I Became the Male Lead in a Romance Fantasy Novel

100. Birthday (1)

Late November was quite chilly.

As winter seemed to be approaching, Owen and Lucia had to pack the carriage full of thick clothing.

With a three-week itinerary, they had to pack a lot of clothes.

Since there were servants at the estate, the party consisted only of Owen, Lucia, the carriage drivers, and five knights.

Among the five knights was Helen, who would be Lucia’s personal knight-in-waiting in the future.

To get accustomed to serving Lucia from next year, Helen joined the party to exclusively attend to Lucia.

Since there were no maids on the journey, Helen was also expected to assist with simple tasks.

The capital was centrally located in the Freyon Empire, while the Duke of Verdin’s estate was in the far east of the empire, taking a full day to travel.

However, that was only if they rushed as much as possible.

Since there was no reason to hurry for the journey, Owen and Lucia moved leisurely.

They would book accommodations along the way at night and took about five days in total for travel, stopping for meals and resting during the day.

Leaving the capital mansion on the 18th, the party arrived at the Duke of Verdin’s estate on the 22nd.

“Wow…”

The Duke of Verdin’s estate resembled a typical medieval Western estate from a fantasy world.

Owen was surprised when he first visited the estate for the land business.

He hadn’t expected it to be so meticulously crafted like a model.

The estate was built right in front of a massive mountain range, with a city where common estate residents lived in front of the castle.

Since the estate was quite large, the town and areas were categorized, with a total of five districts and three villages.

The villages were divided into one city and two agricultural villages, while the areas excluding the villages were the mountain range and the estate castle.

In other words, the Duke of Verdin’s estate was incredibly vast, almost treated on par with a town.

Lucia was impressed for that reason.

“It truly is a castle. Someone might mistake it for a palace.”

The estate castle of the Duke of Verdin boasted an area almost comparable to a royal palace.

It seemed to emphasize that the capital’s mansion was merely an estate.

“There must be far more servants here.”

Perhaps due to the grand mountain range behind it, the castle looked even more magnificent.

It seemed that the land was not suitable for forming villages or farming, so it appeared that they had conducted multiple construction projects and land cultivation to build the castle.

“Seems like it.”

Owen agreed with Lucia’s words.

Most days were spent at the capital for business, but whenever they came down for estate affairs, Owen found it hard to adapt.

Although there were quite a few servants at the capital mansion, here, it was beyond imagination.

Just considering the residents, not to mention those commuting, there would be many more.

As the grand gates of the large estate opened, the carriage headed towards the buildings along the wide road.

At the end of the road leading directly from the main gate was a building for external visitors.

It housed up to ten banquet halls, fifteen restaurants, reception rooms, and far more bedrooms than that.

“This isn’t the main building.”

Owen added as Lucia got off the carriage.

In response, Lucia’s eyes widened as she asked.

“Then?”

“It’s for external visitors. They can only enter up to here.”

“Ah. One could really get lost here, couldn’t they?”

Lucia said with a light laugh, but her words held genuine concern.

To think that such a massive building was for external visitors.

The inner parts must be even larger and more complex.

“Even Edelt Estate is quite large, but this seems to be double the size.”

Lucia had visited large estates before.

Her family, the Edelt House, was also a ducal family, with their estate located at the southern end of the empire.

Edelt was known for having fertile lands more than any other region, with gem and gold mines on the estate, explaining why Edelt was wealthy without any significant business ventures.

It was natural that the splendor of Edeltga was remarkable.

The territorial mansion of the Edelt Count was half the size of the royal palace, boasting grandeur, and those invited there would lavish extravagant praises.

“There’s no noble with a mansion as grand as the royal palace, except for Verdin.”

“That’s right.”

Owen did not deny Lucia’s words.

Because it was the truth.

“My words and Lucia’s words point in the same direction.”

Owen turned back and demanded of the knights, “Go in first. I will guide Lucia to the castle and then join you in the main building.”

“Yes.”

The knights who had brought Owen’s black horse and Lucia’s horse, Lena, dismounted and handed over the reins of the horses.

Lucia and Owen took hold of their horse’s reins.

“You all go ahead. I will guide Lucia around the mansion. It’s quite well-tended, so you’ll like it.”

After helping Lucia onto her horse, Owen mounted his own.

As he settled in the saddle of his black horse, Lucia suddenly became curious and asked, “By the way, Owen, what is your horse’s name?”

In response to Lucia’s question, Owen chuckled lightly and replied, “Mil. You can call him Mil.”

As he gently stroked the black mane, Mil let out a soft neigh.

Lucia, as if trying to remember the name, stroked her horse.

“I hope Mil and Lena get along well.”

“They will.”

Once Lucia became a full-fledged Verdin Duchess, Lena, who had been managed in the stables of the Edelt Count, would move with her.

Then Lena and Mil would share the same stable.

“They say pets resemble their owners.”

“Oh, that saying exists. If they resemble us, these friends will get along well.”

Lucia nodded in agreement and urged her horse forward.

Following Owen for a while, a new building appeared at the end of the road.

“This is the guesthouse.”

“The guesthouse… How many buildings are there in the territorial mansion, exactly?”

“There are a total of seven.”

The Verdin Count’s estate consisted of a total of seven buildings.

The first one visible from the main gate was the guesthouse for outsiders, and there was an outer building with quarters for the servants and stables.

“Excluding the guesthouse and servant quarters we saw earlier, there are the main building, guesthouse, two auxiliary buildings, the history hall, and the knights’ building.”

The largest and most elaborate main building was where the Verdin family members resided, located right in the center.

There were two auxiliary buildings—one near the back gate and one within a large garden.

The knights’ building was located next to the quarters where the servants lived, and the history hall was to the north of the castle.

“The history hall? Ah, you mean the mausoleum.”

Each family had a space in their territory with a similar purpose, where members of the family, descending from ancestors, were laid to rest.

In the Verdin Count’s estate, that space was called the history hall.

It was because portraits were displayed along with the ancestral remains.

“That’s right.”

Naturally, Owen’s biological parents were also enshrined in the history hall.

Perhaps the only reason Owen came down to the estate was for such occasions.

It might have been because, despite the convenience of being in the capital for business, he had no reason to insist on staying in the city, given his lack of interest in politics or social circles.

After a brief reply, Owen dismounted from his horse.

Lucia turned her horse around, signaling the end of the conversation.

“Is there a door right behind?”

“It’s the back door. It’s a building prepared for unforeseen circumstances.”

Although there were hardly any territorial disputes in this generation, there were times when they occurred frequently.

Having a villa near the back door was for emergency escape during territorial disputes.

The main building was easily locatable by all, so in the event of a territorial dispute, everyone would move to the annex, and if things got out of hand, they would abandon the castle and escape.

Of course, Duke Verdin, who had wielded a sword for generations, had never experienced such a situation.

“Ah….”

Bella let out a long sigh and followed Owen down from the horse.

Together, Owen and Bella tied the horse to a tree near the building and opened the door to the annex.

Thanks to the diligent efforts of the servants, despite not being used for a long time, the annex was tidy and neat.

Due to Owen’s infrequent visits, the furniture and items had a very elegant design, but even that felt dignified.

“Owen doesn’t visit the territory often, right?”

Lucia, who was exploring the first floor, turned around and looked at Owen.

In response to the questioning gaze, Owen nodded slightly.

“Am I right in thinking the reason is related to the memories and traces left by your parents?”

He nodded again.

As Owen affirmed, Lucia let out a brief sigh.

“You worry. Your parents left behind more than you think.”

The mansion of the Duke and Duchess had changed a lot after their deaths.

All the former butlers, maids, and other servants were replaced.

Even the stablemen, grooms, and gardeners were let go.

Only the knights remained.

Among them, the strong and useful knights.

-Your Grace! Your Grace, you cannot treat me like this. I am here for you…!

-It should be “Your Highness.”

Memories surged like a wave.

Although Owen could now bury those memories, he chose not to.

-The decision of how to treat the servants is mine. So, all of you must leave.

Memories of past actions and words flowed.

Knowing they were memories of the past, Owen suppressed his emotions.

Expressing anger was unnecessary; the memory of that time was enough.

“The mansion in the capital changed drastically once, didn’t it?”

“Yes.”

Lucia continued speaking.

After Owen responded, she asked, “Wouldn’t it be better if this place changed as well?”

Unlike the mansion in the capital, the territory’s castle remained the same.

Both the servants and the furniture remained as the late Duke and Duchess had left them.

“…Well.”

There was a reason why Owen hadn’t changed anything here, unlike in the capital.

While the capital had an abundance of new hires, this place did not.

Furniture, items, wallpaper, and the like could possibly be changed-.

The mansion in the capital had around 100 servants, but here, there were ten times that number.

Even though Verdin’s territory had a large population compared to other territories, hiring 1000 people anew was no easy task.

If all 1000 were territory residents, terminating their employment contracts would cause problems in the city as well.

The city right in front of the territory was composed of those 1000 people and others.

“Or.”

Whether she read Owen’s contemplative expression or not, Lucia spoke again.

“I’ll make it different.”