Stepping out from the undulating expanse of the Violet Forest, the view suddenly opened up.
What came into Charlotte’s view was a broad plain, stretching out flat as a board. Standing on a hill, she could see crisscrossing river systems, star-dotted lakes and ponds, and among them reed clusters, thicket woods, along with large patches of segmented fields.
A meandering stone path led into the distance, cleverly connecting fields one after the other. At its intersections, one could glimpse the smoke-wisped villages.
Windmills, large and small, stood within villages and in the fields, slowly turning. Upon closer inspection, one could witness peasants busy in the fields and smiths coming and going with donkey carts full of goods into the windmill mills.
The clear sky was a pure azure blue, where occasionally one could spot large black birds soaring high, gliding between the water bodies—that was a type of falcon unique to the Northern Land and also the source of the Castel Family Emblem.
What a magnificent display of pastoral beauty!
Charlotte could keenly sense that everything here was bursting with a thriving vibrancy, far surpassing the gloomy quiet of the Violet Forest and the sparsely populated countryside of the Bold Duchy.
And if one looked to the utmost in the northeast, they could see cities and castles enclosed by silver-gray walls set among the crisscrossing water systems.
Following the sight of the city northward to the edge of her vision, she could also see where the sky met the water in a seamless line.
Or more accurately, the Star Moon Strait facing the Falling Star Kingdom to the south and north.
The Castel Domain was, in fact, a coastal territory.
Standing on the hill, Charlotte gazed into the distance. Upon leaving the forest, perhaps due to the proximity to the sea, the wind that met her was noticeably stronger.
Although far from biting cold, it was clearly more than a gentle breeze, blowing her beautiful blonde hair into some disarray.
Charlotte smoothed her hair and gazed resolutely at the paradise-like land before her, her heart unavoidably stirred with excitement.
She had finally arrived, set foot within her own territory.
From now on, any place her eyes laid upon would be the land of Castel!
The grand caravan left the Violet Forest, and everyone’s expressions lightened and brightened.
As the caravan had just left the forest, a knight clad in full armor appeared with more than thirty cavalrymen from afar, seemingly having been waiting at the forest’s edge.
Baron Shalon, who was leading the caravan, clearly knew the knight and, after exchanging pleasantries, brought the knight to meet Charlotte.
The unfamiliar knight, following Baron Shalon’s lead, approached the carriage and bowed respectfully:
"Cavalry Commander Angus de Valle of the Castel Count Territory greets you, my Lord!"
Sherry, sitting alongside Charlotte in the carriage, lifted the muslin curtains for her, and Charlotte got a clear view of the kneeling knight.
He looked to be a man in his forties, with a resolute expression.
Charlotte, who had studied the documentation related to the Castel Count Territory in advance, quickly identified him from the name he provided.
Angus de Valle, one of the seventeen barons of the Castel Count Territory, the current head of the Valley Family, and the Commander of Knights for the Count Territory.
He was also the City Lord of Valley City, the gateway between the Castel Domain and the Violet Duchy.
The city that Charlotte had just viewed from the hills was indeed Valley City.
Watching the resolute knight before her, Charlotte quickly recalled the records she had seen in the study of Castel Manor.
The Valley Family, one of the noble families most supportive of the Castel family in the Count Territory.
The current head, Angus de Valle, took his position at seventeen and followed Count and Countess Castel into over a decade of warfare, participating in the Roman Battle to repel the full-scale invasion of the Falling Star Kingdom.
Angus de Valle himself was taciturn, not fond of socializing or forming factions, his sole passion being fencing—a sword aficionado, a stern knight, but, regrettably, of limited talent, confining his life to the Starry Rank.
These details were all from the records Charlotte had studied in Castel Manor’s archives, left by her father, the previous Count Castel.
Despite ten years having passed, these records still held some relevance.
Incidentally, Baron Shalon’s family, the Lien-Castel, also ranked amongst the loyal families documented in the archives, a fact Charlotte later learned from thorough examination.
Of course, unlike the Valley Family, the Lien-Castel’s title was that of Viscount, and they were one of only three Viscounts of the Castel Count Territory.
The lands of the Lien-Castel family were situated to the northeast of Valley City.
"You may rise, Lord Angus."
Gathering her wandering thoughts, Charlotte spoke softly.
Her voice was calming and gentle, neither overly enthusiastic nor distant, but just right, making one feel comfortable and involuntarily drawing people closer.
Having practiced the Bloodline Path of Spirit Resonance for so long, even without employing the Majesty Skill or Charming Speech, Charlotte had a high proficiency in this aspect.
Upon Charlotte’s command, Angus stood up again and then said in a deep voice: