City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 246: Six Cities

“Thank you for taking me with you, Remus,” said Locke as the carriage entered the bustling port.
 
“No need to thank me. There is no one better than you to take from the merchant guild,” I replied, and he smiled. He knows very well that I could have taken anyone from the guild, but I chose him.
 
Aside from him, there is Ida in the carriage; she had arrived an hour before dawn and now coming with me.
 
Her contributions are the greatest to what is happening. She is the one who had done all the courting and lobbying. 
 
It had finally born the fruit.
 
I had let go of the resentment about the timing and got fully focused on accomplishing this task. I have been trying to achieve it since we started relations with Navr.
 
It will help the city tremendously and also me. Especially me, seeing how much money I need for the expansions.
 
Soon, the carriage stopped, and Captain Azalea opened the door. She will be responsible for the security.
 
I thanked the captain and walked to the ship, where the familiar captain had welcomed us.
 
This is official business, and thus, I am taking the official ship to Deerpond. The others were already there. So, in a few minutes, the captain undocked the ship, and we started to sail toward Deerpond.
 
I watched till the Greltheaven disappeared before walking to the conference room and preparing for the meeting.
 
We had prepared for this yesterday, but it was not enough.
 
I am not getting a good feeling. I feel like, I am under-prepared to face things. So, I had prepared and prepared others, till the ship stopped at the port of the Deerpond.
 
“Careful, I am not getting a good feeling about this,” I said to the team, as we walked the deck.
 
Some nodded, while others looked confused and looked for an explanation, but I knew nothing else other than this feeling and hope, this was just jitters and nothing else.
 
I do not want complications in this important negotiation.
 
We disembarked and stopped in front of people waiting for us.
 
“Welcome to Deerpond, Adviser,” said the middle-aged man, with blue hair. “Thank you, Secretary Hawnes,” I replied.
 
He works under the trade director. His position is below that of vice-director of trade; they should have sent a vice-director to receive me at least.
 
I am not just a vice director of trade, but also an adviser to Count Darrow, and a noble from one of the most powerful houses of the empire. 
 
They are treating me as vice-director, sending a secretory.
 
Locke, me, and Ida sat in one carriage with Hawnes and the rest with the other.
 
“It is quite rushed, don’t you think, Secretory Hawnes; you should have given us a few days to prepare would proposals, instead of asking us to come the very next day,” I said to the man.
 
He smiled.
 
“It is not rushed, Adviser. Our cities are close, and a man like you doesn’t need any preparations,” he said shamelessly. That Locke couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
 
We talked through the way, but nothing in particular. 
 
I had tried to get information out of the man, but he was extremely tight-lipped, and he refused to talk when I had hinted toward negotiations. He is leveled enough that he can resist Persuasion.
 
I looked at the city and could feel its age. Most buildings are new, but the ground they are built on is old.
 
Like Owlspring and many old cities, it had been destroyed and rebuilt many times. Though incursion wasn’t a culprit. At least, it didn’t do it, as much as Navr did.
 
They have done it many times in over two thousand years.
 
Finally, the carriage stopped in front of the city hall; it was white and built like, how most city halls in the empire are built. They have to build it that way, it is the rules.
 
It is also bigger than Greltheaven’s city hall, which is not surprising, seeing the size of the city.
 
“Adviser, please follow me; there is someone who wants to meet you,” he said, and I arched a brow, but didn’t receive any answer, other than a smile.
 
“Sure,” I said with a sigh and followed him, while the others went a different way.
 
I could guess where we were going, but didn’t voice it out.
 
A few minutes later, we stepped out of the elevator and walked until we reached the office with an elaborate bronze door.
 
“You can go inside, Adviser,” he said, I nodded and walked inside.
 
The office was grand, but my gaze fell on the man sitting behind the huge table. He looked to be in his early fifties. He has a lithe figure but is not thin and has a handsome face.
 
Though, the most notable thing about him is his black eyes. They didn’t hold any emotions despite the man having a smile on his face.
 
“My lord,” I greeted and bowed.
 
The man is Viscount August Summerfield, Governor of Deerpond. Though most people referred to him as the lord of Deerpond, he liked it that way.
 
“Hearing your deeds, I thought you would be older,” he said after seconds of silence.
 
“Thank you for praise, my lord,” I said, and the man smiled, but there were no emotions in his eyes.
 
“I have read your record and I have to say it is impressive. Especially the deal you have crafted for Oksall,” he said, and this time, I didn’t reply; I had a feeling he was implying something about it.
 
“So, I have an offer for you, join Deerpond. I will give you the same position as the one you have with city hall,”
 
“If you proved yourself as good as you have been in Greltheaven. I will make you my adviser,” he said, and I smiled.
 
“Thank you for the kind offer, my lord, but I am happy at the Greltheaven,” I said, rejecting it immediately.
 
The expression on his face had remained the same hearing that, but a spark of surprise lit up in his face for a moment before it disappeared.
 
“The offer is standing. So, think about it carefully,” he said, looking directly into my eyes.
 
I didn’t say anything to that.
 
“Speaking of today, I hope your lord will accept the terms we have. They are beneficial to both of us,”
 
His eyes shone with mirth as he said it. I didn’t like it one bit, but I maintained my expression.
 
“We will negotiate the deal that is beneficial to both of our cities,” I said, and the small smile on his face widened.
 
He didn’t say anything after that. I bowed once more and walked out of the office. 
 
Feeling even more uncertain than before.
 
‘Something is really happening,’ I thought. Earlier, it was feeling, but now, hearing what that man had said, I have become sure, and I am not liking this great uncertainty.
 
It made me feel blind.
 
“Zela, send the message to Count…” I said through the guise of my privacy skills. I informed the Count about the offer, such things needed to be informed as soon as possible.
 
If not, they fester and create suspicions.
 
I have also told him about the feeling I am getting and the uncertainty; I felt from the Lord of Deerpond.
 
Usually, I do not voice out my feelings, but this time, I felt like I should.
 
Soon, we reached the place where Ida and the team were. They were eating; we only had breakfast, not lunch.
 
I joined with Hawnes uttering the word. 
 
Usually, I am fine if I miss lunch, but in this uncertainty, I want to be prepared.
 
Not to mention, the negotiations are going to last for hours. I don’t want the hunger to distract me.
 
As I ate, I once again tried to get information from Hawnes and tried hard, but the bastard didn’t utter a single word, and that made me even more suspicious.
 
“If you are ready, we can go to the conference room?” he asked as we finished with the lunch. “We have no problem with it,” I said and walked out of the room with the old man.
 
Click!
 
A few minutes later, Hawnes stopped in front of the door of the conference room and opened it.
 
“Please enter, Mr. Silver,” said Hawnes with a smile that felt too bright to be professional, and there was a hint of smugness in it.
 
Once again, that feeling of uncertainty deepened.
 
I nodded my thanks and entered inside and saw people were already sitting there. I walked a few steps and saw their faces and needed to fight hard, to keep my expressions under control.
 
I didn’t have to look at the name boards in front of them. I am familiar with them and have them, at least once.
 
There are six people sitting there, belonging to the six cities. All of them are from trade offices holding the position of either directors or vice directors of the trade office.
 
Six cities.
 
Port Midlet, Gailhorn, Almin, Bilgas, Wildhelm and Deerpond.
 
There are thirteen cities in the Renwell region, excluding the Nakar baronies, including Lauryl. Nothing there had become a city yet, though their collective power was much greater than most cities in the region.
 
Of the thirteen cities, six trade with Navr, while seven don’t. Here, six are sitting together in front of me.
 
‘The bastards,’ I cursed in my heart. 
 
Now, all of it becomes clear, the uncertainty. The smiles, the looks, everything had become clear in front of me.
 
I am angry seeing this, but also impressed by what the lord of Deerpond had achieved. The Count is going to be angry; they have blindsided him. 
 
Done something he hadn’t expected. Most importantly, the lord of Deerpond has shown his influence by achieving this.
 
He had no idea that Deerpond had gathered five cities and now going for collective negotiations. This will put a lot of pressure on us and will force out a lot of concessions; the thing that the Count hates the most.
 
“It seemed like this one going to big negotiation. It would be wise, to postpone it at least for a week,” I said, and the old man in the middle shook his head.
 
“My apologies, adviser, we couldn’t do that. These gentlemen here are busy. They want to negotiate today. Delaying is not possible for them,” he said.
 
The short, old man with brown hair and green eyes is Will Statham. Director of the trade office of Deerpond. 
 
‘Wily old bastard!’ I cursed.
 
“At least a day. So, we can be more prepared?” I asked, and the old man shook his head.
 
“They will leave for their cities if we don’t negotiate today and might even lose interest in trading with Navr,”
 
“Most had reservations about it and wouldn’t have come, if not for my lord promising them, that will be a fruitful endeavor for their cities,” he said and smiled.
 
Of course, they will not lose interest. They are here because they want the trade route of Navr and even Oksall.
 
It is the same for the Deerpond, but walking away wouldn’t be wise either, because they will delay it and that wouldn’t be good for us.
 
“Give me a few minutes. I want to inform the Lord Count, about this latest development,” I informed and walked out.
 
They wouldn’t stop me from contacting the Count. If they did, the negotiations were off; they too seemed to understand it as well, as nobody said anything.

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