Louis stepped out of the castle's main gate, his coat draped over his shoulders.
Under his feet was a compacted dirt road, extending in all directions from the central plaza.
Houses were tightly clustered together, and the flickering bonfires and cooking smoke in the cold wind painted a vibrant picture of life.
This was no longer just a simple camp.
The residential area of Red Tide Territory expanded outwards from the castle like ripples, with streets, markets, warehouses, and workshops all growing rapidly.
He could clearly feel that this place was already subtly taking the form of a town.
Perhaps with further developnt next year, it could be called Red Tide City.
And as the population grew, the prosperity of the territory would also attract the attention of the Kai people.
Perhaps it was ti to start building a simple wall.
He silently noted this plan in his heart.
From a distance, Louis saw a team of knights approaching in a cloud of dust.
Leading them was a plump young man on a black-maned horse.
"Boss!" Yoen waved excitedly, almost tumbling off his horse.
The knights were escorting several heavily laden carriages, piled high with sacks and wooden crates, so heavy they seed about to break the axles.
Louis hurried forward to et him: "Why are you here?"
Yoen leaped off his horse, grinning like a child, and patted a nearby grain cart, "My old man was afraid I'd starve to death in winter, so he specifically sent a bunch of grain over!"
He proudly puffed out his chest, his eyes shining with the pure light unique to a rich second-generation heir.
"Especially since I earned a second-class rit at the front this ti, the old man was overjoyed and gave a lot of supplies. Nine-tenths of the credit goes to you. Since I was passing by your territory, I thought I'd drop by to see you!"
Yoen patted his chest: "Boss, do you want so? I have enough grain for now, so sharing so with you is no problem!"
Louis smiled, shaking his head in refusal: "I've also bought quite a bit here, and I still have so in stock, so I'm not short for now."
Thus, the two walked side by side in the cold wind, heading towards the castle.
Along the way, Yoen's eyes were wide, looking left and right like a child entering a city for the first ti.
Red Tide Territory was completely different from other places in the Northern Region.
The faces of the commoners on the streets actually carried smiles.
Not the forced, stiff kind of smile, but a genuine, heartfelt ease.
Rows of semi-subterranean collective dwellings were °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° built along the road; though simple, they were considered mansions in the Northern Region, and they were neatly arranged and orderly.
The roads were also swept clean; while not spotless, there was at least none of the mud and foul odors common in other parts of the Northern Region.
What shocked Yoen the most was that whenever Louis walked by, the commoners would stop what they were doing, stand up respectfully, and bow to him.
So shouted loudly: "Lord Louis!"
So children excitedly waved and loudly called out: "Good morning, Lord Louis!"
Each sincere smile, like a fla in the cold wind and snow, radiated warmth.
Moreover, there was not a trace of fear in those gazes, only heartfelt respect and trust.
Yoen sat on his horse, his mouth slightly agape, an expression of disbelief on his face.
Everything here left him in awe.
His fief was located a little north of Red Tide Territory, not far from here, but the situation there was much worse.
The streets were muddy, and the commoners' dilapidated houses were haphazardly put together.
Furthermore, his own food supplies and other necessities were all funded by his father, the Earl, who was far to the south.
Not to ntion smiles, most people looked worried and even saved the energy for talking.
Before, he thought this was normal; the Northern Region was too harsh, who could live easily?
He even suspected that what he had received was not a "fief" at all, but a pile of junk and troubleso land.
But he had also seen the territories of other lords, and the situations were actually quite similar, so even worse.
Especially after just experiencing war, burnt houses and broken fences were everywhere, and it was hard to find even a decent piece of firewood on the ground.
People looked numb, their clothes tattered, their faces filled with the blankness and despair of survivors.
In such a Northern Region, in such a situation, he had originally thought that all places would be in a state of disrepair.
But seeing all this before his eyes—
Yoen swallowed, unable to hold back any longer.
"Hey, Boss," he reined in his horse, turned, and stared at Louis with a complex look in his eyes,
"We both ca to the Northern Region around the sa ti, how on earth did you do it? How did you manage to make your territory so good?"
Upon hearing this, Louis gave a smug smile; this flattery truly hit the spot, but he didn't answer imdiately.
He looked up at the commoners busy on the streets in the distance.
So were moving timber, so were repairing houses, and children in coarse cloth robes chased and played nearby; the air was filled with a sense of happiness.
Then he softly said, "Actually, it's very simple."
Yoen's eyes widened, and he pricked up his ears, as if waiting for so earth-shattering secret thod.
"Just treat the commoners as real people."
"..." Yoen sat on his horse, mouth slightly open, stunned.
"That's it?" Yoen ca back to his senses, looking at Louis with a complex expression.
"Mm."
Yoen's mouth twitched slightly, and he couldn't speak for a long ti.
This, this was too simple!
Yoen just felt that Louis was spouting correct nonsense.
But then he looked at the orderly surroundings again and had to ponder the deeper aning in that nonsense.
As Yoen marveled, they rode slowly forward, and soon the castle gates appeared before them.
The mont he saw the castle, Yoen's eyes widened again.
The castle of Red Tide Territory was rough and massive, like an armored beast, quietly sprawled in the cold wind.
Its walls, built from ramd earth and stone, seed to have grown naturally from the ground, exuding a primal sense of oppression.
There were no extravagant decorations, none of the common southern towers and carvings, only sternness, practicality, and a hint of raw power, radiating the essence of the Northern Region.
Yoen's expression was almost frozen; he had never seen this type of castle before.
Louis—had actually already built a castle?!
And he himself was still living in a wooden house, though it was carefully constructed, how could it compare to a castle?
The difference was even greater than the distance from Red Tide Territory to the Capital.
"How is it?" Louis looked at him proudly, a hint of uncontainable showing off in his tone, "Not bad, right?"
Yoen looked up, swallowing with difficulty.
After a while, he managed a single comnt: "Stunning—but—it's a bit ugly."
.....
"What do you know?" Louis imdiately retorted, "This is hardcore industrial style!"
Yoen looked at the thick, large cylindrical structures, his mouth twitching slightly.
If this was industrial style, then his own pile of broken wooden boards must be country art, wouldn't it?
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