City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 234: Listener

Rayna
 
 
"I can be helpful in your new business," I pleaded to him once more. "Shut up! You might have been a little helpful in the brothel, but a cripple like you would be useless in there,"
 
"If I take you, it will drive away the customers instead," said Hershel harshly, while having a pleasant smile on my face.
 
It is one of the things I had learned from him as on my face too there is a pleasant smile. 
 
To others looking at us, it will look like we are having a pleasant conversation, but our conversation is far from pleasant.
 
"I,"
 
"Not another word about it," he said, raising his voice while still maintaining the smile.
 
I once again tried, but he simply walked away. I want to call him out, but that would be bad; he is a bad man when he is angry.
 
However, the man that will take me is even worse. I had seen how Lawrence Pen was looking at me and knew he wanted me.
 
I had heard he likes cripples and those cripples disappear in a few months. Since he is rich and his victims are useless cripples, even the law didn't care.
 
I am free to those who will buy the most girls, but I had already heard Chase saying that he will not be taking a cripple, even if it is free.
 
If he didn't take me, then I would go to the second person buying the most girls, and that would be Lawrence Pen. He had boisterously declared the number of girls, he had claimed and the number was second to chase.
 
If Lawrence gets me; I am going to drink that. There is no way, I will suffer what all those poor girls did.
 
I was thinking that when my gaze fell on three beautiful women who stepped on this floor not long ago.
 
They are from the velvet garden, and a curly red-haired woman is Carla Salt. The first madam of a velvet garden and now, the woman who handles Remus Silver's businesses.
 
Hershel said she was the most powerful whore in Greltheaven. He also said he liked to tear her clothes apart and fuck her till all the smugness disappears from her and she begin to scream in pleasure like a whore she was.
 
I looked at her, and she didn't look smug. It is not surprising. Hershel hates powerful women and likes to call them nasty names.
 
I shook my head and listened to the surrounding conversations. I didn't use any of my skills aside from passive one, which I had focused on several people.
 
Unlike Hershel, there are quite a few people here who are powerful. Like that, Chase and Francesca from Red Fragrance and Carla and Margaux from Velvet Garden.
 
These people will sense if I have used any of my skills on them. Even using passive skills, I need to be careful, lest they sense it.
 
An hour passed, and I have noticed something strange from three from the velvet garden.
 
"Remani, what they talk to you about?" I asked a dark skin girl, a few meters away from me.
 
I had used my skill in Distance Talking. As long as we were in the same room, I could talk to talk to them, as if they were standing next to me.
 
"Nothing, they just asked a bunch of questions," the girl answered. "What kind of questions?" I asked.
 
"Like where I am originally from, how many languages I know, do I have any hobbies or interests or classes related to that, and a few other questions," she replied, feeling slightly confused, but I could also sense the hint of hope in her voice.
 
"Do they not ask you about the skills you have and positions you know?" I asked.
 
"Strangely, no," she replied, shaking her head.
 
"It is strange," I said, agreeing with her and not for the sake of it. "I really hope they take me; I really want to go to the velvet garden," she said, with a voice full of hope.
 
I talked to her for a minute more, before talking with the other girls.
 
Soon, I got all the questions they had asked. It turned out there were seven questions, which they asked everyone.
 
They didn't change it, not even the order in which they asked for it.
 
I noted down all seven questions and wrote them in my Mind Diary. It is a wonderful skill, my favorite; it is filled with thousands of secrets; some of which will kill me. 
 
If people know, I know about them.
 
Hun!
 
Some more time passed, and I saw Baryl walking toward his boss. He is a Hershel assistant, who thinks of himself as far more intelligent than he is and assaults girls, who make him feel inferior.
 
Latch Listening
 
I activated my skill and targeted him with it.
 
"How is it?" asked Herchel. 
 
"Better than we had assumed. The bitches of the velvet garden had chosen the girls, that we had low expectations of selling," Baryl replied with a smile on his face.
 
"Let me see, the list?" Hershel asked, and Baryl handed him the clipboard. He looked at the pages, and a smile appeared on his face.
 
"You are right, that bitch is taking half of our low-expectation stock," 
 
"Maybe, instead of using them in the brothel. I should start selling them. If they sell as good as this, I will earn a huge profit," said Hershel with a smile.
 
"It is a great idea boss," said Baryl. 
 
"It is," said Hershel, feeling proud of himself. I could see the cogs in his spinning, while all I wanted to do was shake my head.
 
"Boss, what do we do about the request from Mr. Chase?" he asked softly. The man in the suit had asked Hershel to provide the list of girls that the velvet garden wanted to buy.
 
"Norman Lucas may be powerful elsewhere in the empire due to his family, but here it is Remus Silver rule and I still want to live in the city," said Herchel.
 
For once, he is doing an intelligent thing.
 
"So, no?" asked Baryl, and Hershel, nodded, before walking away. 
 
A little over an hour passed, and Hersehl took center stage. He cleared his throat, a little too loudly, attracting the attention of everything.
 
"Thank you for coming ladies and buying nearly all the contracts I had brought out to sell," 
 
"On the girls, which are claimed. Nineteen of them had been claimed by more than one person," he said and turned to nineteen girls gathered crowdedly in a corner.
 
"Sebal," he said, and the raven-haired Sebal walked out of the group and went to Hershel.
 
"Her contract claimed by Mr. Arvin, Mr. Rose, and Mr. Pen," 
 
"You three will bet on her contract and the price starts from five hundred imperials and will increase by a minimum of ten at each big," said Hershel, looking at people in front of him with a big smile.
 
Hershel is a horrible auctioneer, he should have hired a professional, but he is too cheap for that.
 
"I am not paying one imperial more than five hundred for her." Said Arvin, "Me too," said Rose, making the expression on Hershel's face bad.
 
I had told the greedy bastard to not have an auction when he presented his smart idea. If they wanted whores that are at the auction level, they could have simply gone to Namdar or Owlspring.
 
They would not come to this dingy place.
 
"I am willing to give only one 1 imperial extra and that is only because you are my friend, Hershel," said Lawrence Pen, making the expression on Hershel's face worse.
 
"I say you cut this auction crap, Mr. Hershel. We have wasted enough time here and would like to return with the contracts we had claimed," said Chase, if earlier insults weren't enough.
 
He is angry; the smile on his face brightened up. It means he is angry.
 
"How do you want me to handle girls who are claimed by more than one party?" he asked angrily.
 
"Give them to those who claimed them first," said Carla in impatience, which made him angrier.
 
Though he was angry, Hershel knew how to control his anger. At least in front of the people.
 
"Give me a minute, ladies and gentlemen," he said apologetically and turned to his assistant. I wanted to hear what they were talking about, but it would be wise to do it, with powerful people focused on them.
 
A minute later, Hershel turned to people.
 
"We will do as you have suggested. The nineteen girls' contract will go to those, who have claimed them first," he said.
 
"Good. There are other places I need to go after I finish with this," said Chase, making Hershel twitch.
 
"There is one last thing," he said and pointed toward me.
 
"This cripple, we will offer to those who brought the most girls and since it is your Mr. Chase, you are welcome to take her for free," he said and my heart started to beat, wishing he would take me.
 
Anyone is better than Lawrence Pen.
 
"We are not interested in cripple even if it is free," said Chase directly, and felt like the mountain had collapsed on me.
 
I would kill myself if I went to Lawrence Pen.
 
"Miss Carla, you brought second most contracts. You are welcome to take her," he said to the redhead. Surprising me, I thought it was Lawrence Pen who brought most girls after Chase.
 
I have no hope for them; velvet garden is the top brothel in the city. They would never take me, and after her, it is Lawrence Pen.
 
He is looking at me, licking his lips.
 
"We will take her," said Redhead, and it shocked me. Not only me but also Hershel and others; they have not thought she would take me.
 
I am so shocked that I am having a hard time believing it.
 
"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for your presence, I hope you all find great success with these girls," said Hershel, but I didn't even look at him.
 
I was looking at the redhead with emotions I couldn't understand when I saw Lawren's Pen appearing in front of her and my heart skipped a beat.
 
He said something to her that desperately wanted to listen, but I controlled myself.
 
I don't know what he said, but whatever he said, it seemed to have made the redhead angry and she said something sharp that made him angry and he walked away saying something.
 
Relief flooded in my heart.
 
I have heard the velvet garden is a paradise for whore, but I know reality is always something different, especially for people like me.
 
Still, I am happy and excited. As I know, I will not suffer the things I would have if I went with Lawrence Pen.
 
Half an hour passed and thirty-seven girls brought by the velvet garden began to sit in carriages.
 
The redhead has disappeared. Now, the platinum-haired one and raven-haired one had remained. If the entries in my Mind Diary are right, then their names are Margaux Swan and Mena Horn.
 
Soon it was my turn, and the driver picked me up harshly.
 
"Be gentle," said a gentle but stern voice from Margaux behind me, and immediately, the pressure from his hands lessened comfortably. 
 
He put me in the carriage, where girls made space for me.
 
I looked at my wheelchair, that Strev took away. The bastard Hershel isn't willing to give me, a nearly broken wheelchair.
 
Thankfully, I have some money saved; I could buy a good one with it.
 
Soon, the door closed, and the carriage. 
 
"Girls, we are going to the velvet garden," said Alrin and the girls cheered. Some had even started crying.
 
"From tomorrow, we will swim in money," said Barta, and the girls cheered more.
 
"No, you will not. There is a training of two to three months before you are allowed to work, and not all, are allowed to work, only those chosen by silver," I commented and all girls turned to me. Some smiled, while others glared.
 
"You don't have to spoil the fun, Rayna," said Valsa.
 
"Sorry," I apologized. 
 
She smiled and they once again engaged in conversation, laughing, giggling like little girls. I have never seen them behaving as such in the years. I have been with them.
 
Hope could do the magical things.
 
Soon, the carriage stopped, and we appeared in front of a huge, round building. On the other, I could see the velvet garden I had heard so much about.
 
Both looked beautiful and I could feel something from them, I had never felt in any brothel.
 
Click!
 
The door opened, and the girls began to come out one after another, till only I had remained.
 
Two women appeared at the door; they were guards, looking at their uniform, and took me out and put me gently in a wheelchair.
 
Yes, there was a wheelchair waiting for me, and it was ten times better than what I had in the Hershels.
 
It is wholly made of steel and the only non-steel part it has is the cushion, which is softer than any chair I have ever sat. 
 
I moved it, and it was smooth.
 
Unfortunately, I didn't get to move it as Valsa put her hand on the wheelchair and pushed ahead. 
 
She knew I didn't like to receive help when I didn't need one, but girls have gathered in front of the gate and I have to reach it there soon.
 
So, I didn't complain.
 
Though I have no doubt, my new wheelchair would have taken me there fast.
 
"It is hard to believe. They had a wheelchair waiting, and it is such a nice one," said Valsa and I couldn't help but nod.
 
It is really good and smooth.
 
Soon, we had to reach the other girls and turn to Margaux; the raven-haired woman seemed to have disappeared, leaving Madam Margaux alone.
 
"Welcome to velvet garden girls; this is a circle, and it will be your new home if you decide to accept the contract," said Madam Margaux and the door behind her opened.
 
She walked toward it, and we followed. Her words went through my mind, but I was soon distracted by what I saw.
 
Even before we went inside, I heard gasps of shock and wonder and after we entered inside, the expression on the face of every girl had changed.
 
"Is this heaven?" asked Valsa behind me in wonder. Even I couldn't help but ask that question as I looked.
 
I saw a huge place inside, with big pillars and beautiful tired. What attracted me was a beautiful garden in the center where light rain seemed to be falling and looking above, there were wine bridges, where I saw girls walking.
 
However, the most interesting thing is the girls swimming in the ponds, barely wearing anything.
 
It is hard to see them carefully, with wall mists covering the ponds, but it is clear they are swimming and playing there.
 
I only got to watch for a minute, before we all led into the hall, where several girls waiting. However, I looked at the two women carefully, who appeared left and right of Madam Margaux.
 
On her right side, is the beautiful woman in her fifties, and on her left was a young girl of sixteen-seventeen, who seemed to be trying hard to look serious.
 
"Girls, you have a choice. You could stay with us or you could leave." 
 
"If you want to leave, we will release you from the contract, and even give you ten thousand crowns as severance," said Madam Margaux and looked at us.
 
"I am not leaving this place, ever," said Ganee. "Me too, I don't want to leave…." 
 
One by one, every girl declined the offer, including me.
 
"Still think about it and give me your answer tomorrow," she said and turned to the teen girl to her left. 
 
"This is Asst. Madam Gloria. She will give you the tour of this place and the key to your rooms," she said and the young girl turned to us and there was no fear in the teen's eyes.
 
Though they were filled with nervousness.
 
"Follow me," she said, and we followed. Aside from her, a few more girls had also joined us, most of them were teens, but there were also a few older girls among them. 
 
One of whom took my wheelchair from Valsa.
 
The next hour was the tour of the circle, and there was one thing that came to my mind.
 
Overwhelming.
 
The magic, the spa, the lessons. Everything felt so overwhelming.
 
I felt like I might faint if I think about it too much. So, I noted it all down in my Mind Diary and will think about it later.
 
Soon the tour ended, and our ground entered the elevator; I was surprised to find how smoothly my wheelchair entered inside.
 
It is not just an elevator, but other places. All of them could access it by wheelchair. It is clear that the designer of this place had thought about people like her when creating this place.
 
The elevator ride was shorter than I liked to be before Loval, the girl handling my wheelchair, took me out of it on the second floor.
 
"Is that teen girl really a madam?" I asked. "Assistant madam, but yes," replied Loval.
 
"It is hard to believe," I said, and Loval smiled. 
 
"It is not when you got to know her. She is from the first batch and might get a little nervous sometimes, but that girl is exceptionally capable," replied Loval with a hint of admiration and stopped in front of the door.
 
Knock!
 
Loval knocked on the door instead of opening it directly.
 
Click!
 
A few seconds later, a beautiful woman in her early thirties opened the door. She had the shortest hair, I had seen on a woman; it barely reached her neck.
 
"Breve, this is your new suite-mate, Rayna," introduced Loval. "Nice to meet you, Rayna," she said, shaking my hand.
 
Her skin is so soft.
 
"Nine to meet you too," I replied and went inside.
 
"Currently, I am alone in the suit. Everyone is either at their interests or classes or establishment," said Breve as she led us inside.
 
There I saw one room with beautiful sofas and everything. Around it were three doors; two doors had names of two each, while the third door only had one name, Breva.
 
Click!
 
Breve took me there and opened the door; giving me a view of the entire room that I had immediately fallen in love with.
 
"Welcome roommate; We are going to have the best time," said Breve, taking me inside the room.

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