City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 60: Strange Behaviour

The carriage walked through the gates of the mansion and stopped. I walked out and saw there were no carriages in the parking aside from ours.
 
All the patrons had left; usually, the establishment gets emptied within half an hour of dawn.
 
I looked around, and the mansion looked the same as before I left eleven days ago. The pink fog is still covering the large area where the construction is happening. 
 
I walked through the fog and saw people still working; as Carla had said, they were working day and night to finish the job on time, and now it will be going to be even harder with added requirements within the same deadline.
 
I am quite surprised by the sheer progress they have made; it gives me confidence that they will be able to finish it in time.
 
I watched for a while before I stepped out of the mist and walked toward the door when I found Carla coming out of it.
 
“You said you are coming in the afternoon,” said Carla angrily. “I did not want to trouble you since you were working,” I said with a smile and could see her anger melting a little, but not all.
 
“Still, you have should have informed me,” she said, still angry. I know I would not get out of it unless I apologized.
 
“I am sorry,” I apologized and saw all the anger in her eyes melting away. 
 
“The papers had said you fought and killed the lich,” she asked., “No, I only aided a little; it was others, who killed it,” I replied, more than a hundredth time.
 
“You shouldn’t have taken the risk,” she said in a low, worried tone, “There was no other choice,” I said with a shake of my head.
 
We stayed standing in silence for a few seconds before we walked in when I stopped, seeing her following me.
 
“Go and sleep, Carla; the work will be there after you wake up,” I said to her. “I am fine,” she said. “Go take a rest, Carla,” I said forcefully.
 
She had been awake the whole night; usually, this is when she sleeps for two hours and two hours in the afternoon, which is enough for her to operate at 100% with the aid of her skills.
 
“Fine,” she said after a moment of silence and walked toward the basement to sleep while I looked around the hall, which I had seen empty in a long time. 
 
Usually, there is always someone occupying it for lessons or business.
 
It looked the same but felt slightly different; something seemed to have changed about it, but I couldn’t put my thought into it.
 
I shook my head and walked upstairs; I did not directly go to my office, instead went to my room, where I had freshened up and showered.
 
When I came out of it, there was breakfast waiting for me; seeing that, a smile couldn’t help but appear on my face.
 
I quickly ate breakfast and walked back into my office.
 
“It feels good to be back,” I said as I sat down on the chair before picking up the first file, which had the earnings report for all eleven nights. 
 
Every line I read put a smile on my face; I was literally grinning by the time I had read the last page.
 
The earning is good, very good; every day, we are earning half a million crowns. It made me extremely happy.
 
Once the construction is finished, and we open again with new changes and more girls, it will double. I am quite confident about it, especially now with the forty million crowns.
 
After I finished with the file, I opened another one; this one was about the new girls. It seemed like Carla not only collected the data but also compiled it, giving me a clear view of their information.
 
I also filled in the empty spots about their levels and skills from the information I have got from the bill.
 
It took me some time to read it; when I did, I was very happy with the new girls, even more than before. 
 
This group of girls is the most diverse, not only from the place they have come from but also in talents, which is the most important thing.
 
Though among them, one is odd; she does not seem to have any talents or interests, given how she had left those places blank.
 
Click!
 
I was reading the different files when the door clicked open, and Carla walked inside. She is wearing a low-cut red dress that gives a tantalizing glimpse of her cleavage, but more tantalizing are those juicy red lips. 
 
I still haven’t forgotten the kiss; it might have lasted for a second, but it had left a deep impression on me.
 
“You are looking beautiful,” I said before I could stop myself, and it also seemed to stump her for a moment before a small genuine smile appeared on her face.
 
“Thank you,” she said with flushed cheeks before she sat down in front of me.
 
For more than a minute, nobody spoke, I opened my mouth a couple of times to speak up, but words did not seem to come out of my mouth.
 
“How are the new girls?” I asked finally. “Good, some of them are very talented,” she replied, but in the end, her expression turned a little weird.
 
“What is it?” I asked, and after a few seconds, she did not speak. “Caena, she is a little strange,” she said finally.
 
“She did not seem to have filled the interest and hobby block,” I said, “I am not talking about that,” she replied, shaking her head. 
 
“Then what?” I asked, and she took a breath. “She sometimes stared at one place too long and would roam around the property, caressing the walls strangely; it all feels quite weird,” she replied, clearly confused.
 
“Maybe it is her thing,” I said.
 
People behave strangely; sometimes, there is a reason behind it, and sometimes there is not. It might even be related to her primary class, which she isn’t willing to disclose.
 
“What should we do?” asked Carla, to which I shook my head. “Nothing, she is not doing anything bad or dangerous,” I replied, and Carla opened her mouth to say something but closed it a moment later.
 
She also seemed to understand that it is unfair to do something to people just because they are acting strange. Still, we need to keep an eye on her, and Carla seemed to be doing that job well.
 
“Though she needs to select the interest section or learn something other basic skills if she wants to work in the establishment,” I added.
 
“Should I call her?” Carla asked. “Yes,” I replied.
 
All the girls have chosen their interests; we have hired teachers for them. If miss Caena wishes to work for the establishment, she will need to learn more besides basic skills; if she already has the skill, then she needs to tell us.
 
I have a vision for the establishment, and if they don’t wish to work according to it, then they will have to leave.
 
Click!
 
Carla got up from the seat and opened the door, but she did not walk out. “Jill, dear, go and tell Caena that Master Silver is asking for her,” she said and closed the door.
 
“You have got yourself an assistant,” I said, to which she smiled a little guiltily. “I had needed the help; the work had become too much,” she said and looked at me hesitantly.
 
“I was going to suggest it and also wanted to talk about something related to that,” I said. 
 
“What is it?” she asked with her expression becoming serious, feeling it might be something serious, and it was.
 
“The work had become too much for you, being my assistant and madam at the same time; you are barely getting any sleep or even having time to attend the classes you desired to,” I said, and she did not say anything, wanting to finish what I am saying.
 
“I want you to become my assistant full-time and hand over the responsibility of being madam to someone else,” I finished and looked at her.
 
It is quite a decision, and others might even think of demotion, but it is not. I could see how stressful it had become for Carla; with all the responsibilities with the changes that would appear a month later, the stress would be even greater.
 
With her focusing on one responsibility, she will have time to do her job better and also be able to focus on herself.
 
She will be superior to the madam, with the only authority above being me.
 
For a couple of seconds, her expression remained unreadable before a sigh came out of her mouth, and a small smile appeared on her lips.
 
“Thank you, it had really become too much for me,” she said, and hearing that, a smile appeared on my face too; for a moment, I thought she might get angry.
 
This is the reason why I like Carla so much; she is quite open about her abilities. If I had not said it to her, she would have come to me within a few days or weeks, when it would have become unbearable for me.
 
“Suggest a few names; I will interview them, and they needed to be from the original girls,” I said.
 
I trust them more; I have watched every aspect of their growth and am more familiar with them and know there are some capable women among them who will be able to handle the responsibility, exemplarily as Carla.
 
Knock Knock
 
“I have two girls in mind; they are M,” she was about to say the name when the knock rang out on the door.
 
Carla got up and opened the door, and Caena walked in, looking completely different than she had been when I saw her first time in Namdar.
 
Now she is wearing a black dress that suits her and wearing expertly done make-up that accentuates her eyes, her greatest feature. 
 
She does not look plain anymore.
 
“You have called for me, Mister Silver,”
 
“Caena, take a seat,” I said, offering her the seat. She sat on her while never taking her eyes off which me, which seemed to have held strange joy in them which was not there before, and seeing me, it seemed to have intensified.
 
It felt a little strange, but I shook off the feeling and turned my expression serious.
 
“Caena, you have left the ‘interest’ block empty; you are required to fill it,” I said to her.
 
“I do not have any interests, Mister Silver,” she replied simply, without changing her expression.
 
“Not even a hobby?” I asked to which she shook her head, and I sighed disappointedly.
 
“Then we have a problem, Caena; you need to select one field of interest; if you not, then you will have to serve your contract another way, or I might even release you of it,” I said, and for the first time, I saw a spark of fear in her eyes.
 
It was intense, but it disappeared just as it had appeared, making me doubt myself whether I had imagined it myself.
 
“Herbology, I have an interest in herbology; I had learned it little when I was young before going into the current profession,” she said finally.
 
‘So, she did have an interest,’ I thought.
 
“I will see if I can arrange a teacher for you to learn that,” I said with a smile.
 
Herbology is a field of medicine, and it takes years to study, even if she has basic knowledge. 
 
I do not mind; I am playing a long game, and as long as any woman of the establishment had an interest, I was willing to pay to foster it, even if it takes years for them to gain the expertise.

Keep reading as a patron on .

Chapter 61: Responsibility.