![City of Desire [Kingdom Building]](https://at-global.global.ssl.fastly.net/at-global/cover/67f0960bc1d9793202a144dd.jpg?time=1743820299570)
“I looked really good,” I sighed as I looked at the mirror; as much as it pains me to admit it, I had average looks on the earth, but now I am handsome.
I am not handsome enough to turn heads on the street, but still handsome, and it is a big thing for me, considering I was someone who had been described as average.
I have raven black hair and silvery grey eyes that will captivate a soul if looked at my eyes long enough and well-defined features, especially the jawline, which is to die for, and now that I have donned the black suit, it has made me even more handsome.
After satiating my vanity for a few more minutes, I walked out of my room into the living room, where two middle-aged men were sitting.
“Gentlemen, let’s go,” I said to the two mercenaries and walked out of the house.
This is the first time I have come to this house I have rented; it is not a small house, but when one looks at the sprawling mansions around the house, it does feel small.
This is the most expensive part of the city; renting the house here had cost me a lot, which I would not have done if not for keeping the appearance.
“Thank you, Rogers,” I said as the middle-aged man opened the carriage door and went inside.
Soon, the carriage begins to roll with both mercenaries on horses on both sides. They are not only for a show but are also quite powerful; they will protect me if there is danger.
Though, if an assassin at the level that killed my father had attacked, they would be children with clay sticks. Forget defending me; they would not be able to defend themselves even for a second before they find their heads flying in the air.
If I had money, I would have hired better mercenaries, but currently, I will have to make do with them and hope I do not make the enemy powerful enough to send assassins after me.
The carriage only drove for a few minutes before it slowed down in front of a sprawling mansion that was even bigger than my establishment.
The carriage stopped, and the door opened; I nodded my thanks to rogers and walked toward the entrance.
There were twelve guards at the entrance, and they were powerful, with two Arryn lions at both sides of the gates, which were big as horses.
These beasts are dangerous and hard to tame, only a high-level tamer could tame them, and they had to start since they were cubs.
Seeing that, I couldn’t help but remember my father; he was a trainer, a competitive dog trainer. As long as I can remember, our house has always been filled with dogs.
I shook my head from melancholic thoughts and turned to the guards.
I smoothly took out the invitation from my jacket and flashed it to the guard, and walked through the gates without stopping; the guards looked but did not stop me.
Soon, I reached the door of the mansion where a slightly plump man in his late fifties was standing with a violet-haired woman in her early forties, who was quite hot, especially with a light pink gown that highlighted every part of her body.
“Guild master Hardt, madam Hardt, thank you for inviting me to this wonderful levee,” I greeted as I appeared in front of the hosts, “Master Silver, please enjoy the party,” said Damon Hardt with a voice that was sweet as honey and soothing to the mind.
It is clear that he is using the skills.
“I will,” I said and was led by staff to the ballroom, which was already filled with quite a few guests. I looked around and saw a few familiar faces.
I recognized most of them from the information docket I had from the grey guild; it had information on nearly all the merchants along with their sketches.
There are also a few familiar faces that I knew personally.
I walked inside the banquet hall and, on the way, took a glass of champagne from the waiter who stopped in front of me.
“Remus, my dear brother, I didn’t think guild master Hardt would invite you here,” said the voice behind me; it had stiffened me for a moment, and a blazing anger appeared in my eyes for a moment before I quickly controlled my emotions and turned back slowly toward the man whom I hate the most.
“Edwin, why did you think that?” I asked as to the person who devised the plan to use the witch to bond my blood with the establishment, the wretched bastard who stole my future and inheritance.
He is about a decade older than me and has a stocky build like our father’s in comparison to my lean; he has average height and face.
The only noticeable thing he has is a silvery-grey eye like mine, the hereditary feature of the house of silver.
“Your business, of course, dear brother; inviting a whoremaster would dim this grand levee of its glow,” He said with a smile and did not lower his voice, making few people close to us hear.
I did not get angry at all; I have gotten quite used to his instigations that no words coming from his mouth bother me; it was already a surprise that he had not used the word ‘bastard’ yet.
“I think our host is wise enough to know who is to invite or who does not,” I replied with a smile, which I could tell had made him even angrier.
Old Remus was quick to react to instigations and always ended up making a fool of himself; after I came, everything had changed, and I think that was a mistake I made.
I should have taken some traits of old Remus, at least in front of him, which wouldn’t have made him take drastic steps against me.
Snort!
“The whoremaster like you is not even worthy of taking a single step here; the only reason you got the invitation is that you are a Silver,” He said mockingly. “Oh, that I know,” I acknowledged with a smile and drank to that, which again made him glare at me even more intensely.
“Edwin, since you have come here, it means you have succeeded,” I said, bringing the important topic to the table. “Yes, of course, I had succeeded,” He said, looking at me with a smile that was full of pride.
Ever since the empire conquered the region of Renwell from Tabes, my father had been trying to buy a title with the territory, which was quite hard for the merchants.
The empire was extremely strict about who it should give the titles, but the times were changing, and the Emperor was in his last years, and the Princes had already started gathering power and allies.
So, the rules have loosened a lot, but the cost has gone up significantly that even my father bled dry from it and wouldn’t have been successful if he had not received help from the house.
Still, getting it is worth it as it is the quickest gateway to getting a Ruling Class, which is one of the most powerful classes in the world.
I do not have any interest in Ruling Classes, especially in Noble Ruling Classes; they bring more trouble than I have an appetite for.
In the second chance I have got, I wish to live a long peaceful life
“Where did you get the territory?” I asked, to which he shook his head lightly, “I don’t know; I will know when the fourth prince will come here for the inauguration,” he replied, the way which is a month away.
“Well, it’s nice meeting you, Edwin,” I said and walked away from him, leaving him dumbfounded like always. It is quite easy to do that, as he is still confused between my old personality and the new.
I could feel him staring dagger at my back, but he did not follow after me.
I smiled and drank the glass whole before sitting at the table; I had arrived on time, which was early, but I did it intentionally.
This is the first big party in the city, all the rich merchants and powerful guests that had arrived in the city are going to be at this party, which would be great to make the connections.
Time passed by, and more and more guests kept arriving; I did not get up from my seat, just watched people with a light smile on my face. I had already gotten enough attention; many people glanced at me as I mingled around.
I sat there for around half an hour before, finally, two people came to me and sat across me. The old man looked to be in his mid-fifties with grey hair and had gemmed cane in his hand, while the young man beside him looked to be in his early twenties and was clearly quite bored.
This old man is an acquaintance of my father; I met him a few times when he held a meeting with my father.
“Mr. Harwood, I did not know you would be here in Greltheaven,” I said with a smile and turned to the young man beside him, “and this must be your youngest son Aydin,” I added; the young man nodded at me before focusing on the plate in front of him.
“Yes, this is my youngest, Aydin,” He said and introduced his son, who now shifted his gaze at the ass of a hot woman standing not far away from us, seeing that a clear irritation couldn’t help but flash on the old man’s face.
“Ayden, this is Remus Silver,” said the old man, and it seemed to attract the attention of the young man instantly.
“Remus Silver, aren’t you the one who only got the brothel?” asked the young man, with clear interest flashing in his eyes. “Yes, that is me,” I replied with a smile.
“It is opening at the end of this week, right? I will definitely visit; I just hope you have good girls,” he asked, not caring one bit about the seething anger in his father’s eyes.
“No, I have postponed the opening to the inauguration day,” I replied; I wanted to invite him, but seeing the look on the old man’s face, I did not.
“A shame,” he said and focused back on guests, and soon he found a woman to stare at.
Seeing his son’s behavior, the old man shook his head exasperatedly before turning to me. “It is a devious thing your siblings had done to you, Remus; your father had spoken highly of you and was planning to give you the big responsibility after you got your class,” he said.
I received the class a little late; if I had received it when I was fifteen, or even at sixteen or seventeen, I would have still been in better condition, considering my father had been alive then and like he did with all the children.
He would have given me responsibility for one of his businesses, which would have been much greater in value than the establishment I have now.
“I had already accepted my fate, mister Harwood; there is no need to dwell on it further,” I said with a mirthless smile while looking at Edwin from the corner of my eyes, who was happily mingling with the crowd.
“Mr. Harwood, my father, had said you are holding back on investing in Greltheaven, so what changed,” I asked, changing the subject.
“The rapidly changing condition in Mayhurst island made me divert my investments to a less volatile market,” he said with a sigh.
“Yes, conditions there are rapidly changing; I heard that my house is also rapidly pulling back all the investments they have made there,” I said.
Mayhurst island is one of the biggest islands in the world; it is southwest of the Zenid continent, placed in a strategic location.
It had six kingdoms, five now.
“The forces of the lich are much greater than anyone had anticipated,” I said and sighed, and the old man couldn’t help but nod soberly.
“Vris’alud had already swallowed kingdom Edulia and had captured half a territory of Brarod Kingdom, and now the undead horde is attacking Kalgha Dominion and Dekas,” said the old man and paused for a second.
“Till now, only orcs of Kalgha Dominion seemed to be the only ones putting successful defense against them,” said the old man.
I have read the papers, and the condition is very bad there. The undead horde is not keen on taking any prisoners; they are turning everyone into the undead, increasing their forces by the day.
The undead horde is dangerous; our neighbor Navr is one of the most powerful necromantic kingdoms in the world, and it kept releasing horde on neighbors every few years, pillaging and ravaging cities of its people and wealth.
It is the sole reason why, despite being at a prime location and a great future, very few people want to come here.
When Navr releases its undead horde, it is very hard to defend against them; Empire is going to have big problems against them as, unlike other neighbors, we do not have much experience in fighting against the undead on a large scale.
I talked with Harwood a few minutes before mingling with other familiar guests I know, and it is the thing I am very good at; it is a necessary skill I had to learn when I joined the law firm.
Time passed when I saw another familiar person coming, Mage Valentina; she was wearing a beautiful blue halter gown, and she was not alone; beside her was a tall woman with radiant sun-kissed skin; she had a pretty face and firm body that even the black gown she is wearing could not hide.
She is defiantly a warrior and one with great confidence in her abilities; it is clear by the way she is walking in the room.
They immediately attracted the attention of many people; the Nielson guild had a big presence in Greltheaven, workings on hundreds of projects, not to mention mage Valentina is a powerful mage herself that would want to have a good relations in this dangerous place.
Another half an hour later, the ballroom had been filled with guests, and our host had taken the stage.
“Thank you all for coming to my humble home,” he said, there was no microphone or artifact, but his voice had reached us all.
He started his speech with some boasting and hints, with a few words about prosperity and growth. I have to say, he is a very bad speaker, even with all the skills he has.
I am sure his hot wife would have done better than he is doing right now, making everybody utterly bored, but everyone had smiled and clapped when they needed to.
This man is undoubtedly one of the most powerful men in of city, and his position would become permanent after the princes arrive for the inauguration.
“To the growth and glory of the Greltheaven,” he toasted as he finished his speech, and everyone raised their glasses in return.
The mingling began again, and I moved from one person to another, talking, laughing, making connections, and letting my presence known. It is not a thing that I enjoy, but I am good at it, and it is a necessity, especially considering the business I am in.
These are the clientele I will be targeting.
“Remus, it is nice to see you again,” said Mage Valentina as she stopped beside me, “Likewise, Mage Valentina,” I replied with a smile and turned woman beside her, “And this is?” I said, motioning toward the women, “Lena glass, Valentina, and I were roommates in the academy,” she introduced herself as she shook my hand in a firm handshake.
“A mage then,” I said, and she just smiled; she did not look like a Mage, but looks can be deceiving, not to mention there are hundreds of archetypes of spellcaster class, and some require considerable physical power.
“I hope you are satisfied with the speed of renovations, Remus?” asked Valentina, “More than satisfied, with such speed, I am confident your guild will finish it on time or even a few days before,” I said, too, that she smiled.
I talked with them for a few minutes before they went to mingle with other people while I watched them from behind.
‘They are good,’ I said internally; the way they are acting, nobody would doubt they are good friends, but they are more than that.
They are in a relationship.
I hope they will be able to keep the secret because once it is revealed, there will be hell to pay. The Church and the Empire had very strict laws against it.
The banquet lasted till midnight; I stayed until the end and talked to nearly everyone who had been invited and also the host before leaving with a satisfied smile.
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