The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Chapter 169: Patience?

"Outrageous! This is outrageous!"

The roundtable meeting was in chaos, with both the new and old parties, as well as the Augustines, all extremely angry.

Even though the internal struggles are still fierce, at least everyone acknowledges Queen Lilith's status, and her prestige remains unparalleled.

Even for Augustine, Lilith was still Crane's wife. If his own wife was harassed by the king of a neighboring country, he had to show anger, even if it was just on the surface.

Judith and Scott stood up at the same time and shouted, "Your Majesty, we will fight to the death!"

Lilith shook her head and said, "This matter needs to be considered carefully. We must remain rational in the face of such obvious provocation."

Only Lilith, the person directly involved, could say this.

Judith and Scott exchanged a glance and sat down helplessly. Many people in the capital had already heard about this.

The nobles, who had just calmed down, began to curse the nobles on the southwestern border for their incompetence. The key was that the two of them couldn't retaliate because they were indeed no match for them.

Nora said, "But we can't ignore it either; we have to fight back, even if it's just verbally."

Claire nodded and continued, "Your Majesty, if an attack is to be launched, the royal family will fully support you."

However, Claire was secretly hoping that if war really broke out, the kingdom would fall into chaos again.

The Queen's power is not as secure as one might imagine; just one defeat will expose Lilith's true colors.

Thinking of this, Claire secretly glanced at Duke Monroe of the East. If this matter didn't involve Her Majesty the Queen, Monroe would probably jump out to mock the dukes of the Southwest again.

The relationship between the East and Lilith has always been delicate. Logically speaking, Monroe should be the duke who supports the Queen the most, after all, Her Majesty is from the East.

However, Monroe has always been resistant to the Queen's new policies. Pilot programs have already begun in the southwest, but the east has always used various excuses to delay.

Even knowing that Lilith dislikes demons, he still secretly contacted them.

If the southwestern borders were merely half-new party members seeking stability in the capital and the new policies, then the eastern borders were the staunch old party, openly and firmly established. Monroe, with no pressure to survive, rejected all changes and had poor relations with the two dukes of the southwestern borders.

Even so, Lilith tacitly approved Monroe's intervention in the North during the Civil War.

Even though Doug was suffering repeated defeats in the civil war in the North, he was still able to suppress Monroe in the east with his muskets. As a result, even with the capital turning a blind eye, Monroe still failed to take even a small piece of land in the North.

Monroe kept explaining that it was because Doug's side had concentrated the North's elite forces to deal with him, and that those elites were inexplicably particularly energetic when fighting against the East, but the East still became a laughing stock among the nobles of the capital.

However, regardless of the circumstances, the Eastern Territory is the four territories where the kingdom's strength is best preserved. Unlike its neighbors, it is not engaged in a civil war, nor does it face the immense pressure from the Kingdom of Anjou like the two southwestern territories.

Seemingly noticing Claire's gaze, Monroe also glanced at Claire.

Both sides nodded in tacit agreement, confirming that the other was on their side.

Although Monroe's record was poor, the situation in the North was already complicated. Doug only obtained the Grey and White Collar's muskets through smuggling, but he was ahead of the capital in terms of musket research. So it's hard to say whether Monroe was too weak or Doug really had something. However, the Grey and White Collar were too strong, which is why he was suppressed.

Even if Monroe is incompetent, he is still a duke of the East, not to mention the demons behind him, which could be a powerful ally.

After considering it for a moment, Claire continued listening to Lilith's speech.

"Keep your troops in the southwest; don't let this cause you to lose your composure."

After Lilith finished speaking, she remained silent for a long time before continuing, "I will write a letter in response to this matter. Let's discuss the next thing."

The more we care about such provocations, the more enthusiastic the other side becomes. Moreover, Capet's national strength is now even weaker. Although it has artillery on its southwestern border, it still cannot take the initiative to attack. A weak country has no diplomacy, and even when the queen is insulted, it can only swallow its anger.

Nora calmed herself down and continued to chair the meeting, saying, "In the North, Whitefrost Fortress has been breached. Due to the surrender of the Laurent family, the stance of many Northern nobles seems to have changed."

This shift doesn't mean that the Northern nobles have actually submitted to Lind, but rather that they neither want to support Doug nor accept Lind's new policies, and only want Lind to be a Northern lord like the former Grand Duke Lars.

"Although His Majesty's sworn brother's campaign has been very successful, Doug has gathered most of the population in the North. If a decisive battle were to begin, the outcome would still be uncertain."

“We should prepare for both possibilities. If the situation ultimately favors Doug, we should help the Grey Collar retain the territories they have already conquered and continue to maintain the balance of power in the North.”

“If the situation favors Governor Lind, we should arrange a meeting between Her Majesty the Queen and Governor Lind to further strengthen relations with the North.”

Nora didn't say the last possibility, but everyone present understood it: if both sides were to suffer heavy losses, the king would have to intervene personally.

At this moment, Claire suddenly spoke up and asked, "Could we contact the Grey Collar and report this matter concerning the King of Anjou to Governor Linde, so as to seek more assistance from Governor Linde?"

Family scandals should not be aired in public, but Claire has essentially brought this matter directly to the North, and it's hard to say whether this process will make it known to everyone in the North.

Although the Northern intelligence system probably already knows about this, there is a difference between telling someone yourself and the other side obtaining the information.

Lilith hesitated for a moment, then said, "Alright, let Prime Minister Nora handle this matter."

Nora nodded. Although no one present thought that the governor of the gray-collar workers would make a move, after all, Her Majesty the Queen was not really her sister. Could it be that the governor who was at war would fight to the death with the Kingdom of Anjou, which was far away on the southwestern border, for the sake of the capital?

"Next topic."

Lilith felt her emotions were being stripped away, and she had been turned into a ruthless political machine. If she had been in her previous life and been harassed by this blond-haired guy, Lilith would have called her older brother and his friends over to teach him a lesson. But now she could only suppress her resentment and endure it, at most sending a few mild insults in her reply.

After the meeting ended, Duchess Judith of the Southern Territory returned to her residence, removed her heavy, ornate cloak, and asked, "How is the situation outside now?"

The maid serving Judith replied, "My lady, it's not good. Those guys' mouths are starting to get dirty again."

Judith shook her head and sighed. The old party still loved to manipulate public opinion. Even though Her Majesty the Queen had warned them, these guys remained incorrigible. But this time Judith couldn't refute them because the southwestern border was indeed undefendable. The fact that they were able to hold it was thanks to the support of her distant relative.

"Get ready, I need to write a secret letter to the governor of the North."