Heading to Ryan City

Chapter 14 Heading to Ryan City

"I just brought it up."

Monica shrank back. From childhood to adulthood, her father had always doted on her and had rarely lost his temper with her, nor had he ever yelled at her so fiercely. "As soon as I mentioned it, Alphonse readily agreed. He had no intention of insisting on fulfilling the marriage agreement at all. I don't think he really wanted to marry me."

"He readily agreed without showing any anger?" Baron Swood's anger subsided slightly.

Monica nodded hurriedly, "Yes, he said he knew he had a bad reputation, and it was only natural that I didn't want to marry him. The engagement was only arranged because of his father's orders, and he was willing to break off the engagement unconditionally."

I added a little something extra, it should be fine, right?

"Is his character really as bad as the rumors suggest?" Baron Swood asked again.

"Yes." Monica nodded again. She dared not tell her father that Alphonse had the strength to defeat a first-tier battle aura knight.

Now she seems like a different person. When she sees me, she no longer shamelessly tries to curry favor with me, and she looks at me as if I were a stranger.

"Very well." Baron Swood sighed. "Since Alphonse agreed, let's annul the engagement. I originally intended to use Baron Tartarus's power to establish an alliance with Coldwind Territory through your engagement with Alphonse, but alas, Baron Tartarus died unexpectedly."

Baron Swood has always valued Baron Tartarus. If his son's character is truly as despicable as rumored, Coldwind Territory will surely descend into chaos after Baron Tartarus's death, and he is probably beyond help.

"Why do we need to rely on Baron Tartarus's power? Father, have we encountered any difficulties?" Monica asked, barely suppressing her joy.

"It's nothing, you can go back to your room and rest." Baron Swood smiled.

Indeed, the family was facing difficulties, but telling their daughter wouldn't help. She was just a weak and delicate girl; what could she possibly do to help? They had spoiled her too much, raising her like a flower in a greenhouse.

She needs to be disciplined properly in the future. As a noblewoman, she should learn to make sacrifices for her family. It was very inappropriate for her to take it upon herself to break off the engagement. We can no longer tolerate her.

Back in his room in the castle, Alphonse carefully separated the incense sticks.

This small bunch contains four medicinal herbs, which is excellent.

In my past life, even a dried stalk was worth a fortune, yet it was priceless and unavailable.

Make big!

This incense can only be dried by sun and wind; it cannot be baked with fire, otherwise its medicinal properties will be lost.

We definitely won't need it tonight.

Alphonse found a rope and hung the four sticks of Refining Spirit Incense on the windowsill like cured meat.

Even if it rains, the eaves will provide some shelter, so nothing will go wrong.

After dinner, Alphonse continued practicing the Innate Formless Divine Skill until late at night before going to bed.

The next morning, after Alphonse finished washing up, he instructed his maid to bring the herbs hanging out to dry into the room if it rained, and not to touch them.

Only after everything was arranged did they approach Mia.

Mia wanted to have a carriage prepared, but Alphonse refused the suggestion and planned to ride with her to the city of Ryan.

Although he was a dissolute in the past, the old baron had initially had high hopes for him and taught him riding skills. However, the boy liked to follow the trend and learn aristocratic manners, and always rode in a carriage when he went out to attend parties.

If it were Alphonse now, he would do whatever was most convenient; when traveling, a carriage is never as fast as riding a horse.

Horseshoes and stirrups don't need to be invented; the world already has them.

Alphonse felt that this other world was like it had chosen the wrong technology tree; it had glass soap, but no food like cream.

Ryan City is a bustling city, the territory of Earl Wolf. It is a bit far away, but it is also the closest city to the surrounding Coldwind Territory.

While riding his horse, Alphonse didn't stop talking to Mia.

It wasn't to woo her; her predecessor was pleasure-seeking and neglected his duties, knowing little about the affairs of the territory. This was a good opportunity to get some information out of her.

Although Mia had only been in Coldwind Territory for a little over a year, she had been following the Baroness and knew a lot more.

I learned from her that the old baron had indeed sought to develop the territory, but Coldwind Territory was simply too poor. He had once hired prospectors from the Miners' Guild at a high price to explore for mineral veins in Coldwind Territory.

Unfortunately, despite the many mountains in Hanfengling, they still found nothing.

The old baron was an expert in military campaigns, but he was, after all, from a farming family and was not good at governing his territory, nor could he come up with any good solutions.

This is understandable; he has devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Coldwind Territory, and even sacrificed his life to subdue the giant-toothed demon wolves that were wreaking havoc on the territory.

Mia felt very guilty about this.

The giant wolf wasn't a particularly powerful magical beast to begin with. With the old baron's strength as a third-tier swordsman, along with two knights possessing second-tier battle aura and two hundred soldiers, it seemed like a sure thing.

Who would have thought that the giant wolf would go berserk and mutate, causing the old baron to perish together with it in the ensuing battle.

If Mia had gone with them, perhaps the outcome would have been different.

Alphonse didn't blame Mia; after all, she had sworn allegiance to the Baroness, and the territory needed someone to stay and guard it.

To return to the point, Alphonse only had an impression of the old baron in his memory, and didn't have much affection for him. By the time he transmigrated, everything had already happened and was irreversible.

We drove at high speed until the afternoon before we finally saw the city of Ryan.

Fortunately, it was late autumn and the weather was already a bit cold; otherwise, the cream wouldn't have lasted long enough. In summer, it would have spoiled by now.

The walls of Ryan City are constructed of sturdy stone, their dark gray exterior revealing the passage of time, and are topped with defensive towers and watchtowers.

Tall and thick city walls surround the entire city, like an indestructible barrier, concealing the city's prosperity behind them.

At the city gate, officers and soldiers were collecting city taxes. Because of their noble status, they were exempt, and the delay was only a short while.

Once inside the city, Alphonse discovered that although it also had a moat, it was different from the ancient cities of China. There were two walls, and the city was located inside the inner wall.

The area between the outer and inner walls was where the army was stationed, and outsiders were not allowed to spy on it.

Compared to Coldwind Territory, which has only a few hundred households, Ryan City is much larger.

Alphonse had no intention of visiting Lord Wolf, the lord of Lane City, since they weren't familiar with each other. Besides, the Tartarus family was considered country bumpkins and not well-liked among the nobles, so there was no need to try to curry favor with them.

If you want to sell the cream recipe and make this new dessert a favorite on the tables of nobles, partnering with the Chamber of Commerce is a great option.

This is also the main purpose of this trip.

Thank you to reader 【Event Ended】 for the 100 Qidian Coins donation! Thank you to reader 【Awakened Chinese Man】 for the 100 Qidian Coins donation!

(End of this chapter)