Cornflower Witch

Chapter 67 Contract Reached
To sign or not to sign.

After a slight hesitation, Hiltiya nodded in agreement, then picked up a special quill pen and wrote the words 'Anluer'.

Then Albayra took out the Chamber of Commerce's seal, signed his name, and stamped it.

Soon, a tiny flame spread across the entire page, then the contract changed color, new patterns covered the writing, and everything on it became fixed.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Anluer." Albay stood up and carefully put away the contract.

Now that the cooperation had been reached, there was no point in regretting it, so the three began to discuss other matters.

“Mr. Albay, have you ever heard of ‘cornflower’?” Hiltiya suddenly remembered something.

"Cornflower? This is the first time I've heard of this term." It seems he's never seen one before.

In fact, not long after arriving in Scorched Stone City, Hilti had inquired about the name of this type of flower, but neither the Horticulturalists' Guild nor Lady Fran had ever heard of it.

Could it be that the names are different in different places? Perhaps it has a different name in some places, Hiltiya wondered to herself.

"However, I can help Miss Anluoer find out relevant information. Fengqiao City is close to the border, and its information network is quite extensive."

"Thank you." The girl put the matter aside for the time being.

Soon after, Carrie inquired about Albayrak's preparations for war at the border.

"I remember two years ago, the Kingdom of Legas signed a treaty with the Kingdom of Antioch in the north, announcing a ceasefire. Is war about to break out again now?"

“That’s right. After the ‘War of the Windmills’ two years ago, we and the Kingdom of Antiy declared a ceasefire, ceded some territory, and paid a lot of compensation for the losses. This greatly angered His Majesty, and even Viscount Karen was imprisoned because of it,” Albay replied.

"Originally, we all thought the war would come to an end, and there would be no major conflict for at least ten years."

"But the situation has changed. According to reports from our informants on the border in the Kingdom of Antiy, there is an undercurrent of unrest within the Kingdom of Antiy. Many nobles are eager to start another war. Under these circumstances, even if the royal family of the Kingdom of Antiy does not want to start a war, it will be difficult to suppress the voices of the people below them."

"Why are those nobles so eager for war?" the girl asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Because they won too easily last time, and only some nobles reaped the benefits, the quick ceasefire left many of the great nobles in Antioch in a state of shock before it was over."

"Those nobles who didn't get a share of the spoils were envious, thinking we could manipulate them at will, and were unwilling to let it end there. Coincidentally, during this period, the main heirs of the Antioch royal family were each vying for power, and they all hoped to become the next king. The factions around them would not easily give up their efforts to build momentum."

Is the struggle for the throne spreading...? Hiltiya probably understands the reason.

The throne in this world possesses real power. In other words, at the very least, one can gain physical strength, a healthier body, and a longer lifespan by leveraging the higher-level attributes that come with the throne. Therefore, those who are qualified to inherit it will inevitably seize every possible opportunity to do so.

"Now that you mention it, you must be making quite a bit of money." Carrie was now giving them a warning. Given the situation, the military wouldn't try to lower the price too much, which meant that the Copper Halberd Merchant Guild's profits wouldn't be low.

"Yes, thank you for your kindness, Miss Anluoer. If you need anything in particular, we can keep an eye out for it and deliver it to you during your next purchase." The other party's attitude was frank; since the contract had already been signed, there was no need to hide anything.

“Well…” Hilti thought about what she was missing.

“If you have any extraordinary accessories that can conceal your identity, please keep an eye out for me. I occasionally need them to disguise my overly conspicuous identity for easier movement,” she said directly. “That’s easy. I’ll contact the local partner guild and ask their experts to create one for you. What style of accessory would you like?” Since they were already a good business partner, the merchant was quite generous and prepared to cultivate a good relationship with the young woman.

"A ring, I'll also need a specific pattern." She planned to have the image of a cornflower from her memory engraved on the ring, so it would be easier to ask others for it.

After saying that, she asked Lining to bring her some paper, and then she hand-drew the cornflower pattern herself.

"So this is what 'cornflower' looks like? No problem, I'll specially instruct the craftsmen to make one for you later." Albayo accepted the drawings.

The three of them sat for a while longer until Albay took his leave.

"I will be bringing my entourage to pick up the goods tomorrow, so please be prepared, Miss Anluor." With that, he bowed and bid farewell to the young woman.

After the chamber of commerce representative left, Carrie stood beside Hiltia and gently placed her hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"It's been a while since I last saw An Luo'er, and she's become quite generous." She was quite surprised that the young girl could make her own decision and agree to the deal.

According to her original estimate, Anluer might decline and wait for Lady Fran to return before making a decision, because no one expected that Lady Fran would give Hiltiya such great authority. In addition, it was unclear how much 'sunseed oil' Lady Fran had stored, so the various information asymmetries led to misunderstandings.

"Actually, I was a little nervous just now, afraid that I might not handle it well and sell it too cheaply," Hiltiya said without hiding anything.

“But since you didn’t have much of a problem with the price after you came, I had a pretty good idea of ​​what it was,” she answered honestly.

“Hehe, that’s a clever move,” Carrie replied with a smile.

"This price is indeed quite high under normal circumstances, but since the war may resume, the profit margin is also larger, so we just earn a little less."

"Sometimes cooperation doesn't need to be too rigid. Leaving each other some leeway can make things more pleasant. Just like before, since the other party has already benefited, you can make some more requests. Considering the long-term cooperation, the other party will most likely agree."

“Especially in some situations, maintaining relationships is even more important than making money,” Carrie said, raising her finger.

You'll gradually understand this sentence in the future.

"Alright, now that things are settled, I won't bother you any longer."

"Won't you stay for dinner? I've also prepared a gift for you." Hiltia thought that she should at least express her gratitude for inviting Mrs. Carrie over.

"You don't need to spend any money, Anluoer. Hehe, you're too young, don't worry about this."

"When Mrs. Fran returns next time, she will prepare a gift for me as a return gift for helping you with the negotiations." Kali patted Hilti's head again before saying goodbye and leaving.

The following day, Lady Carrie and Albayo visited again. With Lady Carrie's assistance and supervision, 306 bottles of 'Sun Seed Oil' were successfully delivered. Albayo also signed a contract confirming receipt of the goods and left it with Anlor, and gave 1200 gold coins to Hilti for confirmation.

The gold coins were neatly arranged in three iron boxes, reflecting a glittering golden light in the sunlight.

(End of this chapter)