your mother, you'd ask for a dossier on the families and their daughters of each candidate," Vanessa replied.

"Ha-ha, you certainly know me don't you, "Will said as he took the dossier and began reading.

Without looking up, Will asked, "Vanessa where did you get these recent documents?" Will asked closely about reading Baron vont Hernandes's ledger.

"I bribed someone at the Merchant Guild," Anne said.

"You can verify these statements about his ledger then?" Will said, staring into Vanessa's brown eyes?

"Yes, I hired the Thiefs Guild to break into his house and copy his ledger, in addition to Merchant Guild bribe," Vanesa said.

"How much did it cost me?" Will asked in surprise. He didn't even know a Thief Guild existed.

"The Merchant Guild bridge cost 100 gold, but the Thief Guild only charged 25 gold. They said, there were only a couple of Merchant Knights around the manor, they easily snuck in last night between the knights and made off with the copy. I tipped them an extra five gold for a successful mission," she commented.

"Your service in this regard has been most distinguished," Will commented.

Thanks to Vanessa's sleuthing he learned Baron vont Hernandes was leveraged up to his neck in debt. The problem with opening so many general stores across the country was the need to warehouse a large number of goods. According to the report, the success of Will's general stores meant that Baron vont Hernandes was selling his wares at a slower pace.

Unlike previous years, when Baron vont Hernandes had little competition and could sell his products and repay his debts; now he had a surplus of goods with a dwindling pool of buyers. Moreover, if you take into count the perishable goods he owned, his business was wasting away. If Will married Marlicia vont Hernandes, the Baron could use Will to help him unload his debt.

Baron vont Hernandes's plight reminded Will of big box stores Circuit City, Sears, and Toy's R Us who had massive surpluses of goods, but ultimately went bankrupt because newer more efficient stores undercut their prices and drove them out of the market.

Now Will was doing the same thing to Baron vont Hernandes. Even though Baron vont Hernandes had more stores than Will, he made most of his money from his Guidon and Yorkshire stores. Losing money from his main storefronts, made it more difficult to operate his rural stores which were already operating with slim profit margins.

Will finished reading the dossier, his tea, and biscuits. Will heard the clock towel toll, it was the 17th bell. Will stood up, dusted his crums off his suit coat, and made for the exit. To his surprise, his horse stood waiting for him. Not only, that Vanessa held a bouquet.

"Is this necessary?" Will asked.

"Even though you may decide not to court young Ms. Marlicia vont Hernandes, it's important to your mother you make a good impression," Vanessa said.

"Fine, just give it to me," Will said exhausted at the ritualism around dating. To Will, mergers and acquisitions were easier than dating.

Will directed his horse to leave the cafe and head to Hernandes's manor. Thankfully Vanessa had provided him with detailed directions.

A short ride over, and Will stood outside the Hernandes manor door. Will rapped his knucks on the door and it was immediately opened by a tall brown hair, brown-eyed butler. Two maids stood at opposite ends of the manor with their hands crossed.

"Welcome sir baronet," said the butler.

The house was magnificent and stately. The large manor looked regal, gold patterned the walls and the marble floor looked magnificent. This was Will's first time in a noblemen's residence, besides his fathers. Moreover, his father's rural baron's estate could not compare to this opulence.

Will removed his hat, as instructed by Marshall Cheng, and walked into the foyer.

"May I take your hat sir?" said the butler. Will obliged and handed the butler his hat.

"Please follow me, sir," said the butler, directing Will to the parlor.

As Will followed the butler, he noticed the giant windows with gold trim drapes on his right and to his left hundreds of paintings adorning the walls. The baron or baroness enjoyed an aesthetic lifestyle.

Will was led into the parlor. The baroness and the daughter were seated, while the baron stood behind his wife. It certainly made for a beautiful family photo.

"Welcome Baronet vont Ballard!" said the boisterous baron. He had a deep baritone voice and a hearty laugh. He was a round-bellied man, who wore a suit similar to Will's. However, his suit had a small cape at the end.

The baroness wore a luxurious red and gold gown, that draped over her slender legs. Compared to the baron, she was slim and her waisted was framed nicely in her dress. It was almost comical to see such a large man married to a very skinny woman. Both the baron and baroness had brown hair and brown eyes.

However, their daughter had green eyes like Will. Will had not seen another with green eyes similar to him, her eyes were very captivating. Marlicia vont Hernandes wore a beautiful yellow and white dress with vibrate sunflowers pictured. Like her parents, she had long brown hair but was slender frame like her mother. She stood up and spoke first.

"Greetings Baronet William vont Ballard, I am looking forward to our meal together," she said demurely with a courtesy.

As Will was taught he replied, "Greetings Baron vont Hernandes, Baroness vont Hernandes, and Miss Marlicia vont Hernandes. I too look forward to dining with you."

"Yes, now that the introductions are out of the way, let's us talk. As you know Marlicia is only 11 years old. However, she turns 12 very soon!" He added that last bit as if to encourage Will.

"While our daughter is not yet at the marriageable age, she has several suitors. Your father told us, that you are only visiting five families which to court their daughters, and we are first on the list. It is an honor that you meet us first, sir vont Ballard," the baron continued speaking.

"As you are aware, a marriage between our two families would make you the wealthiest merchant in Fermion. From this standpoint, a marriage between our two families is most promising, indeed. This would certainly bring you what you want the most, a merchant empire that expands the entirety of Fermion's borders," he finished.

"Dear, can't business wait until later?" the baroness said.

Will appreciated the baroness' comment. The baron was certainly being very aggressive in trying to secure the marriage between his daughter and Will.

"Fine, fine, our conversation can wait till later. If I don't see you again, maybe we can meet again after the auction in Yorkshire?" said the expectant baron.

"Yes, baron that sounds agreeable," Will said.

The butler motioned for Will and Marlicia to follow him to the dining room. The room was massive, with high candelabra overhead. A small dining table seemed out of place in this room. The butler seated Marlicia, before helping Will to his seat.

Will and Marlicia sat quietly not sure who should speak first. Seeing the quiet duo, the butler asked if they either cared for wine. They both quickly agreed. In Fermion, there was no drinking age, and children often drank wine at the dining table with their parents.

After the wine was poured, Will drank first, as was medieval etiquette.

Will spoke first, "this is an excellent wine."

This was true because, unlike most medieval wines, this wine tasted less like vinegar. Will had long grown used to the taste of sour fermented wine. Which was surprised him, because the wine here tasted so well.

"Yes, my father had this imported Albania. Their harbors import several excellent and exotic wines and foods. I'm sure my father would be happy to share his source after we're married," she said.

The two discussed the weather, their hobbies, and Will's time at the academies. Marlicia was quite impressed hearing about Will's duels and battles. Even though she had heard these stories recanted before, listening to Will made the stories seem more harrowing. However, what she most enjoyed hearing were stories about Will's business.

The more they talked, the less frequent the awkward pauses became. Although Marlicia was 11 she was an excellent conversationalist. She had a penchant for mercantilism. The two talked between the salad and main course of lamb, rice, and seasonal crisp vegetables. After they ate their jam cakes and tea, the dinner was ended.

As they talked, one thing became clear to Will. Marlicia was very shallow and materialistic. Moreover, it was clear tried to control the conversation to trick Will into divulging secrets about his business or business practices. She was quite skilled at the art of subterfuge. For example, she would ask Will about one topic, and switch immediately to another, in an attempt to through him off balance.

The wine was meant to act as a social lubricant, to make Will more susceptible to her conversational methods. However, Will did not fall for her traps. To be so young and skilled, this woman was certainly capable of being called a merchant's daughter. In the future, he would certainly have to watch out for this woman, especially if she took over her father's business.

As Will bid goodnight to Marlicia, he climbed on his horse and broadly grinned. Will smiled the entire evening and throughout dinner. However, he was not smiling at Marlicia, but rather the thought of dismantling her father's business and making a ton of money.

What Marlicia failed to realize is that Will, was a much stronger conversationalist, frankly, his skills were diplomacy skills were hired. While Marlicia thought she was directing the conversation in her favor, in reality, Will directed the conversation and Marlicia told him everything he wanted to know.

Baron vont Hernandes had a most a year left on his loan from the Merchant Guild. Several merchants, traders, and craftsmen refused to work him because he paid late or defaulted many times of payment. He had to take out another loan this year to pay his employees and several of his best clerks had left to find other jobs. It seemed the baron's business was a house of cards, that may soon crash.

Armed with this information, Will would set a trap for Baron vont Hernandes. In six months, Will would crush his greatest competitor. He would certainly be a gentleman though and leave the baron with crumbs. Will loved mergers and acquisitions, and Baron vont Hernandes made for a great target.

Will rode the horse to the Mage Academy stables and then walked home. Will was so excited at the prospect of tearing down and selling off the baron's business, he decided to write his mother a thank you note. If not for her, he would not have had the opportunity to take down this trivial rival.