City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Proofread by Thomas F

Selina Silver

The ribbon turned to ashes as she cut it, and beautifully gemmed doors opened.

"Welcome to Velvet Store, my lords and ladies," Carla's voice welcomed with a radiant smile on her face before she stepped inside the grand hall of Velvet Store.

There are many people in line, all of them are important, but right now, they will not hesitate to shove if we don't move fast enough.

"It's so pretty," said my daughter Rose as she looked around with her wide eyes.

I have been in here before they even laid the first brick. I was involved in the planning and design, and many of my suggestions were implemented here.

All unofficial, of course.

The mercantile House of Silver and the noble House of Remus Silver are separate entities.

It is why we are maintaining distance from Carla. She is an heir of a legacy.

"It is, my dear," replied Gerald.

"And it smells so pretty," she said, taking a long breath. Hearing that, I smiled and looked toward the plants, which looked no less beautiful than the pieces around.

There are not as many as in the legacy, but there are still a good number of them.

The fragrance is coming from these extraordinary plants, the mist plants.

This is not a legacy, but those plants are grown in mist and will release fragrance for three to four weeks before they are rotated back, with others taking their place.

They could have used a mist fragrance, but the plants themselves are now the signature of Velvet Garden.

They are on each floor; they come in different types, each offering a different fragrance that matches the floor's theme.

The Grand Hall is designed in a museum style, with each piece carefully placed.

There is everything, beautiful gowns, enchanting jewelry, and shoes that women would kill for. Not only these things, but also many other things.

Chandelier made of rubies, a bathtub carved out of solae stone, a glass set fit for kings, a mouthwatering cake that my daughter couldn't peel her eyes away from.

Though the thing that is attracting the eyes is the showpiece in the middle.

I had just turned toward it when Artur Salazar appeared in front of it, with Carla, along with Count Tamnir and Knight-Marshal Tant.

"When you asked for a block of lightning essence crystal to create a showpiece, I had my doubts."

"But my God, Lady Carla, you have impressed me!" he said, looking at the showpiece with shining eyes. Well, it is an homage to his mother.

In front of him, over twenty-five feet long, a crystal lightning bolt suspended in the air.

That crystal is made of pure lightning, which is harvested and crystallized by the storm tower. It is a strategic resource of theirs, but when Velvet Garden asked for a block, they gave it to them.

The bolt isn't simple.

On its is a scene carved by a master: a scene in which a flood of lightning bolts descends from the clouds toward a massive army below.

"Battle of Yarnhill," said Gerald.

It is vague, but anyone knowledgeable could tell the scene belongs to the Battle of Yarnhill—a momentous battle in the empire's history.

The former emperor himself led this battle against the alliance of the three kingdoms that attacked the empire.

They were hard-pressed and nearly lost the battle until the storm clouds gathered over the battlefield and a flood of lightning bolts descended on the army below.

That day, the empire won and got its strongest mage since Archmage Rutto.

It's the day the Empire got the new Grandmage.

There was quite a discussion about whether to carve this incident or another momentous incident that happened a week after the battle.

Where she fought and defeated two Grand Magus, who had been Grand Mages for decades.

That made her famous throughout the world.

In Owlspring's store, they did the same: not the bolt, but the helm, a giant replica of Wavebreaker's helm.

"I hope you like it, Lord Salazar," said Carla to the man. "Like it, no, I love it! You have gone beyond my expectations, Lady Carla," replied the man, moving his hand across the bolt.

Lightning struck his hand, but instead of harming him, it danced across his palm.

It would have sent any other High-Mage to the ground, but despite being the least talented among Salazar's children, he is still her blood.

The material and carving aren't the only amazing things about it.

There is also the thing inside.

That concentrated multi-coloured mist filled the bolt. It is Grade I essence, and given the size of the bolt. There is a lot of it.

I know how many drops there are, and it is a shocking amount.

I could see many people trying to calculate it.

We moved around the hall, checking other pieces. We have already seen it, and we had been part of the group that chose it.

Observing it is not the purpose, but people are.

"Mr. and Mrs. Silver," said the middle-aged couple as they stopped in front of us. "Viscount Sandmare, Viscountess Sandmare," we greeted with a faint bow.

These two are part of the lost nobles, those who had lost their territory, but unlike many, they are rich.

They have been looking to buy the territory in Renwell, but aren't satisfied with the offers they've received. Carla told me they had approached Remus, but he politely declined.

It quite confused many in the house; all the nobles in Renwell are now selling the territories, but Remus is not.

Many privately advised, some even lobbied for some of the nobles.

"It's a magnificent store you have built," said the Viscount. "It's not our store; it belongs to Velvet Garden, Lord Viscount," replied Gerald, and the man laughed.

"Its master is Remus Silver, who is your cousin," said the man.

"He may be my cousin, but he separated from the Mercantile House of Silver and formed his own house." The couple didn't even hide the rolling of their eyes.

Everybody knows it is for legality and the consequences that might follow.

Gerald was against separation, but Head and Remus agreed. Me too.

We have to keep the mercantile house separate while giving Remus space to grow without the burden and shackles of it. It will also protect us from the consequences.

Remus is growing fast, but powerful people are moving to stop him.

Some of those are powerful enough even to destroy us.

"As I was saying, it's a beautiful store, with an amazing collection. It's quite unfortunate that you have restricted the membership."

"There are many of my friends who wrote to Lord Silver about it, but didn't get a satisfactory answer," he said.

It's clear that he wants our help.

Since Remus awakened the legacy, the house had transformed because of the association. The opportunities that open up to us, the people who barely gave us a moment in the past, invite us to their parties.

We even got a special exception in Namdar, which very few could get.

Not to mention access to legacies, mist goods, and an amount of essence people couldn't even dream of.

Still, it's not without its drawbacks.

People expect us to do things for them, from getting a table into the legacy to asking for the essence, which can be really frustrating.

"That is a matter for Velvet Garden; your friends will need to talk to Lady Carla or any of the staff," Gerald replied.

I could see their expressions change. "But since you are our friend, we will talk to them about it," I added, and could see their expressions easing.

It is a delicate dance; we have to ease in gently. Help them when we can, but decline when we can't.

From today, in the two stores and legacies, there will be a membership system. Only members may shop.

That doesn't mean regular people couldn't.

They could, and there will be a heavy discount for them, especially those who are citizens of Greltheaven or serving in its army.

Though here in Namdar, those levels of discount will be given to officers, outstanding citizens of the community, and influential people who have influence but not money.

It's all necessary to control the sale of goods.

Saying people are crazy about most goods would be an understatement, but production is not fast despite the vast expansion.

They also have strict quality standards, which slow down the production even further.

The purpose of every business is to earn money. Here, it is influence. They can earn money, a massive amount of it, but it is the influence they are after.

"Mom, that cake looks delicious," Rose broke in, and it is. I had tasted its variations.

"You ate the mist cake yesterday, didn't you have your fill, then?" I asked. I had brought the cake home after testing yesterday, and this beast ate the whole thing.

It's not the only one.

Every time Carla comes to Namdar, she brings something for Rose, be it food, dresses, or other stuff that has spoiled her.

"But not this one," she replied, licking her lips.

"It's not for eating," I replied. It is for eating, but not for us. It's going to the friend of Artur Salazar, for his friend's wedding anniversary.

We walked around the hall for an hour before moving to the different sections.

The store is huge, covering over fifteen thousand square feet, with multiple floors and a spire.

The most popular section is, of course, the one belonging to Eva Cain. Like in Velvet Garden, they got the largest floor space here too.

Their collection is amazing.

"Mom, this dress is beautiful," she said, stopping in front of the beautiful dress, stitched with gemmed threads. "You know, the one you got from Uncle Remus is more beautiful than this," I replied.

"No, this one is better," she said, and I wanted to roll my eyes.

Our closets are getting filled with mist dresses. I went to Inam last month and ended up getting five dresses, shoes, and accessories.

I am not crazy about it as most of my friends are, but even I can't help myself when I see these beautiful dresses.

We moved to the other sections, checking out different things.

"These shoes are good," I said, as he stopped at the Eltson section. They mainly offer men's shoes. "I already have six pairs of mist shoes; I do not need more," he replied, shaking his head.

His birthday is coming up soon, and I brought him a pair of shoes, among other gifts.

Those shoes are much better; they are custom, crafted by Master Eltson himself. Most importantly, they are crafted with Grade IV mist.

Everything here is made from Grade III and below mist. Grade IV items are exclusive to Velvet Garden.

There are some Grade IV pieces at the store in the Twilight Hall, but that is an exception made for it due to it being a legacy.

We moved through the section before reaching the bathroom section.

"I don't know, the faucets and taps could be so beautiful," said Gerald, looking at the beautiful dwarves and Elven-style faucets and taps.

There is everything here, not just faucets and taps—sinks, tubs, and everything else.

"Mom, I am hungry," Rose said.

This girl and her appetite. She has been eating hors d'oeuvres, but she is still hungry.

"Okay," I replied and led her toward the restaurant. Yes, the store has a restaurant, and it is great. They use chefs trained at Velvet Garden.

While here, there is no mist, but by combining their talent, skills, and level, along with mist-crafted tools, they make incredible food.

Soon, we entered the hall, with beautiful frescoes painted across it.

The alchemists of Velvet Garden had crafted the paint, and the artist painted frescoes. That lets them project emotions that make them feel real.

When I saw them for the first time, I stared at them for an hour.

"Mr. Silver, Mrs. Silver, Miss Silver," said the maitre d ' as we reached the restaurant. We didn't even need to say a word. She recognized and led us inside.

We got one of the best tables.

We ordered, but we were already half full. So we ordered a little, unlike our glutton.

The order came, and we ate while talking about things.

"The store is a success," said Gerald. "There has been doubt about it; the question is whether they will succeed in their primary objective," I replied, and he smiled.

I am talking about influence.

It is not as hard as money, and one can't measure it, but it can do things that even money couldn't.

I don't know Remus's full plan, but given the hazards he faces, he is going to need every tool in his arsenal to survive the challenges he will confront.

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