In the Royal Capital, the sunlight poured down warmly through the clouds, illuminating the city walls and roofs that were once covered in white snow, now still retaining the traces of the storms that had passed.
The north wind seemed to sweep away all the gloom of the Royal Capital, where even the Outer District rarely emitted the sour smell of waste and garbage fermenting together, instead filled with the damp and fresh scent of moist earth.
The people of the Royal Capital, having endured a winter, were once again beginning their work.
On the cobblestone road in the Outer District, the queen’s convoy was slowly driving out of the Inner City, passing through the Outer District and heading towards the city gates.
Leading the way were noble knights clad in silver armor, their armor engraved with various magical runes, all radiating a faint glow, clearly indicating that these were among the last of the Royal Capital’s elite.
The knights held their spears high, adorned with the royal banner of the double-headed lion, exuding an imposing presence.
If someone had a bit of knowledge, they would recognize that the female knight at the front of the convoy was Judith, the Duchess of the Southern Border.
Just the armed forces at the front had already siphoned off most of the combat power from the Royal Capital.
“Your Majesty, where are you going?”
An ordinary citizen passing by looked at the royal double-headed lion emblem on the convoy and inquired around.
A man who appeared to be a merchant replied, “I heard they are going to the Northern Border. Didn’t the war in the Northern Border end? Her Majesty the Queen is going to confer the title of Duke in the Northern Border.”
“A Duke must personally come to the Royal Capital to be conferred, right?”
The merchant, hearing this, glanced at the person beside him, deducing that they had some knowledge, recognizing that they were not many; at this time, some surrounding people overheard the conversation and gathered around.
A woman who looked thin and shivering from the cold brought about by melting snow asked, “Yes, why does Her Majesty have to leave the city to confer? Surely nothing will happen to Her Majesty?”
Lilith’s reputation among the common folk was not low; moreover, she also served as the Saintess, with the Church aiding her influence. Although the nobles disregarded this, believing the Queen’s reputation stemmed from the noble faction, they did not place much importance on the common people’s esteem, even going so far as to not care at all.
As more and more people gathered around, the merchant had no intention of explaining further, until a traveler dressed as if from another country handed him two silver leaf coins, prompting the merchant to respond, “Because the internal war in the Northern Border has ended, the current Governor of the Northern Border not only defeated his uncle but also defeated the Demon Clan his uncle summoned. Now there is only one Governor in the Northern Border.”
The crowd then burst out, “We already knew all this; get to the point! Why is Her Majesty leaving the city?”
The merchant ignored the raucous crowd and glanced at the traveler who had given him the silver leaf coins; the traveler seemed intrigued and gestured for the merchant to continue.
Recently, the atmosphere on the continent had become increasingly lively, with the Royal Capital gathering all sorts of people from different countries. The merchant had never seen attire like that of the traveler.
Considering himself well-traveled on the continent, the merchant thought he should at least have some impression of the clothing styles of all the countries.
However, given that the newcomer was also human, the merchant did not think much of it and merely huffed in the direction of the crowd, continuing to explain to the traveler: “Because the current Governor of the Northern Border is too strong, and is also Her Majesty’s brother-in-law, to demonstrate the importance placed on the Northern Border, Her Majesty decided not to summon the Governor to the Royal Capital, but to personally visit the Northern Border.”
“Well, she probably isn’t really going to the Northern Border; it’s likely just a discussion at the border,” someone interjected.
Most people didn’t understand the logic behind this; they merely repeated, “So Her Majesty won’t be in danger, right?”
The merchant reassured them, “Don’t worry. The Governor in the Northern Border is Her Majesty’s brother-in-law. How could anything happen?”
Yet the people of the Royal Capital remarked, “We know that Governor won’t harm Her Majesty, but what if someone accompanying Her Majesty assassinates her? Are the palace guards even reliable?”
“Yeah, yeah! Maybe we should let the Northern Border Governor come and escort Her Majesty; the palace guards are really not dependable.”
The merchant listened, somewhat speechless, not knowing how to respond, especially since two kings had recently died in quick succession; the palace guards had long become the butt of jokes.
Furthermore, people trusted the nobility of the Royal Capital even less than a Governor they had never met.
The traveler was indeed listening with great interest and tossed another silver leaf coin, signaling the merchant to continue.
At this moment, Claire was standing on the tower of the palace, gazing at the long convoy, just as Lilith had planned. In this trip to meet the Governor of the Northern Border, Lilith brought most of her forces, including Chancellor Nora and Judith, whose stance was increasingly biased toward the Queen.
The current interior of the palace could be described as unusually empty, especially since Claire’s assistant, Josephine, was currently suspended from duty. As long as Claire desired, she could seize control of the palace at any moment and stage a coup.
“Your Highness, what are you waiting for? Just give the word, and we will support you as the new Queen,” one Augustine kept urging beside Claire.
Claire turned her head to look at the Augustine and asked, “Why must it be me?”
The Augustine immediately responded, “Only you and Prince Cliff have enough prestige to restore the glory of the Augustine family. Moreover, Prince Cliff is weak and incapable, perpetually repeating the Queen’s decisions. You not only control the palace’s defenses, but you are the one who is the people’s choice.”
Followed by a stream of flattery directed at Claire, once she had had enough, she clapped her hands, and her guards took this Augustine away.
“Your Highness? Your Highness! What is this about?”
Claire no longer paid attention to the Augustine and simply said to her guards, “Wait for Her Majesty to return, and then handle this.”
Claire had already confirmed that this trip was a complete trap, although the key figures had been taken away, the palace was entirely under Claire’s control. However, the city defenses of the Royal Capital, specifically the Royal Capital’s guards, were still controlled by Lilith’s people.
Although the Royal Capital’s guards were indeed undergoing personnel changes, they did not become fewer due to Lilith’s departure; on the contrary, their defense was becoming tighter.
Lilith still did not completely trust the royal family or even Claire; this best friend was even more difficult than Claire had anticipated, and Claire had already mentally prepared for this, as that position was indeed very taxing; one could not remain seated without some means.
Even if those Augustines completely controlled the palace, in the end, it would backfire on Lilith’s pretext for taking action against the Augustines. With Lilith’s prestige still intact, she couldn’t move just yet.
Before the timing had matured, Claire planned to continue pretending to be that best friend; the palace guards were always under her control, and there was no need to disrupt her plans by taking action prematurely.
However, Lilith’s departure did indeed give Claire many opportunities; at least during this time, Claire could more frequently and intensively discuss with some key individuals.
The last letter sent to the Demon King had already received a reply; it appeared that the blow the Demon Clan suffered was far greater than Claire had imagined. They couldn’t even mobilize a force to conquer the Eastern Border temporarily. For Claire, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, as that Demon King did not reject her proposal.
The victory of Graywhite Territory in the Golden Ear Plains gave many the illusion that the monsters of the Demon Clan were nothing remarkable. Even though Claire understood that the monsters of the Demon Clan were quite fierce, losing was still losing; when a side experiences failure, people tend to form an erroneous estimation of the defeated.
At least it indicated that the Demon Clan was not unbeatable, and the losers of the Demon Clan would more readily engage in beneficial exchanges with Claire.
Taking advantage of Lilith’s absence, Claire began to more frequently contact the Demon Clan and An Zhu.
In contrast to the Demon Clan, Alberta from An Zhu was much more cautious in his attitude towards Claire; it was of course possible for An Zhu to cooperate in launching an attack, but it was essential to ensure that Cape was truly in chaos. Only after An Zhu received clear information would they initiate a large-scale offensive.
After all, An Zhu only needed to proceed step by step as they were now, attacking at their own pace, and could still carve out some territory without taking risks.
Moreover, An Zhu was quite concerned about the stance of the Northern Border, and Claire did not take An Zhu’s caution to heart.
Because Claire’s plan was entirely driven by interests, it wasn’t Claire who urged the various forces to make choices, but rather the interests themselves. Claire merely placed the choices before the various forces.
