The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

At this time, Lind was inspecting the town of Falling Star Valley outside Black Iron City.

Legend has it that during the reign of the first Grand Duke of Lars, a star fell here, but the first Grand Duke of Lars only glanced at the so-called star before it was confiscated by the tower.

The only thing left is probably the name of the valley and the town.

If he has the chance in the future, Linde still wants to see what meteorite fragments in this world look like, but for now, Linde's priority is farming.

Whether in a symbolic or literal sense.

The guards dared not let Linde do any heavy work, but Linde still tried to turn over the soil and then confirmed with the accompanying Archdruid the fertility of the farmland and the crops suitable for planting.

If it weren't for Laurie and White's strong opposition, Lind would have wanted to go to the front lines to see for himself, since some issues could only be understood by seeing them firsthand on the battlefield.

However, this proposal was met with strong opposition from the generals. The war had already started because of the assassination attempt, so what if something went wrong if they went to the front lines?

Therefore, Linde's previous range of activities was not very large.

With Whitefrost Fort surrendering, the pressure on Lind's side will be greatly reduced. After digesting the annexed territories, Laurie's First Army and White's Third Army can launch a general offensive.

As for the Second Army, Linde looked at Yolanda, who was stationed not far away. To be honest, Yolanda's appointment to this position was a very perfunctory decision, but after all, she was one of the first to follow Jefferson to join the cause, representing the old noble forces that had submitted. There was no particularly suitable candidate before, so Yolanda had to take the place first.

It can only be said that a person's fate depends not only on personal struggle, but also on the course of history. Yolanda, who was originally the leader of a small knightly order in Fasen Town, is now the commander-in-chief of the second army of the Gray Collars, even if she is mostly just a figurehead.

Yolanda was also very aware of her role as a decorative figurehead. The Second Army was mainly managed by Lind and Lena, so Yolanda's position in this role was more symbolic than practical.

"It's so hot. Wouldn't it be better to just stay in the study?"

Tia fanned herself with a fan while holding a book.

Seeing Tia's appearance, the elven archdruid couldn't help but say, "Your Highness Tia, you should lose weight."

Upon hearing this, Tia immediately put down her book, nervously pinched her tummy, and asked Linde, "Have I gained weight?"

"I think it's okay."

Linde looked Tia up and down; from a human perspective, at least, she looked almost unchanged.

Tia breathed a sigh of relief, but still decided that she would have to pay more attention to her diet and sleep schedule in the future.

Just then, Lena returned from hunting and said, "Spring in the North is already quite cool, even a bit too cold."

The main reason for this inspection was that Linde was worried that Lena was getting too stifled in the gray-collar environment. Lena shouldn't be confined to the laboratory and the army.

So this time, under the guise of an inspection, Linde took Lena out to play. Along the way, he declined almost all social engagements. Seeing Lena's smile gradually brightening, Linde couldn't help but smile as well.

After showing off her hunt spoils to Lind, Lena looked at the farmers working in the other fields.

Some of these people were originally serfs of the local lords, while others were ordinary farmers, but now there is no difference. The biggest difference is that the serfs are thinner and wear less clothing than the farmers, almost only a single layer of clothing.

Lena had organized fundraising in several places she had visited before, but she later found that it was only a temporary solution and that the serfs needed to become wealthy on their own.

However, Linde strongly supported this fundraising, as it would greatly benefit Lena's reputation. But fundraising couldn't be held too frequently, so Linde simply established a foundation in Lena's name.

In addition to targeted poverty alleviation, the main purpose is to provide financial assistance to talented children from impoverished families.

Besides Linde and his entourage who came to inspect the land, and the serfs and peasants who had been allocated land, there were also nobles and officials who had come to the fields to put on a show after hearing that Linde was coming.

However, after being kicked twice by Linde, those officials went back to their work, which was a good kick to formalism. Only the nobles who wanted to show off in front of Linde remained.

But now those nobles are complaining bitterly in the fields, because Colin is watching them closely from the edge of the field. If any noble is not working diligently, Colin will give them a warning look with his whip.

Colin has been very unhappy lately. Although Linde has given Colin the power to oversee officials, Colin's actions have gone too far. He often appears like a ghost behind an official with his own guards, asking the official whether he is loyal to Linde.

While most of the officials who were treated this way were indeed not very loyal, these officials themselves had not done anything wrong.

Not to mention that the officials' every move seemed to be monitored by Colin. Linde had received reports from Colin more than once, which recorded in detail what a certain official ate each day and how much he defecated, and even included pictures as evidence.

The performance evaluation system was already very strict, and with Colin's all-encompassing surveillance, some officials were already on the verge of collapse. Some even suspected that the servants they employed were all spies planted by Colin. What was most terrifying was that most of those officials' delusions were actually true.

Left with no other option, Linde had to step in and warn his brother-in-law. He pointed out that some of Colin's actions had indeed crossed the line, and everything should be dealt with according to the law. Furthermore, the use of vigilante justice was absolutely unacceptable, and white-collar workers did not engage in espionage politics.

Linde repeatedly emphasized to Colin that he was a gray-collar inspector, not Linde's henchman.

Colin felt like the sky had fallen; he was just a white-collar inspector, not his brother-in-law's loyal henchman.

Colin was furious and had shifted his anger from the officials to the old aristocracy. Although Colin had obediently refrained from using vigilante justice, his status as the governor's brother-in-law was already quite intimidating.

Seeing Colin's almost murderous gaze, Lind glanced at Rena, who had returned from her hunt with a full load, and thought of the well-behaved Ruby and the reliable Sean. He just wanted to ask how Lars's four siblings managed to be so different.

After inspecting the fields, Lind went to see the Doug soldiers who were building irrigation facilities.

Most of these were ordinary soldiers from the original Pétain defense line. Putting aside everything else, they were at least strong and worked very hard, especially after the news of the victory at Whitefrost Fortress arrived.

Infrastructure development in Linde Territory, especially roads, is now in full swing, and the railway project, which had been stalled due to manpower issues, is gradually starting up again, all thanks to Doug.

Not only did Doug and the capital provide most of the money for infrastructure and railways, but most of the personnel were also Doug's army.

Linde had read all the letters Pierre of the Laurent family sent, including the replies from the Northern nobles.

Jefferson probably had a lot to say to those nobles who still wanted to sit on the fence.

It doesn't matter. Linde needs to make an example of someone to warn others. There are also some nobles who are entangled with the demons in an ambiguous way. It's not like the Laurent family, who just has a strategic cooperative relationship with the demons. They are truly deeply bound together.

As Linde finished his inspection for the day and returned to his temporary residence, Lucanus emerged from the shadows: "My king, there is intelligence from the capital and a letter from the King of Anjou to you."

"The King of Anjou?"

Linde curiously took the intelligence and letter from Lucanus. Since they were given together, it meant that the King of Anjou's letter was related to the latest intelligence from the capital.

The King of Anjou probably hated beating around the bush, because as soon as Lind opened the envelope, he saw a very straightforward opening that could be summarized as: Dear Governor of the Northern Kingdom of Capet, I want to marry your sister.