He thought to himself, "If monkeys can make alcohol, so can I. As long as what I make gets people drunk, it will be a success because they will even overlook its taste."
"You know what? Maybe that's what I should focus on. I should prioritize alcohol content since the people of this world have such strong bodies."
"That means I should prioritize making spirits. I'll do the rest by the side for variation, taste, and as raw materials for my spirits."
He went to bed thinking about his plans for the future. The last thought he had in his mind was to buy books on winemaking.
When he woke up the following day, he began work on making wine. The first thing he did was to draft a plan. Lady Vena insisted on seeing one first before giving him money.
Only after receiving money could he put his plans into action. The execution of those plans required a lot of labor. Fortunately, he could acquire a lot of it cheaply.
Sometimes, he got labor for free because the family was already paying the laborers. What he had to pay for were the materials to build the workshop, the equipment and tools he needed for his work, and the raw materials he needed to transform into alcohol.
He worked on his wine-making business while working on his body as well. It meant that all of his time was preoccupied. Even Lady Vena decided to give him a pass from killing and butchering sheep every day.
There was a catch, though. Lady Vena insisted that he must do one last thing for her before she could let him stop killing sheep.
They got on a carriage that drove them towards an unknown destination. He didn't know the destination, but Lady Vena did, and so did the driver.
Only he, Lady Gena, and Ruff were in the carriage. Mother didn't bring the maids, but she allowed him to bring Ruff.
He held Ruff in his arms and asked, "Now that we are on our way, can you tell me exactly where we are going?"
She smiled and said, "Where we are going doesn't matter. What matters is what we are going to do there."
He asked, "If it doesn't matter, why can't you tell me?"
She thought about it and said, "Good question."
Then she became silent.
He was waiting expectantly for the answer to his question, but it didn't come. Her silence made him anxious to know what she was hiding.
He didn't show interest, though. Instead, he feigned disinterest and said, "It is probably a boring place."
Lady Vena rolled her eyes and said, "It is indeed a boring place. There is no need for you to know."
He scoffed and stopped asking. It was clear that she didn't want to tell him no matter what.
But they didn't remain in silence for long because Lady Vena asked him a question.
"Have you ever wondered why I asked you to kill sheep?"
He raised an eyebrow. Then he replied, "I have thought about it."
She nodded in satisfaction. "What reasons did you think of?"
He grinned widely as he replied, "They are boring reasons. There is no need for you to know."
She clapped slowly and said, "You must be proud of yourself right now."
He nodded proudly and admitted it, "A little bit, yeah."
She smiled. "Fine then. You keep your secrets, and I'll keep mine."
He offered generously, "I am willing to offer my secret if you promise to tell me where we are going."
She shook her head. "I am fine not knowing your reasons, so I don't want to make the exchange."
He smiled and said, "What a coincidence. I am also fine not knowing our destination."
She cocked an eye at him. She clearly didn't believe him. But he didn't care if she believed him or not. He was determined not to be the first one to crack.
The two of them remained stubborn until they reached their destination.
Their destination was a large compound. There was a large building in the compound. The building had three stories, which was impressive to see around.
Three-story buildings were a rare sight. Most buildings were only two stories.
He saw the building and scoffed. "And you said this was boring."
Lady Vena shrugged and said, "I lied."
They walked to the gate of the compound with Ruff and were allowed in after they made their identities known.
They were not brought into the building itself. Instead, they were led to a small shack beside the building.
Arthur asked the man leading the way, "What is this place used for?"
The man replied, "This is the prison. People that have committed crimes are locked up here."
He said, "Interesting," while glancing at his mother.
She chuckled, but didn't say anything.
When they reached the small shack, the man unlocked the door and opened it. Then he said to Lady Vena, "Everything has been prepared just like you asked, my lady."
She nodded. "Good. Stay here and wait for my instructions."
The man bowed while she entered the shack. She called out to Arthur, "Follow me."
Arthur followed her in. He was a little concerned when the door was locked behind him. But he didn't bother with it for long because his mother didn't mind it.
He focused on his environment and noticed that the room was small, just as he expected. There were no secret entrances that led anywhere, though.
He thought to himself, "Looks like I was wrong about that. There is also no one here. It seems mother isn't past of some secret organization that she wants to initiate me into."
There was nothing in the room except a large box and a lamp. The lamp was the main source of light in the room as the windows were shut.
Lady Vena moved towards the large box and began opening it. He was curious about what she was doing, so he walked over to watch her. Even Ruff came over to see what was going on.