City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Proofread by Thomas F

"They have arrived," informed Argis.

I could see the Countess and nobles arriving at the gates of the outer ring, welcomed by Shaman Trik and Cath.

This is a high-level visit; they will stay here for three days to negotiate and sign various agreements we have been negotiating.

I looked at the woman leading them, Countess Elaetha Valaniel.

She is a striking woman, making heads turn as she walks; she is not beautiful; she could be described as pretty at most, but it is the confidence with which she walks that makes everyone look.

She is a political beast and uses words as weapons. These kinds of people are the most dangerous ones.

She had already proved how dangerous she could be, seeing how completely she dealt with people who were after her title after her husband's death.

Some say it is she who orchestrated her husband's death.

I looked at the other nobles who came with her before turning off the skill.

"Have all the preparations been finished?" I asked. "Yes, I have double-checked them myself," he replied.

It's the first time big nobles have come to the city since the legacy closed. Usually, I impress them with the Velvet Garden, but it is closed now.

A few minutes later, a group of carriages entered the compound of my office.

"The time has come to meet them," I said as they settled into the conference room. I stepped out of my office and walked toward it.

"Anything I should know?" I asked. It is always good to be prepared. "No, we have prepared for nearly everything," he replied, and I nodded.

Soon, I reached the door of the hall and stepped inside.

There I saw the guests, all thirteen nobles, along with their important staff.

"Lord Silver," they greeted. "My lords and ladies," I replied, looking at them, my eyes stopping on the leading woman.

She is in the center, and the way the other nobles spaced around her is clear: she has established her dominance over them. It is both unconscious and conscious.

That is impressive.

She is a brunette woman with deep green eyes and cheekbones that came from elvish blood.

She is wearing an elaborate gown, something she loves.

"Thank you all for making the journey and coming to my dominion. I hope it will be fruitful for all our territories and bring prosperity to them," I stated.

"We wish the same, Lord Silver," replied the Countess.

Her voice is soft and soothing, a skill, no doubt, but there is also a natural talent and practiced grace.

"I am glad to see you all here. I had wanted to invite you all, since you came to the region."

"Now seeing you all here, my heart is filled with great joy, as I know we will make enormous progress toward the lasting peace and prosperity of the region," I said.

"That is also our hope, Lord Silver," replied the middle-aged man, standing to the right of the Countess.

He is Viscount Oliver, one of the nobles to whom Grimvale had sold the territory. I didn't fail to notice the moment of pause, the way his eyes slightly moved toward the Countess.

She has spoken to him telepathically, asking him to reply. She is really good.

A few minutes passed as I talked to each noble. I could see the way she was controlling the other nobles. I can't do such things; there are a few people I could, but not as well as this woman.

Soon, the little soiree ended, and I walked out with the countess.

"I hope the journey has been well?" I asked. "I am glad. I was worried since the incident last week," I replied, and a faint change appeared in her eyes; it disappeared almost instantly.

If I were not looking, I wouldn't have noticed it.

Something happened in Brimbale a week ago, in her manor.

Shaun could not find out, but he believed there was an attempt on her life. Which is not surprising, she is not without enemies, and some of them are very powerful.

We stepped into the office and sat down.

"Thank you for accepting my request for the visit to your dominion," she said. "If you hadn't, I would have invited you myself in a few months," I replied, to which she smiled.

"Our people are negotiating many things."

"Three among them are the most important. Emotion essence, trade, and people," she said, all of them want these things.

They are necessary for their survival.

I didn't reply and kept looking at her, with a small smile on my face.

"I am sure our people will handle trade. I want to talk to you about people and essence," she stated with her eyes turned to me.

Here, she did not play around with the words; she had stated what she wanted.

"I cannot give you any essence or essence potions. Our relations are not that good yet, not to mention that with the legacy closed, production is at a near halt."

"Though I will make an exception and give you this as a gift," I replied, pushing a small box toward her.

In there is a single vial of emotion essence, Grade IV healing potion.

"As for people, my dominion needs them," I added, and she laughed. "Your dominion has a population of nearly one and a half million, while I barely have a hundred thousand, Lord Silver,"

"Sending a few in my direction won't be your loss," she said, and I smiled.

I will not give her the people; she is a Grimvale's ally and a damn powerful one at that. I wasn't sure of her level before, but now I know this woman is above Lv. 40.

"That may be, but we are not allies, Countess," I pointed out.

I am giving people to Grimvale's Barons in Nakar because there is a benefit to that, and the numbers I am giving are a fraction of what I am sending to my barons.

She is Grimvale's ally and a dangerous woman. Helping her would help Grimvale, which I won't do.

He is an enemy. Someone who wants to conquer my dominion and control my legacy.

"I am willing to pay for them and offer good concessions," she stated, but I shook my head, not only for the people but also for the emotion essence.

"Can you be a little flexible, Lord Silver?" she asked. "I want to Countess, but I can not. I will not harm my interest in helping you," I answered bluntly.

She will be here for three days; she needs to understand my red lines.

I could have tried to play with her, but it would have worked with others, not with her. She is too intelligent and would have taken it as an insult.

There was a silence for nearly a minute before she opened her mouth.

"Can you charge a spent artifact?" She asked, shocking me. So much so that it showed on my face; it was not a question I had expected from her.

Charging a spent artifact takes a massive amount of essence. The stronger they are, the more essence they take.

I wanted to refuse right away because it needs a Grade IV essence, and I only have a little of that since Velvet Garden is shut down.

I didn't. The question made me very curious.

"Do you have an artifact to charge?" I asked back instead of answering her question.

"I may, but what would it cost me?" She asked, her eyes becoming very serious despite a small smile on her face.

"Grade IV is very precious; it also requires a small amount of core essence. So, you could imagine the cost," I replied.

There are many nobles who have contacted me about charging their artifacts, willing to offer massive sums of money.

I informed them that I was unable to proceed while the legacy was closed. However, even after it reopened, I would still refuse to do it solely for financial gain only.

So, I wonder what they will offer for that. I pushed those thoughts away and turned to the Countess.

Her eyes became unfocused; she was thinking hard. I didn't disturb her.

"How much money?" she asked as her eyes became focused again. "Not money," I replied.

"Crystals?" She has mine, including a Grade IV crystal one. "Unless it's a Grade VII crystal," I replied, and she laughed. It's a beautiful, charming.

"What about information?" She asked, and I smiled.

"If you have information valuable to support the charge of the artifact, then you won't tell me. I am sure whatever agreement you have with Marquess Grimvale will forbid that," I replied.

There was no change in her expression, but I got my answer, which is valuable enough.

Many nobles wanted to come to Renwell, but Grimvale chose her. If he had, then he would have made sure that she wouldn't be able to betray him easily.

Information is valuable, but I am sure it is covered in the agreement she made with Grimvale.

She didn't say anything for a moment before she took out a blue scroll and slid it toward me. I picked it and unfurled it before reading the text.

"No," I replied.

It's a contract, a non-disclosure one. Stating, I won't discuss anything that happened in the meeting after I signed the contract.

I will not sign it because now I'm pretty sure she has an artifact that she wants to charge. There is only one person in the empire who could do this for her.

The other Grade IV and above legacies are controlled by imperials and nobles; they won't do it.

"It needs to be secret," she said, looking at the scroll. "I won't sign it," I replied, looking directly into her eyes. If she wants to charge an artifact, she will have to reveal it and offer me something that I could not refuse.

"Fine," she said, and a moment later, took out a delicate jewelry box, inlaid with jewels. Looking at the design, I know it's old, likely an heirloom piece.

It's beautiful, but it's not the main attraction. It revealed itself when she opened the box.

Within it, there is a faded white chain; it is thin and delicate; even at this distance, it looks quite beautiful with its amazing craftsmanship. Below it is a teardrop.

It is not physically attached to it, but remains connected to the chain.

The teardrop is thumbnail-sized, slightly elongated, with a gently tapered tip. It's metallic with a shade of faded blue, with a single dark blue rune in the center.

It's a beautiful artifact that I wanted to snatch, but I controlled the impulse.

"House Belazin is still looking for it," I said, but there was no change in her expression. They lost the artifact two years ago, along with the heir, who was never seen again.

He disappeared, and so did the artifact.

The name of the artifact is Amulet of Cerulean Tear; it's a protection artifact. They are precious. The incident must have really shaken her to bring it out.

If news of her having it comes out, it will bring her world a lot of trouble. I could weaponize this news, but despite that, she is taking this risk.

No risk is worth more than your life. This artifact could help her preserve hers.

"I believe you have no intention of selling it?" I asked. To that, she gave me a look, and I sighed.

"It will take a lot of essence to charge it," I stated, my voice all business. She didn't reply, but I could see that the answer pleased her.

I didn't reject it, nor did I show any objection to charging a stolen artifact.

She put her hand in her bag and took out something.

That something revealed itself when she opened her hand and placed it in front of me. It is a ring, made of purple metal, with thousands of microscopic runes with silvery wings carved on it.

"One of the rings in the Boundfall Series?" I asked. "No, Silver Wing," she replied.

"I will give this to you for charging the artifact," she stated.

The same artificer forged both ring series, Boundfall and Silver Wings. In the ancient kingdom of Balsdor, around four thousand years ago.

They are one of the most common artifacts. Considering there are one hundred and one rings in the Boundfall series and thirty-three in Silver Wings.

Rings of Boundfall had two functions: Featherfall and a defensive shield, while Silver Wings produced wings.

It is mostly used to glide, but one could also hover and fly with it. Though it requires a lot of energy, most couldn't sustain it for more than a few minutes.

They were made for the elite aerial legion that the kingdom of Balsdor was so famous for throughout the world. Many current aerial units take inspiration from it.

These artifacts are classified as trinkets, but they are better than most trinkets.

Slightly stronger, and they would have been called real artifacts. Even in their current form, they are pretty useful to the right people.

Her willingness to use it to pay for a charge shows how desperate she is.

"It is good, but along with it, I will need a favor that I could call anytime," I said, and she gave me the look. "Trinket Artifacts are precious, but you also understand, I am the only one who could charge your artifact."

"Even if others agree, they will demand a price far greater than this," I added, and it's the truth.

I am not squeezing her; I am only asking what is fair, given the supply and demand.

I shouldn't even do this, since she belongs to the enemy camp, and I wouldn't have done this even for a trinket if it had been an offensive artifact.

The amulet is purely defensive, and on top of that, it's a personal defensive artifact.

Means only one person could use it. She can't project her abilities onto others. It is why I agreed. "Fine, as long as the favor didn't interfere with my loyalty to Marquess Grimvale," she agreed, and I smiled.

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