City of Desire [Kingdom Building]
Chapter 303: Governor of Greltheaven I

Chapter 303: Governor of Greltheaven I

Hun!

I stepped out of the carriage and was surprised immediately. 

Every reserved spot is filled; there is not a single one that is empty. Most of these spots belong to members of the advisory council and other important people.

The Count hadn’t called the meeting of the advisory council. Terming them useless in this condition, but now here they are, along with all the important people in the city.

Some of them wanted to leave in the morning but had been forcefully stopped by the Count.

I glance at the carriages for a second before walking into the mansion, toward his office.

He had called me there, instead of the conference room, where usually the council gathers. 

Click!

“He is waiting for you,” said the old woman as I stopped in front of her. I nodded and walked toward the door.

“My lords,” I greeted the father and son as I entered the room, hiding the surprise I was feeling.

There are only seven people in the office. Aside from Count Lancel, there is a Mage York and Beaumont, along with Robin and Atticus.

However, the one that surprised me was the Priest Harold. Count hated the man, especially since he tried to trample on his authority by arresting Valentina and Lena, but now the man is here, and he is smiling at me.

I am not liking the smile at all.

“You have called me, my lord?” I asked, to which the Count nodded slowly, but didn’t say anything for several seconds.

“The undead are doing what they had threatened. They have sent their hordes to Almin, Bilgas, and Port Midlet.” “It is very likely that they will send their forces to other cities of the region, including the Greltheaven,” he said, and I shook.

I am shocked, not because the undead did what they had threatened to do. We already expected that, but we didn’t expect, they would do it so quickly; less than a day after conquering the Ashton Harbor.

Atticus predicted the undead would take at least a week to consolidate their gains before making any move.

‘It seemed like Stone was right,’ I thought.

Earlier, I asked Stone for his opinion, and he said, it would happen much sooner than we expected. I didn’t want to believe it, but what he said had happened.

“Are the hordes big?” I asked. It is the only question I could think of. 

“If the information is right, then Almin and Bilgas would stand no chance against it,” replied Atticus, which once again shook my heart.

“What about Port Midlet?” I asked.

“The undead had sent the biggest horde there, but it is hard to say whether they will be able to conquer it. The city has a force nearly as strong as the Deerpond and young Zanav is also there with his cavalry,” he replied.

I nearly forgot that bastard is there.

He had left the Greltheaven the very night it turned into the legacy and went to Mirador Hold, where it trained with its forces, before going to Dustorn Fortress.

He visited a couple of cities, before reaching the Port Midlet four days ago. It was supposed to be his last city, before leaving the region.

“It is very likely, that the undead will attack our city and we need to be prepared for that,” said the Count, and to that, I nodded.

“With our current forces, we are not capable of that,” I said and a faint, nearly invisible smile appeared on the Count and others' faces. I didn’t like that smile, I felt like, saying those words, I had fallen into some trap that he laid out.

“You are right, Remus. It is why, I am going to bring the aid that will help defend our precious city,” he said, and that hidden smile became visible.

“You are going to the hold?” I asked in surprise. Count isn’t the person who would go into the arms of danger to escape another danger. Mirador Hold isn’t as safe as it was till a few days ago.

“No, the forces of Mirador Hold are busy. A large number of undead had gathered near the fortress that Dane is asking us to return, the people, he had sent us yesterday,” he replied.

It surprised me, as I thought Dane was making excuses to keep his forces with him, but it seemed like there was some truth in it. Though, I doubt, it is a complete truth; it is all feeling a little fishy to me.

“I am going to the Dustorn Fortress to get aid and in my absence, you will be in charge city.” 

I was expecting the first sentence, but the second one caught me completely off guard. It felt like, getting struck by lightning. 

It took me a while to come to myself, and when I thought about what he said, I didn’t like it at all. 

It might not seem like it, but it is his presence that keeps everything calm in the city. Chaos would descend the moment news of his leaving spread.

“What about, Lord Lancel?” I asked, looking at Lancel, who was looking at me with a hidden smile, but the Count shook his head.

“Lancel is coming with me. He has good relations with the Marquess Gats' son. I am also taking the Atticus and Priest Harold with me; they will help me make the case for the aid to Marquess Gats,” he replied.

‘He is not leaving to get the aid, but escaping!’ I realized. 

If he was truly leaving to get the aid, he would have kept his son here, whom he had been grooming for this responsibility, but he was taking his son with him.

He is also taking the only man in the city’s force with experience against the undead and also the man, who could effectively deal against the undead.

The divine magic is the bane of the undead.

“My lord, I am incapable of handling such responsibility,” I said, rejecting the responsibility he was trying to throw at me.

He shook his head at that.

“You are the only Lord in the city, Remus, and, most importantly, a person I trust the most to handle this great responsibility,” he said and the way he spoke, felt so genuine that I almost believed it.

Of course, it is a lie; the bastard wants to escape and leave me behind to sort out the mess.

“Besides, it is only for a few days. I will be returning in three to four days,” he added and before, I could say anything, he placed the parchment in front of me.

I looked at it, and it was what, I expected.

It is a dictum pronouncing me as the acting governor of the Greltheaven. It is clear, that Count had prepared for it long ago, as only my name looked freshly written, while everything else is old.

“I think, there are many people in the city, more capable of handling this responsibility,” I said, really not wanting to take this responsibility, but seeing how they are all looking at me, I may not have a choice.

“It is an honor, Silver. You should take it,” said Atticus, placing his hand on the sword, while the Count watched without change in his expression.

I wanted to laugh at the bastard. He wouldn’t harm me, much less kill me, but he conveyed the meaning. 

I don’t really have a choice; I have to accept the responsibility.

I turned to the dictum and read it more carefully this time. It had been well crafted, with very few loopholes, that will be hard to exploit.

So, I decided to change changed that. 

I touched the parchment and activated ‘Flawless Edit.’ I am glad, I didn’t change the skill.

As I activated the skill, the texts began to move, and some entirely disappeared and were replaced with others. The change is minor, but it has transformed the meaning of the whole document.

The first thing I did was remove the word acting. Since he wants to give me the responsibility, then I will gain the complete title, not a temporary one.

I had also replaced the word ‘Governor’ with a more archaic one. The word had a different interpretation, it means governor, but also lord and ruler. Its meaning depends upon the interpretation.

I have also shortened the number of people who could take this responsibility away from me.

I left the first two people unchanged, which is the emperor of the complete empire and Prince Grelt. The third one is the House of Ravenheart, with Count Darrow having the greatest authority.

After him, it was his eldest son and brother, then it was Lancel and the children of his brother and a few other people.

I only kept Count Darrow and Lancel and cut, the house Ravenheart as a whole. So, now only four people could take away this responsibility for me.

I shouldn’t have done that, but I did it to spite the bastard. I like to see what he will do now, because changing it going to make Lancel angry, seeing the Count had put his eldest son and his brothel above him when Greltheaven was supposed to be his.

I looked at the changes before picking up the pen and signing it with the power of my skill and legacy.

This is a responsibility, I don’t want, but since he had forced it on me, I will make sure that I get what I want in return. 

As for what I want. The Lord Class.

This responsibility will give me the greatest chance to gain that class. The Count seemed to understand it as well, as a smile appeared on his face, despite sparks of anger floating in his eyes. 

He took the parchment in his hand and read it, before turning to me.

“Follow me,” he said simply and walked out of the office with me and others following behind. I didn’t even guess where he was going; it all became clear with the parchment.

Click!

The guards opened the door of the familiar room, and we entered inside. Immediately, the eyes of tens of people fell on us.

There are over fifty people in the room, aside from the advisory council. There are heads of all guilds, powerful merchants, mercenaries, upper echelons of the city’s force, and other important people.

It could be said that anyone who holds the weight in the city is present here.

“My lord,” all of them greeted as we entered.

They all are nervous, with many having fear in their eyes. It is a difficult time, and they are looking at their leader with hope; the leader who is abandoning them.

Count looked at all of them as he walked to his seat, but he didn’t sit.

“The scourge of Vris’alud had attacked our region. They already captured one city and moved their forces to the other three. It won’t be long before they turn their dark eyes on our precious city,” he said, and many shuddered.

“To prepare for it, I had decided to take a great risk and make a journey to the Dustorn Fortress to bring aid to our city,”

“In my absence, Lord Remus Silver will be in command of the city, and I hope, you all will give him, the support he needs,” he said to the surprise of many.

He didn’t give them any chance to speak and placed the parchment down before signing it and stamping it with his seal.

Hun!

I thought, he would pass it to others to sign as a witness, but to my surprise, he did something else. He took a small scroll, with a familiar seal of Prince Grelt and opened it.

Immediately, the golden-purple light shone out from it, and I felt the clicking before I saw the seal of a prince appear on parchment.

That was a sigil scroll. Only high-level ruler classes produce it. They only give those to people whom they trust explicitly.

Now, the dictum is bound by the prince’s seal. It is not a dictum of the Count anymore, who is the temporary ruler of Greltheaven. The real ruler is Prince Grelt, and he had just given me authority over the Greltheaven.

‘Fuck!’

I cursed hard in my heart because now all the hope I had had disappeared. He is really escaping and wouldn’t be coming back at all.

Leaving me responsible for the city, that could not defend against the undead.

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