Lilith felt that she had become increasingly devout lately. At least the materialist Lilith now desperately hoped that the Goddess would respond to her, a once-not-so-devout Saintess.
Augustuses were holding a meeting under Lilith’s nose without her, the Queen, being present. Anyone with common sense would understand what the Augustuses were discussing.
“Your Majesty, we have news from the Northern Border.”
Nora rushed into the study, presenting Lind’s latest letter and the most recent intelligence from the Northern Border.
Lilith nervously took the heavy letter and placed it on the desk.
To be honest, these male leads were not as reliable as she had imagined, like the rotten idea that Nora had come up with.
Although the idea was to have Lilith ally with the Graythorn Territory, which gave her some leverage, that governor of the Graythorn Territory was not an easy character; he was an ambitious transmigrator.
Allying with him would be like drinking poison to quench thirst, intensifying her conflicts with the Augustuses. But one couldn’t blame Nora; after all, Lilith’s conflict with the Augustuses was already deep-rooted, and to be honest, the alliance didn’t really change much.
Furthermore, Lilith indeed needed this alliance. Although it would make the Augustuses trust her even less, at least with this alliance, the Augustuses wouldn’t do anything to her in the short term.
After carefully examining the wax seal, Lilith cautiously pried it open and took out the letter.
Unexpectedly, the transmigrator on the other side agreed to the ridiculous request for an alliance, and trade in firearms and cannons would soon begin; several cannons as a reward had already been transported to the Royal Capital along with this letter.
It was clearly Lilith who proposed this alliance, but now that the other party truly agreed, the corners of her eyes twitched slightly.
She had recognized someone with the same name as her older brother from another world as a brother. She wondered how her older brother in heaven would view this. By the way, can people in heaven see another world?
Forget it, let’s just assume it’s her older brother’s blessing.
Lilith calmed her emotions; she didn’t expect such a ridiculous idea to actually be approved.
However, at the same time, Lilith gained a deeper understanding of her situation. The transmigrator’s agreement to the alliance was also a form of stirring the pot, right? He couldn’t really want to help her, could he?
“With this, Your Majesty’s position is temporarily secured. Therefore, the plans we discussed earlier can also start to progress.”
Seeing Lilith’s expression, Nora could roughly guess the content of the letter.
With Lilith’s help, Nora had promoted reforms in agriculture, judiciary, and finance to improve efficiency, reduce the power of nobles, and increase the country’s tax revenue.
These reforms, although they strengthened the central government’s control, had faced strong opposition from the Old Party, and currently, the Old Party seemed to be leaning towards collusion with the royal family, forcing Nora to slow down the pace of reform.
With the alliance with the governor of the Graythorn Territory, the long-planned serf reform might finally be able to be put on the agenda.
“Let’s wait a bit longer.”
But Lilith stopped Nora first.
“We need to wait a bit longer.”
The more it came to this, the less Lilith dared to relax. At this moment, Lilith’s power was truly overwhelming, so much so that it even scared her.
Nora was stunned for a moment at this response, but seeing Lilith gaze in a certain direction, she understood.
The alliance merely provided Lilith with an additional card; it did not mean that the royal family would give up. Moreover, the internal meeting of the royal family had not yet concluded.
Nora wanted to step forward to comfort Lilith, but as she stepped out, she stopped again. Lilith was already the Queen, while Nora was merely her chancellor.
Thinking this, Nora bowed and exited the study.
The next day, Lilith, who originally thought Cliff was coming to discuss things with her, never imagined her best friend Claire would show up instead.
“Our Queen has been so busy lately that you’ve become quite distant with me.”
Claire teased Lilith while personally pouring her tea.
“What’s wrong? Not slouching in your chair like before?”
It was clear that Claire had put a lot of thought into this conversation, wanting to help Lilith relax a bit.
Lilith shifted her petite body but still sat up straight and said, “I’ve somewhat gotten used to it now.”
“Well, my Queen, you’ve completely turned into a lady now; it’s a pity my brother can’t see that.”
Seeing that Lilith still wore a serious expression, Claire sighed and sat back down.
“So, what exactly did you all talk about yesterday? Do you think the reforms have been completed and want to get rid of me?”
Upon hearing Lilith say this, Claire asked disappointedly, “Do we really have to discuss serious matters now?”
Hearing Claire mention what she had previously said at the women’s meeting, Lilith finally relaxed a little and responded, “Are you not here for the meeting you held yesterday?”
Claire didn’t correct Lilith’s mistake regarding her title, as it seemed to help Lilith relax. After all, no one dared to nitpick the queen’s minor etiquette flaws, especially in such informal settings.
“It is about yesterday’s meeting, and it is also to catch up with you, Your Majesty.”
Claire’s lips curled into a faint smile as she said, “Please rest assured, at least I am very satisfied with what you have done, though there have been some discordant voices recently, I will always support you. It’s just a pity that the true mastermind behind my brother’s assassination has not been punished.”
Upon hearing this, Lilith was finally a bit moved, and a trace of exhaustion appeared on her tense face.
“Alright, let’s not talk about that. Let’s discuss some recent lighter matters in the Royal Capital, shall we? Your relationship with Governor Lind; are you really siblings?”
“Your Highness, you actually believe those rumors?”
Lilith finally completely relaxed, resting her head on the table, tiredly saying, “I don’t even know where it came from. My father hasn’t left the Eastern Border other than that one time he came to the Royal Capital before.”
“Then why did Your Majesty’s father come to the Royal Capital last time?”
When Claire asked this question, Lilith instinctively avoided eye contact, her expression a bit flustered, but she quickly regained her composure.
“To see me and to deal with some matters at home, so I wouldn’t have to worry or give special care to my family; everything at home is sufficient. He was afraid I would be targeted and forget my family after becoming Queen.”
“Oh, what a good father. In fact, Your Majesty, you don’t have to worry; even if you support your family a bit, no one would say anything, considering your father’s character; these are things he deserves.”
Claire keenly noticed Lilith’s moment of fluster but acted as if nothing had happened, continuing to chat with Lilith about interesting things in the Royal Capital.
