The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

With mixed feelings, Lilith left the old pope's prayer room and returned to the palace to wait for Crane to finish get off work.

The lantern is small and has a special mechanism to cover its light, so it looks perfectly natural when worn at the waist.

But Lilith found the small lantern incredibly heavy.

Wasn't she supposed to have transmigrated here to become the protagonist and enjoy life? But now things are getting more and more terrifying, and Lilith is even starting to regret taking over the female lead's identity.

Now, for the sake of my own happy life, I must protect Kran no matter what. Not only that, I must also find a way to help Kran advance the domestic reforms. Although I had studied with my older brother for a period of time before I transmigrated, the resistance to implementing some reform policies was greater than I had imagined. At present, the reforms can only be carried out on a small scale in the areas controlled by the church.

Fortunately, due to the increasing pressure from Anjou, the Southern and Western territories have also begun to cooperate with the capital in carrying out a small portion of reforms.

Only then did Lilith understand why internal reformists in history were most likely to fail, or even if they succeeded, they would only prolong their lives. But there was nothing she could do; Cran's identity meant he could not overthrow the kingdom and start anew. So Lilith could only try her best to make something of the mess left by Augustine III.

Meanwhile, the palace remained brightly lit. The newly enthroned King Kran no longer had time to hold a ball and was still sitting in the conference room.

"The last item on the agenda is about the North."

The remaining members of the conference room were mostly from the kingdom's top decision-making bodies, which meant that the remaining topics were no longer something that lower-ranking nobles could listen to.

“We need to re-examine the problems in the North. Grand Duke Lars is gone, and the entire North is now fragmented. Lena Lars and her fiancé have defeated the nobles of the western North and are consolidating the power of the western North, while the other three Lars who killed Grand Duke Lars are also busy dividing up their own spheres of influence.”

Kran no longer had the frivolity he had when he was the crown prince; he became solemn, composed, and somewhat tired.

“My opinion is that we should ease tensions with the North, but we can’t relax too much. At least on the surface, the Kingdom should withdraw its deployments in the North.”

Cordick, who had always been very active on the Northern issue, now acted like a clay prime minister, only repeating "yes, yes, yes," and only offering his opinion when the topic of the Daedric race was mentioned.

Duke Monroe of the East added to Crane, "We need to calm down those mad dogs of Lars. We have the largest border with the North, and several of their soldiers have already plundered our territory. If they don't deal with it soon, I'll have to take action myself."

Crane nodded, indicating that he understood.

Duke Scott of the West also suggested, "Our West and South are under tremendous pressure lately. The kingdom can no longer waste resources on the North. Your Majesty, I suggest we follow your father's last will and test. We've run out of sticks, it's time to give carrots."

"Then how about appointing those Lars as governors?"

Crane humbly sought the opinions of the nobles present. The position of governor can be traced back to the Rhom Empire. The current kingdom does not have regional governors, but it is indeed a good position to control the Lars.

At this moment, Judith, the Duchess of the Southern Border, who had been silent all along, spoke up: "Then, regarding the western part of the Northern Border, Your Majesty could appoint Reina's fiancé, Lind Rol, as governor. This would not only sow discord between Lind and Lars, but also give them a way out, preventing them from becoming rebels."

Scott nodded in agreement, saying, "Your Majesty, if the western part of the North declares a rebellion, the Kingdom of Anjou is likely to make contact with these rebels. At that time, the pressure on our western and southern territories will be even greater. At least on the surface, there cannot be any rebels within the kingdom."

But Monroe scoffed, "Judith, I've heard that Lynd Rol is also a descendant of the Empire. You wouldn't happen to be colluding with these rebels, would you?"

Crane spoke up to remind him, "Duke Monroe, watch your words. There are no rebels in our kingdom, and Lindroll may not necessarily be a descendant of the empire. My fiancée also has black hair and black eyes. Does that mean she is also a descendant of the empire?"

In short, the matter concerning the North has finally been settled. Kran plans to appoint four governors of the North in one go, but these governors will only have the title; real power and territory will depend entirely on each governor's own efforts. It's almost as if the word "instigator" is written on the appointment letter.

After the meeting ended, seeing Lilith still waiting for him in the corridor, Crane felt a little relieved.

After listening to Crane's summary of today's meeting points, as usual, Lilith inwardly complained, "Won't the North's approach to this be breeding a monster?"

For her own future happiness, Lilith suggested when Crane asked for her opinion: "Your Majesty, why appoint four governors at once? You could appoint Governor Lind Rol first, then Governor Doug Lars, to establish Doug Lars' leadership and prevent the three Lars from starting a fight. Moreover, this way, after one governor is defeated, you can quickly appoint the next governor to fight against the victorious one."

A four-way war is difficult to control, but a battle between strong forces is much simpler. There's no need to worry that Doug Lars might win and truly unify the North. The three Lars who killed their fathers through conspiracy are unlikely to work together. We can just support a new puppet then.

Crane thought about it more and more and felt that this plan was better, and immediately praised, "Lilith, you really have a way with things. I can't wait for you to become my queen."

Duchess Judith of the Southern Border couldn't wait to take a bath after returning to her mansion, wanting to wash away the day's fatigue. The new king was under a lot of pressure and felt very insecure, which caused the nobles in the capital to hold meetings every few days. In addition, the current situation was chaotic, and everyone was exhausted.

Has my distant cousin sent any new letters?

Judith was referring to Caroline. Ever since Caroline's last letter arrived, Judith immediately went to check the family tree.

"Not yet, sir. Miss Caroline just finished fighting and is probably busy."

At the same time, the maid asked curiously, "My lord, is that Lindroll really a descendant of the empire?"

Judith's answer was somewhat ambiguous: "There was indeed a branch of the Imperial bloodline that went north, but who knows?"

Although that's what she said, Judith couldn't help but think of the name of her ancestor who fled north on the family tree. She felt that her distant brother was too impatient. Now, his identity as a descendant of the empire not only couldn't help him, but might even put him in danger.

There's nothing else I can do but help in whatever way I can.

At this moment, Claire was gazing north from her castle window, with neither maids serving her nor guards protecting her.

Has any news come from over there?

Claire seemed to be conversing with the void.

A voice from the void responded to Claire: "No need to rush, someone has already gone to the North with lanterns, and they should be arriving soon."

Then, a figure appeared by the window, emerging from the black mist.

"Is it really a good idea to waste such a precious opportunity on an unknown nobody? Even if that person is a descendant of the empire, it's not worth us wasting the power of our lamp wicks."

The figure gradually became clearer; it was a nun wearing a slit-fronted habit.

If you look closely, you can see that the nun's habit is a modified version of the nun's habit from the Church of the Goddess of Light.

"Actually, we could use the wick on someone who deserves it more, like your brother?"

"No chance."

Claire retorted, "My brother has realized something and has begun restricting foreign officials from entering the palace. He has also started investigating the interior of the palace. It will be difficult for me to help you set up rune arrays in the short term."

"That's such a shame."

The alluring nun seemed truly regrettable.

"No need to rush, we have plenty of time. Let's get in touch with Anru first. I can't wait to see my brother running around like crazy."

Claire licked her lips and turned to look in the direction of the king's bedroom.