Perhaps noticing her prolonged gaze outside, Julia excitedly informed her that all the land they saw along the way belonged to Simon.
Lucia corrected her: "Actually, it should be said that all of Andalus belongs to the Duke, including the lands of other barons and knights. The land near the castle is the Duke's private estate and the main source of income for the Gonzalez family, which the Duke inherited."
Ambitious to become the next housekeeper, Lucia had been diligently improving her knowledge. She was one of the few literate maids in the castle and had a fairly detailed understanding of the Williams family.
However, Maria wasn't particularly interested in the Gonzalez family's wealth. Instead, she asked Lucia about Algaba.
Though Lucia had been a maid in the castle for five years, unlike Julia, who had severed ties with her family, Lucia had a good relationship with hers. It was through her parents' connections that she had the opportunity to work in the castle. Thus, Lucia returned home during her days off every month and was very familiar with Algaba.
Lucia told Maria what she knew about Algaba. According to Lucia, Algaba was not only the largest town within Sevilla, but also the most beautiful.
The name Algaba came from the nearby Algaba Lake, a large, beautiful lake surrounded by greenery, rich in aquatic resources. Therefore, one could buy very good fish in town.
The town also had excellent security, with many shops. In Lucia's view, it was the most prosperous place in the entire Andalus region.
After hearing her introduction, Maria was somewhat hopeful about Algaba.
Unfortunately, she was ultimately disappointed.
While Lucia thought Algaba was perhaps the best place, Maria found it lacking. The streetfront shops were small and dimly lit, the roads were muddy and unkempt, and the townsfolk nonchalantly walked through the filth. Maria even saw someone dumping waste from an upper-floor window into a side alley. The entire town seemed built on a heap of garbage.
The smell here was even worse than in the castle.
Maria had to do a lot of mental preparation before she could muster the courage to step out of the carriage. Fortunately, as noble ladies were required to wear veils to cover their hair when going out, she used hers to cover part of her face, which helped somewhat as a makeshift mask.
She couldn't help but complain to the system: "If this is considered the best town in Andalus, then I might need to consider other places."
"Trust me, other places might not necessarily be any better."
The system that was busy setting Maria's identity had recently gained a better understanding of the situation in medieval Europe as a whole. In its opinion, Algaba's environment was still considered above average in terms of the overall trend.
Maria's face paled beneath her veil, and she thought she might go mad from the environment sooner or later.
Maria's first visit was to meet the mayor of Algaba. Their carriage, bearing the Gonzalez family crest, was quickly noticed upon entering the town, and the mayor had prepared for her arrival in advance. Although surprised to see a young lady, the mayor greeted her courteously.
Maria was mainly interested in finding out the prices of houses and land in Algaba. The mayor, well-versed in these matters, informed her that the housing prices were surprisingly low, but buying land was quite difficult.
The main issue was the lack of available land for sale, especially the sizable parcel Maria was interested in. Most of the residents of Algaba were free people, including various artisans and many small-scale farmers. They owned their land, but most people had very small plots and would not sell unless necessary.
Those who owned larger plots did not need money and thus would not sell. Naturally, the largest landholder was the lord, so Maria would need to speak with Simon if she wanted to purchase land.
After learning the situation from the mayor, Maria reluctantly left.
Upon leaving the mayor's residence, Julia asked Maria if she wanted to explore the town.
Lucia, who remained silent, understood that Maria did not particularly like Algaba, given her previous displays of cleanliness. Lucia quickly realized why Maria might find the place unappealing.
Maria shook her head. "No, let's just visit the tailor and the cobbler and then head back."
Both artisans worked quickly. Although they had not completed all of Maria's orders, they had managed to produce a portion of them in the past few days. After inspecting the quality and finding it satisfactory, Maria paid the remaining balance and took the finished items back with her.
After returning from Algaba, and with half of the system's allotted time gone by, Maria began to feel anxious. She considered settling down by buying a house first and figuring out the land issue later.
Just then, Simon, who had been absent for a while, finally returned. Upon his return, he sent someone to fetch Maria for a meeting in his study.
Simon wanted to discuss Maria's plans with her.
"I heard from the steward that you wish to settle in Andalus?"
"Yes."
Maria had indeed considered leaving Andalus, but ultimately decided against it. First, she was running out of time. She had agreed with the system on a timeframe of half a month, after which the system would leave. With half the time already passed, finding a place to stay was becoming urgent; otherwise, many subsequent matters could become troublesome.
Secondly, being unfamiliar with the area and in the position of a woman, she was uncertain about her safety elsewhere. Staying in Andalus seemed preferable, as Simon appeared relatively reliable.
Maria was not naive; she could tell that Simon had a favorable impression of her. This favorable impression could ensure a certain level of protection for her. With Simon's support, her time in Andalus would likely be more manageable.
As for whether there would be any further developments between them, Maria, was not thinking about such distant possibilities at the moment. She had no particular feelings for Simon as of now.
"I do have plans to settle in Andalus, and if possible, I would like to buy a house and land here. However, I've found that land is difficult to purchase, and the attitude towards women here is rather unfriendly."
Maria said this with a frown, aiming to convey an emotion that suggested her home country's higher status for women and her noble upbringing, which taught her that such things were within her rights. She wanted Simon to understand that she should not be compared to the local nobility.
Otherwise, given the current situation, women are merely extensions of men. They not only struggle with inheritance rights but sometimes can't even own property themselves; everything belongs to their fathers or husbands.
Simon was not surprised by her perspective. The fact that a young woman could escape her predicament showed that she was not as fragile as she appeared. He simply responded sincerely, "I can help you find a suitable house and sell you some land, but I wouldn't recommend it."