Inside the carriage, the space was much narrower than her usual princess carriage. So when the three of them got in, their bodies were almost pressed against each other.
On Elara's seat was the white outer robe and veil hat she had worn last time when she visited Lianyi House.
She was about to appear as a distant relative of the Pei Family, a businesswoman from the Bai clan, so she naturally had to wear the same outfit again.
Yes, the place she was going to was the newly acquired "Bai Business Manor" that she had just received from Mathias earlier this morning.
She originally planned to change her outfit in the carriage. But now, with the cramped space, it was hard to even move her arms and legs. After thinking for a while, she decided to wait until they arrived, let Damon and Mathias get off first, and then she would change and get out.
Elara's princess villa was in the eastern part of Plumera Kingdom's capital, while the "Bai Business Manor" was in the west.
Although the two locations were far apart in direction, the capital was not that big, so the carriage didn't take long to reach the destination.
Once the carriage stopped, Elara let Damon and Mathias get off first. After she changed clothes, she got off the carriage with the help of Uno who was holding up the curtain.
Damon glanced at Elara, who had once again changed her appearance in a blink. Then he turned to observe the new manor, while Mathias still kept his head lowered.
"Alright, from now on, I'm Miss Bai the Third. You both remember that, right?"
Upon hearing her words, the two men raised their hands to show their response.
Elara looked at Mathias and noticed that his gaze stayed on the ground. She spoke directly,
"Mathias, lead the way."
Mathias paused slightly, looked up at the somewhat unfamiliar manor, and replied, "Yes, Princess."
This manor was something Elara had only received earlier that day. Aside from a few loyal old servants that Mathias had mentioned and some basic facilities left behind by the Pei Family, it was basically empty.
But today, Elara didn't plan to do anything big. She just wanted to check out the place herself and assign a manager to oversee it, so the manor could slowly become active.
So after entering the manor gates, she strolled around slowly, looking left and right at everything. She made sure to personally examine every little detail of her first base.
The more she looked, the more satisfied she felt.
Although she had imagined the place when Mathias gave her the map, it was still just a vision in her mind. Now seeing it with her own eyes, Elara couldn't help but admire how spacious it really was and how much she could do here.
The terrain was also excellent. The entire manor was surrounded by thick woods. The tall trees almost completely hid the manor, making it hard to spot. There were also no other houses nearby, making it a clean and hidden location.
The manor wasn't on flat land either. It was on top of a small hill. The front faced water, and the back leaned against the hill. Although the slopes weren't steep, the place had high ground, and just by adding a few defensive fences in the future, it could become a naturally protected stronghold.
Elara spent nearly half an hour checking out the visible parts of the manor. Then she walked toward the buildings and inspected the rooms one by one. Finally, she arrived at the underground chamber she had been most excited about.
The construction technology of this time period was still basic. But this underground chamber really surprised her with its size.
Even when she saw the map earlier, she thought the underground chamber seemed strangely large, not something people of this era should be able to build.
But now seeing it with her own eyes, Elara realized it was even bigger than she had imagined.
At first, the chamber was only about two meters deep. But the deeper she went, the deeper and wider it became. The air inside also grew colder and more humid.
Elara had already suspected the construction here was unusual. Now that she looked closely, she realized the chamber was actually built into a natural cave in the hill.
The cave was huge. The further in she went, the more open it became, and it looked like it could match the size of two or three football fields.
Looking at the vast and solid underground space, Elara was amazed and couldn't help but think of an idea.
If she trained soldiers in secret down here in the future…
Thinking about her future plans, Elara smiled and examined the so-called "underground chamber" even more closely.
When she reached the very deepest part of the cave, she found a hidden water tunnel leading to the outside.
This discovery made Elara even more pleased. It meant she could hide people or things here as she pleased, and if anything went wrong, they could use the secret tunnel to escape to the river outside.
The layout and design, while not perfect, completely fit her current needs.
It was practically a perfect match for her plans.
Elara raised the corners of her lips and carefully looked over the entire "basement" of the trading estate one more time. After confirming everything, she finally returned to the surface of the estate with the two people.
The old servants who had already bowed to her earlier quickly stepped forward holding a large bunch of keys in their hands.
"Miss Bai, these are the keys to the estate. They include all the doors, storage rooms, and any locked areas. Please take a look."
Elara helped the old man up and looked toward Damon, who was still examining the surroundings.
"Damon."
"Yes, Miss..." Damon withdrew his gaze and stepped in front of Elara.
"What do you think of this estate?"
Damon lowered his head and gave his honest opinion: "It's excellent. There's water in front and mountains behind. The dense forest around it hides the place well. It's also on a small hill and has natural underground caves for hiding. It's a perfect place that's easy to defend and hard to attack."
His evaluation was similar to Elara's. However, in this era, the average person wouldn't be able to describe things like that.
Elara had originally admired his precise archery and his persistent, determined character. Now, hearing his analysis and remembering his military experience, she asked again, "Did you read this in books, or did you learn it when you joined the army?"
Damon pressed his lips together. Since he had already learned Elara's true identity and decided to follow her from now on, he understood that nothing about him could be hidden from her.
Even though those memories weren't pleasant, he still answered, "Some from reading, some from listening to the commanders after I joined the army, and some from when I was little... My father often told me about military matters. He saved the money from selling bows to help me borrow bamboo slips to read. That's when I memorized a lot of military texts."
He really was born to be a general. Elara nodded and didn't ask more questions. She just took the large bunch of keys from the old servant and placed them in his hand.
"This... Miss?"
Damon was stunned by the heavy keys in his hand. He couldn't help but lift his eyes in surprise to look at Elara, whose face was hidden under the white veil.
Elara met his gaze and stepped closer, lightly patting his shoulder.
"I also think this place is excellent. So from now on, I want you to take care of it for me. What do you say?"
Damon's eyes widened a little. He truly didn't expect that after being saved by this princess just this morning, she would now trust him enough to hand over such a large estate?
Didn't she fear that he might…
But before the thought could leave his mouth, it was drowned by the force of her calm and confident presence.
Even though the white veil covered Elara's expression, Damon recalled the look in her eyes that morning when she rescued him from the execution ground—eyes that seemed to have control over everything.
Yes, this young-looking princess was the same person who had dared to whip someone like Captain Yang publicly, and still managed to rescue him right under everyone's nose.
She gave him the keys either because she believed in his skills or trusted his character. But she must have also been certain that he would never, and could never, betray her.
Damon swallowed the many words he wanted to say. Behind the thin white veil, he met Elara's eyes and slowly knelt down on one knee, holding the keys with both hands. Lowering his head in a respectful and loyal manner, he spoke each word clearly:
"Yes! I will not fail you!"
Elara was very satisfied with Damon's response. This was the benefit of dealing with smart people—no need for extra effort or too many words. With a few short thoughts exchanged, everything was understood.
"Very good." Elara withdrew her hand from his shoulder. "From now on, you'll live here. You're the new person in charge. If you need anything, just tell the old servants. They will obey you."
"Yes."
"Alright. Now that this is settled, we need to make the estate fully operational. At the moment, there isn't a single person here, so starting tomorrow, your first task is to send people outside the city to recruit workers."
Elara paused here, her eyes under the veil fixed on Damon.
"You don't need too many conditions when recruiting. As long as the person is physically able, not sick, and not lazy or freeloading, they are acceptable."
"But after they're recruited, you'll need to create strict rules and regulations. Then, you'll have to manage them strictly according to those rules and train them into what they should be. Can you do that, Damon?"
Damon lowered his eyes and raised his hand. His voice was steady: "Yes, I can!"
"Excellent."
Elara smiled in satisfaction and leaned in closer to Damon again. This time, she got so close that her warm breath gently brushed his ear before she stopped.
Damon's body tensed slightly. His mind suddenly recalled what he had heard earlier at the princess's other estate, along with Elara's straightforward statement that she liked men…
The soft, fragrant breath on his ear made it turn red, but Damon still controlled himself...