City of Desire: Chapter 1066 Accession II (Patreon)

Proofread by Thomas F

Lord Rutto

“Now, let’s move on to the leadership positions,” I said, and I could feel their eyes sharpen.

It had already been fixed, and three had already agreed. Once more, Fairwyn is going to be disappointed. We discussed it with everyone except him.

It’s not a trust issue; we do not trust any of them.

It’s just that Fairwyn is harder to manage than the other three.

Taurus wants trade, like any merchant; Vark wants military power and money. Valebrook, like everyone, wants territory for her house and prestige, but in her case, that desire is extreme.

There is a hunger for it; she wants to prove herself because of her common roots and will do anything for it.

Fairwyn could bend, but not as much as the three of them. If we had had time, we could have made him bend completely, but we do not. We will need to do that after we are done here today.

It will be more difficult, but that's fine; we will have the time.

I cleared my thoughts and cast a spell along with Perfect Visualization.

…

Viscountess Valebrook

A light appeared and morphed into a scroll.

People often forget that Rutto is a descendant of an Archmage. He might not be as powerful compared to his ancestor, but he is still a descendant, and his mage talent is better than most people were in his family.

Though they were never able to achieve much with that talent. Especially the recent descendants.

I pushed those thoughts away and focused on a beautiful silvery scroll with golden text.

At the top is a seal of Greltheaven rose and the tower; below it is a smaller seal, the City of Bilgas, and then the text. As I read it, my eyes sharpened.

Bilgas: The Council of Four

●      Governor / First Lord: Civil Governance, Law and Justice

●      Lord Protector: Internal Security — Police, Wall Guards, and Prisons

●      General: Defense — Army and Mercenaries

●      Chancellor: Finance and Commerce

“As you can see, every position in the ruling council holds equal authority within the city,” Rutto stated.

“The Governor oversees civil governance, law, and justice, but enforcing those laws falls to the Lord Protector. The General commands the army and mercenaries, while the Chancellor controls the city’s coin, trade, and finance.

“The boundaries are clear. Each office has its own responsibilities, and none has authority over another’s domain. There will be no stepping on each other’s toes.”

It's not a lie; I could see clearly that we have equal power, with each aiding/restricting the other.

But not all have equal prestige, and not all even sense the power that comes with it.

The governor is above the three.

“Lord Silver has suggestions on who should occupy which position,” he said, and his eyes sharpened, and he continued without giving anyone a chance to object.

“He believes that Viscountess Valebrook should be Governor, Baron Fairwyn should be Lord Protector, Captain Vark should be the General, and Mr. Taurus should be chancellor,” he stated.

I smiled hearing that. He did not betray me.

Silver has kept his promise, making me the leader of Bilgas, but the position isn’t free.

It will make Bilgas fully subservient to Greltheaven. For the position and power, I agreed. As far as I've heard, Silver is not unreasonable, but I am not foolish enough to believe there won’t be unreasonable demands.

He is a lord of dominion and would become my liege once we officially signed the agreement in a few hours.

There will be a lot of unreasonable demands, and I will have to agree to a lot of them.

“Isn’t this a little arbitrary? Lord Silver promised that we would have our freedom, that he would not impose his decision on us,” asked Fairwyn, barely containing his anger.

His whole body was shaking with it.

Rutto’s and Utsa’s expressions didn’t change. Instead, the smiles on their faces seemed to brighten up.

Fairwyn is intelligent, but his desire and anger clouded his mind. I thought and shook my head.

“Of course, this is a mere suggestion from Lord Silver; he will not interfere. If you disagree, you can voice it, and as long as it is a majority, it will be agreed to,” he replied.

Fairwyn, you should have remained quiet; it would have saved you a lot of pain. Silver already has everything under his control.

“I nominate myself for First Lady,” I said, without missing a beat. I don’t want to use the title of Governor. We may be part of the dominion, but the city belongs to us, and I want to show that in the title.

Silver expected that too, and he put another option there.

“I accept,” “Me too.”

Taurus and Vark spoke one after another. Making it official, while Fairwyn glared, as if he had suffered the biggest betrayal. I have nothing against him, but I want the position.

This is politics, and he will have to learn it quickly.

He might be a great powerhouse, but he does not have as much experience in politics. Especially as the ruler, his father had handed him the title just a few months ago.

He has never ruled a territory; while being an heir provides plenty of experience, being a ruler is a completely different cup of tea.

“I nominate myself as the general,” said Vark, and the charade played out with him and also Taurus. Now, only Fairwyn remained, and he was too angry to say anything.

Or rather, controlling himself. So, he wouldn’t say anything; he would regret it.

Silver had already decided on everything; it was clear on the scroll.

The first two positions have a lord in them; they were clearly meant for the noble. It would be best if he accepted it.

“Now that we have decided on the leadership, we should talk about other positions.”

“You all are free to decide mid- and low-level positions of people under your responsibilities, but top positions will need a majority from all of you.” Said Rutto, and another scroll formed, a much longer one.

Here, all the top positions are noted, from the Lt. Generals to Guild Heads.

“Lord Silver does not have any suggestions here; he trusts your judgment, but likes to be informed before making it official.”

I felt relieved hearing it.

We could choose our own people, but Silver wants their names before making it official. It surprised me; I would have thought he would just hand over the list and force us to agree.

Though it will not be easy, every position on the scroll requires a majority of the council, and looking at their expressions, everyone is willing to fight tooth and nail to put their people in these important positions.

Especially Fairwyn; he is not going to be easy, but ruling never is.

…

Sliver

I felt my dominion expanding, covering the territory of Bilgas. The city and the massive area around it.

It had become official as the four, the nobles, mercenaries, and the merchants swore loyalty to me in a ceremony. In a few minutes, it will be announced to the entire city and the dominion.

Unlike my other cities, the feeling in Bilgas city is weaker, just like in the baronies.

A few centuries ago, before Tabes captured it, Renwell was a kingdom, and every city here was a state. The state is mine, while the city and the area around it belong to four.

“Congratulations, my lord,” I heard, and I opened my eyes. “Thank you, General.”

Azalia was sitting in front of me, looking a little better than in the morning.

“What have you all decided?” I asked. She had been on a call with Stone and other generals. I was also part of it, but I pulled back when Bilgas became part of the dominion.

“Major General Rakgu. He is capable and very good at forging relations.”

“Vark also did not have any problem with him; he has experience in working with orcs.” I am surprised they would choose a human, but I agree: Rakgu is capable, and it would be a good experience for him.

He will be going to Bilgas, taking twenty thousand men with him.

I need him there, not only to help defend against that bastard, but also as a representation of my power. So they know that they are part of the dominion.

It needs to be given to Bilgas is not directly connected with the dominion.

“I don’t like them keeping their own army; dominion should have a unified force,” said Azalia. I wanted to laugh upon hearing that. Seeing as it is the norm across the empire.

Here, we are following the system of a merchant state, with one army.

I do not force them; they do it willingly.

Here, my nobles could keep their own army, but they couldn’t. When they submitted to me, each had at least a thousand men in their own forces.

Now, it is a hundred plus the police.

The months that followed their submission. They have steadily reduced the number of the army, with most nobles keeping a hundred to two hundred as a personal army.

There are a couple of reasons for that. First, acknowledgment that they couldn’t do anything against me because of my much larger army.

Second, safety: they know with an army protecting them, they do not have to worry about anything.

Third is a flat tax, and the fourth is development.

With me steadily supplying them with people, they are developing fast, and that requires a large amount of money. They are asking for their families, taking bank loans, and doing cost-cutting, with the first axe falling on their own army.

“Give it some time; they will hand us their army on their own,” I am confident of it.

They are going to need a lot of money. Even when I exempted them from taxes for a year and am going to help them with a loan, they are going to need more money.

I already told them I could take their army, but they are resisting right now; soon they won’t be able to.

She nodded.

“Where will the men come from?” I asked.

Currently, Major General Rakgu commands only eight thousand men, and we planned to send at least double. Means we will need to add more men.

I do not have enough of them.

I will need to keep it at fifty thousand at the Norke. Means I will reinforce it before I can send them to him.

“We are still deciding on it,” she replied. I nodded. She has time, as we won’t be moving the men until we deal with the undead, which still had not moved.

Looking at them, I see they are not planning to; our intelligence suggests the same.

“How is the plan against the undead coming along?” I asked. If they did not move, wewould move them forcefully.

I have a legacy to open in a few weeks and want to return to Greltheaven as soon as possible. Most importantly, as long as they stay, they will give people like Grimvale hope.

Who still haven't given up and are waiting for a chance.

I want to crush that as soon as possible. So I could move forward with negotiating the agreement.

“It is moving steadily,” she replied. “In three days. If they don’t move, we will move them forcefully.”

It’s a very risky plan, but they are not giving me a choice.

She left a few minutes later, and I closed my eyes once more and focused on my new territory with a smile on my face. It put a lot of stress on me, but I wouldn’t say I am not happy about it.

I am. A lot.

Lord of Rising Crest Lv. 36

[Skill Gained: Follow The Lead]