The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

When Judith returned to the capital, the entire city had been completely transformed. It wasn't that the city's appearance had suddenly improved, but rather that the spirit of the people in the capital had changed.

In particular, the citizens of the outer city who had benefited from Lilith's kindness spontaneously began to organize celebrations after this victory.

To secure this victory, Judith volunteered to go to the Southern Territory to provide support. Under Augustine III's policies, a duke of a territory was not allowed to leave the capital at will, but it wasn't absolute. At least Lilith did not refuse Judith's request this time.

Of course, there was no reason to refuse. Judging from her current performance, Judith, while not exactly a member of the new party, was certainly a strong supporter of Lilith.

However, Judith's return to the Southern Reach was not only to provide support, but also to undertake an even more important mission.

That is the lineage of the descendants of the old imperial family.

Although rumors about the Queen's origins are flying everywhere, whether Her Majesty is a descendant of the old empire or not is a hot topic among these rumors, especially now that this topic has started to be brought up and hyped again.

But rumors are just rumors, because they are impossible to verify. Even the Weir family, the most authoritative descendants of the old empire and the Duchess of the South, Judith, doesn't bother to refute them. These rumors have no influence at all; everyone just treats them as casual conversation.

While it may be impossible to verify, there is actually a method. Judith was actually just a branch of the Weir family, but she later rose to prominence and became the Duke of the Southern Border of the Kingdom of Capet, which is why she became the main family in the eyes of outsiders.

In reality, the true head of the Weir family is still quietly lying in the Southern Territory.

Judith was able to find out that a branch did indeed go to the northern frontier, but that was all. However, the main family could find out about the branches of those branches, because the branches had to report to the Will family when they separated.

However, as the old empire was submerged in history, this rule was no longer followed by anyone, and the identity of a descendant of the old empire was often a burden.

The main collection of the Weir family, or rather the archives, can only be entered by people of a certain status. Even Judith had to apply to the elders of the family for permission.

In this vast sea of ​​files, it was difficult to find the clues Judith was looking for, and it had been neglected for a long time. After all, it was just a branch, and in this day and age, who would care whether you were a descendant of the old empire?

But to confirm her suspicions, Judith went to check the files.

Although Judith was searching with a specific goal and based on guesswork, making her very efficient, this place was different from ordinary places. Even Judith's closest maid couldn't be brought in, so Judith had to search on her own the whole time.

Now, Judith has found what she wanted.

"Congratulations, Sir Judith. After this battle, Anjou should not dare to make any rash moves."

At the victory banquet held at the palace, Judith was surrounded by many enthusiastic nobles, both the new and old parties, all wanting to curry favor with her.

But Judith seemed somewhat distracted, and the nobles didn't take it to heart, assuming she was just tired from the war and it was understandable. Even her old partner, Scott, advised Judith not to overwork herself.

Looking at the Duke of the West, her old partner, Judith managed a weak smile. She was indeed very tired, but not because she had gone to oversee the battle.

It seems that she has discovered a shocking secret: Her Majesty the Queen's Dorian family is a branch of Governor Linde's Roll family. In other words, Governor Linde and Her Majesty the Queen are indeed related by blood, even more closely than she is to Governor Linde.

Shortly after this family division, the so-called descendants of the old empire gradually stopped reporting to the Will family. Perhaps they were doing too poorly and no longer had the money for long journeys, or perhaps they felt that this identity was no longer important.

Although in that instant, Judith's previous guess was indeed correct: Governor Linde and Her Majesty the Queen looked very alike, and she never expected that the two were actually related by blood.

This led Judith to further speculation, but she dismissed them all, as neither of the parties involved seemed to have any awareness of it.

It was also Chancellor Nora's idea to appease the North through a sibling-like approach, something Judith knew. If it were truly Her Majesty's idea, and if it really involved some conspiracy theories, the cooperation between the capital and the North should be much more than this level.

It can't even be called cooperation now; it's more like a loose alliance.

Judith felt that she was overthinking everything and kept reassuring herself that these were all coincidences.

Especially during the latter part of the celebration banquet, when Lilith personally commended Judith, Judith became even more certain that it was all a coincidence.

If there really was some conspiracy, such as the restoration of the old empire that Judith had once considered, then Lilith should have confronted Judith long ago and asked Judith for help.

After all, Judith was the largest known force of the old empire.

Instead of the current situation where Judith simply favors the New Party based on her own stance, and the other side is satisfied.

Having calmed down, Judith prepared to find an appropriate time to discuss the coincidence she had discovered with Her Majesty the Queen.

But before a suitable opportunity was found, at the roundtable meeting the next day, Prime Minister Nora announced news that left Judith speechless.

For this debt owed to gray-collar workers, Wangdu will use a large amount of raw materials for settlement.

The reason is simple: there is a discount on raw material settlement. The New Party is quite grateful for this and said it would actively cooperate and sell the raw materials it has to Lilith at a low price.

The old party felt it was a pity, but on the surface they were still quite cooperative, all expressing their willingness to help Lilith share some of the burden.

It's just some cheap raw materials.

If the gray-collar workers insist on using currency for settlement, Lilith will likely suffer a huge loss this time, and may even have to sell some of the assets it just acquired.

Some of the old guard were even ready to start operating, but unfortunately, what they expected did not happen.

If it were the Judith of the past, her biggest feeling would probably be that since raw materials can be exchanged for weapons, the Southern Territory should acquire more of the materials requested by the enemy in order to equip more soldiers.

But now, Judith feels that all the clues match up, and a complete chain of conspiracy is slowly taking shape in Judith's mind.

Her Majesty Lilith gives materials to the governor of the North, and the governor of the North gives Lilith weapons and reputation. Isn't that mutual support?

Although the two sides had previously engaged in normal trade involving the exchange of money for goods, this time Her Majesty's materials seemed to have been prepared in advance. As soon as the governor of the North reached out for them, Her Majesty produced them all.

Judith, who is close to the New Party, knows that Lilith once took back some of her properties, many of which are related to these materials.

How did Her Majesty the Queen know so far in advance what materials the North would need?

Could it be that not only did both sides already know each other's identities, but they were even cooperating with each other? This is an attempt to revive the old empire!

Moreover, the other side didn't exclude him either. Didn't they use the pretext of resisting the Kingdom of Anjou to deliver the new type of firearms to him? This is clearly an invitation to him.

Judith looked up in shock at Lilith, who was haggling with the nobles. She never expected that Her Majesty the Queen, who was so petite and cute, would be so cunning and scheming.

Noticing the gaze, Lilith looked in the direction of the stare, and upon seeing Judith, she smiled and nodded, seemingly acknowledging Judith's contribution once again.

But Judith, already obsessed with conspiracy theories, was even more certain of her guesses when she saw Lilith nod and smile. Judith broke out in a cold sweat, but was also somewhat excited, and gave Lilith a look that said, "I completely understand now."

It turns out that Her Majesty the Queen and the Governor of the North really wanted to restore the glory of the old empire. She was in the south, Governor Lind was in the north, and Her Majesty the Queen was stationed in the capital, and they all had new-style muskets.

Great things can be accomplished!

Judith quickly suppressed her excitement; she needed to be patient and not jeopardize His Majesty's important plans.