After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

On the main road connecting the western territory to the central district, a procession of carriages and horses slowly traveled eastward.

After the undead army was wiped out, many nobles reported that a group of thieves had taken advantage of the chaos to steal their treasured wealth.

Furthermore, according to the intelligence report, when the band of thieves arrived at the ruins of Huangtu City, their numbers had grown to nearly five hundred, all on horseback. They plundered a large amount of gold, silver, and people from Huangtu City, and then headed east, disappearing without a trace.

Duke Tristana was somewhat numb; the Royal Guard had suffered heavy losses and had long since returned to the capital. The Western Territory's knightly order was in no better shape; they naturally needed rest and recuperation, and had little energy left to suppress bandits.

Moreover, with only five hundred people, it's not a major threat.

However, for safety reasons, he arranged for the Knights Commander, Sutt, to escort him on his journey to the royal city.

The journey was rather dull, and Trist spent the rest of the way engaging in awkward small talk with the hero and his companions.

Perhaps because he didn't care much about the children, Duke Trist was completely unaware of the rift between Rhea and Thorne.

I just said that my daughter is your classmate, and that you must all know her, etc.

Thorne turned his face away, looking somewhat strained.

What kind of belated but timely parent-teacher conference is this? The parents of students at the prestigious academy were also students themselves. Don't they know that once you enter that school, everyone becomes a brother?

The college is divided into factions, not a gathering of heroes. If everyone were to get along well, the principal would probably be running away overnight.

For some reason, Lilith was very talkative. She rode her horse close to the Duke's carriage, and even when Rhea was mentioned, she praised her with a smile, as if she really admired this junior.

Not wanting to get involved in this topic, Thorne tugged on the reins and slowly rode his horse to Annie's side.

Since being rescued, Annie has mostly remained silent. She is neither distant nor affectionate toward Thorne.

Thorne didn't really know what to talk to her about, so he asked, trying to make conversation, "Where's Maria? I haven't seen her."

"Over there, she's catching up with Captain S.O.T." Annie turned her head away, giving a nonchalant reply.

"Catching up? They actually know each other?" Thorne looked over and saw that the two were talking seriously. There was no kindness in Sult's eyes, and he seemed to be lecturing Maria.

Thorne frowned, and was about to step forward when Annie stopped him with her riding whip.

"Don't concern yourself with this. Captain Sutt was a knight of the Holy Knights when he was young, and he was Maria's senior and elder. Don't... disturb them."

There are some things that Annie can't say.

To Maria, Ultraman was more like a strict but loving godfather. In their previous life, Captain Ultraman had helped them a great deal; he even helped them assemble and train the Hero's personal guard.

He felt sorry for Maria. When he suddenly learned that Maria had become a married woman but did not even have the title of wife, he was furious and almost killed Thorne, that stud, with a sword.

For a long time afterward, Sioux was rather depressed.

If Thorne truly defeats the Demon King as in the original story and becomes a great hero renowned throughout history, perhaps Ultraman can resolve this inner conflict.

But in the previous life, everything ended in tragedy.

"When you were sent from here to the Northern Territory, I was quite worried. How did it go? Duke Oswald didn't give you any trouble, did he?" Siotte said with a straight face, staring straight ahead.

Maria shook her head repeatedly. "No, the Duke wasn't in Ice City at the time. I only saw Luna and Miss Elene."

Sensei scoffed. "He actually lets his maids manage his territory. What an absurd fellow."

"Miss Elene is also from a noble family and is a very capable person, which is why Duke Oswald values ​​her highly." Maria hadn't expected that she would praise her rival in front of her godfather.

That's just how Sutt is. In his eyes, the more capable a person is, the more they should pay attention to their character and integrity.

If he didn't admire Oswald's abilities, he wouldn't have mentioned him at all.

"However, although they did not agree at first, the Northern Territory still held a blessing ceremony later."

"Praying to the goddess is something we should do. There are too many fancy festivals. Instead of wasting our time on that, we should hold more celebrations to honor the goddess, which can also promote population movement and economic prosperity."

Saint Mary... I think this idea is a bit extreme.

"It's good that you, as a saintess, have the heart to hold the grand ceremony, but you shouldn't run around so much in the future. This year has been plagued by disasters, perhaps due to the machinations of evil people. You and your friends are still young and your strength is somewhat lacking, so you need to calm down and improve yourselves."

Maria dared not disobey the Godfather's words and bowed her head in response, "Yes, I understand."

There were indeed too many unusual things about this life, which inevitably made Maria restless and often uneasy.

But the Godfather's words are the truth: strength is the only way to win.

Through her battles with the metal golems, she discovered that the nun who had openly criticized the monarchy in her previous life was not just good at talking; her control over the goddess's magic was no less than that of herself, the saintess, which made her feel a sense of crisis.

If news of her defeat by a nun were to spread, it would be hard to say whether she could still hold onto her position as a saintess.

"Oh, by the way, I have another message here that you must pay attention to."

"Godfather, please speak."

"Princess Diana went to the Northern Territory for some reason. I can't see what kind of political signal this is. You wrote to me before saying that you were friends with the princess, but I must warn you, child, do not blindly take sides for the sake of friendship at this time. I estimate that the Royal Palace and Ice City will soon make some big moves."

As soon as the words entered her ears, Maria felt her brain buzzing.

What exactly happened? Why did Diana go to the Northern Territory? What was she really like...?

Pete has been having a great time these past few days, drinking and dancing as usual, as the nightlife in Harbin has reopened its arms to him once again.

Of course, entertainment is secondary. He mainly holds banquets to launch his latest cosmetics. Without the help of high society circles to build his brand awareness, his business is becoming increasingly difficult.

Pete, dressed to the nines, flitted among the ladies like a butterfly, bringing laughter and joy. But Mofi, in the corner, felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, as if he had thorns in his back.

Who could understand the sense of redemption in Elena's crimson eyes the moment I turned on the light when I got home last night?

Oh, and there's also Red next to him with a face so stiff it's unreal...

He would rather be facing the devil, or the Duke of Oswald who would still invite him to dinner.

That evening, in order to prove his political stance, Mofi immediately sacrificed a minor nobleman from the southern commercial district.

This man, named Sam, was not of high rank but was very wealthy. He had privately agreed with Princess Diana to provide her with two hundred warhorses from the Northern Territory every year.

Sam swaggered into the Earl's house, initially not thinking much of it, wondering why the old Earl of Morpheus was kneeling before a young woman in a long black dress.

Haha, could it be that the kingdom has a second princess?

The woman with long red hair tilted her head, her expression cold and aloof, her black gemstone earrings swaying gently.

"My name is Elena."

With a thud, Sam knelt down.

"That is, the secretary-general they mentioned."

Thump! Thump! Thump! Sam's face was even stiffer than Red's now. He was sweating profusely and kowtowed frantically.

It doesn't matter if you don't understand the significance of the Secretary-General's title. As a noble of the Northern Territory, it's enough to know that she also holds the title of Executive Vice-Lord.

To put it bluntly, the last person to mobilize troops and oppose her was Miss Luna, and all the nobles in Ice City, regardless of their rank, knelt before the Duke the next day.

In short, whoever sides with the young lady will lose their head.

"It would be a shame to damage such a fine floor."

This was the last thing Elena said. After that, Sam gave a full account of his conversation with the princess, as well as the details of his conversation with the other nobles involved, and also detailed his crimes of exploiting the people in recent years.

Mofi recorded the information, Red organized it, and after he pressed the last fingerprint, Elena picked up the document without even glancing at Sam. She lightly dusted off the dust on her skirt and got up to leave.

Back at the banquet, the more Mofi looked at the nobles fawning over the princess, the more terrified he became.

While instructing him to lead the nobles in warmly welcoming the princess, the duke simultaneously ordered Eleanor and Red to secretly monitor her and gather evidence...

There's nothing I can do, brothers and sisters. Things have come to this point, and even I, as the older brother, can't do anything about it.

Enjoy this final celebration to the fullest.

The old count drank alone, the bitter wine stinging his throat and causing him heartache. He never imagined that his kind act would become the key to the Duke drawing his sword.

From the moment he saw Elena at home, he knew something bad was going to happen.

The Duke had indeed anticipated the princess's efforts to win over the nobles, but just as he began his plan, he himself revealed that some nobles had already taken concrete action...

Sigh, it doesn't make sense no matter how you look at it. Why wouldn't the Duke know?

Elena: Yeah, why?

The old count knew all too well that not concealing anything was the greatest act of loyalty. If those in power were completely unaware of an ongoing event, it would escalate into a very serious political incident.

Just as he had expected, almost every servant in the Duke's mansion was trembling with fear and dared not utter a sound under the oppressive atmosphere, for fear of disturbing the Duke.

Inside the office, Oswald, holding the report, paced to the window and posted it one by one.

With the sunlight blocked, the view inside the room became increasingly dim, and a shadow gradually fell over the faces of Eleanor and Red, who were kneeling on one knee.

Oswald's gaze was inscrutable. After posting the last report, he stepped forward with interest. Among the dense text and names, he could only make out two words.

south.

The commercial districts in the south are mostly inhabited by business aristocrats, who may still believe that they are conducting business with the princess in a legitimate and aboveboard manner.

But Oswald didn't have much political understanding with them; he only cared about one thing.

These densely packed commercial terms, covering everything from iron ore, leather, sugar, and provisions to warhorses and weapons, were enough for any one person to raise a standard army of no less than ten thousand men in the kingdom within a year.

In my previous life, I don't think I ever found this many things in their house...

Oswald became interested; perhaps in his previous life, these nobles had already made cooperation with certain people and secretly transferred their assets.

With the southern region bordering the central region and waterways controlled by the nobility, Oswald would have no way of discovering what they might be up to in secret.

Could it be that I was tricked by the nobles in my previous life, and now I've been tricked by the princess again?