Chapter 390: Cooperation Agreement

"Since you insist, I won’t force you, Your Highness," Leonard said, a hint of helplessness in his voice. Then he smiled again and added, "The total cost of all the food comes to two hundred thousand Sharn, including new clothes for all the townspeople."

"Alright, wait a moment." Elina rose and retrieved a check from the cabinet near the stairs.

She returned to her seat, picked up a pen, and wrote down the required amount. When she finished, she handed it to him.

"I’m adding four hundred thousand Sharn. Please send more food and clothes within three days. You can also invite the merchants to come to Virella—I want to discuss some important business with them."

"Don’t worry. I guarantee it will be profitable, and they’ll be very happy."

Leonard blinked in surprise as he looked at the check—six hundred thousand Sharn!

It was an extraordinary sum, even for him.

For context, Black Horn town’s income every three months was only sixteen million Sharn—and that was gross income, before allocating funds to improve public facilities and other services for the townspeople.

The Thelberg family’s net income, after expenses, came to just seven million Sharn every three months.

Yet here was Elina, spending six hundred thousand Sharn as if it were pocket change.

Even for a princess, such a sum would usually be hard to part with, wouldn’t it?

Still, Leonard didn’t press further. Digging deeper could be rude, and it might jeopardize the cooperation and relationship they had just built.

Moreover, Elina had already formed alliances with the Marquis Caltheron family and several other high-ranking noble houses.

It wasn’t impossible that she had obtained some of the money from them.

If Elina knew what he was thinking, she would probably have laughed out loud.

She had never accepted a single Sharn from the noble families who supported her in this battle for the throne.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t offered gifts or financial assistance—she had simply refused everything.

For her, their help was a debt that would have to be repaid in the future.

She didn’t know what she would have to pay back later, so she maintained a defensive stance.

More importantly, she didn’t need the money. Her brother had already given her tens of millions of Sharn, including the sum he handed over that very morning.

With that much wealth, she no longer had to worry about financial problems.

"All right, Your Highness. I’ll accept your initial payment. Don’t worry—I’ll send the additional supplies within two days... No, maybe everything will arrive by tomorrow," Leonard said reassuringly.

This was a massive deal. If the Thelberg family could take advantage of it, they could advance several levels.

The Black Horn town would also reap huge profits, as would the merchants there.

Afterward, the two continued their conversation, discussing many matters related to their future cooperation.

In truth, Elina hadn’t wanted to involve the Black Horn town at all. The distance between the two towns was about two hundred kilometers—farther than Torosvia.

However, since the Redwyre family had refused her offer of cooperation, Elina had no choice but to hand this major deal over to Black Horn town.

Fortunately, Leonard was a forward-thinking, visionary, and open-minded man. Doing business with him was advantageous.

"By the way, I want to ask you something," Elina said, taking a sip of her tea. "How much would it cost to build a road between the two towns? If we can do it, it will speed up distribution and trade."

Leonard sipped his tea as well, thought for a moment, then replied, "I’ve done a rough calculation. If I’m not mistaken, it would cost about one million Sharn, Your Highness. Maybe a bit more or less."

He had considered building a road between the towns before. The journey had been terrible—full of rocks and uneven terrain.

If it weren’t for Elina’s presence in Virella, he wouldn’t have agreed to oversee the delivery of the food and clothing supplies.

"One million Sharn, huh?" Elina murmured, rubbing her chin. "All right, I understand."

She wrote another check and handed it to him.

"Please build a road between the two towns. I want it completed within a week. It may sound impossible, but I believe you can do it."

"In a week?" Leonard blinked, taken aback.

A week was an incredibly short time. By all estimates, the road should take a month or more to complete.

But when he saw the amount on the check, his heart skipped a beat.

"Three million... Sharn?" He swallowed hard.

The sum was three times what he had estimated. Only now did he fully realize just how wealthy the princess before him truly was.

His desire to conquer her gradually faded. He was a man who knew himself and his limitations.

It was clear that Elina had come to Virella fully prepared. Asking for his help was only the first step, and once everything was stable, he was certain she would no longer need him.

But that was fine. Even if he couldn’t win her over or make her his partner, this kind of working relationship was more than enough.

"Don’t worry, Your Highness. I’ll do my best," he said earnestly.

"Good!" Elina replied, a satisfied smile on her face.

They continued chatting until, without noticing, the evening had grown late.

Leonard decided to return to his town immediately to carry out their plan.

Watching him leave, Elina let out a deep sigh and stretched her stiff body.

"Finally, everything is done. Sixty percent of Virella’s problems have been solved. The rest is just a matter of time," she said, leaning back against the sofa.

In truth, this problem would have been easy if she had asked for help from the Austin or Valmire families—both powerful noble houses in the eastern region.

But doing so would have been a lie. Her father had assigned her to this town, hoping she could resolve the crisis on her own.

"Be careful. That man seems to have feelings for you."

The voice appeared suddenly from behind, making her start.

Elina spun around and saw a black shadow lurking in the corner of the room.

"You..." Her eyes narrowed slightly.

It was the shadow she had sent to clean up the Calvorn Forest.

Composing herself, she asked, "What do you mean?"

The shadow—none other than Malverna—explained, "Since that man arrived in this town, he seems to have taken an interest in you. It’s not impossible that he harbors ill intentions."

Elina was taken aback. She paused thoughtfully before replying, "All right, thank you for the warning."

She had indeed noticed Leonard’s unusual gaze on her earlier.

Could it be that he liked her?

But she quickly dismissed the thought. She didn’t care about that at all.

Leonard and she were worlds apart in status. If any man wished to pursue her, he would have to at least be on par with her brother—in both appearance and intelligence.

Well, let’s hope he’s not as lazy as her brother.

Malverna said nothing, though she knew she should report this to Nolan.

I wonder how he’ll react,

she murmured, a faint smile tugging at her lips.