Divine Kingship

Chapter 551 I can be a good King of the White Kingdom, can you be a good Mrs. Rand?
In just one month, the army that was to divide up the Wisteria Kingdom was assembled and set out.

The Northern Allied Nations have rendered a judgment against the Wisteria Kingdom.

However, it is clear that the surviving nobles of the Wisteria Kingdom disagree with this verdict.

They claimed that the Wisteria Kingdom had always been their land, and no one could take it away.

Of course, there were also some who wanted to surrender and submit in order to retain a portion of the land.

However, the attitude of the Northern Union was very consistent: to ignore everything.

It is possible that the Wisteria Kingdom does indeed have righteous nobles who support justice, and righteous nobles who are unwilling to cooperate with the Wisteria Kingdom's royal family.

But does that matter?
Would the Northern Union countries care?

If the current Wisteria Kingdom were completely destroyed, there might indeed be innocent nobles, but who cares?
Countries only care about the benefits they are about to seize.

The same goes for Rand, Ellie, and Berlan.

Instead of worrying about the negligible probability of being wronged, we should think about how to use the land and people we get afterward.

morning.

Rand opened his eyes in bed.

They had been discussing political matters for quite a while last night, so after deciding to continue the discussion the next day, he went back to his bedroom to sleep as usual.

And this morning, right now, he felt a slight warmth.

Ellie wrapped her arms around his neck, her soft breath brushing against Rand's chest.

Rand could feel the softness of her arms, chest, and thighs.

This action clearly crossed the line.

This is Ellie's usual sleeping position, not Berlan's.

Berlan's sleeping posture was very tranquil; even when he was asleep, he would not move around much, a perfect example of stillness.

Ellie, however, sleeps much more casually and likes to snuggle up to Rand.

Rand poked "Berlan's" face with his finger, and the ice-blue eyes opened, revealing obvious astonishment.

“Ellie?” Rand asked.

Ellie nodded: "So it's been switched back?"

Ellie released her arms from Rand's neck, looked at her own hands, and realized that this was her own body.

So the symptoms of her and her sister swapping bodies naturally healed themselves after a month?
But soon, the icy blue eyes in front of Rand became blank, and then she panicked and released her long legs that were wrapped around Rand's waist.

"What, what's going on?"

It seems he's turned back into Berlan.

Soon, there was a knock on the door, and Ellie walked in.

"Just now, did you briefly switch back to your body?" Ellie asked, looking at the panicked Berlan on the bed.

Berlan and Ellie looked at each other.

The situation was quickly confirmed.

“It seems that our body swapping isn’t permanent. We just don’t know if it will stop happening over time or if it will stabilize at a certain frequency,” Ellie and Berlan analyzed.

Rand stroked his chin. Ever since Ellie and Berlan swapped bodies, Rand had hesitated about whether to use [Desire Sharing] to see if it could cure their symptoms. However, he had been too busy with various things recently, and since Ellie and Berlan wouldn't have too much of an impact on their lives even if they swapped bodies, Rand decided to observe for a while before starting treatment after discussing it with them.

The originally agreed-upon time was soon, but Rand and Ellie's bodies couldn't stay in the White Country indefinitely. If there was no cure, they could only try using [Thirst Sharing] to treat them when they were about to return. But now it seems that's no longer necessary.

Based on Rand's medical experience, this situation, which shows signs of self-healing, will likely get better and better in the future. If it doesn't get better, he can try the [Desire Sharing] treatment again. Anyway, he can use [Desire Sharing] anytime.

“If it heals naturally, things will be much easier,” Rand said. “But there’s not much more to discuss now. Let’s finish what we didn’t finish yesterday.”

Ellie and Berlan both nodded in agreement.

Ellie went out.

After Rand and Berlan turned their backs to change their clothes, they left the bedroom and went to the study.

"How long do you expect it to take to win?" Rand asked.

Rand was very concerned about when the benefits from the Wisteria Kingdom would arrive.

However, there has been little recent attention paid to the war situation.

RAND provided advice on military strategy as an advisor, but he did not participate much in the specific decision-making. RAND had already made enough contributions, and for a war that was bound to be won, there was no need for him to claim all the credit.

Giving newcomers a chance to shine is what RAND should be doing.

So Rand only knew the general military plan for this operation, but not the specific details. Now that Rand is about to return to his territory, he plans to ask.

After all, the generals in this military operation against the Wisteria Kingdom were mostly young generals from various noble families, and even the royal family.

We need to ask now to avoid any major mistakes.

"The strategy the young generals finally came up with was to travel light and simply, to strike deep into the heart of the Wisteria Kingdom, and then divide the enemy's forces and defeat them one by one." The most difficult opponents, the orcs and Grand Duke Vladimir, have already been defeated, so now there are young generals besides Rand in the lineup. "It is estimated that the entire Wisteria Kingdom can be annexed in a year or even less."

These young generals were obviously there to gain experience and prestige, after all, a war of annihilation that they were certain to win was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

For most generals, a war of annihilation is a positive, precious, and praiseworthy achievement. Now, it's a war of annihilation with little risk and a sure victory, so naturally, all sorts of people want to come and claim the credit.

For Rand, there was no need for it. Everyone was well aware of the contributions Rand had made. Even if Rand did not participate at all this time, he would still have a share in the credit for the destruction of the country. On the contrary, if Rand participated, it would seem that he was greedy.

Of course, everyone knows that the army's combat effectiveness will drop significantly under such circumstances, so the military strategies discussed by these so-called young generals were probably guided by their family members.

In addition, to ensure the army's combat effectiveness, the family's knights and personal guards would also go into battle. In short, even if those young generals gave bad orders, they would at most suffer local setbacks under such circumstances, but overall they would be victorious.

That's all.

“Then I must return to my territory,” Rand said. “Things here are mostly settled, but there are still many things to do in my territory.”

There seems to be no problem with military operations. Since the nobles and royal families of various countries know that young generals may cause problems and have made contingency plans, then there shouldn't actually be any problems.

Presumably, there aren't many fools like the former second prince of the Frostmoon Kingdom.

The sons of noble families, blessed with the achievements and glory of their ancestors, can simply focus on gaining prestige and recognition. As long as they don't cause trouble, they will reap the rewards they deserve. These are the noble sons who are willing to quietly accumulate prestige and recognition; they are the ones who truly work on the front lines. On the contrary, those who pretend to know everything and try to interfere are the real trouble.

Then it really came down to setting off back to the territory.

Ellie, Berlan, and Rand packed their luggage together, just like a mother preparing things for her children who were going on a long journey.

Berlan had to admit that Ellie was an outstanding person, far more outstanding than she had imagined.

To support the White Kingdom, Berlan didn't spend much time educating Ellie. When she was young, she was fostered by the Snow Wolf Duke's family, and when she was a little older, she was taught by Olenna. After that, she worked and studied alongside Rand.

Berlan was so burdened by his responsibilities that he had little time to educate Ellie.

Or rather, if Berlan hadn't made a concerted effort to maintain the then-precarious White Kingdom, Ellie wouldn't have had the opportunity to grow up, and they might have ended up in exile together.

But now, Ellie has become such an outstanding person. Berlan believes that as long as Ellie trains for a period of time, she can truly take over the throne of the White Kingdom, and may even do better than her.

This made her very happy, and even a little envious.

Therefore, the problem has now changed.

After Bolan had handed over most of the political affairs of the country,

Ellie began, "Then it's up to my sister next. As Mrs. Rand, I also have many things to be aware of."

In short, Ellie is capable of being the Queen of the White Kingdom. As long as no one suspects anything, she can send a magical carrier pigeon to inquire about Berlan's problems, even if they encounter difficult political issues.

But was Berlan capable of being a good Mrs. Rand?

In the Land of White, playing the role of Mrs. Rand wouldn't be too difficult; the Land of White doesn't need Mrs. Rand to play much of a role.

But what happens after we return to the Duchy of Lunar Phase?

Berlan could be a good king, a powerful "king" level fighter, but could he be a good lady?

She had absolutely no experience as a wife and knew absolutely nothing about it.

Berlan fell silent.

She was quite certain that Mrs. Rand's identity was definitely not simple.

Rand rose from a nobody with no noble status or background to become the Duke of the Moon, which is certainly due to Rand's own abilities, but Ellie's role in it is by no means insignificant.

After all, the status of a lady is obviously very important in the aristocratic system.

It's not about family harmony bringing prosperity, but rather that the lady inherently possessed very important power and obligations within the aristocratic system.

Of course, family harmony is also very important.

Rand's family... a mere three or four lovers, she prided herself on being able to handle them, perhaps?
She really didn't have this experience and wasn't quite sure.

As for governing the territory, you should be able to get the job done once you get familiar with it, right?
None of them seem very simple.

At this moment, Ellie had already straightened her back.

"Ahem!" Ellie tapped the desk in the study with her knuckles. "It's time for my lesson, so pay attention!"

Bolan was helpless; now the younger sister had to teach the older sister, although it was still the older sister who taught the younger sister physically.

"In the Duchy of the Moon Phase, as the lady and the matriarch of the Nicholas family, my main duties are as follows: 1. To appease and unite the military and political forces of the White Kingdom. Of course, I also need to step in to stabilize the military and political forces outside the White Kingdom when Rand is unavailable. 2. To handle administrative matters in the administration building, or to advise Rand. You should be able to get the hang of this quickly, no problem. 3. To maintain the stability of the Nicholas family. This will be more difficult because…."

Seeing Ellie's hesitation, Berlan asked, puzzled, "Why?"

"You'll understand when you actually meet them. What you see of them normally is just the surface. In reality, the higher-ups of our Holy Domain..."

After thinking for a while, Ellie said, "Everyone here is very individualistic, very..."

Ellie also emphasized the word "very".

Berlan wasn't particularly surprised that capable and powerful people had strong personalities; it was quite normal.

But she didn't dismiss Ellie's words; on the contrary, she realized the seriousness of the problem.

This is not just because she trusts her sister's judgment.

Also, because she understood her younger sister quite well.

Her sister, Ellie Calant, though she didn't want to use that word to describe her, was honestly quite odd-looking and hardly a normal person.

And his own sister, who is hardly a normal person, actually calls the other family members of Rand "very individualistic," especially emphasizing the word "very."

So what exactly is going to happen?

The fact that Rand was able to gather such extraordinary individuals was clearly due to its powerful abilities.

It seems that Rand must have gone through a lot of hard work to get some powerful people to serve him.

“Could you elaborate a little more?” Berlan asked.

Ellie glanced at Rand, who also looked somewhat uneasy, and nodded, saying, "That's fine."

"The first thing to watch out for is that elf named Lysa. When it comes to serious matters, you can completely trust her; she is very reliable. But please do not investigate what she is doing outside of work hours. If you suspect that Rand is with her, do not investigate further."

Berlan didn't quite understand, but he silently wrote it down.

“You know Olena. Olena is probably the more normal one among us. If you encounter any difficult problems, you can consult her. However, she probably won’t believe such a strange thing as us switching identities, so you don’t need to tell her about the identity switch unless necessary.”

Olena knew Ellie's personality all too well; without much evidence, Olena would simply assume that Ellie was up to something strange.

"The inspector of the Sanctuary forces is a powerful thief named Elsa. You can trust her when it comes to matters related to combat, but be very careful! Don't wave anything worth stealing in front of her, including your underwear."

It sounds like kleptomania, Berlan thought.

"Karin, um, you know that Crimson Queen Karin. She has a complicated relationship with us, but never mention it to her face. However, you can secretly provide her with some assistance. That's all."

Berlan nodded, surprised that Karin had also been won over. It seemed that Rand's charm was indeed considerable.

"You may have come into contact with two generals from the Holy Domain. They seem to have some secrets, but don't delve into it; they are both loyal generals."

Berlan said he remembered everything, thinking to himself that it was indeed a bit strange, and hoped he could handle it when the time came.

Rand listened to the whole thing, and for some reason, he had a strange feeling, like he'd heard some kind of supernatural tale about rules from his past life. Were the higher-ups in his territory really that strange? It seemed like they might be.

(End of this chapter)