The slums were something that existed in all kingdoms and cities, especially if the city or kingdom was large. The Royal capital of the Lionheart kingdom was exceptionally large. With a population count that goes beyond a million residents.
The reason for this was due to the fact that the outer edges of the kingdom had little protection from monsters and the kingdom's army couldn't properly protect villages or settlements too far from the cities.
This has caused people from such places to move to cities and increased the population of cities and unfortunately, this affected Capital cities the most.
Capital cities are where there are the most opportunities and thus caused poor villagers looking for jobs to flood such cities however, not everyone gets to have the opportunity and they almost always end up poorer than they were in the villages and thus making a large population of the city homeless and penniless.
There were attempts to fix the issue, unfortunately, it was very expensive so instead now the homeless are pushed into a southern corner of the capital, one that is on the far edges of the city, an attempt to sweep the issue under the rug and hide them from the rest of the city.
Unfortunately, even after generations, the problem has never been solved, and it has created a divide between people. Any city within any Kingdom will have a slum, a place where the unwanted dregs are pushed, to hide them from the eyes of the people.
It is unfortunate however, most people have made the most out of it, individuals like Bulat have managed to claw themselves up to a position of influence and power, even if it was through illegal and ruthless means.
At present a mere 4 hours after killing a man Bulat, a round and portly-shaped man, danced to the melodious tune of a piano. Dancing with him was a beautiful slender dark dark-skinned woman, wearing ballerina clothing, dancing in sync with him.
The two were in perfect sync, the slow and harmonious piano filled the large open room, with a slow tune that to the untrained would sound like a lullaby; however, to experts, it was a beautiful and complex song that would excite them.
Bulat and his dance partner spun around before they leaped in the air with the grace and fluidity of veteran dancers, despite his figure, Bulat was keeping up with his dance partner.
The two performed a beautiful and graceful sauté, a move that required them to leap and then stretch their legs out in different directions (front and back) they then gracefully landed, into a demi plie before they moved once more.
The dance was a beautiful sight, the room was illuminated by the bright golden chandelier, something that none would find in the slums, in fact none would find a house with a room big enough to practice Ballet in the slums.
The sounds of the piano gradually died down and the dancers gracefully stopped their movements, not abruptly but they matched the song, only stopping once the sound had gone silent
"Excellent BuBu, truly a talent. It's a shame you cannot participate in any of the stages where such dancing could be appreciated"
The woman Bulat had been dancing in sync with, clapped her hands as she praised his dancing. The man was fat and rounded yet he had the flexibility of a veteran dancer, unfortunately things like dancing were things for women as such he could not pursue a career in the field.
"It's all thanks to your guidance Charlotte my dear, although I had no plans to pursue this hobby of mine into a career"
He said before taking a handkerchief from his pocket and began to wipe his forehead, he made a point to breathe through his nostrils, rather than breathe heavily like a dog after intense exercise.
"It's truly a shame but I suppose having it as a hobby is better than nothing–"
She was going to continue however honey gold eyes spotted two individuals entering the room. Her brows knitted together in displeasure and seeing that Bulat was quick to turn around and see Charlie and Big Mike approaching.
"Excuse me, Charlotte, business calls. I'll speak to you later this evening then?"
"Of course"
She bent down and gave him a kiss on the cheek before she made her way towards the door, as she walked she gave Charlie a displeased look, letting him know she didn't like her time with Bulat being interrupted.
Charlie could only pretend she didn't see that hateful look as he walked towards his boss.
He could only hope she didn't assassinate him in his sleep.
Once Charlotte had exited the room, Bulat started.
"Goodness Charlie, could you not have waited? You know how women get"
"Apologies Boss, it's urgent"
"I see but know if she's angry later today, I'm telling her it's your fault"
Bulat raised his hands as if telling him that it was out of his hands and that Charlie was on his own. Charlie could only sigh before his expression changed from resignation to a serious expression.
"Boss, someone doesn't want to pay the protection fee, it's the new residents who arrived yesterday"
He informed and Bulat's expression took a sudden change, his bright blue eyes that reflected the light quickly darkened,
gaining a deep blue cobalt-like colour, his eyes immediately conveyed his displeasure. The smile on his face had turned into an ugly frown.
"What?!"
The mood took a quick and sudden shift, his voice deepened, his voice was cold and unamused, the warmth he used to speak with Charlotte was gone, replaced by the cold tone of displeasure and anger.
Charlie and Big Mike who had stood before him, felt themselves shiver as Bulat's cold gaze was directed at them, fear settled into their hearts and they felt their stomachs churn.
Witnessing Bulat's calm facade crumble away revealing what he had hidden beneath was a terrifying experience, one that reminded them that their boss was a ruthless killer, with hands soaked in no small amounts of blood.
"Were you by yourself? I doubt they would have objected if Mike taught them a little lesson, with no guards to report to, I have that outer part of the capital under my control"
Bulat reasoned, his cold tone and ruthless expression still showing through as he spoke. He knew that name should be enough to make anyone reconsider their refusal, even clueless residents from the inner parts of the capital were aware of his influence.
"Ah–I didn't have Mike do anything boss, the husband seemed like someone experienced, the way he spoke and his gaze told me to come to you before trying anything"
There was hesitation in Charlie as he spoke, he couldn't tell if he had made the right choice but he knew it was better to speak truthfully than to lie.
"Are you saying he might be some sort of former mercenary or something?"
Charlie nodded and Bulat hummed in thought, his cold gaze slowly vanishing from his face and bringing relief to the hearts of the two men before him.
While a mercenary was not an issue as he had numbers and influence on his side, it would be stupid to let Mike fight and potentially have one of his best fighters be out of commission for a few months, or worse Mike gets killed.
He'd much prefer not to involve the knights from the inner parts of the capital and the noble he paid off wouldn't be enough to keep something like that from being investigated which in turn could lead to his whole operation being ruined.
With that being said, he can't let some mercenary start testing his power like this, if one person stands against him more will follow, he needs to quickly deal with the issue and demonstrate he is not to be messed with.
"Bring Gus in, tell him to bring two of the petty thieves, one of them should be that one that owes me, what's his name, Dale?"
"It's Darren, Boss"
"Yes him, he needs to pay the debt he owes little by little"
Bulat ordered and Charlie gave a nod and left the room with Mike in tow.
Of course, Bulat was fully aware that small-time thieves were nothing to a mercenary, this was simply an attempt to test the waters and get a feel of how much of a threat this new guy was, once that's done the appropriate amount of force will be used to crush him into submission.
"Hmm maybe I'll go get some cake later today, after all I did just finish a rigorous exercise"
He mused, already thinking of what to do, and having filed the issue as something that would be handled soon enough so there was no need to worry about it.