Catherine Rodney finally arrived in Alda. The princess and her entourage had come by ship and landed at Port Franklin.
Everything here was incredibly new and fascinating to Catherine.
Northwest Bay's image within the Crystal Radiance elite circle has changed several times over.
At first, many people had never even heard of this place.
Later, "it must have been some remote, impoverished place on the outskirts of the kingdom, right?"
Later, as goods from Northwest Bay became increasingly popular, items such as paper, porcelain, and thermos flasks filled the lives of the nobles, and Northwest Bay came to be seen as a large factory in their minds.
But what Catherine sees before her is a well-organized city with wide streets, a clean cityscape, well-arranged buildings, and a constant flow of people, no less impressive than Crystal Radiance Royal Capital.
No, it's even worse, because the bustling and tidy areas of Crystal Radiance are limited to the Upper Town, where the nobility live. Once you leave the Upper Town, the narrow alleys, low houses, and muddy roads immediately reveal the stark contrast between the two sides of this city.
But under Eileen Rodney's guidance, Catherine explored many parts of the city, which had a unified overall style, unlike the capital where there were huge differences between different places.
Catherine brought her mother Phyllis and younger sister Eileen with her to Northwest Bay. For little Princess Eileen, it was a return to familiar territory. During the time she ran away from home and stayed in Northwest Bay, Port Franklin had visited countless times. There was even a school in the city that she personally supervised the construction of—back then, she was appointed by Paul to be in charge of education.
Even so, the city's development speed exceeded Eileen's imagination. It has become larger, and many old places have changed their appearance. She has only been away from here for a few years.
"It seems Sir Smollett didn't invite him for nothing; Paul must have paid him a hefty sum!" the little princess guessed.
Based on his memories from his past life, Paul Greiman proposed many functional zones for the city and some elements that "might" appear in the future. The urban planning master was amazed by Lord Glaeman's imaginative ideas. Many of the things he proposed should only exist in fantasy novels, such as trains running on tracks, sewers that can accommodate adults, and large steel bridges spanning rivers.
Even regarding the size of the city, Paul Greiman asked him to design plans for the city at different stages of development, with a target population of one million.
However, adhering to professional ethics and with a client-first spirit, Sir Smollett visited each city under the Political Affairs Council and finally adapted Paul's "fantasy" to each location in the design.
Municipalities across Alda strictly adhere to their respective plans for the development and construction of their cities, largely preventing haphazard construction in the face of a large influx of people and rapid industrial development.
That's why Catherine and Eileen are able to see Port Franklin as they are now.
"Ah, we've arrived safely, that's wonderful!" Phyllis patted her chest, seemingly very relieved. This pampered queen had never experienced sailing at sea before, and the feeling of having her feet firmly on the ground again made her breathe a sigh of relief.
At Paul's behest, Hansel, who was waiting in Port Franklin, greeted the two princesses and former Queen Phyllis, and arranged for a motorcade to take them to Lakeheart Town the following day.
This trip north by the royal family involved not only the two princesses and the former queen, but also a large number of generals from the old royal army, including Olfina, Klein, Lester, and Dempsey. King Rodney XVIII assigned them the task of serving in the Alda army and learning from their advanced experience.
What are they doing?
Through the car window, Eileen pointed to the construction site in the distance. The workers seemed to be laying foundations, but it didn't look like they were building any structure.
Hansel rode his horse alongside the carriage carrying Eileen. Upon hearing the princess's question, he glanced in that direction into the distance.
"Your Highness, they are probably laying railway tracks!"
"Railways? Ah… I remember now!" Eileen exclaimed suddenly. "I remember now, Paul thought about laying a track between Lakeheart Town and Port Franklin, and then using horses to pull large carts along the track. It's said that this would make the journey much faster."
"Hmm...you're half right!" Hansel smiled knowingly.
"Give me the answer!" Eileen said, sounding a little angry.
"This track isn't for horse-drawn carriages; it uses machinery to pull the carriages!"
"The power of machines?" Catherine and Eileen were both curious.
"Yes, the power of machines!" Hansel explained, "A powerful machine that fills with coal and burns it fiercely, producing a power that humans cannot match. Not to mention humans, even strong animals like horses and cows cannot match it. Sir Burns called it—the steam engine!"
" Burns? That name sounds familiar." A thought flashed through Catherine's mind.
" That eccentric tech guy from Crystal Radiance, he's been working for Paul for years!" Eileen's words reminded Catherine of him.
Around noon, the convoy arrived at the outskirts of Lakeheart Town, where Catherine met her fiancé, Paul Greiman.
"Welcome everyone!" He greeted each person warmly, and when he got to Catherine, he even gave her a mischievous smile and took her hand.
Not a single mistake, not a single song, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single 6-9 book, not a single bar, take a look!
When her fiancé made such a "frivolous" gesture in front of everyone, the princess blushed and turned her head away shyly, causing those around her to chuckle.
"Congratulations! I heard your army won a victory at Horn Bay!" Catherine tried to ease the awkwardness.
"Uh... it was the army hired by the Lion Port merchants that won the battle; strictly speaking, I was just their military contractor."
"Ha, who doesn't know what's going on!"
Paul invited Catherine to ride with him in a carriage, just the two of them, traveling and talking over land.
"I hope you won't be distracted by Horn Bay; the orcs on the other side are the real enemy."
"Of course, in addition to expanding the army, I'm also upgrading my military equipment and facilities. Didn't you see those rails on the way here? That's the experimental... railway I built to improve logistical support!"
" The kind of vehicle that Hansel mentioned, the one pulled by a coal-fired machine?"
"My name is—Train! This will be a revolutionary means of transportation! Perhaps the train is still quite weak now, not much better than a horse-drawn carriage, but as technology continues to iterate, it will eventually develop to a level that no number of horse-drawn carriages can match! Just you wait!"
Paul proudly showed off to Catherine, then winked mysteriously.
"By the way, would you like to see my cannon?"
Sorry, this chapter is a bit delayed.