At that time, Lucian began to sell products that catered to the needs of the ladies, investing in the existing market.
He did so with Celine in mind, to maintain her beauty and health for as long as possible (after Celine complained that she wouldn't be young forever and that he should marry her before she became old and saggy).
Perfume, soaps, lotions, essential oils, makeup, and the list went on. The ladies had a tendency to stick to their beauty routines religiously, and were always happy to test the new products Jax brought to them as gifts. He would then return with a pile of gossip for Lucian to go through.
Building an intelligence network wasn't cheap, nor easy. It wasn't something Lucian could afford to invest into in the beginning, so having Jax and the ladies research and set new trends for him saved him a lot of money.
"Alright, you two," Lucian interfered when the argument between Jax and Rovan started to get heated, "If you want to squabble so badly, do it while making me something to eat. It's lunch time."
"Tell him to stop provoking me then, always going on and on about how I'm a charity case. Like he is not," Jax said, pointing accusingly at Rovan. "The guy has zero respect for his seniors. I was here first. Me! He has no right to talk back to me, ever!"
"Now you are mentioning hierarchy when you treat your boss like he is your best buddy? Which is it?" Roland walked toward the ship's kitchen, rolling up his sleeves, "If your boss tells you to get him food and you complain and talk back, it means you are an ungrateful brat who doesn't know his place."
Jax was the only one who took the friend thing literally. Others viewed Lucian as their boss, and understood that their positions were not equal. But Jax didn't seem to catch the hint and Lucian had too high of a tolerance level to find a problem in it.
"We are Vices, not servants," Jax followed after Rovan, not letting his remarks slide, "It's not our job to fetch food. If anything, we should pass the order down to our men, not do it ourselves."
They continued to argue about what was their role as a Vice.
"Was it a good idea to send them to the kitchen?" Leaf asked, turning his head in their direction, "There are lots of knives there. What if they kill each other?"
"Their deaths will serve as a reminder for the rest of us to not be stupid and get along," Lucian said, lifting another cannonball, "We will learn from their mistakes, and move on."
"...I can hear you!" Jax protested, "You don't care if I die, do you?! You only care about profit! You would even sell my body parts to the highest bidder if you had the chance, wouldn't you?!"
"No, I wouldn't!" Lucian called out, reassured him, "I would bury you and put a flower on your grave. Then sell your assets to cover the funeral costs and the flower I gave you."
"Are you telling me my assets are worth a flower?" Jax asked in disbelief.
Leaf, Goblin, and Cansan roared with laughter.
"What's with the attitude he is giving Boss lately?" Leaf asked Fishbone, who was also laughing.
"I bet it's jealousy," Fishbone replied, "Probably another one of those courtesans used him to get closer to our boss, or...Jax had spent all his money on one of them and got dumped after he ran out of coins. Broke and ugly people usually blame the handsome and rich for their own shortcomings and failures."
Leaf took his hat off, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, then looked at Lucian, "You don't mind? If he was one of my men, I would have smacked him back in place a long time ago. He is starting to forget where he came from."
Fishbone agreed, "You saved him from slavery and gave him a new life, but this is the thanks you are getting? He should be grateful to have you as a Boss, not be so… rude."
"I agree," Cansan said, flipping his low ponytail to the side while walking down the stairs from the upper deck, "Who knows what lies he is spewing to those women to impress them... 'Ohh yes, I'm such a great fighter, so talented and skilled. Look at my muscles, look at how big they are. Ohhh~'" he imitated Jax's deep voice.
"Ahaha, that's exactly what he does!" Goblin laughed. He could imagine Jax doing just that, "But Boss, you are too soft. He is using his connection with you to get to those ladies."
"Let him," Lucian said, patting the cannon as if praising it, "It's a good practice for him to get better at talking. One day, when he is confident and skilled enough to leave us, that's when we will crush his spirit. For now, he can have his fun."
He paused when they looked at him as if he had grown a second head for letting Jax get away with his rude behavior again.
"Life is not about serving others and fulfilling their dreams. It's about fulfilling your own," Lucian reminded them.
They all had a common dream: to get rich and to never be looked down upon again. They believed they would be able to achieve that dream under Lucian's command, and they would be damned if they didn't.
"Someone must have made Jax feel small," Lucian inserted the cannon ball and searched for another target in his binoculars, "Small enough to make him act on it like this. Ask around if you have time."
"..." Leaf and Fishbone exchanged a look, "It's not us, is it?"
"Hm?" Lucian's lips formed a smile, "Do you feel guilty about something?"
His voice was a little too playful, and he seemed to enjoy their discomfort a little too much.
"We are going to help in the kitchen," Fishbone quickly bowed, Leaf following after him to flee the scene, "Make sure those two don't burn the food…"
"..." Goblin scratched his cheek, asking Cansan to explain it to him.
Cansan chuckled and ruffled Goblin's head before heading to the kitchen as well, "Someone doubted Boss's abilities to discipline his subordinates, and Boss is letting their doubts pay for it. Jax never doubted him, but the rest of us have at some point, right?"
"Ooh~!" Goblin's eyes lit up, then he rubbed the goosebumps on his arms at the thought of doubting Lucian and being punished for it, "But you were just worried about Jax taking advantage of Boss."
Cansan smiled, "It's not about that. It's about having faith in Boss."
"Ooohh~!" Goblin's eyes shone even brighter, "Is that why your blessings always give Boss the least effects compared to mine? Because of those doubts?"
Cansan coughed a few times in embarrassment, disappointed that his blessings were not enough to give Lucian the best support, "It seems so...the effects of the blessing do seem to depend on how much we believe in Boss."
After Lucian returned from the academy, he immediately began the knight training with the support of his Vices.