City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 404: Store

Click!

I returned to my office after checking things. It is five, already, only one hour before the store and theater open and four hours till the party.

Everything is ready.

Still, I couldn't help but feel nervous, but also excited.

I took a deep and sat on my chair, before closing my eyes.

They remained closed for over a minute before I opened them. I am not in my office, but in a dark space, with a huge sun in front of me.

The core is shining brighter than ever before.

It is absorbing a large amount of emotions. I had it earlier and now it is even greater.

The amount of emotions is nearly as much as the day legacy advanced to Grade II. Where the people were scared of the undead, giving core to massive emotions to absorb.

The day after that, the legacy exploded.

It was the last time it had harvested such essence before today.

I had expected a good harvest from the spa, but not this.

The crying hall really worked.

It is sensory therapy, and I wasn't trying to create it, because it is damn hard to create something, that will affect all three senses and trigger the floor of emotions.

It had occurred right after we opened the vortex waterfall.

People begin to cry, inconsolably.

Understanding what is happening. We removed what it was before and created the sensory therapy room.

In that place, people release their emotions in flood and give them peace. The legacy absorbs those emotions and gives me emotion essence.

We have also found out that people release emotions after that are less, but far purer.

It is why. It is a mandatory spa policy to take every patron to the sensory hall before they start with the other treatments.

It couldn't help but make me ecstatic, because this was from the spa alone.

When the other twelve floors of legacy open. The harvest would double, at least. Which will be greater than what I had estimated.

The sheer amount of emotion and essence I will get from it. Even after spending on the plants; I will have enough to achieve a lot of things.

I might not even need to wait for several months to start that plan.

I looked at it, before focusing on the planets. These are getting strengthened by the emotion essence, which is the core sharing with them.

They had absorbed a lot of emotions' essence, becoming stronger.

It is not only the emotion essence; the legacy harvested from people, that is strengthening them, but also the ones from two dead legacies.

I wish I could have taken more, but I didn't want to be suspicious. My legacy already is doing things that the normal legacy of Grade II couldn't.

A moment later, everything had disappeared.

I need everything to go perfectly. The survival of the entire city depends on it.

…

Eva

"Enough mom, everything is perfect!" said Cara as I adjusted the mannequin gently.

I stopped and sighed.

I always get like this whenever; the new store is close to opening.

The store will open at six, less than an hour away. I am still a little irritated that it didn't open at twelve, as they had said it would.

"Where is Elese?" I asked.

"There," Cara pointed, and I saw Miss Cain sitting on the sofa with her eyes closed.

She is the opposite of me. Calm, with all worry and nervousness, buried in her heart.

I looked away from her and looked around the store.

We got the entire floor; the only ones who got that, and Miss Rolgath and Colt did a wonderful job of mixing Remus's vision and mine.

The Charles Stores are boutique stores, but this is Eva Cain, and it is a Couture Store.

A level above.

First, we decided to name the store Charles Cain, but I don't want the store associated with the Charles brand.

I had tried to venture into couture space before, but the competition was brutal, and I had suffered heavy losses. I had promised myself to never venture into that space again, unless I was really prepared.

I felt I wasn't, but Remus had forced me.

Remus said he would only give me space. If it is a Couture Store. If I decline, he will find Miss Cain another partner.

It was the biggest reason. Cara had intense opposition to the investment here.

Here, all the clothes are designs of Miss Cain, while the jewelry is mine. The stuff like perfume, shoes, and other things are from our best in-house designers and exclusive partners.

Everything here has never been sold anywhere, including our stores.

All the designs are new, as Remus wanted.

The demands of Remus were too much. Not any sane person would have accepted it. Especially in the city so small, that barely a hundred people could afford what we are selling here.

Still, I had a gut feeling, and I took the risk.

If it failed, it would cost me a lot. I am not worried about money, despite spending a substantial amount of it. I am worried about the reputation.

I looked around the store and it felt like a piece of heaven. Our most beautiful pieces among the magical plants.

It doesn't just look like a piece of heaven but also smells like it, feels like it.

No store of ours is as beautiful as this one. No, I have never seen any store as beautiful as this one, even the legacy store.

Cara had gasped earlier when she looked at it.

She arrived today in the morning, and it shocked her. I had never seen her as shocked as I had seen her in the morning.

This had lessened her complaints. Since she appeared, she had never once called me a mother. Which she did, last time when she came to the city with me.

I walked through the store, before stopping in front of the tree.

It is not the silvers, but mine.

Cara had brought it in the morning. It will stay here for three days before leaving with me.

It is the centerpiece of our flagship store. I created it after the undead incident.

My nights were filled with nightmares of the undead. I used to sleep for two or three hours, at most.

So, I started working.

I had no inspiration for the jewelry. So, I moved to an art piece, which isn't my specialty.

These designs aren't mine entirely. It was my mother's; she was a carver and carved it from a big piece of wood. Inspired by the news of my birth.

It used to calm me down.

Hers was wooden, while mine was metallic, with a silver body, golden leaves, and gem fruits. It had taken an entire year and a fortune to make it.

A few hours ago, Remus came and shamelessly asked for it to be placed in the lobby.

I decline.

I already gave him five of the most precious pieces in my collection. One of them is in the lobby, while the other four are on the floors above.

The tree isn't the only thing I am using. There are other pieces too in the store, but it is the one that shone brightest.

I looked at it for a couple of minutes before I started walking around the store. Unlike Elese, I can't stay in one place.

I looked at everything for any flaws, but there were none.

"Eva, only a minute had remained before opening," said Miss Cain, bringing me out of my chaotic thoughts.

I didn't even notice her getting up from her seat and coming beside me.

I looked at the wall clock; the very expensive one. Made by the most famous clockmaker of Namdar.

I took her hands into mine while watching the thin needle move.

Seconds felt like a minute before finally the needle completed the motion and the big needle moved to six six perfectly.

"Open,"

I heard the sound reverberating through the store. It is Silver's, but he is not in the store.

Gasp!

I was thinking about the skill he might have used when I heard a gasp.

It is from my daughter, and it was louder than the one she had in the morning.

I looked at her to know the reason, when I noticed what made her stop. It froze me on my spot; shocked me so much that I felt my knees go weak.

The only reason, I remained standing was because of Miss Cain.

The emotion mist has come to the store, getting denser every second.

I felt the power of the legacy covering me as it did in the spa.

The smells from flowers begin to get stronger and more complex.

The plants also begin to look more vibrant as they start to consume the emotion directly from the source rather than the network vine.

Ting!

I was watching the changes in shock with Elese, Cara, and my staff when I heard the soft chime of the elevator. The door opened and two people walked out.

"Do you like the surprise, Eva, Miss Cain?" asked Remus with a big smile on his face.

I tried to bow hastily, but he waved his hand.

"Is it permanent?" I asked.

There is a clause in the contract that states he has the power to remove us. If it ever got covered in the power of the legacy.

"It is. As long as it brings the good emotions," he replied, and that turned my expression serious.

To host of legacy. It is the emotions that matter, more than money.

A sovereign could provide them money if they suffer loss, as long a host of legacy keeps providing them with emotional essence.

"That won't be a problem. Look at the store; it's so beautiful," said Carla, rolling her eyes.

I looked, and it is beautiful.

Earlier, it looked like it was a piece of heaven. Now, it is a piece of heaven.

Nobody would dare to argue with it.

"Good luck. Eva, Miss Cain; I hope you both get all the success you deserve," he said and walked out with Carla, while I remained on my spot.

"A legacy store; I had never thought I would have it. Only dreamed about it," I said, making Miss Cain and my daughter smile.

The legacy had turned the store into something out of a dream.

It had enhanced the beauty of every piece in the store, making them look ever more enchanting.

Especially my trees. The way the colorful mist moved around it, made it look more beautiful than before.

The pieces in the store become more enchanting. They will become more as they absorb the mist.

It is why everything coming from a legacy is precious. Especially the things that remained in contact with the mist for a long time.

Just last week in Namdar. There was a spoon set that stayed in the legacy for two decades.

It sold for exorbitant price; there was a bidding war for it.

"Should we increase the prices?" asked Cara, understanding the value of mist.

Both me and Miss Cain shook our heads immediately.

Remus said it is an experience that he wants us to provide. Something people never forget. We have to follow that vision.

He was not joking. When he said he would kick us out, it didn't provide him with enough emotions.

Besides, our prices aren't low at all. He had asked us to set the prices of pieces as high as possible. Rejecting the prize charts twice before accepting.

Now, our prizes are among the highest of couture stores.

"What about changing the invitation-only policy?" she asked, and I shook my head again.

Couture Store, invitation only, were his ideas. He would have told us if we needed to change that.

Ting!

We were talking when the elevator rang, bringing us the first patrons.

It is a group of five; someone I know, well.

"Ahhh!"

They were frozen for seconds before a loud excited scream rang out and the triplet of girls of seventeen years came screaming into the store.

They begin to look at the pieces with bubbling excitement and desire.

I know these girls, and they are a handful.

Their parents simply shook their heads before coming toward me.

"Eva, you were so modest, when I had asked you about the store," said Waris.

"Just a small couture store. You had said," added his wife as she looked around in marvel.

"Well, I wanted to make it a surprise," I replied humbly, while husband and wife rolled their eyes.

I knew Waris Scent in passing two years ago and didn't like him much, but after surviving the undead together, we had become friends.

"Your store is the most beautiful, thing I have ever seen in my life."

"Looked at these dresses and these shoes, I don't think. You are selling them in your store in Namdar?" asked Lori as she looked at the pieces.

"They are couture designs; they are for this store only," I replied.

The pieces aren't just beautiful, but the material they are made of is expensive as well. Every piece had at least 25% material in them.

"I had brought the dress, shoes, and everything from the city for the party, but they seemed pale compared to what you have here," said Lori, enamored.

"There is a time to the party. If you buy it within time, we can help you get ready."

"The beauticians we have are capable of using the mist," I said, and women's eyes lit up.

It is there, Remus had interfered again. I had trained beauticians, but he asked me to take three more, saying they were trained in the legacy.

They were his whores, but I accepted it, seeing he presented it as a favor I will do to him.

I thought he had sent them to learn in the store, but now I understand why he did that. Unlike the beauticians I have, his could use the power of legacy.

He may have said it is a favor to him, but he is doing the favor to me.

I am going to ask him to let my beauticians use the mist.

While the store is part of the legacy. We wouldn't be able to use the mist without his approval. It is not just staff; I will ask for myself too.

I know things could be achieved with mist, and I want it.

Ting!

The elevator rang and three women walked inside. I don't recognize them, but I know them; they are noble ladies from baronies.

One by one, the elevator kept ringing, bringing more and more people in within a minute. There were people in every corner of the store.

The staff moved to accommodate them while serving them with light liquor, which had aired with a mist of legacy.

The invitation to the store had gone with an invitation to the legacy.

This invitation is a membership card. There are three types of it: a single visit, a year, and a decade.

One could also apply for them. They could get it within a day, as long as they satisfy all the conditions.

The guests received the cards, but I had also sent them to the many people I know. A few came, but after today, I am sure many would.

Some wouldn't care about the undead. That could capture the city at any time.

"How are things going?" I asked Cara.

I am creative and good at conversations, while my daughter didn't inherit even a hint of creativity, but she is good at business.

"Great, our staff is barely able to keep up with the guest," she said, and I felt activating her skills.

Shining Smiles. Spendthrift.

I activated my own skills. I don't think, I need to use it, especially Spendthrift, but I am a businesswoman and need to earn money.

The rent isn't cheap.

"Still think, it is a terrible investment, daughter dearest?" I asked.

The girl glared at me, before walking away without a reply, but I did catch a small glimpse of a smile on her face.

The girl is good at business, but she needs to learn to listen to her guts.

It is not all numbers and stats. They are important, I looked at them, but I placed equal importance on my inner voice.

It had played an important part, in the success I have today.

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