CH 16

“I got it.”

Morris held out two thick ledgers.

“Good work. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.You did it faster than I thought.”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

“He was quicker than I thought.”

“Give me the ledgers.”

“Here you go.”

Ellen took the ledger from Morris’ hand and said admiringly.

“It’s a rush job, and I didn’t have to do anything. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.You know what’s important to look at.”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

She flipped through the papers at a brisk pace, stopping at certain points to scrutinize the records.

Then she flipped open another ledger, checked something against it, and spoke up.

“Here, Area C.”

* * *

With a shaky voice, Caden picked up the bundle and asked.

“… Can’t I act as a secretary?”

“No, you can’t. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.The secretary is supposed to be on the front lines.”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Ellen cut him off, and Terriod spoke up from beside her.

“That is correct, Your Highness. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.You should be behind me with Ellen.”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

“If that’s what you’re worried about, you should fix how you address me.”

“Ah, yes, I understand. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.You stay safely behind.”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

“…”

“Someone’s coming, please pay attention.”

Caden glared at Terriod in displeasure, then reluctantly lowered his gaze at Ellen’s comment.

“Good morning! Are you members of the Maple Guild?”

“We are.”

“Come, let me show you around.”

As Terriod stepped forward, the relatively new man smiled broadly.

“I heard the story from the manager. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Warehouse rental and… Hmmm. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.You said you were looking for something?”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

“Yes.”

“Haha, I see, don’t worry. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.I’ll take good care of you.”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

With that, the man walked toward them with a cheerful look on his face.

Contrary to what he said, however, the man just stood still and watched her, as if he had no intention of leaving.

Ellen sighed heavily and pulled a small pouch from her chest, handing it to Terriod.

“This.”

“…?”

Terriod took it in bewilderment as Ellen suddenly handed it to him, but as soon as he felt the gold coin in his hand, he realized what it meant and stiffened.

Barely able to hide his disdain, he spoke.

“… Please take it.”

“Ahh, what a mess.”

The man quickly snatched it up, hiding it in his arms, and led them on, his face bright with excitement.

“Where would you like to start? Well, for starters, Area A is…”

“Let’s go to Area C.”

“Oh, you mean Area C?”

Terriod glanced at Caden briefly at the guide’s question, and when Caden nodded slightly, he turned to the man.

“I’d like a tour, please.”

“Oh, yes, of course, come this way.”

The man led the way with a flourish.

They followed his lead, and as soon as they reached Area C, they began to wander around, opening the cargoes in the warehouse one by one.

Thud.

Thud.

“Here is the Rosé Association’s…”

“Over there is Broush’s…”

The man attached as a guide pointed out sections in detail, and Ellen picked out names she recognized, names that sounded familiar, and instructed him to open the boxes.

He did.

“Oh, no! What are you doing there!”

In the distance, she could see someone scurrying toward them.

The man, who had been yelling and running in a hurry, turned to her with a panicked look on his face as he saw the specific colors of Ellen’s group in his peripheral vision.

“Heuk! Excuse me, what are you doing? I haven’t heard anything about a separate cargo inspection today…”

“Is that so? I’m sorry to hear that you’re late. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Keep opening it.”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

At Ellen’s words, Terriod and his guide continued to open the box, and the man who appeared to be in charge of the area exclaimed in alarm.

“Show me your ID! It’s illegal for non-inspectors to do this!”

“Oh, really?”

Ellen replied with a cold glare, then gestured toward the warehouse on the side with the man’s back to her.

“Over there. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Open it.”read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Terriod moved quickly over to it and tore open the crate in his hands, snorting with delight at what he saw inside.

“Ha, look at this?”

He soon turned his head to face Caden and Ellen and exclaimed.

“It’s a sword, and it doesn’t bear the mark of the smithy where it was made!”

The man’s face went white as he continued to demand identification.

Caden stalked forward.

Taking the sword from the crate in front of him, he saw that it did indeed bear no forge marks, and gritted his teeth.

“…If we’re talking about something illegal, we should be talking about something like this.”

He ripped open another box in front of him.

“Ha, jackpot.”

“No way, this is gunpowder…!”

Caden spat out with a sneer, and the man stumbled backwards, his face like a corpse.

“No way… Chief, Chief!”

Stumbling back a step or two on his shaky legs, the man ran out of the room, shouting for anyone who might be involved in this corruption.

“Raise the flag now, and open this whole place up.”

Caden ordered, his face grim.

* * *

Lord Morris Coenheim, saw the signal and acted quickly.

It was almost simultaneous with the arrival of the guards and the arrival of the man he had rushed to call.

“Hey, what are you guys doing!”

The man who had initially escorted Ellen whispered when he saw the rush.

“That’s the flight director.”

Realizing that Ellen’s party are not just ordinary merchants, he has promised to cooperate actively in today’s work, praying for an acceptance of bribes.

“Show me where you come from, and how dare you do this without authorization!”

The head of the flight department shouted with a wide grin on his face.

And then it happened.

In the distance, Lord Morris of Coenheim and the captain of the capital’s police force ran up, shouting.

“Your Highness!”

“Aghh, Your Highness! How have you come to this place!”

“Ah, just in time.”

Caden looked in the direction they were coming from and waved his arm.

“Magistrates, I want you to reexamine all the cargo here! Tear it all apart!”

The chief’s face, flushed from the running around hurriedly, began to turn white.

“I… Your Highness?”

“You asked who I was, and now you know.”

“I, indeed, Your Highness…”

His pupils fluttered frantically.

“I beg your pardon, Your Highness, but that is not how I respond to unauthorized requests, it is my role, my assigned role…!”

“Whether or not you have fulfilled your role, we’ll find out when we investigate.”

“Your Highness…!”

Caden ignored the glare from the Chief of Operations and pushed past him.

Slowly, more crates and ledgers piled up, and the number of captives grew.

The finds were varied.

Clothing, equipment, and tools, including the weapons and gunpowder they had found earlier, as well as what appeared to be large-scale supplies…

It’s not a big deal, but if you care about it, it’s the kind of thing that leaves you feeling uneasy.

Being caught for leaving without permission was painful, but because he had notified the security authorities about his outing, Caden thought that it was worth coming all the way here himself.

‘When he first heard the story about the musket, he was torn between thinking, ‘No way,’ and ‘There’s no reason for her to be lying about it.’

But here they are, with gunpowder of truly unknown origin.

‘This is not something that can be done unless it’s really someone like Krembel…’

Feeling his breath tighten in his throat, he loosened the kravat around his neck.

Gunpowder is strictly forbidden by the state.

All production and distribution is controlled by the state, and it is produced and utilized only for the state.

However, the appearance of unidentified gunpowder means that–

‘… It means there’s an undeclared saltpeter mine. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.We need to find it.’read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Caden organized his dizzying thoughts of what lay ahead.

‘There are essential personnel needed to get a mine rolling. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.We can’t hide it. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.First, we need to screen the suspect areas like that, and then… Ah, and we’ll need to commission a formulation analysis, and…’read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

He leaned back against a nearby pillar, feeling out of breath for some reason, even though there was no longer a stranglehold on his throat.

Taking a few deep breaths, he looked up and saw a woman with pale blonde hair neatly coiffed.

Ellen Kryant.

A woman he could never quite figure out.

She was watching the bustle in the distance, and for some reason, she looked as tired of something as she was.

“Why do you look so frustrated?”

He couldn’t understand her.

It was a look that was completely out of place, as if she was in a different stream than everyone else.

‘You wanted to prove yourself, and you even handpicked this stage, but–’

Why does she look so lost?

He clenched his fists tightly, as if to hide the unnecessary tingling in his palms.

She always had a way of passing herself off as unhurt.

But even so, he could see through it.

Things like how much she loved Gillian and how much she was trying to be there for him.

‘The woman who used to be that way is now…’

Caden’s gaze trailed to the back of Ellen’s head, where she was staring blankly at the view of the loading dock.

Ha, he could see her smirk.

An unfamiliar face.

An unrecognizable laugh.

And all that, an incomprehensible change.

And so he continued to observe the unknown behavior of the unknown woman.

Until everything is finished and she gets on the carriage to leave. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Keep going.