Celine had originally come to Red Kite only to investigate the current state of the Four Great Families before deciding whom to sell Elena's legacy and the Northern Route intelligence to.
But after seeing these notices, the situation had changed.
A piece of intelligence could only be sold once, but the operating rights to the Northern Route could continuously bring in gold coins, resources, and manpower, even altering the situation around Crow Candle Castle in turn.
More importantly, the terms offered by the other three families came with restrictions.
And if there was one thing she disliked most, it was letting others tie her hands and feet.
But the Rosalind family was different.
They were already so weak that they couldn't make any decent demands, which instead left her with the greatest room for negotiation.
Of course, weakness also meant trouble.
She still had to first confirm just how much value was left in the qualifications and past rights held by the Rosalinds.
Celine stared at the notice, a faint smile playing at the corners of her lips.
While the people of Red Kite were still arguing over who was qualified to operate the Northern Route, none of them knew that the truly critical segment of that route lay right near Crow Candle Castle.
Whose caravan could pass through the mist, and who would be trapped outside forever—ultimately, it was all up to her to decide.
Others were fighting for agency rights.
Meanwhile, what she held in her hand was the road itself.
Nolani followed her gaze to the deserted notice and asked, “Interested?”
Celine didn't answer, asking instead, “Aren't you?”
“Me?” Nolani pointed to herself as if she had heard a joke. “I'm just a free-spirited bard. Writing poetry is fine, but running a trade route is out of the question.”
She glanced over the notices of the other three families again and said in all seriousness, “But if you want to put your talents to use and, by the way, latch onto a thick enough tree to secure your livelihood for the rest of your life, I suggest you choose one of the other three.”
“Castro has money, Vesper controls appraisals and archives, and Holman holds the most basic resources.”
“As for Rosalind...” Nolani shrugged. “They probably can't even scrape together a complete trial run caravan.”
Celine's expression remained unchanged. “It sounds like you don't think very highly of them.”
“It's not just my opinion; it's the opinion of all of Red Kite.”
Just as she was about to explain further, the white flower on her collar suddenly curled shut.
The ease on Nolani's face vanished instantly, and she turned her head to look toward the other side of the plaza.
A wagon covered in gray cloth had just rounded the street corner.
A green wooden plate hung from the rear of the wagon, swaying gently with the movement of the wheels.
It was a cargo marker used internally by the Green Shade Merchant Guild.
The scent of vegetation emanating from the wagon wasn't strong, yet it caused the white flower on her collar to lean noticeably in that direction.
“I suddenly remembered something very important.”
Nolani quickly stuffed the feather-carved wooden token into Celine's hand.
“Follow this road to the second fountain, turn right, and you'll find the White Feather Registry.”
“Give them the code phrase 'A black feather falls on white paper,' and they'll issue you a backdated seven-day merchant travel permit.”
Celine looked toward the wagon, which was about to disappear from sight. “Where are you going?”
“To confirm something.”
Nolani was about to turn around when Celine grabbed her wrist. “You're not trying to slip away again, are you?”
She froze. Celine stared at her. “You promised to tell me what you saw at the Green Shade Merchant Guild.”
“I haven't forgotten.” Nolani glanced at the increasingly distant wagon, her speaking pace visibly quickening. “But there's no time to talk now. If I delay any longer, I won't be able to catch up to it.”
Seeing that Celine had no intention of letting go, Nolani had no choice but to add, “Go to the Broken Wing Tavern on Blue Street tonight. I'll tell you what I saw there, without leaving out a single word.”
Celine stared at her for two seconds before letting a strand of nearly transparent Mana-Conducting Thread slip from her fingertips, wrapping it noiselessly around Nolani's wrist.
The holiness attached to the thin thread was extremely faint, blending with Nolani's natural aura so seamlessly that it was almost imperceptible.
As long as Nolani didn't wander too far, Celine could use the pull of the Mana-Conducting Thread to gauge her general direction.
Celine released her grip. “You had better. Otherwise, you'll have one more creditor to deal with.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Nolani hurriedly plucked her strings.
Vines hanging along the street quickly elongated, hoisting her onto a nearby low roof.
A flash of red hair crossed the eaves, quickly disappearing around the corner in pursuit of the wagon.
Celine stood where she was, feeling the tug on the other end of the Mana-Conducting Thread gradually recede, lost in thought.
Nolani probably wasn't looking for an excuse to slip away this time.
For an elf who had been laughing and joking just a moment ago to suddenly change her expression, whatever was on that wagon had to be highly important to her.
Celine withdrew her gaze and slipped the wooden token into her pocket.
Since she had already entered Red Kite, she had more important things to do than chase after an elf who was prone to getting into trouble.
Registering her identity.
She took one last look at the announcement, turned around, and walked in the direction of the White Feather Registry.
The White Feather Registry was not hard to find.
Celine gave the code phrase, handed Nolani's wooden token through the window, and paid a registration fee. The scribe in charge of registration didn't press her on where she had actually entered the city. Instead, following standard procedure, he added her name to the roster of a western caravan that had arrived this morning.
Before long, a seven-day merchant travel permit stamped with the White Feather mark was pushed in front of her.
“This permit can be used for lodging, trading, and passing routine inspections.”
The scribe reminded her, “If you still want to stay in Red Kite after seven days, remember to come back and renew it.”
Celine tucked the permit away and took the opportunity to ask about the residence of the Rosalind family.
The scribe flipped through the city district directory on his desk before pointing her toward a location near the Old North Gate.
By the time she stepped out of the White Feather Registry, it was close to noon.
Celine was in no hurry to pay them a visit. Instead, she found a reasonably priced restaurant nearby and ordered some stew and black bread.
Just as her food was served, the conversation of several carriage drivers at the neighboring table drifted over.
“Have you heard? That abandoned station to the north has been cleaned up and put back to use.”
“Ah? Who paid for it?”
“Some say it's a noble who doesn't want to show his face, but who knows if that's true.”
The other person was clearly skeptical.
“Didn't that place used to have man-eating monsters? Any passing caravan that went in never came out, people and wagons alike.”
“But I heard a small caravan restocked their water there and even stayed the night.”
“What? That caravan actually made it back safely? Have the monsters nearby been cleared out?”
The first man took a bite of his bread and mumbled, “Who knows? Anyway, all of the Four Great Families are fighting over that trade route now, so they probably got wind of something in advance.”
“I heard the station's roof, stables, and well have all been repaired. A group of people went there to stir up trouble a few days ago, but there hasn't been any word from them since.”
“Dead?”
“No idea. But either way, no one has dared to go near that place since.”
Celine paused mid-gesture as she tore her bread apart.
It had already been a month since she left Crow Candle Castle. It seemed Lia's progress there was going even more smoothly than she had anticipated.
Rate on N.U.
