The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

The army from the North arrived, and Cliff, without even having time to dress or wipe the bloodstains from his clothes, led a group of men to the gates of the capital.

This was Linde's first time visiting the capital. To Linde, the capital wasn't exactly grand, but it was much larger than he had imagined.

Lena followed Lind, her eyes filled with an ambiguous expression, whether of longing or sigh.

"Governor of the North, thank you for your timely assistance. You are a true hero of the kingdom!"

Cliff's tone was quite agitated.

The imposing Northern army, with their guns at the ready, followed Lind and Lena on either side as they entered the capital. Cliff, with all the men he could bring, stood behind the city gates, hunched over and beaming with smiles as he greeted Lind.

Cliff, now middle-aged, has a face full of wrinkles when he smiles, but anyone can tell that his smile is genuine; this feeling of surviving a disaster cannot be faked.

Cliff carefully observed Lind in the middle of the army and indeed, there was a resemblance between his eyebrows and Her Majesty the Queen. It seemed that what Claire said was not unfounded.

But Linde appeared even more serious and silent, perhaps because he was in a bad mood.

Yes, Lind is in a bad mood right now. Your sister rushed into your arms looking disheveled, saying she had been bullied. No one would be in a good mood like that.

Despite Cliff's eager smile and the sycophantic attitude of the surrounding nobles, creating an atmosphere that seemed to be calling for a hero of the kingdom, Lind remained unmoved and coldly asked, "Where is Claire?"

Upon hearing this question, the surrounding nobles fell silent, leaving only the commoners cheering, while cold sweat streamed down Cliff's forehead.

"He has now been taken into custody by my men."

Judith stepped forward, showing no respect for the Augustins and others, and spoke directly to Lind.

Linde continued to nod silently; no one knew what Linde was thinking.

"Brother, how about we just let it go?"

Lilith tugged at the hem of Lind's uniform. Lilith had changed her clothes and no longer had any queenly aura. Instead, she followed behind Lind like a little girl.

So much so that it was only after Lilith spoke that Cliff and the others noticed that Her Majesty the Queen had actually returned with the Governor of the North.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty!"

Judith excitedly bowed and knelt down before Lilith. Only after Judith reminded them did the people around notice the petite queen following behind Lind, and they all knelt down in response to Judith. Although it was a little unclear who they were kneeling to because Lilith was behind Lind.

Cliff, meanwhile, stood awkwardly huddled in place, unsure whether to stand or kneel.

"Forget it, forget it. You only get bullied because you let it go every time, you know?! If someone punches you once, you have to punch them back ten times. You should even slap their dog twice. That's how you'll stop people from bullying you, understand?"

Lind simply lifted Lilith up, giving her a physical lecture, which left the kneeling nobles even more bewildered. Her Majesty the Queen was being lifted up by the Governor of the North without any dignity.

But no one dared to ask what the relationship was between the Governor of the North and Her Majesty the Queen, especially after Lind's remark that "even his dogs would be slapped twice," which made the Augustins shudder involuntarily.

After disciplining his younger sister, Linde said to those behind him, "Send men to take over the city's defenses."

Flora, who was following behind Lind, came out and led a portion of the army away.

The trip was rushed; none of Linde's generals had time to return, leaving only his guards.

No one objected to Lind bypassing Cliff to take over the defenses of the capital. Even if Lind hadn't mentioned it, Cliff and the nobles would have begged Lind to take over the defenses, or rather, the defenses of the capital were meaningless to Lind.

Cliff, while awkwardly forcing a smile, explained to Lind what had happened in the palace earlier, and led Lind and the others toward the palace.

Lilith seemed to sense something and looked worriedly in the direction of the central church. Lind, seeing Lilith's worried expression, said, "Go ahead, leave this to me."

After hearing Cliff and Judith describe what happened in the palace, Lind already had a plan in mind. Legally speaking, although Cliff's coronation was very hasty, Lilith was indeed no longer the queen, which helped Lind solve a lot of trouble.

Lena followed Lind, looking around at the changes in the capital. Perhaps because of the recent battle to defend the city, the capital was even more chaotic than when Lena left. Apart from the towering, unfinished Northern Obelisk, almost nothing else had changed.

Among the nobles accompanying her were many acquaintances of Lena.

The way these people looked at Lena was quite different. Some were envious, others were hostile, but most of the nobles who had nothing to do with Lena were full of curiosity.

Most of the Augustines did not follow Cliff to the city walls to resist; they mostly chose to stay in the palace. For Cliff and Judith, it was already an achievement that these people did not come out to cause trouble.

When these Augustinians first heard the sound of cannon fire outside the city, they were still on tenterhooks. However, when they saw Cliff and Judith and others return to the palace with their army, they were overjoyed and greeted them in the main hall. After all, no one really wanted to be a slave to a conquered country. Although these Augustinians had already planned to sell Capet for a good price, they were also happy that the capital had actually been defended.

Whether it's out of genuine interest or because they think they can get a better price for it.

However, when these Augustines saw the Northern army following Cliff and Lind, their expressions became complicated, and when they saw Lena beside Lind, their faces fell even more.

Augustine was not the only one who made things difficult for Lena and sent her away.

Once inside the main hall, Cliff felt awkward again, looking at the throne, unsure whether to sit or not.

Although his father told him that he hadn't lost the throne in the prophecy, but had instead sat on it steadily for a while, Cliff looked back at Lind, as if seeking Lind's consent.

"What's wrong, Your Majesty? Aren't you going to sit down?"

Lena followed Lind, seemingly oblivious to everything. She not only addressed him as "Your Majesty" but also asked Cliff why he wasn't sitting on the throne. Although she had figured out what had happened along the way, from Lena's perspective, she genuinely felt that she and Lind had simply come to the aid of the capital. Since the capital already had a legitimate new king, then the new king should naturally be sitting on the throne.

Many members of the royal family and nobles gasped in shock, looking at Lena in horror. It seemed that Lena still had no political acumen whatsoever, just as she had when she left the capital.

Linde's face remained expressionless, making it impossible for anyone in the hall to discern his thoughts from his facial expressions.

"Your Majesty, please have a seat."

Finally, Lind spoke up.