Chapter 2001 - 541: No Matter Who's the Underdog, the Loser Won't Be the Demon King

"Clang—Clang—"

The "Prince" train sped across the endless fields, the vibration of the wheels passing over the rail gaps interrupted Luo Yan's thoughts.

Inside the luxuriously decorated royal compartment, a sweet and sticky scent permeated the air wrapped by the magic barrier.

Due to Edward's last-minute cancellation, the train compartment meant to carry three passengers now had only two.

And the attendants, who were supposed to actively come in to serve tea and water, all turned into air, only coming in to disturb when the bell rings.

Erin was sitting right across from Luo Yan.

She wore a dark travel cloak over a neat and clean light day dress, the pearl white collar contrasting with her silver long hair and the unmelting blush on her cheeks.

Because of the existence of the very convenient magic in this world, coal dust and white smoke couldn't drift into the compartment, only when getting off might one pick up a bit.

At this moment, she was staring intently outside the window, seemingly captivated by the scenery outside, leaving just her reddened ear to the person sitting opposite.

Frankly, Luo Yan was really worried that if she kept this posture, she'd have a stiff neck after getting off.

However, at this moment, he seemed to lack the mood to tease Erin, as he too was enduring another form of torment —

With every kilometer the train advanced towards Thunder City, "Prince Colin" moved one kilometer closer to "dropping the mask".

Looking at the scenery rapidly retreating outside the window, Luo Yan had never thought he'd wish for this journey to last a bit longer.

Does this count as lifting a stone only to drop it on his own foot?

Before the train connecting Campbell Duchy's Nan Bei was operational, Thunder City was known among the Valley Plain nobles as a "runaway destination".

Some nobles would keep a legally wedded wife in a castle, then go to Thunder City to give a title to their mistress.

Honestly, the nobles in the real Aus Continent were quite humane, unlike the sacrilegious portrayal in "Bell Sound".

Conversely, the priests in Thunder City were not as conservative as those in remote areas; they were like the Colin Grand Theater, where one could pay to walk the "VIP passage".

The nobles and gentry of Glanston Castle often needed only to spend a sum of money, not too expensive, to have the holy three public readings and the final vow registration secretly completed "behind closed doors".

As long as no one knew, no one would raise objections, and the nobles could get married N times.

After all, the priests of Thunder City wouldn't bother themselves to travel to distant Glanston Castle for investigation and evidence for every couple.

Not to mention, it would harm the client's interests, and what if they ended up investigating themselves out of a job?

With this, mistresses not only gained a title to convince the family, but illegitimate children also didn't have to stay in the orphanage.

However, now with the Duchy having trains, this kind of operation might become challenging.

After all, the legitimate wife could buy a ticket same-day to rush to Thunder City without hesitating due to three days on a carriage or vomiting all the way on a boat, eventually deciding to turn a blind eye, avoiding complications.

This might count as one of the train's impacts on the old times.

Though it wouldn't take long for nobles to catch up with Thunder City's "trend"—as long as there's love, whether there's a title becomes irrelevant.

However, the ideological decline takes time, at least for now, these "playboys" are still enduring the agony of capsizing.

I wonder if the grievances of those lovers and illegitimate children robbed of umbrellas converged into the karma storm, blowing away Prince Colin's umbrella in return.

If it's true, he should apologize to other orphans; blame him for being an orphan from hell.

If that doesn't work, you can hate Roxey.

Or hate hell if you prefer.

To alleviate the sweet yet sour awkwardness, Luo Yan picked up a plump tangerine from the fruit plate, peeled it skillfully with his slender fingers, removed the white strands from the segments, and handed the translucent tangerine section over.

"Erin, have some fruit."

Erin did not turn her head, nor did she speak.

Luo Yan thought she was too shy to speak, just as he was about to withdraw his hand, he realized her posture was somewhat stiff, her nose almost pressed against the glass window.

And her gaze, originally to hide her shyness, was now truly fixed on the scene outside, as if witnessing something unbelievable.

Luo Yan followed her gaze.

The train had entered the heart of Thunder County, less than twenty kilometers from the city known as "Miracle City".

A year before Erin left, this place was a muddy, barren land, where during the rainy season, country dirt roads turned into swamp devouring carriages.

And the thatched cottages lining the dirt roads were even more dilapidated, except for the towering windmills barely count as decent, the other buildings were as sloppy as patches on peasants' clothes.

But now, everything has been transformed by an incredible power.

A straight gravel road cuts through the railway like a gray ribbon slicing the green wilderness.

And those scattered thatched cottages in the field disappeared, replaced by rows of red and white brick-and-tile houses, appearing solid and tidy.

Further away, several enormous red-brick factories rose, like castles of a new era. The towering chimneys tirelessly spouted thick white smoke towards the sky.