City of Desire-Chapter 620: Alchemist and Conversation

Sansa Banes

"The number four is providing the best results," informed Chief Hanson as she appeared beside me.

There are twelve women on twelve stone beds behind the massive glass wall. All of them have applied the twelve versions of the Earthen Silk Elixir that I had crafted.

We had brought all of them in for testing. I didn't have to be here, but I like to see how my creations work.

It inspires me.

"I thought it would be number six," I replied. It is one I have worked on the most.

"It is good, but number four is about 9% better," she stated. "So, should I keep working on it?" I asked.

It has been nearly three months since I came here, and a lot has changed. We have become a team of seventeen from a team of two, all working under Leo and me.

We work daily on our old formulas, the ones we thought of but never got to work on, and the new ones.

I am in the lab fifteen hours a day, and I wish I didn't have to sleep so I could keep working.

They provide us with all the resources and equipment we ask for and any staff we need. The only thing they ask is that we keep producing the items.

We focus on designing. There are others to produce them once the formula is perfected.

"No need; the current efficacy is great," she replied, which relieved me. It's the best I could produce, and improving it further would take a lot of time.

I'd rather work on the other projects; there are a lot of them that require time.

"Come, Madam Caena wants to meet you," said Chief Hanson. It immediately made me nervous, as things had changed three days ago.

They have made lab conditions stricter, placed more guards on the premises, and introduced new rules.

I heard it's because of what happened in the tower. Even after three days, everybody is still talking about it.

They had put the Madams in jail. In this city, they were considered invincible. People thought that if they did something, it would be swept under the rug, but surprisingly, they were openly arrested.

If they could do that with Madams, others would not doubt it could happen to them.

In the lab, I noticed that people followed the rules more strictly, not daring to do something that would put a lens on them. I even began to follow some protocols that I used to ignore.

I walked with Chief Maeve, looking around the spa.

Unlike the store floors, it was not crowded. There were not many people, but every room was occupied, and no room remained unoccupied for more than a few minutes.

It didn't even close at night. People are willing to make the appointments even at midnight.

There is a long, years-long waitlist. Many people have contacted me, some whom I had not talked to for years, and some who didn't respond when I needed help.

Now, they all want an appointment at the Velvet Spa. Which isn't surprising; it's a legacy spa, the only one on the continent.

"Chief, if you don't mind me asking. Is Velvet Garden going to make changes in the spa?" I asked.

Over the coming months, I have met some people from the spa, and a few like to talk. "Yes, we're going to build a bathhouse on the spa's bottom floor," she replied.

It surprised me. The entire floor is vast, and they are going to turn a whole one into a bathhouse. It seemed excessive to me, but I didn't voice that out.

Soon, we stepped into the elevator, and a few seconds later. Stepped out of it.

It's my first time coming to the top floor, and it's beautiful. It's so different from the spa and store floors.

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Soon, we reached our destination. It's enchanting, especially in that small waiting room.

"Chielf Hanson, Alchemist Banes. "Madam is waiting for you," said the beautiful teen. Thank you," said Chief Hanson before walking toward the beautifully carved door the guard opened.

We stepped inside the most beautiful office I had ever seen. It's not the most oversized but has the most stunning view of the entire city.

Behind the table is the woman, I have heard so much about but only seen a few times.

Unlike most Madams, who are visible, she isn't. She is said to have not attended any parties in the city and is rarely seen even in the legacy.

Preferring to do her job in the background, which added mystery to her.

"Madam Caena," greeted Hanson.

"Take a seat," she said. "Thank you," I thanked and sat in front of her.

I am very nervous right now, and I hope it's not about the funding or staff cuts. I am doing good work, and those two things are necessary for it.

"Miss Benes, Lord Silver is pleased by the work you and your team are doing," she said, making me take a huge sigh of relief.

I was so relieved that I wanted to slump back on the chair but controlled the urge.

"It's all because of the support of Lord Silver and Velvet Garden," I replied.

"To show his pleasure. He decided to give you this," she said, and a wooden box appeared before me.

"Gasp!"

When I opened it, I couldn't stop gasping. Inside were twenty-four small vials, each containing the colourful drops.

I have never seen them before, but I know what they are.

I was planning to ask for them, but that day was at least a year away when Leo and I proved ourselves enough to get the courage to ask for one of the most precious substances in the world.

Even then, we were only going to ask for a single vial. If we had more courage, we would have asked for two, but we wouldn't have asked for two dozen of them with all the courage in the world.

"This is Grade I emotion essence. We want you to start working with it."

"If you provide us with good enough results, we will provide you with more. Even Grade II emotion essence wouldn't be out of the question," she stated.

"Thank you," this is all I could say.

"This is just the beginning. Even these plants aren't out of your reach; the only condition there is your work," she said, motioning toward the plants in her office.

She isn't talking about the plants in her office but the plants in the legacy and the Tower Garden.

Velvet Garden is very protective of those plants. I heard they are only selling a fraction of them. Other than the essence of emotion, the plants are what the other alchemists who contacted me want.

I dreamed about getting my hands on them.

These are the plants that grow by absorbing the essence of emotion. They process it and create something even more precious than the emotion essence.

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This is why alchemists are obsessed with them and why so many people have attempted to steal them. Jails are filled with them, and their numbers have significantly increased since the garden opened.

It's not easy to steal. Despite not having any visible defense, the security is tight. The moment one took the plant, they were after you.

Before that, one needs to bear touching the plants. I heard that one receives a powerful shock as one handles them, and the power of it increases rapidly the longer one keeps their hands on them.

"I will not disappoint you, Madam Aris," I replied, pushing the distracted thoughts away.

She didn't reply other than smiling.

Knowing I had been dismissed, I left the office with a box full of essence in my bag. It's going to make a lot of people happy, but I am also worried.

It's a hot potato, and I hope the safe and new guards will be able to guard this treasure well.

…

Rylan Aardwyn. Vethe Island, Oton.

"…Velvet Garden is powerful. It won't be easy for us to swallow it," I finished, explaining everything to my father, who listened without interruption.

I returned home in the morning but spent the entire day in meetings. It was the first time my father and I had the opportunity to discuss things alone in private.

"Indeed, Velvet Garden is powerful, but we will swallow it. We need to swallow it. We deserve a second chance after being the slave of Wander's Inn for over a century," he replied.

I couldn't help but nod at that.

Wander's Inn is a master of Tranquill Bathhouse. Father may be the master, but the throne controls things.

We are not only the subjects of a monarch but also of another legacy. Despite being a master of legacy, there is no free will. Father couldn't even make the decision about the employees.

Our condition is even worse than the people who work in our legacy.

The word he used might seem strong, but it accurately describes our condition.

I can't remember the number of times. We had been humiliated by the master of Wander's Inn, and that bastard Constance, and the only thing we could do was smile through it.

"Velvet Garden is enormous and powerful, Dad. If we could swallow it fully, it would light up a spark of life and take us closer to Grade IV," I said.

I went to the Velvet Garden, and it's an amazing legacy—the best Grade III legacy I have ever seen.

Better than ours, even better than many Grade IV I had visited.

One of the things that excited me was its sheer size. If we get that size, the money we will earn will be massive, not to mention the emotional essence share.

Even our 1% share would be massive.

"Don't worry, son, it is set in stone. The dictator had promised to provide all the help we need."

"We wouldn't even need that; our artifact alone would be more than enough to handle any resistance they bring," he replied with a confident smile.

Yes, our artifact. It was gifted to us over one and a half centuries ago. It's very suitable for the legacy; it enhanced the experience we provide, bringing a greater emotion harvest.

Over the past century and a half, it has become part of the legacy. Legacy is its master, not any other person. It's a fact that not many people know.

"You are absolutely right, father," I agreed. No matter what Silver does, we will eat Velvet Garden and breathe a new life into our bathhouse.