Returning to his temporary guest room and bolting the door, Victor let out a long breath, turned and walked over to the desk, pulled out a chair and sat down, took a yellowish sheepskin scroll from his pocket, and unfolded it on the desktop.
This was a registration document for a hereditary territory in the Centaur Hills, proving that a tract of over 12,000 square kilometers of land in the southwest corner of the Centaur Hills was a legally recognized territory of the Gambis Kingdom, which would be protected by the kingdom's army and pay taxes to it, and the lord of the territory was Baron Victor Wimbledon, with the territory being heritable by the baron and his family.
This territory was very large, far exceeding the area of a barony, and even much larger than an ordinary viscountcy.
Yet Victor frowned slightly.
Although the territory's area was large, its location was far too remote; its southern side closely bordered the Golden Water River, and its western side hugged the boundless Great Swamp, where it was said that even a kind of orc—the Lizardman—dwelt.
The Wimbledon barony was very far from the political and economic center of the Centaur Hills—Black Castle Town.
If riding a horse, making a trip there would probably take ten days; if walking, it would take at least more than 30 days.
With such a great distance, Victor certainly did not believe that the York Family had ever developed that land.
Thinking of the swarming goblins, Kobolds, and stinking Gnolls roaming that wilderness, and even other more terrifying monsters, Victor felt his scalp go numb.
However, Victor did not regret it; staying far away from the throne struggle was the most urgent matter, and although the territory was remote, it better suited his current predicament.
The York Family was a ducal family; when the king was in danger, they remained inactive and watched the king die, yet they were still able to withdraw unscathed without suffering substantive punishment, showing just how powerful their influence was.
King Ryan's death was suspicious and might have involved the struggle for the Gambis royal power.
The York Family was obviously a supporter of Grand Duke Williams; the Little Baron grew up in Iris Castle, and as a lord who started out as an Iris Castle squire, he naturally belonged to the Queen's faction.
Rashly getting involved in the political struggle between two behemoths, with the slightest misstep, would result in a tragic end of being torn to pieces.
In fact, the York Family had already made a move against the Little Baron, and Victor was no longer the little Wimbledon baron now—there was no need to risk his own life fighting to the death for the Queen and Prince Edward.
Moreover, Marchioness Sophia did not even send a single knight, directly sending a Little Baron who lacked the strength to truss a chicken to run off to the Centaur Hills to be a lord, which in itself was extremely bizarre.
With Baron Wimbledon's situation being so perilous and bizarre, Victor would naturally run as far away as possible.
When the time came, he would recruit a mercenary group and those farmers who had lost their lands due to the war near Black Castle.
Upon reaching the new territory, as long as he slowly developed by relying on the territory's castle, his safety should be guaranteed…
Thinking of this, Victor couldn't help but squeeze a lizard-skin money bag hanging from his waist.
The money bag contained 50 purple gold coins issued by the Gambis Royal Family.
The front of the purple gold coin was engraved with a high mountain with a rising sun on top; this pattern represented the divine authority of the of Radiance, and the back was engraved with a spread-winged eagle, representing the imperial power of the Lant Empire.
As a vassal kingdom of the Lant Empire, the Gambis Kingdom did not yet have the qualification to engrave its own emblem on currency.
The Gambis Royal Family promised that every purple gold coin could be exchanged for 1,000 gold sols at the Household Department in the Gambis Capital.
Thinking of Count York's heartbroken expression when he took out the purple gold coins, a wave of secret delight welled up in Victor's heart.
These 50,000 gold sols and the knowledge and skills stored in the x-3 chip were Victor's confidence to pioneer the savage territory.
As for how thunderously furious Marchioness Sophia and Her Majesty the Queen would be regarding Baron Wimbledon's betrayal when the news of the territory exchange reached the capital, Victor could no longer care about that much.
A light sound of footsteps came from outside the door.
Victor put away the coins and documents, and the knock on the door arrived as expected.
"Lord Baron, I have come by the Countess's orders to take you to attend the dinner party."
A crisp and pleasant voice rang out from outside the door.
Victor opened the door and saw that the tall and beautiful female guard was standing prettily at the doorway.
"Please lead the way."
Victor smiled and motioned to this spirited beauty.
The tall beauty was slightly stunned, then turned around to lead the way with a hint of flurry.
Victor followed behind the female guard.
The beauty before him had slender, straight legs, a slender waist, and a rounded hip; as she walked, she swayed gracefully, and Victor's gaze couldn't help but linger on the slim waist and beautiful legs before him.
A moment later, Victor noticed that the female guard's walking posture was somewhat unnatural, and looking closer, her earlobes had already turned a vexed pinkish-red, causing Victor's heart to jolt.
With such keen perception, she was probably not far from being a knight; fortunately, she wasn't particularly repulsive towards him… Victor rejoiced inwardly.
Knights, the peak of human strength, had to be given respect even by noble lords.
A gorgeous four-wheeled carriage was already waiting by the roadside.
Victor and the female guard entered the carriage compartment one after another.
The coachman flicked the reins, and the carriage began to move forward slowly.
"I am truly impolite for not yet asking for this beautiful lady's honorable name?"
Victor looked at the female guard, whose face was still somewhat flushed, attempting to ease the awkward atmosphere.
"I… My name is Nicole."
The female guard's expression instantly dimmed.
Commoners and servants in human kingdoms did not have surnames, whereas knightly bloodlines were mostly produced among nobles, and knight squires were generally noble children.
A knight squire without a surname like Nicole indicated that her mother should be a maid of the York Family.
According to noble tradition, the offspring born between a maid and a noble were still lower-class people.
Unless Nicole advanced to a knight, her status would always be lower than that of noble lords.
On average, only one out of five Apprentice Knights could be promoted to a full knight.
Victor had the heart to comfort her, but didn't know where to begin.
The two were momentarily speechless, and unawares, the carriage drove to Victor's destination—Rose Manor.
The white-haired old steward of the manor led Victor to the door of a large room, bowed to Victor, and said, "Lord Baron, the dinner party will start in a little while. You can rest in the reception room for a moment now."
Victor nodded to the attendant, gently pushed open the gorgeously carved golden-silk wooden door, and walked into the room.
Coming into view were pink curtains, snowy-white cashmere carpets, a luxurious ivory giant bed, an exquisite dressing table, and a curvy woman lying sideways on a long chaise lounge.
This was clearly a noblewoman's bedroom…
Victor immediately turned around to pull the door, wanting to leave, only to find that the door had been locked from the outside.
A soft and charming voice rang out in the room, "Baron Victor, you are truly so impolite; how did you barge into my bedroom."
The woman on the chaise lounge slowly stood up, her golden hair casually draped over her fair shoulders, her watery, beautiful eyes eyeing Victor with a half-smile—it was none other than Countess York.
Victor steadied his mind, just about to open his mouth to say something, when he saw the Countess walking gracefully over, her red low-cut spider-silk robe setting off skin as white as snow, and as her willow-like waist swayed lightly, her slender, beautiful legs flickered in and out of view under the slit of the skirt.
Victor felt his mouth dry and tongue parched, stuttering and speechless for a moment.
When the Countess approached, a fragrant wind assaulted his face, and Victor suddenly felt awkward, his gaze hurriedly moving downward, only to see the pink toenails on her jade-white, slender feet shining with a crystal-like radiance, making him even more dazzled and infatuated.
"Baron Wimbledon, where are you looking?"
The Countess's slender hand rested on Victor's chest with a half-smile.
"Countess, I…"
"Call me Sylvia."
The Countess reached out her slender hand to cover Victor's lips, turned her body, hooked her arm around his, and walked into the room.
"I heard that Sophia once asked the head of the court ladies, Baroness Ariel, to personally teach you etiquette classes. Then let's discuss court etiquette before the dinner party."
In Victor's memory, what Baroness Ariel taught were all skills on how to please women, and the female official even invited some masked beautiful women from time to time to give him lessons.
The little Wimbledon baron was not unfamiliar with the extravagant life of the nobles, but the current Victor was an impostor. Such a risqué scene left him at a loss, and he could only let Sylvia manipulate him.