The capital of Castel, the North Port, is a city founded on the sea, located next to the mouth of the Dorne, the largest river in the West Yunette region.

It is said that 800 years ago, it was just a coastal swamp, deserted, surrounded by dense forests with many magical beasts, and was once part of the Violet Forest.

At that time, the Violet Forest was not called the Violet Forest, the entire forest stretched across the northern lowlands, and was called the Dark Forest, and many magical beasts would often form a wave of magical beasts in the spring and attack the villages of the southern human countries.

Later, in order to permanently solve the problem of the Warcraft tide in the north, the king of the Crescent Kingdom formulated a policy of pioneer knights who divided the land into feuds.

Anyone who is willing to go all the way north and deep into the dark forest to open up land and establish a village, regardless of nobles and commoners, can get the title of Pioneer Knight, all the land carved out belongs to the knight, all the rare resources found on the estate are equally divided between the knight and the royal family, and all the pioneer knights who get the land can get the corresponding hereditary noble title.

The county of Castel, the Duchy of Violet, and even the Duchy of Roman, which is now an enclave on the continent of the Falling Star Kingdom and is also the ancestral land of the Falling Star Kingdom, were all developed in this way.

The origins of the Castel family can be traced back to 700 years ago.

At that time, the prominent Boulder family in the south of the kingdom produced a magical genius named Castel.

At that time, the theory of the transcendent four levels had not yet been proposed, and the division of ranks was not so clear, but ...... According to various historical records, the ancestor of the Castel family was at the peak of his strength after middle age, and his strength was likely to be a legend.

Because he was the widow of the old duke, Castel did not inherit any fiefs and titles, in order to obtain his own land, he chose to become a pioneer knight when he became an adult, and with the support of his eldest brother, the then Duke of Boulder, he raised a pioneer group of 1,000 people.

The county of Castel was carved out by Castel with his own pioneer group.

With his powerful magical powers, Castel slain countless magical beasts, carved out a world in the dark forest, and chose to build a city on the banks of the Dorne River, an island on a shallow beach, and carved a large area of the dark forest into his own territory.

There are four main reasons why the city was built here.

First, relying on the barrier of the shallow sea, it can effectively avoid the attack of the tide of Warcraft; the second is on the verge of the Dorne River, through which it can go upstream, and circulate with the interior of the Crescent Kingdom, and even the Yunette Empire and the Koria Kingdom in the east; Third, according to the Pioneer Knights Treaty, the fiefdom division of the Pioneer nobles is centered on the stronghold and radiates to the surroundings, and the stronghold that goes deep into the dark forest can carve a large amount of territory for itself; Fourth, Castel had investigated in advance, and he used this as a base to divide the flattest part of the land in the dark forest into his own name, and this part of the land can be converted into fertile arable land after clearing the monsters.

In this way, the city of North Port was built, becoming the northernmost city of the Crescent Kingdom, and the Castel family also owned a full 120,000 square kilometers of land, and even Boulder, who was the largest principality in the Crescent Kingdom, benefited from it.

Many people say that Castel is a family favored by the gods.

During the Great Exploration Period, it was the period when the supernatural power developed greatly in the human world, and the supernatural materials based on the resources of Warcraft were very in demand in various kingdoms.

Relying on the abundant resources of magical beasts in the dark forest, the North Harbor of Castel has become a haven for adventurers and mercenaries, and merchants from all over Miria have flocked to trade with mercenaries and adventurers along the Dorne River here, buying precious magical materials and reselling them around the world.

In a sense, from the very beginning, the Castel family started out on business.

In the next 200 years, the Castel family used Northport as a stronghold, gradually eliminated the demonic beasts in the family's land one by one, and Northport City also continued to expand, expanding again and again, from the earliest no more than 2,000 people, to a new city with a population of tens of thousands.

The traces of the demonic beasts gradually disappeared in the castel territory, and the originally dense forest was also cut down.

The lords of Castel began to farm, and villages began to appear.

But at the same time, because it was not located in the forest, the trade in Warcraft materials gradually disappeared from the county of Castel, and was transferred to the Violet Duchy in the south and the northern tribal alliance in the north.

It stands to reason that Castel City is likely to fall as a result.

But once again, the favor of the gods came.

While the Castel family was clearing the hilly areas in the eastern part of their territory, they accidentally discovered a rich silver deposit!

According to the investigation of the modern Count of Castel, who was also a mage at the time, he found a very high-quality companion Mithril in the silver mine......

Thus, the era of the great silver mines of the Counts of Castel began.

The mining of silver and mythril brought great wealth.

Not only the Castels, but also the Boulder family and the Crescent royal family benefited from this.

Especially Mithril.

The mining of Mithril was accompanied by the emergence of a precious metal processing industry in Castre, where it gradually developed into a workshop industry of jewelry and extraordinary materials.

Merchants from all over the world flocked to it again, this time for the precious Mithril.

As the Mithril Workshop industry gradually developed, Castel City became the most well-known Mithril source in the whole of Miria, and thus became the most important trade node for Mithril-loving elves to trade with the human world.

From that moment on, as the Moon God Island, where the overseas elves are located, the Falling Star Kingdom on the other side of the Star-Moon Strait, the Crescent Moon Kingdom on the Crescent Peninsula, and the Eastern Yunette Black Land Mercenary Alliance in the east, and the Northern Grand Duchy established by the Northern Tribal Alliance in the northeast...... Surrounded by the power of the five parties, Castel's commercial value has become increasingly prominent.

The Castels family gained a huge amount of wealth, and became one of the richest families in the Crescent Kingdom.

As the capital of the county of Castel, North Harbor has also expanded again and again, from a city to defend against the invasion of Warcraft, to a megacity with a population of more than half a million......

Until today.

At the first glance of Charlotte's sight of North Harbor, she subconsciously thought of the two cities of Blue Star in her previous life.

One is Venice on the Apennine Peninsula, known as the "City of Water", and the other is Amsterdam, the capital of the Republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, known as the coachman of the sea, during the Age of Discovery.

Actually, it's very similar.

Outside through the city wall rebuilt during the Star and Moon War, you will find that the entire city can be seen everywhere canals and waterways, and there are many bridges, although it is not almost a waterway that replaces the streets like Venice, but it can definitely be called "living on the water, water entering the city, and people and water depend on each other".

Northport is even more prosperous than Boulder City, the capital of the Duchy of Boulder, and Anro, the capital of the Duchy of Moongo, and it is really hard to imagine that she is just the capital of a county if you don't know.

In the city, the rivers are crisscrossed, and on both sides of the rivers are relatively spacious land routes, with merchant ships and horse-drawn carriages on the water.

It is said that each expansion of the North Port was designed by the then Earl of Castel himself, and each time the archmage participated in the reconstruction.

Because it was a city of immigrants, the architectural style of the North Harbor was influenced by various parts of Miria, but the most common ones were Gothic buildings of the same origin as the Crescent Kingdom.

Located in the middle of the North Harbour, the Earl's Court was remodeled on the basis of the castle fortress built by the first Count of Castel, like a solemn castle palace of the manor.

Because there was no master to live in the house for a long time, there were not many servants in the house, but even so, when Charlotte stepped out of the carriage, there were two hundred deacons and maids standing on both sides to greet her and salute her respectfully.

Charlotte nodded slightly, and then entered the Earl's Court accompanied by her followers.

Sebas, dressed in a butler's tuxedo, stood beside her, holding an umbrella for her gracefully and respectfully, while Nice, the black cat, followed her, with his head held high and his toes high, looking like a kitten underwhelming.

As soon as she entered the castle palace of the Earls' Court, Charlotte felt a very familiar feeling, as the decoration resembled that of the Castel estate in Boulder.

It is clear that Castel Manor is a replica of a small earl's house.

The direction in the Earl's Court is also very similar, through the staircase and the corridor, Charlotte can easily find the Earl's master bedroom and study, almost identical corridors, the only significant difference from the Castel manor, is probably the portraits of the earls of the past.

Charlotte even noticed that there was a blank space next to the last portrait, and it was clear that a new one was going to be hung.

As for who is hanging, I'm afraid it's herself.

In addition, Charlotte, who had seen the count's handwriting in the manor in advance, also knew that there was also a previous Count of Castel in her Earl's Mansion dedicated to the study of magic secrets.

Charlotte entered the count's master bedroom, followed the handwriting of the previous counts, groped in front of the gorgeous pillar wall, and soon found the mechanism in the record, and after gently injecting magic power, the whole wall was reversed, opening a passage through the secret room.

Charlotte walked down the aisle, but her expression quickly became a little strange.

It's not a simple secret room.

In fact, after passing through the passageway, Charlotte discovers that it is another hidden bedroom.

The décor was just as beautiful, and there were also luxurious bathrooms and baths, and she almost instantly thought of what it was for, not the old Earl's Golden House or the place where wild flowers were gathered......

It doesn't have to be her father, but it must be an ancestor of a certain generation, or it is very likely that it has been used more or less by generations.

However, if you go deeper, you will find the real secret room for the study of magic, which is a circular secret room with all kinds of sophisticated magical equipment, and a large number of books on the shelves on the wall, which serve as both magic research and study.

Charlotte is a Bloodline, and magical research is of little use to her, and she is not the kind of material for research, but it is a good place for her to hone the Blood's innate magic, or study the power of the Blood Codex.

It can be said that after getting acquainted with the Earl's Court, Charlotte was quite satisfied.

"Lord Earl, the Mage Tower is ready to send a collective message, and the news of your arrival in the North Harbor can be transmitted to the nobles everywhere at any time, do you think you need to order them to come and meet you as soon as possible?"

Charlotte looked around, and when she returned to the hall, the mayor of North Harbor, Maddock, greeted her with a smile and asked respectfully.

"Mage Tower? Is it the mage tower that broke last year? ”

Charlotte's heart moved.

Maddock's expression was a little embarrassed:

"Ahem...... Yes, but it was an accident......"

"Our county only has a mage tower that can transmit information from a long distance, and the elf craftsmen were invited to modify it the year before last, which can be said to be the most advanced in the world of Miria, and now it can send messages to various nobles in the territory at any time."

"This is the highest-end magic craft of the elves, but the disadvantage is that it is not very stable...... Last year, I was unlucky, and I didn't adjust the magic array when I encountered a storm, and as a result, the elements were disordered. ”

"Because the elven craftsman returned to Lunashen Island to participate in the Luna's celebration at that time, it hasn't been repaired for two months when you summon the news......"

Listening to Maddock's words, Charlotte gave him a deliberate look:

"You know magic, too?"

Maddock scratched his head:

"To tell you the truth, I always dreamed of becoming a mage in my early years, but unfortunately I didn't have the talent to awaken the magic circuit. However, I've always been interested in magic, so I know a little bit about it. ”

Charlotte nodded knowingly.

"Look, Lord Count...... Do I need to be arraigned? ”

Madok asked again.

"Pass the word, tell them I'm here, and ...... I'm going to have a banquet at the Earldom in a week's time, and I'm going to invite the nobles from all over the county, and I'm going to walk around the territory at will, so that no one can disturb me. ”

Charlotte thought for a moment and said.

After coming to the county, she will definitely have to meet with the nobles, and Charlotte also needs a banquet to judge the nobility of the county of Castel.

Maddock saluted respectfully:

"Yes, I'll do it."

……

News of the arrival of the new Earl in the North Harbor soon spread throughout the Castell Realm via the Mage's Tower.

At the same time, somewhere in the Castel Territory near the Duchy of Violet, in a ruined castle.

The middle-aged knight Lahair looked at Agnès, a blood girl who was standing in front of the mirror trying on various maid outfits, hesitated, and asked:

"Miss, are you really going to her banquet?"

Listening to the knight's words, Agnès turned her head and glared suddenly:

"Go! Why not? ”

"The Necronomicon is still in her hand! This is a great opportunity to infiltrate the Counts of Castel, and of course we have to go! ”

……

Charlotte didn't know that some of the two Bloods who had attacked her had learned that she was going to have a banquet.

There were still seven days left before the feast, and during those seven days, she had some other arrangements.

And the most important of these is to visit the Castel silver mine to the east.

New January Monthly Pass_(:з"∠)_

(End of chapter)