City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Proofread by Thomas F

Leila Silver

‘The battalion has arrived, Baroness,’ informed Colonel Driga. The man sounded relieved, and he should be; this will make his position more secure.

“Inform me if you need anything,” I said. ‘I will, my lady,‘ replied the man.

I cut the call a moment later and looked at the map of baronies in front of me.

“Now, aside from Lauryl, everything seemed more secure,” said General Jarvis, facing the map. He is still in the baronies, acting as my second in command.

I am surprised by it; I thought Remus would pull him to Greltheaven or send him to one of his cities.

I am glad; he is capable and, most importantly, someone I trust.

“Adequately secure, General. The enemy still has more men than us,” I replied. Remus has reinforced the baronies’ security by sending more soldiers here, but there are still fewer than on Grimvale’s side.

Though the difference isn’t game-changing, I would be able to manage it with the right strategy.

After a few minutes of discussion, he left my office, while I opened the file. It is one unrelated to the baronies, but it is the one giving me the most stress.

The tax proposal.

Remus had distributed it among the nobles a few days ago, and it created a storm in the baronies. That seemed to be growing stronger by the day.

An hour later, I stepped out of my office and walked through the hallways of the keep. It is less of a castle and more of an administrative office.

Which it technically is, and with them destroying the walls of the keep, they are truly making it one.

There are people everywhere, and more than there used to be when we were leading it. A lot of people have come to Greltheaven, filling the vacancies.

It is one of the things the council fought most about.

Everybody wanted their own people in these offices. Here, loyalty to the particular baron decides the position and promotion rather than capability.

It was one of the things that held back Lauryl and baronies from reaching their vast potential.

Since they took over, they have completed an overhaul of the administration. They didn’t fire all the people, but kept only those capable, and also filled their ranks here.

In a matter of months, Remus had truly made barony his own, not only in administration but also in the military.

If I wanted to rebel right now, I couldn’t. 70% of the army and officers belong to Remus. Not to mention, my own officers wouldn’t rebel with me.

It had been a few months, and they had effectively changed their loyalties to him. Greater salary, better equipment, and many other perks did that.

Soon, I reached the familiar office, and a young woman turned to me. She didn’t get up, but bowed faintly, with an impeccable grace that not many of my staff have.

“Miss Monet is waiting for you, my lady,” she said. Miss, not lady.

She is an interim governor; only when she becomes the Governor will she be addressed as Lady. It is a matter of days before it becomes formal.

Some barons didn’t seem to understand it as they were trying to lobby for the position.

Remus would never give them that position. In the negotiations, we had tried, but he was not even willing to discuss it. He wanted complete control over the baronies, straight and simple.

I nodded and stepped into the office. It used to belong to Baron Husk, but now, it belongs to Lola Monet.

A whore.

It would be impossible anywhere in the empire, but in Greltheaven, it seemed to keep happening. I was doubtful of her abilities when she came, but she impressed me.

“Miss Monet,” I greeted. “Baroness,” she replied.

“You will be talking to the Barons in the evening, right?” she asked. “Yes,” I replied.

All twelve of them have arrived in Lauryl, including Baron Harrods. The reason is the new tax code; it has shaken them.

“I hope you will speak positively about the new tax code,” she said. 

“My apologies, Miss Monet. I cannot do that,” I replied.

I am against it, along with many Barons. It had gone very badly in the empire; I actually studied it in the academy and understood very well how bad it was.

Economics was one of the classes I had taken. It was one of the main subjects of that semester.

“I believe I have cleared your doubts,” she said, with a slight frown appearing on her face. “It is not about doubts, Miss Monet, but about our survival,” I replied.

“The Empire had tried multiple times, but it always failed. There is a very good reason for that.”

She opened her mouth to reply, but I shook my head.

“It had happened seven times in the past three hundred years, and it failed spectacularly. It had bankrupted the nobles, and there was a near-rebellion.”

“So, you have to understand why we do not want to take such risks,” I said, and she smiled gently.

It surprised me; I thought there would be anger or irritation.

“I understand the reservation, you all feel. I do not ask you to trust Lord Silver or me, I want you to keep an open mind about it,” she replied, and I wanted to shake my head again.

“As for the past precedents. Let me assure you, the dominion will not make the same mistakes as the empire did and will provide an ironclad guarantee against it,” she stated.

‘Interesting,’ I thought.

“What guarantee?” I asked, but the woman smiled. “That Lord Silver will reveal himself after he comes to Lauryl,” she replied.

“So, I hope that you will ask other nobles to think about it without prejudice. Lord Silver has never broken a promise he made to his subjects, and he will not break it now,” she said.

She used ‘subject’ instead of ‘allies’. In the submission contract we signed, we used the lighter term.

“I will tell them, you said that,” I replied carefully, and she smiled gratefully.

“Any movement from our enemies?” she asked after a few seconds of silence. “Yes, just like us, they are moving their forces around the baronies,” I replied, to which she sighed.

“So, they are really looking for the chance to attack,” she said. “Lockridge wouldn’t stop until he conquers the baronies,” I replied.

I know the man well and understand how ambitious he is.

I hate the man. He compromised the safety of the baronies and made us lose our freedom. Now, we are Remus’s subjects, to do what he wants.

Remus may be asking for majority consent for the tax code, but he has the power to force it on us.

The agreement is designed to give him near absolute power over us. We wouldn’t have signed such an agreement. If not for being desperate.

The barons had dealt with Remus; they knew how he operated.

He ran Lauryl for a while and maintained a good relationship with the barons. They also saw what he was turning his little city into, not to mention the cities he conquered.

There is also the legacy.

These are the reasons we all chose him over Girmvale. With Remus, we have an opportunity, tiny as it may be, compared to Grimvale, where we would have none.

Forty minutes later, I walked out of her office. I was walking toward mine when the ring on my finger lit up.

A surprise appeared on my face before I changed my direction and began to climb up the stairs.

Soon, I reached the door, where a guard stood outside. She bowed before opening the door. I nodded and walked through it, stepping onto the roof.

“Baroness,” greeted the two people, standing there, looking at the city in front of them.

“Baron Harrods, Baron Homer,” I replied, and appeared beside them and looked at the city ahead, which had changed a lot since they took over, or should I say, it is still rapidly changing.

The barren areas now have buildings built throughout them, and new ones are being developed and sold.

Hospitals are being built alongside police stations, roads, and gardens.

In just three and a half months, the city’s population had increased by over 25,000. There would have been more people if the city had the capacity to absorb this population.

“What did she say?” asked Baron Homer; the man looked worried; he should be.

“They are set on the tax code,” I replied, and the old man sighed. “I had expected that much. He wouldn’t have done this without thinking about it,” added Baron Harrods.

“Still, we are not going to agree with it,” said Baron Homer. Making the old man laugh.

“We don’t have a choice,” I replied, and an angry frown appeared on Baron Homer’s face.

“Are they going to force it on us?” he asked, and I shook my head. “Not exactly, but she said, there is an iron-clad guarantee to make us all agree,” I replied.

It didn’t make them feel any better. Homer’s expressions had become even worse.

“The empire used the same words, before they fucked-up the people,” he replied. Using the expletives, which were surprising.

Nobody said anything to that. We knew there would be significant changes, but didn’t expect them to be this big or come so soon.

“Did you ask her about people?” asked Baron Harrods. “Yes,” I replied, without much enthusiasm.

Doves of people are coming into the Greltheaven, and they have sent many into the unoccupied baronies and Lauryl, but they didn’t give us any.

“I need people for my farms and tanneries,” said Baron Homer. Harrods nodded as well. So, did I.

We need many people to work on farms and in businesses. It is hard to attract people this far from the empire. Even with our powerful families, it is a herculean task with the empire restrictions.

Remus didn’t seem to have that problem. It seemed he had a magical tap that brought in as many people as he wanted.

There are so many people in Greltheaven that they don’t have space for them. Thousands of them are living in tents. If he had sent them to us, we would have provided them with homes and jobs.

“What exactly did she say about people?” asked Baron Harrods.

“She implied that we can get people, but it will only be possible after Lord Silver comes to the baronies,” I replied and smiled; it did not have any mirth.

“It’s a pressure tactic,” said Baron Homer.

We were merchants before we were nobles; we understood the tricks, but the question is how we will deal with them without suffering loss.

We have poured our blood and sweat into building what we have here. We are going to fight tooth and nail to protect it.

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