Merchant Guild

Proofread By Thomas F. 9th March 2025

I woke up a little earlier than yesterday. I did not stay up until 6 a.m., like yesterday. Instead, I went to bed at 4 a.m. before the establishment closed the gate for the day. 

When I reached my office around nine thirty after showering and breakfast, Carla was there, as usual, looking fresh and beautiful, as if she had taken ten hours of beauty sleep, not barely two hours.

"Good morning," she said as I walked into the office. "Morning," I replied, sitting down before taking the file that was placed in front of me.

I opened it without wasting any time and began to read, and the more I read, the bigger the smile on my face became. 

There was even a small surprise. The establishment made more than we had thought.

It is a hundred and seventy-nine thousand crowns, forty thousand more than yesterday.

The girls' earnings increased by around 15%, but the jump was bigger for food and beverages. Which is no surprise, as I had expected.

The money girls earn has limitations; it depends on the rates and hours they put in. The only way I could improve that is by increasing the hourly rate of the girls, which I will do soon, but not now.

On the other hand, I could increase my profit through food and beverages by selling expensive items, providing me with higher margins. The people who come to Velvet Garden are wealthy; money is the least of their worries.

"Didn't I tell you," I said to Carla, pointing at the numbers. She had said it would be hard to make girls more money than yesterday, but it happened the next day.

I did not think I could prove my point this early. After looking at things yesterday, I made small changes that made the system more efficient.

So, they would be able to serve more patrons. Still, it did catch me by surprise.

"It is quite hard to believe it, some small changes could bring such effects," she replied, with amazement dripping through her voice.

"It's small things that bring the big change," I said, turning to the newspapers.

Yesterday, hundreds of ships came from merchant states, and a fraction of them stopped at the Greltheaven.

They would go to other cities to unload and load the goods, but the city would still receive a portion of the taxes. So would all the cities whose territories they passed through.

Being the first city has its advantages, and I hope the city will use them well.

The papers say the prince will visit Meldhorn in a few days to sign the trade deals. If the deals work, the trade will increase even further.

I read the papers before reading a report from the grey guilds, which included some sketches and information about all the important merchants from Meldhorn.

"These four had come to the establishment yesterday," Carla said, pointing at sketches of four people as she read the report.

"Take a note of merchants from Meldhorn," I ordered.

A few minutes later, she left, and I turned to three letters. Not a single one was from my uncle.

All three are about parties, the most important of which concerns the merchant guilds. Damon Hardt formally began as head of the merchant guild yesterday, and today, they are throwing a party in honor of the prince.

It will be a huge party that will include Prince Grelt and important nobles, especially merchants from Meldhorn, which the guild and I are very excited about.

They are the people who will bring us and the city a fortune.

It is today, and I will attend it; I will also attend the other two parties tomorrow and the day after that.

It is the best time to make the connection, as after the prince and all the guests leave, the parties will slow down, and there will be less chance to make the connection.

…

Click!

Hours passed, and soon, it was afternoon. I was working when Carla came into the office, holding an envelope.

"This came for you; they require immediate reply. The messenger is waiting for it," she said as she placed the blue envelope in front of me.

It had Nielson's sigil, and Valentina's personal vigil was beside it. I opened the letter and looked inside.

As I read it, a surprise flashed on my face, and a smile appeared. This is not the first time this has happened to me; I have done this before, but it was for a good friend.

Mage Valentina is not my friend; she is mostly an acquaintance. I wouldn't accept her offer if I did not need this as much as she does.

"I didn't think she was interested in you," said Carla as I wrote my reply. Her voice was different than usual, and I sensed a hint of something I had not sensed before.

"She is not," I replied, which surprised her. She arched her eyebrow in a questioning look. However, I did not answer her question but gave her the letter.

…

Before I knew it, evening had arrived, and the establishment's gates opened within an hour. Guests filled the hall, and by seven fifteen, we had to close the establishment's door temporarily.

Today, the clientele has changed; for two days, most patrons were from the Empire, but now, a third are from the merchant state of Meldhorn.

They were surprised as they entered the establishment but adjusted quickly, which is unsurprising.

There is a saying that even if you throw a merchant to hell, they will survive and thrive.

I wish I could stay longer and watch, but I have a party to attend, and before that, I have to go home. So, I looked at the hall one last time and walked toward the back entrance, where the carriage awaited me.

It did not take me long to reach the place I had rented. The first thing I did was shower and put on a suit.

Seeing I had half an hour, I sat in my small library and began reading a book from the shelf; these books came with the house.

Some of them were on my list to read.

Knock Knock

I was engrossed in reading when the knock sounded on my door. "Mister Silver, your guest, has arrived," he informed me.

"Thank you, George," I thanked and got up before leaving the library.

When I entered the living room, I saw a beautiful woman sitting on the sofa. She was wearing a green cocktail gown that showed off her radiant shoulders andtempting cleavage.

"Remus, thank you for being my date for today's party," she said as she saw me."How can I reject the offer of a beautiful woman, Mage Valentina," I replied with a smile.

"You can call me Valentina, Remus," she said. I nodded before we walked out of the office.

We are going to the party in her carriage, which is much better than my own and enchanted. I opened the door for her, and she walked in before stepping inside and sitting on a very comfortable leather-cushioned bench opposite her.

"I heard your establishment is doing well," she said. "There are many rich people in the city," I replied.

"There are but that isn't the only reason," she said. "I have heard the praises. Quite a few people are talking about it. Not to me obviously," she added.

I wanted to say she is welcome anytime, but she didn't.

"I hope it will do well after the guests leave," I said. Although I might have been confident in front of Carla, I was actually worried about it.

"Don't worry; with the merchant state, it will," she replied. I know she was trying to be polite, but this made me happy.

"How is the business?" I asked her, after a few seconds of silence.

"Good, very good. We received a lot of projects yesterday and today, so much so that I am asking headquarters for more personnel and resources," she replied, seeming quite happy about it. 

Nielson is a large company, and its presence is among the top three in the city; if the city prospered, her company would be one of its greatest beneficiaries.

We talked while the carriage moved toward the financial district, where the merchant guild is. Twenty minutes later, we reached it.