"Augus, you're here. Rise."
Among her subordinates, Augus was considered a man of humble origins.
Of course, he was still a step above a commoner.
In this era, the difficulty for a commoner to acquire knowledge was nigh impossible.
This was the reason the Kingdom of the Moon had declined and the nobility had seized control over half the land.
The gap in knowledge was a gap in resources, and since all resources were controlled by the nobles, commoners who wanted to advance had no choice but to rely on them.
Luo Li turned and sat on her sacred bed, while Momoka naturally took a seat beside her.
"Augus, you've arrived at the right time. Does the Ministry of Land have the results for the preliminary survey?"
Regarding the land issue, the territories currently under Luo Li's direct jurisdiction were Seaview City, the northeast region, and Brilliant City itself.
There was also half of Moonrise City, though it hadn't completely fallen into her hands yet.
Moonrise City was situated above Brilliant City and below Seaview City, making it essentially a piece of fruit ready for the picking.
Taking Moonrise City would be a simple matter, so there was no rush.
In contrast, Seaview City and the northeast region, especially Seaview City, needed to be settled as soon as possible.
"Reporting to Your Highness, we have the preliminary measurements for Seaview City. According to the records, Seaview City is divided into three major districts, with a total area of 353,200 square kilometers."
"Data from the northeast region has also been sent back. The total area is 1,057,300 square kilometers, divided into nine major districts."
"The total area of Brilliant City itself is 281,500 square kilometers, with no districts."
Luo Li nodded. This was close to her initial estimates.
The vast lands of the northeast were excellent for farming, and the focus of future development should start there.
Just as the eldest brother once led the country in China, Luo Li planned to use the same method here.
Developing one region to lead the entire nation.
"I see."
Luo Li nodded and then turned to look at Momoka.
"Momoka, this is Augus from the Ministry of Land. You met him at the meeting before. He will be in charge of arranging the land for the citizens of the Kingdom of the Sun. When you have time, the two of you should meet to discuss how many people and how much land we're dealing with, and where would be most appropriate to place them."
Momoka looked down at Augus.
"Cabinet Minister Augus, I will be relying on you."
"Lady Momoka is too kind."
Augus raised his head with a smile, neither servile nor arrogant, which Momoka found refreshing.
"Augus, there is something I need your perspective on. It happened this morning."
Augus nodded with a smile.
"There is no need to explain, Your Highness. I already heard about it on my way here, and I believe I have a general idea of your thoughts."
Luo Li said nothing. With Augus's intelligence and the position he held, it was natural for him to obtain such information and guess the rest.
Momoka, however, glanced at the silver-haired girl beside her in surprise.
In any country, a monarch's thoughts were meant to be guessed, never spoken aloud.
Yet here with Luo Li, that layer of wariness seemed non-existent.
Whether it was the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet Lola or this Cabinet Minister Augus, they were both very clear about Luo Li's intentions.
They even dared to speak them right to her face.
This was Momoka's first time seeing a country governed this way.
Wasn't she afraid of nurturing a viper in her bosom?
As a monarch, shouldn't she remain aloof so that her subordinates could never fully grasp her depth?
Why was she able to face her subordinates so frankly?
Luo Li was unaware of Momoka's inner thoughts.
"Augus, tell me your thoughts. While Lola is better at internal affairs, you're the one to look to for foreign policy."
At this point, Luo Li frowned slightly.
"It's a pity I can't fully free you from other duties. We're too short-handed. The Ministry of Land was originally meant for Lola, but for now, you'll have to keep handling it."
"Heh, serving Your Highness is the duty of a subordinate. As for the Ministry of Land, do not worry, Your Highness. It will not cause any delays."
Augus chuckled and looked up at his princess.
He was beginning to realize that this princess's heart was sometimes truly simple.
She didn't even have any sense of self-preservation against them.
If it were someone with ill intentions, the Kingdom of the Moon would likely be in chaos by now, wouldn't it?
A monarch like this truly made one worry.
Perhaps that was part of her personal charm.
"Your Highness, the matter you're worried about is actually easy to handle. Simply have Sir Kevin lead the knights and set out."
"What? Augus, are you serious?"
If she let Kevin go, what if he used the army to establish his own power?
Given his influence and the current attitude of the nobles toward her...
If he truly rebelled, at least half of the knights would follow him at his call.
How could that be allowed?
"Your Highness, you're afraid Sir Kevin will become too powerful to control, aren't you? It's not hard to resolve this."
"How?"
"It's simple: split the forces. Have Sir Kevin lead five thousand knights to intercept Demon Marshal Zuka, while simultaneously sending another five thousand knights under Lady Lina's command."
"At the same time, give Lady Lina discretionary authority. If any accident occurs, Lady Lina can simply..."
Augus raised his hand like a blade and made a cutting motion downward.
"...end it once and for all."
Luo Li narrowed her eyes, considering the feasibility.
"The location where Zuka went missing is in the northwest of the Kingdom of the Moon, near the Holy Mountains and the border of the Snow Country. We can simultaneously request the Snow Country to send troops to assist us."
"You have done a great favor for the monarch of the Snow Country, so this should be easy."
"Furthermore, you can station the red flame great dragon currently by your side at High Ridge City."
"In front, there is Lady Lina and the one thousand members of the Dragon Knight Corps. To the north, there are the Snow Country's knights. Behind him, there is a red flame great dragon. Let alone Sir Kevin, even if a Sacred Knight were to arrive in person, they would have to think twice."
"With these three forces surrounding him, you can claim it's to capture Zuka on the surface, while secretly keeping a watch on Sir Kevin and guarding against an incursion by the Holy See's army. It kills three birds with one stone."
"But if a fight truly breaks out, would the knights of the Snow Country actually join the battle?"
Momoka asked, but Augus shook his head.
"They won't need to. Sir Kevin's current situation is not optimistic. His family is constantly being plagued by problems, clearly being plotted against step by step. Kevin himself is likely feeling resentful."
"With that anger in him, Kevin won't want to cooperate with the other side for the time being."
"Besides, with these three forces present, even if Sir Kevin could turn the ten thousand knights he takes with him, he would only be waiting for death. He's a smart man; he knows what to do."
"I am certain Kevin will not choose to rebel at this time."
Momoka paused for a moment and then asked:
"Since that is your judgment, why go to all this trouble?"
Augus gave a calm smile.
"One must always have a contingency plan. I believe Kevin won't rebel now, but fate is fickle. These three layers of insurance will ensure that he doesn't."
Luo Li sat on her sacred bed, listening to their conversation.
From the moment Augus explained the plan, she had a general idea of what he was trying to do.
This wasn't really about killing Kevin, but simply adding layers of insurance.
But for the safety of the Kingdom of the Moon, one layer wasn't enough.
The presence of the red flame great dragon was to prevent Kevin from suddenly deciding to attack Brilliant City.
It could at least intercept him.
Giving Lina discretionary authority was for fear that if a direct conflict arose, Lina might not be able to make the hard decision.
Requesting the Snow Country's knights was to put pressure on Kevin while also preventing Zuka from escaping into their territory.
At the same time, these three forces combined would also deter the Holy See.
One plan after another, all linked together.
To be able to think of so much in such a short time, Augus was likely the only one among her people with that kind of talent.
As expected, putting him in the Ministry of Land was a bit of a waste of talent.
This guy was a pure strategist and advisor.
"Fine, we'll do as you say. Go and discuss the details with Lola and see which two Guardian Knights would be best to send."
Augus seemed to have already made up his mind as he responded with a smile:
"Your Highness, there's no need to send a Guardian Knight with the first five thousand knights; just hand the army over to Sir Kevin."
"As for the other five thousand, I believe Sir Yuna is suited for the role."
"Yuna, I see..."
She was the granddaughter of Audis Von and a member of the Von family.
The Von family had already fully committed themselves to the Temple; it would be very difficult for them to go back now.
Even if Audis wanted to regret his choice, the other nobles wouldn't allow a traitor to return.
In other words, Yuna's loyalty didn't need to be tested.
That was another layer of insurance, wasn't it?
Even if Kevin could sway the five thousand knights under his command, he wouldn't be able to persuade those under Yuna.
How did this guy's brain work so fast?
Could it be that he came out of the factory with high-end specs?
With a dozen more cores than the average person?
Or was he actually a robot with a CPU installed in his head?
Luo Li blinked, her mind filled with such mischievous thoughts.
"Alright, let's do that. Discuss the details with Lola later and decide which unit to lead... Actually, you two just decide for yourselves."
She didn't want to say more. Augus likely already had a unit in mind for the deployment anyway.
There was no need for her to interfere; she'd let him handle it.
"Your servant obeys the Saint's Decree."
Augus nodded, turned, and left.
Before he could even walk out of the hall, a knightess walked in.
Hilda.
"Your Highness, Sir Kariel has returned from the Great Wall with ten thousand knights. They have arrived outside the city and are stationed about twenty miles away."
"Guardian Knight Kariel is heading toward Brilliant City with a dozen knights to report for duty."
"Kariel is back?"
Luo Li stood up immediately upon hearing the news.
Among the eight Guardian Knights of the Kingdom of the Moon, she wasn't very familiar with Kariel.
But regardless, he was one of the Guardian Knights under her command.
At the same time, he was the next heir to the Lancaster family, one of the seven families of the Kingdom of the Moon.
After a moment's hesitation, Luo Li frowned. This time, she didn't intend to go out and meet him.
First, he wasn't returning from a war.
Second, he was a member of the pure noble faction.
With the tension between the two sides so high, Luo Li naturally didn't feel the need to give him a warm welcome.
"Let him come."
"Yes."
While they were speaking, Lina came running in from outside.
Her excitement was plain to see, and she was already fully dressed in her armor.
The greatsword was strapped to her back.
"Luo Li! I'm heading out now!"
As soon as she entered, Lina turned to leave in a hurry.
I haven't even said anything yet, why are you in such a rush?
"Lina, wait a moment."
"Hmm? Is there something else? My greatsword is already..."
"Yes, yes, it's itching for a fight. It won't hurt to wait a moment."
This girl really was impatient.
Luo Li quickly took out her token and handed it to Lina.
"Lina, I'm giving you discretionary authority. If anything happens, you don't need to report back; you can handle it directly."
Lina looked surprised as she took the token.
"Don't worry, if anything really happens, I'll take care of it!"
Luo Li nodded and then stepped forward, whispering a single sentence into her ear.
"Watch out for Kevin."
Hearing this, Lina's brows shot up, her expression turning solemn.
A Saintess of a nation having to guard against her own Heavenly Punishment Knight.
The situation in the Kingdom of the Moon was truly a mess. It was a miracle Luo Li was still holding on.
If it were Lina, she would have given up long ago.
"I understand."
After saying that, she tucked the token away solemnly, exchanged a look with Luo Li, and then turned to leave.
This time, Luo Li didn't stop her and watched as Lina walked out the door.
Her first stop would definitely be Dragon City in the north, where she would pick up one thousand members of the Dragon Knight Corps before heading northwest.
As for the matters there, Luo Li didn't need to worry about them.
Ligeia would handle the problems.
The remaining tasks for today were to meet with Kariel and Tristan, who was still recovering from his injuries.
She arranged for the two knights to rest for a few days before setting out for Seaview City.
Next, she sent an order to Kevin, telling him to lead the army to High Ridge City tomorrow.
Then came a visit to the Saintess of Ice, Elizabeth.
After the initial pleasantries, Luo Li explained the reason for requesting troops.
Elizabeth was very straightforward and immediately dispatched 30,000 knights along with three Guardian Knights.
Furthermore, she stated she would send 20,000 knights to the border to prevent the Holy See from causing trouble during the chaos.
Luo Li thanked her repeatedly for this.
She also discussed with Elizabeth the plans to deepen the cooperation between their two nations and strengthen commercial exchanges.
After leaving, she checked with Momoka about the immigrants from the Kingdom of the Sun—their progress, any news, what they needed, and the allocation of funds.
Then she met with Anton to discuss the expansion of the steel factory.
Anton also proposed some solutions.
After a long day of work, Luo Li hadn't even had a single meal.
By the time she returned to the Temple, the moon hung high in the sky.
Luo Li felt as though all her strength had dried up like water.
The moment she saw the bed, her entire body went limp, and she collapsed onto the sacred bed.
Even though the pressure on her chest was quite painful, she didn't have the energy to turn over.
Her physical fatigue wasn't much, but the mental exhaustion made it so that she didn't even want to open her eyes.
"Your Highness, you've worked hard."
Nara looked at her princess with pity.
"Mmh... sleep..."
Luo Li didn't even open her eyes as she mumbled a response.
"Your Highness, you should eat something before you sleep. You haven't eaten all day, and you've just recovered from an illness. What if it gets worse?"
The little nuns quickly stepped forward and helped the dazed girl up.
Nara took the prepared porridge and blew on it gently.
"Your Highness, say 'ah'."
"Ah... mm..."
Rate on N.U.
