The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

After seven days of martial law in the capital, the nobles finally received the news that Her Majesty the Queen had returned to her loyal palace.

All the old nobles who participated in the murder of Crane were captured and executed.

A trend of mourning for Kran has swept through the capital. Lilith has not commented on this, but as long as she does not oppose it, it is considered supportive. Her Majesty the Queen is the widow of the late King, so mourning for Kran is certainly not wrong.

Dealing with these nobles is easy, but how do we deal with the families behind them?

Lilith originally intended to continue the purge, but the resistance she encountered was far greater than she had imagined. The biggest source of resistance came from within the palace, with the Augustines advising Lilith against escalating the matter and suggesting that only the ringleaders should be punished.

Moreover, the families behind those nobles had already severed ties immediately, so taking further action at this point would only make Lilith seem cruel.

After careful consideration, Lilith decided to parade the nobles who plotted the assassination through the streets of the capital. As for their families, on Nora's advice, Lilith chose to reconcile with them.

After all, it's really not a good time to break ties with the royal family.

Moreover, these families contributed a large amount of gold coins and physical assets, which are exactly the two things Lilith currently lacks most.

Reform requires money, a lot of money, and the muskets and cannons for the gray-collar workers are not cheap. It is impossible for Judith and Scott to purchase them on their own. Lilith also has to ensure that she has enough influence in the army.

The real economy provided the foundation for Lilith's reforms. Many of these old guys' businesses happened to be important industries in the capital, and they were also the things that Kran wanted to get his hands on most, besides land.

It's practically a matter of cutting off the tail to survive.

Judging from the price these families paid, it was far less worthwhile than honestly negotiating with Krain in the first place. Even Marcel, who gradually secured his position as leader of the Old Party, lamented: "If only we had known this earlier!"

If the Augustines hadn't been so ambivalent, Lilith could have completely destroyed these nobles, since the crime of murdering royalty is no small matter.

However, Lilith has realized that, compared to these old nobles who dared to murder royalty, the Augustins are probably more afraid of themselves now.

Furthermore, Nora felt that if the situation continued to escalate, the other side might become desperate and the situation would completely spiral out of control. The Southwest Army was not truly under Lilith's control, and Judith and Scott would not actually turn against these old nobles for Lilith's revenge.

After careful consideration, Lilith had no choice but to treat these families leniently, which made her feel very frustrated. She had already come this far, but she still couldn't truly punish these nobles.

However, seeing the old nobles being paraded through the streets and spat on made Lilith feel a little better. Initially, the families of these old nobles also disagreed with the parading, after all, they still had to save face.

Once a reputation is ruined, it's truly ruined, and it will have some impact on certain members of the family.

But Lilith was very determined on this matter, and insisted that the people of the capital and others see for themselves which families had assassinated the king.

The Augustins also felt that it was appropriate to punish the noble families who dared to assassinate the king, which did not conflict with their desire to protect those families.

The people of the capital were originally quite unfamiliar with the former king, Kran, but in the past few days, with the old party nobles constantly mourning Kran, Kran's actual status has even surpassed that of his father, who reigned for decades.

The people of the capital took to the streets, cursing the murderers who had killed their good king.

Rumors even began to circulate among the people that if His Majesty the King of Cran didn't die, Anjou wouldn't dare to attack.

However, after the families donated another sum of money, Lilith decided to give the murderers some dignity. The rotten eggs and swill were too much; spitting on them would suffice.

Some of the nobles tied to the wooden frame were despondent, while others looked relieved.

The best news is that Her Majesty the Queen did not bring disaster upon the family. As long as the family is safe, they will be able to turn things around sooner or later. They are already very satisfied that the family can be extricated by sacrificing only one person and some money and property.

No matter how badly I'm being criticized now, once that queen reveals her weakness, her fate will only be worse than it is now.

Lilith sat on the stage, watching Nora read out the crimes of these old nobles. The voices from below the stage, calling for the killing of these old nobles, grew louder and louder, especially those old party members who had become engrossed in the drama. They were filled with hatred for these old nobles who had killed the benevolent King Crane.

On the contrary, the new party was somewhat bewildered by this magical scene. How could the old party become more loyal to the new party in just a few days, especially to the previous emperor? Even the other male protagonists who had grown up and gone to school with Crane were confused.

Of course, these people won't die.

They not only assassinated the king, but also the governor of the Grey and White Collar.

It seems that it was after that assassination attempt that the Grey Collar suddenly became active, manipulating the capital from behind the scenes while declaring war on Doug in the North. I heard that they have recently broken through Doug's blockade and started a formal attack.

Lilith also recalled her correspondence with the governor of the Grey and White Collar. The two had a conversation before the assassination, but although the other party wanted to stir up trouble, he was mostly just pointing fingers at the capital from the perspective of a local warlord.

That assassination truly seemed to change the timeline. After the assassination, the time traveler seemed to be stimulated by something and began to actively plan and scheme, even bluntly hinting at the "Fengtian Jingnan" to Lilith.

Lilith shook her head, putting those thoughts aside for now. After all, the threat of transmigrators was still too far away, and Lilith, who lived in the capital every day, could only consider the things at hand.

After reading aloud the sins of these nobles, Nora continued to read about their final judgment.

Of course, these trials would not be carried out; these nobles would be directly escorted to the Grey and White Collar, where they would be tried by the Grey and White Collar.

Whether or not to kill the gray-collar workers is beyond Lilith's control.

Amid cheers from the crowd and nobles in the audience, Nora invited a cardinal to the hall, and the two jointly announced that Her Majesty the Queen would once again become a saint of the Papacy, continuing to protect the people and believers of the capital.

Although the audience didn't know what this meant, they still cheered.

Lilith's prestige reached its peak on this day.

The new party has gained a foothold, the old party has outwardly submitted, the Papacy is Lilith's private domain, and reforms can be pushed forward in this way. The cannons of the gray and white collars will also be open for trade. It seems that everything is getting better.

In the shadows, Claire watched all this, nearly grinding her nails to powder.

I'm afraid my best friend is suffering, but I'm also afraid she's enjoying happiness.

Claire snorted and retreated into the shadows.

Back at the palace, Lilith slumped wearily into a chair. Everything seemed thriving and prosperous, but only Lilith and her confidantes knew that such days would not last.

The Augustins have already begun their operation; they hold Lilith's most fatal weakness in their hands: the legitimacy of her position as Queen Lilith.

Moreover, the Southwest Army is not a force truly controlled by Lilith, nor can it remain in the capital indefinitely.

Therefore, having solved the assassination case, Lilith immediately had to find a way to deal with the Augustines.

But Lilith had no idea how to deal with the Augustins, so she could only start writing a letter to the governor of the Grey and White Collar.

Nora, standing to the side, looked at the exhausted Lilith with some heartache, knowing what Lilith was worried about, and said, "Your Majesty, I have a way that might be able to help you."

Lilith thought to herself, "As expected of the male protagonist in the game who excels in strategy," and immediately asked excitedly, "What method?"

Nora looked at the letter on Lilith's desk and said, "Your Majesty can form an alliance with Governor Lind of the North and acknowledge Governor Lind as your sworn brother."

For a moment, Lilith thought the family tree had been exposed, but after looking at Nora's expression, she realized that Nora didn't seem to know about Lilith and Lind's relationship, so she was relieved.

But Lilith quickly realized something was wrong: how could a queen address a regional governor as "brother"?

Although the other person's name is the same as my brother in my previous life, and we are even related by blood in this life, he is not my real brother. In name, we are in a superior-subordinate relationship. How can I call him brother?

"Prime Minister Nora, are you awake?"