The armored truck rumbled to a halt outside the gates of Ross City, its steel plating gleaming under the afternoon sun. Dust lifted in swirls as the heavy vehicle braked, startling the few horses tethered by the roadside. Jerry jumped down first, removing his helmet with an easy smile, and turned to the dazed knight still sitting stiffly in the cabin.
"Here—uh, sorry about that. I may have accidentally spooked your horse earlier," Jerry said in a casual tone. "My name's Jerry. What's yours?"
The knight blinked, as though pulled from a trance. "Ah—my name is Coleman."
Then his eyes widened in sudden alarm, as though remembering something important. He spun toward the rear. "Your Highness! Are you alright?"
He had completely forgotten about Princess Caroline in the chaos of the ride.
"I'm fine," Caroline replied, her voice tired but composed. She was still astride her weary mare, riding alongside the armored truck.
"I'll help you down." Coleman hurried to her side. He extended his arm as Caroline carefully dismounted. After a full day's hard riding, her legs trembled with weakness, and even her warhorse collapsed heavily onto its forelegs, sweat foaming at its mouth. The beast had been pushed too far.
Jerry gave them a sympathetic nod. "Come with me. I'll get your accommodations arranged first, and then we'll head to the palace to meet His Majesty the King."
He removed the iron mask under his helmet, letting them see his honest face, then gestured for them to follow.
Coleman supported the princess with careful hands. "Understood."
---
At the city gate, soldiers on duty and ordinary citizens alike stared curiously at the two visitors clad in full knightly armor. Such a sight was rare these days. Heavy armor had gone out of fashion—too impractical for the modernized forces of Ross. People fought differently now.
Coleman stepped across the threshold onto the city's main street and froze. Beneath his boots stretched a road of perfect smoothness, poured from some strange gray material that gleamed in the sunlight. His eyes widened with amazement.
"This road… it's smoother than anything in the Kiswell capital. Even their streets don't look like this."
Most cities in the world were still paved with rough stone blocks, uneven and cracked, always catching at a horse's hooves. But this road was seamless, as though carved from a single slab. Caroline too was startled by its perfection, running her gaze along the endless path. The pavement stretched straight into the distance, smooth and unbroken.
"Come," Jerry beckoned. "Let's get you inside. The King will want to see you soon."
Together they entered the city proper.
---
It was mid-afternoon, the sun blazing warmly overhead. Life bustled in Ross City—vendors hawked goods, children played in alleys, women carried baskets of vegetables fresh from the market.
"BBQ! Teppanyaki BBQ!" a food vendor shouted, fanning the smoke rising from his sizzling cart.
The aroma drifted over the group, rich and savory. Both Coleman and Caroline stopped in their tracks, their stomachs tightening with hunger. Their eyes followed the vendor's skewers of meat glistening with fat.
But neither of them spoke. Coleman was a knight, sworn to noble dignity; Caroline was a princess of high birth. To openly beg for food on the street would have been unthinkable.
So they kept silent, though their throats ached and their mouths watered.
To distract themselves, they looked around—and were stunned again.
There was no trash on the ground. No foul waste in the gutters. The corners of the streets were free of excrement. The air smelled clean, carrying only the faint fragrance of flowers and food.
Caroline thought back to every city she had ever visited. Not even the capital of the mighty Tongsley Empire had streets this pristine. The sheer cleanliness of Ross City was proof of a disciplined and powerful kingdom.
Another whiff of roasted meat reached her nose, and she clenched her fists in frustration.
---
"Your Highness, look there!" Coleman pointed upward suddenly.
Along the main road, strange glass bulbs dangled from tall poles, glittering like captured stars.
"Are those… lights?" Coleman asked, half in awe, half in disbelief.
Caroline followed his gaze. Her breath caught. "Yes. Electric lamps."
She had purchased one herself only a month ago in Kiswell's capital. The cost had been astronomical—nine hundred gold coins for a single lamp, along with the expensive batteries needed to power it. At the time, it had been considered a luxury that only nobles could afford.
Yet here in Ross City, they hung everywhere—lining the streets, strung across intersections, decorating shop fronts. And the common folk passed beneath them without so much as a second glance, clearly accustomed to their presence.
Caroline's mind reeled. The last time she had visited Ross years ago, it had been little more than another dirty, chaotic city under noble rule. Now it was unrecognizable—a place of prosperity and modern marvels, a city transformed.
---
"Construction ahead. We'll need to take a side street," Jerry announced, pointing to where the road was blocked.
Curious, Caroline craned her neck to see. One glance, and her eyes went wide.
The entire street ahead had been turned into a massive construction site. Wooden scaffolds rose like skeletons, supporting towering frames of stone and steel.
Buildings taller than anything she had ever imagined loomed before her.
Coleman stopped dead, jaw slack.
"This… this can't be real."
Together they stared upward, speechless. In their world, even the grandest castles of kings rarely exceeded eight meters in height. Ordinary noble estates were half that. But here—
The smallest of these new structures already rose four or five stories tall, easily twenty meters.
Many others climbed ten stories or more, forty to fifty meters into the sky.
And one central tower dominated them all, soaring twenty floors above the ground—over seventy meters tall!
Caroline's heart pounded. "It's… it's taller than any fortress I've ever seen."
In their age, such a thing was unthinkable. Only legends spoke of towers that touched the heavens. Yet here in Ross City, those legends were becoming reality.
And at the center of it all stood the largest tower, still under construction but already breathtaking in scale. Jerry explained softly, with a touch of pride:
"That is the new administrative building of the Kingdom of Ross. His Majesty Gavin Ward ordered its construction himself. It will be the heart of the capital."
Caroline's lips parted in disbelief. Gavin Ward. She remembered him faintly from childhood visits, but never like this. She had thought of him as just another monarch, little different from the rest. Yet now… he had reshaped his capital into a city of wonders.
The memories of her last visit contrasted sharply with what stood before her. Then, Ross had been no better than a cesspit—crowded, filthy, dangerous. Now it was as though heaven itself had descended to earth.
Caroline clutched her chest. A strange, almost painful emotion stirred within her. Admiration? Envy? Hope?
And beneath it all, curiosity. What manner of man had Gavin Ward become to accomplish such feats? What would he be like now?
For the first time in years, Caroline found herself eager to meet him again.
-------------------------
Visit our Patreon for more:
Get membership in patreon to read more chapters
Extra chapters available in patreon
patreon.com/Dragonscribe31
-----------------------------------------------------