Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

"I sincerely hope that before the Queen's official visit to the Kingdom of Doc, the outstanding young people of the Kingdom of Doc can gather together and appear at the banquet."

Lord couldn't help but stand up, wanting to see Efriam off, but Prince Ali remained firmly seated in his place, his face expressionless from beginning to end.

*

“Speaking of Queen Lusette, another interesting topic comes to mind,” Elwood said.

Elwood peeled the poster of Queen Lucerne off the wall, wiped off the dust, and showed it to Aaron with a smile:

“In addition to studying the history of Lusset, I was recently invited to participate in a very interesting study, which is a new discipline. Let’s call it political iconography for now. The research topic is basically centered around Queen Lusset.”

"Last week, our research topic was why Queen Lucerne's propaganda and speeches were always so powerful and impactful. Although I mostly listened in at the research meeting, their conclusions were quite interesting."

Aaron was stunned. This matter was practically a state secret, yet his teacher had shared it with him so casually.

Elwood pointed to the picture in his hand and said:

“We believe that all of Queen Lucerne’s actions and poses during the propaganda were carefully designed, and all the slogans and even the composition were full of hidden meanings. In fact, the people of Lucerne have created a whole set of aesthetics about Queen Lucerne in their propaganda, the typical example of which is to emphasize the Queen’s femininity while highlighting the Queen’s body and military uniform.”

"As it turns out, this whole propaganda system is very effective, especially for teenagers in their restless adolescence. The Queen completely evoked their romantic fantasies about heroes, and was basically their dream lover or idol. She was very popular among young people. Lusette was far ahead of us in this regard. Many of our scholars even think that this is 'ahead of its time.' We don't even know where Queen Lusette got these experiences from. Her experience and grasp of this propaganda system is as if she had an experienced teacher guiding her. This surprises us greatly."

“Perhaps it’s the effect of the Book of Omniscience,” Aaron said.

Elwood continued speaking at length: "In any case, this has almost opened a new door for us. People's posture, movements, and even the angle of their forward lean can affect the public, something we had never thought about before."

Hearing Elwood's words, he began to seriously read the poster in his hand. It was a solo poster of Queen Lucette. In the poster, Queen Lucette stood sideways, her gaze not fixed on the audience but on the front. She wore gloves and a black cloak, and held an extremely thin sword in her hand, pointing forward. Her gaze was cold and majestic, unconsciously drawing people in.

Aaron stared at the girl in the painting, slightly lost in thought.

Elwood said, "If it were a poster of the King of the Kingdom of Doc, the person in charge would try their best to highlight the dignity and majesty of the royal family. That's why our royal family's promotional posters are always the same. But the Queen's posters are different. They always manage to emphasize the character through actions and poses. For example, the pose that Queen Lusette strikes is a typical pose of a knight in a chivalric novel. Coupled with the cloak that is popular in the army, people immediately associate her with the words army, iron blood, and knights, which greatly enhances her personal charm."

*

Let's rewind to three days ago, at Prince Ali's estate, at the dinner table.

Political iconography was clearly an area of ​​interest for Professor Elwood, who spoke eloquently about it. But after looking at it for a while, Aaron said, "Professor, the reason this picture has a propaganda effect is mainly because the person in the portrait is too good-looking."

Elwood paused, scratching his head. "You're right, but that doesn't mean these actions and elements are useless. The person who designed this poster must have considered these things from the very beginning..."

Aaron certainly believed that these actions and elements were useful, but when Queen Lucerne's face appeared on the poster, a picture was worth a thousand words.

When discussing Empress Lucerne, besides her brilliant military strategy that earned her the approval of an all-knowing god, her beauty is most frequently mentioned. Her beauty is so famous that it is often mentioned together with her military talent, achievements, and her status as empress.

Throughout history, there have been many stunningly beautiful empresses, but she is the only one who conquered nations with her beauty at the age of nineteen.

Even the nations that had vehemently vilified Queen Lusette could only describe her beauty as that of a witch.

Seeing that Aaron was engrossed in watching, Elwood said:

"It's not just the posters; Queen Lucette's influence among young people is also enormous. She is one of the few female monarchs in the Old World today, and a living historical legend who led Lucette from darkness to light and achieved her current status through military exploits. In addition, she is so young and beautiful, so you can imagine how popular she is among young people, how much prestige she has, and how fervently the young people of Lucette would worship her."

Aaron had heard of this before. He'd heard that someone had sculpted a statue of Empress Lucette, and if she had been born a few centuries earlier, she might be a Holy Emperor or something similar today. Aaron was also aware of this, because Freya was a fan of Empress Lucette. Aaron had even seen clothing bracelets with Empress Lucette's image on them in Freya's room; it seemed that such items were popular among young women, something even Aaron had heard about.

"Moreover, because she possesses the Book of Omniscience, many people also direct their divination and prophecies to her, supposedly to increase the success rate. In some fortune-telling shops today, there are already statues of Queen Lucerne, crystal balls, and even spices for sale, which are said to be very popular. She is also extremely popular in the field of mysticism."

At this point, even Elwood sighed, "Moreover, Queen Lucerne came from a commoner background and her family was not wealthy. She rose to this position through hard work and luck. There are very few monarchs like her in history. In the past, such a background would have made her look bad in the eyes of the nobility, but at the same time, it also made her very popular among the common people."

Chapter 148 The Empress's Marriage

Before they knew it, they had reached the end of the square. The procession in front of the church square was still going on. Aaron and Professor Elwood watched the entire procession and chatted for a long time before finally saying goodbye. Aaron silently watched Professor Elwood's back as he left. He was truly grateful to Professor Elwood for today.

After Elwood left, he looked at the poster in his hand again, turned around, and prepared to return home.

*

Meanwhile, at Shelton Palace.

“Uncle!” Lord stared at Prince Ali, his gaze burning as if he wanted to devour him.

"Don't look at me like that, it will make others think that I'm trying to arrange a marriage between you." Prince Ali sat in his chair, calmly reading the newspaper.

Lord nearly groaned in pain and couldn't help but look out the window. Shelton Palace was only 500 meters from the Imperial Hotel, but he had been trapped here before he even set off.

“Uncle, I’m not a child anymore.” Lord said helplessly as he approached Prince Ali.

“Politically, you are no different from an infant.” Prince Ali’s reply was quite scathing, clearly showing no intention of giving Lord any face.

Lord was speechless, but he couldn't argue back. Arguing was never his forte; he always preferred to subdue people with his fists. His adjutant handled the explanations and cleanup for him.

"and many more……"

Lord suddenly seemed to realize something and put his hands on the table: "Uncle Ali, I am not the first member of the Doc royal family to want to marry into the Lucette royal family, right? My ancestors married into the Lucette royal family."

Upon hearing this, Prince Ali, unusually, looked at him with newfound respect, putting down his coffee and saying:

“You’re right. If we’re really going to trace it back, you even have some Lucette royal blood. Your ancestors included members of the Ofranc royal family.”

Lord's eyes lit up: "Since my ancestors intermarried with the Lucerne royal family, isn't it only natural for us to continue intermarrying? If I successfully marry Queen Lucerne, my children will even have the right to claim Lucerne, and my children should be proud of me!"

"Do you know which of your ancestors married into the Lusset family?" Prince Alli suddenly asked.

Lord opened his mouth, then choked; historical knowledge and explanation were not his forte.

“I think you’re not just impatient for quick success, you’re lustful. Is thinking with your lower body how you’re going to make your descendants proud?” Prince Ali mocked.

“Wait a minute,” Lord started brainstorming, and after thinking for a while, he said a name, “Henry…”

"Wrong. The first man to marry Lucette was Roman the Lionheart, your great-great-great-grandfather. His wife was a powerful duchess in the Old World, who inherited vast territories and immense wealth at a young age. Roman III agreed to the marriage, even though it lasted less than two months. Their union brought a large amount of territory to the Kingdom of Doc, which became the catalyst for later wars. Lucette's subsequent marriages with Doc were merely attempts to mend the wounds of those wars," Prince Allie explained.

Lord listened, somewhat bewildered. To be honest, he wasn't particularly interested in matters of ancestry, but he understood the conclusion: in short, his great-great-great-grandfather had married into the Lucerne family. Not only had they formed a political alliance through marriage, but intermarriage between the two countries was even considered a tradition. So he said:

“Since my great-great-great-great-grandfather and the Lucerne royal family have intermarried, it’s only natural that we continue to intermarry. I should carry on my great-great ...grandfather’s legacy!”

"Yes, your great-great-great-great-grandfather did indeed marry into the Lucerne family, but you forgot the most important point: the current queen is of commoner origin and has no relation to the Lucerne royal family whatsoever. Not only is there no relation, but the queen almost killed your great-great-great-grandfather's entire family. If you have to say, the queen is your enemy. Our Gregory family has no tradition of marrying our enemies, so let's not even talk about it."

Lord: "..."

"Is there anything else you'd like to say?" Prince Ali picked up the newspaper again.

Lord silently withdrew.

Prince Ali shook his head.

*

"Have you heard? Queen Lucerne is hosting an invitation party in Rhodoren..."

Aaron, who was about to return home from Frisinhof University, was taken aback.

"An invitation? What's that?" another person asked.

"I don't know, but I heard that all those invited were outstanding young people, like the sons of princes and dukes..."

"Didn't they say Lucert was going to ally with us? Why invite these people?"

"Think about it, how do countries usually form alliances? Isn't it through marriage?"

"A marriage alliance? Could it be between Queen Lucerne and our princes? If it's true, this is truly explosive news..."

"Queen Lusette's marriage is a major piece of news for anyone to see..."

“But isn’t the Queen a saint? According to the doctrine, she should remain pure forever…” another person said.

"Of course there will be exceptions. Think about it, if someone is both a saint and a king, which is more important, the responsibility of procreation or the doctrine? Besides, the marriage partner might be our royal family..."

"If the Kingdom of Doc and the Empire of Lusset really do form a marriage alliance, and the bride is none other than Queen Lusset, then a super-giant alliance will be born..."

Aaron listened to the news silently, looked at the poster in his hand, and said softly, "You've reached this age too."

The sky wasn't completely dark yet, and the school was bustling with activity. Aaron stood in the crowd, and for some reason, he suddenly felt like taking a walk around the campus alone. Elwood was right; he rarely returned to school, and he probably wouldn't have this kind of gathering again. He should take a good look around.

So Aaron came to the lawn next to the library. The library is one of the oldest buildings in the school and has been well preserved. The lawn next to the library has also been preserved. There are many strange rocks on the lawn that students like to sit on.

The students had all gone to watch the grand ceremony, and there were hardly any people on the lawn. Aaron sat down in front of his favorite rock, enjoying the breeze and gazing into the distance at the brightly lit campus under the setting sun. Memories drifted away.

*

Scherdon Palace.

Prince Ali shook his head and called out to him from behind, "Wait."

Lord turned around, but Prince Ali was unusually silent. When Lord grew impatient, he finally said, "Do you know why I've always disagreed with letting you go?"

"why?"

"Because I don't believe she would really ally with us."

"Does Uncle think Averyam is lying?"

"No, what he said is mostly true. The people of Lucerne have been in a state of great distress because of their queen's marriage. For the country, the lack of an heir is indeed a huge hidden danger, and may even cause political instability. Their urgency and anxiety are also real. However, the people of Lucerne have also been using the queen's marriage as a political bargaining chip to exchange for diplomatic advantages."

Chapter 149 Teacher...

"Why?" Lord asked again.

After a long silence, Prince Ali said, "Because she rose from a commoner to become Empress Lucerne, she snatched the crown from the Pope and placed it on her own head, she is recognized by the Book of Omniscience, she is a Valkyrie who sweeps everything on the battlefield, she did not yield to the threat of the Seven Kingdoms back then, I do not believe that she will ally with us because of domestic pressure."

Lord disagreed, believing that no matter what, she was still a woman, and perhaps she also wanted a husband to care for her.

Lord grew up listening to stories of Queen Lusette. He had never actually experienced that era. In his view, Queen Lusette had a thousand reasons to ally with the Kingdom of Doc, and her choice to marry into the Kingdom of Doc was perfectly reasonable. On the contrary, Prince Ari's reasons were untenable.

Prince Allie said, "There have been many theories about why she did not marry. Some believe that she remained unmarried throughout her life to maintain her sacred image and create the myth of the 'Virgin Queen.' Others say that she did not marry to prevent her husband from diluting her power, as she was the kind of person who insisted on holding power firmly in her hands, just like monarchs throughout history. Still others say that she simply never thought about marriage, and that marriage was merely a diplomatic bargaining chip for her, which she used to negotiate with various countries."

"But some people say that she didn't get married because she already had someone she loved. She didn't get married because she was waiting for that person. The number of years she waited shows how deep her feelings for that person were."

Lord scoffed at this idea: "How could someone like her possibly have a sweetheart?"

Prince Ali remained silent, gazing at the sky outside the window. The sky was ablaze with the colors of sunset, and the maple leaves drifting onto the windowpane seemed rather desolate under the enormous setting sun.

Looking at the same sky, Aaron's memories were not as immersed in the lively atmosphere as many others. He was neither happy nor sad, but simply lost in his own recollections.

His memory of that period of history has always been vivid, unlike the cold numbers in history books, the dull facts, or the distorted portraits and illusory beautiful faces on propaganda posters. What lingers in his mind is the real touch of skin, the soft feeling of fingers touching palms, the familiar voices in his ears, and the real people who are completely different from those on propaganda posters.

When you bump into each other at a restaurant, you naturally sit down to eat together and chat about recent events.

While praying at church, she closed her eyes and accidentally leaned against her teacher, and the two of them naturally ended up sitting together.

And then there was the most unforgettable moment later, when she learned of her mother's death.

Upon receiving the news, she immediately sought him out. In a panic, he said nothing, immediately putting down his work to accompany her to her mother's funeral to pay his respects. It was then that the girl said, "I only have my teacher left..."

After that, they enjoyed a period of happiness, and the girl thought that life would continue like this forever.

Until war came...