novelraw Chapter 182: High-end Goods
Chapter 182: High-end Goods
Countless miniature shelves stood in dense rows.
All were crafted from high-end, temperature-controlled materials. A multitude of equally tiny lights dotted the space like stars in the night sky, casting a dreamy, hazy glow over the entire room.
On every shelf sat exquisite glass bottles filled with various perfume ingredients, each bearing a label.
The labels noted the collection date, place of origin, and name of each ingredient.
Even Celia Sterling, who had remained perfectly composed upon seeing Silas Norwood’s enormous warehouse and dozens of safes, lost her composure for the first time.
’Silas Norwood... how could he possibly have so many perfume ingredients?’
Most were common, but a special section housed a considerable number of rare ingredients—including the very same discontinued set of raw materials he had once given her...
Her feet seemed glued to the spot, and she couldn’t move for what felt like an eternity.
She didn’t know how much time had passed.
A cashmere coat was gently draped over her shoulders, followed by Silas Norwood’s slightly exasperated voice:
"It’s chilly on this lower level, and my wife comes here without even grabbing a coat."
Celia turned, tilting her head up to look at Silas Norwood. Her voice was hoarse. "What are you doing here?"
"You were gone for a while, so I got worried and came to find you. They told me you were here." Silas Norwood reached out and fastened the buttons of her coat, one by one.
"Silas Norwood, how do you have so many perfume ingredients?" Celia couldn’t help but ask. "This is enough to rival my entire Delia Caine R&D lab."
"I believe I told you I had a bit of a stash."
"Yes, you did," Celia said, looking at him with a complex expression. "I thought you meant a few bottles, maybe a dozen. I never imagined you had an entire warehouse."
Her greedy gaze swept over the dazzling array on the shelves, the scene still feeling so unreal it was like a dream. Her eyes finally came to rest on the rare ingredients section. Noticing her stare, and perhaps worried she would overthink things, Silas Norwood gently explained:
"When I gave you that set of ingredients, these shelves were actually more than half empty, especially the ones for rare materials. There were only a few scattered bottles left, not enough to make a complete set, so I didn’t feel right about sending them to you."
The raw material production bases under his control were vast, with numerous super-sites constantly extracting essences every quarter. Previously, Miles Trenton had been responsible for handling all external trades with the world’s major perfuming families. It was only after his engagement to Celia Sterling that Silas Norwood had the idea of handing over control of all the production modules to her. Miles had simply cherry-picked some samples from the most recent quarter’s extraction to send over and fill these shelves. The surplus was still sold off, completing the self-sustaining financial loop for the bases.
Celia hummed in acknowledgment and moved closer to the rare ingredients section, scanning the labels one by one. Nearly all were dated within the last month; many had even arrived in just the last couple of days.
"Why are you hoarding so many perfume ingredients? The Norwood Family isn’t involved in this industry." Deciding to act on her impulse, Celia said, "Silas Norwood, sell them to me! Name your price."
"I can’t sell them." Silas smiled slowly. "This is your wedding gift. The ownership is already in your name, so I can’t make the decision for them."
Celia was speechless.
She was silent for a long moment before speaking again, her tone not entirely approving. "You and my brother have really opened my eyes when it comes to showering me with money. But there’s no need for all this. I’m quite wealthy myself. If I like something, I’m perfectly capable of buying it."
"Kade and I don’t really have much of a concept of money. It’s just a string of numbers that climbs higher every day. But if I can use that uninteresting string of numbers to please you, that’s my greatest source of satisfaction." Silas rubbed her still-chilly hands. "It’s not good to stay in here for too long. I’ll take you out. You can come back whenever you want. It’s all yours; it’s not going anywhere."
Celia was reluctant to leave, but Silas himself was only lightly dressed, so she obediently took his hand to leave with him. She didn’t forget to press, "So, where did you get all these ingredients from?"
Silas asked probingly, "Seeing the places of origin on the labels, didn’t you have any thoughts?"
’Place of origin?’
The places of origin from a few of the labels floated through Celia’s mind—all different, spread all across the globe...
She suddenly realized. "I remember two of the super-production sites belong to Rivermoon! So, you... you bought all of this from Miles Trenton at a premium?"
The value of this warehouse of fragrances was incalculable; in the eyes of a Perfumer, it was a priceless treasure. Celia stared blankly at Silas Norwood, her heart feeling both warm and bittersweet.
"It is related to Rivermoon. I’ll explain everything in detail when I get the chance." Silas wrestled with himself for a moment. He felt that revealing his identity now would be too abrupt, so he suppressed the urge and changed the subject. "There’s still a pile of papers waiting for you to sign. Come on, let’s not keep Kade waiting."
「The next morning」
Celia put on some light makeup and chose a gown that was exquisite without being ostentatious. She then made her way to the Sinclair residence, a familiar path.
Quinn Sinclair was twenty-six this year, a few years older than Celia. The Sinclair Family had decided to throw a birthday banquet for her, a spur-of-the-moment idea that came about after they received the wedding invitation for the union between the Norwood and Sterling families.
The reasoning was simple. Celia, who was much younger than Quinn, was already getting married—and into such a good match. The patriarch of the Sinclair Family and her brothers were inspired, hoping to use the birthday banquet as an opportunity to scout for a well-mannered young gentleman from a family of equal standing to become their son-in-law.
As a result, when Celia arrived at the Sinclair residence, Quinn looked at her with particular resentment.
"I haven’t done anything to provoke you recently, have I?" Celia sized her up. "You hate these kinds of elegant, fussy, ladylike outfits more than anything. As the queen of today’s banquet, why are you making yourself miserable?"
"My dad and two brothers secretly put out feelers to a bunch of wealthy families. Haven’t you noticed all the rich, single guys here today?"
"A matchmaking party in disguise?" Celia understood in a second. But with so many people around, she could only lower her voice to ask, "I thought you planned to stay single forever. Why did you give in?"
"They said all the good men get snatched up early, and if I keep fooling around for a few more years, I’ll have to pick my marriage partner from the bottom of the barrel." Quinn’s face flushed. "My dad even laid down an ultimatum: if I don’t cooperate, he’ll cut off all my cards. I figured rather than being destitute and living a miserable life, I might as well find a like-minded guy. After we get married, we can still do our own things and even cover for each other."
"As long as you’ve thought it through yourself, that’s what matters." Celia watched a large crowd of women start to gather in her direction. "Help block them for me so I can eat something in peace."
"With Kian Sterling and Silas Norwood backing you, the most they can do is be jealous. They wouldn’t dare cause any real trouble. A while ago, a strange rumor started spreading from Nina Sterling and her crowd, saying that Silas Norwood’s abstinence is just for show, and that deep down..." Quinn was a little too embarrassed to say the words.
But the curiosity in Celia’s eyes was a little too obvious.
Quinn cleared her throat. "That he’s... obsessed with women. And, uh, exceptionally vigorous."
"..." The tips of Celia’s ears burned. Forcing herself to remain composed, she said, "Those women are just spouting nonsense."