The roads in the North District were much wider than those in the city center, with a large number of warehouses, stables, and carriage rental shops lining both sides of the streets.
Freight carriages came and went, their wooden wheels grinding against the cobblestone roads, leaving mud tracks of varying depths on the ground.
In the distance, several tall warehouses stood close against the city wall, their greyish-black roofs overlapping one another like a row of square beasts crouching beneath the city.
Just as Celine reached the entrance of the warehouse district, two guards crossed their spears and stopped her.
“Halt, this area is not open to the public.”
Celine handed over her authorization document.
“The Rosalind family has commissioned me to inspect the North Gate warehouse.”
When the guard saw the rose coat of arms on the paper, instead of showing respect, a hint of disdain appeared on his face.
“The North Gate warehouse is currently under Castro’s management. During the transfer period, unauthorized personnel are not permitted to enter.”
He sized Celine up and down, then added:
“Besides, in three days, that warehouse will belong to Castro. It’s a bit too late to think about inspecting it now.”
Celine did not get angry.
The Rosalind family had not officially lost the warehouse yet, but these gatekeepers were already celebrating early on Castro's behalf.
She looked at the guard and asked, “Your name?”
The guard was taken aback. “What?”
“Since you have determined that Rosalind's authorization is invalid, someone needs to sign the refusal record.”
Celine snatched the document back from his hand and flipped it to the back.
“The warehouse transfer has not been completed, so ownership still belongs to Rosalind. Castro is merely the managing party and has no right to prevent the owner from inspecting their assets.”
She tapped the blank space at the bottom of the document. “Write it down clearly here that you are refusing the inspection on behalf of Castro, state the grounds for refusal, and note what you just said—that the North Gate warehouse already belongs to Castro.”
The disdain on the guard's face instantly froze.
“I didn't say it already—”
“Is that so?” Celine interrupted him. “The guard next to you and the porters outside the entrance can all bear witness.”
The guard's face turned unsightly, but he still tried to hold his ground:
“I'm just doing my job according to the rules.”
“Which rule?”
“During the transfer period, unauthorized personnel are prohibited from entering.”
Celine glanced at him. “So, the Rosalind family, one of the Four Great Families, has now become 'unauthorized personnel'?”
“That's not what I meant.”
“Good.”
Celine tucked the document away and said with feigned casualness, “I thought that when Castro took over the warehouse, they also took over the right to interpret contracts in the Red Kite City-States.”
The guard opened his mouth, momentarily speechless.
Seeing that things were going south, the other guard quickly spoke up:
“Please wait a moment, Miss. I will go and call the person in charge right away.”
Before long, a slightly chubby middle-aged man hurried over.
He wore the dark grey uniform common to the Castro caravan, with a silver wheel badge pinned to his chest.
“Hello, Miss. I am the temporary manager here, Hodge.”
After reading the authorization document, the smile on his face immediately grew a bit more polite.
“So you are Rosalind's representative. The subordinates don't know the rules and have wasted your time.”
With a single phrase, "don't know the rules," he shifted all the blame for the earlier harassment onto the guard.
Celine was not surprised by this.
People who were good at business were usually also good at passing the buck.
“It's fine.”
She glanced at the previous guard.
“They were just very concerned about Castro's property.”
Hodge gave a couple of dry laughs and led her into the warehouse district.
The front yard and several ordinary cargo areas were kept very clean. No obvious issues could be found with the shelves, drainage channels, or roofs, and only a few wooden crates were stacked there.
Hodge answered all her questions fluently along the way, pausing only for a brief moment when mentioning the western cargo area.
“That place was closed two years ago due to being in disrepair.”
Celine asked, “Where are the maintenance records?”
“They aren't kept here at the moment. We can send them to the Rosalind estate later.”
Celine nodded, not pressing further.
When they bypassed the backyard, the wooden door leading to the western cargo area was tightly shut, guarded by four men outside—twice as many as anywhere else.
Hodge explained, “The structure over there is unstable. We stationed more people to prevent anyone from wandering in by mistake.”
Celine swept her gaze over the wooden door. “Castro certainly cares a lot about an abandoned warehouse.”
The smile on Hodge's face stiffened for a moment, and he quickly changed the subject.
There wasn't much information, but it was enough.
The western cargo area was definitely not abandoned as he claimed.
Celine quickly finished her inspection.
After leaving the warehouse district, she headed to the stone bridge outside the Old North Gate to meet up with Nolani.
Before she even got close, she heard a burst of cheerful music.
Nolani was sitting on the bridge railing, holding her lyre in her arms, surrounded by several porters and passing children.
As the song ended, applause rang out.
Someone even warmly invited her to perform at the eastern warehouse tomorrow, where more people would be on their lunch break.
Nolani agreed with a smile, then leaped down from the bridge railing and walked toward Celine, holding her lyre.
“I didn't expect you to arrive so early.”
Celine glanced at the gradually dispersing crowd and teased, “I didn't expect you to find time to play the lyre and sing here either, considering you're supposed to be conducting a low-profile investigation.”
“You don't understand.” Nolani raised her chin proudly. “People are only willing to say more when they are relaxed. If I had asked directly about what's hidden in the warehouse, they would have just taken me for a thief.”
Celine looked at her. “And aren't you?”
The pride on Nolani's face instantly stiffened. “Cough, let's not talk about that for now. Let's find another place to chat.”
She tilted her head toward the underside of the bridge, gesturing for Celine to follow.
Once the two reached a spot sheltered from the wind, Nolani lowered her voice.
“That carriage from yesterday did indeed enter the western cargo area. Someone goes over there specifically to inspect it every night, and they aren't Castro's people.”
“The Green Shade Merchant Guild?”
“Most likely.”
Nolani took out the brass key from inside her cloak.
“The number on the key matches as well.”
Celine took the key and checked it against the layout plan.
The location was confirmed, and there was a high probability that the batch of cargo was still inside.
The remaining questions were whether the key was still valid, if there was a second lock inside, and the guard schedule for the night.
Nolani leaned in and smiled. “So, how is it? My information is useful, right?”
Celine raised her hand to push her face away. “Don't celebrate too early. The key might have been changed, and the guards aren't just for show.”
Nolani grumbled, “Do you never think about things in a positive light?”
“I do.”
“When?”
“Only after confirming that the matter has completely ended.”
Nolani let out a soft sigh. “Then you must live a very exhausting life.”
Celine laughed mockingly at herself in her mind.
She had already paid a painful price once for placing her survival in the hands of others.
Therefore, this time, she needed power, money, manpower, and intelligence—everything that could make Crow Candle Castle more secure.
Only when she held enough chips in her hand would she no longer have to leave her life and death to others.
She handed the key back to Nolani and said flatly, “It's fine. At least it increases my survival rate.”
Nolani took the key, fell silent for a moment, and suddenly smiled. “Then once this matter is over, how about I buy you some tea?”
Celine sized her up. “An unprompted favor is rarely innocent. What kind of mess do you want me to clean up for you this time?”
Half of the smile on Nolani's face instantly vanished. “Can you please not ruin the mood?”
The two of them then reviewed the route for tonight's operation.
The daytime investigation had basically allowed Celine to confirm that unregistered third-party cargo existed in the western cargo area.
However, mere hearsay was not enough to disrupt the Golden Scale Merchant Guild's transfer process.
The only breakthrough at present was to locate this batch of goods that the Green Shade Merchant Guild had secretly stockpiled.
As long as physical evidence was secured, they could completely prove the other party's violations of secretly hoarding contraband and operating in the shadows.
Rate on N.U.
