The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Coente Dowling walked hunched over on the streets of the inner city, as if afraid of being recognized.

All around were the eerie wails and cries of nobles, but there were no demons, because the demons that once ravaged the inner city were now nowhere to be seen.

Lilith used the simplest and most direct method—physically eliminating the opposition; the air was even filled with the smell of blood.

This method only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause, because most of the nobles who were directly dethroned on the night of the purge were those promoted by Cordick who only knew how to shout for freedom, as well as the demons active in the capital.

The nobles who are truly in deep waters will not easily show themselves.

Coente wrapped his coat tighter around himself. He never expected that after ascending the throne, his once obedient and sensible youngest daughter would become so cruel, but she was still his daughter after all.

Before even entering the palace, the master of ceremonies approached Coente and personally instructed him on the proper etiquette for meeting the king.

Of course, ordinary nobles in the capital don't need to go through so much trouble to enter the palace. This was just to give Coente a warning, since Coente's current status is very sensitive; he is a relative of the emperor.

No one understood maternal relatives better than the Augustins. Even though the Dorian family had no power, Coente still received the most rigorous education.

Rather, it is precisely because the Daolin family has little power that they have been severely restricted by Coente.

After going through a series of inexplicable rituals, Coente finally met his daughter.

"His Majesty."

Coente knelt down in respect.

Lilith immediately stepped forward and helped up her adoptive father in this life.

“Father, this is the study, there’s no need for formalities.”

Seeing his daughter nod, Coente stood up with relief.

"Father, why have you come? The capital is far too dangerous."

“Little Lilith, I don’t know what you’re planning to do, but I know you’re in more danger now.”

After saying that, Coente looked around warily.

She was surrounded by Lilith's personal maids from when she was still a saintess.

"Father, don't worry, everyone here is one of us."

Only then did Coente completely relax.

"Little Lilith, what I'm about to say is very important."

Cohen pulled open a loose thread on his coat, revealing a hidden pocket inside which was a rather thick family genealogy book.

“This is the real family tree. It’s no longer safe for us to keep it. Little Lilith, go and put it in a safe place, or rather, with someone you can completely trust.”

Coente hesitated for a moment before saying, "If there's really no one you can trust, you can try contacting Duchess Judith or Governor Lind in the North."

Lilith was full of questions about her cheap father's behavior until she looked through this so-called real family tree.

"Are we descendants of the old empire?"

For a moment, Lilith even had the urge to burn the family tree.

If the Augustins knew that Lilith was a descendant of the old empire, they would probably pull her off the throne on the spot.

"I do not know."

Coente shook his head.

"At least that's what the family tree says, but people all over the streets claim to be descendants of the old empire, and nobody really cares."

Indeed, local minor nobles love to find a prestigious family lineage to pass down to their ancestors, and the Augustins don't bother with such common, obviously fake lineages.

At most, some people genuinely have black hair and black eyes, which makes them more believable.

But things are different now. The Grand Duchess of the South is a known descendant of the old empire, and there seems to be another descendant of the old empire in the North, whose authenticity is unknown. This descendant has also inherited part of the Lars family. Now, a queen who has suddenly taken over the kingdom is also a descendant of the old empire.

The old empire is likely to be resurrected. I don't know if Lilith can sleep, but the Augustins probably can't.

The Augustins: "Recently, there have been more and more people claiming to be loyalists of the old empire. Does Your Majesty have any ideas about this?"

Seeing the doubt and uncertainty in his daughter's eyes, Coent felt a pang of heartache. He held Lilith's hand and said, "Little Lilith, why don't we just burn it? Your being alive is more important than anything else. Let's not be queens anymore. Let's find a chance to run away."

"Father, there's no turning back now."

Lilith accepted the genealogy book anyway, as some of its contents corroborated those of Judith, the Duchess of the Southern Border. Of course, this couldn't be used as a standard to determine the authenticity of the genealogy, since Judith's story was already widely known.

Most importantly, because the East and North are relatively close, it is clearly recorded that the Dorian family is a branch of the Northern Rohr family. The governor of the North is not only a descendant of the old empire, but also, according to seniority, Lilith's distant brother.

This genealogy was compiled long before Lynd Rol's rise to prominence.

As for whether it's true or not, Lilith can go to Judith's brother to confirm it and take a look at the true family tree of the Duchess of the Southern Border.

Lilith also believed that this cheap father wouldn't lie to her, after all, he even advised her to burn the family tree.

It can be basically determined to be true.

Once this gets out, it might even explain why gray and white-collar workers are so steadfast in their support, since they are essentially from the same family.

Is it a cruel twist of fate? I never imagined that Lindroll would actually be my "brother".

For a moment, Lilith even had an absurd thought: what if it were her older brother who transmigrated into Lindroll's body?

But Lilith quickly came to her senses. It's good to have dreams, but right now she's thinking about "serving the emperor" for her.

Moreover, the idea that someone dies first and then travels through time is so counterintuitive that Lilith simply dismissed it as her own fantasy.

In the end, Lilith accepted the family tree, appeased her adoptive father, and learned about the recent situation in the Eastern Territory.

When everything was over, Lilith collapsed wearily onto the table.

The family tree isn't entirely useless; at least it can strengthen ties with the Southern Territory. But Lilith can't reveal this trump card until the crucial moment arrives.

The situation was still dire, and protests drifted into the palace like snowflakes.

After last night's purge, countless nobles began to protest, and various accusations of excessive law enforcement, wrongful convictions, attacks on soldiers, and conflicts piled up on Lilith's desk.

These nobles were very shrewd. They did not attack Lilith directly, but instead showered her with praise. Instead, they turned their attention to the new prime minister, Nora Les.

Lilith chose to turn a blind eye to everything, even though she knew some things were indeed wrong, she still had to persist.

The same applies to future policies. Even if some policies are implemented poorly, Lilith must continue to push them forward despite the pressure, making some improvements at most, but never abolishing them.

There are no signs of factional strife yet, but once Lilith loosens her support for Nora Les, a confrontation between the new and old factions will immediately erupt in the capital.

At that point, no policy or reform will matter; all problems will become trivial matters.

Having reaffirmed her resolve, Lilith picked up her pen and began writing a reply to Governor Lind, the Grey-White Collar.

The other party probably already knows that she is a time traveler, after all, replacing the female lead is too obvious, but on the surface, Lilith still needs to cover it up, so as not to let people find out that she has any relationship with the governor of the gray-white collar.

In the letter, Lilith directly requested technical support from the Gray Collar, since she had already realized that the other party must have produced something from farming, especially with the news that the two armies in the North had started using firearms in their battle.

Although the intelligence suggested it might be some new magical item, Lilith immediately recognized it as a firearm.

The pressure on the southwestern border is immense, especially after Lilith transferred some soldiers and personnel to the capital, making it urgent to replenish combat strength.

If the southwestern borders and the kingdom were to collapse now, it would certainly not be a good thing for this transmigrator. Therefore, Lilith demanded the technology with a clear conscience, just like she asked her older brother for living expenses in her previous life.

Overall, Lilith is rather pessimistic. Putting aside whether the other side will give it to her or not, if they do give her gunpowder technology, Lilith will be even more worried, since it means that the other side's military technology is already so advanced that it is generationally ahead of these firearms.