“Isn’t the reward a little too much?” said Lancel to his father. Seeing what his father planned to give Remus.

“He commanded the force, killed two bandits, and played a big part in killing the biggest menace of Nakar baronies.” “If we calculate his contributions, he deserves at least 20%”.

“We are giving him less than 5%,” said Count Darrow.

“I should have stayed; the bastards only had one of those arrows,” said Lancel with gritted teeth and anger in his eyes.

Hearing that, Count Darrow shook his head.

“You have done a wise thing escaping, son. You are a lord, always remember that. It is not your job to fight, it is what we have servants for. Your job is to rule,” said Count Darrow’s.

“Which is why you shouldn’t hold any anger at Remus. He is a servant; his glory is our glory; he could never surpass us.”

“I understand, Father,” said Lancel. Count nodded with a smile before his expression turned serious.

“He is turning out to be a great asset, and you should learn to use him well or he will go to others,” he added with a hint of warning in his eyes.

“He wouldn’t dare to betray us!” said Lancel. “It wouldn’t be a betrayal. If he went to work for your cousin,” said Count.

“Viscount Atre?” he asked, and the Count nodded. “Yes, that man now has an eye on him, and I am sure, what Remus did Nakar baronies would have reached his ears, too.”

“So, little mindful of how you treat a person who could become your sharpest blade,” advised Count Darrow.

…

The carriage stopped, and I got out of it before walking toward the gates of Lord Darrow’s mansion.

I have only got three hours of sleep before I had to come here. I didn’t even go to the establishment, which I very much wanted to do, but Count Darrow had asked me to appear in his office at sharp seven.

If I had gone to the establishment; sleep would have been the last thing I would have done.

The guards saluted as I stepped inside the mansion.

I look like I am walking gracefully, but if they look closely, they will see me moving faster.

Faster than the sprint of unawakened.

The Gymnast’s Grace is a really amazing skill, and I planned to tailor my fighting style to exploit its full potential.

It is not just this skill, but all of my skills.

Though, I am going to focus on two skills the most, in the short to medium term. Rapid Steps and Gymnasts Grace. These are the skills that saved me from the bandits and will save me from other foes till I became strong enough to fight against them.

“Lord Count is waiting for you,” said the receptionist. “Thank you,” I said to the old woman and walked toward the door.

“My lords,” I greeted Lancel and his father. There were only two of them in the office. I did not see High-Mage York or others, but I am not an idiot to believe they are, with no protection.

“Welcome back, Remus,” he said. “Thank you, my lord,” I replied.

There was silence for a moment before Count Darrow opened his mouth to speak again.

“You have done well, Remus, better than I had thought you would. Not just in Navr, but also in Nakar baronies,”

“Many praised your command and combat abilities. Fighting against three Level 20 bandits and killing two. It is no simple feat, especially for someone of your level,” he praised.

“Most of what you heard is an exaggeration, my lord. I was only able to kill them because they were dumb enough to underestimate me.” I replied, and he smiled.

“It is the nature of the combat, Remus.” He said, and while I only smiled.

“The captured bandits arrived at the city yesterday and we are planning to execute them tomorrow,”

“It will be big news for the city, and I want to add the news of Navr to it,” he said and the smile on my face become brighter.

The man is intelligent, far more than his son.

“It is a great idea, my lord; this will blunt, any negative reaction that might come from this news,” I said, and he smiled.

“What do you think our neighbors will do?” he asked, and it is not the first time he had asked me this question.

Though, the last time I hadn’t gone to Navr and negotiated the trade deal.

“I am confident they will stay silent in both open and shadows; they need the trade as much we do.”

“More than we do, and it is in their greatest interest to stay silent or even help us with keeping the attitude of the populace positive about it,” I said, and he nodded.

“I have already got a couple of inquiries from cities, including Deerpond,” he said.

“Then we will have to make sure everything goes well. If the public attitude goes high-negative, they will not hesitate to pour oil on it,” I cautioned.

“I am aware and you will make sure that it will not happen,” he said, handing me a big responsibility. “Yes, my lord,” I accepted.

It is the kind of challenge I love. Though, I would have appreciated it more, if I had gotten the responsibility, a few days later. After I finished with some of the urgent business.

“Robin and others had filled me with negotiations in Navr, but I want to hear it from you,” he said after a few seconds of silence.

I smiled but didn’t answer immediately and instead took time to collect my thoughts. This man may seem smiling, but I could see the calculations happening behind his eyes.

I wish Lancel had been as smart as his father. It would have made a lot of things easier for me.

“I will not bore you with details of negotiations, which you are already aware of, but if Navr followed through, and which I think they will, we will have a huge trade,”

“It will not be just us. Others of the region will follow and soon, we will earn enough through it, that managing expenses of Mirador Hold through it wouldn’t be a problem,” I said.

“You make it seem like it will all be easy,” scoffed Lancel.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“It will not be, my lord. There will be difficulties, and we will need to be ready to deal with them.”

“Most importantly, we have to maintain the required infrastructure; we cannot have anything slowing down the trade,” I said, as I looked at father and son.

“First, let's see how the trade goes first before making any excessive investment,” said Count Darrow.

I always get the same answer from him, when I talk about big investments.

“As you wish, my lord,” I replied.

For a couple of seconds, there was no one who spoke before Count Darrow placed a silver key in front of me.

Seeing that, my eyes couldn’t help but lit up in joy.

“You have done an exemplary service in Navr, and this is your reward,” he said, sliding the key toward me. “Thank you, for the trust my lord,” I said and took the key.

Till now, only three advisers of Count Darrow had this key, but now I have this, too.

This key is an office key; I now have an office in Count Darrow's mansion. I have an office in an administrative district, and in the establishment, but having an office here, is a completely different thing.

It is much harder to get an office than quarters here. Count Darrow did not do it lightly. This is a sign of his trust.

I was in thought when he slid another thing toward me.

“This is a reward for your efforts in killing the bandits,” he said. The thing he slid toward me is an iles bag. I don’t know whether it is empty or has something, I will be satisfied either way.

The value of the iles bag is huge and I know someone who really needs it.

“Thank you, my lord,” I said and swiped the bag off the table. I didn’t even try to be humble; I need it and I took it.

I stayed in the office for one and a half hours more before leaving. I wanted to check my new office, but I wanted to go to the establishment more; there are things I have to do, and people I have to meet.

Especially Caena.

I walked out of the mansion and sat down in the carriage. Immediately, I put my hand into the iles bag and a smile appeared on my face and I started to take things; there are not many things, but what is there brought a huge smile on my face.

There are two things inside the iles bag; three enchanted weapons, two swords, one saber, and a check.

A check of five hundred thousand imperials, which is fifty million crowns.

My total reward is around a hundred and fifty million crowns, which is a little above my expectations. I didn’t think miserly Count Darrow would give me such a big reward.

It is something I deserve and should have gotten even more if I calculate my contribution through the rules of the empire.

Still, it is bigger than anyone.

I have seen the list of rewards, and Count Darrow had controlled his miserly nature this time. Everyone is getting a good reward, big enough, they could retire, if they want to with it.

I am glad. Especially for Captain Hiren. I had requested Count Darrow to increase his reward.

He had lost a hand and would take a few more months to recover. I don’t know whether he will return to service or retire. If he chose to do it, he will have enough funds to last for a lifetime.

Fifty million crowns are going to be very helpful to me; I already know where I am going to spend them.

A few minutes passed, and the carriage took the turn, and the establishment come to view and also the project. Which had made tremendous progress, in the nine days I was about of the city.

I wanted to go check it out immediately, but I have more important things to do in the establishment.

Soon, the carriage entered the establishment, and I got out; only to see Carla waiting at me by the door.

“Welcome back,” she said and took a step closer to me, before stopping herself. “It feels good to be back,” I said and took her in the embrace and inhaling her addicting scent.

I let go in a few seconds and turned to the establishment, and a smile couldn’t help but appear on my face.

I had missed it, missed it a lot.

“How was everything?” I asked while walking toward the establishment. “Great,” she replied.

“Had any problems occurred?” I asked. “Some, but they were not big as what you had faced,” she said, looking at me in worry.

I avoided her eyes and took a step inside the establishment. Like every day, many lessons were going on inside the hall, between the partition.

Space is a problem the establishment had suffered since the beginning. It was a problem I couldn’t fix before, but now with the project, it will be fixed, and the establishment will only be used for the business.

The girls noticed me as I entered the hall, but they did not move from their places.

Especially the girls in Miss Elme’s class. They barely glance at me. The old woman, like her student, only focused on themselves in her class.

As I walked through the hall, I once again felt that feeling and it seemed to have gotten faintly stronger in the past five days.

Soon, I reached my office, and immediately Carla and I moved at each other, and our lips crashed.

We begin to kiss each other fervently, as our lives depend on it.

“I missed you,” I said through the kiss and kissed her harder, while my hands moved around her body, drawing moans from her when they reached the sensitive spots.

I moved my hands toward the zip of her dress when I suddenly stopped.

“Why do you stop?” she asked breathlessly, with lust burning in her eyes. “I can’t, I do not have time,” I said, and I hated those words, but it is true.

I have too many things to do today. I have barely had two hours before I have to leave to make the preparations for tomorrow; it is very important, and Count Darrow wouldn’t like it if any problems appeared.

There are also Gerald and Uncle Thompson, who will reach the city, by evening, and I will have to meet them.

I don’t know whether I would even have time to sleep today.