Situated at the central southern portion of the Northern Continent, the Kingdom of Astley was reigning its title as the Country of Arts. Located at the center of the northeastern part of the country, its capital city, Richtpole, was thriving.
The city of Richtpole was a busy and prosperous city with an astounding three-kilometer radius wall surrounding it, providing protection to its over a million population along with the gothic structures erected within it.
Similar to the Imperial Capital of the Dixon Empire, the city of Richtpole was a dungeon city, albeit only a 30-floored dungeon.
Originally, dungeon cities had these default pitch black walls surrounding them. But the wall around Richtpole was white, so it was remarkably beautiful and pleasing to the eyes.
Since the time of the Mother of Art, half a millennium ago, art had been greatly appreciated in that county. So those black walls were somewhat ominous to the population’s eyes, especially to the aesthetic royals and aristocrats.
The royal family could not just remove the wall, and the control panel could not change its dark hue. To get rid of its ominous appearance, they decided to coat the entire wall with limestone, thereby constructing the most beautiful and aesthetically pleasing wall on the continent.
Due to its location, the Kingdom of Astley did not have anything to pose as a threat to its safety, unlike the empire, which was consistently fighting with the invading demon race. However, the country was still surrounded by potential and existing threats, such as the Great Forest of Darkness to the east.
Other than that, the country had some friction with its neighboring nations, chiefly with the Beast Nation of Lionoir. The reason for that was mostly because of racism.
Given how relatively carefree the Kingdom of Astley was, the nation depraved itself of a sense of humanity, which negatively affected the mentality and logic of the population, especially the nobility. Good times create weak people.
That said, the nobility of the kingdom was the one that deteriorated itself the most. From promoting human supremacy to grave corruption, which greatly affected the military prowess of the country.
For those reasons, Astley was not only hailed as the Country of Arts but also known as the Vulnerable Belly of the Northern Continent. If a nation on the southern continent were to invade the north, Astley would most likely be the first battlefield.
As the capital city of Astley, the city of Richtpole was obviously where the majestic royal palace was erected and where the royal family resided. Generations after the founder conquered the dungeon, the Kingdom of Astley was ruled by his descendants up until the current regime.
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It was nighttime, and snow graciously fell from the sky down to the streets of the city of Richtpole. The capital was busy in spite of the cold winter. It indicated how active the city was.
Although it was currently winter, the snow falling in the city, as well as in the rest of the country, was only mild. Due to the city’s geographical location, the amount of snow filling up on the ground was not as thick as the empire’s.
“Sigh… It’s getting worse…”
In a certain chamber of the royal palace illuminated only by a single lamp shade on the desk, a man, who appeared to be in his late fifties, was grumbling as he was scanning the paper he held. His name was Robert Lancer, the prime minister of the Kingdom of Astley.
On his desk in his personal office, Robert was studying the latest data regarding their kingdom. In the paper, it was written how much the prices inflated this month, which justified his surly expressions just now.
Lately, the whole kingdom had been suffering from a financial crisis. Prices of products and services spiked, and their economy was currently undergoing a decline.
“It is happening because of their greed…”
The primary reason for their crisis was the constant raising of taxes by many feudal lords over the years. But the root of the problem was within the kingdom itself. It all started when the current king sat on the throne more than a decade ago.
Before he was hailed as the king, King Richard XIV was already infamous for his unkingly behaviors. He was a greedy person who wanted to live luxuriously and party with nobles of the same feather.
When he was crowned king of Astley just fourteen years ago, after the former king died, Robert already foresaw the awful fate of the country. In order to keep the country stable, Robert, a marquis, contended with the royalists and became Prime Minister himself.
As the king and some of the nobles were living a luxurious lifestyle and relentlessly spending his people’s money, Robert was desperately working behind the curtains to make the country alive.
However, he would probably continue his work for a long time since the crown prince was no different from his father. The queen was no different either. Moreover, she was suffering from obesity from consuming the latest cuisines, such as pasta and cake.
After King Richard became king, the corrupted nobles started to follow his path and began making a killing by putting higher taxes on their constituents. There were even some who started illegal businesses, which were probably secretly supported by the king.
“Hmm.” He flipped the pages and scanned the contents of the next issue. “Those damn racists…”
Recently, there were disputes occurring around the western border of the country. Most of those involved the conflicts between the kingdom and the beast nation.
Not only was the king corrupted, but he promoted human supremacy as well, and he despised beastfolk the most. Little by little, he was finding ways to get rid of them.
“Sigh… If only he was born earlier…”
Robert leaned his back on the chair and looked at the ceiling, thinking of a certain man, his only hope. But he soon realized he could not change everything, so he sat straight again and continued to fix this nation’s problems.