City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Proofread by Thomas F

Five minutes before: Mariha Baelir

"The flashpoint with Searing Knives and Layward gang had reached boiling point. If nothing happens, there would be an open war between them in a few minutes," said Misdal.

He is my trusted aide and has worked for me for decades.

I tapped my fingers across the table, thinking about the two gangs in Darmoor. It's a small city, but the one closest to Inam; that makes it important.

"We don't want them to fight. If either one of them wins decisively, they will become too powerful."

"If the fight weakens both, it will give non-local gangs a chance to set their foot in the city, which wouldn't be good as well," I replied.

"So, what do we do?" he asked. "Tell them, I am willing to set up a meeting and find a compromise," I replied.

"If they didn't agree?" he asked; they might be too far gone to listen. "Then give the Searing Knives the location of all members of Haywords," I replied.

"Though I would prefer, if we are not forced to do this," I added. So, it is up to him to manage it.

"I will see to it," he replied, before changing the page in the file.

"Talmus Semarin has two hundred kg of ambersap, he wants a buyer for it," he said. "He stole that from Brangan, right?" she asked, and he nodded with a smile.

They contacted me a few days ago for information on the person who stole their stuff.

It's quite valuable, and I want to help the gang; they are spread in a couple of cities and are useful, but Talmus is also a good thief, who could be useful when the time comes.

"Tell Talmus, Brangan is very close to finding that he stole it. We could return the stuff to Brangan and give him 20% of its value."

"I will inform him," he replied and turned the page.

'Mistress, there is Zalkin Yart; he wants to meet you, he is saying he has valuable time-sensitive information.' Said Valaz. Zalkin is an agent for an assassin organization. He is at a lower level, but rising higher.

"Ask him what it's about," I replied.

I cannot meet everyone who claimed to have important information. Sometimes this is just an excuse to meet me, and many times the information is not as valuable as he claimed.

'He is saying, it is something, Lord Silver would be very interested in and would like to be aware of as soon as possible,'He replied.

"Bring him to me," I ordered.

A little more than a minute later, the door to my office opened, and a middle-aged man with long brown hair appeared.

"I hope the news is as good as you are claiming it to be," I said, while waving the man to sit. "It is, Lady Mariha," he replied with a grin on his face.

I have dealt with such things thousands of times and developed a sense.

I could see that he feels it is great news; his emotions are telling me the same.

"What is it?" I asked, and the grin disappeared on his face. "Those inform me of the news demanded a good price for it," he replied, and I smiled.

"If it is as good as you are claiming it to be, then I will pay you what it's worth," I said, and could see the hesitation in his eyes.

"I built my reputation on this business, I will not sacrifice it for one thing, no matter how big it is," I stated, and his hesitation eased a little, but it remained for a few more seconds.

This made me really curious, and I hope he will open his mouth soon, but I didn't rush him.

Finally, nearly half a minute later, his expressions eased.

"Fifteen minutes ago, I was informed that Baron Arav Nightingale has been assassinated on the ship he was traveling in," he stated, sending a shock through my heart.

I knew the man had gone to his family's conclave and was on his way back to Greltheaven.

"Are you really sure?" I asked, calming myself forcefully. The man didn't reply; he just looked. "Who assassinated him?" he asked. Once more, the man just gave me a look.

Of course, he wouldn't tell those things, and right now, they are irrelevant; I need to ask relevant questions.

"Those who ordered the assassination, did they get the confirmation?" I asked, and the man grinned. "They will in thirteen minutes," he replied, looking at his pocket watch.

They always keep the window open when doing such jobs. So, they could squeeze it from every angle.

"Thank you, Yart. If the news is true, then you will be paid, and let me assure you, you will not be disappointed by it," I replied, and the man smiled with relief.

He is an agent; the information didn't belong to him. Whatever I gave him, he will keep the percentage before forwarding the rest.

This is how this business works.

"Connect me to Lord Silver," I said. It took a minute for the man to wake up before he took the call.

'Mariha,' He said. His voice is calm, without irritation at being woken up. Which is rarer than one imagines, I used to inform the Prime Minister of my Kingdom, even princes and kings.

All of them used to get irritated whenever I called late at night.

"Baron Nightingale is assassinated," I informed, and I could feel his stilled breath before he released it.

'How sure are you about this news?' He asked. "About 70%," I replied. I have a feeling it's true, but some people are really good at lying. Even fool the experience and even the legacy.

'Who killed him?"  he asked. "A hired assassin," I replied.

They were just tools; I think we both could guess who the real culprit behind it is.

'When did it happen?' he asked. "According to my source, it was a little over fifteen minutes ago. He said, they have yet to inform the party who had given the contract," I replied.

'Thank you, Mariha, I will call you soon,' he said and cut the call.

"This is big news, if it is true. It will help us a lot in gaining Silver's trust," said Misdal. "It will," I replied, with a smile appearing on my face.

Silver doesn't trust me, and it is important that he does. My future and my family's future are in his hands. The more he trusts me, the more it will help.

Though making myself indispensable will help just as well, this news took me a big step toward that goal.

…

Leda Nightingale

I felt something, opened my eyes, and, to my surprise, saw five people in my room.

Including General Darian, the leader of the barony's army, and Major Irling, deputy-commissioner of the barony's police, the other three are all important people, including my bodyguard.

"What are you all doing?" I asked.

I didn't have to, but my mind is having a hard time believing they could betray us. If they didn't have a nefarious purpose, they would have knocked.

Even if they didn't have time, they would have blasted through the door, but they didn't.

They came in sneakily. If that was not enough to tell, then it is the look in their eyes. Some look guilty, while others have a coldness in their eyes that I have never seen.

"Why?" I asked again while casting a spell, when Irling gripped my hand, and the spell died down.

"The house has ordered it," replied Darian.

The house, he doesn't mean the noble house of Nightingale, but the mercantile one.

All of these people who came to us from the house. Over the years, we have removed many with one excuse or another; we believe we could not trust them.

We kept these because we felt they were more loyal to us than the mercantile house.

We have experienced so much together, fought many life and death battles. I have never thought they would betray us; if we had, we would have thrown them out.

Now it is too late.

"To kill me?" I asked, and Giha opened her mouth. "Enough bullshit, let's kill her quickly," barked Irling.

I felt the hesitation appear on their faces before they became firm, their skill activated, and their weapons were unsheathed and moved toward me.

I watched with my eyes wide open. I struggled, but they forced me into a position with skills suppressing my magic; I am powerless to do anything.

I have never felt powerless, even when I faced a horde of monsters, as I am here now.

The blades reached near me and were about to strike when I heard a ripping sound, and then people appeared in the room: rogues, all of them except for one, covered from head to toe.

"Ahhhh!"

Irvin's scream broke the silence as his hand was separated from his body, bathing me with his warm blood.

The blond half-elf with no mask appeared behind him and plunged her dagger into his heart. The others move to stop the half-elf, but the four rogues stopped them.

They are not weak.

I recognize the blond woman; she is one of the Mayhurst rogues. She was spotted in the company of Jon Sands; it is said that he had recruited her.

"I thought it was going to be a boring assignment, but it had turned out not to be," she said, pushing Irvin's body and turning to four.

"You have three options, gentlemen. Fight, run, or surrender. If you fight, we will kill you all. If you run, you might not be able to get out of the town."

"As for surrender, it's the best option. It will let you keep your lives, maybe," she laid out the options with casual confidence.

"You are forgetting something, Miss Lasyna. This is our territory, and you should be worried about those things," said General Darian.

I skipped a beat, while the woman laughed, and her laugh is strangely melodic, with the sharpness of a blade.

"Open the window and look outside, General," she said with a smile.

He looked suspiciously as the three men moved forward while he opened the window.

I saw hundreds of soldiers and police had gathered, and could see Lt. General Mass and Commissioner Wallace addressing them, both of whom were hired here.

Well, Wallace is a friend from the academy. I had to fight my father a lot to get him appointed as commissioner. He wanted the bastard Irling to have the job.

Their expressions turned bad, while surprise appeared on my face.

I didn't know about Lysana and the rogues protecting me. Lord Silver had said he would provide the men at our request, but we hadn't made one.

We didn't want to spook the house.

He had put them without asking, and looking at the army and police, he did more than that. This is interference, but right now, I am glad for it.

"So, decide, General, because from where I stand, you didn't have three choices, but only one," she said, while playing around with her short sword.

For a few seconds, nothing happened until the first weapon clattered on the ground.

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