City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

“Bastard! You had a much bigger hand in killing the lich; you deserve far more than the four hundred thousand imperials,” cursed Gerald as he watched the carriage of Mage Raul leaving the compound.
 
The man was a student of High Mage Blackstone; he had come to give me the share of the loot from the necromancer.
 
Four hundred thousand imperial, which is equal to forty-million crowns; a huge amount for me, but far too less than I deserve, especially considering what I had lost in killing the lich.
 
The toll and body of lich are worth a huge amount of money, at least two to three million imperials, but they have handed me the pesky forty million crowns.
 
Still, it is much better than I had expected; to be honest, I had not thought I would get anything. 
 
They have not only given me but also to everyone who fought at the last charge and also to the guards who have died in the undead attack.
 
There was also a different fund that surviving merchants had created; house silver had also contributed. It will go to all the guards, especially to those who died.
 
Money will not bring back those who died, but it will set their families for life if they use the money wisely.
 
For this reason, the mercenaries love to work for merchants, especially for the big houses. As long as you protect them with everything you have, you will always be rewarded.
 
These forty million may be less than what I deserve, but it will help me tremendously at this stage.
 
I could add things in the establishment which I have shelved for later, and now, I might be able to buy the jewelry and accessories I want with this huge budget.
 
“Let’s have breakfast,” I said to Gerald; this is what I am preparing before Raul arrived with the money.
 
Soon an hour passed, and it was time to leave. 
 
“You could stay a few more days, you know,” said Selina, to that, I smiled. I have stayed more than I had wanted, this is my fourth day in their house, and while it was fun, I would like to return to the other manor.
 
I have to do things and bring people that I could not bring here.
 
“Thank you for your hospitality, Gerald and Selina,” I said to them and walked out of the manor, and soon, I was in the carriage with Dan, who could not seem to stop smiling.
 
“You seemed quite happy today,” I said, to which he grinned. 
 
“I have finally got the money to buy a thing for which I have been saving for years,” he said, with a smile, that he is barely controlling.
 
“If you are planning to buy it here, you can take tomorrow off,” I said to him; he seemed a little surprised by that before the smile on his face became bigger.
 
“I will be grateful, Master Silver,” he said; I smiled.
 
It took about an hour before we stopped at a place that had Charles written in the huge golden letter. It is a big opulent building with wares showing through the glass that only a few could afford.
 
This is Eva’s boutique; it is more like a mall, given how big it is.
 
I walked while Dan and the other guard followed behind me while the rest remained with the carriage.
 
Seeing what I faced on Santos’s private island; made Gerald feel guilty. 
 
Feeling it has been his responsibility to protect me since I have come to his city, and now, I have eight guards protecting me.
 
And I am not complaining.
 
Soon, I walked through the silver glass doors and entered the store; what an amazing store is; everything is premium and expensive.
 
I was inside when a woman dressed in staff uniform appeared in front of me; I was a little surprised seeing her because she was clearly a half-elf; there was no hiding, one could tell by a single look.
 
Those radiant hair, slightly pointed ears, and angular face all signs led to her being a half-elf.
 
“Mister Silver,” she said as she stopped before me. “Yes?” I said questioningly. “Miss Eva had asked me to take you to her when you come,” she said.
 
“Lead the way,” I said.
 
She turned and led me toward wherever Eva was. She was close by, talking to women and the man I surprisingly knew.
 
“Remus, you have come,” said Eva as she saw me coming. “Eva,” I said before turning to a middle-aged man. “Mister Denis, it’s been a while,” I greeted the middle-aged and nodded to the woman, Eva’s daughter.
 
She looked like a copy of her mother with those same sapphire eyes, golden blond hair, and diamond shape face.
 
“Yes, since that day,” he said, referring to my father’s funeral.
 
“I didn’t get a chance to introduce you to that day; Remus, this is my daughter, Cara,” Eva introduced.
 
“It’s nice to meet you; Eva had said many things about you,” I said as I shook her hand. “Same,” she said with a reserved smile.
 
We talked for a few minutes before Eva turned to Cara. “Dear, take Denis to the office and sign those documents,” Eva said. 
 
“Yes, mother,” she said and took Denis away while Eva turned to me.
 
“So, what do you want to buy, a suit, shoes; we have very excellent designs. I suggest the one by our designer; it will look very good on you at the warden’s ball,” she said, but I smiled.
 
“I will need that, but I need other things first,” I said to which she arched her brow, “We will first start with jewelry,” I said, “We do have some excellent studs and even rings of varamian’s style,” she said.
 
This time she is joking; it is clear even when she tries to keep her expressions straight.
 
“Women’s jewelry Eva,” I said flatly, “For your girlfriend?” she asked with a faint tease, “No, for my business,” I replied, and a faint surprise appeared on her face before the radiant smile replaced it.
 
“Jewelry is what we are famous for,” she said, and we began to walk. 
 
“What type of jeweler do you need, for how many people, and what is your budget?” she asked as she led me.
 
“I need jewelry that could be worn by the hundred girls through changeable sets,” I informed. 
 
“And your budget?” she asked. “Hundred and fifty thousand imperials,” I replied.
 
“It is enough budget,” she said with a smile, and we stepped into the elevator before getting out at the third floor, which was glittering jewelry.
 
The whole second, third, and fourth floor is dedicated to jewelry; every type of jewelry can be found here, gold, gemmed, and even magical metals. 
 
Jewelry is what Charles is most famous for, and I could see why.
 
“You will need every type of jewelry, from chokers to anklets, and all of them need to work with each other, every way you pair them,” she said softly.
 
Yes, this is what I want; I want each piece of jewelry to work with others; while fifteen million crowns may seem much, it is barely enough.
 
Soon we appeared in front of the huge counter, which had thousands of pieces of jewelry around it.
 
“We will start with this ronas necklace, cynthar earrings, and aldan bands,” she said, and the women behind the counter immediately placed them in front, and another woman in her mid-twenties appeared and stood respectfully at a distance.
 
The jewelry is made of agan metal, a purple color malleable metal which has finely cut sapphires and ures gems are placed. 
 
They definitely have an elvish hint in them, especially the earrings.
 
“Jenny, be a dear and try this,” she said, and immediately Eva put jewelry on the woman; she was so fast that she did not take even a minute.
 
The way she put it, there is obviously skill involved.
 
“What do you think?” asked Eva as I began to look at the girl, who was obviously a model. The way she is standing and changing her positions gracefully lets me give a look at every angle.
 
I looked at carefully, seeing how finely cut gems shone with every movement she made. It highlighted her, accented the beauty she already has.
 
“They looked very good on her,” I said to which Eva smiled. “Yes, they do, and we are going to change the bands and necklace,” she said and called for the other jewelry, which immediately appeared on the counter, and she tried it on the model.
 
“Now?’ she asked, “Just as good,” I said. The two pieces she called out were made of gold and nothing else, and looked very good with the gemmed necklace. 
 
In the next few minutes, she took out more than twenty pieces of jewelry and tried on models of different color and complexions, giving me a complete look.
 
“So, which one do you like?” she asked, motioning toward the jewelry that had piled up on the counter. 
 
“All of them,” I said after a moment of contemplation, and she did not seem a one bit surprised.
 
For the next three hours, she showed me all kinds of jewelry, and nearly everything she showed, I brought it, except for eleven pieces that I did not think would suit the girls of the establishment.
 
I have every kind of jewelry, from necklaces and earrings to uncommon diadems and cameos; I even brought some whose names I could not remember. 
 
I could already imagine the huge effect it would bring on the girls.
 
“I think we are finished with jewelry,” said Eva. 
 
To that, I nodded with a little forced smile. I think I have gone quite over budget; even if she gave me a good discount, it would still be above the budget.
 
When the time comes, I might need to shelf some of my purchases, which I don’t want to do, but will be forced to.
 
“I hope you have a good collection of accessories,” I said to Eva, to which she smiled. “That you do not need to worry about,” she said and walked toward the elevator.
 
The elevator stopped, and we walked out of the fifth floor, which was filled with dresses of all kinds, wonderful dresses. Some are even crafted from magical material; those are real expensive things that only a high-level person could create.
 
“As you can see, we have a huge collection of dresses,” she said, motioning toward the small dresses to long gowns.
 
“Dresses I have; I only need accessories,” I replied; even on the stage of the big city, Elese's designs did not pale at all, and that couldn’t help me with a smile.
 
“We will start with shoes then,” she said, and we went to the huge shoe section. 
 
Where I found those Cinderella shoes, made of glasses and gems, I couldn’t resist and brought a few pairs of them.
 
I love to see how Carla looks in them; I had made Eva wear those, and she looked ravishing in those red ruby shoes.
 
There are all kinds of shoes, from stilettos to flat heels to boots; I had only focused on a few types of them, and despite that, I had needed nearly two hours to buy two hundred and twenty pairs of shoes.
 
After that, we went to belts and then perfume and other sections till I found everything I needed. 
 
“I don’t think I will be able to afford all that I had brought,” I said to her. “Don’t worry, I will give you a big discount,” she said and led me to the men’s section.
 
I have also done some shopping for myself, which took longer than I had thought as I had to give the measurements for the tailored suits.
 
I had also brought a few pairs of shoes and accessories like cufflinks, brooches, and perfume. Appearance is important, it is how people look at you, and it helps a lot in making a first impression.
 
I did not hesitate on it and brought what I liked.
 
Click!
 
Eva opened the door, and we walked inside the hall, where everything I had brought had already been assembled.
 
“So, how much is it going to cost me?” I asked, looking at a small store worth of stuff, very expensive stuff.
 
“Two hundred thousand imperials,” she said, that is twenty thousand crowns, as much as I needed to make the changes in the establishment, but hearing the number, a relief appeared on my face instead of surprise.
 
“Thank you,” I said to her, to which she smiled.
 
According to my calculations, she had given me a discount of five million, which is far bigger than I had thought she would give me.
 
“You are a friend Remus,” she said simply. To that, I nodded and paid the bill before walking out of the room with her.
 
“Once again, thank you, not only for the discount but also for your time; I am really grateful you personally helping me,” I said; this time, she did not say anything, only smiled.
 
After one last hug, I walked out of the store.
 
I have shopped a lot today, but the shopping has yet to be finished; there are many more things that I have to buy.

An.

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