City of Desire [Kingdom Building] - Chapter 911: Twilight Hall

 Proofread by Thomas F

Arad Vaughn

“My God!”

I heard the massive collective gasp that drowned out the surprised gasp of the woman in front of me as the gates opened and the mist disappeared under the eyes of thousands of people.

The grand legacy revealed itself.

It’s a palatial building, made of marble, covered in a colourful mist in the middle of an enchanting garden of mist plants, looking like a star shining under the twilight.

“When you said, expect it to be big, I had expected it to be two or three times bigger, but never over ten times,” she said, looking at the legacy incredulously.

I have heard rumours that it’s going to be huge; despite that, its size has still surprised me.

As I was watching it, I felt the carriage move. It stopped half a minute later, right in front of its massive gates. A second later, the door opened.

“My lady,” I said as I stepped out. She gave me her hand and walked out of the carriage.

Today, they are not letting any carriages inside the legacy. It disappointed me and made me a little irritated, but now, seeing the legacy and garden, I can’t wait to get inside and see everything.

“Welcome to Twilight Hall, Lord Vaughn, Lady Dalmont,” said Nilman Croft, the head manager of Vanis Tavern, and he seemed to have kept his position in this new legacy.

He isn’t alone; there is a beautiful, short-haired woman standing beside him.

If I remember correctly, her name is Breve Halver, a high-ranking madam from Velvet Garden.

“Thank you,” I said before stepping through the gate. As I did, I nearly stopped, not only I, but even Selira stopped.

It’s the plants and the enthralling smell that comes out of them. The natural smell of these plants is incredible on its own, but now it is even more enchanting because of the essence.

Even in Velvet Garden, it was not as vivid as it is right now. Well, likely because these plants weren’t this mature then.

Every plant I could see here looks more mature than I had seen them before.

They are everywhere and belong to all types; not all of them are beautiful, some look ugly, but together with all the plans. They form a mesmerising garden.

“There is an absolute fortune in here,” breathed Selira as she looked around.

“Look at those tansal agarwood, bolus brasswood, rosebrush sandalwood. These trees are insanely expensive, but here they are cultivated in the mist.”

“When they mature, they will cost an absolute fortune,” she said with her voice shaking.

I couldn’t help but be surprised. To be honest, I don’t know her very well, despite us getting married in a few months. It’s an arranged marriage that was fixed a month and a half ago.

“You are right, Lady Dalmont. It’s such a regret that Lord Silver guards his plants so well,” a vaguely familiar voice said.

I turned and saw a middle-aged man walking toward us, with a graceful, similarly aged woman.

“Count Balsinor, Countess,” we greeted the pair.

“It’s nothing surprising; if we had such things, we would guard them as well,” replied the Countess. I couldn’t help but agree with that.

He was guarding them tightly, but over the past half year, more plants had been coming out of Greltheaven than before, not in the open market. He is selling them to a specific individual.

He needs money.

I had visited Greltheaven a few months ago and was quite shocked by the sheer amount of activity happening in his city. It must be costing him an absolute fortune.

We walked ahead and saw more people coming in, and every one of them is important.

The first hour is only for the most important people; they will let more people in later. Though given its size, the legacy could hold a lot more easily.

Many people walked toward the legacy directly, but we moved to the garden.

I am curious about it and want to see every corner of it, but I am not in a hurry. We will stay in the legacy.

“I heard Silver is planting an even bigger garden that will cover a tenth of his city?” She asked, turning her big blue eyes toward me. “More,” I replied.

For a moment, there was confusion before her eyes widened.

We hosted Carla Salt a few months ago, and my father asked about it. She told him that the new garden or park, as she referred to it, would cover 15% of the city.

It shocked us a great deal.

“All of them are going to be mist plants?” She asked after a moment of silence. I nodded.

“They have made a deal with the hidden city; they are going to provide them with those plants that we have only read about in the books,” I replied.

She told us a lot of things because she needed a few things from us.

Well, not from us, but from people we know. They had a legacy a few decades ago, but it had died. They wanted the thing that the legacy had left behind.

I have to say, Silver is very ambitious about what he plans to do. If he succeeds, it will benefit him tremendously.

“Your family has cultivated a good relationship with Silver,” she said, and I smiled.

Yes, we did; since I had come for the inauguration when it was Grade II. When I saw it and how he was running it, I knew we had to develop a good relationship with Silver.

We took risks.

We helped him get the officers and many rare things he wanted. In exchange, he helped us with mist goods and even sold us a plant for the alchemists we know.

Soon, it was fully dark, and the legacy lit beautifully as we walked out of the garden and came upon the grand view of the front door.

It looks even more beautiful now, and I couldn’t help but be envious of it.

It is only natural. I mean, it’s huge. If our legacy had been as big as this, we would have been able to wield similar influence to Velvet Garden.

“Twilight Hall, it’s a good name,” she said before she turned to me. “I heard the legacies don’t change names?” She asked, and I smiled.

“It’s extremely rare, but it has happened when a master thinks there are enough changes in it to require a new name,” I replied, and I am not talking about physical changes.

Vision changes.

In most cases, it enhances what birthed the legacy, but sometimes it takes a drastic turn that either kills the legacy or makes it something else.

After admiring it enough, we walked toward its luminous doors, and standing beside it were two people.

“Welcome to Twilight Hall, Lord Vaughn, Lady Dalmont,” said Lord Vanis, who was standing beside Lady Mariha Baelir. My father had told me to be careful of this woman.

I am surprised; there are only two of them here. I thought someone from Velvet Garden would be here.

“Thank you, Lord Vanis, Lady Mariha,” I replied.

I have known the old man since I was a child; I would visit him whenever I came to Inam.

“My father asked me to congratulate you and hope that you will find time to visit him,” I said, and the old man laughed. “Oh, I will. There are many things I want to talk to that brat about,” he replied.

Few would dare to use those words to refer to my father, but he could.

He caused an incident in his younger days, and my grandfather sent him here. He had stayed with old Vanis for half a year before returning home after things had cooled down.

“He will be glad to hear that,” I said.

He will; there are a few people he respects, and Vanis Lindgren is one of them.

After a few more words, I stepped inside the grand hallway, which blew my mind as I felt the power of legacy. It’s strong, much stronger than I had ever felt from it before.

It’s the strongest Grade III legacy I have ever felt. I had felt this only once before, from the Colosseum legacy, which later advanced to Grade IV.

I pushed those thoughts and looked at the magnificent grand hall.

It’s huge with entrances and stairs leading to different parts. In legacy, every inch is important, but here, the Grand Hall is open and wide.

It’s beautiful, with a floor of sunburst white marble and high ceilings, with huge, complex, twirling chandeliers hanging from them.

In the middle is a beautiful statue of a middle-aged woman, made so expertly that it feels as if she will come alive.

I have seen her paintings before in Vanis’s house. She is his wife. The statue is beautiful and crafted by a high-level artist, at least Lv. 40.

There are many art pieces around the hall; one of them has been borrowed from our collection.

“That’s Olrdil’s Binavale; that belongs to the Duke of Dawhall. That man is notoriously protective of his art collection,” she said, looking at a beautiful abstract painting.

The grand hall is as mesmerising as the lobby of the Velvet Garden.

The ambiance, the art, and the emotions evoked by the legacy create a cocktail of sensory pleasure. It does not make one lose oneself in it; no, it works more subtly.

Just like with a garden, but here it’s more powerful.

I am quite resistant to it, but I could see its effect on Selira and other guests. I said nothing, let her enjoy herself, and even answered her questions.

She is a curious woman, not afraid to ask questions. It is the thing I like most about her.

I just wish my family hadn’t set up the wedding so quickly. I would have liked to get to know her more before marrying her.

“There are so many places; where should we go?” she asked, bringing me out of my thoughts. I followed her gaze to the large projection.

It’s a map of the legacy. Yes, this place is so freaking big that it requires a map.

I looked at it; it is divided into different categories. The biggest are the ale halls; there are nine of them. They are Vanis Hall, Dwarvan Ale Hall, Elven Tavern, and Sky Bar…

I read through all nine halls. Below the hall section is the Twilight Store, then the Twilight Hotel, Twilight Dice, Twilight Ballroom, and others.

This legacy is so massive that they could do everything.

It quite surprised me, and that Silver didn’t make this a copy of Velvet Garden surprised me even more. I haven’t seen it much until now, but I could feel he did not stray away from the vision of the legacy.

Though he added the elements of Velvet Garden. Which isn’t surprising.

Velvet Garden is the master legacy; adding a few elements from it won’t harm the legacy. It will even help it by strengthening the connection between the two.

“We will go wherever you like,” I replied. To that she smiled, before her expression became conflicted.

“I want to check out the store, but I also like to see other places too,” she said, looking at the boards. Seeing the conflict, I couldn’t help but smile.

“How about we first check Vanis Hall, before going to the store?” I asked. “Ok,” she replied.

So, we followed the directions and soon appeared in front of the door. It felt familiar, and it took me a moment to realise that it’s the door of the original Vanis Tavern.

“Lord Vaughn, Lady Dalmont, welcome to Vanis Hall,” said the beautiful half-elf woman at the door before she opened it for us.

I nodded and entered, and the familiar feeling hit me immediately. Not only the interior, but the flavour of the legacy changed a little. It felt as if I had entered the Old Vanis Tavern.

It looks similar, but it is not the same.

They use the same interior layout, and I could see a lot of things that belong to the old Vanis Tavern are here, but as I had said, it’s not the same.

The first different thing is, everything is bigger; the place is bigger; the bar is bigger. There are more tables, sections, and staff. It also feels more upscale, but it hasn’t lost that familiar feeling.

“Wow, it’s so beautiful.” She gasped as she looked around. “It feels the same as the last time I had been here, but also so different,” she added.

I smiled and led us toward the bar.

There are people here, but only a few. I believe that this is the first time I have approached the bar itself.

“What will you take?” I asked her. “Frost Crackle,” she replied, and I am a little surprised. It’s a strong drink; she had not ordered this when we drank together before.

“Pale moor for me, frost crackle for the lady,” I ordered.

Then we watched the show; the handsome bartender is incredibly talented, and his control over mist is really good.

“I don’t think I have seen you here or at Velvet Garden?” I asked. Yes, I have explored all the floors of Velvet Garden and everything they offer.

It was one of the most memorable things I had experienced.

“I never worked in them; I used to work in a small bar in Talbus, before Madam Hilcrest offered me a job,” he replied, with a big smile appearing on his face.

To work in a legacy is a privilege; not only does it give massive respect and a great salary, but it also allows one to rise faster in levels.

Not to mention the connections.

If one decided to leave the job, which people rarely do, unless the legacy dies. They have hundreds of offers; everybody wants the staff who worked in the legacy.

Jenna had changed this young man forever by hiring him.

Soon, he placed the two drinks in front of us. One is pale violet, while the other is a frosty blue, both of which had a mist of different colours swirling inside.

I took a sip of mine, and it was incredible. It made me feel so envious of these F&B legacies. Ours is a dance hall; we teach and organise dance shows.

Food and drinks are one thing I clash with my father about. He wants to keep the legacy as it is; I want to make the changes.

“Nothing could compare to drinks from a legacy,” said Selira as she opened her eyes after the sip. “They could not,” I replied with a smile before taking another sip of my drink.

Soon, we finished the drinks and walked out of the Vanis Hall.

There are many places we have to check out before the party at nine. Though we will stay here for two days, it hasn’t lessened the excitement of checking out every corner of this place.

Step deeper into the world—read 50+ chapters ahead and unlock exclusive artwork, character cards, and detailed maps that bring the story’s lore to life on Patreon.