The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

In the capital, sunlight streamed warmly through the clouds, and the walls and rooftops, once covered in snow, still bore the marks of the snowstorms.

The north wind seemed to sweep away all the gloom of the capital as it passed by. Even the outer city was unusually free of the sour smell of swill and garbage fermenting together, and instead filled with the moist and fresh scent of earth.

The people of the capital, having endured a long winter, have resumed their work.

On the stone-paved road outside the capital, the Queen's convoy was slowly driving out of the inner city and through the outer city towards the outskirts of the city.

Leading the way were noble knights clad in silver armor, their armor engraved with various enchanted runes, all emitting a faint glow, revealing them to be among the elite of the few remaining elite forces in the capital.

The knights held their lances high, each bearing the royal double-headed lion banner, looking majestic and imposing.

If someone had any knowledge, they would recognize the female knight leading the caravan as Duke Judith of the South.

The armed forces leading the charge alone have already drawn away most of the capital's fighting strength.

"Where is Your Majesty going?"

An ordinary citizen passing by looked around and asked questions as he saw the royal double-headed lion emblem on the motorcade.

A man who looked like a businessman replied, "I heard it's going to the North. Wasn't the war in the North over? Her Majesty the Queen is going to appoint a new Grand Duke of the North."

"Doesn't the investiture of a Grand Duke require the Grand Duke to come to the capital in person?"

The merchant glanced at the person next to him upon hearing this. He could tell that the other person had some knowledge, but not much. At this moment, some people around who had heard the conversation between the two also gathered around.

A woman who looked thinly dressed and was shivering from the temperature drop caused by the melting snow asked, "Yes, why does Her Majesty the Queen have to go out of the city to bestow titles now? Will Her Majesty be alright?"

Lilith enjoys considerable popularity among the common people, especially since she also serves as a saintess and has the support of the Papacy. Although the nobles disdain her, believing that Her Majesty's reputation stems from the New Party nobles and that they do not value or even care much about her popularity among the common people.

Although more and more people gathered around, the merchant did not intend to explain until a traveler dressed as if from another country handed him two silver leaf coins. Only then did the merchant begin to explain: "Because the civil war in the North has ended, the current governor of the North not only defeated his uncle, but also the demons that his uncle invited. Now there is only one governor in the North."

The crowd jeered, "We already knew all this. Get to the point: what was Her Majesty the Queen doing outside the city?"

The merchant ignored the clamoring crowd and instead glanced at the traveler who had given him the silver leaf coins. The traveler, however, seemed intrigued and gestured for the merchant to continue.

The atmosphere on the mainland has become increasingly lively recently, and the capital city has become a gathering place for all sorts of people from different countries, but this traveler's clothing merchant has never been seen before.

The businessman believed he had seen and learned a great deal on the mainland, and should at least have some impression of the clothing styles of all the countries on the mainland, if not all of them.

However, seeing that the newcomer was also human, the merchant didn't think much of it. Instead, he snorted at the crowd and continued to explain to the traveler, "Because the current governor of the North is too powerful and is also Her Majesty the Queen's sworn brother, in order to show the importance of the North, Her Majesty the Queen did not send the governor to the capital, but went to the North herself."

"Of course, it's not really going to the North. It'll probably just be a discussion at the border."

Most people didn't understand the logic behind it and simply repeated, "Won't Her Majesty the Queen be in trouble?"

The merchant reassured her, "Don't worry, the governor of the North is Her Majesty the Queen's sworn brother, how could anything happen to him?"

But the people of the capital said, "Of course we know that the governor won't do anything to Her Majesty, but won't Her Majesty be assassinated by her entourage? Are Her Majesty's guards really reliable?"

"Yes, yes, why don't we have the Governor of the North come to pick up His Majesty? The guards at the palace are really unreliable."

The merchant was speechless, but didn't know how to refute it. After all, two kings had died suddenly in succession, and the palace guards had long become a joke.

Moreover, people trusted the nobles of the capital less than a governor they had never met.

But the traveler listened with great interest and tossed out another silver leaf coin, signaling the merchant to continue.

At this moment, Claire was standing on the tower of the palace, looking out at the long convoy. Just as Lilith had planned, Lilith had brought most of her own forces with her to communicate with the Governor of the North, including Chancellor Nora and Judith, whose stance was increasingly leaning towards the Queen.

The palace is currently extremely empty, and Claire's deputy, Josephine, is currently suspended from duty. If Claire wishes, she could seize the palace at any time and launch a coup.

"Your Highness, what are you waiting for? Just give the order and we will support you as the new queen."

Beside Claire, an Augustine was constantly urging her on. Claire turned to look at the Augustine and asked, "Why does it have to be me?"

Augustine immediately replied, "Only you and His Highness Cliff have enough prestige to restore the glory of the Augustine family. Moreover, His Highness Cliff is weak and incompetent, and only repeats the Queen's decisions all day long. You not only control the defense of the palace, but you are also the only one who is our hope."

Then came a barrage of flattery directed at Claire. After Claire clapped her hands in satisfaction, her guards took Augustine away.

"Your Highness? Your Highness! What is this?"

Claire ignored Augustine and instead said to the guard beside her, "Once His Majesty returns, hand him over to him for disposal."

Claire has now fully confirmed that this trip was a trap. Although the key figures have been taken away and the palace is now completely under Claire's control, the city defenses of the capital, namely the capital's guards, are still controlled by Lilith's people.

Although the royal guards were constantly undergoing personnel changes, their numbers did not decrease due to Lilith's departure; on the contrary, their defenses became even tighter.

Lilith still doesn't completely trust the royal family, or even Claire. This best friend is more difficult to deal with than Claire imagined, but Claire was already mentally prepared. After all, that position is indeed very demanding, and you can't hold on to it without some tricks.

Even if those Augustines completely control the palace, it will ultimately become Lilith's excuse to attack the Augustines. Lilith's prestige is still intact, so she cannot take action for the time being.

Until the time is right, Claire intends to continue playing the role of a good friend. The palace guards are always under Claire's control, so there is no need to disrupt her plans and launch an attack prematurely.

However, Lilith's departure did indeed give Claire many opportunities. At least during this time, Claire could talk to some important people more frequently and closely.

Claire has received a reply to the letter she sent to the Demon King. It seems that the blow suffered by the demons is far beyond Claire's imagination. They can't even muster an army to conquer the eastern border for the time being. But this is not a bad thing for Claire. At least the Demon King did not reject Claire's proposal.

The great victory of the Gray Collars on the Golden Harvest Plain gave many people the illusion that the monsters of the Demon Race were nothing special. Even though Claire knew that the monsters of the Demon Race were very powerful, a loss was a loss, and people would have a wrong prediction about the losing side.

This at least shows that the demon race is not invincible, and that the defeated demon race is more likely to make trade deals with Claire.

During Lilith's absence, Claire began to contact the demons and Anjou more frequently.

Compared to the demons, Alberto of Anjou was much more cautious about Claire. He could certainly get Anjou to cooperate in launching an attack, but only if it was certain that Cape was in complete chaos and Anjou had received clear information.

After all, Anjou only needs to proceed step by step and attack at her own pace to take over some territory without taking any risks.

Moreover, Anjou took the attitude of the North very seriously, but Claire did not take Anjou's caution to heart.

Because Claire's plan is entirely driven by self-interest, it is not Claire who drives the various forces to make choices, but self-interest. Claire merely presents the choices to the various forces.