City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

 Proofread by Thomas F

Carla Salt

‘Don’t worry, she knows what she is doing; besides, she won’t be making the big decision without permission.’ Feeling the confidence in his voice, I felt more relieved.

What Tara planned to do could have serious consequences if discovered. I am worried about her and the consequences Velvet Garden and Greltheaven might face because of it.

I am less worried about Mariha; that woman has spent her life doing this.

‘Have faith; she is more capable than you realise,’ he said. “I have faith in her, but I am worried,” I replied.

He said nothing other than laughing before cutting the call. I, too, decided not to think about this matter further and trusted her to do what she had planned.

I looked out of the window and saw people coming in through the gate.

Many are walking into the garden, but a lot of them are coming straight into the legacy.

Twilight Hall, it’s the name they have chosen; it’s an apt one. It is a legacy that represents both light and darkness. On the surface, it’s beautiful and radiant, but as one looks deeper, they will see the darkness and sharpness that is hidden there.

It is why the board only shows the places in Vanis’s Domain; those of Mariha are hidden.

It had been an hour since the legacy opened, and there had already been five hundred people who had come in. All of them were important: nobles, masters, and guild leaders.

A common Grade III legacy could not take in this many people, much less the ones that will come later, but Twilight Hall could.

I watched for a while before walking away from the window, and soon the first person saw me. It’s a middle-aged blond man with his brunette wife.

“Count Balsinor, Countess,” I greeted the pair.

He is one of the luckiest nobles in the empire. His territory is deep within the Crown Prince’s domain, where there is no civil war or imperial war.

He also has a large army and a weapons industry in his territory. He is using them well to earn money and favours.

That had made him one of the most influential men in the empire.

“Lady Carla,” he replied.

“Thank you for the wonderful gift you sent on my birthday; I loved it,” said his wife, hearing that I smiled.

It’s a necklace; one of a kind, made using precious material and Grade IV mist. It was an expensive gift, but for the good relationship, it was worth it.

We are not only giving them the gifts but also the essence. In exchange, they lobby on our behalf in court. We need it, so we will keep the Crown Prince off our backs until we are ready.

“I am glad you loved the gift, Countess,” I replied with a smile.

“Is Lord Silver not coming?” asked the man, and I let out a sigh of regret. “Unfortunately, not; he needs to be in the dominion to deal with any undead threat,” I replied, and their expressions changed hearing that.

“Is Navr already not enough? That another abominable undead kingdom wants to take root on the continent and territory of our empire,” said the woman, with sparks of anger in her eyes.

“They are undead, Countess. They will not stop until they turn every life into the undead,” I replied, putting a little exaggeration into my voice.

It made the couple shudder.

The pair is intelligent, but the undead aren’t the enemy they have ever dealt with. Their trip is an opportunity, and I want to get as much sympathy as possible from them.

The more sympathy they have, the more they will help control hawkish voices in the imperial court.

“We are glad that there are people like Lord Silver and Marquies Grimvale in the region. They will keep the undead contained until his majesty deals with all the enemies and finishes the undead,” said the man.

I wanted to slap his face. Instead, I smiled.

Grimvale never fought with the undead, and the Crown Prince never helped with it. Nor with arms, money, or people, merchants helped more than the man who calls himself an emperor.

“You are absolutely right, my lord,” I replied.

I talked to them for a few more minutes before walking away. I will meet them tomorrow; there are a lot of things we have to talk about.

Soon, I reached a beautifully carved wooden door. “My lady,” greeted the guards and opened it for me. I stepped inside, into one of the most beautiful places in Twilight Hall.

The view in front of me is filled with wood and plants, woven so beautifully that I just want to sigh.

This is Elven Tavern Hall, made in the style of forest taverns of Ishlynor, but here all the plants are mist plants. The wood is expensive, but not the mist one.

We do not have that much wood.

We had a good amount of wood from Vanis Tavern and a few pieces we could get from Mariha’s Inn, but we could not use them in one place.

They are used all across Twilight Hall.

The staff here are elves and also the bartenders; not only that, they are from Ishlynor Forest and have years of experience working in those taverns, including the legacy.

Red Oak, the legacy from Ishlynor, had been kind enough to give us some of their staff and helped us hire more.

It isn’t just style and people, but also drinks. Here, all the liquor is elvish and not just from Ishlynor Forest, but elvish liquor from all across the world.

Some of it is quite rare and expensive.

There are nine different types of these halls, including one that keeps the original vision of Vanis Tavern. Most of this was old Vanis’s idea; the things he wanted to do for a long time.

The size gave him opportunities to try many things he wanted. His granddaughter and Velvet Garden refined many of these ideas before they became what they are.

“Lady Salt, I did not expect I would see such an accurate representation of my home, so far from it and especially in the empire,” said the accented voice.

I turned and saw a green-haired elf in his early forties. Sylran Vaelion, an Ishlynorian merchant. He operates from Meldhorn.

“Your words mean a lot, Mr. Vaelion,” I replied.

So much had changed in the past few years since the emperor died. Elves had come into the empire. There were exceptions to the legacies, but not this big.

Especially for Elven guests. Now, there are elves in Inam, and they are travelling to other port cities, and a few daring ones are going even deeper.

Something impossible when the emperor was alive.

“Many of my friends are going to like this a lot; a legacy with a piece of home,” he said with a bright smile appearing on his face. I smile as well, but there is also a hint of envy.

The reconstruction of the legacy had spurred a massive economic activity in Inam.

A single city had received more economic investment than all the dominion combined in the same time.

That will increase further now with the city growing. The legacy will attract different people and investments. It’s hard to accept, but it’s the truth.

Inam is an economic powerhouse. It had advantages

We could not compare to it, but one day we will. Until then, we will have to keep working hard.

Soon, it was half past seven and a half, and many people appeared through the gates; all of them took to their feet when one carriage rolled through the gates.

Only one person had been given this honour: Lord of Inam.

I thought he would come early. Well, it seemed like criminals had kept him busy. A lot of them had appeared in the city, and not all of them are going for the artifacts.

Still, it had stretched the city’s resources.

Filling the city with guards isn’t enough; they need to be experienced in dealing with urban conflicts, or they would only add to the chaos instead of helping to address it.

It is why, in our Dominion, the police drill with the army every month. So, when the time comes, both of the forces know what to do and can work together.

‘I just got information on another criminal group; I am sending it to the city,’ Mariha’s voice rang out in my mind.

It’s not for me, but she had added me to the connection.

‘Ok,’ replied Remus.

Lord Thorn had warned Mariha about operating in his city, but many criminals were coming from outside, with some making a move today.

She is giving some of that information to the city, not all of it.

This is Mariha’s class; the sooner Thorn understands it, the better it will be. This will also foster goodwill with him. He too understood it as he was accepting information.

This is information from Mariha. I wonder how Tara will deal with the information she has got.

She had gotten a lot through her snooping.

Some of that information will do more harm to us than good if we provide it to Thorn. So, I really want to see how she will use that information.

Whether she will share it, keep it, or sell it.

“Lady Carla,” I was in my thoughts when I heard a familiar voice and turned.

In front of me is a handsome man in his early thirties; beside him is a dark-haired, beautiful girl in her late twenties. One could tell at a glance that they came from a high pedigree.

“Lord Vaughn, Lady Dalmont,” I greeted.

The man is Arad Vaughn, heir of Beltir’s Rhythm, a Grade IV legacy in the empire, while the woman is Selira Dalmont, daughter of Count Dalmont.

They are going to be married in a few months.

“It’s an incredible legacy you have made, Lady Carla,” he said as he looked around. “It’s all the vision of Lord Vanis and Lady Mariha, with only a little of ours added to it,” I replied.

Most of the ideas are Vanis and Mariha’s; most of our contribution was refining those ideas.

“My father asked you to thank you personally for the order,” he said.

They had placed an order for a costume, shoes, jewellery, and other things. All mist crafted of course; their legacy is a dance club, they teach and present shows.

It’s a very good legacy; it quite impressed me. We might add some of that element to Velvet Garden.

“It is the least we could do for our fellow legacy,” I replied. They have helped me a lot as well. Just thinking about it made me sigh deeply.

If only Menagerie hadn’t been so stuck-up. It would have saved us a lot of time and effort.

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