Regardless, the Graywhite Territory has finally gotten on the right track. Under the guidance of expected standards, the serfs have exhibited an unimaginable enthusiasm for work. What can often be seen in the territory are no longer the overseers waving whips to urge the workers but rather the workers relentlessly urging the team leaders to come check on their progress.
Most of the supplies sent by the Lars Family have been labeled by Lind for the subjects to exchange, but since the territory is still in the early stages of construction, few have come to exchange, and most have only come to trade for some food.
Currently, lacking contact with the outside world, the labeled goods have temporarily replaced the partial function of currency. However, once the territory begins to develop, the labeled goods will turn into a mere contribution accumulation, and the territory that cannot become self-sufficient will definitely rely on external resources to purchase the merchants’ goods. This is also the reason why Lind not only distributes labeled goods but also wants to issue resources.
As usual, Lind stretched lazily and got up in his tent. It wasn’t until he stretched his somewhat stiff arms that he realized that Lila and most of the literate maids had already been assigned their respective positions, enjoying the noble life for just a couple of days, which was then directly ruined by Lind himself.
Just as Lind was lamenting that he too was corrupting under the lavish lifestyle, he noticed that Lena, who usually went hunting early in the mountains every day, was unusually standing at the entrance of his tent.
After confirming that Lind had gotten dressed, Lena entered the tent and respectfully performed a greeting to him using all the etiquette she had learned throughout her life.
This greeting gave Lind goosebumps; he hurriedly helped Lena to sit down and observed her closely, seeming to want to see from Lena’s expression if she had taken the wrong medicine today.
Although they were nominally engaged, Lind and Lena’s relationship was very subtle. The two of them tacitly avoided mentioning their engagement and essentially led their individual lives, with no thoughts of actually getting married. After all, the Northern Border was far from the king, they were already engaged, and the royal family was not pressing them; it seemed that Lena had been forgotten.
Seeing Lind going in circles around her, Lena finally couldn’t help but say, “Brother, don’t worry, I’m fine; I just have something very important to discuss with you today.”
The more Lena said this, the more Lind became fearful. In the game plot, Lena’s mischievous behavior was quite remarkable; she had even disguised herself as a man to write love letters to divert the attention of other women.
“I’m just a bit nervous. I don’t know how to say it to you and I’m not sure if you will support me.”
Lena’s originally heroic and proud face was now filled with tension and unease. Still, Lind didn’t hold back and directly said, “If you don’t know how to say it, then don’t bother.”
Lind truly feared that Lena would suddenly say, “Brother, I’m going to rebel. You won’t not support me, right?”
You should know that although Lind held authority in the territory, the armed forces there were the more than fifty professional knights brought by Lena. These knights could probably single-handedly overturn Lind’s veteran troops, and as long as Lena wished, she could easily create a big scene and seize power.
“What do you mean?”
After saying this, Lena excitedly slammed the table and stood up, seeming to have triggered the desired effect from Lind’s words.
“To be honest, brother, I was originally the betrothed of His Highness the Fourth Prince, but I was forced to come to Graywhite Territory due to the schemes of others.”
Once she opened this subject, Lena seemed to relax a lot and continued, “If you help me seize the royal capital, I will request the royal family to uphold justice for me and restore me as the prince’s wife. If I become queen in the future, I will make you the chancellor of the kingdom!”
Lena’s statement had so many flaws that Lind didn’t know how to respond.
First of all, are you sure you want to go against the royal capital and women? Are you really going to assault the royal capital?
And how are you going to seize the royal capital? Are you planning on attacking it?
Even if you did manage to be appointed as the prince’s wife by the old king who suddenly lost his mind, how would you later make me the chancellor of the kingdom? Will the harem manage it or will the in-laws seize power?
Okay, although such nonsense was not uncommon in the medieval era, wouldn’t it make more sense to wait until the king died first?
What Lind found most ridiculous was that Lena’s words gave him a sense of “I’m Qin Shi Huang, give me 50 and I’ll appoint you as the Grand Chancellor of Qin,” almost indistinguishable from a scam message.
But Lind still managed to hold back his expression. To prevent Lena from truly planning to attack the royal capital, he carefully asked, “Lady Lars, I want to help you; but how do you plan to seize the royal capital?”
“Of course, I will become the heir of the Lars family.”
Lena replied as if it were obvious.
At that moment, Lind, who had not paid much attention to the plot, finally recalled a setting in the game: heirs of the Four Dukes were required to stay in the royal capital’s academy for their studies. Although it resembled a hostage situation, it was actually far more free and held a higher status.
This setting was meant so that the women could justifiably develop relations with those heirs, but now Lena was treating it as a lifeline to seize the royal capital.
After all, in otome games, regardless of whether the setting makes sense or not, the real question is whether it is useful.
“Does the Lars family not have an heir at the moment?”
Lind looked at Lena in confusion. In the game, other heirs from the royal capital had a good impression of women, but it seemed that in the Lars family there was indeed only Lena, and Lena wasn’t even an heir of the Lars family.
Mentioning this caused Lena to suddenly darken in expression. A bit sadly, she said, “The original heir was my cousin, but he went missing five years ago.”
No wonder the game plot didn’t mention who the heir of the Northern Border was at all.
Just when Lind was planning to comfort Lena, she quickly regained her spirit and continued excitedly, “So now the position of heir of the Lars family is completely vacant. Grandpa has set a rule that among the descendants who have actual fiefdoms, whoever governs the territory best and has the most military merit gets to become the next duke.”
Although Lena’s explanation was vague, Lind mostly guessed what Duke Lars was thinking: he had exhausted himself to cultivate an heir, and with the forces below eager to move, in order to prevent his descendants from using underhanded tactics to compete for the heir’s position, it was better to set a rule that whoever excels gets the position.
This method has its pros and cons; if successful, it could cultivate a personal hero who would bring glory to the Northern Border; if it failed, it could very well lead to internal strife or even division.
However, Duke Lars probably felt confident that during his lifetime, none of his descendants would dare to act recklessly. But this also indicated that Duke Lars could no longer completely control the entire family; at least, the Lars family was no longer a one-man rule by Duke Lars.
“So brother, you see, we are not formally married yet, so I still belong to the Lars family.”
“That’s right.” Lind slightly nodded his head. After they formally married, Lena would need to change her surname; for now, Lena was still part of the Lars family.
“Since the Graywhite Territory is managed by both of us, cannot it also be considered my territory?”
“Of course.” Lind felt somewhat apprehensive but still admitted it; after all, although Lena was easy to deceive, those knights behind her already had their hands on the hilts of their swords.
“Then since I am a member of the Lars family and have a fiefdom, I have met the conditions to participate in the competition for the heir position.”
Seeing Lind begin to look dazed, Lena continued, “Originally, I didn’t care who became the heir; after all, I might not belong to the Lars family later, but since you have the ability, why don’t we give it a try? You manage the territory, I lead the troops to battle; with both of us together, how could we fail?”
Hearing this, Lind nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. So this matter actually started because of himself.
Lena seemed to think Lind was worried about being outcompeted by others in the Lars family and comforted him, “Don’t worry, brother. Although my uncle and cousins’ territories are richer than Graywhite Territory, they do not have grandpa’s support. Grandpa giving me so many supplies must be his wish for me to be the heir!”
Lind wanted to say that if Duke Lars truly thought that way, he wouldn’t have arranged the territory in such a remote location.
But Lena’s next words made Lind swallow this frustration back down.
“I want to let those who laughed at me in the royal capital know, thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west, don’t underestimate a poor girl!”
Lind finally got speechless and tentatively asked, “Imperial court liquor?”
“What? Brother, do you want to drink?”
“No, no, it’s nothing.”
Lind took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead, wondering if this kind of saying actually existed in this other world? Thinking carefully, although he wasn’t a son-in-law, wasn’t Lena also a genius who got dumped in this engagement? This wouldn’t mean there’s some kind of elixir or divine potion in her ring, would it?
This might even explain why Lena had already reached such a high level of power at such a young age.
That said, regarding the competition for the heir position, Lind honestly thought it was worth a try. If Lena truly succeeded in becoming the heir, wouldn’t their engagement then be directly canceled? Plus, with Duke Lars stationed, the war for the heir wouldn’t dare escalate too far. It could be said to be a win-win situation, making it unreasonable to refuse.
After Lind expressed his support, the two instantly drew closer in their relationship. Taking this opportunity, Lena retold the game plot from her perspective.
However, when Lena had spoken halfway, Lind suddenly called for a stop, looking at her with some astonishment. He solemnly asked, “Wait, Lady Lars, what was the name of that new saint in the royal capital who took away the Fourth Prince?”
“Lilith Dawling? She seems to be a small noble from the Eastern Border. Although she is short, she is indeed very cute. It’s just that I don’t like her very much; I always feel like she has two faces, one before the prince and another in front of others.”
Lena was still talking to herself, completely oblivious to Lind’s abnormal reaction.
Something is wrong.
Lind anxiously tapped the table. Wasn’t the official heroine in the game named Isa Nebet? Moreover, wasn’t she described as a black-haired loli, but rather a silver-haired beauty?
The most critical part was that even if the heroine’s name and appearance could be customized in the game, the heroine’s birthplace was fixed. Wasn’t the heroine born as a commoner in the Northern Border? How did she become a small noble from the Eastern Border?
To verify his suspicions, Lind interrupted the incessant chatter of Lena once more.
“Lady Lars, do you know a commoner from the Northern Border named Isa Nebet at the academy?”
Lena originally felt a bit annoyed at being interrupted, but upon seeing Lind’s serious expression, she began to recall seriously. In fact, at the academy in the royal capital, the Northern Borderers were closely watched by the Lars family, let alone a commoner; they were rare species in noble academies.
“Is she the one with silver hair, who looks very pretty? I do have an impression, but I was brought here before graduation, so I don’t know where she went after graduation. Is she your relative?”
Lind’s expression turned pale with fear—there was another traveler, and that traveler had already taken the protagonist’s identity.
