Carla

Click!

"It didn't look crowded at all," said Margaux as she stepped inside through the door and looked ahead at the girls.

All the girls are here, from those who work to those who are training. Even the teens and team leaders and the madams. Every girl who is present in the city is here.

I gave her the look and her cheeks reddened. I know where she had gone.

"I had told you. It might look small, but it's space. Even if the number had quadrupled; it wouldn't have been crowded," I replied, not teasing her about the person she had gone to meet.

"I hope, Master Silver won't mind it," she said, and I shook my head.

"He won't. A little embarrassed, he might, but he won't mind it," I replied. I know him enough to say that with the confidence.

"He had done so much for us. It's time, we show, a small appreciation for it," I added. She nodded with her eyes turning emotional.

…

Click!

The guards opened the door of my office and I entered inside with only Zela, Robin, Cardin, and Stone following behind.

There is also Jon, but he is hiding.

"Many people contacted me. Some even suggested they would support me if I took over," said Robin as I sat down in my chair,

"I thought it would take a few days before such offers were made," I replied.

Though, I am not surprised.

Such machinations are common in politics, especially in cities like mine, which had a great treasure.

The legacy.

"Anyone powerful?" I asked. "They themselves are not, but those pulling the strings are," he replied, sending me a paper with the names of the people.

I read through it, with some names surprising me

"You have done a wonderful job, Robin. General Cardin. For that, I am grateful," I said to them.

There was a surprise on their face, but soon it turned to a smile. They really did an amazing job in protecting the city, and I want them to know how grateful I am for it.

"Thank you for the praise, my lord," said Cardin. "It is not a praise general, just a fact," I replied simply.

In the next hour, they updated me on all things, before leaving my office.

"You are leaving right away?" I asked Stone. "Yes, after I finish some business," he replied.

"Be careful, there might be assassins of undead waiting," I cautioned.

He has recovered. Even his strength seemed to have increased, but the undead had powerful assassins. They have killed a people far more powerful than him.

"I will," he replied, before walking away.

I stayed in my office for fifteen more minutes before walking out of it.

There is a meeting in an hour and a half, but that's more than enough for me to go and return from the legacy.

Ten minutes passed, and the tower came into view. It looked magnificent, especially on this dark night.

There might be no moons and stars visible, but the city is shining brightly. Especially the tower and the area surrounding it.

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Soon, I reached the bridge and saw people on the boats.

The boats have become one of the most popular attractions of the legacy area. There is always a line for it; everybody loves it, especially couples.

So much, so that we have brought special boats for them.

Because of its popularity, there have been requests to widen the size of the canal. So, that more boats would be able to float in it, but I rejected the idea.

It's popular because of its size; it would lose its beauty if we expanded the canal without other changes.

The carriage had entered the park, and I saw people everywhere.

They are walking, sitting, eating, playing, and doing other things. I thought the park would be too big, but now I do not think it is too big.

Soon, the carriage reached close to the tower. The structure shows the harshness and the beauty of the wasteland.

Step!

The carriage stopped, and I walked out of it, before entering the lobby.

As I did, I nearly stopped as the beautiful smells hit me. They are better than any perfume and many people come here, just for the smells.

I could see people turning to me, with some bowing. I nodded at them before stepping into the elevator.

Like the lobby, there are people everywhere. They are browsing around the stores.

The sales are high. It had broken our estimates.

Many store owners had got big offers for their stores. Some of them are so big that many would have given up. If they could.

They couldn't.

They have rented it and agreement as it as such, that they couldn't transfer the lease without my permission.

There are other heavy restrictions.

I thought they would be stifling and prepared to loosen them. If they didn't work as intended, they are working much better than I had imagined.

Soon, the elevator reached the domain of legacy, and the fragrances became more prominent, and they affected me more thanks to the power of legacy.

Hun!

I was taking it, when I sensed something that had surprised me.

'What are they doing there?' I asked myself.

All the girls were on the roof. Not only madams and floor leaders but also those who should be working on the velvet red, training in college, and even the young girls.

Every girl in the establishment is on the roof.

'What is going on?' I asked Carla. 'You will know, soon,' she replied. I could have pressed, but I didn't.

Soon, I reached the top floor, before walking the stairs toward the roof.

Click!

I stopped at the door and opened it.

As I had expected, all the girls were there. Carla, Gloria, Senar, Eliyen, and every girl who is present in the city are here on the roof of the establishment.

All of them are looking at me with expressions I had not seen anyone looking at me with, with such a weight.

It's hope.

It felt heavy as a mountain and light as a feather at the same time.

I wanted to look away, but I didn't. I met their eyes and took the weight of their expectation.

It started as a business to me with little humane and naïve touch, but with time, I genuinely came to care about them.

"Well, it's a delightful surprise," I said, and they laughed.

The smiles remained until Margaux stepped forward and everyone turned serious.

"Margaux," I said, and the woman smiled a little before her expression to have turned serious.

"Master Silver, you have done things for us, that no-one had ever done," she said.

Her voice is soft but spread through the entire roof.

"You have helped us gain a self-respect that we had long lost. Provided us income, that will set us up for life and skills that will never keep us hungry at night,"

"Most importantly, you have given us hope. Hope to fulfill the dreams, we had long buried deep in our hearts. Dreams that we had never thought we were able to reach,"

"Those dreams that seemed impossible to reach now felt like, they are in front of us. We just have to reach for them to fulfill them,"

The girls listened to every one of her words and many had tears started to flow out of their eyes, while the hope blazed in them.

It is not just them affected, but also me

"You all already had the abilities to fulfill your dreams. The only thing gave you all a little push," I stated, to which many shook their head.

"You have done far more. Everything we are right is because of you," she said, and her eyes were extremely serious.

"You have moved the mountain for us, shifted a river by making, took the wrath of all by making one of us a Governor. Something, even emperors and archmages, never dared to do,"

The air seemed to have gone still as she stopped and looked directly into my eyes like all the girls present.

"Us, the whores, have little to give. The only we have to give is our loyalty." '

"From today, every girl of Velvet Garden will be eternally loyal to you, in both life as well as in death," she stated and kneeled in front of me.

With her, every girl kneeled with such conviction in their eyes that it shook the legacy.

Roiled the mist like a storm.

Tears streamed down from my eyes as I looked at their kneeling figures.

"I will take your oaths of loyalty and give an oath in return as well," I replied.

"From today, you all are mine and I am yours."

"I will protect you from every harm. Even if the one doing the harm, is the god itself. I will fight, him for you," I promised, with my voice reaching every ear and bringing the change in the faces of kneeling girls.

At that moment, the legacy shook like the wrath of god, had felled upon it, hearing the blasphemy from my mouth.

Though there is no hint of fear in their eyes. Instead of trust as they looked at me.

Hun!

I smiled at them and was about to speak. When the tower shook again, making my eyes widened.

This shake is different.

Carla, Caena, and other Madams seemed to sense it as well as the shock appeared on their faces and their eyes widened before big smiles appeared on their faces.

The other girls seemed to understand what was happening and smiles spread across their faces, till everyone was smiling joyfully.

It is a joyous occasion.