The Dragon Girl would never like the Lord.

"Alright, the carriage is almost here."

Ron stretched comfortably, then raised an eyebrow;

"Fiona, don't let your excitement for tonight ruin your business of buying materials. If you do, you'll have to think about what to have for supper."

"嘁~"

Fiona glared at Ron with disdain;

"Master, please don't have such unfounded fantasies. How could a maid possibly expect such a thing? It's you who must have been eagerly anticipating it."

She covered her mouth and chuckled as she said this;

"Of course, it's normal for Master to be curious about these things and to have random thoughts. As a maid, I should help Master relieve these thoughts."

That bastard Ron, he was the one who was thinking about it.

The maid wouldn't think of such strange things; she's too naive...

"Sometimes I think, with your eloquence, wouldn't you be a little softer?"

Ron lightly touched the maid's pink lips with his finger, a wicked smile appearing on his lips.

This posture is full of sexual tension, like a wolf that might pounce and bite at any moment.

He didn't linger, turned around and got off the carriage, leaving the bewildered maid standing there alone in the carriage, completely dumbfounded...

She lifted the carriage curtain and stared blankly at the man's departing figure.

That bastard Ron, I won't let you get away with it.

Maids can rebel.

Of course, if they can't resist, they can only let their master do as he pleases...

----

----

The selection of new territories took place at the residence of the Earl of Hilton Bourne.

Winterhold, and the surrounding fields, forests, and lakes, are all within his territory.

Normally, the Earl doesn't have a city as big as Winterhold; at most, he has a large market town.

Hilton Bourne was an exception because his father was the Grand Duke of the North...

The Earl's mansion was built in the center of Winter City, covering a vast area. The main gate alone was fifteen meters high and weighed twenty tons.

Each time the gate opens and closes, it requires more than a dozen holy knights to operate it together.

This gate is a chasm that ordinary people can never cross; for most of the baron's sons, it is the first time they have ever seen such a magnificent gate.

Previously, the disparity between the aristocratic classes could only be understood through imagination.

Now, this single door made Ron clearly aware of the gap between himself and the great nobles.

However, Ron was neither discouraged nor lost, because he possessed the complete potion recipes for all twelve professions and had the Lord's Compendium. As long as he developed steadily, his future achievements would be no less than those of the Earl.

It's only a matter of time before they set their sights on the capital.

Of course, you have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time.

First, focus on doing your best on the path ahead, and the future will hold endless possibilities.

"Whoo~"

Ron exhaled a breath of stale air, stepped through the door, and entered the Earl's mansion.

The interior was even more luxurious than I had imagined; the courtyard was larger than the square in Winterhold, and you had to take a carriage to get from the gate to the mansion.

It would probably take more than ten minutes to walk to the mansion, so Ron, like the other nobles, took a carriage to the mansion.

The carriages inside the mansion are open, offering a panoramic view of the courtyard.

The courtyard is planted with all kinds of precious plants, and even some rare and precious materials that are hard to find on the market.

Ron glanced around and spotted something extraordinary.

There's even Ghost Grass! It's the main ingredient for making the Shadow Assassin potion. We're just one piece away from creating the Shadow Assassin potion.

I couldn't find a single one in the market yesterday.

In the Earl's mansion, they were planted haphazardly by the roadside, just like weeds.

Damn it, this is the power of the Duke's son.

Ron looked around and silently memorized the location where the Ghost Grass was planted.

I was thinking that after we finished selecting the development sites, I'd walk out and properly appreciate the scenery of the Earl's manor...

The carriage traveled very smoothly with almost no bumps, and soon arrived at the gate of the mansion.

After getting off the carriage, Ron did not linger and went straight into the Earl's mansion.

The courtyard was luxurious enough, but the interior decoration of the mansion was even more outrageously extravagant.

The floor beneath my feet is marble, and the tabletop is made of ancient bloodwood imported from the southwest, with the edges covered in gold leaf.

Besides the tables, the chandeliers, wall lamps, and ceiling were all covered in gold leaf.

A rough estimate suggests that it would cost at least several hundred thousand gold coins.

This is the wealth gap between the great nobles and the lesser nobles. The great nobles have so much money that they use it for decoration, while the lesser nobles are still fighting to the death for the smallest of benefits.

These aristocratic lords who control the world deserve to die!

Chapter 36: The First Clash Between the Sons of Two Earls! The atmosphere is thick with tension!

The time for choosing to expand territory is set for 9:00 AM.

It's only 8:30 now, and almost all the nobles, big and small, have arrived.

No one dared to be late for such an event; almost everyone arrived half an hour early to give the Duke's son face.

Arriving early goes unnoticed, but those who arrive late might attract attention.

Ron naturally understood this and arrived half an hour early.

I won't be the first to arrive, nor will I be the last.

It's still early, so you can chat with anyone, whether you know them or not.

Everyone was dressed appropriately, however, the attire of nobles varied greatly from place to place.

The local nobles of the North mostly wore black or brown suits, top hats, and carried canes with gold trim, in a low-key and unassuming manner.

The central aristocratic group from the capital wore dark blue or dark purple suits with gold thread embroidered on the cuffs and collars, and a few gold leaves tucked into their breast pockets.

She wore a gemstone ring with a golden sheen on her hand, and overall, she exuded a luxurious and aristocratic air.

In comparison, the local nobles of the North seemed rather stingy.

The central aristocratic group consisted of only a dozen or so people. Led by the Earl's son, Howell Baron, they chose to sit at the frontmost round table.

The Western aristocratic group presents a different picture altogether. Influenced by the subtropical climate, people living in the western region generally have dry and dark skin.

After the Western aristocratic group entered the hall, the light dimmed a bit. Perhaps due to different dietary habits, each of them was tall and burly, standing there like a wall.

Their large waists and round bellies stretched their suits so much that they looked like they were wearing a swimming ring around their stomachs.

However, no one dared to laugh at them, and even some minor nobles were hesitant to meet the gaze of these western nobles.

Because everyone knows that the people in the western region are known for their fierce and tough nature.

Don't be fooled by their fat appearance; beneath that layer of fat lies solid muscle.

The leader, Andrei Okot, was over 1.95 meters tall, making him a small giant in the eyes of someone who was 1.6 meters tall.

In a battle between knights of the same rank, those with greater height, build, reach, and strength have the advantage.

Clearly, Andrei Okot has all four titles, giving him a significant advantage in a head-to-head matchup.

"Hahaha, Lucid, I was right. These nobles from the North and the Central look very thin and frail."

Andrei Okot's hearty laughter echoed throughout the hall, violently assaulting everyone's ears.

It's not appropriate to say such things to their faces.

The man called Lucid twitched at the corner of his mouth, not expecting Ocott to bring up the joke he made while drinking last night.

But he didn't refute it, because after being by Occott's side for so many years, he knew the other man's temperament very well.

If we continue to dwell on this topic at this point, we might end up saying something even more shocking.

The nobles present all had different expressions.

The minor nobles acted as if they hadn't heard anything, daring not to make any statement. Only a few sons of viscounts dared to frown and glance over.

Under normal circumstances, nobles would still maintain the proper decorum and respect among themselves.

Especially in this kind of situation, even if there are grudges, they won't be brought up in public; everyone can resolve them privately.

Wilson Gray, for example, at yesterday's banquet, although his words to Ron were full of disdain, were not too rude; he was merely a diversion from the banquet.

However, he was very humble today, not even glancing at Ron, nor did he seem to want to go up and mock him.