After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

A cool breeze blew in the night, and a light, fine rain brushed against my face.

As Annie was pushed into the tent by the soldiers, all her memories of the Northern Territory flashed before her eyes in a single glance.

Unable to express the sorrow in her heart, the red-haired Elene picked up her teacup, looked up to meet her gaze, and her indifferent crimson pupils still revealed no emotion.

For some reason, Elena felt that the soldier in front of her looked somewhat familiar, but his flaxen hair and large freckles made her unable to find any reason why he looked familiar.

Not wanting to waste energy on such trivial matters, Elena tapped the bottom of her teacup with her fingertips and asked a question that Annie had never even considered.

"The Southern Territory has declared independence. Why did you abandon the duchy and adopt a parliamentary system?"

A while ago, Elena studied this so-called parliamentary system in detail. The system seems to have originated from an ancient southern kingdom a thousand years ago, and then made some innovations on this basis.

This ancient kingdom, dating back a thousand years, comprised only a few city-states and had a population of less than 100,000. While a parliamentary system is advanced in such a small country with a small population, allowing for timely resolution of national issues and consideration of the interests of the majority, it was not the only factor that could be addressed.

However, Elena was not optimistic about the future of the Southern Duchy, because the heavy administrative burden brought about by the large number of cities and people would only turn their council hall into a marketplace.

Hearing Elena's unexpected question, Annie was dumbfounded. How could she know why the Southern Territory chose a parliamentary system?

"Answer what the master asks you."

Seeing that Annie remained silent with her head down for a long time, Federico, who was standing next to Elena, shouted sharply, forcing Annie to give an ambiguous answer.

"I guess it's to win over merchants and minor nobles, so they won't rebel and cause trouble."

Elena nodded. If she wasn't mistaken, the Southern Duke's family had already been wiped out.

"How many men did you send out this time, and how many Imperial Guards did?"

"The Southern Army consists of 50,000 troops, mainly from the elite garrison of Silver City, plus private soldiers of various nobles, and 50,000 Imperial Guards. Their provisions are supplied by the Central District. They are expected to launch a counterattack in early July. The plan is to drive the Northern Army back to Green Gorge City and then launch a general offensive after the Demon Clan makes a move."

To prevent Elena from asking too many questions, and also because she was worried that she would reveal her secrets over time, Annie revealed all the information she knew in one go.

To this, Elena chuckled, "No one gets up early without a reason. What conditions did the Central District promise you?"

Annie immediately replied, "A union between nations, plus two thousand gold coins."

two thousand……

Now Elena was even more certain that something major had definitely happened within the Southern Territory. The former Duke of the Southern Territory was an ambitious politician who used the undead army as leverage to forcefully push for the Southern Territory's independence.

He succeeded; the king did grant them independence, but the Southern Territory, having lost its duke, now chose to cling tightly to the Central Territory under the leadership of those councilors.

In summary, after gaining independence, they shouted the slogan of freedom and once again embarked on the path of becoming a dependent territory of the kingdom.

Having lost the Duke's leadership and without the undead army to deter them, the Southern Duchy, now fragmented and disorganized, could no longer disobey any of the King's orders.

"Frank has a powerful confidant around him."

After putting down her teacup and warming her fingers, Elena, stroking her chin and lost in thought, murmured to herself.

While seemingly allowing the Southern Territory to become independent, this actually blocked all of the Southern Territory's escape routes. The two sides no longer faced each other militarily, but the Southern Duchy, which had been dragged into the war, still had to thank the Central District and King Frank.

It is foreseeable that once this 50,000-strong army from Silver City is annihilated by the Northern Army, Silver City, as the gateway to the Southern Territory, will no longer be able to resist military conquest for its civilians.

If the Southern Territories fight to the end, and with the support of the Northern Territories' offensive, they might be able to establish a true nation on their own.

But these idiots came up with a parliamentary system...sigh, I wonder who's been manipulating all of this in the shadows.

Eleanor looked away, and Federico quickly waved his hand. Eleanor, feeling as if she had been granted a pardon, followed the soldiers and hurriedly retreated.

Annie was incredibly excited. She had done it. With her intentions thwarted by the unexpected, no one could have imagined that she, after escaping the royal city, would become a scout in the Southern Duchy.

She successfully deceived Elene with a simple disguise, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, she will be taken to the Northern Territory as a surrendered soldier.

Meanwhile, inside the military tent, after recording the intelligence, Elena suddenly curled up a cold smile on her lips.

"Go, Federico, take care of that guy."

"Yes, sir."

Federico accepted the order, and he also noticed that something was wrong with the female scout.

She was too honest, so honest that she didn't seem like a scout who would willingly rush into the battlefield. If she were a righteous person who entered the military tent with endless hatred, directly berated the commander of the Northern Army, and would rather die than reveal a single word of information.

Federico, on the other hand, would find it normal.

We've seen tough nuts to crack before. There have been at least eighty or a hundred people lately who dared to carry out decapitation strikes just because they had some skill.

But she chose to back down... What does that mean? She just drew her knife and knelt down. Did she come here to offer up the knife?

Upon receiving the order, Federico quickly left the tent and took his battle axe from Erian, who was standing outside.

He chuckled and put his arm around Arian's shoulder.

"Come on, kid, I'm taking you on a secret mission."

Arian twitched his lips. He had been granted permission by Elene to become one of Federico's soldiers.

"No, Battalion Commander. Since it's a secret mission, according to military regulations, I have no right to know or participate."

"This is Lady Elene's order. How can you, as her child, not share her burden?"

Federico gently tapped Arian's head, and without a word, pulled him along the path of torches lit up by the night sky.

"You brat, a secret mission is a secret that only our own people can know. Aren't you one of us?"

"..."

Arian was helpless; Federico's thick arms were pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breathe.

Fortunately, when they passed an engineer's tent, Federico borrowed two shovels from inside and handed them to Erian.

A shovel? We're breaking camp tomorrow, what would we do with a shovel?

Arian couldn't understand it, but he didn't ask any more questions. He obediently followed Federico, and the two soon left the military camp and came to an open space.

Annie, who had been brought here for some unknown reason, turned around in fright, and as soon as she saw the shovel in Arian's hand, she immediately understood his purpose.

"Don't blame us." Federico stepped across the muddy grass, skillfully pulled a small knife from his pocket, and tossed it at Annie's feet.

"We don't have time to interrogate a suspicious prisoner of war. Take your own life; consider it a privilege I'm granting to the lady."

A gentle breeze blows, and a light drizzle seeps through my clothes, leaving them damp and cool.

The reversal came so quickly that Annie was stunned. She turned to look at the camp of the Knights not far away in the open space.

The cavalry were close at hand; she had nowhere to run.