Our Family Has Fallen

”The Ascension Potion. It’s a very special potion that can...”

Lance briefly explained the effects of this item. This sounded somewhat strange to Amanda.

But she knew Lance wouldn’t trick her. Even though she had been vexed by various matters recently, she managed to suppress the strange feelings in her heart and continued listening.

”It’s easy to make money from men. When a potion like this can extend their vigor and restore waning vitality, they will spare no expense, especially the wealthy ones who don’t lack money at all.”

And soon, as Lance described the potion’s broad prospects, she seemed to guess something, and an uncontrollable delight appeared on her face.

”Why don’t they respect you? Isn’t it because your foundation in the Empire is weak, and everyone sees you as an expendable piece?

But as long as you get hold of the Ascension Potion distribution channel, your organization won’t be willing to give you up when faced with Gold Coins. Their departure, in fact, gives you the chance to reorganize your personnel within the Empire.”

”What do I need to do?”

”You don’t need to do anything. I promised to help you, and I won’t stand by and watch a friend in trouble,” Lance said with a slight smile, pushing the Ascension Potion on the table towards Amanda. ”The first batch is five hundred doses. Let’s see how the market reacts first. Afterward, I will supply you with a total of one thousand doses of the potion each month.

This is just the beginning. Once production increases, this number can be raised, potentially to three thousand a month. And there’s even a premium line among these.

The ordinary dose should be priced no less than ten Gold Coins, and the high-end ones no less than a hundred Gold Coins. We’ll split the profit 7:1:2.”

”What does this ratio mean? Is there a third party?”

”Eighty percent of the profit is mine, but I’ll allocate ten percent of the total profit to you from my share.”

Upon hearing this, Amanda quickly calculated. Even at the lowest price for a thousand doses, the total value could reach ten thousand Gold Coins.

A Knight’s Domain’s annual output doesn’t even reach five hundred Gold Coins, while I would be getting a thousand Gold Coins a month. Once production ramps up, it would be three thousand Gold Coins a month! Isn’t that more than what I could earn risking my life outside? Medicine truly is a highly profitable industry!

”But... I...” Amanda quickly realized, how could this money just fall into her lap for nothing?

”This amount of money is trivial to me. However, you can’t gain the support of certain people within the organization without money.”

This statement plunged Amanda into silence; she knew there was something off about this money, but she truly needed it.

Lance lifted his hand and knocked on the table for emphasis. ”Remember, I’m dealing with you, not with the Romani.”

Giving her a thousand Gold Coins would ensure she invested more effort into this, as her own interests were now tied to it. The Ascension Potion was just the beginning. Lance planned to continue creating high-value products that had to go through Romani channels, as Hamlet’s own distribution channels weren’t fully established yet. Binding Amanda to his ship for a thousand Gold Coins seemed like a good deal to him. Investment isn’t just about looking at immediate returns; one also can’t be stingy. People remember help given in desperate times; embellishments to success are often overlooked.

”Did you know? There have been continuous complaints about the Romani in recent days—spies, counterfeit goods, money scams, theft, and even honey traps...” Lance pulled out a stack of files from a drawer and passed it over. ”Go on, tell them they can get lost. Hamlet isn’t a place for them to run wild. And my, Lance’s, friends are not to be bullied by just anyone.”

Lance wore a gentle smile, but his tone was anything but gentle.

He knew those Romani were up to no good, but why had he been holding back on these matters? Because it was part of a one-two punch. Merely the channel for the potion wasn’t enough; to support Amanda, Lance had to help her establish authority.

Upon hearing this, Amanda’s somewhat weary eyes lit up. She was smart and instantly understood Lance’s intentions.

The key is still this batch of potions. If it goes through the organization’s channels, they would likely prioritize shipping to Totnes; a large city like that could instantly absorb these five hundred bottles. Once the goods were on a ship, the person in charge there would likely try to get a piece of the action. Now Lance wants me to publicly promote the channels I control, while simultaneously kicking that other person out of the picture. This is undoubtedly a move to establish my authority by stepping on him.

”That person is quite powerful and is a local bigwig in Totnes. Confronting them like this might cause trouble for future dealings, especially since information flows fastest in Totnes. Perhaps we could bring her in and sell potions in Totnes as well?”

Amanda remained calm. She understood that while acting on this felt good, it would lead to trouble sooner or later. Seeking a way to cooperate would be better.

”Tamara has been in Totnes for so long without them noticing; it just shows their capabilities are so-so, merely relying on the old fame of the Spiritual Network.

Besides, you are the one in charge of the imperial region. Does Totnes not belong to the Empire then? You need to change that lone-wolf mentality of yours as a Seeker of Omens.

I’m giving you money; can’t you use it to recruit some people? If you don’t use the authority you have, they will never truly submit to you.

I’ll have the security team arrest these people. If she wants to step forward, let her. In Hamlet, they either obey, or they keep quiet and don’t bother me. If she wants to cause trouble, tell her she’s free to curse me.”

Amanda wanted to explain that the organization’s internal operations didn’t work like that. Hunting traitors was the task of Seekers of Omens; those other people’s job was to manage the intelligence network effectively.

But she quickly realized Lance was trying to help her vent and establish control over the situation.

She had endured a lot from her own kin recently. But being weak and alone, she had feared those people would cause trouble in Hamlet and displease Lance, so she had borne it all, even tolerating not being allowed on his ship.

She never expected to find support from Lance today. The feeling of having someone backing her up was truly wonderful!

Her mental state had been very suppressed, and now, with this surge of emotion, she said something very strange.

”I’m so tired~ I don’t want to do this anymore...”

When Lance heard this, he didn’t pay much attention at first. It was just a typical worker’s lament; he used to cry out like that every day in his previous life.

It was only when Amanda continued, her expression serious and her tone earnest,

”I’m not joking! I want to leave the organization and join Hamlet.”

”Er... what are you thinking?” Lance was suddenly a bit lost.

Amanda actually began to analyze quite seriously.

”I’m used to the simple life of receiving orders and then executing missions. Dealing with all these people now is just too troublesome.

Besides, my position has always been a scapegoat role. Back then, someone needed to take responsibility for the deteriorating situation in the Empire. The previous person ran off, so I was dragged out and pushed into it. It’s not a good position at all.

Furthermore, even if I manage to suppress the Totnes faction with your help, their influence is very real. Just like now, my orders are nothing but empty words.

To control Totnes, you have to fight them, which is a total waste of resources for Hamlet and a nuisance for you too.”

Saying this, Amanda suddenly paused for a few seconds, as if wrestling with a decision. After all, she was still the one in charge of the imperial region and had access to some vital information.

”The real reason the organization is withdrawing from the Empire is actually due to the damage to the Spiritual Network. To rebuild it would be enormously costly, and they wouldn’t redeploy until the situation has stabilized.

This means that once everyone is withdrawn, my position will basically be an empty shell until the organization rebuilds, which could take decades. I’m completely an expendable piece.”

Amanda said this, having mustered her courage, as it completely exposed her weakness to Lance. She wasn’t sure if she would still hold enough importance in his eyes once she lost her organizational identity.

Hearing this, Lance finally understood why Amanda’s enthusiasm for these matters had always been so low. He had originally thought she was deeply calculating, patiently enduring the enemy’s provocations, waiting for the right moment to shout, ’The three-year period is up, don’t bully a young man for being poor!’ like a protagonist at the start of their story. It seems she had simply given up...