The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

The banquet was held in a gray-white palace.

Although it's called a palace, it's actually a small villa still under construction. Even the shovels, spades, and wheelbarrows used for construction haven't been moved out yet.

But for Claire, it was still quite a shock, especially since she had made preparations for an outdoor bonfire party when she arrived.

When Lena went to the Grey and White Collar, Claire personally saw her off. The craftsmen and knights numbered only a little over two hundred, yet in just a few months, it had grown to the size of a viscountry.

At this simple banquet, Claire kept subtly probing Lena, trying to find out how she had developed the territory into what it was today.

Lena was very cooperative and said whatever came to mind, just as foolishly as she had been in the capital. But whenever Lena was about to reveal crucial information, her fiancé would cleverly deflect all the questions for her.

Although no useful information was obtained, even a fool could see that the development of the territory was entirely managed by Lena's new fiancé, Lind.

Moreover, her fiancé seemed very wary of her. Although he wasn't exactly hostile, he was definitely on guard, which made Claire very unhappy.

Claire was already very unhappy that Lena had been arranged to have a new fiancé after finally managing to break off her engagement with her brother. However, this new fiancé not only seemed to have a good relationship with Lena, but was also a clever man who was not easily fooled, which made Claire even more upset.

However, Lena was, after all, the granddaughter of a Grand Duke, and obtaining her would not be an easy task. Claire had already made this decision from the very beginning of the plan.

When Claire first met Lena in the capital, Lena's taut skin, clear eyes, perfect figure, and the innate heroic spirit of the Lars family deeply attracted her. Just thinking about how such a noble female knight could fawn over her made Claire clench her legs together.

Taking advantage of Lena's question about the current situation in the capital, Claire replied, "The capital is not peaceful right now, but I think my brother and father miss Miss Lars a bit. Why don't you come back to the capital with me this time, Miss Lars? I will put in a good word for you with my father, and even if I can't restore your former status, you can still stay in the capital."

This statement completely ignored Lind, who was still Lena's fiancé standing to the side, causing Lind to frown.

Not to mention that Claire is arrogant and doesn't respect him as the current head of the household at all, if Lena leaves, the Lars family's support for the Gray and White Collars may be cut off, which is something Lind cannot accept at all.

Moreover, it's better to believe that Lena is really Qin Shi Huang than to believe that the Fourth Prince and Augustine III have changed their minds. After returning to the capital, Lena was still at Claire's mercy.

But Lena was very tempted by this, after all, Claire had been brainwashing her in the capital, saying that she was forced by the situation, that the new saintess had bewitched Crane and the old king, and that as long as Lena returned to the capital, she could return like lightning and take back everything, just like in those stage plays.

However, after a moment of hesitation, Lena looked at Lind beside her with a worried expression. Seeing her good brother's slightly furrowed brows and obvious displeasure, she finally made up her mind.

“Your Highness, I appreciate your kindness, but I still hope to return to the capital on my own.”

The so-called "relying on one's own strength" naturally refers to what Lena and Lind had discussed before: returning to the capital legitimately by becoming the heir of the Lars family.

"But Miss Lars, don't you want to know who framed you in the first place?"

Claire spoke the most shocking words to Lena in the most ordinary tone.

"Your Highness, has the matter from that night been thoroughly investigated? Is there finally evidence to prove that someone tried to frame me?"

Lena stood up excitedly, even Lind, who was standing next to her, was somewhat shocked.

After all, from the perspective of the female protagonist in the game, namely Isa (from another timeline), it was indeed Rena who lost her temper and attacked the female protagonist and the royal family after being scolded by the fourth prince. But it seems that there is more to the story.

To be honest, this hidden story isn't that hard to guess. In the game, part of it is told from a god's-eye view. Judging from Claire's obsession with Lena, she is not only the mastermind behind Lena's destruction, but also probably one of the culprits of that attack.

After all, the Crown Prince has a sophisticated security system, and Lena not only bypassed all the bodyguards while wearing armor and carrying weapons, but the bodyguards only rushed over when the female lead and the male lead worked together to defeat Lena.

If this were a game, it could be explained as serving the game's purpose, but being in this real world, Lind couldn't help but associate it with conspiracy theories.

Lind glanced at Claire with a playful look. As the most beloved little princess of the royal family, it was not impossible that she would find out about the security around her brother, or even deliberately distract or bribe him. Moreover, given the royal family's increasingly wary attitude towards the North, it was not impossible that someone with even greater power was supporting her behind the scenes.

That one glance brought Lind and Claire's eyes together. They instantly exchanged polite smiles and nods before looking away from each other.

If Claire has any special talent, it's that she's very good at judging people. It's precisely because of this that Claire was able to quickly get close to Lilith, because Claire could tell at a glance that Lilith was the same kind of person as her.

It was precisely because of this that Claire fell in love with Lena at first sight, who was completely different from those pretentious nobles, although this love was somewhat twisted.

But Claire couldn't quite see through Lind now, because Lind's gaze just now was too confident, not even a look of doubt, but rather an affirmation that Claire was lying.

Not only that, Claire's intuition told her that the lord in front of her even thought that she, the princess, had planned the attack.

"Unfathomable, but very interesting," was Claire's assessment of Lind. Claire licked her lips with interest, pondering how to pack up Reina and this man and send them back to the capital.

Meanwhile, Linde was also pondering what kind of conspiracy was behind Lena's attack on the Fourth Prince and the female lead, and how to keep Lena in the North. If she were to leave, she should at least wait until the Gray Collar had fully developed before leaving.

To their surprise, Lena, completely unaware of what they were thinking, asked, "When I get back, can I make my brother the prime minister?"

Lind nearly spat out his tea, while Claire asked curiously, "Brother? Which brother? Is it Sean from the Valley? Or the younger one?"

"No, no, no, it's this guy, Lind is also my brother."

After saying that, Lena casually put her arm around Lind's shoulder.

Claire tried her best to control her facial expression, but still said somewhat awkwardly, "You guys... really do like different kinds of fun."

At this point, Lind even sided with Claire and asked in return, "Your Highness, has she always been like this?"

Claire sighed, looking at the grinning Lena, and asked, "Why? Viscount Lind Rol isn't even a member of the Lars family. Once you return to the capital, your engagement will be dissolved. What good will that do you?"

"Because the prime minister is the highest-ranking official. Your Highness, look how well I've managed the gray and white collars. If I were to become prime minister, wouldn't the entire kingdom be able to become like this?"

Lena's tone was excited and agitated; she seemed to be genuinely considering it.

“You really like it here, Miss Lars.”

Claire sighed. From Lena's tone, Claire understood that Lena truly loved this place and even wanted the whole country to become like it.

With that thought in mind, Claire finally gave up.

“That’s unlikely, Miss Lars. You know, Chancellor Cordick is very prestigious now, and Father would never appoint a viscount with no qualifications as Chancellor.”

"Isn't it true?"

Lena scratched her head, but a bright smile remained on her face, as if she was still immersed in her own beautiful fantasy.

But Claire already knew that Lena had actually rejected her and didn't even want to know the truth of what happened back then, choosing to stay in this place.

The banquet ended in a lukewarm atmosphere, and Claire did not bring up the matter of having Lena return to the capital again. However, Claire was not in a hurry, since according to the intelligence she had received, the North was not far from complete division and destruction.

Claire, who had failed to persuade Lena to return, had little interest in staying in the gray-collar area and prepared to leave the next day.

"Caroline, what are you wearing?"

Upon seeing Caroline dressed in a maid outfit, Claire froze on the spot. Wasn't she sent to record the tragic situation in this territory? Why did she end up changing clothes?

"First of all, Your Highness, please address me as Comrade Caroline. I have now successfully passed the assessment and am now a proud clerk in the Gray and White Collar."

"Then what's the meaning of you wearing this maid outfit? Is this some kind of perverted fetish of that lord?"

"This means serving the people, and it represents that we will always be public servants of the people."

After saying that, Caroline gracefully lifted her skirt.

Actually, the scribes don't have a uniform. It's just that most of the scribes in the territory are maids brought by Lena, and Lila, as the administrative steward, always wears the head maid's uniform. So the maid uniform has been preserved like this, without any special meaning.

Claire paused for a moment, then immediately realized something and said mysteriously, "I get it, you're planning to infiltrate the enemy, right?"

But Caroline directly denied it, saying, "I work for the people, no longer for you nobles!"

Claire couldn't help but admire how well Caroline was getting into character. She then patted Caroline on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I'll explain things to your family. Just focus on 'working' well in this gray-collar job."

"Then thank you very much, Your Highness. I will go to the Gray Collar to see what the real North is like."

"Very good. Remember to write to me when you see what it really looks like."

Although the two were not on the same wavelength, Claire nodded in satisfaction, gave Caroline some encouragement, and then returned to the ship to prepare for departure.

Although she didn't see Lena kneeling and begging for mercy, nor did she manage to trick Lena back to the capital, Claire believed that she hadn't gained nothing by successfully leaving a spy by Lena's side.

As for Cordick's request for Claire's account of her experiences in the North, who cares? Just write whatever you want. Anyway, those frogs in a well in the capital will believe whatever they write, as long as it serves the interests of the royal family in the end.

Watching Lind and the others see them off from the ship, Claire mimicked her brother Crane and snorted, "Ha, interesting man."