Chương 495: Chapter 494: Return

The carriage stopped at the pier, but there was no ship there. It will be a few more minutes before it arrives. I had been waiting since last night and had barely been able to sleep. Now, I am waiting again. Minutes passed painfully before the ship finally appeared in my view. Click! Seeing that, I stepped out of the carriage and walked toward the pier before stopping near the edge. The ship came closer and closer and soon, I saw Carla on it with her eyes searching.

Our eyes met and the mask of expressionlessness on her face cracked and tears started to stream down from her eyes. Seeing that, I wanted to jump into the water and leap at the ship. I controlled myself and waited for the ship to dock, while not letting my eyes move away from her, even for a moment. It took a painfully long time for the ship to dock at the pier and ramp to come down. As it did, Carla came down running without care for the world.

Soon, she appeared in front of me, and a hesitation appeared on her face. Seeing that, I took her in my arms. She froze for a fraction of a second, which she had never done before relaxing into me. I hugged her tightly while she cried. Harder with every passing second. She is usually mindful of the public display. Always maintains distance with grace and poise, but now it is the last thing she is thinking about.

"You are safe now. Nobody could do anything to you," I said and patted her head gently. It took a while for her to calm down before I led her toward the carriage. Click! Soon we stepped inside, with Carla sitting beside me instead of the opposite. The carriage began to move, and soon it was out of the port and inside the city. Immediately, the tightness in her relaxed. Now, it would be really hard to do anything to her. The outer range covers every part of the city except the port.

It is out of the city walls, but Caena is working on a way to bring it under the city's influence. Even if she succeeded, the legacy would need to advance to Grade IV for that. I pushed those thoughts away and focused on the woman. She is holding me tightly as if fearing I will leave her. I leaned closer, seeing that.

"We aren't going to the tower?" she asked, looking out of the window.

"No," I replied. She looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't and instead just watched the road quietly. Soon, they reached a mansion, before stopping a few seconds later. Click! The door opened before I walked outside and raised my hand. She took it and stepped outside, before walking toward the mansion holding hands.

"I am sorry for what you have suffered, and I promise you. I will never let it happen again," I said, with guilt in my heart coming out with every word.

"It's not your fault," she replied, looking directly into my eyes. A moment later, she stopped.

"Promise me one thing," she said with her voice strong as steel.

"Anything," I replied.

"I want you to avenge my honor," she demanded.

"I know we do not have the strength right now, but promise me, when we have the strength, you will," she added, showing me her heart. I could see everything she was feeling right now, and my heart was pained seeing it. She is hurt. Vulnerable by what she had suffered.

"I promise," I replied. She doesn't have to ask for it. That bastard will get what he deserves, and nothing will stop it. She looked at me, before taking a step forward, till there were only inches between our faces. I looked into her eyes before taking her lips into mine. The kiss was gentle at first, but soon the passion and desperation filled it. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Make me forget it," she said as she broke the kiss. Before taking my lips with such desperation. That I had never felt from her. She is seeking love and trust, and she has it. I kissed her just as intensely before picking her up and carrying toward my suite, without stopping the kissing. It didn't take us long for us to reach my suite. The moment I did, my jacket flew away and a second later, the buttons of my shirt. A moment after that, the tearing sound rang out as I tore her dress apart.

She usually doesn't like it when I do this. Given how expensive her dresses are, but right now, she doesn't care, nor do I. A minute later, a moan rang out, and it kept ringing. Getting louder and louder. The first few sessions were intense before we started to make love gently. Kissing and exploring every part of each other's body. I worshiped her like the goddess she is. Telling her, through the act, how much she means to me. We continued for hours, before finally stopping in the evening.

Right now, she is lying on top of me with her head on my chest. It is peaceful, and I wish we could stay like this for hours.

"Have you given the invitation to the two alchemists from Ertburn?" I asked. She turned her head from my chest and looked at me.

"Yes," she replied, and I arched her brow. Those scrolls are for the Grade IV alchemists. It cost me a huge amount of money to build those labs. For some of the equipment, I even had to buy using the mist.

"Give them a chance," she added, and I looked at her, but she didn't say anything further. Since she said it; I will give them a chance. They need to be good enough to use those labs or I will demote them to the lower labs I am building. I likely will not do that either. Those labs are expensive and are only for the Grade IV alchemists. The moment the first Grade III lab is finished, they will go there, but before that, they need to pass the test, to get employed by the city. It is a tough test.

I don't want to give those labs to average alchemists. I have a grand plan. For it, they need to be good enough to make it happen. A few minutes passed when Carla got off me.

"Stay," I said, but she smiled and shook her head.

"You have a lot of work. So, have I," she replied, and a piece of clothing appeared on the bed.

"Work won't run away," I said.

"It won't, but it will become burdensome. If we postpone it," she replied and began dressing. I watched her like I wanted to eat her up and I truly do despite hours of lovemaking. She looked at me, but I didn't look away.

"Get ready. You have a lot of work to do," said and kissed my cheeks, before walking out. I didn't stay in bed for long. I have an important meeting in half an hour. Earlier, I had postponed all my meetings, but not this one. It is a signing. I will be signing an important agreement with a powerful merchant house. I activated Get Ready as I wore the clothes. Immediately, the sweat, dirt, and, most importantly, the smell of sex washed away from me. A minute later, I am out of the mansion and in my carriage.

"Master Silver," greeted Lola as I entered my office. I nodded at her and sat down. I could see she had a lot of questions. Except for Zela and Jon, nobody here knows what happened. I had intentionally kept the news contained. However, I don't think it will be long before the news spreads. It won't be from me, since the contract forbids it. It is the same for the two; they too are contractually bound, as well as Carla and her guards, but there are others who know about it, and they aren't contractually forbidden.

"This had come from the merchant guild earlier," she said and placed a file in front of me. I opened it and began to read. Within a second, the smile on my face becomes bigger. It was a wise decision to overhaul the merchant guild. Arryn and others are doing well. Better than I had imagined. A third of them are out of the city. Mainly in the empire, visiting big and small businesses. They have got many pledges from the businesses, and few have already started setting up. I need investment, a lot of it.

Since the legacy advanced. The speed of migration had increased as well. A lot of people are coming to the city, joining the workforce. We need people. The current pace is barely enough to handle the vacancies. I had sent my people to the empire to bring the workers. They had gone to big cities, mostly to port cities, and cities closer to the ports. It is much less complex to bring people from there. It is hard; the lords are keeping a tight leash on the movement of people.

I have been signing individual contracts with the noble territories. Usually, they hesitate to sign such a contract, but I have the most delicious carrot in the world for them. Negotiations are also going on with the imperials about it, but the chances of succeeding are quite low.

"Lord Silver. Mr. Hanson and Mrs. Hargreaves are here for you," said Jill through the intercom.

"Send them in," I replied. Click! A second later, the door opened, and Rip walked in, beside him was a green-haired elf-blood woman in her mid-thirties. She is a beautiful woman with perfectly coiled hair and manicured nails. She is a type that uses every advantage she has. From her beauty to her intellect. With it, she was able to rise through the ranks in her house. She is from the mercantile of the house of Hargreaves. They are in hospitality. From hotels to casinos to bars; they have fingers everywhere.

They are one of the top three players in Oksall. They also have business in other merchant states and kingdoms. The city had already gotten investment from the mercantile houses, Raxtine from Empire, and Almas from Owlspring, but Hargreaves was a bigger player than both. Their investment is also big.

"Lord Silver," they greeted. I nodded and asked them to sit.

"I hope, the journey has been well. Mrs. Hargreaves?" I asked the woman.

"It was my lord," she replied with a professional smile. I smiled back and turned to Rip, who slid into two files toward me. I opened the first file and started to read it. It had already been read by city hall, but it didn't hurt to double-check. I put the file down and picked up the second file and read it, before putting it down and signing it both. Immediately, three glasses of mist-led wine appeared in Lola's hand. Clink!

"To success and prosperity," I said, clinking the glasses. They will build the biggest hotel in the city. We really need it. For the opening, everything had already been booked, even the empty apartment and mansions were not left unoccupied. The problem won't be solved after the opening. Instead, it will get worse. We need more hotels; the current capacity is far from enough. After the tower opens; the daily traffic would be in the tens of thousands.

Nine thousand would be brought by the theater alone and 150% of that by the store floors. We estimate the traffic of twenty-five to thirty thousand people. A shocking number for most legacies, but I had planned for such a number. More people mean more emotion essence. Still, the traffic would be huge. It would be around 7% of the city's population. People will be coming from all over, from the Empire, Merchant States, and even Navr. The lack of accommodations will force many of them to leave within a day.

I don't want that and I'm working on fixing the problem as soon as possible. The longer they stay in the city, the greater the boost they will provide to the economy. I need to fix it before I open the casino, or I will not be able to take complete advantage of it. I cannot afford to make that mistake.