City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

“We need to put our plans of expansion forward,” I said finally, looking up from the ashes of the contract that I had burned not long ago.
 
I was going to wait till this month was over and I had a little more capital, but with this thing happening, I could not wait anymore.
 
“We do. We have the least girls among all the high-class brothels; we need to increase the numbers,” said Carla.
 
All the high-class brothels have at least a hundred girls, and that was when they started; they now have even more with the business booming.
 
I have big expansion plans, and it would require money while the four million would help, but not much; I need far more than it.
 
“Contact Valentina and get an appointment for tomorrow,” I said, “What about the girls? Are you contacting your brother?” she asked.
 
“No, there is someone coming tomorrow who will contact him,” I replied. If I contact my brother, he will try to squeeze me or might not seven sell the contracts.
 
I am taking the girls from Carla’s old brothel; while it would be easier to get girls from here or Deerpond or even merchant cities, I like to get them from the old brothel, as these girls know each other and will work better.
 
Not to mention those girls are good; my father had been meticulous about each woman when he decided to open a brothel a few years ago.
 
“Do I ask for the appointment from Repose and Bulwark?” she asked, “Yes,” I replied.
 
The plans of expansion require huge money; I have a few million and four I have got from the two girls, but it is far from enough.
 
So, I am going to hit the bank for the loan.
 
Carla left after taking orders, and a few minutes later, I saw the messenger leaving the establishment.
 
I turned back to my work, and now that I have started with the plans of expansion, there are too many things to do. 
 
I have already made a plan of what kind of expansion I need, but some changes are needed to it with the new ideas I have.
 
Click!
 
A few hours passed as I worked and did some reading when the door opened, and Carla walked inside.
 
“You have an appointment with the bank at five,” Carla said as she came in, “Good,” I said.
 
I have worked on the proposal, and I hope the bank will accept it, and I am asking for a lot more money than the last time, but unlike the last time, I have a business that is booming. 
 
So, even if they did not give me the amount I wanted, a little less would also be fine. During the expansion, the establishment would continue to make me money.
 
I worked till it was time for the appointment and left the establishment. Fifteen minutes later, the carriage stopped, and I entered the bank.
 
“Remus Silver, I have an appoint with Mr. Shaw,” I said to reception on the third floor, “Mr. Shaw will see you in ten minutes,” she replied with her usual professional smile.
 
I nodded and sat down while reading the magazine to pass the time. 
 
“Mr. Shaw will see you now,” she said and opened the door for me; I thanked her and walked inside the office, where a big man was sitting.
 
“Mr. Silver, welcome,” he said as I came inside and offered me a seat. “Thank you, Mr. Shaw,” I said as I took a seat in front of him.
 
“How can I help you?” he asked, leaning a little forward, “I need a loan,” I said directly. “That’s what we are here for.” 
 
“So, how much do you need?” he asked, “Twenty-five million crowns,” I said with a smile, and I could see the faint spark of surprise appearing in its eyes before it disappeared.
 
“It is quite a large amount,” he said a moment later. I felt a little relieved that he did not decline my request directly.
 
“It is,” I said back.
 
“Well, your record is good; you paid our last loan in less than two months, but the amount you are asking is huge; we will need to look at all aspects before we sanction such a large amount to you,” he said.
 
“It is fine,” I said, and in the next few minutes, I had signed forms and submitted the proofs, all the things that I needed to do to apply for a load.
 
“It all looked very good; it shouldn’t take long for back to study your profile,” he said, looking at the papers in front of him before turning to me. “The bank will inform you of its decision in a few days,” he added.

 
“Ok,” I said, and a minute later, I walked out of his office.
 
When I reached the establishment, it had already been opened; I entered through the back entrance and watched through my usual place while taking notes.
 
I feel quite relieved seeing the business is going as usual; there is nothing that seems out of place in the girls' performance. 
 
They are doing excellent, as usual.
 
I watched for an hour and checked other things before going back to my office, where I worked till ten, before going to my bedroom to sleep. 
 
I have made a habit of sleeping at ten; it is a good habit and gives me enough to rest to not get tired, with all the things I need to do throughout the day.
 
 
The next day, I woke up early, as I had been doing for nearly two weeks.
 
I freshened up before going back to the mansion and doing yoga for an hour before starting to practice with instructor David.
 
“You are doing good, Master Silver. If you impress me today, then I will increase the difficulty of your training from tomorrow,” he said as he pressed at me, using multiple skills one after another.
 
Clang Thap Clang
 
I am also using my skills, the Quick Steps to move around and Consecutive Slashes, to attack rapidly when I get the chance.
 
After training hard with instructor David for more than ten days, I have gotten a pretty good grasp of my skills. 
 
I have even started manipulating Consecutive Strikes to defend, there is great resistance, but I am pushing through it.
 
As I was practicing with the instructor, I heard the steps and saw four people coming toward me; one was Carla, and of three, two were familiar, while the third was unknown to me.
 
I did not dare to get distracted; instructor David gets quite angry when I get distracted and hit on places where it hurt the most; I don’t want to experience that, at least not today.
 
Thap!
 
Finally, the two hours were over, and instructor David had ended the training with a hit on my kneed that made me fall to the ground.
 
He does that every day, and I was not able to stop him, despite trying hard.
 
“Rest well today, Mister Silver, tomorrow, I will increase the difficulty,” said instructor David and walked to pick up his real sword.
 
After he placed it on his waist, he nodded at four before walking toward the exit.
 
“Uncle Thompson, Captain Stephen,” I greeted and nodded to one who I didn’t recognize as I got up slowly. 
 
After practicing constantly, my stamina increased, so now I didn’t have to lie on the ground for minutes to recover.
 
“Your Grandfather would be proud to see you picking up the sword again.” Said the old man.
 
“Thank you for the kind words, uncle,” I replied.
 
He is Roe Thompson, the uncle; my father had also called him, and so has every member of the house. 
 
He is a childhood friend of Grandfather, the person he trusts the most and one he sends to fix any problems that come up.
 
I was quite surprised when I got to know he was coming; as in my report, I didn’t say anything that would warrant his arrival, but I shouldn’t be surprised.
 
I am sure I am not the only one which he asked to report the things that are happening in the barony.
 
“You should clean yourself; we will talk comfortably in your office,” he said, looking at my state.
 
“Carla, take uncle and gentlemen to my office,” I said, “Yes,” she replied and took them toward my office. 
 
I walked with them till the stairs diverged; they moved toward me while I walked toward my room.
 
In my room, I did not apply the muscle numbing cream; I received much fewer sword slaps than on the first days of training, and now the pain is manageable.
 
So, I quickly showered, changed, and walked out of my room.
 
When I walked into my office, I saw Uncle Thompson browsing through the accounting book while asking Carla questions now and then.
 
I am not angry at him for looking at the files; I am happy instead. Whatever he sees and reads will be reported back to the grandfather, and I want that old man to know how I am doing.
 
“You are doing much better than the best scenario your father had imagined for this establishment,” he said as he put down the binder.
 
“Thank you, uncle,” I said to that, and he smiled.
 
“I am going to the barony, as you might have guessed. Are you interested in coming?” he asked. 
 
To that, I shook my head.
 
“I wish to, but I could not; there is too much work to do here,” I replied. “It is fine. You focus on your work; it is the most important thing,” he said.
 
For half an hour, we talked about general topics, mostly about my business and the city.
 
I did not ask him about his trip barony and why grandfather had sent him; I am sure I will know when he returns.
 
Though, one thing is sure; my brother is not going to be happy. People seldom are when he visits.
 
This is why I need to be as independent as possible the from the house while still being its member. My father had gone the same way and was able to enjoy great freedom in his business that many others didn’t.
 
“Uncle, I have one thing to ask you; I hope you will be able to help me with it?” I asked, “If it is in my power, I will help you,” he said.
 
“It is nothing big; I hope you will be able to facilitate sell between Reed and me,” I said, “He is selling the brothel, and I want to buy a contract of girls in it,”
 
“Sure, as long as you are willing to pay a fair price, I don’t see he will have any problem selling it to you,” he said.
 
Off course, he will have, but with this old man in between, he will not dare to reject the sale. 
 
They have already stretched the limit of the house’s anger; after what they did to me, they will not want to do anything more, or they will have to bear the wrath of their grandfather.
 
I think it is the reason why grandfather had sent the uncle, Edwin had crossed the limit.
 
“I am willing to pay fifty thousand crowns per girl,” I said, which lit up a faint spark of surprise in his before it disappeared. “It is more than a fair price; I will write to your brother immediately after I leave,” he said with a smile.
 
“Thank you, uncle,” I said happily.
 
He stayed a few more minutes before he left; I dropped him at the gate and walked back toward the manor with a smile on my face.
 
“I assume the deal is good as done?” asked Carla, “Yes, the deal is nearly done,” I said with a smile.
 
Carla looked like she wanted to say something but did not ultimately. I did not care for it, as I am happy.
 
I couldn’t help but imagine the face my brother would have when he received the letter from the old man.
 
I am sure he will break a few more vases today; he does that when he is angry. He says that the sound of them breaking helps him calm down.

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