The next three days, Lorin fully embraced his new life philosophy.
Inside the inner courtyard of the Morsat Duke Mansion, an atmosphere of extreme luxury hung in the air.
“Young Master, is this pressure okay?”
Beside a massive, magically heated bath, Lorin lay comfortably on a soft couch covered in high-grade snow fox fur. Two cat-eared maids, scantily clad and beautiful, poured expensive, exotic-scented essential oil into their palms, rubbed them warm, and gently massaged Lorin’s back.
The maids’ soft fingertips traced down the line of his spine, the warmth of the oil instantly penetrating deep into his muscles, making even his bones feel like they were melting with pleasure.
“Mmm… a little lower. Yes, right there.” Lorin squinted, letting out a completely undignified sigh of contentment. “Corrupt, so corrupt. Is this the sugar-coated bullet of capitalism—no, wait, of feudal aristocracy? Let the bullets come harder!”
Just as Lorin was enjoying this heavenly life, the courtyard’s carved wooden door suddenly slammed open from outside.
“Young Master! Young Master! Amazing news!”
Accompanied by a screeching wail like a pig being slaughtered, a round, plump man with bean-sized eyes and a perpetually worried face stumbled and crawled in.
It was the original owner’s personal servant and head lackey, Ji Boqi Sails, nicknamed “Niu Zi.” This guy was extremely loyal to Lorin, but his brain didn’t seem to work well, and he always liked to make a fuss and cause trouble with good intentions.
“What are you yelling about! Can’t you see I’m busy with mental and physical repair therapy?” Lorin rolled his eyes in annoyance and waved the two maids away. “Spit it out. Has the sky fallen, or is the Grand Duke going to break my leg again?”
“Hehe, neither!” Niu Zi sidled up, his bean eyes twinkling with a perverted gleam. “Young Master, do you remember three days ago in the Vienna Grand Hall, when you showed off your skills and exposed that heretic Sal?”
“So what?” Lorin lazily turned over, picked up a peeled Ice Spirit Fruit from a crystal plate beside him, and popped it into his mouth.
“The Sal family is finished!” Niu Zi rubbed his hands excitedly. “Princess Alice acted swiftly. She directly sent the Inquisition Tribunal and the Royal Knights to raid Count Sal’s estate! And when they searched, they found serious accounting problems and smuggling suspicions on a Red Mercury mine located on their territory!”
Lorin chewed the fruit, raising an eyebrow. “Their territory being investigated—what does that have to do with our Morsat family?”
“Young Master, you’re confused!” Niu Zi slapped his thigh in frustration. “That Red Mercury mine is now temporarily under the Duke’s control! The men below sent word that it’s extremely lucrative! The Duke isn’t at the mansion. As his heir, if you don’t go inspect it now and skim a little… ahem, pocket some pocket money, when will you?”
Lorin was about to say he was eating well and had plenty of money at the mansion, but Niu Zi lowered his voice and dropped a deadly temptation.
“More importantly… Young Master, that territory borders the Free Trade Zone. The ‘Red Light District’ there is famous across the continent! I heard a new batch of Elf dancers just arrived. Their figures, those long legs… incredible! You’ve been cooped up in the mansion for days. We can just use the inspection as an excuse to go check out the ‘local conditions’!”
Red Light District.
Those three words alone were like throwing a blazing fire into dry kindling for Lorin, who had been a lifelong single dog and pure virgin in both his lives.
He sat up abruptly, his laziness vanishing, replaced by a solemn, righteous expression.
“Ahem… Niu Zi, what kind of person do you take me for?” Lorin put on a stern face and adjusted his loose bathrobe with righteous indignation. “As the son of the Papal State’s Grand Duke, I’m going there purely to understand the suffering of the lower class, to critique that kind of decadent establishment! Not for any Elf dancers!”
Niu Zi understood instantly and immediately nodded and bowed obsequiously. “Right, right! Your righteous spirit is admirable! So when do we leave to ‘critique’?”
“No time like the present. Prepare the carriage immediately!” Lorin waved his hand grandly, his eyes burning with the blazing fire of what could only be called “a man’s dream.”
…
Half an hour later, a low-key but luxurious black carriage slowly exited the side gate of the Morsat Duke Mansion and sped toward the territory outside the city.
Lorin and Niu Zi sat in the spacious cabin, enthusiastically discussing how they would “critique” those wicked entertainment venues.
However, they didn’t notice that the coachman sitting in the driver’s seat in front, after leaving the city gate, had pulled his hat brim very low.
This coachman had worked for the Morsat family for three years, usually honest, silent, and unassuming.
But now, under the cover of night and the carriage’s jolting, one hand steadily held the reins while the other silently slipped into his bosom.
He pulled out a crystal the size of a fingernail, emitting a strange purple-black light.
Weak magical power surged at the coachman’s rough fingertips, flowing into the crystal. A series of obscure runes flashed across the crystal’s surface, and then an extremely faint magical fluctuation transmitted outward.
“My Lord, the target has left the city. Route: direction of the Southern Red Mercury Mine.”
The coachman, who usually seemed honest and dependable, let a chillingly sinister smile curl at the corner of his mouth in the shadows.
“Heretic Lorin Morsat… Did you think exposing young master Sal would let you escape unscathed? Tonight, your blood will appease the wrath of the Wrath Demon God!”
The luxurious carriage sped along the silent forest path, racing into the unknown darkness.
On the highway from the Papal State to the southern Red Mercury Mine, a luxurious carriage made entirely of black gold wood, its exterior engraved with the Morsat family’s thorn crest, was racing steadily and smoothly.
Inside the spacious cabin, enough to hold nearly ten people, a thick handmade cashmere carpet covered the floor. A constant-temperature magic array maintained the interior at the most comfortable temperature.
“Young Master, try this purple grape, air-shipped from the Elf Forest by Dragon Eagle.”
A cute maid with fluffy cat ears, dressed in a maid outfit, peeled a crystal-clear fruit with her fair fingers and fed it to Lorin’s mouth in a coy voice. Another rabbit-eared maid knelt on the carpet, kneading Lorin’s calves with just the right pressure.
Lorin leaned back comfortably on a velvet cushion, opened his mouth to swallow the fruit, the sweet juice burst in his mouth.
‘Ah ha ha ha ha—’
Lorin let out an extremely wild, groundhog-like scream in his heart.
‘This is life! This is the top-tier treatment a time traveler deserves! In my last life, I slaved away at the company, walking on eggshells, even responding to my boss’s messages in the middle of the night when I was on annual leave. This life? Such heavenly, corrupt, decadent, wonderful days—not just today, but every day from now on!’
‘As long as I obediently stay far away from those Heaven’s Chosen female protagonists, my happiness will be abundant.’
‘Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha, as long as I keep my head down, what idiot would come kill me? They’d have to be out of their minds.’
Of course, to avoid having his legs broken by his stern Grand Duke mother for this trip, Lorin came up with an extremely legitimate, absolutely irrefutable reason—buying a birthday gift for Princess Alice.
In half a month, it would be Alice’s eighteenth coming-of-age ceremony. That Red Mercury mine was right next to the Norton Commercial Republic’s Free Trade Zone, which housed the continent’s largest underground auction house and jewelry pavilion. Picking a gift there for the future queen was a flawless excuse.
“Young Master, you’re truly far-sighted!” The fat servant Niu Zi, sitting opposite, leaned in, his fat face squeezing into a lecherous smile that only men understand. “Using the pretext of buying a gift for the princess, we can smoothly ‘survey’ the Red Light District in the Free Trade Zone for a few days! I’ve prepared thoroughly for this survey!”
With that, Niu Zi struggled to drag out a huge black leather suitcase from under the seat. He patted it proudly.
“What did you bring? Such a big case.” Lorin raised an eyebrow. “We’re going to the Red Light District to act like bosses. Why carry so much luggage?”
“Hehe, Young Master, you wouldn’t understand.”
Niu Zi rubbed his hands together, pressed the lock on the suitcase with a click, and threw open the lid.
Lorin glanced casually, and almost spat out the mouthful of red wine he had just drunk.
The suitcase wasn’t packed with daily necessities at all. Instead, it was stuffed full of various female garments with so little fabric they made one’s blood race!
There were extremely form-fitting black lace halter tops, rabbit ear and cat tail attachments to wear, white stockings so thin they were almost transparent, and even several dangerously cut, barely-there variations of nurse and nun outfits.
“Holy crap!” Lorin’s eyes went wide. As a modern man who died a virgin in his last life, he had never seen such a visually shocking display. “You’re a man! Why are you bringing a whole suitcase of sex toys on a trip?”
“Young Master, these are all for you!” Niu Zi puffed out his chest proudly. “The Red Light District has plenty of girls, but their clothing styles are too old-fashioned! I bought these at a high price from the Black Market—the latest models! When you pick out an Elf dancer or Succubus lady, just have her change into one of these… The visual experience, the atmosphere—it’ll make you never want to leave!”
Staring at the suitcase full of lace and stockings, Lorin’s Adam’s apple bobbed hard.
‘This Niu Zi is a genius! How much earthly pleasure did the original owner miss out on?’
“Ahem… indecent! Utterly disgusting!” Lorin scolded with righteous indignation, then pulled the suitcase over to his own feet and stored it in his spatial ring. “I’ll keep the case for now. When we arrive, I must personally conduct a strict critique and inspection of these decadent garments!”
“Young Master is wise!” Niu Zi quickly flattered.
Just as master and servant were lost in infinite fantasies of the wonderful nightlife ahead, the light outside the carriage suddenly dimmed.
Lorin turned to look out the window.
At some point, the carriage had entered a dense primeval forest. The originally bright sky was blocked by towering ancient trees, and a thick fog had begun to form all around.