After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

The long meeting continued into the daytime, and Luna had lost count of how many cups of tea she had drunk to stay awake.

As the successor personally groomed by her elder brother, Luna understands that she symbolizes the stability of the regime, which is what her brother hopes to see.

The development of the Northern Territory will not stop, and the development path will not deviate in the slightest. When everyone reached this consensus, Luna noticed that many people secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Are they worried that I'll mess around, or are they afraid that an unchosen heir will suddenly appear?

In short, the focus of this meeting was to consolidate Luna's power.

The aristocratic faction, which was previously the most worrisome, now has only four members remaining active in the political arena of the Northern Territory.

One was Earl Camaro of Starfall City, a staunch supporter of the Charles family. His only daughter and Luna's best friend was sitting below him, writing furiously, seemingly engrossed in something.

One is Earl Rondo, who is currently on his way back; the other is Earl Mofi, who has just been appointed as Luna's personal secretary. It's hard on him to continue to shine despite his advanced age.

Therefore, the only remaining real threat is the Marquis of Barton in the western pastoral region.

It's better to be safe than sorry. If Patton were to lead his tribe to break away from the Northern Territory at this time, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"I believe this matter should not be discussed by the young lady, but by Lady Elene." As the discussion intensified, Reid also broke his silence.

While the young lady could certainly seize this opportunity to take over the last marquis, considering that herders usually stick together in tribes for mutual support, maintaining the status quo is the best option.

Moreover, since the Marquis Barton was tricked in the name of the Duke, the person who carried out the deception could not be the young lady. Only Elena could do it without making Barton feel resentful.

Firstly, Elene had already broken away from the political center of the Northern Territory; secondly, Elene could use her personal name to persuade Marquis Barton to go to Ice City and swear allegiance to the new Lord of the North.

Haste makes waste; politics also needs a human touch.

Luna immediately agreed to Red's proposal. Even for the sake of the stability of the regime, she did not want to chill the Marquis of Barton's heart with suspicion.

With the aristocratic class dealt with, the next more troublesome issue was the numerous foreign tribes and groups that Duke Oswald had attracted.

There's no need to worry about the dwarves; Lady Elene, who is familiar with the Duke's policies, will naturally step in to appease them.

"Let's capture all the elves for now," someone suggested, and the suggestion was immediately met with a chorus of agreement.

That's the good thing about long-lived species; even if you imprison her for decades, she'll still think you're playing some kind of game with her.

"The Mechanical Church must be relocated to the outer city. Although I do not know the Duke's purpose in bringing them here, it is clear that they are not benevolent people."

Jacob's expression turned serious for once. As a scholar, he had a deep understanding of everything, from nature and magic to the system established by the goddess of life.

Even with the information provided by the elves, Jacob still couldn't figure out what the God of Machines was.

The unknown represents danger, and during the Duke's absence, the Mechanicus would be best kept under strict surveillance.

"I'll handle this. I've dealt with them before, so communication will be easier."

Paul took on the task voluntarily. The Mechanical Church was indeed dangerous, and only the Duke knew how to guide them to serve the Northern Territory.

Luna, already feeling a bit sleepy, added, "Be gentle, Paul. You can tell them that I will continue to support their research like an older brother."

"Yes, Miss."

The responsibility of managing the eastern region once again naturally fell into Jacob's hands. With this, the Northern Territory, both in its capital region and outlying areas, had essentially secured the stability of its regime.

The only thing that remains to be seen is how to proceed with the final step.

That is: to inform all the people of the Northern Territory of the news of the Duke's disappearance.

According to Elene, in her previous life she was able to directly draw an army of hundreds of thousands from the populace and hold her own against both the Central Army and the Demon Army.

"Many soldiers in the Second Division have shown a certain tendency, yes, just as you imagine."

Kate, who had been refraining from smoking, took a drag of the unlit cigarette under her nose and spoke calmly.

"I suspect they're also waiting for the outcome of our meeting. Many of them know the Duke and see him as their supreme leader, so once they've recovered, revenge has become their only option."

"It's just that these silly kids, like me, don't know who to seek revenge on yet."

The soldiers still haven't figured it out.

They were originally prepared to fight the Central Army, but the Undead Legion came from afar, and there was a Calamity Beast mixed in with them.

The entity that was supposedly the embodiment of the curse, which was supposed to have been eliminated according to intelligence, appeared on the battlefield and set up some kind of trap on the city gate with a giant's hand bone.

When the soldiers encountered some strange and dangerous attack, the Duke appeared on the battlefield through the city gate, fought a great battle, and then disappeared.

As soon as the Duke disappeared, the Undead Legion also withdrew without explanation, without delaying the Northern Army and the Central Army's subsequent battles.

It's certain that these guys are after the Duke, but the question is, is the goddess really the one plotting all this?

Damn it, is there anyone kind enough to tell me the way to the goddess's house?

"My elder brother said that we cannot shut down the information; fooling the people will only make us lose credibility. Besides, as long as we don't let some malicious people deliberately mislead us, the people will make the right choice."

Luna sighed. She hadn't expected things to come to this. Her brother didn't actually want people to get involved in matters related to the gods.

This is not a question of faith. The most devout believers are often more terrifying than apostates. In the hearts of most people, God is nothing more than a seasoning in life.

Under the bright lights, Luna forced a smile.

"Paul, if the people collectively abandon their faith in God, there shouldn't be any major problems, right?"

Paul was momentarily lost in thought, his mind flashing back to the miracles that appeared on the night sky during the battle of the Bloodstained Saintess.

All I can say is that compared to the goddess, the Vatican is far more progressive and full of positive energy.

For the Vatican, perhaps a fabricated god, one that does not actually exist, is more worthy of people's faith.

"In my opinion, the two great miracles in human history, the Star of Wishes and the Hero, have had almost no positive impact on human development."

If I had to say, Maria in her previous life was the only user who used the Wishing Star to bring benefits to all of humanity, although after experiencing time travel, she developed a path dependency and became somewhat...

Upon realizing this, Paul almost cried out in surprise. It turned out that Maria was the most human-like person after all.

Returning to his senses, Paul now realizes that the Wishing Star and the Hero were traps set by the goddess.

The goddess doesn't care about the lives of humans at all and is carrying out some terrible plan, which the Duke has clearly seen through.

"Young lady, no matter what, we should try to abandon the choice of the gods."