Translator: Cinder Translations
...
Catherine Rodney finally arrived in Alden. The princess and her entourage came by fleet, landing at Frand Port.
Everything here felt incredibly new to Catherine.
The impression of the Northwest Bay in the Crystal Glare Noble Circle had changed several times.
At first, many people hadn't even heard of the place.
Later, it was considered "probably a poor, remote place on the kingdom's border."
As time passed, with the increasing trade from the Northwest Bay, items like paper, porcelain, and thermos bottles flooded the lives of the nobles. The image of the Northwest Bay in their minds turned into a massive workshop.
But now, what stood before Catherine was Frand Port, a well-organized city with wide streets, clean cityscapes, neat buildings, and bustling crowds that rivaled even the royal capital, Crystal Glare.
No, it was even better in some ways, because while Crystal Glare was clean and prosperous in the noble's upper district, the moment one stepped out of that area, the narrow alleys, low houses, and muddy roads revealed the stark contrast within the city.
However, under the guidance of Eileen Rodney, Catherine toured many parts of the city. The overall style of the city was unified, without the massive disparities found in the royal capital.
Catherine had brought her mother, Felice, and younger sister, Eileen, on this trip to the Northwest Bay. For the little princess Eileen, it was a return to familiar ground. During her time when she had run away from home and stayed in the Northwest Bay, Frand Port had been a frequent visit. She had even personally supervised the construction of a school here when she was tasked with overseeing education by Paul.
Despite this, the city's development speed had exceeded Eileen's imagination. It had expanded, and many old places had changed. She had only left here a few years ago.
"Looks like Sir Smollett wasn't invited here for nothing. Paul must have paid him a hefty sum!" the little princess speculated.
TL/N: Smollett, a popular urban planner invited from Crystal Glare to oversee the expansion and layout planning of Alden Town. (593)
Paul Grayman, drawing on memories from his past life, had proposed many functional areas and potential elements for the city. The urban planning master was astonished by Lord Grayman's imaginative ideas. Many of the things he suggested seemed to belong in fantasy novels—like trains running on tracks, underground sewers large enough for adults to move through, and huge steel bridges crossing rivers.
In fact, Paul even had the city's population scale targeted at one million and had drawn up plans for various development stages of the city.
However, Sir Smollett, adhering to professional ethics, visited each city under the government's jurisdiction, carefully implementing Paul's "fantasies" in a way that suited each location.
The municipal departments across Alden strictly followed their development plans, avoiding the chaotic construction that often occurred when large populations and industrial growth occurred.
So, now Catherine and Eileen could see Frand Port as it is today.
"Sigh, we've arrived safely, thank goodness!" Felice said, patting her chest, seemingly relieved. The queen, who had always lived in luxury, had never experienced sea travel, and now that she was on solid ground, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Following Paul's instructions, Hansel, who had been waiting in Frand Port, greeted the two princesses and former Queen Felice. The next day, he arranged for a convoy to take them to Alden Town.
This royal trip wasn't just for the two princesses and the former queen, but also included many generals from the old royal army, such as Ophina, Klein, Leicester, and Dempsey. King Rodney XVIII had assigned them a mission—to serve in the Alden army and learn from their advanced experience.
"What are they doing?"
Through the carriage window, Eileen pointed to a construction site in the distance, where workers seemed to be laying foundations, though it didn't look like they were building any buildings.
Hansel, riding his horse alongside Eileen's carriage, glanced over when he heard the princess's question.
"Your Highness, they're probably laying tracks!"
"Tracks? Oh... I remember now!" Eileen suddenly understood, "Paul had thought about laying tracks between Alden Town and Frand Port and then using horses to pull large carts on the tracks. I heard it would make the transportation faster."
"Well... You're half-right!" Hansel said with a mysterious smile.
"Come on, tell me the answer!" Eileen was a bit impatient.
"The tracks aren't for horse-drawn carts, but for vehicles pulled by machines!"
"Machines?" Both Catherine and Eileen were curious.
"Yes, machines!" Hansel explained. "A powerful machine that burns coal to generate incredible strength, far surpassing what humans can achieve. Not even strong animals like horses or oxen can compare. Lord Burns calls it... a steam engine!"
"Burns? I think I've heard that name before," Catherine thought, her mind flashing with recognition.
"It's the crazy inventor from Crystal Glare, the one who worked on strange devices. He's been working with Paul for many years!" Eileen's words reminded Catherine of the person.
Around noon, the convoy arrived at the outskirts of Alden Town, and Catherine met her fiancé, Paul Grayman.
"Welcome, everyone!" He greeted each person warmly, and when it came to Catherine, he mischievously took her hand.
Catherine blushed as her fiancé's "flirtation" in front of everyone embarrassed her. She turned her head shyly, causing those around her to chuckle.
"Congratulations! I heard your army won the battle at Horns Bay!" Catherine tried to ease the awkwardness.
"Uh... It was the army hired by the merchants of Lion's Port that won, strictly speaking, I'm just their military contractor."
"Heh, who doesn't know that!"
Paul invited Catherine to ride in a carriage with him, just the two of them, to talk on their way.
"Hope you don't get distracted by the Horns Bay situation. The real enemy is the Orcs on the other side."
"Of course, aside from expanding the army, I'm also upgrading my military equipment and facilities. Didn't you see those tracks on the way here? That's the experimental 'railway' I'm building to improve logistics!"
"Is it the kind of track Hansel was talking about, with coal-burning machines pulling vehicles?"
"My term for it is—train! It's going to be a revolutionary mode of transport! Maybe the train's not very powerful right now, and it's only a little better than a horse-drawn cart, but as technology advances, it'll eventually surpass anything a cart can do! Just wait and see!"
Paul proudly boasted to Catherine, then mysteriously winked.
"By the way, do you want to see my big cannon?"
TL/N: 🙄
(End of the Chapter)
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