After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

After spending more than a week playing with Luna, another mischievous little devil, Lisa, finally arrived in Ice City from Starfall City.

Wherever the two went, chaos ensued. Perhaps out of habit, the few old men dressed in strange robes could only sigh helplessly at Lisa and Lina's intrusion into their home.

"Teleportation array... We don't have the materials to set up an anchor point. Besides, most of the mages in our Northern Territory are in Starfall City. What would we need a teleportation array for?"

Lisa and Luna, with foxtail grass in their mouths, squatted in a corner by the city wall. She didn't understand why the Duke had asked her about the teleportation array as soon as he saw her.

The Duke himself is usually very frugal, so it's impossible that he would be willing to spend money to build something so expensive.

"I think we could set up an anchor point in Starfall City. When you're locked in a fierce battle, a beam of light could carry me down from the sky and sound the horn of counterattack."

Luna's hands were busy, skillfully combining the materials she had "borrowed" from the alchemist and stuffing them into a tin can the size of an orange.

The final step involves pouring the secretly scraped python bone powder into a metal can, sealing it with adhesive, and a flashbang is successfully produced.

Luna chatted with Lisa casually, and in less than half an hour, she had created a dozen flashbangs.

Not far away, Paul, who was pretending to be on guard but actually watching over the two little ones, had no idea at this moment how much turmoil his children's tricks would cause in the royal city.

The delegation was ready, and the highly respected old Earl Morpheus was once again conscripted by Oswald.

For some reason, when the two met again, Oswald saw a deathly aura on his face, like that of a workaholic... Although he knew that his mental state was not good, and you shouldn't ask why, the old count had to go with him.

Otherwise, what if others look down on the Northern Territory and say that there are no nobles there?

"An old steed may lie in wait, but its heart still yearns to gallop a thousand miles."

Standing in front of the city gate, Oswald patted Mofy on the shoulder, causing Mofy, along with his large belly, to tremble three times, probably flattered.

"Lao Luo, if you are not comfortable in the royal city, I welcome you to live in the northern territory."

Looking at Oswald's sincere smile, Paul didn't dwell on being called by the wrong name. Feeling a warmth in his heart, he bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Grace."

"Don't be naughty." Oswald walked up to Luna and gently patted her head.

"You too." Lisa, who was standing next to her, also couldn't escape the clutches.

The two little ones nodded hastily, making no mention of the dangerous items they had hidden in the carriage.

Having given all that needed to be said, the cavalry mounted their horses and escorted the carriage southward toward the capital.

Oswald hadn't expected Frank to set aside his pride and write a letter to Luna. Frank appeared gentle on the surface, but he possessed ruthless methods; in some ways, he was a qualified king.

But the environment still had a very strong influence on him. A king who is surrounded by nobles all day long, whose main concern is maintaining the balance of power in the upper class, and who spends year after year trying to win over and suppress others, will feel powerless even if he wants to govern the country well.

At most, it was just a reluctant attempt to maintain his rule. No nobleman who supported or opposed him would allow the king to focus his attention anywhere other than them. Isn't that a kind of pure love?

The history of this world is ridiculous; it's always the same: kings overthrowing nobles, or nobles overthrowing kings. It's as if changing who's in the position would solve some problems.

What if the country can no longer function?

It's simple: use bloodletting to kill off a large number of people before the peasants rebel or revolt, or throw them into the meat grinder of the demon war, perfectly avoiding the dynastic cycle.

The only thing that comforted Oswald was that in his previous life, Elene had led them to successfully launch a massive grassroots uprising.

Brave one, it was those nobles who ruined you. Never follow their example again. You can't control the commoners of the Northern Territory.

Watching Luna and her group depart, Oswald stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze gradually hardening, and said solemnly.

"Elena, relay my orders to secretly dispatch one thousand cavalry and one thousand knights to the southern commercial district. Also, inform Kate to prepare the warhorses and be ready to be deployed at my command."

"Yes, Your Grace."

……

The royal city was hot and dry. After a busy day, Maria returned to the Papacy, her steps light and cheerful, oblivious to the sweat on her face, and hurried to Archbishop John's office.

Their plan was progressing smoothly. A count whom the princess had previously courted, tempted by money, agreed to give up a small town in his territory near the southern territory.

The procedures were approved quickly. King Frank didn't care about one or two small towns and simply nodded and signed, agreeing to make Annie the new lord there.

Frank thought this was a good plan. Before the delegation from the Northern Territory arrived, he would send Annie, who had inexplicably appeared in the capital, away. Perhaps this would also win him some goodwill from Oswald.

Having taken the first step steadily, the next step is to shift positions. Although the capital is prosperous and the political center of the country, they currently do not hold real power, so expanding outwards is the best option at present.

As usual, Annie's face remained expressionless. She neither agreed nor disagreed with their plan, and silently packed her luggage before heading to the territory alone.

Lilith set off today, and some of her admirers went with her.

With Nicole's substantial financial support, coupled with the outstanding students who graduated from these top universities, it's believed that Lilith, who grew up in military camps, will soon be able to build a powerful elite force in her territory.

When the Central District and the Southern Territory clash, with their strength, earning military merits won't be difficult. The only question is whether they can seize the marquisate in one fell swoop...

Everyone started taking action, and Maria felt she couldn't fall behind. She had to arrange for a few excellent nuns or paladins to go to the territory.

Oh, and she also needs to write to Sioux, asking him to help train a royal guard in the Western Territory to further strengthen their power.

Maria knocked on the door, and after receiving permission, she pushed it open and went straight to the point.

"Archbishop, I have something I'd like to ask you."

John, having crushed the candy in his mouth, looked at the newcomer, chuckled, and stroked his beard. "It's rare to see you come to beg me. So, what is it?"

Maria stepped forward and offered to massage John's back, pleading, "My good friend Annie has become a lord, and I would like to send ten nuns and ten paladins to help her manage the territory."

Upon hearing this, John showed no surprise whatsoever. However, a small town requiring ten paladins...

"Yes, valuing friendship is a fine virtue, but Holy Maiden, you've been so busy lately, haven't you noticed that our Holy See is missing something?"

"What's missing?" Maria asked curiously. She looked around, as if suddenly realizing something, and quickly leaned down to whisper in John's ear, "I have a crimson pearl from the ocean. I'll send it to you, Archbishop."

John lowered his eyes, smiled kindly, and said, "Hehe, you can go now. I'll make arrangements for you later."

Having received the archbishop's promise, Maria left contentedly, completely unaware of the sudden change in John's expression as she turned away.

After the door closed, John took out the letter he hadn't finished reading from the drawer.

He has three intelligence reports: one is written by Sutt, which mainly reports that after Paul was seriously injured in his battle against the necromancer, he was taken away by the Northern Army and his whereabouts are unknown; the other is that Duke Oswald of the Northern Territory broke into the Western Territory, defeated the necromancer, and abducted a large number of disaster victims.

Another piece of intelligence came from a spy disguised as a merchant. It is said that the one protecting Miss Luna during the Northern Territory's southward journey was none other than the Holy Knight Commander Paul.

Finally, the king issued two orders. One was a reward for the hero Thorne, appointing him as one of the commanders of the royal guard, but Thorne refused.

Frank considered bestowing a title upon Thorne, after all, Thorne was a hero who had passed the proper examination. While not every hero is as great as the first hero, quite a few lead mediocre lives…

But at least the heroes are exceptionally talented, a golden brand in the eyes of the people, and recruiting them is always the best option.

The nobles disagreed. Titles weren't something the king could bestow at will. If a brave warrior wanted to climb the ranks and integrate into their circle, it wouldn't be the same as what students or adventurers did. Everything had to be done according to the rules.

So Frank simply gave Thorne some money and that was the end of it.

Another order was also rejected by many nobles. The delegation from the Northern Territory has already headed south, but no noble from the capital city is willing to represent the king in the Northern Territory.

A person's name is like a tree's shadow; even nobles fear it. Who can guarantee that Oswald won't suddenly decide to behead them with a single sword stroke?

The king searched through the list of nobles and found it strange that not a single one of them was on good terms with Oswald. Upon further investigation of Oswald's maternal clan, he discovered that Luna and Oswald were now the only remaining members of their clan.

Finally, having exhausted all other options, Frank again tried to persuade John to personally travel to the Northern Territory. The old man, however, said he didn't want to go out, and besides, his guards had already been taken away, so he passed the buck back to John.

John estimated that this matter would likely fall on Queen Barbara's family.

He didn't care about the past grievances between the royal family and the Northern Territories; what he cared about now was Paul's attitude toward the Papacy.

Paul did not immediately report his recovery to the Vatican, which suggests that the saint's actions back then have been exposed.

Putting himself in Paul's shoes, John felt nothing but overwhelming hatred and rage.

Betrayal is an extremely serious crime, and I, as the one who concealed it, am also an accomplice.

John judged almost immediately that Paul was there for revenge; now was not the time to gamble on the other man's character.

Oswald, that rascal who loves a good show, used the guise of an envoy to place Paul in the elite cavalry, ensuring that the Papacy would have no opportunity to harm Paul before they entered the capital.

This is troublesome...

Whether it's the news of the saint's assassination of the paladin commander being revealed, or the scene of Paul drawing his sword to confront the Papacy happening before the world's eyes, it will cause incalculable damage to the Papacy!

Suddenly, John clenched his fist and spat out the crumbs of sugar from his mouth. It seemed he had no choice but to take a risky step.