Astel territory, soon to celebrate the harvest festival, was busier than ever, but the faces of the common people were filled with vitality and joy.
“Everyone looks so happy. The harvest festival must be a significant celebration here.”
Since the rumor of a wandering knight’s arrival had spread, Lucas and Cedric, having removed their hoods, began to ride around the territory.
“That’s not unusual in other territories.”
Cedric spoke, to which Lucas responded sourly.
“The square in front of the lord’s mansion is usually lively, just like the capital. Like the high nobles living around the Imperial Palace, here, too, the lord’s longtime retainers or wealthy individuals must reside.”
Cedric nodded at Lucas’s words. The shops lining this square, used by the wealthiest in the territory, did not seem so extraordinary.
“First, let’s go to the edge of the territory. The further we get from the lord, the more we will see the true face of the territory.”
“Yes, Sir… I mean, Knight.”
Fortunately, no one had heard, but Cedric had to endure Lucas’s sharp glare.
“Let’s go!”
Cedric shouted awkwardly and spurred his horse. According to the map given by the duke’s servant, Astel had enormous farmland, and the territory itself was quite vast.
After riding for a while, Lucas stopped beside a slender flowing stream. The horses gratefully drank the cool water during their rare rest.
“The map of Astel.”
“Yes.”
Lucas scrutinized the map of Astel territory for a while. At first glance, it seemed an ordinary map, but as he rode across it himself, he discovered an astonishing fact.
“How can the map and reality be the same?”
The map was not complicated, using simple symbols to paint agricultural land, forests, and other purposedriven areas in different colors. It even named the villages where the common people lived in each partition. But that wasn’t all.
“The map of the Imperial capital is not this accurate. And what about the path we have traveled?”
Indeed, Cedric nodded, understanding what was meant.
“Yes, every road was exactly as on the map. Frighteningly so.”
Astel’s map was designed to make all the partitions as rectangular as possible, and even small alleys were marked along with the major roads.
“What about the roads?”
Although they had ridden quite a distance, they hardly felt fatigued. They had only traveled on the standard roads drawn on the map, but every surface was smooth and flat.
“This…”
Lucas squinted his eyes, focusing on the road.
“It seems slightly wider than the Imperial standard wagon.”
“Ah… No wonder the distance felt familiar. It’s the same as the capital.”
Three emperors ago, the Emperor had reconstructed the roads in the capital to facilitate smoother supply, spending a significant amount of money.
Although there was initially grumbling, after completion, the speed of goods into the capital surged, and it was regarded as an achievement.
“A territory with vast farmland having the same standard roads as the capital. Moreover, even if one cannot read, with this map, they can go anywhere.”
The map had almost no letters; forests were marked with treeshaped symbols, and farmland with earshaped symbols. Major roads were numbered, and small paths following them had corresponding numbers.
Whether illiterate or a child, with this map, there was no chance of losing one’s way in Astel.
“Hmm, certainly a clear map. But there are a few things I don’t understand at all.”
Lucas pointed at several symbols he couldn’t figure out.
“Later at the duke’s residence….”
“No, let’s go now.”
Lucas mounted his horse and pointed eastward.
“It’s that way.”
Cedric had no choice but to sigh and follow.
(This is a time separator.)
To reach the place Lucas was curious about, they had to cross the road through the farmland. As the autumn wind blew, the golden ears of wheat swayed, presenting a spectacle.
“Beautiful.”
As they rode, they saw not only wheat ears but also small colorful fruitbearing bushes and a distant large orchard.
It wasn’t the first time he had seen a prosperous territory, but it was the first time he had seen one that systematically produced various crops.
“Though I’ve seen territories larger than Astel’s, this one… It literally looks prosperous.”
Lucas paused for a moment, tears welled in his dark eyes as he looked at the golden spectacle of waving barley.
Every time the clear autumn wind blew, the entire field seemed to sway like golden waves, and for a while, he couldn’t take his eyes off it.
“This is just a part of the agricultural land.”
Standing in front of a spectacle he had never seen before, his curiosity about Serena, who managed this territory herself, grew even more.
“Let’s go.”
Lucas spoke to Cedric and spurred his horse. They still had a long way to run to reach the strange place on the map.
(This is a time separator.)
Serena was spending her day as usual. Arguing with the crown prince in the morning was annoying, but once she started her official duties, she erased her complex thoughts with a fearsome concentration.
The Villainous Demon Lord Laid an Egg for Her (Female-Dominated)
Several months after transmigrating into a book, Yu Wu found herself facing the demon lord Li You, who could no longer conceal his dragon horns. With one hand on her aching waist and the other gripping a sharp sword, she stared at him.
The demon lord’s eyes were red with fury:
“This is all your doing! Today, I won’t rest until I kill you!”
Yu Wu rubbed her temples. Putting aside the taboo against bloodshed during pregnancy, wasn’t it this very man who willingly walked into her trap that day?!
Warnings:
- Male pregnancy.
- Height ratios are set to mirror typical male-female height proportions.
- Characters include a foot-loving demon lord and an eldest daughter from an immortal family’s concubine lineage.
