Damn it, damn it! What kind of damn prince is he? Just a poor wretch thrown into the wilderness! Courliss thought viciously, but seeing the two guards with their hands on their sword hilts behind him, he had to swallow this resentment for the time being.

Walking out of the castle gate, the Baron breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the guards turn and leave.

He took out a damp handkerchief and wiped his forehead, spitting fiercely while imagining the saliva hitting the prince's face. That wasn't enough to relieve his anger, so he stomped on the saliva hard, feeling a little better in his heart.

So what if you blocked the demonic beasts? Do you think you can gain a foothold in the Western Territory? Keep being proud, see how long you can be proud for! Courliss thought to himself. If he hadn't received reliable information, he wouldn't have been willing to come to Border Town so early. Generally speaking, nobles would return to the town later than commoners, after all, they didn't have to do the hard and tiring work of mining and hunting. They only needed to go to the mine every once in a while to supervise the production situation and wait for the day of ore delivery. In their spare time, they could also visit the hunters' homes to see if there were any high-quality furs suitable for purchase.

But this year, the situation had changed. Courliss had heard from the Chief Financial Officer, Ferreyno, that Duke Ryan was preparing to drive the Fourth Prince out of the Western Territory—this wasn't betraying the Kingdom of Graycastle, but following the will of the new King, Tifice Wimbledon: "Roland Wimbledon is no longer the Lord of Border Town, and he needs to be re-appointed to a new territory after returning to the capital to report on his duties."

Who was Ferreyno? He was a favorite in front of the Duke, who had climbed from a municipal official to the position of chief financial officer in just five years. If it weren't for his distant relatives and the fact that he sent him two good furs every year, how would he have known the thoughts of the ruler of the Western Territory?

"Re-appointing to a new territory after returning to the capital to report on his duties" was just a nice way of saying it. Even Courliss knew that the First Prince had been sent to the guillotine without saying a word. Once the Fourth Prince went back, wouldn't he be at the mercy of the new King?

There was no doubt that the Western Territory was Duke Ryan's Western Territory. If it was only King Tifice's unilateral order, it would still be debatable. However, when the Duke was prepared to personally intervene, Roland Wimbledon was no different from a homeless dog.

This was also why Courliss rushed to Border Town. First, he wanted to collect some furs as soon as possible, and second, he planned to sell the house. He had calculated the first point very carefully. In previous years, the commoners here would have fled to Longsong Stronghold for refuge, so naturally there would be no stock. But this year, they had been staying here, so they should be able to collect a few good furs, right? Not only could he make a small profit, but he could also give Ferreyno a tribute.

The second point was that Courliss had asked Ferreyno to arrange a position for him in the City Hall. Although it was a useless position, it was still better than this damn poor place. He wouldn't need the house anymore, so of course it was best to sell it as soon as possible. Who knew when the Duke would make a move? If these lowly people stubbornly resisted and accidentally burned down his house, he would lose a lot of money.

However, he never expected that the house wouldn't be burned down by the lowly people, but would be directly demolished by the Fourth Prince. Thinking of this, the Baron's teeth itched with anger. A good house! Although one hundred and fifty gold dragons was an exaggeration, thirty gold dragons was definitely worth it.

In order to get the money sooner, he had retreated again and again, and twenty gold dragons was barely acceptable, but His Highness actually treated him like this! He didn't even take out a single coin, and even threatened him with treason. Didn't he know that all the nobles would evacuate this place during the Months of the Demons?

Wait... Courliss slowed down, suddenly feeling that something was wrong. Although he had heard before that the Fourth Prince had a bad character and acted without thinking, and had even maliciously molested Baron Simon's wife when he first arrived at Border Town, which had been talked about in private as a joke for a long time, the feeling he got when he met him today was completely different. The Prince didn't become angry or try to deny it, and the demeanor he showed was completely unrelated to being ill-tempered and thoughtless. The other party had been talking to him in a normal tone, so why was he so scared at the time, obediently giving up all ownership of the house? Could it be that if he insisted that the house was his, the Prince would really kill him?

That's right... Courliss couldn't help but shiver, and the sweat on his forehead receded. Now that he thought about it, he had the illusion that he was talking to the Duke when he was facing the Prince.

The Baron shook his head hard, throwing the unpleasant memory out of his mind. Anyway, the Fourth Prince wouldn't be proud for long. When Ryan takes Border Town back under his control and escorts Roland Wimbledon to the capital, he would definitely mock him severely. Maybe the Duke would be willing to seek justice for him for these twenty gold dragons.

Thinking of this, he felt relaxed again. Since he had received some good furs, and he didn't need to sell the house, he might as well go back to the stronghold. Saying "tell those nobles who may have the same misunderstanding" was just too pretentious. When he returned to Longsong Stronghold, he would definitely imitate it for everyone to hear, so that everyone could see what a bluffing person was like.

Leaving the castle district and walking down the long slope, Courliss brushed past a woman wearing a hood.

Originally, there was nothing strange about this. Among the townspeople coming and going, women were all dressed like this. If you wanted to see beautiful xiaojie or noble ladies, you had to go to the capital. But when a gust of wind lifted the corner of the woman's hood, Courliss felt his heart skip a beat, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze.

Heavens, what kind of woman was that, with a rare emerald green hair, and the momentary glimpse of her face was already stunning. Even in the capital of Graycastle, she would make those so-called princesses and celebrities pale in comparison. How could such a person appear in Border Town?

He turned around, wanting to chase after her to see what was going on, but found that she was heading towards the castle district.

Is this the Prince's woman? The Baron hesitated for a moment, and finally chose to give up. He really didn't want to deal with the Fourth Prince anymore. He would leave this kind of evil person to the Duke to deal with. He should go back to the stronghold as soon as possible.

Boarding his own sloop from the dock, the boatman raised the sails, and the small boat quickly left the dock, heading towards Longsong Stronghold.

On the way back, Courliss, who was sitting on the bow of the boat sunbathing, also saw a strange sight.

A large group of people appeared in his field of vision about five miles away from Border Town in the snow—they were wearing the same dark brown leather armor, carrying long wooden spears on their backs, and were lined up in a long string, slowly traversing the snow. Although he couldn't see the whole team because of the trees, there were at least a hundred people.

These are... the farmers the Fourth Prince used to fight against the demonic beasts?

In the early month before the snow melted, the land route was sparsely populated. Courliss could imagine how difficult it would be to walk in the snow without trying it. And these people were all walking with their heads down, seemingly oblivious to the nearly foot-deep snow under their feet...

He wanted to laugh, but found that he couldn't laugh. A question unconsciously floated from the bottom of his heart. Could the knights under Ryan do this?