The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

The wedding was held at the largest cathedral in the capital, the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.

At the tail end of this winter, the Vatican finally arranged the handover of the sainthood, and Saint Lilith's position was replaced almost as soon as she got comfortable.

But at least the people of the capital remembered this saint. Unlike the previous saints, she not only personally distributed porridge but also found jobs for the refugees. Many refugees celebrated the saint's wedding with the king in the outer city.

Although Lilith herself may not have realized it, she unknowingly did things that only Isha in the original timeline would do, winning her some popular support. At least during Lilith's reign, she broke the awkward situation where the saintess was merely a symbol of being high above.

"Is this really okay?"

Lilith, unusually, maintained her composure and elegance even in front of her personal maid.

"Of course, Your Holiness, you are truly radiant today, just like a saint."

The maids shed tears of emotion, finding it hard to imagine that the saintess who used to sit with her legs crossed and her collar pulled up to cool off would be as elegant as she was today.

"You're making it sound like I wasn't the same as before."

Lilith pouted and looked at herself in the mirror. Her white wedding dress and jet-black hair complemented each other perfectly. Although she was petite, her temperament made up for it. With the makeup artist's careful makeup, Lilith almost didn't recognize herself.

It's a pity my brother isn't here. I wonder how he's doing now. Shouldn't he be weaned by now? I hope he's also traveled into his favorite game.

Lilith still doesn't feel like marriage is real; she's not ready to spend her life with Crane yet. But just like advancing the plot in a game, now that this moment has truly arrived, Lilith can only accept it calmly.

As the church bells rang, Lilith cleared her mind and, led by the maids, pushed open the door, where she saw Crane waiting for her.

As the male protagonist of the original work, Crane's temperament and appearance are at their peak at this moment. Although he has just recovered from a serious illness, he looks full of energy.

Compared to before, Kran is now much more reserved. Even when wearing a royal robe inlaid with gold thread and gemstones, he doesn't appear garish at all.

Security at the church was jointly handled by the royal family and the Vatican, making it virtually impenetrable. As the priest's solemn prayers began, the entire cathedral fell silent instantly. The priest stood before the altar, holding his papal texts, his expression solemn, and announced the start of the wedding ceremony in a clear voice.

After the elaborate ceremony concluded, and witnessed by members of the royal family, Lilith became the new queen of the country.

Then we would take a carriage back to the king's castle.

In order to cultivate a more approachable image and reduce public resistance to the new policies, Kran chose an open-top carriage.

On the carriage, Kran, dressed in a crown robe and holding Lilith's hand, waved the Chinese king's scepter to greet the people on the road.

The people along the roadside also cooperated by scattering the flower petals they had prepared.

At least on the day of the king's wedding, the capital was thriving.

Meanwhile, on an abandoned tower in the distance, a soldier, after exchanging flag signals with other soldiers to confirm that everything was alright, suddenly felt a chill down his back. A dark shadow crawled up his neck from his feet, and the soldier lost consciousness before he could even pull out the signal scroll.

"The security is even tighter than I imagined. I'll have to get those green-skinned thugs to pay me more when I get back."

The assassin muttered to himself, took out many mechanisms from the shadows, and quickly assembled them into a heavy crossbow.

Although the Black Raven Secret Society also longed for a spectacular and glamorous assassination like the death of Augustine III, they couldn't. Unlike the Lantern Dreamers, they lacked double agents who could freely move within the palace and approach their target to set up magical arrays. They were forced to resort to simpler, more unassuming methods to carry out the assassination.

Moreover, the royal family was already on high alert. From the perspective of the Black Ravens, even the mysterious organization that had previously assassinated Augustine III had failed to target members of the royal family again, making this assassination mission extremely difficult.

Being able to reach this distance with weapons undetected is practically the limit for a freelancer.

The assassin finally pulled out a simple crossbow bolt from the shadows; it was more like a sharpened needle-shaped stone than a bolt.

Seeing the king in the distance constantly turning his head to wave to the crowd, the assassin hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to shoot him in the body.

The assassin could clearly sense that His Majesty the King was wearing armor under his crown, which would be difficult to penetrate with unenchanted crossbow bolts. However, while the magic-piercing stone arrows could not be enchanted, the crossbow could, and this distance was sufficient.

With the efforts of several shadowy figures, the assassin finally drew his bow.

"This arrow alone could probably buy several mage towers, right? By the Goddess of Shadows, if I hit the target this time, I will make offerings to you when I get back."

After placing the heavy crossbow on its stand and aiming several mage towers at the king's chest, the assassin pulled the trigger.

The magic-piercing stone arrow completely ignored the multiple magical defenses surrounding Kran. With the help of the enchanted crossbow, it pierced through the inner armor Kran wore and went straight into his chest.

Amid cheers and a throng of people, Kram fell off the carriage.

Lilith reacted immediately and tried to reach out to grab Crane, but in the end, she could only barely touch Crane with her fingertips as he fell.

The king was assassinated in public.

Lilith felt as if her sky had collapsed.

On the other side, among the gray and white collars, Lena had already put on the new military uniform designed by Lind.

Although it's called a new military uniform, Linde actually just modified the design of his previous life's military overcoat and changed the pattern to an otherworldly style.

Moreover, this uniform is not unique to the military; it is a distinctive uniform for gray-collar workers.

There are currently two sets, black and white. White represents military officers and soldiers, because the Lars family seems to have a particular fondness for white, even choosing pure white armor.

Black represents the civil service system, and most of the newly nobles who became officials again through examinations wore this color; Linde himself also wore black.

The new uniforms also made most officials realize that Linde preferred a simple and efficient style. After all, even for high-ranking officials, the only difference in their uniforms was the addition of a shawl, which was practically an amputation below the neck compared to the complicated dress etiquette among the nobility.

This is also part of Linde's plan to change the system of rites, as useless rituals only affect administrative efficiency.

"Linde, is it pretty?"

Lena ran across the snow with her arms outstretched, her golden hair dancing in the cold wind against the silvery-white world. Her cheeks were flushed slightly by the wind. Before she had run far, Lena turned back and gave Lind a bright smile.

"What's so interesting about this? This aesthetic is too simplistic, even more rustic than ours elves."

Tia adjusted the hem of her coat. If she lived in modern times, Tia would probably call Lind's design a typical straight man's aesthetic. Greya, standing beside her, completely agreed with Tia's opinion, although she was staring at Lena's white uniform with a hint of envy.

Two kinds of people can't sleep in the same bed. Lena really likes Lind's straight-male aesthetic, just like Lind likes the prototype train designed by Lena with a hardcore industrial style.

"We're in a meeting, be serious!"

Lind walked toward Rena, panting. Although it was the end of winter, the temperature was actually lower than in the dead of winter.

Lind has now gathered all the leaders in his territory to discuss the spring campaign plan, as well as the king's intention to expand the queen's power in the capital, which could very well influence whether the capital will intervene in the north in the spring.

Lena pursed her lips and walked back, but the generals of Lars showed relieved smiles. Although the governor seemed to be a bit relaxed lately and even had the energy to do costume design, as long as the governor and the governor's wife had a harmonious relationship, it meant that the army was harmonious.

The assassin not far away was scratching his head, wishing that the mushy couple in the eagle's eyes would turn on each other on the spot.

After all, although Lena doesn't seem very bright, she is a genuine sixth-tier professional and a renowned defensive knight named Lars. Originally, they wanted to wait until the two separated a little more, but apart from that fleeting opportunity just now, Lena and Lind were stuck together like conjoined twins for the rest of the time.

At this moment, the Black Ravens assassins realized that they were facing a greater challenge than their colleague in the capital. After all, since the capital and the North had fallen out, the king no longer had any Lars Knights by his side, but here, Lars Knights were everywhere.

Moreover, in order to evade the bards, this secret assassin can no longer even use his shadow, making it more difficult for him to infiltrate the territory of an ordinary lord than to infiltrate the king's wedding.

Seeing the target about to enter the building, the assassin gritted his teeth, preparing to entrust everything to the Goddess of Shadows, and the Demon-Slaying Stone Arrow shot out into the air on the howling north wind.

Sensing something, Lena suddenly hugged Lind. Lind was about to say that they were in a meeting and that a hug should wait until the meeting was over, but he immediately felt a strong push.

As Lind lay on the ground, he felt something hot soaking his shoulder, while the weak Lena, with blurred vision, confirmed that she was alright before smiling.

On Lena's pure white uniform, a bright red flower of blood blooms on her shoulder.

The stone arrow got stuck in Lena's shoulder, without touching Lind, but Lind was in excruciating pain.

"The governor has been assassinated! Seal off the scene!"

"Target spotted. Royal Guard? Where's the Royal Guard?"

Chaos erupted at the scene. Lucanus moved as fast as he could towards the assassin's location, while the nuns pushed through the crowd to check on Lind and Rena's injuries.

"Quickly bring holy water! The governor's wife's injuries aren't too serious, but she's infected with a plague. Evacuate the crowd, quick!"

The noise faded into the background as Lind tried to focus, but his mind told him he should stand up and take charge, though he couldn't move.

"Brother...you can't fall yet. You must become prime minister, the highest official...you must stand at the highest position..."

Lena's voice was weak, barely audible even when she was close to Lind's ear, but to Lind, it was like a thunderclap compared to the surrounding noise.