Chapter 6: The Territory

Inside the carriage, Roman sat with his hands on his thighs, facing Luo Xiya with a stiff and proper posture.

Luo Xiya, on the other hand, rested her head on her hand, flipping through the documents handed to her at the auction—everything they had on Roman.

Roman kept his head down, trying his best to conceal anything unusual about himself, while his mind raced through all the things Luo Xiya might say to him—or do to him—once they spoke.

The memories Roman had inherited were far too fragmented, not even enough to understand the world around him.

All he remembered was living alone with his mother.

What about his father?

In those recollections, Roman was often bullied by the local girls.

At first, he simply thought wild kids were all the same, regardless of gender.

But after what had happened at the auction, his doubts only deepened.

Maybe it was the overwhelming nervousness radiating from him, but Luo Xiya finally looked up from the documents and gave Roman a gentle smile.

“How old are you this year?”

“Sixteen,” Roman answered honestly.

Just like the report said.

Luo Xiya glanced at Roman’s youthful face and thin frame and commented casually,

“Is it because of poverty? You look like you’ve been undernourished for a long time.”

“Mm… My mother’s been bedridden with illness.”

Roman stopped there.

He couldn’t bring himself to lay out all the things the original Roman had done as if they were his own, not without hesitation.

Luo Xiya seemed to sense the heaviness of the topic and unconsciously lowered her crossed leg, worried it might seem disrespectful.

“Once we get to the territory, you’ll be able to eat your fill every day. Happy about that?”

Luo Xiya asked in the kind of tone people use to cheer up children.

To her surprise, Roman didn’t show any excitement.

Instead, he returned to the tense state he’d been in at the beginning.

“Am I really that scary?”

Luo Xiya asked helplessly.

Only then did Roman lift his head and reply calmly, “Of course not.”

“Then what are you so nervous about?”

Roman lowered his head again, hiding his face beneath his silver-white hair.

His pitiful appearance made Luo Xiya drop her teasing tone as she looked at him and asked plainly,

“Are you afraid I’ll take you to bed before the night even begins?”

Roman, who had felt uneasy from the start, finally spoke up when he heard this.

“Are all the men here like this?” he asked, completely sidestepping her question.

Luo Xiya was stunned for a moment.

“What else? What do you think men are supposed to be like?”

The confusion in her eyes faded, and she couldn’t help but laugh, her body trembling slightly with the motion.

Despite the somewhat unrefined movement, her voice remained pleasant to the ear.

“Why?” Roman asked, genuinely puzzled.

The laughter stopped abruptly.

Luo Xiya looked straight into Roman’s left eye, seeing within it only the purest confusion, as clear as a mountain spring.

Thinking of the records she’d read on Roman—the way he seemed indifferent to the world, how he lacked any strong reactions even in the rural outskirts—Luo Xiya finally began to understand.

“You really don’t know anything about the Aingloran Empire, or the Yanglight Continent at all, do you?”

“Yeah,” Roman nodded.

“How should I put this…”

Luo Xiya considered how to explain, but it would take too long, so she decided to be direct.

“Due to special circumstances, this entire continent is ruled by women. The ruling class is almost entirely female. Does that make sense to you?”

In her line of sight, Roman’s lips parted slightly in surprise.

“You’ll understand once we reach my territory,” she added.

Roman was indeed surprised, but not for the reason Luo Xiya imagined.

He was shocked at how this world’s social structure had become so warped.

Even in his previous world, where men still held an upper hand, women had gained far greater status and influence than before.

By modern times, the number of female presidents across the globe wasn’t far behind their male counterparts.

Ultimately, it all came down to productivity.

In the agricultural era, patriarchy was at its peak.

But as modernization progressed and the productivity gap between genders shrank, things began to change.

So what was the defining factor in this world?

What caused such an extreme disparity between the sexes?

Roman pondered quietly, while Luo Xiya pulled back the carriage’s curtain and looked out the window.

“My lady, we’re almost there,” the female knight driving the carriage said respectfully.

Luo Xiya nodded, then sat back down and looked across at Roman.

The way he focused so intently, his lowered eyelids—everything about him was a feast for the eyes.

“Aren’t you curious where we are now?” Luo Xiya suddenly said.

Interrupted, Roman blinked and then pulled aside the curtain beside him.

The carriage had just exited a dense forest, and on the distant horizon stood a pure white city wall, with flags bearing the emblem of a lily flower fluttering atop it.

It wasn’t until they drew closer that he noticed a moat surrounding the walls.

So what lay ahead was truly a full-fledged city.

Before the carriage even reached the walls, the bridge connecting the gate to the outside had already been lowered.

Roman leaned his head against the window, gazing at the distant scenery.

Once they entered the city, he could feel the warmth of daily life and human presence up close—it felt like he was on a sightseeing trip.

From Luo Xiya’s perspective, she clearly saw the dazzling amazement in Roman’s eyes, and the corners of her lips curled into a satisfied smile.

“This is my territory. What do you think?”

Roman blurted out his thoughts.

“There’s none of that oppressive feeling like other territories. Everyone looks so happy… The lord here must be someone capable and kind.”

Only after saying it did Roman realize—this was the Lily Territory Luo Xiya had mentioned earlier, which meant…

His pale skin flushed with a delicate pink, and Roman quickly turned his head, avoiding Luo Xiya’s gaze.

Little did he know how breathtaking and alluring this moment looked in Luo Xiya’s eyes.

Thoughts—ones she had never entertained before, even the more wicked kinds—began to stir.

Luo Xiya moved her index finger slightly, though Roman didn’t notice at all.

“We’re almost at my estate. Looking forward to it?” In the end, it was Luo Xiya who shifted the topic first.

“Mm, I’m really looking forward to it,” Roman said with a smile.

They had talked nearly the whole way, and without realizing it, his guard had started to lower.

Completely different from his worst expectations, this Countess Luo Xiya wasn’t a terrible person at all—on the contrary, she seemed rather easy to get along with.

The carriage gradually came to a stop. Up front, the female knight holding the reins lifted the curtain and said,

“My lady, we’ve arrived at the estate.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Irene,” Luo Xiya replied as she stood up.

Turning around, she extended her right hand to Roman while placing her left over her chest and giving a courteous bow.

“Would you be willing to place your hand in mine?”

“O-okay,” Roman said, placing his slender fingers into Luo Xiya’s gloved right hand.

With his delicate hand in hers, Luo Xiya led him down from the carriage.

“Welcome home, my lady.”

The moment he stepped down, Roman was startled by the sight of an entire row of maids lined up before him.