Ashton Harbor

"Finally, they are coming," said the man with the staff, with joy all over his face.

He had just got the confirmation. They are sending the ships, filled with the hordes of undead and powerhouse.

Their numbers are big, enough for not only sweeping the three cities but also the entire region.

"The wait is nearly over," said the armored man.

In a few weeks, when the time is right. They will send the horde; it shouldn't take more than a month.

If it had been six months ago. It would have been a lot quicker, but the imperial bitch had galvanized the imperial navy.

It isn't as strong as when the emperor was alive, but still strong enough to create trouble.

There are also the bastards merchants. Their navy had heightened their presence.

Those bastards aren't weak; they had defeated the imperial armada of Harsoth, so badly that they weren't able to recover fully, even after a decade.

So, we will need to be very careful.

I am still angry at higher-ups. They should have let me attack with the force we have here already; at least Greltheaven.

If they had. We would have the legacy in our control and all the

I had every detail about it, including the guess of essence it could produce each month and the value of the plants.

I think it's the reason why, they are finally sending the hordes. If they capture, the Grelheaven; they will have the biggest legacy by size under their control.

We have legacies on the island higher in grade, but smaller in size, than the velvet garden.

…

Eva

"So, you are really staying?" asked Cara, and I smiled at my girl.

She already knew the answer.

It had been ten days since the opening, and we were still here.

I will be here, but she is leaving.

"I will miss, you, Mom," she said and hugged me. "Me too, sweet child," I said and hugged her back with tears dripping from my eyes.

I am going to miss her, a lot.

It is the first time; I will be staying away from my children for a long time.

I didn't like it, but I need to. It was a chance; I had been waiting for all my life.

"You are going to ask him today?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Will he agree?" he asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "There is also a question of whether he will be able to do it or not," I added, to that she nodded.

Every legacy is different and has different rules. He might want to give me the mist, but will he be able to?

The beauticians, the chefs, and the girls could use the mist, but they were part of the establishment when it became the legacy.

A jeweler was not.

Even if it didn't happen. I don't plan to return. Since I came here, my mind is bubbling with inspiration. It had been a long time since I had been inspired as such.

She turned to the store and sighed.

It is full. It's always full, even at midnight. Most of them were men at that time, unlike now when most patrons are women.

More than half of our patrons are from the merchant state, but there are some coming from Inam and other close cities of the empire.

Many had come specifically to shop at the store.

There are also more men than there are at the store like these.

90% of the things we sell are for the ladies. We would have sold more for the men, but the designs aren't good enough.

It needs to be good enough, before we bring it to the store, especially now.

I am searching for them and even trying to poach some designers from the other boutiques.

I could see the look in the eye of customers; the same look when they see the prominent boutique stores.

I wanted it. I craved for it. I had failed, but now I had succeeded.

It had become even more important, that I maintain the standard. Take it to a higher level, which is why, I need the mist.

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"We are going to miss it in Namdar," said Cara, looking at the tree in the center of the store.

It looks more beautiful than it had been ten days ago. The way the mist moved around it and a very tiny fraction of it got absorbed into it.

If it continues for years; it will bring a profound change in the tree.

She looked around, before walking toward the elevator. Talking about some patrons before finally stepping into the elevator.

I could see the floors as the elevator went down. These stores didn't have mist, but they have more people than our store.

I can imagine what would happen. If the whole tower is covered under the floors, the influence of the legacy.

From what I heard. Remus is harvesting a lot of emotion essence. If five more floors are joined, there will be a lot more emotion essence.

"I had never thought, I would say it, but I am going to miss this place," said Cara, and a smile couldn't help, but appear on my face.

She was supposed to stay for five days, but she stayed for ten. If there wasn't a business to run, she would have stayed more.

"It is really a place, one could never forget," I said, looking at the most beautiful place, I had ever seen.

Soon, we were out of the tower, where the carriage was waiting for us.

We stepped in it. A moment, later, the carriage moved toward the port.

It is eight in the evening, and the park is filled with people. Local, but also foreigners, both from the empire and merchant cities.

The opening day had created quite a splash.

Since that day, many people coming to the city. It is not just tourists, but also settlers, coming in to find work and there is a lot of work.

I had talked to Miss Lola about two days ago when she had come to the store with her friend from Oksall.

She had said, there are a lot of investments coming into the city. Especially in the hospitality sector. There are hotels built all over the city, as well as many inns and casinos.

Making rates of real estate increase like crazy. Faster than even Namdar.

After the emperor died, everyone started coming in there, searching for stability, shooting the prices of real estate through the roof.

The primmest piece of real estate here is canal street. The whole circle. The rates of it increasing by the day, given the amount of space.

Only 40% is in the hands of people, while 60% is in the hands of Silver. He is giving the space, only to those who are willing to commit the big projects.

I have seen the amount of investment Remus wants for it. I Thought barely anyone would agree. It is a small city. A city, that could be attacked by the undead anytime.

The people didn't seem to care about that.

There are hundreds of proposals. Not only from the businesses of the merchant states, but also from the empire.

Including some of the people, I know in Namdar. They had contacted me, asking me to help them.

Soon, the carriage reached the bridge, and I could see the canals and boats on it.

It had become one of our favorite spots in the city. We had come here nearly daily, especially at sunset.

I looked at my daughter and saw her smiling too, looking at the boats.

Fifteen minutes later, the carriage reached the port. Which is bustling. More than when I had come before the opening.

There are more ships docked. More people moving around and more vibrancy.

Click!

The carriage stopped, and we stepped out of it.

"Have a safe journey and take care of your brother for me," I said with my eyes turning misty.

"Don't worry about us, mom. Just focus on your work; I will come to meet you next month and even brother with me," she said.

"That would be great," I said, hoping he would really come.

"Goodbye, Mom," she said.

"Goodbye, sweet child," I replied and hugged her for the last time.

I let go, and she walked toward the ship. I stayed there for fifteen minutes till her ship left, before sitting in my carriage.

I watched through the window as it began to move. I didn't look at the people. I am too occupied with thoughts of my child leaving to think about anything else.

I never stayed away from my children for more than a month, but now, I will be.

I didn't like it, but it is for the best.

I signed and tried to clear my emotion. I have the most important meeting and I have to be prepared.

The carriage stopped at the tower, and I got out, before waking inside.

I reached the elevator that led to the top floor. There were guards there, but they didn't stop me.

The elevator is only for Silver and important people like Carla and others.

Ting!

The door opened, and I stepped out, before walking toward the office.

Silver only stays two days a week in the legacy. The other five days, she stays in the manor with his siblings. Today is one of two days.

I reached his office and turned toward the tiny but luxurious waiting room. As there are still ten minutes to the meeting.

In the legacy, everything is a pure luxury, but the waiting room is clearly something.

Miss Rolgath had done a wonderful job. Cara is in talks with her for renovation for our stores. We have an interior designer, but Miss Rolgath is better.

"Miss Eva, you can go in," said the secretary, surprising me. There are still over ten minutes before the appointment.

Click!

I nodded and walked toward the office, before stepping inside as guards opened the door.

"Lord Silver," I greeted, the young man sitting behind the table.

I also nodded at Margaux and Ina, sitting there.

"Eva," he said and offered me a seat.

"What can I do for you, Eva?" I asked, with a faint smile hanging on his face.

It made him look quite handsome. I couldn't help but feel attracted to it.

He is younger than my children by a good decade and I shouldn't feel attracted to him. I never get attracted to the younger men, but I do toward him,

I have been since that incident on the island.

I quickly pushed away thoughts and cleared my mind. It's very important; I can not let myself be distracted by useless thoughts.

"I was hoping. If you could give me access to the mist?" I asked.

There was no change on his face, not even a surprise, as if he expected it.

"I want to work on jewelry; the mist will help a lot with the new ideas, I have in my mind," I added after a moment of pause, but there was no change in his expression.

"The emotion essence is valuable Eva. I am giving so much to the plants. To a lot of people, that there barely remained anything for me," he said.

I felt relieved. It's not an outright rejection, nor did he say, he couldn't.

Now, I have to make him an offer, he can't reject. Thankfully, I have prepared for it and it's quite good.

"I know, but I will make it worth it. I am quite good at what I do. I am one of the best in the whole of Namdar. Most importantly, you'll get half of every piece sold," I said, looking.

There was no change in his face. I opened my mouth to put up the offer.

It is not something I want to do, but I need the mist. I am willing to suffer the loss if needed to be.

I was about to speak when a smile appeared on his face.

"I can give you the mist, but with conditions," he said. I just nodded and waited for him to lay them all out.

I hope they are not beyond, what I could give.

"First, every piece, that you make will be sold in the store in the tower. Second, every piece will need to pass through us before being sold,"

"Third…"

He laid out seven conditions. The way he laid them out; it's clear, he had already thought about them.

"I agree," I agreed after a few seconds of silence.

Some of them are tough, like every piece passing through his eyes before being sold, but they are not as harsh as I am willing to go.

"Good. Give me your hand," he said, and I did.

My body shuddered as his hand touched mine. It took all my will to keep my face straight.

"Done, now you will be able to control the mist," he said, releasing my hand.

It took me a moment for me to control myself before I bowed.

"Thank you, Lord Silver," I said with joy.

"You can call me Remus when we are alone, Eva," he said, and my heart fluttered.

"Thank you, Remus," I said.