The convoy making the trial run along the Northern Route had been out of the city for several days, and the team Chloe led was also making very smooth progress.
During that time, people often came to the estate to ask whether space could be reserved in the warehouse. Some wanted to discuss purchasing northern goods in advance, and even old acquaintances who had long since cut ties began sending messages through intermediaries.
With the trade route's outcome still uncertain, Leora dared not agree to anything rashly and recorded these matters one by one.
Celine sat at the desk set up for her and lightly turned a few pages. She found that several of those people would not commit to a single definite statement, yet everything they said probed for inside information about House Rosalind.
She circled those names and was about to read on when an announcement came from outside the door.
A Golden Measure guard had come on the lord's orders to invite her to the Lord's Tower.
Leora's pen stopped in her hand.
A few days earlier, a huge hole had been blasted in the Lord's Tower, causing a commotion that carried across half the city. People from the estate had also gone out to look. Afterward, the lord's office had said only that a magic circle inside the tower had malfunctioned. They sent people to seal off the nearby streets and offered reassurances, gradually quieting the talk in the city.
Leora did not know what exactly had happened inside, but she knew Celine had been there that day too. Given the unpleasantness between her and the merchant guild as well, Leora could not help worrying when she suddenly heard that the lord wanted to see her.
She put down her pen and looked at Celine. "Would