Chapter 10: Purchasing a Manor

After spending a night in a luxury hotel and enjoying the aristocratic services of this world, Donald arrived early in the morning at the branch of the Kingdom’s Noble Council in Giant Rock City, accompanied by his butler and servants.

The reason he organized this auction of ancestral treasures was not only to earn some elemental crystals for future use but also, primarily, to secure enough Gold Solars to purchase a manor.

Noble manors have a long history. Whether they were court nobles with only nominal titles, lifetime lords or knights with titles, or great lords who ruled territories, they all owned at least one manor for vacationing, leisure, and to cover their expenses.

The Celt royal family owned many famous and beautiful manors, the most renowned of which was Sherlock Manor—one of the kingdom’s three major resorts and also the source of the top-quality white wine, Sherlock Wine. It had been the private property of successive Celt kings.

When Donald first arrived in this world and had not yet succeeded in unlocking the Book of Truth, he set his sights on buying property.

In his previous life as a Chinese citizen living and working in a crowded city, Donald had always aimed to own his own property, free from living in tiny apartments and struggling to make ends meet. This was the common aspiration of his generation.

Now, with the title of noble, although it was difficult to regain a fief, it was still reasonable to purchase a manor to cover daily expenses.

After all, in this world, most nobles either had no territories or had small, barren ones. For the great nobles, manors were merely for show, while the less wealthy nobles usually owned one or several manors that produced cash crops to fund their extravagant lifestyles as nobles. Especially those court nobles without actual fiefs were even less fortunate than some low-ranking lifetime nobles who received titles as rewards and could own properties in the countryside to lead comfortable lives. Court nobles who had to serve in the capital had to maintain their status and engage in social activities, all of which relied on the income from their manors.

Now that he had ample funds, Donald naturally rushed to learn about the procedures and conditions for purchasing a manor. If he found one suitable, he intended to buy it right away.

In human society, transactions involving manors could only take place among nobles, and it was only natural that such matters were managed by a nobility council overseen by the royal family. The commissions collected from these transactions were also one of the royal family’s main sources of income. Apart from nobles with titles, others were prohibited from buying or selling manors. In other words, no matter how wealthy a merchant might be, unless they held a noble title, they could not own land other than shops and private residences in cities. As a result, some wealthy merchants eagerly sought noble titles, doing everything possible to obtain one, even if it was just a lifetime lordship without territory or hereditary rights. Some merchants would also partner with fallen nobles, using their names to purchase a manor and sharing the profits with their partners, thereby supporting the fallen nobles while satisfying their own desire to become landowners—a win-win situation. The nobility council office was a two-story building located in the noble district of Castlestone. The lower floor served as a reception and office area, while the upper floor housed the officials’ meeting rooms. Since nobles could not be governed by commoners, the officials in these councils were either appointed by the royal family or selected from among local noble descendants. After entering the council hall, Donald first took in a general overview before learning about the conditions and procedures for purchasing a manor from the receptionist. Of course, he also gave a tip of a silver moon—this was the most anticipated income for these servants who served the nobles, sometimes even more than their salary. They preferred it when real, generous nobles came rather than butlers acting on their behalf. Those stern and stingy butlers would not give you more than a few copper coins as a tip unless instructed by their masters! Armed with this insider information, Donald went straight to the official in charge of manor transactions. There were only three real officials in this building: one handled resolving disputes among nobles, another was responsible for delivering documents and letters between the royal family and local nobles, and the third dealt with registering noble land taxes and manor transactions. The first two had trivial duties, while the third held the lucrative position that required significant influence to secure. Sir Jesse, whom Donald was looking for, was one of the officials appointed by the royal family to Castlestone.

Sir Jesse was in his thirties, but thanks to his well-maintained appearance, he still looked like a nobleman in his early twenties. Many nobles in Stone City had praised Sir Jesse for his elegant manners, saying he truly lived up to being a noble from the capital. However, in Donald’s eyes, such behavior seemed a bit artificial.

Although his appearance was indeed splendid, Sir Jesse reminded Donald of a character from an anime from his past life. His affectionate tone and gestures also made Donald feel annoyed, causing his expression to become somewhat strange. After all, in his past life, otaku and fujoshi were two extreme groups that often clashed online!

“Sir Jesse, this is our first meeting, but I’ve long heard of your fame, Donald!”

Donald stepped forward voluntarily to introduce himself and explained the purpose of his visit.

“I’m here to purchase a manor, but given your outstanding contributions to the nobles of Stone City over the years, please allow me to offer you a small gift as a personal token of appreciation. I hope you’ll accept it!”

“Sir Merlin, you really surprise me!”

When Sir Jesse opened the leather pouch handed to him by Donald, the golden light blinded him. Excited, his tone became at least three times more enthusiastic.

Nobles of his rank or higher could only refer to those who held lifetime titles without actual territories as “sir,” not “lord.” Many non-heirs from noble families or royal bastards would be granted such titles along with a small amount of property upon reaching adulthood, allowing them to live independently. This was a good tradition in this world to prevent the proliferation of nobles.

Ordinary people who achieved military exploits on the battlefield would be granted lifetime knighthood, becoming admired knights—a reason why some young people were eager to join the army. Yet, very few ordinary people succeeded; most either died in battle or returned home wounded with only a small pension to spend their remaining days.

Those who were originally nobles but lacked real power and even had less wealth than wealthy merchants would often join some institution as officials or directly enlist in the army, hoping to gain military honors and rise in rank.

Sir Jesse was a typical example of such a person. He came from a noble family in the royal capital, but he was not the legitimate heir—just an illegitimate child. He managed to secure his current position only because his father deeply loved his mother, who was his lover. Despite his lower status, Jesse did not give up on himself; instead, he worked hard to strive for at least a hereditary lordship by the age of forty, aiming to establish a new noble family. The young man before him, who already held the status of an heir to a hereditary knightship, immediately aroused his jealousy. It was said that the other man’s family had also been nobles with wealthy estates and small fiefs decades ago, but they lost their lands early on. Having spent his life as a fallen noble, this inevitably filled Jesse with a sense of satisfaction. However, when he heard that the other man intended to buy an estate and even offered such a generous gift, Jesse felt both envy and joy. Back then, when he was driven out of his family and used the share of wealth given to him to buy this position, Jesse was full of ambition. After living in Stone City for a few years, he realized that his goal of becoming a hereditary noble by forty was now unlikely to be achieved. With no achievements or connections, receiving even a nominal honorary title before his death would already be a sign of the royal family’s favor. Now that he was thirty, his goal had become to acquire at least an estate by the age of thirty-five to ensure a secure life for the rest of his days. That’s why Sir Jesse would occasionally accept bribes under various pretexts. With some power at his disposal, it was relatively easy for him to earn some gold sols. Yet, a decent estate came at a high price, and over the years he had only managed to save two thousand gold sols. Now, this Knight Merlinna had given him a generous gift of one hundred gold sols upon first meeting—how could Jesse not be surprised? Receiving such a large sum of bribes for the first time made him feel somewhat uneasy. After some thought, he couldn’t resist the temptation of gold sols and decided to accept the other man’s kindness. “It’s a mutual agreement, and no one else will know. With these one hundred gold sols, plus the commission from buying the estate, I can afford a smaller estate in the richest area near Stone City.” “At worst, I’ll just be careful not to violate the kingdom’s laws and choose the best estate for him.”

Stealthily stuffing the heavy bag into his chest, Sir Jesse could then continue smiling reassuredly: “Sir Donald is truly a model of the kingdom’s nobility. Do you also wish to acquire a manor? Then please follow me!”
Seeing that the other party had accepted his gift and instead of working in the office downstairs, had taken him to the lounge upstairs, Donald knew the silver moon he had given to the servant earlier had not been wasted.
“Sir Donald, please take a look. These are manors near Castle Stone that have been listed for sale by the Noble Council over the years. Among them, these few are newly listed fine manors that haven’t been made public yet, so you can choose first.”
After the group sat down in the guest room upstairs, Sir Jesse took out a square beast-skin map from a drawer. The map was painted with colored pigments to show the terrain of the vast area around Castle Stone, with some red pieces scattered on it, clearly representing the manors for sale.
Donald immediately examined it carefully and noticed that the manors were concentrated around Castle Stone and in the southern area between it and other territories, while they were sparser in the northern direction near the Green Cloak Forest and the Ash Cloud Mountains.
Sure enough, Sir Jesse lived up to that bag of Gold Solars, enthusiastically pointing out some of the most popular manors with the best locations, richest resources, and most fertile land.
However, neither the terrain nor the size of those places satisfied Donald. Suddenly, he saw the location marked as Red Maple Town, with two connected pieces nearby. This was already the farthest edge of the North County, with no more pieces to the north.
Donald was intrigued and pointed there, asking, “Sir Jesse, why are these two manors listed together? Is there some story behind it?”
Seeing where Donald was pointing, Sir Jesse seemed to recall something. Frowning slightly, he said in a heavier tone, “Sir Donald, these two manors have been listed for sale by our council for several years with no interest from anyone. I advise you not to be interested in them.”
“Oh? Why say that?”

“It’s like this: this place was originally a fief granted as an hereditary lordship for military achievements. The lord in question offended the powerful nobles in the capital and was thus exiled to Stone City in the northern counties, the farthest city in the kingdom. That land was originally a small area on the outskirts of the Green Cloak Forest. After it was developed by that lord, it became the most fertile land around Stone City. To the left was a small manor belonging to the lord, while the larger area to the right was his direct fief. However, decades ago, when magical beasts rebelled in the Izumo Mountains, the lord’s fief happened to be located on the edge of the forest. Since it had just been established and did not have strong defenses like Red Maple Town, it was quickly ravaged by the beasts pouring out of the forest!”

“The poor lord died at the hands of those magical beasts, and having no heir, the royal family retook his title. The manor became property of the kingdom and was put up for sale by the administration, while the fief was reserved for future assignment. But due to that lord’s tragic fate, no one has dared to take on this fief over the past few decades. Eventually, the royal family decided to turn that already small lordship into a large manor and sell it together with the neighboring small manor to generate revenue for the kingdom!”

After listening, Donald thought for a moment before asking, “Sir Jesse, what’s the price of these two manors?”

Sir Jesse’s eyes almost popped out in shock as he quickly said, “Knight Donald, you’re not really thinking of buying these two manors, are you? Absolutely not! To be honest, although these manors are much larger than others, they’re nothing but traps set up by the royal family to make money!”

Seeing Donald’s puzzled expression, Sir Jesse explained, “In the past, some people were tempted by the low price and bought them hoping to make a fortune, but they fled within half a year. You see, that large manor has been abandoned for years, turning fertile soil into barren wasteland. As for the small manor, although its land is still fertile, it’s constantly harassed by wild beasts and magical creatures. It’s a place where anyone who buys it will lose money. Even the royal family doesn’t care about these lands at all. They keep lowering the selling price year after year to attract nobles to buy them and make money from them. So, Knight Donald, you must think carefully!”

After hearing Jesse’s sincere advice, Donald couldn’t help but develop some goodwill toward this flamboyantly dressed noble youth. The more so, the more interested he became in these two manors. With his sacred Truth Book at his disposal, there were many ways to easily deal with monsters and other threats; what others saw as insurmountable obstacles were nothing to him!

As for the issue of poor soil, it was even easier to solve. Some basic agricultural knowledge from his past life should suffice to improve the land. Most importantly, these two manors were located in remote areas, perfect for Donald, who had many secrets he didn’t want outsiders to know. Since the land was originally covered in forests and wilderness and needed to be developed by the lord himself, the royal family compensated him generously in terms of area, making this territory much larger than those of ordinary knights or lords.

With these thoughts in mind, Donald had already made up his mind.

“I’ve decided. I want these two manors. Sir Jesse, no need to persuade me any further. What’s their price?”

Seeing Donald’s serious expression, which didn’t seem like a joke or a hasty decision, Sir Jesse tried to persuade him again, but Donald remained firm, smiling. Reluctantly, Sir Jesse said, “Since Knight Donald has made up your mind, I can’t say anything more. As for the price of these two manors, despite their large size, they haven’t been sold in years, so the royal family has reduced the price to 1,800 gold sols. If you pay today, I can shorten the inspection and paperwork process to three days. After that, you’ll receive the official contract for the manors.”

Donald was naturally very satisfied. Under the pretext of returning to the inn to get the funds, he actually took out 1,800 gold sols from his space seal, checked out, and rode back to the administration office. After paying, he successfully obtained a contract to purchase the manors.

After exchanging contact information with Sir Jesse and planning to meet again in the future, Donald boarded a carriage once more, heading to his next destination.

“The information that servant gave me turned out to be accurate. If I hadn’t managed to win over Sir Jesse, not only would I have failed to acquire the ideal manors, but the preliminary inspection process would have been delayed repeatedly. By the time I got them, I’d likely have missed the best planting season and would have to wait until spring the following year to start cultivating them.”

A hundred gold sols was nothing to Donald now; getting the manors so easily made everything worthwhile.