Divine Kingship

Chapter 552 The Affairs of the Kingdom of Bolen, and the Role Played!
After Ellie imparted to him the secrets of being a good wife overnight, Berlan followed Rand to the Duchy of the Moon with some hesitation.

Now that Ellie has proven herself capable of being the Queen of the White Kingdom, Berlan has nothing to worry about.

Moreover, now that there's a possibility that the two could be swapped, Bolan is no longer too worried about letting his sister take the blame for him.

Moreover, Rand has been in the White Country for quite some time now.

The affairs of the Duchy of the Moon cannot be separated from Rand for too long.

In theory, territorial affairs are already properly arranged, and various tasks are handled by the appropriate personnel, so there is little need for top-level decision-makers to make decisions.

Rand also spent a lot of time slacking off when he was in his territory.

However, the Duchy of the Moon cannot be separated from Rand for long periods of time.

Moreover, it seems that something has changed in the Kingdom of Bolun.

It seems the old king of the Kingdom of Bolen intends to abdicate and pass the throne to his eldest son.

There's likely a lot of trouble ahead for Rand, so he has to go back.

Ellie and Berlan gave each other some more pointers on the details related to role-playing.

Then, the group set off.

And only two weeks have passed.

The group returned to the Duchy of the Moon, where many warriors remained forever in the cold snow and winds of the North, but overall, the casualties on Rand's side were not significant.

As for the damage to the high-ranking members of the Sanctuary... well, the only one who suffered was Ellie turning into Berlan.

Berlan and Rand alighted from the carriage together. Berlan had visited the Duchy of the Moon quite a few times, and this vibrant land with development potential demonstrated Rand's outstanding governance skills.

When Berlan first came here a long time ago, he had already been impressed by Rand.

Unfortunately, at that time, she did not make up her mind to directly capture Rand, who was then just a baron, and bring him back to be the prime minister of the White Kingdom. If she had done so, she, as the White Queen, would have been much more at ease, everything would have been easier, and she would have been able to see her sister more often.

Now... if I look in the mirror now, I can see my sister, but her soul is far away in the Land of White.

Berlan recalled the precautions Ellie had mentioned to her and followed Rand into the territory.

Playing Ellie doesn't require much attention to etiquette, because Ellie herself, as a lady of the house, doesn't pay much attention to etiquette in informal occasions such as weddings or state meetings.

There are a few other things to note.

The first person we need to pay close attention to is Olena.

Berlan and Rand must not let the higher-ups of the Sanctuary know that Berlan and Ellie have swapped bodies.

Firstly, there are indeed risks involved.

The more people who know about this, the greater the risk of exposure. It's not that Bolan doesn't believe the high-ranking officials of the Sanctuary whom Rand trusts.

Rather, different people's positions will never be completely the same. Even in the White Kingdom, where Bolan has such high prestige, there are still many dark things. Obviously, there may be similar problems in the Moon Phase Duchy. And exposure will not be just because a certain piece of information is revealed. Some unconscious actions or reactions may also expose some important and fatal information to those with ulterior motives.

However, once the fact that she and Ellie have swapped bodies is exposed, it will bring a serious security problem, namely, it is obvious that the White King Berlan Calant will no longer be able to maintain the king's fighting power.

Many dark things could happen, after all, in the human world, the only human "king" who is confirmed to be still alive is Berlan Calant. The fighting power of a king is so powerful that some countries might not let go of the opportunity to assassinate a king.

Therefore, playing Mrs. Rand, Ellie Carant, well is a very important job that cannot be done wrong.

Secondly, the higher-ups in the Sanctuary didn't even know that Berlan was a woman.

If it were suddenly revealed that Berlan is currently inside Ellie's body, it would be quite perplexing and raise several ethical issues.

For example, Olena, whom we've encountered right now, is the first hurdle.

Berlan actually trusted Olena completely; Olena was personally chosen by Berlan to take care of Ellie.

Olena and Ellie are like mother and daughter, and Berlan has seen this for himself. Olena would never do anything to harm Rand and Ellie.

But she absolutely cannot reveal to Olena that she is Berlan.

This is not a matter of trust, but rather a serious ethical issue that cannot be exposed.

If she wants to play the role of Rand's wife and Ellie well, then she will inevitably have some contact with Rand. Even if it's fake, there will still be some closeness and time alone with him.

So what did Olena think of this?

Did the brother-in-law and sister's husband have an affair?

This is far too significant. While it can be explained that Berlan herself is a woman, it doesn't change the current weighty situation.

It is entirely understandable that Berlan needed to present himself as a man in the early stages in order to maintain his rule.

However, Berlan has now swapped bodies with his sister for unknown reasons and is now appearing as Ellie, acting as Rand's wife...

The reason given is understandable, of course: force majeure.

But this is too terrible; I can't let anyone know.

The thought of Olena looking at him with shock, and the idea that the serious, even somewhat rigid, White King Berlan Calant would be dressed up as a little girl and her sister's husband...

Absolutely not.

Absolutely not!
Even someone as resilient as Berlan didn't have the courage to face Olena like this; just thinking about it made her feel like she was going to faint.

Back then, she, as a man and the White King Berlan, solemnly demanded that Olenna take good care of her younger sister. Now, she herself has become her younger sister…

Rand, naturally, was in agreement with Berlan and intended to keep the secret of Ellie and Berlan's identity swap.

From a purely political perspective, he didn't think that such a thing would have too serious consequences if it were known to the higher-ups of the Sanctuary. However, Rand wasn't the kind of person who only cared about official matters. He knew very well that if Berlan was discovered to be impersonating Ellie, he would definitely face multiple social consequences.

However, if he only plays the role of Ellie in front of outsiders, then there is also a problem. Should the brother-in-law pretend to be a married couple with his sister's husband in public?
Therefore, the best strategy for the current situation is to keep it a secret.

"Is the Kingdom of Bolen going to have a new king ascend the throne?" Rand spoke first, drawing Olena's attention to himself and giving Bolen time to prepare.

Although Olena noticed Berlan's fleeting unease, she didn't think much of it. Ellie was a relatively mischievous child, so it was normal for her to do strange things. Besides, Ellie didn't have any particular behavioral patterns.

Therefore, after Rand spoke, Olena turned her attention to Rand: "Yes, according to the intelligence agents in the Kingdom of Bolen, the current King of Bolen feels that he is getting old and does not have much energy for state affairs. He believes that the current Kingdom of Bolen needs a young and energetic king to revitalize it, so he has decided to pass the throne to his eldest son."

“Have you discussed this?” Rand asked. “Yes,” Olena replied.

When Rand said "you," he was referring to the high-ranking officials who remained in the Sanctuary.

"What do you think the new King of Bolen will think of us?" Rand asked.

The Kingdom of Bolen is adjacent to the Duchy of the Moon Phase, and they have a long-standing feud.

Although the lower classes of the Kingdom of Bolen had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Rand, forcing Rand to compensate them with manpower and resources to rebuild their land.

However, the high-ranking officials of the Kingdom of Bolun were aware of Bolun's repeated failures, and the new king would obviously be aware of this as well.

So what will the new king's strategy be regarding the current situation?

Should we concede defeat, recuperate, restore national strength, and plan for the future?
Or is he planning something to clash with Rand again?

“Young and impetuous.” Olena said only four words, but the meaning was very clear.

Since he is young and impetuous, he will surely be unable to tolerate humiliation. It seems that some trouble will break out with the Kingdom of Bolun again.

However, Rand wasn't afraid.

Soon his territory's population will expand at an even faster rate. Rand also obtained a lot of money and other things from the Wisteria Kingdom, which can be quickly converted into combat power.

The Kingdom of Bolen couldn't defeat Land before, so it will definitely be even more difficult to defeat Land now.

"Make so many preparations." Although they had a basic idea of ​​the Kingdom of Bolun's attitude towards them, the coronation ceremony hadn't even been completed yet, and any potential military conflict wouldn't occur now, so there was no need to worry too much.

"And what about the Elf Forest?" Since learning about the turmoil within the Elf Forest, Rand has naturally been paying even closer attention.

While the issue of population source has been partially resolved, the quality of the population remains a concern. RAND needs not only grassroots labor but also managerial and knowledge-based talent.

The Elf Forest will obviously have a considerable proportion of high-value talents.

As for the elven villagers, who are not much different from ordinary human villagers, the more the better for Rand.

We're in a phase of rapid development right now. Money and manpower issues have been temporarily resolved, and a significant foundation for productivity has been laid. At the current rate of development, RAND can still manage.

What if there's a need for more land when there are too many people?
That means that, considering the size of the entire Lunar Duchy and the land ceded to him by the Kingdom of Bolen, the area under Rand's influence can be described as vast and sparsely populated.

The amount of land owned far exceeds the population demand.

As for the future development to the point where there is less land and more people, then Rand will naturally have ways to expand.

However, Rand has been quite busy lately. It seems that some unrest has recently occurred in the Underdark, and Rand is planning to intervene and subdue some more monsters.

Let's see which matter is more urgent first, whether it's the Elf Forest, the Kingdom of Boren, or the Darklands. For Rand, dealing with whichever problem comes first is fine.

A lot of serious business was discussed.

Olena was able to refocus her attention on Ellie.

Olena and Ellie are like mother and daughter.

This time, Ellie travels north with Rand, where she will not only face the ferocious orcs, but also the treacherous and powerful demigod, Grand Duke Vladimir.

Olena was still quite worried about Ellie's situation.

Of course, she wasn't without worry about Rand, but her worries about Rand were only at the very beginning of their journey and when the war broke out.

Now that Rand is back, Olenna only feels sorry for his hard work, but she's not worried about his injuries. Rand only needs to lie down on the altar, and he'll be bouncing around again immediately; she doesn't need to worry about any injuries.

But Ellie might have sustained some injuries, and Olena had noticed her earlier unease.

But faced with Olena's worried and concerned gaze, Berlan felt a bit of a headache.

Olena's concern for Ellie made Berlan very happy.

But she is not Ellie now, she is Berlan, and she is just using Ellie's body.

Berlan was even a little older than Olenna.

But let Berlan receive Olenna's concern from Ellie's perspective.

It's not that I felt nothing, it's just that the situation was hard to explain and rather awkward.

After all, their psychological ages and life experiences are different. Berlan cannot accept Olena's concern with a clear conscience, nor can he actually do anything coquettish like Ellie.

But if we don't react correctly now, will we be discovered?
Compared to acting cute, being discovered that the older brother has taken over the younger sister's body is obviously not acceptable either.

If the best option is to choose the lesser of two evils, then it's best to put on a good performance so that Olena doesn't suspect anything.

Although Rand would notice these acts of coquetry, it was relatively easier for Berland to accept any slip-ups or embarrassing moments he might reveal in front of Rand.

Rand and Berlan were close and familiar with each other, and this mutual understanding helped to lessen the awkwardness of their past, which was forced upon them by circumstances.

Then, Rand, who noticed that Berlan was hesitant to perform, stepped in to smooth things over. Rand, of course, wanted to do his best to avoid putting Berlan in a difficult position, so he simply patted Berlan on the shoulder: "Don't worry too much. We did run into a little trouble, but everything is under control."

Rand didn't say anything to Olena, which was perfectly fine. It's not easy to gain someone's trust, and Rand didn't want to deceive Olena.

It's like telling a secret to someone close to you and having to keep it a secret; that's different from using a lie to cover up a secret.

At least for Rand, the nature of this matter was completely different.

Olena blinked her beautiful eyes: "Are you sure there's no problem?"

She felt that Ellie wasn't as lively as usual.

Rand assured him, "Of course."

Olena nodded, indicating that she believed her and would not inquire further.

Just as Rand would try to avoid using lies, Olena, who understands Rand's thoughts, completely trusts him.

Since Rand said so, there might be some reasons that are inconvenient to explain, which Olena completely understands. And since Rand said there wouldn't be any problems, she completely believes him.

(End of this chapter)