The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Claire continued to reminisce with Lilith about the good old days, but eventually got down to business.

“Your Majesty, you have been working tirelessly for the kingdom lately, but there are still some beasts in our Augustine family who are dissatisfied with you and want to bring you down.”

Claire slammed her hand on the table indignation, causing the tea and pastries on the table to shake. It was clear that Claire was really angry, but it was hard to say exactly what she was angry about.

"As soon as they saw His Majesty's reforms begin, they immediately wanted to become king themselves and enjoy the fruits of these reforms. They had no idea how much effort His Majesty had put into these reforms."

Claire clenched her fists, on the verge of tears, but Lilith began to comfort her.

"However, Your Majesty, please rest assured that I stopped those guys at yesterday's meeting. But Your Majesty, some of the things you have done recently have indeed made the Grand Elder and some other people in the family quite dissatisfied."

Hearing this, Lilith finally nodded. Claire's previous performance had been too exaggerated, but Lilith believed this statement. Based on her previous actions, the elders of Augustine were probably already furious.

"Although my elder brother and I have already tried to defend you, Your Majesty, allowing the soldiers from the southwest to re-enter the inner city while you went into the church and let those soldiers arbitrarily arrest nobles in the streets is unacceptable. Although I know you wanted to find out who assassinated my brother as soon as possible, some people with ulterior motives are already using these things to attack Your Majesty."

Claire was behind all of this. After all, those brainless Augustines only knew how to shout about trivial things like the Queen trampling on the honor of the nobility, completely unaware of where Lilith's greatest threat lay.

If the queen no longer even lives in the palace, and her attendants are all her own people, how will the Augustins control this queen who has married into the family?

This is what the elders of Augustine fear most, especially given Lilith's constant alliances and exchanges with other external forces.

Lilith was at a loss for words, after all, she couldn't very well say that she didn't trust the people in the palace at all.

Claire, seemingly sensing Lilith's predicament, said, "I know this can't go on, Lilith. You're my friend and my sister-in-law, so I discussed it with the others and came up with a solution for you."

This change in address was very effective in bridging the gap between them, and Lilith nodded, knowing that the main event was finally about to begin.

"First of all, I have discussed this with the elders. Your Majesty, it is not acceptable for you to leave the palace without permission. We must establish laws for the Queen and the King. Any act of leaving the palace must be explained in advance. Otherwise, even Your Majesty cannot leave the palace at will."

Claire's fingers unconsciously twisted together, her brows furrowed, and a hint of worry appeared in her eyes. She continued, "Your Majesty, this is also our concern that something might happen to you. Your status is different now than before, and you must arrange sufficient guards for every trip. These things need to be done according to regulations, and I also think that some rules are necessary."

Seeing that Claire seemed genuinely worried about her, Lilith nodded in agreement, but she was still reluctant to accept this suggestion, especially after hearing about the idea of ​​enacting laws to restrict her.

Regardless of the merits of the constitutional monarchy system itself, if a constitutional monarchy were to be implemented in the current situation, all the reform bills that have been prepared would immediately be rendered obsolete.

"In addition, there is the matter of the Holy See. Your Majesty, I know that you have been restored to sainthood, and weekly prayers are a must. Although some people objected, I still spoke with the elders, and in the end, the elders said that they hoped Your Majesty could set a fixed prayer day each week to pray. This is also so that the palace can better cooperate with Your Majesty's travels."

Claire then revealed some of the legal provisions drafted by the Grand Elder and the other Augustines. The provisions were somewhat disorganized, but most of them were quite flexible.

Lilith could see that these Augustines wanted to restrict her, but dared not actually cut off her own hands and feet, and wanted to continue to use her to push forward the reforms.

Most of the laws simply outlined rules for Lilith's daily behavior, providing some regulations for her, and many genuinely aimed to ensure her safety.

This level of restriction doesn't even qualify as a constitutional monarchy; it can only be considered a loose set of limitations imposed on Lilith.

This put Lilith at ease for the time being. It seems that Augustine was also somewhat wary and dared not act too hastily.

But what Claire mentioned next made Lilith alarmed.

The capital's guards and royal guards will be controlled by an Augustinian, who will also be responsible for communication between Lilith and the Augustinian family.

Those southwestern troops were either incorporated into the guard or returned to the border.

Although Lilith's situation seems very good now, once the western border army leaves the capital, how much authority will Lilith really have left?

But as Claire said, it was impossible to keep the border troops in the capital forever. If the support from the Papacy and the Grey and White Collars was stirring up the sensitive nerves of the Augustinians, then the army in the capital was dancing on those sensitive nerves.

Just as Lilith hesitated, Claire proudly said, "Your Majesty, you need not worry, because I can also be Augustine, protecting Your Majesty and helping Your Majesty communicate."

"Although there are still people who oppose me, I am confident that as long as His Majesty supports me, I can persuade the others to let me take this position."

Claire unconsciously tightened her grip on Lilith's hand and said, "Please believe me, Your Majesty, we have always been allies, haven't we?"

"I'm sorry, I need to think about it some more."

"Yes, Your Majesty can consult with someone you trust. What I just mentioned are the demands of the royal family. If Your Majesty wants to refuse, it may be quite difficult."

Seeing the worry in Claire's eyes, Lilith nodded.

After Lilith left, Claire gave a cold smile. Claire believed that, after weighing the options, Lilith would have no choice but to choose herself among all the Augustins.

After returning to her study, Lilith immediately summoned Nora and discussed with her what Claire had just said.

"Your Majesty, after our last discussion, I went to visit and learn more. If we cannot maintain a stable relationship with the royal family, our reforms will indeed be difficult to carry out."

Nora immediately reported some bad news. This might not be the intention of the royal family as a whole, but it was true that many members of the royal family had begun to privately befriend nobles and obstruct reforms.

The old party and the royal family have already shown a tendency to collude in secret; in fact, neither side intends to hide this fact at all.

Lilith has no way to control these royals, and she doesn't have a good candidate to talk to the Augustins. She really needs a representative to help Lilith communicate with the royals.

Ideally, it would be someone who could restrain these Augustines.

"Therefore, I think some of Princess Claire's proposals are feasible, but there are some areas where we cannot completely compromise."

Nora thought for a moment and said, "At least the Royal Guard and the Royal Capital Guard cannot be completely managed by one person. The Royal Capital Guard is much easier to manage. I believe His Majesty has many suitable candidates for the Royal Capital Guard."

"But what about the royal guards? Does His Majesty have anyone he can trust who the royal family wouldn't object to? Ideally, they would be women."

Lilith went through everyone she knew in her mind, and the most suitable candidate was definitely Duchess Judith of the Southern Territory. However, Judith could not possibly serve as the leader of a royal guard. After thinking about it, Claire was probably the most suitable.

"Even Princess Claire cannot be completely trusted."

Nora added immediately after speaking, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, what I mean is that the Royal Guard cannot be controlled by one person, but if we're talking about who is most suitable to be the mediator between Your Majesty and the Royal Family, I also think Princess Claire is the most suitable."

It must be said that although Nora occasionally makes very abstract suggestions, she is mostly reliable. She quickly helped Lilith compile a document containing all the issues that Lilith needed to work with the royal family on.

The only certainty is that Claire will now be on behalf of the entire royal family to communicate with Lilith.

Upon hearing the news, Claire revealed a twisted smile.

"Just as I expected."