City of Desire-Chapter 860: Monster Movements

"Baron Halewright is here for you," informed Varza, and a moment later, a man in his early sixties walked inside.

He is the fourth Baron I'm meeting today in my office. I am going to meet all ten of them.

The only ones I am not meeting are Baron Harrods and my sister. I had already talked to them and knew their answer. So, I am not going to press them further on it.

He is a thin man with raven hair; he looks average, aside from his pale amber eyes. It is a recognising trait of his family, like the silvery grey eyes of the House of Silver.

"Lord Silver," the man greeted impeccably with his usual seriousness.

"Take a seat, Baron Halewright," I replied. He thanked me by sitting down.

"Let me start by congratulating you, Baron Halewright," I stated with a big smile, and a faint frown appeared on his face.

He looked at me in confusion, surprise, but mostly in suspicion. He could tell that I am up to something, and he does not like it.

Well, that's going to change soon.

"Congratulations, my lord?" he asked cautiously. "Well, your son is coming home. I believe that warrants the congratulations," I replied.

Immediately, a massive change appeared on the man's face.

It was about his son that I was talking to the Countess about earlier. I had contacted her two weeks ago, after the others had failed; she is a friend of the Marquess Karsandale's daughter-in-law.

He was the one holding his son.

As for why, he is holding Baron Halewright's son, well, he was a Prince Grelt loyalist.

He was in the Greltheaven when the Emperor died and left the city to aid the prince, the same day that Knight Schengen did.

He had even fought in a small battle to avenge Prince Grelt and got captured. It's a good thing; it was only a small battle of no importance.

If it had not been, it would have been far harder to get him out than it already had been.

Crown Prince had decreed that all those who fought for his brother were to be jailed for treason.

"Truly?" asked the man, with his voice shaking. "Yes," "By dawn tomorrow, he will be on the ship to Greltheaven," I replied.

"You can talk to him; there is a mage with him," I said and turned to Zela.

A moment later, Zela gave him her hand, and the old man took it. A few seconds later, tears started to flow down the older man's face as he spoke with his son.

He spoke for a few minutes before he finally let go of her hand and wiped his tears, before turning to me.

"You have done a great favor to my family and me, Lord Silver," said the man and bowed deeply.

"There is no need to be grateful, you are my subject now, and I will do everything to help you and yours," I replied with a smile.

"Still, I am grateful and will be yours to command. Including for the vote," he stated. It is a fealty; I have got the loyalty of the man.

"Thank you, Baron Halewright," I replied.

I paid a considerable price for it, and it is not just for the vote. No, it is to show the Barons that I will help them, even more than their families.

Thinking my expressions turned sombre.

"I found out a few things. The people close to you paid the people not to release your son," I informed, and the man didn't seem surprised, but he sighed, with deep pain flashing in his eyes.

The houses are dangerous even to their own people; there are factions and politics. More often than not, they are worse than enemies.

Even my house is not immune to it. Considering what my own brothers did to me.

"Thank you for informing me, and please, forgive me for taking my leave early. I must inform my wife, she has been worried sick about our son," he said, getting up, before I could even reply.

"Of course," I replied.

The man left, and the door closed behind him. "Now, only one vote remains," replied Varza, and I smiled.

A few minutes later, another noble came in.

It took me until late afternoon to finish meeting all the barons. I said my piece and heard their complaints. Tomorrow, they will get a revised proposal with the exceptions.

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"You know, if we had put some of our nobles here. We wouldn't have been so worried about the votes," Locke joked as we moved through the hallway of the keep.

I have five unoccupied baronies, and there are a lot of nobles who have contacted me about them.

They are willing to pay any price and accept any conditions, but I am not going to do that. These five spots are precious, and I am not going to hand them to anyone.

Especially the outsiders.

"I know, you are willing to use these five spots, Grimvale didn't seem to be in a hurry to fill them as well, but we could use wasteland, like he is doing," said Locke, and this time, he is deadly serious.

"You know what happened before the undead came; many had run away,"

"We need people who are absolutely loyal to Greltheaven. People who wouldn't run away or get bought," I replied, and the man nodded.

"I understand, but you also have to understand the value those people will bring."

"Grimvale is very smart. He focused on merchants, who were warriors when selling territories. It would benefit us a lot if we did the same."

"We will get a massive amount of money immediately, and they will work on developing those territories with their own money."

"Not to mention, we can reserve some territories for the warriors. It will increase our strength even further," he said, and this time, it's my turn to sigh.

"It's not like I haven't thought about it deeply, and it is not an option I had thrown away, but right now, I want to focus on securing the territory first, before bringing untrustworthy factors," I replied.

The territory is developing rapidly; the lion's share of growth is in Greltheaven, but the other cities are developing as well.

For Greltheaven, things might slow down soon, but they will pick up elsewhere. Especially Nakar; this place has a lot of potential.

The new laws and codes I have brought will let me do that.

As for selling territories, I might do that, but it won't be soon. It might take time, at least a year or more, which will give me time to observe the others.

Grimvale isn't the only one that is selling wasteland. It is also happening in Deerpond and Port Midlet.

I am looking forward to it. I could see how it works. So, when I do it, I will have a much clearer picture than those three have right now.

One doesn't have to be first in everything. How the other lords do it will determine how I do it and whether or not I want to do it.

I stepped out of the keep and went to Lauryl's military headquarters.

It used to be in the keep, but they split it up since there was not enough space for civilian administrators, much less for military ones.

I spent a few hours passing between them and the police headquarters.

By the time I had returned, it was evening. After meeting with Lola, I returned to my room for some rest before the party.

I lay down on the bed, thinking about a lot of things.

I rarely get such time, when I do, I fall asleep or practice aura. I want to do neither right now.

The dominion looked peaceful, but peace could shatter at any time, as it did at midnight forty hours ago. Enemies from all sides surround me; everybody wants a piece of me.

The only ones not attacking are the merchants, but it's their policy. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Unless I don't needle them or become a significant threat, they won't attack me.

The enemies just need a chance. If I failed at one front, they will attack me from all fronts. They consider me a threat, as does the Prince.

As long as they get Greltheaven. Their footing in the region would be most secure.

I sighed and pushed away those thoughts before getting up. I hope they don't attack, but they do. Then they should be ready to bear the price as well.

I freshened up and changed into the new suit before walking out of the suite.

"It had reached the merchant state," informed Zela, and I nodded. I had asked Carla and Robin to act as fast as they could, and even talked to the Lord of Owlspring.

"Lady Carla had asked me to inform you that she is discussing it with the Baroness."

"Good," I replied.

It will bring a load off my shoulders and make my territories more secure.

Soon, I reached the ballroom, before stepping through it. "Lord Silver, Lord of Velvet Garden and Greltheaven Dominion," announced the herald.

All the eyes turned to me, nobles and families, as well as important people of the city, from military to merchants, and everyone was there.

The one three days later will be even bigger.

People from all over the dominion will also come, as well as the people from the merchant state and the empire. I am planning to use it to make deals and widen the trade.

"Thank you, everyone, for coming to the party," I said to the people.

I kept the speech small before moving to mingle with the people.

"Their worries seemed to have eased a lot," said Lola as she appeared beside me. "The question is whether the worries have eased enough that they would vote in favor of it," I replied.

"I think we are nearly there, after what you have pulled with Baron Halewright's son," she said, and I smiled.

Speaking of them, I saw the man coming toward me with the woman beside him.

"Lord Silver, thank you. I will forever be in your debt for what you did for our family," said the white-haired woman, with a voice thick with emotion.

"It is my duty, Baroness," I replied with a smile. The woman smiled back as well.

"I will be leaving today for Greltheaven. I want to be there to receive my son," she stated. "That's a great idea; I will ask Baroness Leila to provide extra security," I replied.

The offer is not just for the show; things are delicate, and I don't want to take any chances.

Grimvale would not dare to assassinate the nobles, but I don't know what he is thinking, and besides, he is not the only enemy I have.

"Thank you, my lord," thanked Baron Halewright.

I talked to them for a few minutes before moving on, and soon I came across another couple. Well, they are not worried; the teenage girl is his daughter.

"Lord Silver," they greeted. "Baron Homer," I replied, before turning to the teen girl of fifteen-sixteen.

"This must be your daughter?" I asked. "Yes, this is Eliza," he introduced.

"Lord Silver," she greeted, with her cheeks red. "I have heard so much about you, Miss Eliza," I said to the girl.

"How is the academy?" I asked. She is studying in Namdar, in the academy for the nobles' daughters. "Good, I am learning a lot," she replied

"I am glad to hear it," I stated.

I talked to her father for a few minutes before moving away to speak with the merchant.

I was talking with him when I saw Baron Harrods and my sister coming toward me along with Lola.

"Excuse me, Mr. Tills," I said to the man, who turned to them. "Something happened?" I asked. If something hadn't happened, all three wouldn't have come at once.

"Three groups of monsters seemed to be moving toward each other," stated Harrods.

That made my expressions somber.

"Are they coming together?" I asked. "I don't know, but it is wise to assume the worst," he replied, and I couldn't help but nod.

"Go then and keep me informed about any new information," I said.

He nodded and bowed beside him as he walked out, while I turned to the people, who were all looking at me.

"Just a monster emergency, my lords and ladies. Nothing we have not handled before," I informed. Most of them already guessed and were used to it.

They smiled before starting mingling again, but I could see hidden worry in their eyes.