Although it sounded a bit overly righteous and noble, Ron really wasn’t lying!
As a good young man of the 21st century, he was well aware of the dangers of drugs and gambling!
Seeing Ron so virtuous and sensible, Elenda nodded in deep satisfaction.
“Mm-hmm~”
“It’s good that you have that awareness.”
“However…”
“What about porn?”
“Don’t you dare leave that out on your own!!”
Elenda, full of anger, gave Ron’s head another heavy smack.
Ron clutched his head with an innocent look.
“Lewds are the ladder of human progress!”
“What’s wrong with being horny!”
Upon hearing this, Elenda scolded him with clear exasperation:
“Don’t think porn is less dangerous than the other two.”
“Let’s not even talk about STDs.”
“Overindulgence can cause an early death!”
“The royal families’ many short-lived fools are your best examples!”
“Besides.”
“If you let women manipulate your brain, your entire fortune could be drained dry too!”
Faced with Elenda’s lecture, Ron could only nod helplessly again and again.
“Alright, alright~”
“I get it.”
After finishing her lecture, Elenda couldn’t help but ask again:
“Be honest with me.”
“With all the fooling around you’ve done lately…”
“Yours is still… intact, right?”
Ron was stunned for a moment before catching on.
“Huh?”
“O-of course it is.”
“I’ve only… enjoyed some borderline services.”
Seeing Ron shy about discussing these matters, Elenda sighed lightly.
“It’s not that I oppose you cheating after marriage.”
“After all, they were the ones who were heartless and unjust first.”
Hearing this, Ron froze slightly.
He hadn’t expected Elenda to actually know about Crasis’s affair.
Under Ron’s complex gaze, Elenda continued:
“You absolutely have the right to repay betrayal with betrayal.”
“And you’re an adult now — having certain needs is normal.”
“However…”
“Just don’t mess around recklessly out there.”
“First, it would bring shame to the family.”
“If someone with ill intentions finds out, they’ll definitely use it against you.”
“Second, it’s unsafe.”
“In those kinds of places, once your identity is exposed, who knows what they’d do for profit.”
“For example, deliberately getting pregnant with your child.”
“Or even kidnapping you to extort benefits!”
“If you really have that kind of need, just find a few steady partners and bring them home.”
“Whether it’s from an auction or the slave market—”
“Getting a few maids specifically for handling your desires is still far better than looking for women outside.”
“And one more thing—”
“Pleasure is pleasure.”
“Love is love.”
“I hope you can understand the difference between the two.”
Elenda patted Ron on the thigh, speaking earnestly and seriously.
Hearing all this, Ron was absolutely stunned—he nearly choked on his own spit.
He knew Eastern and Western views on sex were different.
But still—he never expected Westerners to be this open!
To Elenda,human trafficking and treating others as tools to satisfy desires sounded as ordinary as buying groceries.
But on second thought, Ron couldn’t help but find it strangely… logical.
After all, this was a medieval fantasy world with magic.
Here, people weren’t born equal.
Let alone different races.
Thinking back to how Perike genuinely looked down on catgirls as a species,
Ron—raised in the modern world—felt a deep unease.
His family was already considered kind to those of lower status.
Servants in their house weren’t unfairly docked wages, nor did they suffer random humiliation.
Among the nobles, the Castrellero family was already considered “benevolent.”
Other families, like the Phinip family?
They probably didn’t even see other people as human.
After recovering from the shock, Ron nodded silently to show that he understood.
Seeing how gloomy his expression was, Perike couldn’t help but tease him:
“If Young Master Ron is feeling that lonely~”
“I could help you out, you know~”
Ron twitched at the corners of his mouth when he heard that.
“Help me?”
“Sounds more like you’re just looking for a chance to mess with me!”
Perike stuck out her tongue and gave a cheeky, noncommittal answer.
“Well, it’s just that you really are a lot of fun, Young Master.”
After that heavy discussion, Elenda suddenly changed her tone, becoming light and cheerful.
“Oh right.”
“Do you still remember your eighteenth birthday present?”
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Ron was a bit stunned.
“Huh?”
“Didn’t you say it wouldn’t be ready for a while?”
Seeing Ron’s puzzled expression, Elenda nodded in satisfaction.
“Mm-hmm.”
“I built in a lot of buffer time, thinking it’d definitely be completed before your birthday.”
“But the weather was awful last year, so the construction got delayed.”
Hearing her explanation, Ron looked even more confused.
“Construction?”
“Completed?”
“Mom, what exactly are you giving me?”
Under Ron’s increasingly bewildered gaze, Elenda lifted the curtain on the right side of the carriage.
What came into view wasn’t the Castrellero family castle—but a brand-new estate!
Looking at the vast grounds, spanning over hundreds of acres, Ron’s eyes widened in shock.
“Th-this isn’t… what you prepared for my birthday, is it?”
He pointed at the estate outside, mouth twitching in disbelief.
He knew his family was rich— but he never imagined they were this rich!
Elenda, clearly pleased by his stunned and disbelieving reaction, nodded again.
“That’s right.”
“This is yours.”
Receiving confirmation, Ron didn’t even know what to say for a moment.
“That’s just insane…”
At Elenda’s signal, the carriage rolled into the newly completed estate.
They passed through three tiers of flower gardens, across a large landscape park, past an octagonal fountain…
The ride took over ten minutes before they even reached the main villa’s front gate!
Though part of that was because the carriage couldn’t take a straight path and had to wind around within the grounds, the sheer time it took made the scale of the estate very clear.
“The garden’s only been given a rough setup.”
“The furniture hasn’t been bought yet either.”
“You can decorate everything however you like.”
Elenda led Ron on a tour of the main buildings of the estate.
Even though it was just a brief walkthrough, an entire afternoon passed by in a flash.
“All the farmland outside the estate is owned by our family.”
“These nearly 1,000 acres are now yours to manage.”
“Take good care of it. Don’t let this land go to waste.”
“I’m not expecting you to manage it perfectly, but at the very least, make sure it earns enough to pay the annual taxes.”
“The people living on this land—starting today, they’re your responsibility.”
“The local officials will come to pay you a visit sometime this week.”
“Treat your people well, and don’t make things difficult for the officials either.”
“Normally, if they follow the law, they’ll be able to govern this region just fine.”
“But if you ever run into corrupt officials, you must learn to stand up and fight for your people.”
The fiery red sunset spilled into the guest hall, gleaming off the jade-like polished floor.
Elenda gave her heartfelt instructions to Ron with a serious expression.