After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

The sound of horses' hooves shattered the darkness, and a guiding light appeared ahead.

The chase broke out, and the cavalry immediately changed direction. At the rear of the column, pools of ink-like shadows moved at high speed, rapidly folding and expanding as they closed in, forming a chaotic and twisted black line.

Luna leaped off her horse, and the sound of a sword being drawn echoed from the darkness. A sudden gust of wind exploded, the howling wind merging with the densely woven shadows.

In an instant, Luna vanished from her spot. Her blurry figure rapidly intertwined in mid-air, the black lines connecting the blades spinning, the impact of their collisions and the metallic sounds echoing, the speed of which was dazzling.

Reversing the flow of energy, Luna moved backward rapidly, unleashing her abilities to the fullest. The black shadow's speed was not slowed down in the slightest, sweeping in with a chilling light. Sparks flew continuously in the darkness, blooming towards the forest along the high-speed flash between the two.

"Paul, are you protecting me, or am I protecting you?!"

With a small cut on her face, Luna fell from the woods, but was pulled up by the cavalry. Using the momentum, she leaped into the air and quickly returned to her horse by stepping on the cavalrymen's shoulders.

Lisa then floated into the air, her staff glowing brightly, and a magic circle surrounding it emitted dense beams of magic. Streams of magic surged and pierced through the shadowy figure, like two turbulent undercurrents colliding violently, instantly suppressing the shadowy figure's speed.

Firelight broke out again ahead, and the cavalry quickened their pace, cutting straight through the woods.

After creating some distance, the dark figure rushed out of the woods, and Paul, who had been waiting for this moment, raised his longsword high.

"Blazing Star, the Divine Word has fallen!"

The earth suddenly cracked open, and every inch of space reacted violently in a chain-like manner. High-temperature energy, accompanied by red light, poured out and quickly annihilated everything in front of us.

The dark shadow vanished the moment it came into contact with the red light, and all material structures, including the forest and soil, were disintegrated, with a terrifying shockwave releasing a thick white mist.

Luna was almost thrown off her horse by the shock. She came to Paul's side, who looked a little weak, and silently observed the deep pit in the ground for a while.

This guy is pretty strong...

"it's over?"

Lisa landed lightly, her staff lit up, and a gentle breeze dispersed the white mist.

Within the scorched pit, five mangled corpses emanating a strange odor appeared, along with several extinguished candlesticks scattered around.

Paul stepped forward and picked up the candlesticks. These antique objects were made of bronze and had a long history.

"The remaining shadowy figures should still be nearby, perhaps waiting for us to lower our guard." Paul put away the candlestick and said in a deep voice, "Let's listen to Count Morpheus and find a place with water to spend the night."

Luna crossed her arms, recalling what had happened, and looked speechless. "It's all your fault. You were too careless and fell into such an obvious trap."

Lisa immediately switched to pointing and criticizing mode, "Exactly! The Duke told us to keep your secret, but look what happened! Who can you hide your little secret from?"

Paul was speechless at their words; he was truly flustered. But... just how gossipy are you Northern Territories? It seems like everyone knows everything about my affairs.

Last time I was in Harbin, there was this buck-toothed middle-aged woman who would come over to comfort him all the time, and even said she would help him find a good girl...

"Are you happy now? We can sleep with one eye open now." Luna kept smacking her lips. "Falling in love with a woman who doesn't love you will only hurt you, Paul."

"Does the king love the queen? Does the queen love the king, and her entourage? With so many clear examples before you, don't you understand?"

The three men caught up with the main force on horseback and continued towards the river. Paul remained silent as they rode, while the two little girls beside him chattered excitedly, seemingly unaffected by the battle.

"A woman, I can't live without her; yet I can't live without her. A man, it's all the same whether he's loved or not." Lisa spoke as if uttering a famous quote, even astonished by her own astonishing discovery. "Paul, as a paladin, haven't you noticed a crucial issue?"

"There are only goddesses in the world, no gods!"

Lisa raised her staff high and said with utmost seriousness, "This shows that even the goddess doesn't care about love. A life of solitude is the goddess's ultimate test for you!"

"That's right, that's exactly it." Luna thumped her chest and pointed, indicating her agreement with her best friend's theory.

Paul... why did I agree to be the young lady's bodyguard in the first place?

The group rode their horses across a small river. After resting for a while, they cleared a space by the river, lit a campfire, and sat around it.

The tent and most of the luggage were discarded and could only be retrieved the next morning. This night was destined to be sleepless and difficult.

The mastermind behind Paul's assassination is easy to deduce.

But everyone tacitly refrained from mentioning it. Paul thanked them for their understanding and thanked Luna and the others for not abandoning him.

It was obvious that these shadowy figures were targeting Paul alone, and the two children were also part of a carefully designed trap aimed at him.

The trap is simple, yet effective.

"The world will not become less dirty just because you are pure." The old count walked over, his face still somewhat pale, and patted Paul on the shoulder earnestly before sitting down beside him.

Luna tossed the firewood into the fire. "Why don't you say such philosophical things to my brother?"

"Tell the Duke..." The old count gave an awkward laugh. He'd lived a long time, not that he'd had enough. Advising the Duke to be kind was not something he was qualified to do.

"Let's discuss what to do next," the old count said, changing the subject. He solemnly addressed the three of them, "Politics is extremely dangerous. If we can return to the Northern Territory unscathed, we will have already achieved our goal."

"The Vatican wants to kill Paul to silence him, and some people also want to use Miss Luna to disrupt the situation. Multiple forces are lurking in the shadows, and we can take this opportunity to muddy the waters."

After some thought, everyone nodded in agreement. The king's renewed efforts to win over the northern territories were a strong political signal.

After the initial chaos, the situation in the kingdom is now clear, and the powerful figures in each region have made the appropriate choices.

If Princess Diana hadn't suddenly made some inexplicable moves that caused tension between the Northern Territory and the Central Territory, perhaps the King would have already mustered his army and marched south to quell the rebellion.

The nobles of the southern territories naturally did not want to see such a thing happen.

After their heir apparent was killed in Frank's coup, these people immediately considered settling for a second-best option: securing autonomy and independence for the Southern Territory.

In their minds, the interests of the various dukes were aligned, and even if the other two dukes were as indecisive as Drizzt of the Western Territory, they all had a great chance of gaining independence.

However, aside from the abstract Duke of Dale, the Northern Territory's erratic and contradictory actions are becoming increasingly perplexing.

"It is foreseeable that the Southern Territory's separatists will take this opportunity to attack us. Coupled with the Papacy's targeting of Paul and Princess Diana's potential underhanded tactics, we must be vigilant in any of these situations."

Upon hearing this, Lisa stood up and touched her chin.

"Now that you say so, I understand. Don't worry, I already know what to do next."

The old count was full of questions. No, what did you understand?

Luna then stood up and said in a loud voice, "So, as long as we sign a contract with the king and can return safely to the Northern Territory, we'll have succeeded, right?"

After wiping his face, the old count suddenly had a bad feeling. Wait, my young lady, what have you figured out now?

……

The next day at noon, Frank set up his honor guard outside the city gate, walked on the red carpet, and watched the Northern Territory's delegation approach from afar.

For some reason, the cavalry formation was chaotic, and the overall situation seemed a bit off.

As the honor guard began playing a symphony, Frank silently watched the disheveled cavalry appear before him, and words of welcome immediately stuck in his throat.

Luna, equally filthy, with wounds on her face and bloodstains on her clothes, dismounted. Despite her disheveled appearance, she remained calm and gracefully gave a curtsy.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Frank's eye twitched. "Um... okay, Luna, what's wrong with you?"

"It's just a little bit of hardship."

Luna, with an air of nonchalance, took out a handkerchief and coughed, inadvertently revealing a smear of red blood.

Calmly putting away her handkerchief, Luna took a deep breath and bowed again, saying, "We are exhausted from the journey. I hope Your Majesty will allow us to rest first. The soldiers are utterly exhausted after last night's fierce battle."

After a series of smooth, quick moves, Frank was stunned. He turned around, slowly scanning the crowd behind him with his gaze, then erupted in fury, "Tell me, who was it? Who attacked you?!"

The officials and nobles behind him shuddered, and they all hurriedly lowered their heads, not daring to meet His Majesty's gaze.

Frank was really angry this time.

His anger wasn't about Luna and her group being attacked, but about the fact that his guests had been attacked on his directly controlled territory, and that only one night had passed, and the attack was so close, yet he hadn't received a single word about it!

Who on earth has such power to do things behind his back?

Luna sighed softly, forcing a reassuring and understanding smile. "Your Majesty, please don't ask anymore. If you continue to ask, Your Majesty's kingdom will descend into chaos."

The moment Frank uttered the words "chaos reigns," it felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, suddenly reminding him of the secret report that had come from Ice City.

It is reported that Oswald secretly mobilized troops to the southern commercial district, the exact destination and number of troops are unknown, but it is certain that there has been a large-scale mobilization of personnel among the elite knights of the Northern Territory.

If anything goes wrong during Luna's mission to the royal city, it's hard to predict what Duke Oswald will do.

The celebratory symphony was still playing, but Frank seemed shrouded in a shadow.

He was almost certain that an unforeseen force had its eyes on Luna and the peace between the Northern Territory and the Central District.

There were only four worthwhile objectives within the delegation.

The old count can be ruled out first, as can the count's daughter, Lisa; their status and influence are not enough to cause such a big mess.

Paladin General Paul has ruled out the Archbishop's men, and no one dares to touch him. Furthermore, although the Archbishop has connections with the Northern Territories, Paul is merely acting under orders, and no one would attack him for that reason.

So the other party must be after Luna... But besides the nobles of the Southern Territory, who else has the ability and the intention to disrupt the peace between the Northern Territory and the Central District?