Unlike with the outer gate, passing through the inner one was uneventful except for the gate itself. Seeing it open was quite the spectacle. Christina didn't even have to introduce herself, and the gate opened as if the guards were already aware of her arrival, unlike the previous ones. It seemed the Duke's spies were reasonably competent.

The massive stone door opened only slightly, creating an enormous dust cloud as it revolved on its oversized hinges. Christina had no idea how those metal joints could even support all that weight, but she soon put it out of her mind. Everyone had their own specialties, and hers surely wasn't engineering.

Still, it was a sight to see, but more than that, you couldn't help but hear it. Christina had no choice but to block her ears with her palms as the sound of stones grinding against metal was much too loud for her to bear. Christina figured there was another route toward the inner city that the clan could use, as opening this gate every time someone wished to leave or enter was simply impractical.

Behind the doorway was a massive black metal portcullis. Christina had seen such things many times before; there were many on the numerous gates to the Royal Palace, but never one that size. Once again, this was a tribute to the clan's excess, probably just a means to intimidate would-be invaders—not that anyone had ever tried since the city's construction.

The portcullis slowly rose just enough to allow her carriage through. The colossal chains supporting its weight hissed and clanked as they attempted to raise such a massive construct; it drowned out the world in overbearing noise. Once through, the metal amalgam fell as if released from inertia and embedded its spikes into deep groves below. The metal and ground collided, quaking the earth while a vast sound rang like an explosion next to her.

Christina couldn't help but marvel at what this construction entailed. Never had she seen such a magnificent feat of engineering. She knew the Kingdom's technical skills were one of the most advanced in the world, but even Christina doubted such a thing was possible to begin with. Evidently, the Artisan's Guild had done the improbable; nobody else could achieve such a feat.

Artisans were a simple but also complicated concept. Although most knew that the Kingdom was divided into two class structures, namely nobles and commoners, a third, unofficial class also existed between the two. Although commoners according to the Kingdom, artisans were something more. Commoners couldn't join the ranks of nobles, but the inverse wasn't true.

There were numerous tales of nobles being banished from their houses. The reasons were many. Some may have committed crimes, others simply possessed lacklustre bloodline purity, thus being abandoned, or they simply were bastards. Although some nobles despised commoners, it didn't stop them from procreating with them, hence giving birth to beings they didn't know how to deal with.

Although nobles wouldn't recognize them, the Kingdom would. Anyone who could help the country prosper would be valued. It would only be a waste to throw those people who possessed high-grade bloodlines to the way-side. Thus, the nation chose to create a third class: Artisans.

Most commoners were only suitable for farming as they lacked skills and couldn't exert their bloodline's power. Some were adept in trade skills, such as carpentry, masonry or blacksmithing. Still, those were far from enough to be recognized as Artisans. The Kingdom only cared about bloodlines, after all.

That’s where former nobles came in. They had a certain degree of control over their bloodline inheritance, which they could utilize to empower their trade skills and elevate their craft. Once bloodlines were introduced, something once impossible would become possible.

However, not every former noble possessed the same degree of skills. They were also arrogant and unwilling to simply work such menial jobs. Thus, an organization was needed to restrict and manage them. Therefore, the Kingdom created the Artisan's Guild under the direct management of the Crown.

Anyone not under the guild claiming to be an Artisan would be dealt capital punishment. Only the most talented in their respective crafts, meeting the minimum skill the guild required, would be granted this title. The name came with certain privileges, such as increased pay and access to better materials. Being an exclusive club with well-defined perks meant the name had a certain amount of prestige, enticing the former nobles greatly.

Over time, the guild grew and became one of the pillars of the Kingdom, solidifying the Crown's rule even further and allowing the Kingdom to progress ahead of its neighbours, deepening its hold over the continent. Still, former nobles alone were far from enough to satisfy the need for Artisans. Thankfully, they were true to their roots and procreated aplenty with the local populace, creating what is now known as Artisan Families, lower than nobles but higher than commoners.

Needless to say, Christina was awed by the work of these Artisans yet couldn’t help but feel pity that they were used to make such a pointless thing. In all its years since being built, that stone monument never saw any action—not even the outer gate did. Christina reckoned the Empire wasn’t foolish enough to even attempt to attack this place as its location was pointless to begin with.

The city was too south within the Western Region to offer strategic value. Even in internal trade, such a city was seen as superfluous as it was so far removed from trade routes. Even worse, no roads linking the Capital to Redwaters came even close to this place, making it a waste of time for merchants to make a detour, and yet, merchants still came.

While most small merchant groups were reluctant to do business with the clan because they had a habit of defaulting on their purchases in the past, the large conglomerates still made the trip because having a good relationship with the Western Duke was worth more than the loss. Another thing that prevented small groups was the city's lack of exports. Carrying goods only one way would make the trip unprofitable.

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While the White Tiger Clan couldn't care less, this was a disaster for those living in the slums. With no imports coming their way and next to no jobs available, many thought of simply packing up and leaving, yet things weren't that simple. How could the clan rule a region if no one lived there? Therefore, a long time ago, a law was passed prohibiting the exodus of citizens to other regions, and the Crown had no choice but to agree to not alienate all the Dukes.

Among the populace, the White Tiger Clan was hands down the worst place to live in, yet there was nothing they could do about it. How could they even survive in these conditions, you might ask? Simple, join the army.

War was constant in the region, and the army constantly needed more manpower. Once joined, the army cared for all their basic needs, such as shelter, food, clothing, etc. They could live comfortable lives in times of peace but would need to lay down their lives for the country in times of war. Still, most welcomed this arrangement with open arms.

Their only worry was that if peacetime was prolonged long enough, they might be dismissed from service, which would spell disaster for them. Such a thing came as a surprise for the nation as it meant support for the war was always high. This was also why most of the Capital's officials didn't want to do anything about the Western Region. They saw no reason to fix it as long as it wasn't irreparably broken.

Christina spat at those spineless cowards basking in the status quo. Even if a better option existed, they were too busy lamenting the past and enjoying the present to think about the future. That was why reform was the only way forward. To turn a blind eye was to be complicit.

The sound of the stone gate closing brought Christina out of her thoughts. With nothing else to do, she decided to take a closer look at how the White Tiger Clan lived. She opened the window and popped her head out, but what she saw stunned her.

Gone were the sterile white buildings tightly packed together and the grid-based streets, replaced by verdant open spaces sprinkled with the occasional water fixture. The open, wide roads were now narrow, allowing only a single vehicle at a time as if to discourage their use. Buildings were strewn around haphazardly as if they had no coherent thought to their locations, and yet, it was beautiful.

There were gardens as far as the eye could see next to beautiful and somewhat modest mansions. There were no signs of their usual excess, only thoughtful scenery radiating peacefulness. Christina was stunned. She couldn't imagine that barbarian clan capable of such elaborate and intricate planning, yet it was before her eyes.

Although somewhat more luxurious, the clan’s layout reminded Christina of a quiet and intimate village. She could see clan members enjoying its sights. Some sat on benches near a calm pond while others strolled amidst the numerous flowered paths. If not for the fact that she knew exactly where she was, Christina might have thought she had been transported to another world entirely.

Christina shook her head, dismissing her ever-changing thoughts about the White Tiger Clan. As a ruler, how could her opinions be so easily manipulated? So fickle? Although being stubborn in her ways wasn’t always wanted in a monarch, being too easily influenced would spell disaster.

Christina took a deep breath and calmed herself, returning to indifference. Even since she set foot near this city, her emotions fluctuated much too wildly, and her thoughts tended to go on minor tangents. She had an important job to do and couldn't afford any distractions. Her gaze grew cold, and she fixed it toward the sparkling white mansion in the distance.

Noticing her sudden shift, Claire steeled herself as if ready to enter the battlefield while the young man could only shudder at the thought of what fate had in store for him. Although he was valued by his father, that only held true as long as he was victorious. At this moment, he wouldn’t be surprised if he was abandoned as he wasn’t the Duke’s only heir. Many of his siblings would jump at the opportunity to take his place.

A few moments later, the carriage finally arrived at its destination. Although it couldn’t compare to the Royal Palace, the Duke’s mansion was a sight to behold. It was four stories high and made of white bricks—of course. Many garden paths separated the mansion's numerous wings. Christina figured the total number of rooms should be in the hundreds, but its layout didn't make it seem excessive.

Maybe it was her upbringing as the Princess, but Christina didn’t feel that mansion was unreasonable for a man of the Duke’s stature. Certainly, most of those rooms were probably unused, but it wasn’t rare for nobles like the Duke to arrange evening parties or balls, at which point those rooms would become necessary for the guests spending the night.

Further in the distance, Christina could spy another grand building nestled among the trees as if trying to stay hidden. This was probably the servant's quarters. Judging by the size of the building, the number of servants was staggering. Still, that was the least of Christina's concerns.

Over two dozen servants stood respectfully waiting for their guests to arrive before the mansion's main entrance. A few steps before them were three individuals standing straight and silent: two men and one woman.

The woman was tall, graceful, and slightly older than the two males. Christina recognized her as the Duke's eldest daughter. She has had the pleasure of her company on numerous occasions. Although Christina despised her father, she was quite fond of that woman. Although she was aware of that woman's hidden intentions, Christina didn't take them to heart and got along quite well with her. Rare were those approaching her with pure intentions; it was simply how things were, and she accepted it.

The two males next to her seemed to be her brothers. Christina didn't know which ones, as she had not met many of them. The Duke had too many children to begin with, and even Christina couldn't keep track of all of them. Still, judging by their ages, one should be close to the oldest, while the other was much too young, practically still a child.

The carriage stopped right before the trio, and Claire was the first to disembark. She insisted on doing so as she couldn't trust the Duke's family. Christina could only smile wryly but obliged her. Claire was stubborn and wouldn't budge once she made up her mind. That was what Christina found so cute about her.

Still, she knew such actions were unnecessary. The Duke wasn't stupid enough to attempt something with so many eyes watching. Although they were amid the White Tiger Clan, she wasn't naive enough to believe there were no spies from the other three Dukes present. Some may have even infiltrated the mansion's servants; it wouldn't surprise her. She lost count of how many spies were found in the Royal Palace annually. There were so many that it became a yearly event known as The Spring Cleaning.

“We welcome Her Highness, the Nation’s Future,” the receiving party exclaimed in unison. Christina nodded slightly as she left the carriage. Although she found such formalities bothersome, she still recognized their necessity. It was a show of power where the lower ranked acknowledged their rulers. Not doing so would be akin to displaying their treasonous hearts.

“I don’t seem to see the Duke,” Christina said, trying to mask the slight derisive smile creeping up her lips. “Did something urgent detain him?”

“My apologies, Your Highness," the woman replied calmly as if having already anticipated such development. "As soon as he heard of your intentions to pay him a visit, he prepared for your arrival. Rest assured, he should be here tomorrow at the latest. In the meanwhile, allow me to show you to your rooms.”

“That's fine," Christina replied as she waved her hand. "I'm in no hurry. Let him take his time to come back. I'm sure whatever problems he had to deal with must be much more important than my visit."

A slight smile appeared on Christina's lips, bringing a shiver down the woman's back. She knew full well the implications of that statement, yet she couldn't do anything about it and could only do as her father had instructed. Christina noticed her hesitation, and her smile only grew larger.

It seems a good show is about to start, Christina thought, amused at her friend's uneasiness.