City of Desire: Chapter 1065 Accession I (Patreon)

Proofread by Thomas F

Lord Rutto

I turned to the city appearing in front of me, getting bigger every second.

“I thought it would be bigger,” Miss Utsa said. I laughed upon hearing that. “It is one of the smallest cities in the region, nearly the same size as Norke.”

It might be small, but its location is quite significant, or should I say, in quite a spot.

It is a city in the middle between Ashton Harbor, Port Midlet, Deeepond, and Almin. Three of them are our enemies; the fourth one is not our current enemy, at least not now, but we don’t know what Arenthal is thinking.

That should become clear in a few months.

A few minutes later, we reached the gates and rode inside.

“Welcome to Bilgas, Lord Rutto, High-Administress Utsa,” a thin man in his mid-thirties greeted them.

Kandon Stean, deputy of Taurus. He is not alone; there is a group of people, with three standing directly beside him. All of them are trusted people among The Four.

The Four do not want us alone with anyone from the others.

“Thank you for the welcome,” I replied.

“The four are hoping that you will grace them with your presence, Lord Rutto, High Administress,” said the man, and I smiled.

Of course, they want to meet immediately, but I have a few things to do before I meet them.

“I would have loved to, but it had been a long journey, and we would like to rest a little first before we meet them,” I said, and he opened his mouth to press, but closed it.

Forcing would not look good. Seeing the meeting was already set between us.

A few minutes later, we stepped into the manor prepared for us.

We freshened up, changed, and ate something when my guard stepped into the room.

“They are here,” he informed us. I nodded and walked into the parlor, where eight nobles were sitting.

As we did, they all got up.

It feels surreal. It wasn’t long ago that I used to beg for their time, but now they have all gathered to meet me and even got up, without care for rank and rules.

“My lords and ladies,” I greeted them, looking at faces filled with hope and expectation.

Bloody bastards!

It hadn't been long since these people had attacked us, fully prepared to kill us all. I wished I could slaughter the bastards instead of sitting here, smiling as though I were having a pleasant conversation with old friends.

Unfortunately, not every problem could be solved with the might of weapons. Some required a gentler approach, one that spilled considerably less blood.

So, no matter how bitter it left me, I had to swallow my pride and play along. It was the right thing to do for the Dominion and its people.

This will save many lives and make us more powerful.

The meeting lasted for nearly an hour; after it ended, I met with the mercenaries and, lastly, the merchants. All three power groups allied with the four.

“It went better than I thought,” said Miss Utsa as she sat in the carriage to finally meet the four.

“It’s Lord Silver’s effort,” I replied.

He agreed to go with my plan and made some moves. It had made things a lot easier. Especially what he did with the four; now, all I have to do is finish the job.

…

Viscountess Valebrook

“We knew dealing with Silver wouldn't be easy, but this,” Fairwyn said, anger clear in his eyes.

It is not good news for us. Silver had moved too fast. He did not give us a chance to consolidate our power before he swept in without taking a single step in the city.

We were discussing it when the door opened, and two people walked in.

One was Rutto, wearing his ugly suit as usual, while the other was a woman around the same age as me. Barb Utsa, the mercenary, the whore, and the aura user, but that is her secondary identity.

She is in the upper echelon of Velvet Garden; that makes her influential and trusted by Silver.

I looked at her and her gear- every part of it is mist-forged, from the shoes to the very band that is tying back her hair. A mist-forged set of gear is one of the first things I am going to get from Greltheaven.

I looked at others with some hesitation before we got up.

Finally, we did. Rutto has our future in his hands, not to mention Silver's weight behind him.

We sat down after the greeting.

I looked at them, my heart beating wildly. Silver has promised me a position as long as I agree to give what he wants, and he wants a lot, but he also promised me that position.

I did not give him the answer, nor do I need to. He knew what my answer would be, before he even made the offer.

“Let me start by saying congratulations from Lord Silver. He is happy that you four will be leading this city. He has complete faith in your abilities,” he stated.

“Please thank Lord Silver for his trust,” replied Fairwyn. He smiled before his expression turned serious.

“Now, let’s get down to business, which is dividing out the responsibilities of the city among four of you. My Lord is clear that he wants all of you to share the power equally, whomever becomes the Lord/Governer,” he stated.

I nodded, my heart pounding.

“Though before we come to that, there is one more thing: an offer from Lord Silver.”

There we go.

“You four have two choices in front of you. You can ally with the dominion or become part of it,” he stated, and nobody was surprised. Well, except for Fairwyn; the other two seemed to know, like me.

I thought even Fairwyn knew, but his expression told me he didn't.

“If you become an ally, you will get what Silver had promised you. Political support, help with people and emotional essence, and other things.”

“But we won’t be sending our armies and powerhouses to defend you in case you get attacked,” he said and laughed.

I sighed; I knew it and also understood that it is the thing we needed. We are surrounded by people who wish us harm. Zanav, the undead, and others.

Not to mention the threats from the empire.

“If you become part of Greltheaven. We will give you a loan within a week. Send you people to the city by the end of the month, miners to blacksmiths to start your economy.”

“Not to mention emotion essence potions; we will charge any artifact you might have and many other things.”

“The most important thing you will get is complete support from Greltheaven. We will protect you from Grimvale, Zanav, the undead, or any threat that might come from the empire.”

“You have Lord Silver’s word on that!” he laid it out.

The last part is especially important because Zanav, a few hours ago, said that he wants to conquer Bilgas and his army is more than three times as big as ours.

Then there are the undead.

We are closer to them than anyone else, but joining Silver here might have harmed us rather than helped.

“This is too sudden,” said Fairwyn. To that, Rutto smiled.

“Suppose, if we join Greltheaven, will we be subject to the same laws as the barony?” asked Taurus, to Fairwyns shock. He might have thought, we would present a united front and ask for time.

Unfortunately, that will not happen. Here, everyone is looking out for themselves.

Earlier, the nobles had sworn fealty to Silver, and merchants were willing to do anything for the access he was providing.

As for the mercenaries, all they cared about was money, and he'd also made a deal with them about his arena, promising steady contracts if they didn’t join the army.

He had all three groups under his control.

I tried to warn them before meeting Rutto, but they'd already made their decisions.

“Yes, but I assume you will want to maintain your army. We will tweak the accession agreement a little there, along with taxes, but the rest is going to remain the same.”

If we did that, we would be in the complete control of Silver, like the nobles of baronies have become.

Though it is not all bad, given the rapid speed they are developing at. Their advancement is leaving the nobles in the Grimvale-controlled Nakar in the dust.

He is letting us keep the army, but I am sure many of them had already secretly sworn loyalty to him, and many more would do so as time passed.

“We will need some time to think about it,” said Fairwyn, putting more weight into his words to make a point.

Unfortunately, it’s futile.

“There is no need for it; we can decide now,” stated Taurus. “Now is fine,” added Vark, and they turned to me.

Fairwyn turned his eyes to me, expecting me to agree with him, but I couldn’t. So, I averted my eyes and nodded at Rutto.

I could feel his eyes and the accusation in them, but I was powerless. If I didn’t do what he wanted, he would choose another for the position, and I’d rather have it than anyone else.

Everything is already under Silver’s control; resisting now would be futile and detrimental to my ambitions.

“What is your decision, ally of dominion or part of dominion?” asked Utsa.

“Part,” answered Vark. Taurus repeated.

When his eyes turned to me, I did the same.

I am not against submitting to Silver, but I wanted to negotiate for more benefits and autonomy.

That would not be possible now.

“Baron Fairwyn?” asked Rutto, seeing the man silent. He looked at us, and Rutto and I could see the anger behind his eyes.

It is not good for unity, but our ambitions and benefits come first.

…

Baron Fairwyn

“Baron Fairwyn?” asked Rutto.

I wanted to smack the man, but more than that, I wanted to kill the other three. It’s clear as day they made deals with Silver, completely blindsiding me.

I have told them we shouldn’t decide arbitrarily, especially with Silver.

They all agreed, but now everyone has gone back on their word.

I am not against joining Silver. Of course, I understand the benefits of it, as well as the harms, but I wanted to negotiate point by point first. Gain the promises that will secure our rule.

Now, these bastards made their own deals.

Like the other nobles, merchants, and mercenaries who had sworn allegiance to Silver earlier.

“Part,” I said, trying my hardest not to show any emotion.

I do not have a choice. If I didn’t agree, I would be dealt with another way, and I am not powerful enough to survive that. So, even if I hate it, I have to go with it.

“Welcome to the Dominion,” Utsa said with a big smile.

Bilgas has now become the new territory of Greltheaven, increasing his power further.

It isn’t just territory that increased; his power has too. He got us, three Lv. 40s. Plus a lot of powerful nobles who are in various stages of Lv. 30.

He does not have true loyalty, but that hardly matters when interest and survival align.

“I know some of you may have reservations, but give it a year, and I promise, all of you will say that this is the best decision you have made in your lives,” stated Rutto.

I wanted to snort, but I smiled and nodded and hoped he would move on to the main topic next.

The leadership.