The dilapidated state of the houses here came as no surprise to Lin Yan, given that the Holy See had already fallen out with her.
As for the Holy Son, he had no intention of letting her reach the chaotic lands, so no one had come ahead of time to repair these houses.
However, Morris on the side found it somewhat difficult to accept.
"You intend to live in a house like this?"
"Of course not. This place is uninhabitable. Haven't I already sent someone to find a new place?"
"You know that's not what I meant." He meant that Angelina had the means and wealth to not be confined to this place.
With Lin Yan's abilities and status, she could have gone to more prosperous cities and completely disregarded the Holy See.
"Although the Holy See has exiled me, I have received years of tutelage from them and still need to give them some face." Lin Yan looked up at the distant forest, then at the somewhat dilapidated houses.
Even though she hadn't seen the living conditions of the people here, it was likely not good.
Rather than going to those so-called prosperous cities, only to be sent by her nominal father to marry someone, it would be more interesting to come to a place like this to pioneer.
"But you don't need to endure such hardship." In his opinion, it would be better to directly rebel against the Holy See. Although the Holy See was powerful now, it wasn't all-powerful.
"I don't feel I'm enduring hardship. Unlike you, I have my own concerns and cannot be as free and unrestrained as you are."
Lillian quickly found suitable houses. Although these houses were not perfect, there were no better options here.
Lillian found two houses not far apart, one for Lin Yan to live in and the other for the knights.
As for their servants, they would live with Lin Yan while on duty and with the knights when off duty.
After agreeing on the rental fees and duration, they left some people to tidy up the houses and the rest went back to inform others to bring their luggage.
Thus, Lin Yan and her retinue temporarily settled in this chaotic land.
After Morris privately warned the local powers, he bid farewell to Lin Yan. He needed to return to his clan as soon as possible to bring Annita's brat for Lin Yan to see.
Lin Yan had her maid find people to repair the house. It was nearing early winter, and although the weather was not ideal for work, there were many people here who needed the wages.
Under the temptation of high daily wages, many people came to apply.
The house repair work here not only paid daily wages but also provided lunch, so quite a few people came to work.
In the chaotic lands, although various forces converged, there were also many people at the bottom. This winter, they had not saved enough money to purchase winter supplies.
Lin Yan's work gave them hope of surviving the winter safely.
Although they were curious why Lin Yan chose to build houses in winter, the generous pay made them hope the job would last longer.
After Lin Yan settled down, she sent a letter to her mother and brother.
Just a few days after this letter was sent, she first received items sent by her uncle.
Lin Yan accepted these gifts and wrote a letter of thanks to her uncle. The original host's maternal grandfather was a Duke, and this uncle who wrote to Lin Yan was not the primary heir.
Therefore, he married the only daughter of a Marquis and inherited the Marquis's title by leveraging Lin Yan's influence in the Holy See and his father's power.
However, this Marquis's territory was relatively remote, far from the capital. Now, it seemed that this territory was quite close to the chaotic lands.
Although Lin Yan was exiled by the Holy See, the Holy See still left her a fief in the chaotic lands.
This fief was not large, and the taxes were even less. If Lin Yan wanted this fief, she would likely have to pay the taxes out of her own pocket.
Neither the original host nor Lin Yan herself paid much attention to these taxes. What they valued was owning a fief as a woman.
This was compensation from the Holy See and her honor.
In this world, women could not own land. Therefore, when the Holy See offered this land near the chaotic lands to the original host, she agreed to leave the Holy See and come here.
Instead of returning to the original host's home and becoming a noble lady.
Owning land was just the first step. Lin Yan did not care about the size of this land, nor the number of villagers, nor the number of forces here.
This would be her capital for rising, and one day she would have the ability to challenge some of the powerful forces in this world.
Those sent to buy winter supplies and food also returned. They were five days later than expected. By the time they returned, it had already begun to snow.
"It's so cold here. The charcoal for winter hasn't been fully bought yet. Although there's no shortage of food, there's no tax revenue here. We'll likely eat through our savings at this rate," the personal maid said, looking at the heavy snow outside with worry for the future.
"Yes, Miss Angelina also has to support those knights. Because they are loyal to Miss, she gives them the same treatment as the former Radiant Knights.
But back then, the Holy See paid for them. Now, Miss has to support them herself." Another maid was also very worried.
They had grown up with the original host and had always taken care of her life, so they understood her situation very well.
They knew exactly how much money their mistress had.
"When it gets warmer, we still need to build a manor. Although the previous house is almost repaired, it's too small and not enough to live in. We'll definitely have to build a new house.
That's another sum of money. Moreover, Miss didn't get that territory unconditionally. The empire requires her to pay ten years of taxes upfront!"
"Yes, Miss has no income here at all, and many of the previous things cannot be used..."
"What are you talking about?" Lisa walked over to the two gossiping maids.
"We weren't talking about anything." They immediately stood at attention.
"You don't need to worry about Miss Angelina's affairs. Instead of chatting here, it's better to go and work, so you can get warmer."
"Yes, Lisa." They bowed slightly and left.
Watching them leave, Lisa also felt a sense of worry. She understood Angelina's current financial situation even better than they did.
However, she believed that Angelina must have her own considerations, just as she was able to hire such formidable adventurers and persuade the Elf King to grant passage.
Since she chose to come to this place, she must have planned everything.