The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

As the saying goes, there's always a way out.

Just as Lind and Laurie were beginning to consider whether to become outlaws, an envoy from the capital came to find Lind.

The envoy alighted from a magnificent carriage inlaid with sapphires. The double-headed lion emblem on the carriage, representing royalty, compelled Lind to kneel and pay his respects according to protocol.

However, the envoy in the blue robe hurriedly stepped forward to help Lind up, and at the same time, he kindly took Lind's hand and began to talk to him.

“Viscount Lind Roll, I’ve been looking for you for ages! Ever since I heard your territory was breached, I haven’t stopped searching for a moment. That’s how I finally found you here. Thank goodness the goddess is watching over you, you’re alright.”

The envoy's enthusiastic attitude puzzled Lin De. Could it be that he was some kind of illegitimate child of royalty who had been separated from his family? The original owner's memories didn't mention anything like that. Why was this envoy from the capital so enthusiastic?

“Your Excellency, please speak frankly. I need to find a place where my people can settle down.”

The envoy from the capital clapped his hands and said directly, "Oh dear, what a coincidence! Your Excellency, I've come here to deliver territory to you."

Linde was taken aback. Could it be that he really was a royal illegitimate child? Impossible!

Then Linde saw the royal envoy take a scroll out of his robes and say to Linde, "Your Excellency, I have some good news for you. Can you guess what it is?"

"Did I suddenly gain a father I've never met before?"

The envoy shook his head with a smile.

"Am I entitled to inherit a title in the capital?"

The envoy shook his head with a professional smile.

"That is?"

Linde suddenly had a bad feeling.

"Congratulations, Viscount Lind Roll. With the unanimous decision of Her Majesty the Saintess and Grand Duke Lars, you will become the grandson-in-law of the Lars family."

The messenger then slowly unfurled the scroll in his hand, which turned out to be a marriage certificate.

The fiancée of Lind is listed as Lena Lars.

"What? I'm marrying Lena? Really?"

Linde almost coughed up a mouthful of blood, realizing that he was the unfortunate border noble at the end of the game.

The royal envoy beside Lind was still comforting him, saying, "Don't be nervous, dizziness is normal, take a deep breath."

I curse you, you old mum!

Although Linde really wanted to say that, he still managed a smile that looked more like a grimace, and asked, "Your Excellency, is it absolutely necessary for us to dissolve this marriage?"

It's not that this Lena Lars is shockingly ugly; to be chosen as a princess, her looks must be undeniable. It's just that in the game's epilogue, it's mentioned that Lena Lars, harboring resentment towards the royal family, forcibly dragged her unfortunate husband into a rebellion, ultimately resulting in the execution of her entire family.

For Lind now, it's basically no different from a suspended death sentence.

The envoy's expression suddenly turned serious, and he said to Linde in a threatening tone, "Viscount Linde, that's the granddaughter of Grand Duke Lars. Have you thought about the consequences of refusing?"

The envoy was actually quite nervous. Lena's reputation in the capital was already ruined. Being called a shrew or a jealous woman was only a mild insult. The most common title was "disgrace to the nobility." This title alone had already sentenced Lena to death in terms of reputation among the nobility.

After the ruling ordering her to marry, the nobles in the capital generally avoided the situation.

The nobles of the North also avoided the area as much as possible, and many eligible young men from the North were engaged overnight because there were simply not enough noble ladies. There were even quite a few men who eloped.

The situation in the North is very complicated. The Northern nobles are even more extreme in their attitude towards Lena than the nobles in the capital.

Therefore, the envoy was also anxious to complete the mission, and it was not easy to find a willing sucker to take the fall.

But Linde's attitude made the envoy from the capital suspect that this nobleman who had fled from the border had also heard some rumors, which made the envoy even more anxious.

Seeing the people peeking and looking in their direction from not far behind Linde, the envoy suddenly had an idea. Pointing to the treaty on the marriage certificate, he shouted, "Viscount, you should think this through. If you refuse, the new territory granted by Duke Lars will be gone, and you and your people will have to wander like this forever."

"Your Excellency, you wouldn't want your people to continue to starve and wander, would you?"

Although he wanted to advise the envoy, who might be from an island nation, to exercise restraint, Linde still carefully examined the terms on the marriage certificate.

In the treaty, the Grand Duke of Lars clearly stated that he would give his grandson-in-law a large territory, which, although uncultivated wasteland, was fertile land with abundant water and grass.

Were these really for Lind? No, because Grand Duke Lars specifically noted that although Lind was the nominal lord, the gifted territory would be jointly managed by Lind and Lena.

"What a fine joint administration," Linde thought to himself with disdain. The treaty stipulated joint administration, but couldn't Grand Duke Lena Lars, the granddaughter of the Duke, easily control an outsider's son-in-law? This was merely a way of indirectly giving land to his granddaughter through the treaty.

However, all the people behind Linde looked at him with eager eyes. As long as their lord nodded, everyone could settle down in the new territory immediately. Besides, that was Grand Duke Lars. In the hearts of these people in the North, he was a nobleman who was even greater than the emperor. The emperor could not manage the affairs of the North, but Grand Duke Lars could. What reason did their lord have to refuse?

Linde knew he was being morally blackmailed, but after taking a deep breath, he solemnly said, "Alright, Your Excellency, I will sign the marriage certificate, but I have one more request. Our food is almost gone, and I hope you can provide enough food so that my people can follow me safely to the new territory."

"No problem, of course no problem."

The messenger excitedly handed the marriage certificate to Lind.

"These knights will also escort you and your people until you reach the new territory granted by Duke Lars."

Linde's request was no problem at all for the envoy; the cost of a meal that any nobleman could provide for him along the way was enough to feed all the people behind Linde until they were sick of it.

The envoy was secretly pleased that his guess was correct. A nobleman who could run away with his people must have a relatively high moral standard, and such noblemen are the easiest to deal with.

Hearing the cheers from the people and border troops behind him, Lind suddenly felt that marrying Lena Lars wasn't such a big deal after all. At least he had resolved the current crisis, even though it was practically like selling himself out.

Then Linde began to carefully read the marriage certificate.

"What? I'm not a live-in son-in-law yet?"

Linde saw at the bottom of the marriage certificate that after the marriage, Lena would actually change her surname and have no further connection with the Lars family. No wonder the Lars family didn't react at all when Lena rebelled later.

"Of course, Your Excellency, what are you thinking? This is a marriage of convenience, not a marriage of convenience with your husband."

The envoy looked at Linde with a puzzled expression. Although sons-in-law were very common in this world, since women also had inheritance rights, there were not many people who actively wanted to become sons-in-law.

Linde reluctantly closed the marriage certificate. Well, it seems he can no longer smirk when the Lars family shouts, "Oh no! The Lars family's son-in-law has betrayed his master!"

Although he wasn't officially a son-in-law, according to the treaty, Linde's actual status after marrying Reina was not much different from that of a son-in-law. It has to be said that Grand Duke Lars unintentionally solved the age-old novel problem of a son-in-law usurping his master.