Caroline stood before her desk, watching the figure on the balcony who had drawn everyone's attention, and felt her cheeks grow hot.
That bastard... couldn't he come in like a normal person?
She took a deep breath, suppressed the flutter in her heart, and schooled her lovely face into a stern expression, regaining the bearing expected of the Golden Sail Merchant Guild's queen.
She instructed the female assistant beside her, "Go open the balcony door and let him in."
The moment Veylin stepped inside, he felt the icy pressure in the room.
Caroline sat upright in her broad chair, her long, fair legs crossed, studying him with an appraising gaze.
"Baron Veylin, you've caused quite a stir." Her voice betrayed no emotion. "Everyone in the harbor district now knows you rode a giant beast onto my office balcony."
"I ran into some trouble on the way and strayed off course. I happened to be passing by." Veylin seemed not to notice her displeasure. He sat straight down in the chair opposite Caroline, then took an envelope from inside his coat and placed it on the desk.
"What's this?" Caroline asked.
"Your share of the profits," Veylin replied. "Two thousand eight hundred and seventy-five Gold Suns. It's a draft from the Mithril Treasury, redeemable in any major city on the continent."
At that figure, Caroline's gaze softened noticeably.
She picked up the draft, checked its magical seal, and only then put it away.
"At least you have some conscience." She huffed, but the corners of her mouth had already begun to lift despite herself.
Right now, this money was a lifeline. It could immediately resolve her pressing financial problems.
A dozen plans sprang to mind, each capable of making those hyenas from the Sea Serpent Merchant Guild cough up twice what