"Lord Sharon, should I explain who we are and why we're here to the lord of this territory?" the steward Kran asked.
"No need." Sharon narrowed his eyes as he stared at the town ahead. He wanted to see for himself who this man was.
Someone who dared to impersonate Prince Lucien and even attempt to abolish slavery was not just bold, he was openly challenging the kingdom's foundations. That made him extremely dangerous.
Sharon instinctively felt that this person could not possibly be the Third Prince Lucien. According to everything he knew, Prince Lucien was still in the royal city, a prince raised inside the palace, detached from real governance.
And above all, Prince Lucien was royalty. How could he possibly do something so self-destructive?
"Let's go, Kran." Sharon urged his horse forward.
"Yes, sir."
The two rode slowly toward the city. Even before they reached the gate, they saw vast fields stretching out before them.
Golden wheat covered the plains, nearly ripe for harvest. The warm breeze carried with it the scent of grain and the joy of abundance.
"Sir, what is this?" Kran stared, startled and confused.
The timing was wrong. By all logic, crops in their own territory were still green and far from harvest.
Something was off.
"This place is strange." Sharon frowned.
Just then, they spotted several farmers working in the fields.
"Kran, go ask what's going on." Sharon instructed.
"Understood."
Kran approached a farmer resting beside the road, pretending to be a passerby.
"Uncle, looks like another good harvest this year."
The farmer gave him a friendly smile.
"You're from out of town, aren't you?"
"Eh? How did you know?" Kran asked.
"This isn't just a good harvest this year. Every season here is a bumper crop." The farmer puffed out his chest proudly.
"Everyone in Lucien City knows this."
"Every… season?" Kran froze.
"That's right." The farmer nodded naturally.
Kran's mind filled with questions.
"How are you doing this? And when we passed through other territories, their crops were still green. Nowhere is ready for harvest."
"That's thanks to His Highness Lucien's leadership." The farmer's eyes shone with gratitude.
Kran stiffened when he heard the title "His Highness."
Within the kingdom, only members of the royal family could be addressed like that.
Could this His Highness Lucien really be the Third Prince?
But that shouldn't be possible. The Third Prince should still be in the royal city. And from all the intelligence they collected, Lucien was a prince who rarely touched politics, someone pampered by the old king and known for a carefree lifestyle.
Someone like that could never have built such a territory.
Unless… the Third Prince had been hiding his true abilities?
Shaken, Kran forgot to ask further and rushed back to Sharon.
"It can't be Lucien. Absolutely impossible." Sharon shook his head after thinking for a moment.
If it were the Third Prince, then the Second Prince, Lance, would have noticed long ago. He would never leave such a place unmonitored.
"Kran, look at the magical beasts." Sharon pointed.
Kran followed his gaze and saw several magical beasts standing beside farmers at the edge of the field.
Sharon's expression darkened.
In his own territory, commoners kept a careful distance from wild magical beasts. They were unpredictable and often dangerous.
But here, farmers were interacting with them openly, without fear.
Early harvests. Friendly monsters. Peace in the fields.
Everything here felt unnatural.
"Let's keep going. We'll know what's happening once we're inside the town." Sharon said.
"Yes, sir."
The two continued down the road and soon reached the town.
The place was lively. Though not large, the town was clearly still under active construction. It wasn't yet at its full potential, but even so, the air carried a sense of rapid development and progress.
The streets were paved with clean red bricks, a stark contrast to the primitive dirt roads common under lesser lords.
The entire atmosphere felt more civilized.
"Sir, look!" Kran suddenly pointed forward.
Sharon looked up and froze.
A squad of armored soldiers marched down the street in perfect formation. At a glance, it seemed like ordinary patrol duty.
But trailing behind the soldiers were several magical beasts, walking obediently as if they were trained members of the patrol.
Sharon was stunned.
Kran was equally shocked.
Had the soldiers tamed these magical beasts?
Or, like King Lance they served, had the beasts chosen to join the army and fight for him to help him achieve his beliefs?
Before the two could think further, the patrol of soldiers gradually disappeared into the distance.
"My lord, what is going on?" Kran murmured.
Sharon silently shook his head. If they had not never heard of Lucien before, they probably would have thought this was a place used by Prince Lance for experiments.
The two walked along the clean and tidy red-brick street, observing their surroundings as they went.
Gradually, the further they went, the more prosperous the place became.
Shops lined both sides of the street: inns, fruit stalls, blacksmiths, barbers, clothing stores, and the newspaper stalls they had seen before, and just like that, the number of magical beasts also increased.
Pidove perched on rooftops. Purrloin rested in women's arms. Herdier followed behind elderly men. Children led snow-furred monsters on ropes.
Some magical beasts even helped the humans.
For example, Lilligant helped sell vegetables, Whimsicott acted as shop signs, and Buneary drew in customers.
It looked less like a human town and more like a magical beast town.
No, to be precise, it was a town where humans and magical beasts lived together.
This thought flashed through Sharon's mind.
The steward, Kran, beside him, also wore an expression of disbelief.
Master and servant were utterly stunned by what they saw, and it took them a long time to collect themselves.
Unknowingly, they had arrived at a more secluded place.
"Where is this?"
Sharon instinctively peered inside, and saw many boys and girls alongside magical beasts in a courtyard beyond the gate.
The guard posted at the school entrance noticed the two and asked curiously,
"You two are?"
"Hello, we came from another territory. May I ask where this place is?" Kran asked.
"From out of town?"
The guard nodded in understanding, then smiled: "This place? It's our school. All children of the right age in the territory can come here to study."
"A school?"
Kran was taken aback.
But Sharon focused on the second hall, all children, and, connecting it to the lord's rumored actions, asked almost involuntarily:
"Children of commoners and slaves too?"
"Of course. His Highness Lucien advocates education for all, every child can come here to learn."
The guard's expression was full of gratitude; his own children would one day study here too.
Madness.
The lord of this place had gone completely mad.
At this moment, Sharon felt certain that the news of the abolition of slavery in the newspaper was real.
Sharon was horrified. Did this man know what he was doing?
This action shook the very foundations of the kingdom.
If lowly slaves became educated… who would willingly serve nobles in the future?
Not to mention him, if other nobles learned of this, they would surely rise up against Lucien.
Before Sharon could speak, the guard continued:
"However, we don't have any slaves here anymore. This is a law personally issued by His Highness Lucien. From now on, everyone is a free man!"
The guard grinned widely, gratitude written all over his face whenever he mentioned His Highness Lucien.
"No more slaves?"
Sharon stared at the guard, thinking bitterly:
What is the difference between you, a gatekeeper, and the slaves who serve nobles?
The guard seemed to read his thoughts and immediately said, "His Highness Lucien pays us wages! A full salary every month! And if we ever decide we don't want this job anymore, we can quit anytime and find other work."
Hearing this, Sharon fell silent.
The guard continued enthusiastically, "And that's not all, we even have social security. As long as we pay a small insurance fee, we can save a lot on medical treatment in the future. His Highness Lucien is the greatest ruler in the world!"
"And we don't have to worry about where to keep our savings. His Highness has even opened a special bank for us. We can deposit our money, have professionals manage it, withdraw it whenever we want, and it earns interest every year!"
Social security? A bank? Interest?
Sharon was momentarily stunned.
He didn't understand these terms at all.
But what shocked him more was how deeply the commoners here trusted their lord.
For an ordinary civilian, what matters most?
Besides family, money.
If this were in his own territory, unless he seized it by force, no commoner would ever hand their savings to him voluntarily.
At that moment, Sharon clearly realized something.
His relationship with the common people was completely different from Lucien's relationship with his subjects.
In his own territory, the people felt only fear and forced respect.
Here… the people held genuine respect, trust, and even affection for their lord, Lucien.
A faint pang of envy surfaced in Sharon's heart.
"My lord, we should return to the inn," Kran whispered.
Sharon nodded quietly.
They went back to an inn in town. Once they settled in, Kran discreetly revealed their identities and informed the innkeeper that they would formally pay a visit the next morning.
When Lucien heard about this, he was in the middle of having Kyurem supervise training for the other Pokémon.
"Lord Sharon of Twin Dragon Territory?" Lucien glanced uncertainly at Elif.
"That's correct," Elif confirmed. "Lord Sharon arrived today. He plans to pay you a formal visit tomorrow morning."
Twin Dragon Territory… could this be the Twin Dragon City that would exist in later generations?
Sharon… could he be the ancestor of Shaga?
Lucien wasn't surprised. The moment the newspaper was published, he knew this day would arrive sooner or later.
"I understand," Lucien said with a nod.
Since Sharon wanted to meet, then he would meet him.
With Kyurem at his side, Lucien wasn't worried about his two brothers discovering his location.
Reshiram, Zekrom, Kyurem, no matter the era or war, all three were equivalent to nuclear deterrents. Their presence alone was a warning.
But this conflict had clearly been brewing for a long time. A single clash between kings would not resolve it.
"I'll make the proper arrangements so the visitor can meet you first thing tomorrow," Elif said. Then, as if he suddenly recalled something, he added, "By the way, Your Highness, the throne room in the castle has been completed. You can receive him there tomorrow morning."
As a king, how could His Highness still use a small, cramped office to receive visiting lords?
It would be far beneath his dignity, and other nobles might look down on him for it.
Only a majestic castle was worthy of His Highness.
The next morning, Sharon and Kran, under Elif's guidance, headed to meet His Highness Lucien.
Crossing through the town and over a wide stone bridge, they finally saw it, a towering, grand castle rising above the plains.
A hint of astonishment flashed across their eyes.
This castle was far more imposing than the one in their own territory.
Soon, they arrived at its gates.
With a deep rumble, the massive doors slowly opened, revealing a spacious, resplendent hall. A thick red carpet stretched forward like a river of crimson, leading all the way to a lofty throne.
A young man sat upon that throne, and behind him stood a colossal figure radiating an ancient, oppressive aura.
Its presence alone was suffocating.
Merely looking at it sent a chill down one's spine, as though its very existence embodied overwhelming dominance.
Sharon and Kran instinctively trembled. Their eyes widened in horror as they stared at Kyurem.
That was that magical beast?!
Its aura… was no weaker than the dragon Reshiram they had once seen beside Prince Lance!
"Your Highness..."
At that moment, an impossible thought flashed through the minds of both master and servant.
Could the person seated on that throne truly be the Third Prince Lucien they had heard so much about?
Sharon couldn't help but murmur, voice trembling:
"Lucien… Your Highness?"
The very second he spoke, the young man on the throne slowly lowered his gaze, his calm eyes falling directly upon Sharon.
...
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