“I brought them.”

Morris handed over two thick ledgers.

“Well done. You returned sooner than expected.”

“The friend worked faster than I thought.”

“Give the ledgers to me.”

“Here they are.”

Ellen, taking the ledgers from Morris, expressed her admiration.

“Even though these were obtained in a hurry, there’s nothing more for me to do. He knows exactly what needs to be checked.”

She flipped through the pages rapidly, stopping at a certain point to scrutinize the records carefully.

Then, after comparing something with another ledger, she finally spoke,

“Let’s go to Section C.”

* * *

While holding a parasol with a discontented face, Kaiden asked,

“……Can’t I play the role of secretary?”

“No. The secretary role needs to be at the forefront.”

When Ellen firmly refused, Terriard chimed in from the side.

“That’s right, Your Highness. You should stay behind with Ellen.”

“If that’s your concern, you should change the way you address me.”

“Ah, yes, understood. Stay safely behind.”

“…….”

“Someone’s coming. Stay focused.”

Kaiden, who had been glaring at Terriard with a dissatisfied face, reluctantly lowered his gaze at Ellen’s sharp command.

“Hello! Are you from the Maple Trading Company?”

“Yes, we are.”

“Please come this way. I’ll guide you.”

As Terriard stepped forward and responded, a relatively young-looking man smiled brightly.

“I heard from the team leader. You’re here to inspect the warehouse rental and, well… ahem, the goods?”

“Yes.”

“Haha, I see. Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of you.”

The man, who had spoken so, approached them with a cheerful demeanor.

However, contrary to his words, he seemed to have no intention of starting the tour and just stood there, watching Ellen.

Ellen sighed deeply, took out a small pouch from her pocket, and handed it to Terriard.

“Use this.”

“……?”

Terriard, who received the unexpected item from Ellen with a bewildered face, immediately understood its meaning when he felt the weight of gold coins in his hand and his face hardened.

Barely hiding his disdain, he spoke,

“……Please take it.”

“Oh my, you shouldn’t have.”

The man quickly accepted the pouch, hid it inside his coat, and then led them with an excited face.

“Where would you like to start? Section A is….”

“Let’s go to Section C.”

“Oh, Section C, you say?”

At the guide’s question, Terriard glanced at Kaiden, and when Kaiden gave a slight nod, he said to the man.

“Please lead the way.”

“Oh, of course. This way, please.”

The man took the lead while making a fuss.

Posing as merchants who came to spy on a competitor’s imports, they began opening the cargo stored in the warehouse one by one as soon as they arrived at Section C.

Clunk.

Clunk.

“This is from the Rose Trading Company….”

“Over there is from Broche….”

The guide provided detailed information about the sections, and Ellen instructed them to open boxes with names she recognized.

Then suddenly…

“Hey, what are you doing over there!”

Someone was seen rushing over from a distance.

The man, who was yelling urgently as he ran, looked bewildered when he saw Ellen’s group more clearly.

“Huff, huff, excuse me, but what are you doing? I haven’t heard anything about additional cargo inspections today….”

“Really? It’s unfortunate that you’re behind on the news. Keep opening.”

At Ellen’s words, Terriard and the guide continued opening boxes, and the man, who seemed to be in charge of this section, shouted in panic.

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

“Oh, really?”

Ellen responded with a cold gaze, gesturing toward the warehouse the man was facing away from.

“Over there. Open it.”

Terriard quickly approached and opened the box he could reach, and upon seeing its contents, he snorted incredulously.

“Ha, look at this?”

He then turned his head and shouted loudly toward where Kaiden and Ellen stood.

“Swords! The forge mark is not confirmed!”

As his decisive shout echoed, the man’s face turned pale.

Kaiden strode forward.

He pulled a sword from the box in front of Terriard, confirmed the lack of a forge mark, and spoke through gritted teeth.

“……Illegal is what you call this.”

He opened another box in front of him.

“Ha, jackpot.”

“Could this be gunpowder…!”

As Kaiden spoke with a cynical expression, the man stumbled back, his face ashen like a corpse.

“No… Supervisor, Supervisor!”

The man, who had been backing away on trembling legs, suddenly ran off, calling for someone likely involved in the corruption.

“Fire the signal flare and open everything here.”

Kaiden commanded with a stern face.

* * *

Sir Coenheim Morris acted swiftly upon seeing the signal flare.

Thanks to him, the arrival of the security forces coincided almost exactly with the arrival of the person the supervisor had run to fetch.

“Hey, who are you people!”

Seeing the person rushing over, the man who had initially guided Ellen’s group whispered.

“That’s the head of operations.”

Realizing Ellen’s group wasn’t ordinary merchants, he apologized profusely for accepting a bribe and promised full cooperation for the day’s events.

“Identify yourselves immediately! How dare you do this without permission!”

The head of operations shouted with a flushed face.

But then.

From a distance, the voices of Sir Coenheim Morris and the capital’s chief of security could be heard as they ran over.

“Your Highness!”

“Oh my, Your Highness! What brings you to such a place!”

“Ah, you arrived just in time.”

Kaiden said and waved his arm when he saw them approach.

“Security forces! Re-inspect all the cargo here from now on! Open everything!”

Hearing this, the head of operations, who had been running with a red face, suddenly turned pale.

“Uh… Your Highness?”

“You were asking who I am, and now you seem to know.”

“Uh, really, Your Highness….”

His pupils shook uncontrollably.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness! But responding to unauthorized actions is my assigned duty…!”

“We’ll find out if you were faithful to your role through investigation.”

“Your Highness…!”

Ignoring the head of operations’ gaze, Kaiden passed by him.

Boxes and ledgers piled up neatly, and the number of detained personnel increased.

The items found were varied.

From weapons and gunpowder that were initially discovered, to clothes, equipment, and tools that appeared to be large-scale supplies….

Things that might be nothing or things that, if concerned about, could leave a lingering unease.

Getting caught for unauthorized outings was painful—because he had informed the security forces of his outing—but Kaiden thought it was worth coming here directly.

When he first heard about the muskets, he had conflicted thoughts between ‘surely not’ and ‘there’s no reason for that woman to lie about that.’

But now, gunpowder of unknown origin was indeed discovered here.

‘This is something only Krembell could do….’

Feeling as if his breathing was constricted, he loosened the cravat around his neck.

Gunpowder is a strictly prohibited item by the state.

All production and distribution are managed by the state for state use only.

But the appearance of unverified gunpowder means—

‘……There’s an unreported saltpeter mine. We need to find it.’

Kaiden organized his chaotic thoughts about upcoming tasks.

‘There are essential personnel needed to operate a mine. They can’t hide that. First, select suspicious areas… and request an analysis of the mixing ratio. And….’

Even though there was nothing constricting his neck anymore, he felt short of breath and leaned against a nearby pillar.

After a few deep breaths, when he lifted his head, he saw a woman with neatly pinned light blonde hair.

Ellen Crient.

A woman whose true intentions were inscrutable.

Watching the bustling people from afar, she, for some reason, wore a face as weary as his.

‘What makes you look so frustrated?’

It was a look he couldn’t understand.

As if she were in a different flow from others, a demeanor completely mismatched with the situation.

‘Isn’t this the stage you wanted to prove yourself on and selected yourself? Yet—’

Why does she wear such a hollow expression?

He clenched his fist tightly, hiding his tingling palm.

That woman always hid herself behind a face that seemed unbothered by anything.

Yet, because of that, her true feelings were clearly visible.

For example, how much she loved Gillian, how hard she worked for him.

‘But now, what is making her….’

Kaiden’s gaze followed Ellen’s back as she looked at the scenery of the dock with a vacant expression.

Ha. He saw her let out a hollow laugh.

A face he’d never seen before.

An inscrutable smile.

And all these incomprehensible changes.

He continued to observe the inexplicable behavior of the enigmatic woman.

Continuously. Until everything was settled and she boarded the carriage to return.