Chapter 94 The Cracked Floor She was very...uneasy.

The transfer of power is always accompanied by bloodshed, and Eleanor dislikes bloodshed, especially the blood of innocent people.

In this life, she seemed to have gotten what she wanted: the power transfer between Hertuya and Nolana was a child's play compared to the bloody, years-long wars of the previous two lives.

The nobles who had the power to stir up trouble were all dumbfounded.

With only Princess Alisa remaining as the rightful heir to Hetuya, many others are busy clearing themselves of suspicion for helping Attila commit patricide.

Ophelia of Norlan died on a peaceful morning.

A servant testified that the second princess accidentally touched her lips while mixing poison and was poisoned to death.

As for Myrcella... she went hunting and didn't return all night. Her servants found a letter in her room saying she wanted to go on a long voyage. Anyone with a brain knows that disappearing at this critical juncture means she'll probably never come back.

Even so, Princess Eleanor couldn't be bothered with any pretense.

Logically, she should have cried and said something like, "We should pray for my sister, that the throne will belong to her until my children come of age."

Then the nobles said, "No, no, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day." After three requests and three refusals, they recommended a daughter of a high-ranking noble in the country, like Manzhu, to be married and pass the throne to their next generation.

However, this ambitious princess openly stated that she was unwilling to divorce King Hetuya!

At her mother's funeral, she pointed to the sky and swore to the Great Mother Goddess, saying, "My mother never wanted the two countries to be at odds. She took away that patricide demon to protect our Norlana and bring a happy future to more people!"

If Princess Eleanor were a princess, everyone would surely criticize her for lacking courage, for not daring to draw her sword against Hetuya.

Of course, if she were a princess, no one would be concerned about the issue of succession...

In short, taking advantage of the fact that the nobles of both countries were tied up by one thing after another, Eleanor and Alyssa quickly mobilized the army, preventing the generals from focusing on protecting their families without cell phones.

The ownership of the crown was finally settled amidst this confusion.

Alisa was successfully crowned Queen of Hetuya, the only flaw being that her coronation ceremony was not very formal, as she chose to be crowned at the border.

Even though Hetuya's royal court could move, this cowardly and defensive behavior still drew criticism from the Hetuya nobles.

Princess Eleanor's identity caused some awkwardness.

On Hetuya's side, both nobles and commoners alike joyfully called Eleanor Queen of Hetuya.

However, Nolana still refers to her as Princess, since her future child has the right to inherit Nolana's estate and cannot be associated with Hertuya.

"Please rest assured, everyone."

To ensure that this would not affect peace in the country, Princess Eleanor summoned the heads of the various families.

The princess, wearing a jeweled crown, placed her hand on her belly and whispered, "I will only give birth to two children in my life. The first child may have golden-red eyes or golden-red hair, and she will inherit Hetuya's mantle."

The second child will certainly not have golden-red eyes or golden-red hair; she will inherit Norlana's mantle.

The nobles accepted her terms and demurely presented the princess with flowers symbolizing peace.

If the story ended here, it might not be such a bad ending.

Unfortunately, Eleanor's life continued, and—it took a sharp turn for the worse.

......

"Your Highness, when will you have a child?"

This urging did not occur three or five years later, but only on the second day after she had initially taken over state affairs and begun to handle government matters.

The nobles of the two countries were eyeing the position covetously: Hetuya was very dissatisfied with Alisa's "quality" and hoped to find a better alternative.

Nolana was extremely critical of King Hetuya, wishing that Alisa would die shortly after the child was born.

They were simply stunned by Princess Eleanor and the situation; once they came to their senses, everyone started scheming to divide up the resources.

Eleanor's excuse made perfect sense: she and Alissa were both still young, and the newborn princess would soon grow up and cause all sorts of trouble for the country's stability. Besides, she only planned to have two children, so naturally the later she had them, the better.

Unfortunately, it was no use; nobody paid any attention to her.

The nobles of Norlana firmly believed that once Eleanor gave birth to her first and second children, she would be unable to resist having more.

The Hetuan nobles were not prepared to fully abide by the system of succession by the youngest son. Their private agreement could not be avoided, nor was it concealed from Princess Eleanor's inquiries: when the princess of Hetuan grew up, Alisa could die.

Is this really a good thing? It's not.

Eleanor refused to let the new life be dragged into the mire. She gritted her teeth and continued to expand the pie, trying to use more profits to shut up the greedy faces of the nobles.

But that's too difficult.

In order to skip the bloody struggle for the throne and to expedite the development of various technologies, she had initiated many projects in Enlin ahead of schedule.

These projects were all carefully selected by her as the best options: quick results, high profits, and benefits for the general public.

While Kings Eva and Agnus were still alive, the nobles enjoyed the new inventions brought by the wise princess. They actively participated in the investment and profit distribution, which naturally promoted the development of a better life.

But things are different now.

The Wise Princess—actually the King of Nolana, a monarch who is not the King of Nolana.

She has already played all the cards she had in her past life. The other cards are good, but they need more time to take root and sprout.

Delayed gratification has its limits. Apart from rulers like her and Andra who can see a century in the future, nobles don't care about an idea that "can change the world in a few decades."

They prefer the immediate benefits. The princess actually made empty promises to them, wanted to increase investment in education for commoners, and even wanted to cover the losses of those useless people who were destined to die in the winter.

The nobles' purses were indeed thicker than before the princess ascended to the throne, but all they saw was that river of gold flowing towards those who were never satisfied...

The common people, who were starving and of little use, were left to wander.

They grew increasingly dissatisfied and began to pass this discontent on to their princess.

Eleanor felt suffocated: these warnings seemed polite and restrained, but if they were not met, they would surely turn into a noose that tightly bound her at some point!

Another point of unease lies in military power.

While Eleanor appears to control the military, she can only indirectly manage these most dangerous weapons through skillful political maneuvering and remote control.

This power is entangled in the hands of different people: on one end is Alisa, and on the other end are the generals of two countries.

Eleanor astutely recognized this, and through her abilities and past experiences, she subtly adjusted the generals of Norlana and Hetuya, while also cultivating the royal guard directly under the royal family with more generous treatment.

During this process, Eleanor had a very strange feeling: she believed that if there were such a thing as a data panel, she would see that the generals and royal guards were extremely satisfied, but why did she not feel their corresponding loyalty?

They were loyal to Norlana or Hetuya and were willing to protect her—Princess Norlana, Queen Hetuya—with their lives. Yet, there was something inexplicable separating her from these people, making her very...uneasy.

......

"Alissa".

On a rather ordinary morning, Eleanor called out to Alisa, who was chatting with a pretty servant in the garden.

Alisa immediately pulled her hand back and threw the rose into the grass.

The attendant was even faster; she bowed to the princess, and after receiving Eleanor's approval, quickly took her leave, her legs twitching as if a ghost were chasing her.

"Ahaha, what is it, my dear Queen?"

Alisa bit her lip, then leaned closer to Eleanor as if to kiss her wife, but immediately straightened up.

Eleanor's face was pale, a pallor that made her appear much gentler than usual.

She said softly, "We are allies, you should at least stand by my side in public."

She never expected this guy to have the same effect as Andra—or even Mysera. Alisa had only subdued a few Hetuya tribes that were most closely related to the royal court, but she was at least the "Queen of Hetuya".

When the nobles pressured Eleanor, she neither objected nor agreed; she...she acted as if she hadn't heard anything and didn't react at all.

This is the worst possible reaction.

"...Eleanor, you're too nervous."

Alisa paused for a moment, then said somewhat awkwardly, "This is Enlin, your territory. Nobody can kick us out, so why care about what those people say?"

"......"

Eleanor didn't know what to say for a moment.

Their presence in Enlin was a terrible situation in itself: Enlin wasn't the capital of Norlana, and they were trapped here!

Yes, she could return to the capital of Norlanna at any time, but Alisa certainly wouldn't go with her. Once they were separated, the two already strained nations would easily break off their ties.

Even staying in Enlin is not safe.

First of all, it is a city that is very difficult to defend. Even a tactical genius like Andra in the previous life needed to rely on constant attacks to ensure defense. If Alisa were to defend the city, she would probably fail on the spot.

Secondly, after taking action to deal with Ophelia and sending Mycelia overseas, Princess Norana lost the trust of many of her followers.

Eleanor couldn't possibly fool everyone; under her direction and through "deception," everyone made decisions that seemed to stem solely from ambition.

No one but her knew what the mediocre Ophelia and Myrcella would bring to the country; they—whether enemies or friends—could only see Eleanor cruelly killing her own sister for the crown.

She still managed to salvage the mess by playing the good cards she had, but her title among the nobles had changed from "Sage Princess" to "Golden Serpent".

She sighed and quickly explained to Alisa their precarious situation.

Eleanor took her arm and walked quickly toward the hall, whispering as she went, "Don't even think about using the traditions of Hetuya to marry the beauties they send over."

"Ah, are you jealous?" Alisa smiled, a hint of amusement in her eyes.

How could anyone be so stupid?

Andra married them and had children to appease the nobles and gain more tools for rule, but you and my ally, one out of every two of your children could replace you!

Eleanor turned her head away in disbelief, and ultimately did not utter a curse.

It's no use, and this person's smug face...does look a little like Andra.

She patiently said, "You should at least bear with it for a few years. Your situation is different from mine. You are the safest person because you don't have children."

"Hmm... So what do you need my help with?"

Hearing Alisa's softening tone, Eleanor had the illusion that this person was really going to start helping her, and also helping herself.

They were about to enter the hall.

Even though everyone around her was nominally her "loyal servant," and each of them was at least a talented person in blue letters, Eleanor still lowered her voice.

"The people I've summoned today are all nobles of Norlana. Be with them—no matter what they ask for, no matter how I respond, please stand firmly on my side."

Alisa paused for a moment, then blinked happily at her wife's pleading gaze.

"Don't worry, leave it to me!"

For some reason, Eleanor wasn't thinking of Andra at that moment, but rather...

Mysella.