After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

Back in Ice City, Oswald sent Red and the knights north with the refugees, while he entered the city alone.

Luna skipped over and was scooped up by Oswald and placed on his horse.

After the bandages were removed from her arm, the girl returned to her usual carefree lifestyle.

The two rode together on one horse, slowing their pace towards the Duke's mansion. Oswald patted Luna's wobbly little head and asked with a smile.

"During my absence, has anything major happened in the Northern Territory?"

Luna thought for a moment, "No, but the king wrote me a letter. Is that a big deal?"

Upon hearing this, Oswald became interested. "You could say that. Tell me, what did he write?"

"The king wants to clarify the misunderstanding with you, brother, saying that the princess's contact with the southern nobles was not authorized by him, and he also wants to exchange envoys with us to restore normal relations."

Oswald nodded. It seemed Frank was getting restless and was trying to divide and conquer.

There are no friends in officialdom, and no right or wrong in the court or among the people.

Neither the militarily powerful Northern Territory nor the recently rising Eastern Territory were actually within Frank's considerations.

What he really wanted to deal with was the Southern lords who openly opposed him.

Currently, the overall strength of the Western Territory has been weakened by the Bone Dragons, and Frank's efforts to help Duke Tristana have failed to win the loyalty of this neutral party. It is estimated that he will not consider trying to win him over for a long time to come.

The Duke of Dale, who is loyal to Queen Barbara, is the king's ally on the surface, but one that needs to be guarded against. The two sides are currently in a period of cooperation and will not break off relations for the time being.

In other words, once the North is appeased, Frank can focus on reforming the Southern Territory, and the kingdom's political struggles will quickly come to an end.

Historically, when a new ruler ascends the throne, he always needs to establish his prestige through a war. Just like in the previous life, Frank also chose to attack the Southern Territory this time.

The next question is whether the timing of his choice will change. In his previous life, Frank acted swiftly and decisively shortly after the plague ended, mobilizing a large army to quell the "rebellion" in the Southern Territory.

In this lifetime, Oswald guessed that there would probably be no new changes.

After all, the Northern Territory and the Central District still need to sit down and have a proper talk. Who knows what changes might occur then?

As for the selection of the delegation... Oswald preferred Luna, who had the right status and position, and also had some connections with Frank.

However, he worried that some people might resort to desperate measures and threaten Luna's personal safety.

Oswald couldn't find a suitable bodyguard for the time being. Elene's trip to the capital would inevitably trigger a riot, and Jenny would also need to assist him in preventing the plague.

"Is Paul awake yet?"

Luna nodded like a chick pecking at rice. "He's awake. He said earlier that he wanted to meet his brother."

"Go." Oswald picked up Luna and gently placed her on the ground. "Bring him here; I need to discuss something with him."

……

When Oswald saw Paul again, he felt as if he had been through a lifetime. His once golden hair had become much duller, and he looked rather listless.

This flower, in the end, withered. Those few figures who had left a deep impression on Oswald in his previous life and were worthy of his respect were the first to fall in this chaos.

The dragon slayer Baird was like this, and so was the paladin Paul.

Paul bowed, trembling, as always, his posture and manners impeccable.

"Please sit down."

Oswald sighed and asked Luna to bring him a chair.

"Duke Xie"

If Hughes was so selfish that it left people speechless, Oswald now also didn't know how to comfort this upright man who had lived a life of integrity.

Humans are complicated by emotions, with love and hate intertwined in memories. We fill our lives with the shadow of someone, feeling warmed by their kindness at a certain moment, but we never realize that what we truly need is liberation.

Love goes unanswered, hate goes unanswered, should one remain silent or roar?

Maria couldn't possibly frame Paul out of hatred. She was someone who firmly believed in her own great love. But the most tragic thing is that she was probably just acting out of pure rationality, thinking that Paul shouldn't be so dazzling and should make way for her future as soon as possible.

That's all the so-called motivation.

Archbishop John was the same; Paul was a child he could be proud of, but when he was a step too late in discovering Maria's actions, he quickly and calmly chose to protect Maria.

After all, Paul had no future to speak of, and for the sake of the Vatican, Mary, as a saint, could not be tainted in any way.

"I just heard from Elena that Jenny has already examined you. Although your injuries can heal, you only have about six months to live."

"If there's anything you wish for that you can't tell them, just tell me, and I'll see if I can help you fulfill it."

After saying that, Oswald couldn't help but have an absurd thought pop into his mind: If all the pure love warriors are gone, won't this world be full of harem kings and minotaurs?

Paul was somewhat flustered by Oswald's sudden concern, but finally smiled gently. "There is a small matter that I'm a little worried about, and I need to trouble the Duke with it."

Oswald waved his hand. "It's no trouble at all. Just tell me."

Upon hearing this, Paul struggled to his feet and earnestly pleaded with him.

"In the southeast of the Eastern Territory, bordering the Elf Kingdom, there is a small village called Wood Wheel Village, which is well-known for processing high-quality Elf wood and producing wheels."

"Most of the people in the village are associated with a cult called the Mechanicus... If the Vatican ever wants to wipe them out, I hope the Duke can help them. They themselves have not committed any crimes."

The Mechanicus? Oswald was stunned.

Isn't this an idyllic pastoral world of swords and magic? Where did these machines come from? I haven't even unlocked the gunpowder and steam engine technologies here, and now you're telling me that someone is preparing for mechanical ascension?

Oswald sensed something was amiss. As a time traveler, he knew all too well that machines represented progress in productivity, and once created, they would immediately bring about changes in the world, not disappear so quietly.

Your Vatican needs to crack down on heretics, but the ruling class over there wants to be capitalists.

"I can agree to that, but please sit down and tell me slowly. What exactly is this Mechanicus?"

Paul nodded, as if relieved. "The specific source is most likely from within the Elven Kingdom. Elves have long lifespans and have recorded and preserved many things from the past, and the Mechanicus is one of them."

"Initially, it was within the elves that heretics emerged who believed in the mechanical cult. They claimed that the bodies created by the goddess were a bondage to the soul, and they created many strange things to modify their bodies in order to achieve liberation of their souls."

"Later, the upper echelons of the Elven Kingdom began a large-scale purge of heretics. Some elves who were lucky enough to survive went to human territories to spread their doctrines. They had very few true believers, and most of them died during the physical modifications. The problem was that among these heretics, the proportion of magicians and alchemists was very high. They would take the initiative to help the nearby villagers, asking them to cover for them and help them evade the Church's pursuit."

Are they a bunch of lunatics, or...?

Oswald tapped the table with his fingers. The original work did mention Paul's purge of heretics, but it was usually mentioned in passing, so he only learned about the existence of the Mechanicus now.

In my previous life, I wonder if all these people were wiped out by the Vatican at some point?

It seems I need to make contact with these people as soon as possible and obtain complete intelligence.

"Well, besides this, do you have any other wishes?"

Paul shook his head. "I have already received much help from the Duke. Now that the bell of fate has rung, I hope that in my lifetime the Duke will give me a chance to repay your kindness."

No, you should thank Luna's personal guards; they always like to pick up people, and you can't even turn off their auto-pickup skill.

Oswald glanced silently at Luna sitting on the small chair next to him. Luna, who was taking notes, looked up, blinked, and looked bewildered.

"It's not about gratitude or anything like that. You should think more about yourself now, and what your plans are for the future."

In an instant, Paul thought a lot. He didn't want to accept this fate, but his only options besides fantasy were death.

"I want to... go back to the Vatican."

"Is that so?" Oswald looked down and sensed his disappointment, and finally abandoned his decision to imprison Paul in Ice City.

Perhaps they shouldn't have revealed the buried truth, and perhaps it was a stroke of luck for Paul to meet Janice, who was also a faculty member and an idealist.

In his previous life, Paul belatedly discovered the abnormality in his body and ultimately died alone and forlorn in the wilderness.

This time, he learned the truth in advance and saw that Jenny was taking a different path. Even Oswald couldn't help but wonder what choice he would make after returning to the royal city.

Just like the song playing on the system: Time has passed and will never return, the past can only be reminisced... You are about to leave, just like time cannot be turned back...

Now that time has turned back, something must change.

Still unable to shake the habit of wanting to cry whenever he sees Paul, Oswald rubbed his temples and said with emotion, "Didn't you say you wanted to repay me? I'll arrange for Luna to lead the delegation to the capital later, and you can go with her as Luna's bodyguard."

Two pairs of eyes turned to her at the same time. Luna was very excited. When she left, she had three hundred cavalrymen. You can call me Miss Luna, and I won't mind.

Now that I have helped my brother slaughter many nobles in the east, and I have eight hundred elite cavalry under my command, with the Holy Knight Commander protecting me when we travel, tell me, what should you call me?

As soon as Luna stood up, Oswald lightly tapped her on the head. "Don't always think about showing off. Always remember to assess the risks before doing anything. Take Lisa with you this time; she's an excellent magician and can help you on this trip."

Luna quickly bowed respectfully, "Yes, I understand, brother."

After a brief moment of thought, Paul seemed to understand something and rose to his feet, bowing as well, saying, "Yes, Your Grace, please rest assured, I will ensure that Miss Luna leaves the royal city safely."