The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

"Brother, are you really not?"

Lena skipped and hopped along behind Lind, repeatedly asking the same question.

Having just dealt with a group of prisoners, Lind could only patiently reply, "It really isn't. Even if it were, what difference would it make? That empire has been destroyed for ages."

“But the Duchess of the Southern Territory is a descendant of the Rom Empire. She has black hair and black eyes, just like you, and she is a distant relative of Caroline. Her family has a genealogy to prove it.”

Lena was still not giving up, and she even went to read about the aristocratic family history that she used to hate the most. This course was similar to the one Lena listened to Lind's report, and it was excellent reading material to fall asleep to.

"So, does having black hair and black eyes necessarily mean you're a descendant of the empire? Where did you hear that from?"

Linde was speechless. Was this really that important?

Just then, Caroline arrived at the camp from the gray-collar area and explained, "Black hair and black eyes don't necessarily mean they are, but descendants of the Empire must have black hair and black eyes."

Because of her special status, although Caroline was a professional, Linde did not allow her to participate in the war. Instead, he let her stay comfortably in the rear to organize production. Now that the situation has been settled, Caroline finally has a chance to come out and breathe.

“As you said, my distant cousin, the Duchess of the Southern Territory, is a descendant of the Empire. I also have Imperial blood in me, which is why I have black hair.”

"So what's the use of this so-called imperial bloodline?"

Linde asked.

"It's not of any obvious use... but Lord, are you really of imperial blood? If so, we might be related."

"No, at least not since I was born. My family has never mentioned this."

"But my lord, this matter is being spread around the world, even by those noble prisoners... those noble prisoners are going crazy trying to prove that you are indeed a descendant of the empire. After all, they are nobles from the North, and their testimonies are very... convincing."

Caroline was also somewhat uncertain. If these nobles were trying to save face by unifying their narratives and claiming that they had lost to the bloodline of the ancient empire, that would be understandable.

However, many nobles spoke with certainty, some even claiming to have seen the Rohr family genealogy—something that even the original owner of Lind's body had never seen.

Of course, none of these can be considered key evidence. What puzzled Caroline the most were the potions used to treat the crowds at the Basilica of Our Lady of Salvation.

Because it was disguised and remained a top secret, Caroline has not yet come into contact with the secret of the holy water, and even now she still believes that it may really be the one that Linde brought from his hometown on the frontier.

Could a down-on-his-luck viscount really unearth a bunch of mysterious potions with healing properties comparable to holy water from his hometown? Caroline had always found it hard to believe; there was simply no way to explain it. But since Linde didn't say anything, Caroline could only accept that it was the truth.

But now everything makes sense.

Those potions were indeed dug up by Linde from his hometown. Linde had even mastered the method of making these potions. Wasn't this the technology lost by the ancient empire?

Add to that the mysterious white sugar and the recipe for the recovery potion, and it turns out that everything came from an ancient empire.

This is not surprising. Didn't Caroline's distant cousin's family in the Southern Territory rise to become the Duchess of the Southern Territory by relying on the technology left over from the Empire?

The logic was so sound that there wasn't a single problem. In fact, Caroline had already concluded that Linde was also a descendant of the ancient empire, so she hurriedly wrote a letter to her family this morning.

Previously, when the family contacted Caroline, she would only read the message and not reply. But this time, Caroline not only replied, but also gave a very formal reply. The letter was then sent to the capital as quickly as possible.

If this was the gift Lucanus had mentioned, Lind was still somewhat disappointed. The so-called imperial descendant offered no real benefit and was difficult to prove. Moreover, the empire had been gone for many years; could he really obtain a claim based on something without any evidence?

At this moment, Linde was completely unaware that everyone had more or less completed a logical loop similar to Caroline's.

The defeated nobles, in particular, insisted that Linde was a long-lurking descendant of the empire, pretending to be weak while actually being strong. They then surrendered with a clear conscience, even going so far as to boast that they had lost to the descendants of the empire.

"I really am not."

Lind offered a weak explanation.

But Caroline gave her a knowing look.

Although Augustine III adopted a very magnanimous stance and even allowed the families of the Mingpai Empire's descendants to guard the important southern border, it was impossible to say that he was completely without precautions, especially since one of the empire's descendants had already become a duke. Other descendants of the empire would certainly be treated with extra caution.

After finally getting rid of Caroline, Lena still followed behind Lind.

"Brother, there are only the two of us here. Just tell me the truth, and I promise I won't tell anyone else! I promise you, whether you are a descendant of the empire or not, I will support you."

"I really didn't..."

Linde continued his feeble explanation, but to his surprise, Lena believed him very easily this time, and even seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and relax.

"Well, I believe you."

After leaving those words, Lena departed. In that instant, Lind was even somewhat moved, never expecting that Lena would actually believe in him unconditionally.

At this moment, the nuns returned, bringing with them good news: they had captured Wesker.

Flora was somewhat moved. After abandoning the secular church and simply serving the goddess and the lord, the goddess seemed to have truly favored her again. Her daily prayers before meals had actually come true.

Wesker knew that even if he wasn't the instigator, he was still culpable and there was no way he could surrender. But at this moment, Wesker was no longer the dejected man he was yesterday. Instead, he was in high spirits, making people wonder for a moment who had actually won.

Wesker, who was being escorted, looked up at Lind and then sighed, "As expected of a descendant of the Empire, I didn't lose unjustly."

"..."

"Is this ever going to end?" Lind cursed inwardly.

Laurie and Yolanda returned at this time. Laurie's unit was not fully equipped, so they only pursued the enemy symbolically before cleaning up the battlefield.

"My lord, these are the two clever lads I discovered. I'd like to add them to my ranks, is that alright?"

Laurie brought Sean and Colin over, and after introducing them, she walked over to Lind and whispered, "Boss, are you really a descendant of the Empire?"

"No."

Linde answered with a straight face.

Seeing that Lind wasn't in a good mood, Laurie immediately retreated obediently.

But at this moment, Sean, who looked like a laborer, stepped forward and asked, "My lord, are you a descendant of the empire?"