Leora looked up sharply, staring fixedly at Celine, all of her previous composure completely gone.
“Where did you find it? Where is Elena?”
Her aged body leaned forward involuntarily, but her voice grew softer and softer.
“Is she... still alive?”
Celine fell silent for a moment.
This brief pause caused the hope that had just risen in Leora's eyes to gradually cool.
“I found this necklace in the Mist-Dwelling Forest.” Celine did not avoid her gaze. “There was a treant there that had been contaminated by Decay.”
“Decades ago, it devoured many of the caravans passing through. Elena and the cargo she was carrying back then were buried there as well.”
The room fell into complete silence.
Leora sat there, merely looking down at the magical image gradually fading in her palm.
For decades, she had heard far too many rumors about Elena.
Some said she had been captured by northern bandits; others said she had fled to another city-state with important family heirlooms; still others claimed to have seen a woman who looked remarkably like her in a remote village.
The Rosalind family had sent search parties time and time again.
Even when the family could no longer afford the steep commissions, Leora had always refused to admit that her daughter was dead.
But now, the necklace Elena never went without was in her hands.
“What about her remains?” after a long while, she asked in a low voice.
Celine shook her head. Leora's fingers trembled slightly, her expression filled with grief.
“So that's how it is.”
She closed her eyes in resignation, and her long-suppressed coughs suddenly erupted.
“My lady!”
The old butler quickly stepped forward, handing her the medicine and warm water.
Leora clutched the necklace tightly with one hand while supporting herself on the table with the other, taking a long time to finally steady her breathing.
When she opened her eyes again, the grief had still not faded from them, but her expression had regained a measure of composure.
“What else did you find besides this necklace?”
“The Rosalind Family Badge, the Northern Route transfer documents, and the Northern Main Trade Route Management Seal.”
Leora's gaze turned sharp once more.
These were precisely the items Elena had taken with her when she left Red Kite all those years ago, and they were also what the Rosalinds had spent decades searching for.
“You didn't bring them all this way just to tell me that Elena is dead.”
She gently closed the pendant, placed it in front of her, and regained the dignity of a family head.
“Speak. What do you want from the Rosalinds?”
“If it is gold coins, I'm afraid you will be disappointed. The current Rosalind family cannot afford much of a reward.”
Celine raised her eyes. “I am not here to ask for a reward.”
“Then what do you want?”
“I want to become the partner agent nominated by the Rosalinds for the Northern Route,” Celine continued. “I know the current situation of the Northern Route, and I also have a way to safely pass through the dangerous mist zones.”
Leora sat up straight. “You have been to the Northern Route?”
“I have.”
“How much do you know about that old station that was recently reopened?”
“A bit more than what the rumors say.”
Celine still spoke somewhat conservatively.
The roads within the domain of Crow Candle Castle were already under her control. As long as she wished, the Rosalinds' caravans would naturally be able to pass.
But there was no need to lay this trump card on the table just yet.
Unsure of the young woman's goal, Leora probed,
“So, you want to use the things Elena left behind to take away the Rosalinds' final seat on the Northern Route?”
“The necklace is Elena's personal belonging.” Celine looked at the table. “It belongs to her mother. I brought it back, and I do not require any reward for it.”
Leora's fingers tracing the pendant paused slightly.
Meeting her gaze, Celine spoke quite calmly. “However, as for the rest of the documents and the management seal, I will not hand them over to anyone until our method of cooperation is finalized.”
The old butler's expression immediately became wary, but Leora did not show any anger.
Having supported the Rosalind family for so many years, she had long since learned not to lose her composure over a few blunt words.
“You are quite candid.”
“This is a transaction; there is no need to dress it up as a favor.” Celine's tone was calm as she continued, “The Rosalinds retain the legal qualification to compete for the Northern Route, but you no longer have the capability to restart the trade route on your own.”
“And while I have a way to enter the Northern Route, I lack a legal identity recognized by the Golden Scale Merchant Guild.”
Leora understood.
The young woman in front of her had not chosen the Rosalinds out of sympathy.
It was precisely because the Rosalinds were weak enough.
Even if the other three families were willing to cooperate with her, they would only think of ways to seize the routes she controlled and then exclude her from the Northern Route business.
The Rosalinds, however, were in no position to do that.
They needed Celine, perhaps even more urgently than Celine needed them.
“Becoming a partner agent is merely an identity,” Leora spoke slowly. “You are willing to bear the risks on behalf of the Rosalinds, so you surely want more than just a nice title.”
“If you can truly bring this family back to the Northern Route, what else do you hope to gain?”
This was exactly the cue Celine had been waiting for.
Instead of rushing to answer, she glanced out the window at the overgrown front courtyard.
Once the Northern Route was restored, the first things to change would definitely not be limited to a few warehouses within Red Kite.
Those abandoned stations would be reopened, and new warehouses, repair shops, inns, and markets would spring up along the road.
And Crow Candle Castle happened to be located in the very area the Northern Route had to pass through.
She had never wanted just a cut of the transport profits.
She wanted the caravans traveling the Northern Route to stop around Crow Candle Castle, allowing goods, manpower, and gold coins to gradually gather there.
Ultimately, she would transform that desolate land into an economic and defensive barrier growing around the castle.
“If our cooperation is successful, the actual operational rights of the Northern Route will belong to me.”
Leora's eyes darkened slightly.
Celine continued, “The Rosalinds can retain the family name and the merchant guild seat, but all caravans, personnel, and daily operations related to the Northern Route will be arranged solely by me.”
“I will also decide the locations and operators of any stations, warehouses, repair stations, and supply points that need to be newly built or reopened along the way.”
The old butler could not help but speak up. “You want to control the entire Northern Route?”
“Don't make me sound so terrifying,” Celine said, looking at him. “What I want is the portion of authority that the Rosalinds will be able to command once they regain their qualifications.”
Celine was no fool. No matter how capable she was, she had no right to collect taxes on behalf of the Red Kite Lord, nor could she claim the entire trade route as her own with a single word.
But as long as the Rosalinds regained control of the Northern Route, the system the family was responsible for building and operating had to be in her hands.
This was already enough, perhaps even a bit excessive.
Leora did not interrupt her.
“What else?”
“Route selection, transit permits, and external cooperation involving the northern mist zone will be decided by me alone.”
Celine said, “The Rosalinds cannot bypass me to privately share the method of passage with other families, nor can you appoint a second agent.”
This clause was the most important.
She could allow the Rosalinds to use the route, but she could not permit them to bypass her and directly contact the so-called Lord of the Mist once they had established a foothold.
Not that she was afraid of them doing so; this was merely a warning.
Leora clearly caught the defensiveness behind these words as well.
“How will the profits be split?”
Celine did not pretend to be generous; she was even quite greedy.
“After deducting taxes, cargo costs, and necessary expenses, sixty percent of the Northern Route's net profits will go to me, and forty percent to the Rosalinds.”
Sixty percent was not a small number.
But since the Rosalinds did not even have a caravan now, taking forty percent was far more valuable than holding onto an unusable seat and eventually being completely devoured by the Castros.
Leora did not immediately bargain, only asking, “What is the term limit?”
“Ten years,” Celine replied. “After ten years, both parties can renegotiate.”
Ten years was enough for her to complete her initial planning.
By then, the stations, warehouses, and markets around Crow Candle Castle would have already formed a significant scale.
Even if the contract were to be renegotiated, the Northern Route could no longer bypass her territory.
Leora remained silent for a long time.
She had thought Celine wanted a massive share of the profits or to use the Rosalinds to enter the Golden Scale Merchant Guild.
Only now did she understand that what this young woman truly valued was what would grow out of the entire Northern Route in the future.
“You want to use the Rosalinds to build a trade route system of your own on the Northern Route.”
“Exactly,” Celine admitted straightforwardly. “I am not going to help a family that has nothing to do with me for nothing.”
“But as long as the contract is established, what the Rosalinds will receive will certainly be far more than just this empty house and an old seat.”
Leora lowered her eyes, looking at the necklace in her hand.
Elena had once wanted to make the Northern Route prosperous too.
It was just that she had never had the chance to accomplish it before she was left there forever.
Leora closed her eyes, then looked up again, her expression full of solemnity.
“I cannot agree to your terms for the time being. You haven't even proven that you actually possess the ability to negotiate such conditions.”
Celine nodded. “Very reasonable. So, before the cooperative contract is formally signed, the documents and the management seal will remain in my keeping.”
“In that case, you don't have to hand the seat over to me right now either.”
“I only need to review the Rosalinds' old archives regarding the Northern Route, as well as see what the family currently has left that can be used to restart the trade route.”
The old butler frowned. “You want to investigate the Rosalinds' assets?”
“Because I also need to know whether the family I plan to cooperate with is one that still has a chance of standing back up—”
“Or just an empty shell with nothing but a name.”
The atmosphere in the room suddenly grew heavy.
These words were far from polite, but Leora did not raise her voice in anger.
Because she knew better than anyone what the Rosalinds actually had left.
After a moment, she suddenly let out a low chuckle, which quickly dissolved into suppressed coughing.
Leora took a sip of her medicine before looking back at Celine.
“I can let you see a portion of the Northern Route archives first. But before that, there is one more thing.”
Celine looked at her, quietly waiting for her to continue.
Leora spoke slowly,
“The Rosalinds still have one warehouse left at the Old North Gate. It is our very last place where we can store goods, repair vehicles, and organize caravans.”
“Because of an overdue debt, the Castro family will officially take possession of it in three days.”
Celine recalled the few people who had just been escorted out of the estate by the old butler.
So they had not come to visit today just to humiliate the elderly family head; they had come to deliver an ultimatum.
“Once that warehouse is handed over, even if the Rosalinds retain the priority review seat, we will no longer have the capability to organize any trial run.”
Leora gazed at her.
“You want the management rights of the Northern Route, the decision-making power over the industries along the line, and sixty percent of the profits. Then first, let me see if you are qualified to demand such conditions.”
She placed a bronze key on the table.
The surface of the key had already turned somewhat black, though a heavily worn rose could still be seen at its top.
“As long as the North Gate warehouse still belongs to the Rosalinds in three days, we will continue discussing the conditions you proposed.”
Celine looked down at the key.
Three days.
That was plenty of time.
Celine reached out and picked up the key.
“Then please hand over the warehouse's debt documents and relevant archives to me.”
Leora was somewhat incredulous. “You are willing to take this on?”
Celine slipped the key onto her finger, spinning it casually.
“Since I've proposed a partnership, I must show some sincerity first.”
She clenched the key in her palm.
“So, let me see on what basis they believe they can definitely take this warehouse away in three days.”
Rate on N.U.
