Chapter 169
Count Castel Domain was located in the northern part of New Moon Kingdom.
From the southern Bold to the northern Castel, it would take about a month to travel by land.
Perhaps a powerful Transcendent traveling alone could move faster, but for the grand procession of a thousand from Castel, a month was already considered fast.
Of course, besides the land route, there was also the sea route.
The western region of Bold Duchy bordered the sea, so if one were to head west first, to the western seaside of Bold, and then sail northward, passing through the Star Moon Strait in the northeast, one could also reach Castel in the Northern Land.
By sea, it might even be faster.
However, Charlotte had not chosen either sea or land.
First, the war between Falling Star Kingdom and New Moon Kingdom had ended not long ago, and the control over Star Moon Strait had always been more in favor of Falling Star Kingdom.
Moreover, the coastal Bowat Duchy to the west of New Moon Kingdom was an archenemy of Bold Duchy; even if Charlotte did not hold Bold Duke in high regard, as an affiliate, she was easily a target of interest to others when outside Bold’s territory.
Not to mention, when passing through the Star Moon Strait, one would have to traverse through Roman Duchy, a territory of Falling Star Kingdom positioned at this side of the strait.
Therefore, Charlotte deemed it better to be cautious.
For decades during the Star Moon War, Castel Domain had always been a coveted territory by Falling Star Kingdom!
Secondly, Charlotte also wanted to take this opportunity to better understand the world she lived in.
Though she had already gained much knowledge about the world from books, the experience was shallow compared to reality.
Compared to traveling by sea, taking the land route allowed her to appreciate the customs and culture of New Moon Kingdom.
Traveling from Bold northward to reach Castel Domain and bypassing the rival Bowat to the northwest, one would still need to pass through two other duchies and two earldoms by taking a detour on the land route.
These four lords were all direct vassals of the New Moon royal lineage, swearing their allegiance directly to the King.
Among them, the two strongest duchies were Moon Guardian Duchy and Violet Duchy, one to the south and one to the north, respectively, neighbors to the homeland of Bold Duchy and Count Castel Domain.
Moon Guardian Duchy, formally known as the Duchy of the Moon’s Guard, was ruled by a branch of the New Moon royal family, faithful supporters of the Royal Family, and among the few Great Nobles in support of the King’s efforts to strengthen central power.
Violet Duchy, located to the immediate north of the Kingdom, neighbored Roman Duchy, a territory of Falling Star Kingdom, as well as Count Castel Domain. It was a major battlefield during the Star Moon War, and due to the constant state of war, its people were notoriously fierce and valiant.
As for the other two earldoms… they were both vassals under New Moon Duchy, a directly administered domain of the New Moon royal lineage.
They were sandwiched between the two duchies, with close relations to the Royal Family, their lords being branch families of the Royal Family. Further to the northeast was New Moon City, the Royal Capital of New Moon Kingdom.
Disregarding the two earldoms that were no match for Castel in terms of power, both of the essential duchies to pass through – one to the south, one to the north – did not have a particularly good relationship with Bold, but they were far from being enemies.
For Charlotte, traveling by land was indeed much safer than by sea.
She had done her homework well in advance.
Unlike Bold City, which was highly urbanized, stepping out of Bold and into the vast countryside, Charlotte truly saw the reality of a feudal kingdom of this era.
Bold City was the capital of the duchy.
Such large cities were rare even within the Kingdom. Across the vast expanse of New Moon Kingdom, what was more common were castles, manors, churches, and villages scattered like stars in the sky.
Each castle represented at least one baron; almost every manor signified a Transcendent Knight; and likewise, almost every church implied a priest.
Whether they had ascended to a higher tier or not, they were at least Transcendents, with power far beyond ordinary people, and they had their own house servants or servitude.
Almost all villages were built around manors, churches, and castles, receiving the protection of the nobles and priests.
Even those cities often developed from noble castles as their centers, and a city could flourish if it was situated on an important traffic route or if there was a locally influential noble, typically starting at least with a viscount in rank.
These cities were much smaller in scale compared to Bold, with most hosting populations of just twenty to thirty thousand. A city with over fifty thousand inhabitants was considered large.
However, there were many such cities scattered like stars throughout the vast lands.
These cities, castles, manors, and villages formed the vital network of the Kingdom’s governance.
Surrounding the cities, castles, manors, and villages were often vast fields, but further afield lay endless wilderness.
The wilderness was not safe, harboring bandits and robbers who attacked passing caravans.
Though there were few Transcendents among these bandits and mercenaries, they posed more of a threat to ordinary people than to the powerful.
Apart from them, what truly compelled commoners to seek the protection of nobility were the Demon Beasts that roamed the wilds.
The origin of Demon Beasts was untraceable, with the most accepted view being that their power stemmed from Fallen deities.
In the Mireya world, Transcendent powers originated from deities and the Demon Beasts that wielded such powers were no exception.
They were believed to be monsters birthed from the corpses of Fallen gods, proliferating through generations and whose presence spanned across the entire Mireya Continent, a force that could not be ignored by civilization.