After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

On May 8th, the day before the prayer ceremony, thinking of her brother's high regard for Sister Jane, Luna personally rode in her own carriage to that remote village and hurried to bring the nun to Ice City in time.

At first, she thought her brother was just being chivalrous, but she never expected that the nun's body was really so fragile...

Of course, this does not mean that the nun was spoiled. She came from a poor background and spent many years preaching in the harsh northern lands. Her weak health was simply because she was... weak.

Dressed in a black veil, and dressed in a clean and tidy old nun's robe, Jenny helped Luna down from the carriage, gazing at the ancient ducal mansion before her, lost in thought.

She clutched her chest, trying to catch her breath, but she couldn't understand why the Duke had specifically chosen her to preside over such a conference.

She was just an unknown country nun.

But Oswald knew that Sister Janet later had another widely known title—the anti-imperialist vanguard.

When the Northern Territory was suffering greatly from the war and the demon army's increasingly powerful offensive was facing, Sister Jane stood up.

She did not blame the soldiers or the Duke, but resolutely headed south and delivered a famous speech in the Royal City Square.

Its essence is: the king is immoral, he turns a blind eye to the constant war in the north, and he is indifferent to the sacrifices of his northern people.

If even soldiers fighting against foreign tribes cannot get the king's support, then what is the point of the king's existence?

Furthermore, when the goddess created humanity, she didn't say that humans needed kings, yet every king lied and claimed to have received the goddess's blessing. Demons are also the goddess's subjects; does that mean the demon king also has the goddess's blessing?

Did the goddess bless you so that you would enslave your own people and send them to the battlefield to fight?

No one is more shameless than the king. If the northern territory falls and the demon army invades the central region, then the king will be the greatest war criminal among humankind today!

The nun's words were deafening. One can only say that the royal city was bustling with activity that day; the royal palace was in complete chaos; and the king was furious.

To prevent the nun from escaping, he even ordered the hero to lead troops to seal off the city gates.

Then, Saint Maria, who knew Janice well, calmly said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, this person never runs away, and her body can't support her to complete an escape."

The young king was furious; it was the first time he had ever heard of such a strong-willed woman.

But upon closer reflection, even if Oswald wanted to disgust him, he wouldn't send a woman, much less a nun.

So, after imprisoning Sister Janet for several months, and as the battle drew to a close, the king sent 20,000 troops on a charade to tour the north, leaving the nun under Oswald's supervision, and then returned under the banner of a great victory.

No one remembers the Duke's hesitant expression at the time, an expression that clearly said: What do you mean, I should thank you?

As for the nun's desire to travel south again to confront the king, and the series of events that ensued at the Duke's mansion, that's another story...

Back to the present, Eleanor walked up to Sister Janet and nodded slightly in greeting.

"Please go to the guest room to rest, nun. The Duke has just returned to the manor and is not in a position to receive guests at the moment."

"Please go ahead."

The nun returned the greeting without saying anything more, and slowly left with the servants.

"My brother is back?"

Upon hearing the news, Luna's face lit up with joy. She skipped into the mansion, then cautiously pushed open the door, only to find, unsurprisingly, Red kneeling on one knee, his face ashen.

Sigh, these veterans have it tough.

Oswald sat in a chair, his hair still wet from a bath. Although he had changed into casual clothes, the sword at his waist still exuded a bloody aura.

He raised his eyes, glanced briefly at Luna who tiptoed in, then ignored her and continued speaking in a lazy tone.

"Red, everyone says you're good at understanding your superiors' intentions. You've been fighting for so many years, are you still studying military strategy?"

"No," Red shook his head and answered honestly.

Fiddled with the hilt of his sword, Oswald crossed his legs, lowered his gaze, and said, "Did any of the military books you've read teach you the following two questions?"

"What is a citizen, and what is a bandit?"

Red still didn't understand. Did the Duke think my bandit suppression work was progressing too slowly? But the Duke was also a commander; he should know that.

It would take several months of training to train several thousand militiamen into a fighting force; otherwise, they would not only fail to fight bandits, but the troops would also fall apart as soon as they were taken out.

Oswald was unusually patient this time. He knew it wasn't that Reid was incompetent, but rather that his mindset hadn't changed.

So he asked himself, "Do you know what the villagers I met on my way back said to me?"

"The villagers said that since the militia started patrolling, the bandits have stopped operating around the capital and have instead gone to more remote areas to plunder. Even he knew that this couldn't go on, so he told me all the bandit strongholds he knew."

Red gradually understood what was going on and finally realized where the bloody smell on the Duke's sword came from.

"The difference between the so-called militia and the combat soldiers is that they are not required to have the same combat capabilities as professional soldiers."

Oswald sighed softly, explaining that the bandits' existence ultimately stemmed from problems in his governance of the territory.

"Most bandits are people who turned out to be bandits during years of famine. But even if our policies improve and the people have enough to eat, many bandits will no longer be able to turn back into ordinary people."

"Why? Because once they've left production and experienced the means of plundering wealth through violence, it's hard for them to engage in honest work again."

Oswald's gaze lingered on Luna and Red for a moment before instructing them, "Always stand on the side of the people. This is both a temporary and a permanent solution. Only when the people's lives improve will the number of bandits decrease."

"The first purpose of organizing militia training is to appease the people, and the second is to warn those who have thoughts of becoming bandits. Do you understand what I'm saying now?"

Red understood the situation and gradually sketched out a plan in his mind. With a hint of admiration, he replied, "I understand. I will go and visit the surrounding villages and towns to find out the distribution of the bandits. Then, I will use my elite cavalry to lead the militia to launch a sweeping campaign to eliminate the bandits."

"Now you're getting impatient." Oswald smiled knowingly, making Reid feel a little embarrassed, and he awkwardly scratched his head.

"Alright, the plan needs to be thorough. There's no need to rush. Let's start preparing after the celebration."

Reid stood up. "Yes, I'll take my leave."

After Reid left, Oswald closed his eyes slightly, rubbed his stiff neck, and casually said to Luna, "My little sister has returned safely, so why didn't she bring a nun to see me?"

Luna, "Huh?"

She was a little confused. Didn't Elene say that her brother was not available to receive guests right now...? Did Elene misunderstand?

After a long silence, when Oswald opened his eyes and looked at her with suspicion, Luna finally spoke up, trying to cover for Eline.

"The nun is not feeling well and has gone to her guest room to rest."

Oswald could easily see her guilty conscience, but after all, she was his own sister in this world, and pitifully, he was her only remaining family member, so he didn't think much of it.

Young girls are hard to guess what they're thinking.

A duke who has been single since birth and has been single for 26 and a half years defined it this way.

Luna is much more cheerful now than in her previous life, mainly because Oswald, who followed the plot faithfully in her previous life, never let Luna return to her hometown even once.

Now, thinking about it carefully, even if there are undercurrents in the northern territory and war could break out at any time, for a young girl who has experienced a major family tragedy and is living alone in someone else's territory, home is the safest place.

Otherwise, Luna in her previous life wouldn't have written to her brother so often and gone to great lengths to find out everything about the Northern Territory.

He even went so far as to learn of Oswald's death before the king did.

"Brother, I heard that the new king is going to marry the queen next month?" Seeing that the matter had been put aside, Luna asked cautiously and ingratiatingly.

Oswald paused for a moment as he flipped through the documents.

"Hmm, it seems like that's true."

Luna blinked her starry eyes and asked coquettishly, "Then, can I go participate?"

Well, I was just saying this little girl is homesick, and now she's about to run outside to play.

Oswald pinched the bridge of his nose, looking somewhat troubled.

It wasn't that he wouldn't let Luna go out, nor that the Northern Territory hadn't received an invitation. On the contrary, the newly appointed king was a man of great vision; he had always wanted to cultivate a good relationship with Oswald, otherwise he wouldn't have remained indifferent to the Marquis's affairs.

The problem is that the queen who is about to become the mother of the nation is no pushover.

Queen Barbara, a shining jewel in the kingdom's social scene, is described in the game as having an unparalleled beauty and charm, and is well-funded.

This socialite was already known for her numerous scandals before marrying the king. Because of the sheer number of suitors, her wedding banquet with the king quickly devolved into a large-scale, tumultuous love affair.

Traditionally, representatives from different groups would offer a blessing to the King and Queen at the banquet.

It's a classic auspicious saying; if you say it well, you might even receive a reward from the Queen.

If Luna is going, she will definitely attend as a representative of the nobility, and may even be in the front row.

Among the noble representatives of the previous life, the Duke of Dale of the Eastern Territory burst into tears as soon as he saw the Queen. No one could persuade him, and in the end, even the King became impatient. Only then did he say hesitantly, "Your Majesty, how about you give me a handkerchief? From now on, I will remember you by the handkerchief and never disturb your life again."

The King?! Throw him out!

I don't have a handkerchief, but I have a white silk ribbon. Do you want it?

Then came the military representative, Benjamin, commander of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment of the Central Army, who shaved his head on the spot and vowed that even if he could not be with the Queen, he would dedicate his entire life to protecting her.

King: Don't I need guards? Don't the people need guards? I'm the one who pays your salary! Throw him out!

Finally, there were representatives of teachers and students from various academies, including the hero himself. He thought nothing untoward would happen here, but the most explosive reactions often come from these scholars.

The female teacher of Rose Girls' Academy, yes, the female teacher Serena, rushed to the king with red eyes, startling him before shouting.

"Whether I marry one or two, it's all the same. Why don't you marry me too, King? I can't accept life without Miss Barbara!"

King: I'd rather you had Barbara's Energy, so the Little Fairy could transform completely...

Actually, by this point, although the banquet was a bit chaotic and there were a lot of scandals, it was still considered safe.

What Oswald was really worried about was that a magician disguised among the students was using this opportunity to cast a black mist spell to hide himself and take Barbara away.

That night, the entire palace was thrown into chaos. The unnamed magician was extremely powerful and killed or injured many guards and innocent passersby.

Of course, this scene is a stage set for the hero, who steps forward at the crucial moment and stabs the magician to death from behind, saving the king's face.

However, it couldn't save the careers of the other students.

The king was furious, mostly because of the queen. So he ordered the royal guards to severely whip... the outstanding student representatives, and declared that he would never hire them.

On one hand, there was his sister's rare request; on the other hand, there was the danger of the banquet. After much deliberation, Oswald could no longer bear those starry eyes and sighed.

"You may go, but you must leave the palace after delivering your blessings, understand?"