Chương 7: Chapter 06: The Party

"I look really good!" I sighed as I looked in the mirror; as much as it pained me to admit it, I had average looks on earth, but now I am handsome. I am not handsome enough to turn heads on the street, but I am still attractive, and that is a big thing for me, considering I was once described as average.

I have raven black hair and silvery grey eyes that will captivate a soul if looked at my eyes long enough and well-defined features, especially the jawline, which is to die for, and now that I have donned the black suit, it has made me even more handsome. After satiating my vanity for a few more minutes, I walked out of my room into the living room, where two middle-aged men were sitting.

"Gentlemen, let's go," I said to the two mercenaries and left the house. This is the first time I have come to this rented house. It is not a small house, but when one looks at the sprawling mansions around it, it does feel small. This is the most expensive part of the city; renting the house here costs me a lot, which I would not have done if not for maintaining appearances.

"Thank you, Rogers," I said as the middle-aged man opened the carriage door and I stepped inside. Soon, the carriage begins to move, with mercenaries riding on both sides. They are not only for a show but are also quite powerful; they will protect me if there is danger. However, if an assassin at the level that killed my father had attacked, they would be children with clay sticks. Forget defending me; they would be unable to protect themselves even for a second before they find their heads flying in the air.

The carriage only drove for a few minutes before it slowed down in front of a sprawling mansion that was even bigger than my establishment. Right now, it is lighted from all sides. Making the mansion look even more beautiful. The carriage stopped, and the door opened; I nodded my thanks to Rogers and walked toward the entrance. Twelve powerful guards stood at the entrance, and two Arryn lions, big as horses, were on either side of the gates. These beasts are dangerous and hard to tame.

Only a high-level tamer could train them, and they had to start when they were cubs. Seeing that, I couldn't help but remember my father; he was a trainer, a competitive dog trainer. As long as I can remember, our house has always been filled with dogs. I shook my head from my melancholic thoughts and turned to the guards. I smoothly removed the invitation from my jacket, flashed it to the guard, and walked through the gates without stopping; the guards looked but did not stop me.

Soon, I reached the mansion door where a slightly plump man in his late fifties was standing with a violet-haired woman in her early forties, who was quite hot, especially with a light pink gown that highlighted every part of her body.

"Guild master Hardt, madam Hardt, thank you for inviting me to this wonderful party," I greeted as I appeared in front of the hosts.

"Young Silver, please enjoy the party," said Damon Hardt with a voice that was sweet as honey and soothing to the mind. It is clear that he is using the skills.

"I will," I said and was led by staff into the ballroom, which was already filled with guests. I looked around and saw a few familiar faces. I recognized most of them from the information docket I had from the grey guild; it had information on nearly all the merchants along with their sketches. There are also a few familiar faces that I knew personally. I walked inside the banquet hall and, on the way, took a glass of champagne from the waiter who stopped in front of me.

"Remus, my dear brother, I didn't think guild master Hardt would invite you here," said the voice behind me. It stiffened me for a moment, and a blazing anger appeared in my eyes before I quickly controlled my emotions and turned back slowly toward the man whom I hated the most in the world. My brother.

"Edwin, why did you think that?" I asked the person who devised the plan to use the witchcraft to bond me with the brothel. The wretched bastard who stole my future and inheritance. He is about a decade older than me and has a stocky build like our father's, compared to my lean build. He has average height and face. The only noticeable thing he has is a silvery-grey eye like mine, the hereditary feature of the house of silver.

"Your business, of course, dear brother; inviting a whoremaster would dim this grand levee of its glow," He said with a smile and did not lower his voice, making few people close to us hear. I did not get angry at all; I had gotten quite used to his instigations that no words coming from his mouth bother me; it was already a surprise that he had not used the word 'bastard' yet.

"I think our host is wise enough to know who to invite or who to not," I replied with a smile, which I could tell had made him even angrier. Old Remus was quick to react to instigations and always ended up making a fool of himself; after I came, everything had changed, and that was a mistake I made. I should have taken some traits of old Remus, at least in front of him, which wouldn't have made him take those drastic steps against me. Snort!

"The whoremaster like you is not even worthy of taking a single step here; the only reason you got the invitation is that you are a Silver," He said mockingly.

"Oh, that I know," I acknowledged with a smile and drank to that, again makinghim glare at me even more intensely.

"Edwin, since you have come here, it means," I said, bringing the vital topic to the table.

"Yes, of course, I had succeeded," He replied, looking at me with a smile that was full of pride. Ever since the empire conquered the region of Renwell from Tabes, my father and the house have been trying to buy a title within the territory, which was quite challenging for the merchants. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The empire was extremely strict about who should receive the titles, but the times were changing.

The Emperor was in his last years, and the Princes had already started gathering power and allies. So, the rules have loosened a lot, but the cost has gone up significantly, so much so that even my father bled dry from it and wouldn't have been successful if he had not received help from the house. Still, getting it is worth it as it is the quickest gateway to getting a Ruling Class, one of the world's most powerful classes.

I am not interested in Ruling Classes, especially Noble Ruling Classes; they involve more trouble than I am willing to endure. In this second chance I have gotten, I wish to live a long and peaceful life"Where did you get the territory?" I asked, to which he shook his head lightly, "I don't know; I will know when his imperial highness will come here for the inauguration," he replied, the day which is over a month away.

"Well, it's nice meeting you, Edwin," I said and walked away, leaving him dumbfounded like always. It is pretty easy to do that, as he is still confused between my old personality and the new. I could feel him staring daggers at my back, but he did not follow after me. I smiled and drank the glass whole before sitting at the table; I had arrived on time, which was early, but I did it intentionally. This is the first big party in the city.

All the rich merchants and powerful guests who have arrived in the city are going to be at this party, which would be great for making connections. Time passed by, and more and more guests kept arriving; I did not get up from my seat, just watched people with a light smile on my face. I had already gotten enough attention; many people glanced at me as I mingled around. I sat there for around half an hour before two people came to me and sat across from me.

The older man looked to be in his mid-fifties with grey hair and a gemmed cane in his hand, while the young man beside him looked to be in his early twenties and was clearly quite bored. This older man is an acquaintance of my father's; I met him a few times when he held a meeting with my father.

"Mr. Harwood, I did not know you would be here in Greltheaven," I said with a smile and turned to the young man beside him, "and this must be your youngest son," I added; the young man nodded at me before focusing on the plate in front of him.

"Yes, this is my youngest, Aydin," He replied and introduced his son, who now shifted his gaze at the ass of a hot woman standing not far away from us. Seeing that, an apparent irritation couldn't help but flash on the man's face.

"Ayden, this is Remus Silver," introduced the man, and it instantly attracted the young man's attention.

"Remus Silver, aren't you the one who only got the brothel in inheritance?" asked the young man, his eyes flashing with clear interest.

"Yes, that is me," I replied with a smile.

"It is opening at the end of this week, right? I will definitely visit; I just hope you have good whores," he asked, not caring one bit about the seething anger in his father's eyes.

"No, I have postponed the opening to the inauguration day," I replied. I wanted to invite him, but seeing the look on his father, I did not.

"A shame," he replied and focused back on the guests. Soon, he found another woman to stare at. Seeing his son's behaviour, the old man shook his head exasperatedly before turning to me.

"It is a devious thing your siblings had done to you, Remus; your father had spoken highly of you and was planning to give you the big responsibility after you got your class," he said. I received the class a little late; if I had received it when I was fifteen, or even at sixteen or seventeen, I would have still been in better condition, considering my father had been alive then and like he did with all the children.

"I had already accepted my fate, mister Harwood; there is no need to dwell on it further," I replied with a mirthless smile while looking at Edwin from the corner of my eyes, who happily mingled with the crowd.

"Mr. Harwood, my father, had said you were holding back on investing in Greltheaven, so what changed?" I asked, changing the subject.

"The rapidly changing condition in Mayhurst Island made me divert my investments to a less volatile market," he sighed.

"Yes, conditions there are rapidly changing; I heard that my house is also rapidly pulling back all the investments they have made there," I stated. Mayhurst Island is one of the biggest islands in the world. It is strategically located southwest of the Zenid continent. It has six kingdoms on it, well, five now.

"The forces of the lich are much greater than anyone had anticipated," I said and sighed, and the old man couldn't help but nod soberly.

"Vris'alud had already swallowed kingdom Edulia and captured half a territory of Brarod Kingdom, and now the undead horde is attacking Kalgha and others," said the old man, pausing for a second.

"Till now, only the orcs of Kalgha Dominion seemed to be the only ones putting successful defense against them," he added, worried. War is bad for business unless one is in the business of war. I have read the papers, and the condition is awful there. The undead horde is not keen on taking any prisoners; they are turning nearly everyone into the undead, increasing their forces by the day. The undead horde is dangerous.

Our neighbour Navr is one of the most powerful necromantic kingdoms in the world, and it releases hordes on neighbors every few years, pillaging and ravaging cities of its people and wealth. This is the sole reason why, despite its prime location and great future, very few people want to come here. When Navr releases its undead horde, it will be tough to defend against them.

The Empire will have big problems against them as, unlike other neighbors, we do not have much experience fighting against the undead on a large scale. I talked with Harwood for a few minutes before mingling with other familiar guests, and I am very good at this; it is a skill I had to learn when I joined the law firm. Time passed when I saw another familiar person coming, Mage Valentina. She was wearing a beautiful blue halter gown, and she was not alone. Besides her was a tall woman with radiant sun-kissed skin.

She had a pretty face and firm body that even the black gown she was wearing could not hide. She is definitely a warrior and one who is confident in her abilities; this is clear from the way she walks in the room. They quickly drew the attention of many. Nielson Guild has a strong presence in Greltheaven, managing hundreds of projects. Moreover, Mage Valentina is a formidable spellcaster—one worth staying on good terms with in such a perilous place.

Another half an hour later, the ballroom had been filled with guests, and our host had taken the stage.

"Thank you all for coming to my humble home," he said; there was no microphone or artifact, but his voice had reached us all. He started his speech with some boasting, hints, and a few words about prosperity and growth. I have to say, despite all his skills, he is a very bad speaker. I am sure his hot wife would have done better than he is doing right now, making everybody utterly bored, but everyone had smiled and clapped when they needed to.

This man is undoubtedly one of the most powerful men in the city, and his position would become permanent after the prince arrives for the inauguration.

"To the growth and glory of the Greltheaven," he toasted as he finished his speech, and everyone raised their glasses in return. The mingling began again, and I moved from one person to another, talking, laughing, making connections, and letting my presence known. It is not something I enjoy, but I am good at it, and it is a necessity, especially considering the business I am in. These are the clientele I will be targeting.

"Remus, it is nice to see you again," said Mage Valentina as she stopped beside me.

"Likewise, Mage Valentina," I replied with a smile and turned to the woman beside her.

"And this is?" I asked, motioning toward the women, "Lena Glass. Valentina and I were roommates in the academy," she introduced herself as she shook my hand in a firm handshake.

"A mage then," I said, and she just smiled; she did not look like a Mage, but looks can be deceiving, not to mention there are hundreds of archetypes of spellcaster class, and some require considerable physical power.

"I hope you are satisfied with the speed of renovations, Remus?" asked Valentina.

"More than satisfied, with such speed, I am confident your guild will finish it on time or even a few days before," I said, and too that she smiled. I talked with them for a few minutes before they went to mingle with other people while I watched them from behind.

'They are good,' I said internally; the way they are acting, nobody would doubt they are good friends, but they are more than that. They are in a relationship. I hope they will be able to keep the secret because once it is revealed, there will be hell to pay. The Church and the Empire had stringent laws against it. The banquet lasted until midnight; I stayed to the end and talked to nearly everyone invited, including the host, before leaving with a satisfied smile.