Caena

A few hours before.

“Are we really doing this?” asked Barb, worriedly. Usually, the woman isn’t worried about anything, but now she is.

“It will be extremely risky,” said Mena.

“It is, but it is a good chance to test the things,” I said as I looked at the preparations. “To me, it felt like a needless risk,” said Cath, shaking her head.

“You should have taken permission first,” said Onaz and sighed.

Not all my deputies are against me. Onaz seemed to agree to the plan despite not saying it explicitly.

She is right, I should have taken permission, considering it is a pretty big thing, but I don’t think, Silver will have a problem.

Especially now, given the current circumstances.

The spa was closed in the evening yesterday and the basement was empty. I decided to do something with it, something risky. On the outside, it won’t be risky, but if found out, what is happening here, it would be really risky.

I might be arrested and even Silver, might get implicated.

I wouldn’t have taken the risk, but it is the only chance to safely test things. We might not get such a chance again.

“Are girls are ready?” I asked Della. “Yes,” she replied, with some hesitation. The girls will serve a different kind of patrons; the ones they have never served before, but many were excited to do it, despite their fear.

I may not have taken permission from Silver, but I have gone to two most important women. Margaux was a little hesitant about it, but thankfully Carla had given me the go-ahead.

So, there won’t be a problem.

“We are done, Madam Margaux,” said Stan as he finished laying the chairs and tables in what was the lobby of the spa.

They have been placed exactly according to design.

Silver had asked Sharn to make alternative designs for the lobby. If he ever needed to convert to a restaurant or other things. They were only to be used, if the spa didn’t work, but seeing how spectacularly it was working, nobody had thought about them, until today.

I looked at the clock, and it was eight. In one hour, the patrons would be arriving.

Each patron had been carefully chosen for this and they would be coming in unmarked carriages. So, even if people find out, that they came to the establishment; they could easily say they were on a floor above, in a special section that I had made for only them yesterday.

Still, I never thought, I would be using it as the decoy to bring those selected patrons here.

This plan had only been conceived at dawn when Silver asked me to keep the establishment open. It was a sudden idea, and I decided to act on it, despite all the risks it poses.

Most of those patrons were already selected for the above, but now they will come below, I hope they liked the arrangement and we have been right about them.

I checked the preparations one last time before walking out.

Despite the morning, the establishment is filled. Every person here is important and invited. Silver had asked me to entertain these people, provide them with such services that they would forget the undead were coming to attack the city.

All of them are important and powerful. Generating emotions in such quantity and quality that even Silver would be shocked.

They are more than thrice as intense as yesterday.

Till yesterday, people only knew that the undead had attacked the region, but now they know, they are coming to the city.

A little bit of reservation they had kept back had all gone now. Even the people on the first floor begin to demand the rooms to have sex with their wives and spouses, which they usually do in their homes.

Acting on their fantasies, which they usually wouldn’t.

Some even asked for the girls to join them and we obviously agreed. We are here to fulfill their desires; it is our sole purpose.

It is a reason why I am taking such a massive risk.

Soon it was nine and the first unmarked carriage entered through the gates and stopped at the dense mist. Nobody could tell, who had come out or what direction they had gone to.

Even with skills, it would be hard. It is not just a mist that will block them, but also the enchantments.

One would need to be really powerful to see through it and currently, there is no one in the city. Even those who run away, wouldn’t have been able to see through it clearly, with all their spells and skills.

….

Scala Hardt

I closed the file as the carriage turned to the entertainment district. Honestly, I rather not be here, I have a lot of work to do.

The city is taking a lot of things from us, and Damon is busy in the guild. Making it my responsibility to keep an eye on things.

We won’t be able to stop the city from taking our goods, nor do we have any intention of doing that, but it is important that we keep a record of everything they take. If, by the grace of god, we survive, we want the city to pay us back for everything, they have taken from us.

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The chances of us surviving are slim. I am glad, the children aren’t with us. The place they are in isn’t as safe as it was for a few days. Due to everything, that started happening after the emperor's death, there is no threat to their life.

At least, not yet.

I looked outside the window and saw everything was closed. The usually bustling entertainment district is empty.

I wouldn’t have come here like many of the friends and colleagues are doing to forget about the undead, but seeing the madam of the legacy herself invited me with a handwritten letter, I decided to spare an hour.

The language of the invitation also made me quite curious and hopeful. I hope I won’t be disappointed, not that Velvet Garden, ever does.

Soon, the carriage reached the velvet garden, and I was surprised to see the mist around it being denser than usual. Especially the one on the ground; it is so dense, that I could barely see the fountain and two gazebos.

The carriage stopped, and the woman opened the door; a beautiful woman that I wanted to keep staring at.

She is not the guard or one of the teen girls that usually welcome, but an assistant, madam. Assistant madams don’t open the doors. This is no ordinary place, but a legacy, and these women rule it.

“Welcome to Velvet Garden, Miss Scala,” said the woman, addressing me by my name rather than my surname. “Thank you, Miss Onaz,” I said after a moment of silence.

“Please follow me,” she said, and we moved through the thick mist. It was so thick, I couldn’t see anything besides her, but I could tell we were moving toward the gazebo leading to the spa.

I have been to the spa a couple of times. It is amazing.

For most people, it is very hard to get an appointment, but Damon has some privileges, which let me get a spot, within a few days. I am glad, that I had advised him to look past the animosity. If he kept up with that, he might not have these privileges or the position.

Silver was a host of legacies. Nobody could have forced him to give the head of the merchant guild special privileges if he didn’t want to.

“I thought the spa had closed?” I asked. “It is,” replied the woman without turning. I wanted to ask where she was leading me, but stopped.

I like a little mystery and decided to enjoy it.

Soon, we reached the gazebo and walked down the stairs. The mist had started thinning as we entered the inside.

Gasp!

In a few seconds, I could see the familiar waiting room, and what I saw made me gasp.

It is covered in thick colorful mist, and this thick colorful mist contains nine huge colorful lotuses. Each petal was of a different color mist, and they looked like something came out of the dreamland.

Soon, I reached the lobby, where the mist was dense again. It is dense enough, that I wasn’t able to see the face of the person walking by me.

She led me near the south side of the waiting room before she stopped in front of a huge lotus. Which is even bigger than it looked from a distance.

“I hope you will enjoy the company inside, Miss Scala,” said Onaz in a beautiful voice, before walking away, while I remained on the spot, feeling confused.

I feel that the lotus has something that I always desired, but if I tried to get it, I might get burned.

I wanted to run away and would have if the undead weren’t coming. There is a high chance that I will die. So, it didn’t matter if the inside had a thing, that could burn me as I was going to be dead anyway in a few days.

With that thought, I took a step inside.

Immediately, everything became clear and what I saw inside couldn’t help, but surprise me.

In front of me is a beautiful table with big scented candles burning in the middle, but it is not what I am looking at.

I am looking at the beautiful young woman sitting in a chair.

She looked to be in her mid-twenties, had shoulder-length raven hair and dark brown eyes, from which, she was looking at me seductively.

It immediately becomes clear what it is.

I had heard about the secret places that cater to the women. A few of such places cater to the forbidden desires.

I wanted to visit them, but never dared to do it. The church actively hunts for those places and once found out, there is no absolution.

I shook in fear at that thought, because if found out. Not only I will be destroyed, but so will my family. I have seen what happened to those who get caught in forbidden crimes, and I don’t want my husband and children to suffer because of my forbidden desires.

“You shouldn’t think too much. It is highly likely, that you will die in the next few days,” said the young woman, in her thralling seductive voice.

I don’t know whether her words or that beautiful mouth followed her words, and I found myself.

I still wanted to run away, but I controlled the fear. She is right, I might die in a few days and before dying, I want to act on the forbidden that I have been suppressing as long as I remember.