Chapter 131: Capital City Zarion

An hour or so prior, while Ben was still just witnessing the final stretch of the beast race, Faerwyn and Nymira, as well as their entire entourage, had finally made their way into the imperial capital of the human kingdom, Zarion.

Zarion was beautiful, and much more modern than the Wolfe Duchy. The streets were all paved, the buildings used the most cutting-edge construction methods, and the stalls catered mostly to nobles since it’s also colloquially called the noble capital.

Zarion was essentially divided into two parts: one was the noble district and the second was the commoner district. But even the commoner district consisted mostly of above-average-income households since living and surviving in the capital isn’t cheap at all. But all the great opportunities and amenities that can be found in the capital and nowhere else make it all worth it.

The noble district mostly consisted of households with noble blood, and even in the noble district, some parts are reserved for the highest of nobles and members of the imperial court. These group of elites often governs their own small regions in the kingdom and have their own homes, mansions, and estates in the capital.

The Wolfes are not an exception, owning one of the largest mansions in the noble district that serves as a place to stay whenever they journey to the capital or even if any of them decides to stay. Though not as grand as the estate in Tellon, it was one of the biggest considering how jam-packed the capital is with other noble residences.

The mansion is always under the care of several designated servants, so its state is always pristine. This is where Faerwyn and Nymira would, of course, be spending the night before journeying back to Tellon in the morning. But first, Faerwyn had to take care of the matter that brought her all the way to the capital, which was introducing that exquisite product at the noble salon and allowing word of mouth to do the rest.

This salon would allow entry to the crem de la crem of noble ladies, totalling around two hundred, whose combined influence would reach at least thousands of other simple nobles who craved to also enjoy such luxury. This is how she plans to make a fortune from this, since she would be setting the cost at a premium. Faerwyn didn’t know much about running a business, but she knew it sort of worked that way.

What she had, though, was an eye for incredibly special things, and the senses of a high noble lady. There was also someone at the salon whom she intended to seek advice from before launching the item.

However, there was a formality to observe when arriving in the capital for high nobles, and that was going straight to the imperial palace to announce one’s arrival. For lesser nobles, it didn’t matter, but for Faerwyn, who holds the rank of duchess, it was expected.

After taking care of that part, their carriage drove out of the imperial palace and directly headed for the salon. It was a massive white mansion; inside, as well as on the terrace, noble ladies all dressed in fancy, affluent garbs and jewelry that pronounced their status were pouring in, conversing, sharing tea, playing games, gossiping, and sharing information, while some famous merchants who catered to nobles fawned over any noble who gave their product a considerate afterthought with intent to purchase. The atmosphere was orderly; whispers lingered in discussions, some standing, others sitting, high noble ladies surrounded by lesser ones hoping to establish connections.

Faerwyn came out of her carriage after whispering into Nymira’s ear to go do something for her. Nymira looked a little surprised by her request, but since they were currently in an official capacity, as she’s come with her not as her daughter but as a leader of her protection squad, she put the guards to secure the area while she reentered the carriage to go do Faerwyn’s bidding.

As Faerwyn began to walk towards the group of noble ladies, she was instantly crowded by people happily coming to pay their respects and greet her. Faerwyn smiled alongside them, using her skills as a socialite to beautifully command the space around her.

Faerwyn was one of the most likeable noble ladies. Her status was one thing which commands respect from most. There was also the fact that she was very good at managing and reading emotional cues, which made her a very lethal people person whom most liked. Still, she could tell that there were certainly conversations behind her back regarding the state of her duchy, but her magnificent appearance, beauty, and poise, as well as the way she always carried herself, would always cause the ladies who looked upon her with envy and admiration to wonder if any of it was even really true.

That the Wolfe duchy was experiencing some hard times still doesn’t mean that even the combined wealth of several lesser noble houses who don’t have their own region could ever hope to compare to a duchy. The comparison would be to other high noble houses like the houses of the count or Marquess, whose influence grows stronger by the day, while theirs is still recovering from Duke Wolfe, who had abandoned his status to form a rebellion against the world empress’s forces.

Faerwyn engaged in short conversations as she walked towards a lady seated in a specially curated area inside the open mansion. Around her was a crowd of both high and lesser nobles who greeted Faerwyn as she approached and then moved elsewhere, so it was just Faerwyn and this lady.

Faerwyn went and sat beside her, both of them staring each other in the eyes, Faerwyn’s emerald-colored eyes meeting this lady’s ocean-blue ones. Sitting side by side like so, their combined aura and beauty made other noble ladies pause in admiration. Only a few present could measure up to the sexiness of these two. And their dressing was just as flamboyant; the lady even looked more high-fashion than Fearwyn, with a much more imposing aura.

To an outsider who didn’t know what the relationship between these two was, they would probably think they were currently in some type of confrontation, but all the noble ladies present simply carried on interacting in the salon and giving them space.

"Fae," the lady said to Faerwyn with a blank expression.

"My lady," Faerwyn responded, her expression also blank, still staring confrontationally at the lady.

"Thought you said you weren’t coming this time," the lady added, and Faerwyn replied—

"Changed my mind."

Then they remained quiet, staring at each other in regal silence, each posturing, as their stern faces began to slowly crack into a smile.

"Come here, you."

The lady dragged Faerwyn into her arms in a hug, both smiling and laughing.