in the name of the queen.

“Is this the letter from home?”

Sophia looked at the letter paper with words suddenly appearing on it, feeling mixed emotions.

No magic prop would appear without reason. The letter paper used by Roland was also a magical artifact.

Auxiliary artifact [Endless Letter].

No matter how many times it is used, the Artifact Core can restore the letter to its original location.

Not only that, the contents of the letterhead can also be connected to each other in a short period of time.

Endless stationery is a very romantic artifact.

No matter how far apart we are, even in the deep sea or sky, as long as we write down our words on a piece of letter paper, the other end of the letter will know them quickly.

For lovers, this is a real magic weapon.

In addition to being used for romance, Endless Letter is also an auxiliary artifact that can be used to communicate and transmit information across thousands of miles.

The battlefield situation changes rapidly, and the front-line commanders and the rear base are often thousands of miles apart, making communication very difficult.

With this endless letter, faith can cross mountains and seas.

This artifact has no direct combat power and looks inconspicuous, but it is very functional.

However, this artifact has been covered in dust for a long time and has never been used.

This was the dowry that Sophia brought with her when she left her family. At that time, the family did not know that it was a sacred artifact, so they treated it as a magic prop.

Although there was no love between her and her husband Ivan IV and it was a purely political marriage, Sophia still shared the artifact with her husband.

But she concealed the artifact properties of the Endless Letter, and only said that this letter could be used to contact them at any time.

Sophia's kindness was coldly ignored by Ivan IV.

Endless pieces of letter paper gathered dust at the bottom of the bookcase, never used.

After Sophia left the Winter Palace, she gradually forgot about the artifact until Roland noticed it when he wrote a letter on the other side of the stationery.

She didn't want to peek into Roland's letters, but...
She needed to know if Roland had any bad intentions.

Although she believed that Roland would not be short-sighted, she still couldn't help but pick up the letter.

Curiosity is human nature.

In her subconscious, Roland couldn't wait to tell Sif about his longing for her, and even complained that he was not used to life in Fort St. Rurik.

However, this letter does not contain any content of this kind.

Roland calmly informed Sif that he was safe, and then told her about his work and life here.

The leader (Sophia) was not very enthusiastic but still cared about him and arranged the best accommodation for him.

Colleagues (Sakhalin, Angelina) are very reliable. Although his work here is a bit difficult, it is not a big problem and can be solved.

Sophia looked at the letter and almost suspected that she was hallucinating.

She closed her eyes and opened them again, and the content had not changed at all.

She seemed to see a small language that was highly similar to Sussex.

After a moment of confusion, she understood the letter.

The highest level of reporting safety is not "Everything is good here", but "Although the conditions here are not as good as at home, they are still pretty good, I can give it an 80-point score."

A whitewash based on objective facts and slightly exaggerated.

So that's it, Sophia suddenly realized.

The embellishment was just right, so as not to make Sif too worried, but also so as not to be discovered by Sif due to excessive embellishment.

Is this how normal couples get along?
Sophia's eyes were a little dazed, and her thoughts had already drifted far away.

After an unknown amount of time, she smiled and shook her head, no longer worrying about herself.

Even God cannot be omniscient and omnipotent, so why should she worry about it?

Sophia inexplicably thought of the former Sister of Light, now the Goddess of Light Tia.

She was once Poseidon's lover, but she stabbed Poseidon badly.

Before she fell asleep, in addition to the four goddess candidates, Poseidon, the king of the sea, also qualified to enter the realm of gods.

Poseidon's ranking is even higher than the three goddesses and her, and his potential is endless.

His love affair with Tia was once a good story.

However, after Sophia returned from hibernation, the three goddesses ascended to the divine realm, closed the passage, and left a back door for returning.

They calculated everything clearly.

At first, Sophia thought that the missing Poseidon was in cahoots with them and deliberately isolated her so that there would be one less person to share the fruit.

Later, she went to the bottom of the sea and made a big fuss, only to find that all the creatures in the ocean were holding a memorial ceremony for Poseidon.

She finally realized that he was also a victim.

Poseidon suffered even more than her. Not only did he fall from the altar, but his ocean energy core was even stolen, and he lost the chance to become a god forever.

These past events made Sophia feel a little depressed.

After all, she is not a god. She still has the joys, sorrows, anger and happiness of a mortal and cannot control her emotions perfectly.

In order to calm herself down, she continued to read Roland's letters home.

It's reasonable to take some sweet candy to buffer the bitter past when it makes people sad.

Every word Roland wrote was very plain, a bit like a diary. At first glance, it did not seem to have the literary grace of a winner of an essay contest, but in Sophia's opinion, plainness was the best writing.

There is not a word of love between the lines, but the emotions are poured into them.

Sif is so lucky to have such a beloved one.

Sophia sighed in her heart, feeling a little sad.

Roland racked his brains to make Sif feel at ease, and even thought carefully about how much to cover up.
She must know that too.

Sophia was soon relieved. Roland understood Sif, and Sif also understood him.

Of course she knew that this was a letter to report safety, and she also knew that Roland was afraid that she would worry, so how would she respond to Roland?
Sophia's curiosity was instantly ignited, then quickly extinguished.

Of course, Sif couldn't reply on the written letter paper, and Sophia was destined not to see her reply.

Sophia shook her head with some regret and quickly put this little thing behind her.

She was just curious, not interested in prying into other people's privacy. She was not that boring.

If she couldn't see it, then she couldn't see it. She could totally guess what Sif would write.

They are nothing more than the sweet words of a little girl in love.

It’s better not to watch this kind of boring stuff that only young people like!
With a little regret, Sophia turned to the last page of the letter and finally saw Roland's strong ability as the essay champion.

He expressed his feelings in classic Elven poetry.

A wandering northern elf who misses his wife and children at home.

Sophia was silent for a long time, and then her eyes suddenly lit up.

Wait, wife and kids?
She hadn't had such gossipy thoughts for a long time. This semi-public and semi-private letter allowed her to regain some memories of being an ordinary person, but these memories soon dissipated into the void.

Putting down the endless letters, Sophia came to the window and her solemn expression returned to calm.

She was just satisfying her curiosity just now. She would never look at this endless letter again.

I might as well give it to Sif tomorrow so that it will be convenient for her to communicate with Roland.

They are married but still have endless things to talk about. It's disgusting to watch.

Sophia took a deep breath and adjusted her mood.

Perhaps it was because she had given up the power to control winter, or perhaps it was because she had lost too much strength, she found herself helplessly becoming more like an ordinary person.

When Roland stabilizes the situation and no longer needs her support, she will go to the Arctic glacier to collect ice energy and recast the Azure Fury.

I must do what I promised Angelina.

Cabinet meeting room.

Roland's first cabinet meeting as Cardinal Minister of the Empire.

When he walked into the office building, the guards on both sides turned their eyes 45 degrees and raised their guns to salute him.

The guards had all received emergency training and recognized the new cardinal minister.

Although it was a bit absurd that the Prime Minister of an enemy country became a cardinal minister of his own country, the guards were well aware that this was politics and not something they should touch.

Not to mention foreign cardinals, even Her Majesty the Queen was once a Pruden noble.

It doesn't matter where you're from, as long as you're a member of the Empire now.

Walking into the cabinet meeting hall, Roland ignored the ministers who came up to greet him, walked straight to his seat, and turned around to look around the room.

Under his cold gaze, the expressions of several ministers were obviously unnatural, some ministers pretended to be indifferent, and some ministers lowered their heads silently and did not want to look at Roland.

Roland put the folder down and took out a scepter from under his robe.

The scepter has a white chrysanthemum pattern, a double-headed eagle emblem, and a body made of a special metal collected from the Arctic. It exudes a chilling light and represents the authority of the Queen.

The ministers were stunned and didn't know how to respond for a moment.

Looking at their bewildered expressions, Roland spoke coldly.

"Gentlemen, I want you to remember one thing. It was Queen Sophia who asked me to bring about a revolution. She gave me the scepter that represents her and gave me the absolute authority equal to that of the emperor."

"Any official can be removed or dealt with as long as I deem it necessary."

Roland's words were powerful and straightforward, and he directly revealed his trump card, slapping everyone in the face fairly.

He was too lazy to engage in intrigue with these people and took several months to restore order.

Time waits for no one. Peace talks will soon begin, and he must reorganize the cabinet as soon as possible so that the only voice in the entire cabinet comes from him.

If he needs to listen, they can speak.

If he doesn't think it's necessary, they just have to do it.

Getting these stubborn bureaucrats to understand the significance of change is as difficult as getting an elephant to wear stockings.

Roland didn't have such good patience, and he didn't care what the cabinet ministers thought.

If someone doesn't know what's good for him, he doesn't mind making an example of him.

According to his estimation, the Ruriks had a hot temper and there were many military men in the cabinet, so they would definitely not be able to tolerate it.

It was just right that he couldn't help but jump out, so he could easily replace a few troublemakers with their young deputies.

In official circles, no favor is more important than recognition and promotion.

Some old ministers, relying on the fact that they had served three emperors, were not friendly towards young people.

Roland's target is them.

However, to his surprise, no one jumped out to object.

He looked at the cabinet members who had military experience with some confusion, and found that there was more admiration and appreciation in their eyes.

Wow, these old guys are really good at acting.

Roland complained silently.

Just as he was thinking about how to compose the lyrics on the spot, applause broke out.

I don't know who started it, but more and more cabinet ministers joined in the applause.

Just when Roland was confused, Prime Minister Angelina smiled and explained to him:
"Roland, you don't understand the Rurik people. We admire the strong and respect the brave even more."

Roland still didn't quite understand. He had always been labeled as cunning, morally corrupt, and full of scandals. How could he be associated with courage?

Angelina did not continue to explain, but glanced in the direction of the Summer Palace.

Roland suddenly realized that it was courage for him to challenge Sophia head-on.

Being able to survive the challenge is a sign of strength.

As for his cunning, everyone has already experienced it, so there is no need to elaborate.

Angelina hadn't said anything else. Roland underestimated Sophia's supreme status in the Vladimir Empire.

The Rurik people may not believe in God, but they definitely believe in Sophia.

Her status here is equal to or even surpasses that of gods.

Sophia said that Roland was leading everyone, so even if they had opinions, they had to keep them to themselves.

Roland didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

It's quite satisfying to use the power of others to bully others, but it's a pity that the process of replacing some old players has to be slowed down.

After all, he is a veteran cabinet minister. How could he be replaced if he didn't make a big mistake?

Good news: everyone in the cabinet supports it.

The bad news: there are too many people supporting it.

Fortunately, Roland reacted quickly. Since everyone supported him, there was no need to make his inauguration so bloody and ruthless, so as to avoid people thinking that he was a disaster.

Since everyone had reached a consensus at least on the surface, Roland simply got straight to the point and took out the development blueprint, took out the pointer, pointed at the map and began to analyze.

He had done his homework and his knowledge of the Vladimir Empire was no less than that of professional officials.

The attitudes of cabinet ministers who originally had reservations about him are gradually changing.

Everyone was very optimistic about the development blueprint proposed by Roland, but did not agree with his plan to liberate slaves and slave laborers.

After Roland had spoken for more than an hour and picked up his cup to drink water, the cabinet ministers who had been waiting for a long time finally took the opportunity to speak.

"Your Excellency, Cardinal, you still don't understand our Vladimir Empire. Those peasants who only know how to farm don't know anything. Providing them with food and shelter is not enough. Should we also give them freedom?"

"Your Excellency, the sanctity of private property is a policy passed down from generation to generation by emperors. You cannot change it because of your personal likes and dislikes."

"My Lord Cardinal, this is the law passed down by our ancestors."

Roland was not at all surprised by the emergence of these questions.

In fact, he was waiting for someone to interrupt him so that he could take the opportunity to establish his authority, but these cabinet ministers listened to his lectures very politely.

Good news: The class is in good order.

Bad news: The classroom is too orderly.

He had to stop to drink water and give the cabinet ministers a chance to speak freely.

After patiently listening to their various conversations, Roland raised his right hand, and the meeting place instantly fell silent.

"Everyone, I want to ask, what is the significance of raising serfs?"

"Let them work for the lords and create wealth!" a cabinet minister shouted.

"Very good, it's wealth, right?" Roland extracted the key words and stared at the respondent.

The Minister of the Interior, who had just spoken, saw Roland's lips curled up and vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out the trap of this sentence, so he had to add cautiously:

"Your Excellency, the serfs are also the lord's property."

Roland clapped his hands, looked around the room, and asked with a smile, "I understand. What everyone wants to protect is their own interests, right?"

This was said rather bluntly, and the cabinet ministers looked somewhat unnatural.

That's the truth, but is it okay to say it so bluntly?
Just like pursuing a girl, you can't just say, "You are pretty and have a sweet voice, and I want to sleep with you."

They originally thought that they had some barbaric attributes, but they didn't expect Roland to be more direct.

Although Roland's words were too explicit, they invisibly brought him closer to the ministers.

Seeing that no one said anything, Roland continued, "If I guarantee that after the serfs are liberated, the lords can gain more substantial benefits and the country will become stronger, does anyone object?"

Roland guaranteed the interests of the nobles and lords below and brought up the hat of national interests above. He had said everything, so who would dare to object?
Seeing Roland's expression of having everything under control, someone couldn't help but ask, "Cardinal, anyone can say nice things, but what guarantees do you have?"

"Experience in successful industrialization and international trade in the Sussex Empire."

Roland said calmly, "You all don't doubt the industrial strength and international trade capabilities of the Sussex Empire, right?"

The cabinet ministers were speechless.

If you forcefully oppose something like this that is undisputed, you will only appear stupid.

Although they felt uncomfortable, they accepted Roland's statement.

But some people continued to ask doubtfully, "Your Excellency, industrialization requires technology, and international trade requires fleets, both of which we lack."

"I have them all. To be more precise, the Sussex Empire has them all."

Roland smiled and said, "The war is over. A lot of things are needed for post-war reconstruction, so the prospects for international trade are very bright. It's easy to deal with the lack of ships. I can be responsible for getting them. I can even ask the Sussex Empire to support a group of emergency fleets."

No one doubts the authenticity of this promise.

The Queen of Sussex is his wife, so what?

Everyone laughed along with Roland, and a cheerful atmosphere filled the hall.

But soon someone broke this wonderful atmosphere.

"We need peace, but the Empire cannot accept peace that cedes its interests."

This sentence made the whole hall quiet.

The ministers gradually calmed down.

Yes, Roland is a Sussex after all. He must be biased towards his motherland in his heart, and he will definitely ask the Vladimir Empire to give up its interests in order to achieve peace.

Looking at everyone's worried expressions, Roland laughed and said:
"Don't be sad, we are all winners. We are all diners at the table. What we should think about is how to get an extra piece of steak, not fighting with other diners with forks."

Roland picked up the pointer and pointed it at the map, then with a wave of his hand he circled off part of the territory of the Wende Empire.

“These places belong to us!”

Then he pointed to the three northern countries.

"This place belongs to us too."

"Here, here, and here, leave them to our allies. As for the Sussex Empire and the Golden Kite Republic, these are all they ask for."

In fact, what the Free Alliance asked for was not less than what the Holy Alliance asked for, but it sounded a lot less under Roland's rhetoric.

Roland's partition plan was approved by most ministers.

Although the Wend Empire was temporarily annexed, they had a strong sense of resistance, and it was very difficult to rule here.

The areas drawn by Roland are all Western Rurik people who have preserved the traditional Rurik culture, which is easy to digest.

The territories allocated to the two allies, although fertile, were areas that were identified with the Wends rather than the Siruriks.

The cost of ruling these areas is too high.

After seventy percent of the territory was divided up, the core area retained by the royal family of the Wend Empire was revived, but had to be downgraded to a kingdom.

This reserved land is very clever, and is basically directly governed by the royal family.

Although the empire suffered some losses, it was the flesh of the nobles and the royal family was not affected.

Although it wasn't eaten up completely, everyone thought it was reasonable.

Wende is an empire after all, it cannot be swallowed up in one bite.

Seeing how Roland was sincerely safeguarding the interests of the empire, the ministers who originally didn't like him very much began to look at him differently.

Everyone gathered around the map enthusiastically to discuss the details of the division.

As for the opinions of the divided countries, no one has ever paid attention to them, and this time is no exception. (End of this chapter)