A caravan was traveling alone in a vast green field of gentle rolling hills.
The caravan was small in size: a mere five wagons, a number not even comparable to most of the merchants who did business in the major towns and cities. One can only imagine how easy it would be for them to be ignored by the overbearing city guards as they passed through the main city along the way.
The actual situation, however, was completely opposite to this.
It was all because of the one carriage leading them.
An official attire beyond the reach of ordinary nobility, adorned with countless exquisite gemstones and distinguished emblems recognizable even to the ignorant… All these elements unmistakably signified that the one sitting inside was none other than a duke, commanding enough respect to make every lord bow their proud heads in fear!
Fortunately, Duke Oliver acted in an unusually low-profile manner and only left early the next morning after making simple repairs in their territory, which really let them breathe a sigh of relief.
Then they couldn’t help but be curious: Why would such an illustrious figure, who should comfortably stay in the opulent and dazzling capital city admired by countless minor nobles, constantly greeted by crowds, likely never needing to step out of the capital in their entire life, appear here?
”If His Majesty were still around, how could he let Your Highness suffer such humiliation!”
Fosse said angrily.
Unlike these minor nobles who, for generations, have never had the qualification to set foot in the capital and were completely unaware of the situation.
The steward Fosse, who had been appointed by His Majesty the King himself to serve Oliver the fifth prince when he was not yet even three years old, had not only weathered countless storms but also harbored immense resentment towards the recent hardships faced by his master, Oliver, whom he personally raised and held dearest.
As the youngest son widely acknowledged as the most favored by the late King in court, his master Oliver surpassed his four older brothers at the age of ten, being granted the title of Duke by his father, the King. He had repeatedly been praised with a smile at palace banquets as the ‘Angel Duke.’
The reason why Oliver was deeply favored by His Majesty is not only because of his dazzling and brilliant appearance since childhood, but also because of his remarkably simple mind and innocent nature, akin to a true pure angel.
For the old King, who held deep schemes, Oliver, although not suitable to be the heir, was undoubtedly the son he was most generous with affection and also the one he felt most reassured about.
It was before the old King had had time to select the most favorable fiefdom for Oliver that he passed away in a strange and sudden manner.
So, while Oliver, who knew nothing of it, was still sound asleep, several ambitious older brothers launched a coup d’état in what could be called in ‘tacit agreement’.
By the time he woke up, too dumbfounded to shed a tear over his father’s passing, the fourth prince, Cameron, the eventual winner, had already put on the crown in a thunderous manner.
Probably because his only brother, Oliver, was still naive and unthreatening even though he was already an adult – the new King, Cameron, who had ‘sent off’ his three older siblings who had ‘accidentally died’ with a vengeance, did not kill him.
But perhaps it was Oliver’s past favor with the old King that he held a grudge against, or maybe out of caution, Cameron decisively and rapidly expelled the once highly esteemed Oliver from the capital, bestowing upon him ‘Laina City’ as a fiefdom, claiming it was a generous gift.
Of course, such words would be deemed false, not believed even by the ordinary folks on the streets of the capital, let alone the shrewd individuals within the city.
What was Laina City?
Hah. That’s the remote and destitute countryside with a horrifying reputation of being a ‘cursed land,’ where, in just a short year, it mysteriously lost eight lords consecutively due to various calamities and misfortunes!
Far from the royal capital, the land is vast but barren, the population is sparse – of course, those lowly serfs don’t deserve to be counted – it’s a place of exile that even greedy tax collectors are unwilling to enter.
Knowing in one’s heart is one thing, but for them, a duke who did not know how to use the favoritism bestowed upon him by the old King to build his power, and who has now been permanently expelled from the center of power, certainly cannot compare to the importance of ingratiating oneself with the new King.
Compared to Fosse, who has to repeat this sentence at least three or four times a day, seething with indignation, the main character, Oliver’s state of mind, has been utterly calm from beginning to end.
Of course he was calm: the “Angel Duke” Oliver, who was honorably favored by the old King, was in fact the result of a fragmented soul within his body.
Although he did not know why, after living in the modern era for more than twenty years, his soul suddenly traversed back to its original place, bringing along a game system that he was not familiar with at all, though his brother was once addicted to it—a system that was also defective…
Just digesting the huge information of the new environment and those sparse memories of his body took him nearly a month.
Before merging his memories, he did not know how to react to the genuinely affectionate steward Fosse, so he appeared especially silent, which, in turn, made the other party feel even more heartache.
It was a good thing that Fosse didn’t have any suspicions about him looking gloomy – after so many drastic changes, even an angel wouldn’t stay the same.
Fosse, having no other choice, cursed even more angrily at the initiator of everything, the fourth prince (whom he adamantly refuses to acknowledge as His Majesty the King) Cameron.
”Fosse.”
In Fosse’s eyes, even in the dim, stifling carriage, his young master, with his golden hair and exceedingly beautiful face, still shines as dazzlingly as the sun.
Even after everything that had caused him heartache, his tone was still as gentle as a true angel’s: “Don’t be angry, have some water.”
Fosse’s eyes rolled at being cared for by his little highness, “Thank you, your highness.”
In those clear blue eyes, as clear as shallow sea water, the reflection of a servant moved by deep emotion is clearly visible. After a short while, he asked unhurriedly, “Are we almost in Laina?”
”Yes, we are”
Fosse, who always held himself upright, immediately responded, “We will arrive before the sun sets, it’s really been too much of a burden on you, Your Highness ……”
Are we finally getting close?
Oliver automatically filtered the old steward’s next words and lifted the curtains of the carriage by a sliver to look out.
The reason why he preferred to endure the sweltering heat on the road and kept the curtains tightly closed was because the dust lifted by the horses’ hooves was too much.
Although it was spring, this area has clearly not seen rain for most of the month, with thick dust covering the exposed ‘road surface.’
And of course, the rarely traveled fields cannot compare to the neat and flat stone roads of the capital—the path their carriage travels on, rather than being called a road, is better described as a relatively smooth surface improvised and chosen on the spot by an experienced coachman.
The closer they got to the city of Laina, the more they could feel how fragmented it was: even the cities they passed through were connected by ‘roads’ that were strewn with deep and shallow ruts that could be seen at a glance. But from three days ago, when they left the nearest city, not only had they not seen a single pedestrian on the road, even the ‘road’ they were traveling on had been frequently broken.
The reason for the disruptions was not due to man-made destruction on the roads, but because it was caused purely from long-term neglect and lack of use: whether it was due to the land sinking or being cut off by fallen tree trunks, the journey was doomed to be bumpy and uneven.
Luckily for him, his body, which looked slender and frail, had a very good constitution: even Fosse, who came from a knightly background, was jostled until he turned pale, yet he miraculously adapted well.
Oliver’s eyes peered through the gap and settled on a conspicuous building.
The stone structure that stood on the rolling hillside stood out at once against the low, scattered houses around it, almost exaggerated into a grandiose marvel. It was a hundred times larger than the gray cluster of tiny houses around it, with at least four stories of height, majestic and imposing.
The size of the building undoubtedly equaled the status of its owner, and it undoubtedly belonged to the lord.
It was his future residence.
–rather better than expected.
Oliver thought optimistically.
Before the rolling dust further invaded the carriage, after confirming the general direction, he quickly lowered the curtain and silently pondered.
The excessively rudimentary road did not pose a problem for the formidable coachman personally bestowed by the old King to his beloved son.
It didn’t take too long before the caravan, which had already attracted the attention of people busy in the fields, revealed its awe-inspiring full view under their restrained observation.
Occasionally, there would be caravans of small merchants who chose to come to Laina City to try their luck because business was too difficult among the big cities. Whenever such people arrived, the young children not yet able to help out at home would rush forward impatiently, ignoring the angry expulsions of the coachmen, and hastily grab onto some objects on the carriage, just to earn a meager ‘inn referral fee.’
This time, however, no one dared to do so.
In fact, the coachman of the leading carriage was neatly dressed, with a calm demeanor, not like those small merchants’ employees who would curse or even violently expel them in frustration…
The children didn’t understand what a dignified aura meant, but they were deeply intimidated to their core.
As for the adults, even though the vast majority of the them were illiterate and lacked the ability to recognize the unique crest of the ‘Angel Duke’ on the carriage, just from the number of gems embedded on the carriage body, which probably surpassed the total on the carriages of the previous eight lords combined, they could discern that the new lord’s status was probably more noble than their barren imaginations could fathom.
They silently exchanged glances and a deep fear appeared in their originally numb eyes.
For them, this was undoubtedly bad news: in their deep impression, the more noble a person was, the more they detested everything here, and the more brutal they were.
The fears of the inhabitants of the territory were, of course, unknown to Oliver at this time.
Fosse’s estimation of the journey was terrifyingly accurate: when the last rays of the setting sun fell on the carriage, the thudding sound of the horses’ hooves that had been beating all the way, stopped at last.
They had arrived.
Fosse pressed his lips tightly together, his spine still straight even in such a wild and desolate place, his clothes without a single wrinkle.
He took the lead in dismounting from the carriage as he always had when sending his young master to a banquet at the palace, stood up straight, bowed to the carriage, and then invited Oliver to come down.
Oliver’s muscle memory also reacted naturally—stepping down from the carriage gracefully under Fosse’s service, he finally stood again in the vast world, no longer confined to a small space, and couldn’t help but turn back.
The lord’s towering stone castle was built on the highest point of this hill, surrounded by wooden houses of various shapes, with the shadows of trees in the distant forest swaying, and the figures of people working in the fields blurred.
One could clearly hear the flapping of chickens and ducks, and the chirping of insects from afar.
This ‘cursed land’ the nobles spoke of was a simple and lovely sight under the gentle glow of the setting sun.
Oliver quietly admired for a moment, eventually unable to withstand the smell that was blown by the wind to be intermittent, but whose presence was undoubtedly very strong, and decided to go into the castle first.
Just before stepping into the castle, he seemed to catch something out of the corner of his eye.
It was at the end of the road they had taken to arrive here, theoretically the entrance to the territory, stood two lone wooden pillars with long shadows hanging from them.
Out of curiosity, he casually asked a question that he would regret all night: “What is that? Is it smoked meat made by the villagers?”
How could it be safely hung in a place where it could be so easily stolen? Is it because the customs are so honest that doors don’t need to be locked?
Faced with the innocent question from the kind and pure young master, the usually iron-hearted steward, Fosse, unexpectedly remained silent.
A servant who had served several lords in the castle and really didn’t want to lose this good job that supported his family, after waiting nervously for a little while, couldn’t help but put on a flattering smile and softly answered on his behalf.
– “Your Highness, that’s the weathered corpse of a thief.”
The author has something to say:
There are a few points to clarify, please take a look before deciding whether to follow or not.
- Originally, this was a Stardew Valley fanfiction, but later, the editor informed me that single-game fanfics couldn’t get verified. It had to be either a crossover involving three or more games or an original game setting (though the inspiration is entirely from Stardew Valley). I didn’t want to make it too complex, so I chose the latter. If you mind this, I can only say sorry.
- This work is not historically accurate; it’s a mix of Western fantasy and game elements (historical accuracy wouldn’t fit). I’ve incorporated some medieval background on my own.
Love you all!
TL here: This is an edited MTL! Please let me know if you find any mistakes, or if you think certain areas could have been translated differently/incorrectly.
Updates will be slow for a while until I have enough stockpiled.
