The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

"No! This tax system needs to be changed. Merchants from the North should be taxed normally when they come to the Central Region!"

Lilith was beaming with pride, and even began pointing at the treaty.

Seeing Lilith becoming increasingly audacious, Nora kept whispering reminders, "Your Majesty! Watch your attitude! After all, she is the Governor of the North; it's only right that we concede some benefits!"

Although Nora knew that Lilith seemed to have hit the Northern Governor's weak point, no matter what the Northern Governor's weakness was, the capital still needed the Northern's strength. So Nora was terrified by Lilith's overbearing behavior.

Not to mention that we still need their weapons aid, what if they lose their temper and launch a reckless attack to flatten the capital? How has Her Majesty become so impulsive? Although the other party is Her Majesty's sworn brother, he is not really Her Majesty's brother, is he? Alliances are the most unreliable thing.

At the same time, Nora immediately stood up and explained, "Your Excellency, that's not what His Majesty meant. His Majesty meant that this matter is still under discussion, and we can talk about it in more detail."

Linde, however, picked up the treaty that Lilith was pointing to with great reluctance, examined it carefully, and then said, "Your Majesty is right, but this tax cannot be collected by the capital. The taxes related to the Northern Territory should be collected by a separate agency, and the personnel should be decided by Your Majesty."

Lilith looked smug after hearing this, her expression seemingly saying: Call me "Your Majesty" a couple more times.

When Nora saw that Lind had actually obediently revised the treaty, even giving up his rights in the North and handing over all the profits to His Majesty, she almost lost control of her facial expression.

What exactly did the two talk about in their dialect? Why did His Majesty, who was usually so composed, become so unrestrained after their conversation, while the previously imposing and authoritative Governor of the North became as docile as a wilted eggplant, even a bit... nagging?

However, Nora faithfully fulfilled her duties as prime minister, looking at the contract and saying, "Your Majesty, if a separate agency is established to collect taxes from the people of the North, how will the capital explain this?"

Nora could already imagine how fiercely the nobles in the capital would fight over this treaty; the taxes from goods from the North were a huge fortune, a real prize.

The officials in the capital who were originally in charge of taxation would certainly oppose it vehemently.

But after hearing Nora's words, Lind seemed to revert to the Northern Governor he was in the first half of the game, saying in a cold tone, "If anyone objects, let him come and talk to me!"

"If you really want to object, then don't do it. According to the previous treaty, we people from the North will be in charge of managing these merchants. The capital won't need to collect taxes anymore. Our merchants from the North only need to pay me an exit tax!"

The room was very warm, but Nora felt the temperature suddenly drop. Looking at the Governor of the North's eyes, she knew he was serious.

Nora wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. Despite being a top student who graduated from the Royal Academy, she found herself increasingly unable to understand this negotiation.

On the contrary, Judith nodded repeatedly after seeing Lind's behavior, which confirmed her guess.

The smile on Lilith's lips was harder to suppress than the powerful recoil of those old-fashioned muskets in the capital; it was so exhilarating.

As long as this agency can be established to manage the taxes of Northern merchants, Lilith will have a stable and huge income. Moreover, since the staff of this agency is entirely selected by Lilith, almost all the tax revenue collected will go into Lilith's personal pocket.

Of course, Lilith wouldn't monopolize such a large piece of the pie. The nobles in the capital would probably fight tooth and nail for even a small amount of profit from Lilith's meager earnings, or for a position in this new organization.

Lilith simply sits on her throne and decides who gets into the new organization based on who wags their tail the most.

After all, the new treaty clearly states that the new institution will be entirely managed by Her Majesty the Queen, and anyone who objects should talk to the Governor of the North.

Then, Linde pulled out a treaty and said, "Regarding the previous matter about weapons, although we still hope that the capital will exchange people with us, we also understand His Majesty's difficulties."

Linde wrote and drew on the treaty, saying, "It is indeed not good for Her Majesty the Queen to forcibly take away the people from those noble territories, so we intend to issue some trade certificates to those nobles as compensation."

"Nobles who possess trade certificates can use these certificates to trade between the Northern Territory and the capital. Although there will be fewer people, the profits from trade will surely make up for the losses suffered by those nobles in this regard."

Nora took the new treaty and examined it carefully. Good heavens, the issuance of trade certificates to whom was entirely up to Her Majesty the Queen.

It's important to understand that currently, goods from the North are being dumped on the capital and the central regions. Northern merchants are unilaterally reaping profits from the capital, which has no power to resist. The biggest problem with this reaping is that the nobles themselves cannot participate. With this trade certificate, those nobles can directly become Northern merchants, importing goods from the North and joining this gluttonous feast.

The profits from this trade certificate would be enough to make even the most insane nobles sell all their land, let alone those few people.

Moreover, with this trade certificate, one can directly establish a relationship with the Governor of the North.

A true priceless treasure.

Looking at this document, not only Nora, but even Judith, who had always felt that things were going as she expected, swallowed hard. These are just cousins? Are they blood siblings?

Judith was extremely envious of the certificate and looked at Lind with pleading eyes, saying that she was also a descendant of the old empire and that Governor Lind should share some of the spoils.

But Lind, still very frustrated, didn't notice Judith's earnest gaze. Instead, he was thinking about which treaties needed to be amended and which treaties could guarantee his sister's absolute power and safety in the capital.

Lilith took the treaty from Nora, glanced at it, and nodded in satisfaction. As expected of her brother, he was quite capable. He directly changed the original treaty, which was meant to balance the capital and cause infighting between Lilith and the central nobles, into one that gave Lilith absolute power.

Lilith now felt refreshed and invigorated. The feeling of being pulled back and forth by the North was gone. With this, after returning to the capital, Lilith would have absolute power and could even be completely independent of the royal family. It should be the royal family relying on her.

After all, these treaties are all subject to Lilith's approval. If Lilith were not on the throne, these treaties would all be null and void.

Once we return to the capital, there will probably be no more distinction between the new and old parties. There will only be the radical Queen's faction and the Queen's faction that thinks the radicals are too conservative, and they will play the balancing act because they don't have enough power.

Finally, after spending most of the day in the room, Lind finished revising all the treaties. Nora was drenched in sweat; the conditions offered by the North were far too generous, exceeding her expectations.

At this moment, Lin De stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I have prepared a small banquet and sincerely invite you to grace us with your presence."

"Excuse me."

Lilith stood up, placed her hand lightly to her lips, and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Your Excellency, I didn't hear you clearly just now. Could you please repeat it?"

Linde's fist hardened.