After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

A wail came from not far away. The hero had not escaped the clutches of Luna's personal guards. A group of people grabbed his hands and feet, lifted the bruised and swollen Thorne above their heads, and paraded him through the streets like a grand procession, passing in front of Leia once again.

Seeing the hero's miserable state, Leia wanted to say to Luna for the first time: Well done!

Following his personal guards to the front of the military camp, Thorne was thrown to the ground. He yelped and rubbed his backside, quite displeased with Luna's overreaction.

"It's just that I stole a few of your pastries, is it really that big of a deal?"

"A few pastries?" Luna's anger flared, and she snapped, "Do you think we're still in the academy, where you can do whatever you want? Those are for the children, not for myself!"

It was only then that Thorne saw the children in the camp, most of whom had burn marks on their faces. Some of them were physically mutilated, and some had terrifying appearances. They timidly hid behind Luna, occasionally casting curious glances at him.

Thorne scratched his face. He really didn't know it was like this. He had only seen Luna buy so many pastries, and then...

"I...I was wrong." Thorne lowered his head in shame, even he couldn't bring himself to snatch food from a child.

"Perhaps I should remind you that these children are survivors of the Bone Dragon Calamity. You might think they have nothing to do with you, the hero who followed behind the dragon slayer and accomplished the feat of slaying the dragon."

"However, after you defeated the bone dragon, some of them did worship you as a hero."

That's all Luna and Thorne have to say. This guy is shameless. Since arriving in the Northern Territory, he's been like a street urchin, never doing a single good deed.

Luna patted the children on the head and told them to go back to playing. She walked past Thorne, who was standing there in a daze, and greeted Leia, who had come to watch the show.

"It's no fun being with them. Let's go eat; someone's treating us today."

Leia was pulled away by Luna, and this time she didn't resist much, because just as Luna said, staying with the Archbishop and the Duke... was just too boring.

The two went to a private room in a high-end restaurant, where Lisa and Count Morpheus had been waiting for a long time.

"Did you catch that guy?" Lisa asked, putting down the menu she was holding.

"Hmph, in Ice City, even if I give him a five-minute head start, he still won't escape my grasp."

Luna led Leia to sit down and briefly introduced the visitors. "By the way, this is Leia from the delegation, the daughter of the Western Duke, my classmate, and now the Queen."

The moment the words "Princess" were uttered, Lisa froze, and even Mofi, who was making tea, seemed somewhat at a loss.

"Don't worry about it, everyone. Although I am called a princess, I am only in name."

Seeing that the two were about to stand up and bow, Leia quickly stopped them. She still couldn't get used to her status as a princess. Rather than saying that His Majesty was her husband, it was more accurate to say that His Majesty was her boss.

"Sigh, you're so young, it's tough on you."

The old count was the first to react, getting up to make tea for Leia. If a peaceful, uneventful relationship could help the child relax, there wasn't anything wrong with that.

Anyway, the etiquette and rules of the Northern Territory have been completely messed up. Just now, he encountered several old ladies who were raising their hands and showing off that they had caught the Duke's treasures...

"Thank you very much, sir." Leia smiled politely, expressing her gratitude for the old count's thoughtfulness.

After the atmosphere became more relaxed, Luna, who had taken the menu to order, looked around and asked, "By the way, where's Paul? Hasn't he arrived yet?"

"The convoy transporting sheep overturned at the city gate, and he went to help catch the sheep, telling us to eat first."

"He's always so restless." Luna continued ordering, the prices on the menu making her wince, but thankfully it was the old count who was treating.

The thought of money made Luna slap her forehead; she still had a piece of real estate she hadn't sold.

"Don't blame me for not reminding you, Count Morpheus, do you want that burial plot or not?"

Mofei, who was drinking tea, almost fainted. How many days had passed? How could the young lady still remember this? And it was one thing for those three to force me to buy a coffin a while ago, but now they wanted me to take over the cemetery plot too?

"Let's leave it to Paul. He's the leader of the Northern Territory now. Buying a burial plot first and then a house, hmm, that's a very reasonable plan."

Seeing that Morpheus wouldn't budge, Luna was at her wit's end. Expecting Paul was out of the question. Apart from daily expenses, Paul donated all of his brother's gifts to the orphanage.

Luna felt a pang of regret again; the buying and selling had ruined her joy. "If you don't want it, I'll put it up for auction at the merchant guild."

After harassing the old count, Luna glanced at Rhea with her darting eyes, "And you, why did you become Frank's queen? Is Queen Barbara no longer enough for him?"

Sensing that the conversation was about to get interesting, Mo Fei silently got up and closed the door to the private room.

"It was my father..." Leia sighed, clutching her fingers, her expression filled with sorrow. "He sent me to the palace so that he could get the antidote for the plague from His Majesty."

Luna sighed upon hearing this, "Your father is a real scoundrel. Getting the antidote is so simple; he could just come up north and buy it."

"Many things are not as simple as you imagine." Leia smiled bitterly. "Luna, under the plague, the Northern Territory is stable and prosperous, so of course you can't feel it. In fact, the outside world is in complete chaos."

"Bandits... not the kind your Northern Army impersonates, but bandits appearing in droves across the land, destroying homes, and causing people to slaughter each other. Under this catastrophe..."

Too many words were left unsaid. Even in the royal city, where order had been restored, Leia saw many people driven mad.

They might suddenly break down crying, or slit their own throats with a knife, gushing blood, and run wildly through the streets.

From the moment the curse appeared and the saintess transformed into the blood-clad saintess, people lost all faith. And Rhea was not the only one imprisoned.

The only consolation was that Paladin Commander Paul had defeated the Blood-Clad Saintess.

There seems to be still hope...

"We must look forward to life; disasters will eventually pass."

Mophie knew he was talking without understanding the situation, but now the plague in the Northern Territory had been successfully quelled, and they were enjoying a bumper harvest.

The Duke, this great helmsman, led them through storm after storm, and as long as the Duke was alive, they had the courage to overcome any difficulty.

"Let's talk about yourself. Actually, it might not be a bad thing that His Majesty the King doesn't touch you."

Leia was in a daze; it was the first time she had ever heard someone say such a thing to her.

"Please teach me, sir."

After a moment of contemplation, the old count tapped the table with his finger. "If I'm not mistaken, the king must have married several queens."

"Yes... there are two other princesses besides me," Leia answered honestly.

"That's right." The old count nodded to himself, which made the three little girls look at him in confusion.

Um, do you expect an old man like me to teach this?

Those clear eyes almost left the old count speechless. After a long while, once all the dishes were served, the old count finally spoke softly.

"Luna, do you remember that time we went to the palace for an audience? I could tell then that Queen Barbara wasn't a docile person. Although I don't know where she got the confidence to think she could seduce His Majesty the Duke."

"But the Queen is indeed plotting to increase her influence, which His Majesty the King absolutely cannot tolerate."

"And Miss Leia, you must remember that His Majesty's marriage to you into the palace was a transaction. He is very sincere and respects you greatly. The other two princesses will give birth to princes in the future, who are His Majesty's chosen heirs. As long as you can use your status and position to unite with the two princesses to suppress the Queen."

"When the prince grows up and officially takes over the position of heir, I believe His Majesty will set you free."

Luna, holding the steak, exclaimed in surprise, indicating that she had learned something new; she hadn't realized there were so many twists and turns involved.

Lisa looked at the old count with suspicion, wondering if he had been a concubine before.

"But my family doesn't value me, and it's difficult for me to get help from them." Leia understood, but how easy would it be to suppress Queen Barbara, who had Duke Dale's backing?

"That's another deal." The old count chuckled, picked up his wine glass, and pointed at Luna under Leia's furrowed brow.

As gazes fell upon her, Luna, who had been baring her sharp teeth and preparing to bite into the steak, froze in place.

No, why are you all staring at me?

Leia covered her lips, suddenly realizing everything. The person sitting next to her was none other than the heir to the Northern Territory. The two were classmates in the same year, and although they weren't close, they weren't enemies either, and they even had a lot in common.

"Keep trying, child, you still have a chance. When you truly meet someone you love who also loves you, you'll find that everything in life will become much better."

The old count took a sip of wine and said that he had taught them enough; their future was up to them to figure out.

Leia twisted a strand of her hair between her fingers and murmured, "The person I like... can I be with Lord Paul in the future?"

"puff!"

Luna, Lisa, and the old count were all hit by a critical strike of 10,000 points at the same time. Damn it, why did it have to be Paul?

She quickly wiped her mouth with a clean napkin, and the old count was caught off guard by her words.

"Can you tell me why?"

As if revealing a girl's secret, Leia covered her cheeks and said shyly.

"I think Lord Paul is very handsome. His once sunny eyes have become melancholic, which makes him even more handsome. He must have been in great pain when he killed Saint Mary, right? I understand, I could hear it in his singing."

"Ah, how did he manage to unleash that final strike? How did he manage to stop trembling and resolutely plunge the sword down?"

Lisa silently lowered her head and ate her food. As the only eyewitness present, she really wanted to say that, no matter how you looked at it, Paul was doing it for the Duke…

Moreover, Paul's final strike was incredibly fast, almost as if he was worried that Maria might be resurrected again. It really was incredibly fast.