The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Lind, completely unaware that he and Lilith had orchestrated a shocking conspiracy, was currently confirming with Jefferson.

"Is all payment made using raw materials?"

"Yes, Your Excellency. The capital is preparing to use raw materials for payment on a large scale. Should we ask them to change their payment method?"

"No, that's not necessary, but transporting raw materials is a problem. Let's repair the road connecting to the capital."

Jefferson nodded in agreement and then withdrew.

Linde looked at the report in his hand with amusement. It seemed that Her Majesty the Queen in the capital should have started preparing to lay the tracks a long time ago, but unfortunately, he had taken the credit.

With these materials, the practical application of the Magic Train can be greatly accelerated.

Now that the obelisks in all the major cities in the west have been erected, the railway can begin operation as soon as the tracks are laid.

After finishing his work, Linde saw that it was getting late, so he went to the laboratory to find Lena. The preparations for the train were now in the final stage, and both the power conversion efficiency and the safety and comfort of the train had been significantly improved compared to the beginning.

As soon as Linde arrived, Lena greeted him warmly from the front of the train, and Linde jumped onto the front of the train without any hesitation.

Now, Lena's hair is piled high, and although she is a wife, she is still lively and agile, with a smile always on her face. Her emerald eyes crinkle into crescents when she sees Lind. After Lind jumps onto the train engine, the two naturally stick together, as if it were meant to be.

Smelling the familiar scent of soap on Lena, Lind's mood gradually calmed down.

Lisha and Lena were making final adjustments to the math array on the train engine, but when they saw Lind get on, they hurriedly started to bow, but Lind waved his hand to indicate that it was nothing to worry about.

Now, Lisha is the chief runemaster in the territory. Apart from the Magic Train project, all her other research has shifted to the theoretical direction. Now, eight or nine out of ten runemasters in the territory who are researching arcane magic arrays are Lisha's students.

This even included some former members of the Rune Saint Society. These members had worked diligently for Old Derek, and upon hearing that Lisha had become the chief runemaster in the Gray Collar, they immediately realized the value of the notes they had studied and quickly came to join him.

The Derek family had initially looked down on the Grey Collars and Lisha, but after conquering Whitefrost Fortress, they began contacting Lisha and Lind through various channels, hoping that Lisha could put in a good word for Lind and that Lind would waive or reduce the amount of land he was given out of consideration for Lisha.

If it were anyone else, Linde would definitely choose to ignore it. In fact, since he had already said that, Linde would have asked Colin to thoroughly investigate the family.

However, regarding the Derek family, Lind still asked Lisha for her advice. Technicians always hold the highest status among gray and white-collar workers, and how to deal with the Derek family is basically up to Lisha.

Lisha no longer harbored any ill will towards her family; instead, she felt more at ease. At least now, her father's Derek Notebook was truly shining brightly among the gray-collar workers, becoming a required course for every alchemist and runemaster, which was enough for Lisha.

Therefore, Lind did not change the terms offered to the Derek family; take it or leave it.

As for the magic disease, although no cure has been found, we can now seek out the high druids of the elves every day to absorb and regulate the magic in our bodies, and also exchange some technical knowledge.

This was unimaginable in the past; the high druids of the elves couldn't be hired just by having money, they also needed connections.

Having connections alone is not enough; elves have always respected wise people who possess knowledge, and Lisha happens to have that.

After inspecting the site for a while, the laboratory closed. Although the research was in its final stages and overtime had become the norm, the governor had come to pick up his wife personally, so they couldn't let her work overtime, could they?

It has to be said that the effects of going out for a trip were quite obvious. Lena looked more energetic than before, and more like the white-collar worker she was back when she was still in a small camp. On the way back, she was basically skipping and jumping, as if she had inexhaustible energy.

"The train is ready to run. Once the tracks are laid, we can put it into service with the military."

Lena remains as sensitive to machinery and military matters as ever.

"With this, our army can move more quickly in the North. Then we won't have to worry about some places being too far away for you to control, Lind."

But then Lena said sadly, "If Grandpa had had this train back then, he could have returned to the North much faster, and maybe things wouldn't have turned out like this."

Lind comforted her, "This is not Lena's fault. Duke Lars should be proud of you for creating something like this."

Although Lind really wanted to say that would probably turn into: "Grand Duke, we've arrived at Winterhold."

The outcome remains the same; the situation will not change due to advancements in technology or magic.

"Ah."

Lena gave a brief response. After returning to the manor, Lena continued as before, lying next to Lind every night before bed to listen to Lind report on the situation in the territory.

However, Lena no longer falls asleep while listening; instead, she actually starts to think about things.

"Linde, this train will also be converted for civilian use in the future, right?"

"That's right, and it may soon be converted to civilian use. Once the military route is stabilized, we can start considering laying the civilian route."

The merchants had been eagerly awaiting the magic train, especially since it had been running on a trial basis in the gray-collar area for a while.

The bigger the merchant, the more anxious they were, to the point that they wanted to throw money at Linde to get the trains and tracks built quickly. Especially after they learned that the tracks would be laid wherever the gray and white collars fought, those merchants became even more radical, turning into war fanatics, and even talking in private about fighting all the way to the capital.

"But with such a high cost for this train, can the civilian sector really afford it?"

Thinking of the intricate magic arrays and devices inside the train engine, even if Lena was slow-witted, she should know the approximate cost of the project, which would likely have been abandoned due to cost issues even during the reign of Grand Duke Lars.

To complete this project so quickly, a strong government is necessary. Although she couldn't quite put her finger on what that meant, Lena sensed that the Gray and White Collars now had more control than the Lars family had ever had.

"Don't worry, civilian-grade ones don't need to be made so sophisticated."

For civilian use, only safety and comfort need to be considered. The cost will be much lower than the current experimental and military models. Moreover, there are other ways to recoup the cost besides transportation, such as economic benefits.

Of course, Linde didn't lay the tracks to make money; it was a long-term project.

After discussing matters concerning the territory, Linde suddenly said:

"By the way, Isa recently sent a letter."

"How is she doing? Should we send her some more weapons and equipment?"

Seeing Lena's worried expression, Linde put his arm around her and said, "Don't worry, she's been under less pressure lately. I heard that some powerful nobles want to win her over and use her to join us."

"That's good."

Meanwhile, Isa was receiving a nobleman's messenger at the resistance's base.

This was yet another nobleman who wanted to surrender to Isa, but the only difference was that this messenger made another request.

"You mean, your young lady wants to be the governor's wife?"

Isa looked at the messenger with a complicated expression, her eyes filled with doubt, shock, and disbelief.