Magda

"I want to wear it now," I said dreamily, looking longingly at the purple-red dress.

It is the most beautiful dress and most expensive dress I have ever seen. It is not only including magical material but is a mist-crafted dress; crafted using the mist of legacy and now it is mine.

These dresses are really expensive and near impossible to get your hands on.

I have seen people far richer than us asking for them, but not eligible to buy them.

There is such a limited stock of these dresses, and very few people, like the sister of Lord Silver, would be able to buy them.

I got it because of El's mom. It is a wonderful gift from her.

"You only need to wait for a few hours," replied El, as she came out wearing a beautiful green dress.

Her mother had bought her an entire wardrobe of dresses. It is not just dresses, but also many accessories. All of which were made for her.

This is not possible for most people, but for her, it now is.

Click!

"Girls, are you ready?" asked my mom as she came inside with Eryna following behind her.

"Yes," I replied. Looking at the mirror one last time. El's mother had sent a person to prepare us.

We are attending the founding day function at Central Square.

Soon, we stepped out of the room, before getting out of the hotel and into the carriage waiting for us.

"There is a lot of traffic," said El, looking at the lines and lines of carriages in front, with the central square as the destination.

Nobody is surprised.

There is always traffic with functions like this in a city. I don't mind it, seeing I am getting to look at this beautiful city carefully.

In just one night, they have adorned the city as beautiful as a bride.

It looked beautiful yesterday, but now it is looking even more magnificent. "It's like a festival," said George, and I couldn't help but nod.

It took us a while, but we finally drew near the central plaza, and it was packed.

"It seems like the entire city had gathered here," said Mom, looking at the crowd as we got out of the carriage, which quickly moved away.

There is no space to park here.

I could only see a few carriages, which I am sure belong to important people, like our Lord of Inam. I heard he had come to Greltheaven to attend the functions.

There is heavy security at every turn.

We were led through the cordoned area before we reached the seating in front of the enormous stage.

There are twelve rows of seats with the capacity to seat at least a thousand people. We were in the fifth row and when we reached there, we found a familiar person was sitting there.

"Vice-guild master Benil," father greeted the man.

"Pearson, it's nice to see you again," replied the man, with only a small change in expression, before looking at El for a moment.

We took our seats, with my father sitting beside Benil. It's a good thing I am sitting on the other end.

I don't like that man.

A few minutes passed, and more seats filled. Soon all the seats in my row had been filled, leaving only two beside me.

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I was in my thoughts when two people came. I turned and when I saw them, my heartbeat couldn't help, but beat faster.

There are two people; the woman looked to be in her early thirties and a young man, who is about my brother's age, around eighteen.

He is the most handsome boy; I have seen, and he is an elf.

He is tall with high cheekbones that the elves are famous for. He had deep green eyes and blue hair that looked like it was made of water.

The woman is no less beautiful. So much so that I couldn't help, but feel a little envy.

They came and sat down, with the young man beside me, and he turned toward me.

"Asyren Vylisod," he said, in a beautifully accented voice that rang like chimes.

I was so mesmerized that I couldn't react for a moment. It would have taken me more. If not for El hitting me with her leg.

"Magda Pearson," I replied, with my cheeks heating up.

"It's nice to meet you, Magda," he said. "You too, Asyren," I replied with a smile.

I could feel the eyes on me, but I didn't care. The man is too handsome. Not talking with him would be a crime.

"Based on your accent, you seemed to be from the merchant states?" I asked. "Not by my race?" he asked back quickly, and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, I am from the merchant state Ishlynor.," he replied.

I was surprised to hear that.

I thought he would be from Belnin or Meldhorn. All the regions of the merchant states have elves, some more than others, but Ishlynor Forest is the region of elves.

"You are from Harsoth Empire, right?" he asked. "Inam," I replied.

"Well, that's close," he said, and I smiled.

"If you don't mind me asking. Will you be at the party tonight?" I asked. It's a little too forward, but I decided to ask it, biting down the nervousness I was feeling.

"I hope you will be there too, or the party will feel pale," he said. I know he is flattering me, but I liked it.

"You can bet on that," I replied, and he smiled.

A few minutes passed, and the drum began to ring out, as the important people began to make entry.

I barely glanced at them. All my focus is on the beautiful man beside me.

We were talking when suddenly, the drums began to play even louder than before. I turned from Asyren, catching the eyes of El and my brother. El is all smiles, while my brother is glaring.

He isn't glaring at me, but at Asyren beside me.

Seeing that, I couldn't help but sigh. He is too protective, scaring away half of the guys I date.

I shook my head and looked at the large carriage coming with the heavy guards.

It stopped, and a strikingly beautiful woman came out of it. For a moment, I thought it was Carla Salt, but she said to have red hair.

"Aunt Ina," said El softly.

Governor Knox. The woman was more beautiful than she was said to be.

I was looking at her when two more people came out, one after another. They are children, siblings of Lord Silver.

The last one to come out was Lord Silver.

...…..

I walked onto the stage with Ina and the children. Wishing Carla had been here. She isn't.

She is in the legacy.

I had asked her, multiple times, but she didn't come.

I sighed internally and looked ahead toward the people. There are tens of thousands of them. More than double of the last celebration.

So much so that there is barely any space in the central square, despite me expanding it a little after the first battle.

A lot of important people have come to the city. Lord of Inam, Lord of Owlspring, and other nobles from empire and merchant states.

Far more than the last time.

I know that they didn't come out of their respect for me.

Some might, but it's not the main reason. Especially the nobles from the empire, who are busy dealing with civil war, foreign enemies, and other troubles.

Their time is precious to them. They wouldn't have come if it was not important to them.

It's the essence, and the tower is producing a lot of it, because of the sheer size. Those with even little brains understand that and they want it, and I am going to give it to them.

A resource that can't be used is useless. I am going to use the essence.

There are a lot of things I want, and these people will give them to me. Till now, I have focused on the merchant states, the most, but now, I will focus on the empire as well.

Grade II essence provided me with a level of influence, but not as much as Grade III could.

They want the Grade III essence desperately, and I am going to fill that need. I am going to make them addicts. Something they couldn't live without.

They have a lot of things I want, and Grade III essence will give me the ability and influence to get those things.

I need that level of influence.

The incident at Ertburn had proven how much I needed it.

I shook those thoughts away surveying my citizens and guests, I felt all of them looking at me, with eyes filled with hope and expectation.

It made me scared. I don't want to disappoint them.

"My citizens, what a year it has been!" I said dramatically. At first, there was confusion, but a smile appeared on their faces before laughter began to escape their lips.

I didn't want to give a serious speech today. They need mirth and optimism after the year it has been.

"We have experienced things in one year that most do not in decades." "Our lord ran away. We got attacked not once, but three times, and recently even got stabbed in the back,"

Excluding the last sentence about the Deerpond where expressions soured, many were attentive and nodded along.

"But we preserved! We fought tooth and nail and won when everybody expected us to fail," "It was not without cost, we lost many good people."

"To them, the dominion will be eternally grateful,"

It is risky to use that word, but I have remained cautious enough.

It brought immediate reactions. Many like the Lords of Owlspring and Inam smiled grinningly, while nobles of the Nakar forest and others turned serious.

It is a calculated risk. It could go either way, but now, I have the power to bear the consequences.

"The coming year will be even more challenging, but it will also be filled with prosperity,"

"I promise you, my dear citizens, I…."