The Path to Lordship Begins in the North

Chapter 108 The New Queen

In her dream, Lilith carried a lantern as she wandered through the royal capital academy, a place she knew all too well.

“Your Highness, everything she does is fake. She only acts this way in front of you.”

A shadow-type guard enveloped Crane in his shadow, while Crane watched Lilith, who was sitting with her legs crossed, completely relaxed. It was the first time Lilith had seen herself relaxed from a third-person perspective, and it was indeed very tasteless, especially when she took off her boots and picked at her toes, and when she took off her heavy coat and fanned herself with her vest to cool off. Lilith almost wanted to stop her.

At this moment, Lilith deeply regretted not listening to her brother and correcting these bad habits. No wonder her brother used to say every day that he would never be able to get married.

But what Lilith didn't expect was that Crane saw her like this.

Dreams are an extension of reality, especially the dreams created by the oracle lantern in her hand. Lilith is certain that Cran may not have spied on her in this way back then, but he must have known what the real Lilith was like.

"Interesting woman."

Crane's reply was very simple.

If Lilith could see her own expression at this moment, she would find that it was exactly the same as that of the Shadow Guard.

Unable to bear watching any longer, Lilith held up her lantern and stepped forward, arriving in front of Crane, who was watching another version of herself.

"Lilith, wait? How did we end up back in the academy? Weren't we married?"

In an instant, the scene changed, and they found themselves on a bustling street.

"Your Majesty, you have been assassinated."

Crane paused for a moment, then remembered what had happened.

"Am I dead, Lilith? Or are you truly the goddess's messenger, here to take me to the divine realm?"

"No, this is in your dream."

Lilith hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your father may have been killed in a dream."

"I know, so am I still alive?"

Crane didn’t seem to care much about the cause of his father’s death.

"It's hard to say. Our magical defenses were very thorough, but the assassin used a magic-piercing stone arrow to pierce your chest. Normally, I could easily handle this kind of injury, but the stone arrow was contaminated with poison and plague, and your body was very weak, so..."

"Lilith."

Crane interrupted Lilith's monologue.

"You weren't like this before. Where did that girl who used to slam bills onto my desk while working go?"

"Your Majesty... the stone arrow actually pierced your heart. His Holiness the Bishop performed surgery using divine magic to remove the arrow, but the poison has already spread throughout your body. We can only temporarily place your body in an ice coffin until the Tower..."

Before Lilith could finish speaking, the surrounding scenery began to collapse.

"Am I about to die?"

Kran, however, did not seem to be dreaming; he appeared remarkably lucid.

"No, as long as we wait until the tower..."

"The tower will not intervene."

Crane shook his head. The Tower hadn't even intervened in the collapse of the old empire. Finally, Crane asked directly, "Did you tell me about my will, brother?"

Upon hearing the will, Lilith covered her eyes with her arm, but she couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her face.

"I'm so sorry, Lilith, I couldn't give you a fairytale future."

"You clearly know everything, Your Majesty, why?"

"Because you are indeed a very interesting girl, and you are the smartest girl I have ever met, can you save this country for me? I know it is selfish to do this, but Lilith, please."

Crane stepped forward and gently hugged Lilith.

"You're so naive. You know perfectly well that everything I did was fake. I only approached you for my own sake."

"I know, I can even sense that you don't actually like me."

The most painful thing is when the other person knows you are lying to them, but still foolishly chooses to believe you. Lilith thought that only her parents and older brother in her past life would believe her like that.

"Forgive me, Lilith, I entrust this country to you."

During their final farewell, Lilith hugged Crane and wept uncontrollably, as if she had returned to that afternoon in her past life when she lost her brother.

When Lilith woke up, her eyes were empty. She had lost her brother before she transmigrated, and then lost her newlywed husband after she transmigrated. She hadn't even experienced a single day of the life she had imagined. Next, she might have to take on a huge burden of blame and inherit a crumbling kingdom.

No one asked Lilith what she said in the dream, or whether she confirmed the authenticity of the will. At least judging from Lilith's expression, it was true.

Moreover, Cliff had no motive to forge a will, and now there was indeed a king to take the blame for the reforms.

Soon, an internal royal meeting began. The new king had been assassinated not long after taking the throne, and being king seemed to have become a high-risk profession. However, it was clear that the position was still very tempting in the eyes of some fools.

"I object! How can the king fall into the hands of someone outside the royal family!"

A member of the royal family initially thought that such an outrageous will could not be approved, and that if he raised his voice, many people would immediately follow suit.

But to everyone's surprise, Krane's brothers and sisters remained completely silent.

Although most people don't want the king to be from a different family, even if they are married, it doesn't matter. After all, Augustine himself came to power through marriage, but now no one wants to sit in this position, at least not themselves. Two kings died suddenly in succession, and the next king would just be a scapegoat for the reforms.

Even Lilith herself seemed unwilling; a much thinner Lilith huddled in the queen's seat, while the seat next to her was empty.

"Lilith Dorian must become the next king; this is the king's will!"

Cliff, unusually assertive, insisted on pushing Lilith into power.

"If anyone is unwilling, they can volunteer."

The meeting fell silent immediately. Unlike the nobles, the Augustins were unable to sell the country for a good price and were unwilling to do so. However, most of them knew their own limitations and, after coming to power, had little determination to continue pushing forward with reforms.

These reforms will offend countless people, but without them, it will be difficult to counter the rising Angevin Kingdom to the south.

“We can form a royal cabinet, and the royal cabinet can exercise the king’s power.”

Cliff looked at the person who made the suggestion as if he were a fool. The king's power was already weak, and now he wanted to further disperse that power. In the end, the royal cabinet would become a lamb to the slaughter.

Cliff was cowardly, not stupid.

"Vote."

Augustine's Grand Elder interrupted the discussion, announcing that the next king would be decided by a vote of the royal family members.

The vote was actually a very unfair decision, since most Augustines didn't have such a long-term vision. However, after Cliff's persistent persuasion, the votes for Lilith and against her were tied, and the final vote went to Claire.

Seeing her former best friend huddled in the Queen's seat, Claire smirked. Those nobles had done a good thing; they had originally planned to wait until her brother's reforms were over before reaping the benefits, but by then, it would be difficult for Claire to take the throne.

But now that Lilith has taken power, once the reforms are nearly complete, Claire can simply use the pretext of restoring order to stage a coup. After all, the team is already prepared, so why not use it?

Claire might even inherit Queen Lilith's position in the future; all the arrangements have been made for her, and she can regain the support of most people by restoring order.

"I'm sorry, my best friend."

Claire silently cast her vote and decided to secretly support Lilith's reforms.

The outcome of the royal council surprised everyone; the Augustins actually agreed to make Queen Lilith the new king, to continue the reforms that Cran had not finished.

However, there was little opposition. Everyone felt that the new Queen was just a scapegoat, and no one thought that the Queen could achieve anything. The Queen's prestige was as meager and petite as her stature.

The coronation ceremony was even more hasty and rushed than the one in Ukraine, and no one took the newly enthroned queen seriously.

Like a puppet, Lilith sat in her usual spot in Crane's seat, a pile of documents stacked on the table.

"Everyone, please leave. I want to be alone."

With the king just assassinated, it was clearly impossible to leave the newly enthroned queen alone. However, the personal maid glanced at Lilith with concern and then tacitly withdrew.

Lilith took a deep breath, took out the letter that the Gray-White Collar Lord had written to her, silently read it several times, then pulled out a few envelopes and began writing letters.

The recipients of the letters were all characters in Lilith's memory with whom she had a favorable impression in the game, especially those who currently held military power, such as Judith, the Duchess of the South, and Scott, the Duke of the West, as his son.

This even includes Lind and Doug, two characters who currently command Lars's forces but have no affinity with them.

Lilith felt her hands trembling as she wrote the letter; she must be crazy not to refuse to become queen.

But Lilith couldn't swallow this insult. Since she had nothing left to lose, she might as well go for something big.

Lilith felt her heart burning. Now that the pretense of civility had been completely broken, no one could escape. The struggle was started by these nobles, but it would not end with them.