You Can't Catch the Wind (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 2

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‘So this is the last of the money I had left.’

Once I pay the carriage fare to get to the library, I’ll have nothing left.

On any other day, I would have walked—but not today. I had to finish what I intended to do as quickly as possible and return home before my parents or Elise woke up.

Yet, contrary to Ael’s anxious heart, as she neared the central square, the road became so jammed with traffic that carriages could barely pass.

“Miss, it seems Ash Consortium’s ship has arrived at the harbor. It’s going to be a bit congested.”

The coachman spoke as if the congestion were not his fault.

At his words, Ael turned her gaze toward the harbor.

As the carriage moved a little farther and entered the center of the square, she saw eight broad avenues stretching out in all directions. Ael fixed her eyes on the eastern avenue, which led directly to the harbor.

“Wow!”

The moment the harbor came into view, an exclamation escaped Ael’s lips.

She wasn’t the only one reacting that way.

Everyone passing through the square stood speechless, staring at the enormous sailing ships docked densely in the harbor.

Children cheered and ran toward them, and even the most dignified gentlemen halted in their tracks, unable to tear their astonished eyes away.

“Incredible…”

Ael, too, pressed a hand to her pounding chest as she gazed at the ships.

Each vessel bore its name on the bow. Unlike the Kingdom of Denertum, whose ships always carried women’s names, the Ash Consortium’s ships from the Empire all borrowed names from legendary heroes.

And beneath each ship’s name, another name was engraved in the same spot on every single vessel.

The name of the consortium’s owner.

“Calon Ash…”

Calon Ash.

The master of the Ash Consortium—the trading house with the greatest number of branches across the continent and overwhelmingly dominant trade volume.

People whispered that his wealth surpassed even that of the Imperial Emperor himself. After all, it was said that even the famously arrogant Emperor would drop everything and welcome him warmly whenever Calon Ash visited.

Yet, no one truly knew his age or origin.

In fact, despite his clearly masculine name, people weren’t even certain whether he was a man or a woman—since no one had ever seen him in person.

Operating primarily from the Empire, he met directly only with a select few and had never appeared publicly at any official event.

Thus, recalling that the Ash Consortium had risen to prominence about twenty-five years ago, people generally assumed Calon Ash must be a middle-aged man in his fifties or older.

Ael looked at the ships with envious eyes.

She genuinely envied Calon Ash.

It wasn’t just his immense wealth—owning all those ships—but something else entirely that stirred her envy.

‘He can go anywhere he pleases.’

He could board any of those countless ships, sail out to sea, and travel anywhere in the world—just like the wind.

While Ael stood there, dazed and yearning for a stranger whose face she’d never seen, voices from passersby beside her carriage reached her ears.

“Calon Ash is coming to this country?”

What?

Stunned by words she never expected to hear, Ael held her breath and strained to listen.

She wasn’t the only one taken aback.

“What? What do you mean?”

“Shh! Keep your voice down! Someone might hear!”

The speaker grabbed his companion’s shoulder and spoke urgently. Just as he feared, Ael—who had already been eavesdropping—held her breath even tighter.

“Is Calon Ash really coming to Denertum? Wait—how do we even know it’s the real Calon Ash? Did you just hear some wild rumor again?”

“No, I’m serious! Yesterday I was working at the Ash Company warehouse. I was so exhausted I hid behind some crates to rest—and then the consortium managers showed up. I quickly ducked out of sight, worried they’d scold me if they saw me.”

“So you were slacking off, then?”

“No, that’s not the point! Anyway, thinking no one was around, they started whispering to each other. And one of them was actually the deputy manager of Ash Consortium’s Denertum branch!”

“Oh, him? Doesn’t he have any pride? The branch manager’s a woman—he’d rather quit than keep bowing to a woman.”

“But the Empire grants high positions to women, you know. Anyway, he said, ‘Lord Calon will be arriving soon—are preparations going well?’ The moment I heard that, it clicked—no wonder the Ash Company staff have been so tense lately! I’d been wondering what was going on, and now I know—it’s because Calon Ash himself is coming!”

“That explains it. There was a reason after all.”

“And you know that mansion on the hill northeast of the capital, right? Ash Company bought it. If they’re spending that much to renovate such an expensive property, Calon Ash isn’t just passing through—he’ll stay for at least a year…!”

“Hey, lower your voice! Everyone’s going to hear!”

Though he’d just told his friend to be quiet, the speaker himself grew so excited his voice rose again—prompting his companion to hush him more firmly.

Realizing how crowded the area was, the two quickly hurried away.

Trending

“Sigh…”

Ael couldn’t hide her disappointment at not hearing more and let out a sigh.

‘Is Calon Ash really coming to our country?’

Denertum, Ael’s homeland, lay in the northeastern corner of the continent.

Its greatest pride was being one of the Five Ancient Kingdoms—the oldest realms on the continent, boasting the longest histories.

But like a person whose only claim to fame is their age, the kingdom itself was similarly unremarkable.

While other kingdoms flaunted fertile farmlands, mines overflowing with gold, rapidly advancing technologies, or ever-expanding trade networks, Denertum still had nothing to boast of beyond its long history.

So much so that, over fifty years ago, when Karanden—who styled itself an empire—was aggressively expanding through war, people joked that the sole reason Denertum hadn’t been absorbed was because it sat so inconspicuously in the continent’s forgotten corner.

Two years ago, however, an Imperial delegation arrived in Denertum.

They told the royal court they wished to foster friendly relations and asked, as a first step, that Denertum allow Imperial merchants to operate within its borders.

The royal family, though proud, wasn’t foolish.

After all, every other nation was already striving to deepen ties with the Empire and adopt its advanced technologies. Now the Empire itself was extending an olive branch.

The court saw no reason to refuse—though acceptance didn’t come easily. Led by the notoriously stubborn Crown Prince, many nobles loudly insisted it was an Imperial plot and demanded rejection.

But anxiety about the future ultimately prevailed.

The open-minded Second Prince and progressive nobles recognized this as their last chance.

After all, neighboring kingdoms—once in similar straits—were already adopting Imperial technologies and growing alarmingly fast.

The royal court granted trade permission, and Imperial merchant ships immediately flooded Denertum’s capital harbor as if they’d been waiting. Among them, Ash Company sent the most vessels.

This wasn’t unusual—Ash Company was already the largest trading house not just in the Empire, but across the entire continent.

Having secured freedom of operation from the crown, Ash Company soon obtained permission to use part of the harbor and, with overwhelming technological prowess, manpower, and capital, completed harbor reinforcement works in no time.

From then on, colossal sailing ships—unlike anything the people had ever seen—began arriving and departing Denertum’s capital harbor without pause.

Now, two years later, the capital had changed greatly.

First, advanced Imperial technologies arrived via Ash Company. Then came exotic fruits and goods of far superior quality—things people had never seen in their lives.

Ash Company didn’t flood the market recklessly.

They seemed accustomed to entering such closed-off kingdoms, expanding their business gradually and carefully to minimize social disruption.

Thanks to this, Denertum adopted Imperial culture without major shock or chaos.

Everything from simple farming tools to factory machinery was replaced, giving people more leisure and comfort.

The nobles hated this change most of all. As commoners gained spare time and accumulated wealth, a new class emerged—one that threatened the nobles’ privileged positions.

Ael’s father, too, despised the commoners who profited from trade with the Empire—and cursed Imperial merchants even more fiercely.

〈Vulgar souls who sold their spirits for coin! Foolish wretches who don’t understand the worth of the blood they were born with!〉

He even boasted loudly that if any Imperial merchant dared appear before him, he’d humiliate them severely and drive them out.

But Ael knew the truth: her father cursed and hated Imperial merchants so intensely only because they’d rejected his absurd business proposal.

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