City of Desire-Chapter 607: Lady of Velvet and Vow

"She is not in harm's way?" I asked, looking at Bell sleeping in my room.

To that, Caena shook her head.

There is a faint translucent energy covering her. It may be faint, but it feels extremely powerful, and I don't want to touch it, not even with my aura.

However, I am not surprised, given the artifact that she is wearing.

I had read about it in the Archmage Tower. It's a very powerful artifact, one of the best of its type on the continent.

"I thought she would wake up the next day and that she would bear the injuries. Now, however, when she wakes, she will be fully recovered," replied Caena.

I nodded and walked out of my room with Caena walking beside me.

Soon, I stepped into my office, which was as I left it a few days ago. I had returned from Panar in the afternoon and had been busy in city hall.

I sat down in my chair while she sat in front of me.

She said, "This is a list of the girls we selected for the interview. "Then she handed me the file.

There are the names of thirty-two girls. As I read the list, a surprise couldn't help but appear on my face, and I turned to her.

"There are some new girls here," I stated.

The new girls whom we hired after the establishment turned into the legacy. It might seem like a long time, but after training, the new girls have only been working for just over two months. They were in training when the legacy shell was destroyed to save the city, and they only started working after the tower was opened.

Which was only a little over three months ago.

"They are capable; besides, we can't entirely base the loyalty question just on how long they have been here."

"If that were the case, what is happening on the in-store floors wouldn't have happened," she replied, and I sighed.

Only four new girls are on the list. The rest were from before the legacy. Even among them, most are from the first three batches.

Two batches are from Redfawn, and a third is from Namdar, of which Caena is a part.

"Schedule the interviews for tomorrow evening," I said. I would have done it in the morning, but I had to meet the protector and member of Tranquill Bathhouse.

They are coming from Belnin and will be here a little past midnight.

We are going to do it. Although it will be extremely dangerous, the benefits will make it worth it.

"Dawnstar wants to meet with you," informed Caena as she finished the briefing. "About?" I asked.

"Curriculum," she replied, surprising me.

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"Do you have any clue of what she wants to discuss in the curriculum?" I asked, feeling curious.

That woman intimidates me. It isn't just her level. While that is a big part of it, so is her experience working in the most prosperous city on the continent.

"I think it's better if she tells you herself," Caena replied with a smile. That smile was wide—too wide—making it clear that this wouldn't be a comfortable topic.

"Fine, call her," I said.

She is already here in the tower. Talking with Miss Cain and Eva's son.

Click!

A few minutes passed when the door opened when Dawnstar came in, and she wasn't alone. There is also Margaux with her.

However, unlike Caena, she was reserved as always.

"Lord Silver," she greeted. "Miss Dawnstar, Madam Caena is telling me you have something to talk to me about regarding the curriculum," I asked.

Her expression turned hesitant for a fraction of a second before it recovered, and she nodded.

It must be something important to make a woman of her experience and level hesitant. It made me curious, and my eyes turned expectant.

Seconds passed, and the woman finally opened her mouth.

"Everything in the curriculum is combined with the practice. The singers sing, and the painters paint. We teach the girls seduction, conversation etiquette, and other things, all supported by the practice."

"We add the practice with everything except for one thing," she said, looking directly into my eyes.

"The sex."

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I was expecting many things, but not this. I am genuinely surprised by it.

"We don't do that because it is the thing the girls already know. They have done it for years," I replied, to which she shook her head.

"They know how to do it but could do it better! It is just like the conversation and seduction, which are the necessary skill every whore needs to know to get more guests to become patrons,"

"They had that, but you taught them. It helped them refine their conversation and seduction skills, making them the force they are right now. I want to do the same thing for sex," she explained.

Her words stumped me. I was prepared for the argument, but she had effectively destroyed every argument I had considered.

She is right. The seduction and conversation are a part of the prostitute's job.

It plays an essential part in bringing clients and keeping them coming. They are as important as the sex, and I focused on them but not the sex itself.

It's not like we didn't teach it. We do extensively, from technique to positions, but Miss Dawnstar pointed out that it is all in theory.

"Do you think the girls of the Velvet Garden are lacking in the art of sex?" I asked, too, and she smiled.

"No, they are excellent, actually. Better than even my girls at Archmage City," she replied, and it confused me even more. If they are good, then why is she here?

She seemed to read what I was thinking as a smile appeared on her face.

"They are good, but I believe they could be even better. They should be better. We owe that to our patrons, who pay a massive amount for the experience of a lifetime," she replied.

Her words struck the point.

The Velvet Garden aims to provide the best experience for our patrons. Listening to her words, it seemed like because of my reservations, I wasn't able to do that.

I see the problem. I want to fix it; maybe then one of the girls will be able to get that class. Even Tara, our best girl, wasn't able to get it.

I pushed those thoughts away and turned to the woman before me.

"I believe you have a plan?" I asked. She smiled at that, and a moment later, she took a file from her iles bag and slid it toward me.

I thought she would tell orally, but it seemed she understood how the Velvet Garden works.

I opened the file and began reading it with Insightful Reading active. Within a minute, I was surprised to see its detailedness.

She brought out every point. Here, she answered. Even the questions I didn't even think about.

I finished reading the file a few minutes later and turned to her.

"So, we will be using the patrons. Instead of a male prostitute," I said. It's not a question; she explained the reasoning well in the file.

"Using the patrons is better, as they are our targets. Male prostitutes are too experienced. Too methodical with carnal skills like us whores,"

"Using them will be more detrimental than useful," she explained, and I agreed with the assessment.

"Well, it's going to make a lot of patrons very happy," I said, and they all smiled. We won't have any problem getting the patrons to agree to it.

Many would pay considerable money for that.

"Thank you for agreeing. Lord Silver," thanked Dawnstar. "You do not need to thank me, Miss Dawnstar when it comes to the benefit of Velvet Garden," I replied.

"Though, please be careful. We can not afford to make mistakes here," I cautioned a moment later.

Margaux will monitor it. Every change will go through her. I cannot take a risk with the girls and patrons.

"Be assured, my lord, I will be careful," she replied.

They left soon after, while I worked for two more hours before leaving the legacy. I would have slept in my room, but Bell is occupying it.

…

[Riveting Lady Brothel and Promise- Lady of Velvet and Vow]

Lady of Velvet and Vow Lv. 30

Lady of Velvet and Vow Lv. 31

Lady of Velvet and Vow Lv. 32

[Skill Change: Silver Glide- Velvet Glide]

[Skill Change: Graceful Repel: Velvet Repel]

[Skill Change: Carnal Touch: Velvet Touch]

[Inheritance Skill: Palace of Erudite]

[Inheritance Skill: Iron In Silk]

When I opened my eyes, I saw the text. A moment later, tears started to flow out of my eyes.

I had acquired the inheritance skills—not one, but two, one from each side of my family.

The Palace of Erudite is the inheritance skill from my father's house. It is a very powerful skill that ignores the restrictions on restricted knowledge.

Be it books, the voice, or the visual, any restricted knowledge could be stored inside and then shared if we willed it.

It helped us collect a lot of knowledge.

However, it is not the most valuable thing about the skill. I closed my eyes and activated the skill.

Immediately, I appeared in the massive palace—a towering structure over a hundred floors tall. Each generation dreams of adding another level, carving their legacy into its ever-reaching heights.

Rows upon rows of books stretched endlessly before me—millions of them, their presence almost suffocating in their sheer magnitude.

The skill had only been described to me before, but standing here now, I realized—it's far grander than I ever imagined.

It has books on everything—not just the books, but recordings of the conversations that changed the world and visuals of the battles that decided the fate of the world.

Nearly all of it is locked. Even my father, reaching the level he had, could only access a quarter of the books here; the rest was restricted even to him.

To me, only 1% of it is open.

I looked at the palace before my eyes turned to the massive portraits—portraits of the people who had the skill before me—there were many of them.

Finally, I reached the latest one. My father, seeing him, I deactivated the skill and began to cry even harder.

The palace of Erudite is a skill only the head of the house gets.

Me getting the skill destroyed the last hope in my heart. Irrational as it was. My father is truly dead. If not, I wouldn't have gotten the skill.

It took me a while before I turned to the second inheritance skill.

Iron In Silk.

It's from my mother's side. She used to call this skill her sharpest blade and hoped I would get it.

It is only inherited by female members of her house and is very hard to get. Before Mother, it skipped three generations of women.

It is a passive political skill. It helps one see subterfuge, machination, and ill intent and gives one the confidence to counter them.

It is a powerful skill, but even it couldn't see through the thing that brought our destruction.

I looked at my class, which had now become Lady of Velvet and Vow. It had advanced three levels and also advanced my skills.

All of them had a velvet in them, the essence of a prostitute. I was a prostitute, and I accept that fact. I am not ashamed of it; I was once, but I am not now.

It is what saved me. Without it, I would have died.

Click!

I was looking at my skills when I heard the door opening and saw Caena walking in.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. "Good," I replied.

"How long was I out?" I asked. "For three and a half days," she replied. Surprising me.

I thought it would be more. Maybe it's because of the potion she fed me. I remember her feeding me something.

"Thank you for saving me. I will forever be grateful to you." I thanked her. I understood very well; without her spell and legacy, I would have been discovered and died already.

"You do not need to feel grateful. I am sure you would have done the same thing to save me," she replied with a smile.