Previously, during the civil war in the capital caused by the demon invasion, Auberly was stationed in the empire.
Even when he was bedridden with illness, no country outside the empire dared to harbor any thoughts of aggression.
Now that Aubrey has passed away, his daughter has succeeded to the throne.
Despite the ongoing turmoil within the country, the outside world still dares not attack the empire.
No wonder.
After realizing the current situation, many nobles couldn't help but have the same thought in mind.
No wonder His Majesty Auberly insisted on passing the throne to Aurelian.
It seems that he had foreseen all of this.
However, just as everyone was watching and speculating how the empress would reclaim the lost territory,
The sudden news, arriving from outside the capital, shook the hearts of every minister—
A nobleman who occupied the city died a violent death in his own mansion.
It is said that the Empire's Grand Knight Gwen received orders to ride alone to the city that sought to divide it.
She stormed into the nobleman's gate alone.
With a swift stroke of his longsword, he severed the nobleman's head, which was then hung high above the city wall.
Finally, Gwen left behind a chilling warning:
"Disloyalty and disrespect, and the arising of rebellious thoughts, are sins and should be severely punished."
After that, she quickly left the territory.
Before long, the citizens of this city, which had lost its lord, publicly declared that they would forever support Queen Aurelion.
With a single sentence, the city was brought back under the Queen's rule.
The unfolding events left all the nobles who had been observing in the capital completely bewildered.
There was nothing they could do; they were genuinely bewildered.
Because they had never imagined that there was such a way to directly kill the lord and take back the city.
After all, the capital city has not yet fully recovered.
Whether to maintain city order or to revitalize the capital's economy, the empire has poured a great deal of resources into the capital.
Moreover, after the demon incident, the number of nobles decreased significantly, causing a break in the middle-level power and greatly weakening the empire's national strength.
Moreover, this is not how nobles should interact.
As fellow nobles, they were well aware of the situation.
Not all of them wanted to rebel.
On the contrary, if they really had rebellious thoughts, they certainly wouldn't express them openly.
What if they were caught completely unprepared, and as soon as they started to rebel, they were able to muster a huge force?
How is that possible?
Otherwise, Gwen wouldn't have been able to so easily storm into the city and kill the nobleman who wanted to establish himself as independent.
These loyal nobles in the capital immediately understood the other party's demands by observing the signals of independence sent by the nobles who governed other cities.
To put it bluntly, everyone is pursuing profit.
Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, and this is the time when you need to win over the hearts of the people.
Just then, Angus declared independence, and the other nobles began to put on a show of independence.
Once the capital sends envoys from the rear to negotiate, offering some prestige and more benefits, both sides can save face.
This territory can then be easily reclaimed.
They could even bestow upon Aurelion the title of "a benevolent and magnanimous ruler who forgives past transgressions."
As for those nobles with excessive appetites, we can simply ignore them for now.
Once the empire is fully stable, we can settle accounts later and pursue the matter then.
As a result, everyone was watching Aurelion's ability to handle the situation, waiting to see when the young queen would figure out a solution.
However, she directly dispatched Gwen, who killed the rebellious nobleman with a single sword stroke and forcibly reclaimed the territory.
Don't be fooled by what seems like a good thing.
Because with this strike, feigned affection became an undeniable fact.
The corrupt officials who originally intended to take advantage of the chaos to extort money from the royal family all tucked their tails between their legs and began to band together after witnessing Aurelion's thunderous strike.
There's nothing we can do; Aurelion is just too ruthless.
They had only intended to profit from it, never expecting that the empress would be so indifferent to the current lack of nobles and the emptiness of the empire.
They were determined to quell the internal strife first.
They've already declared that since they're going to die anyway, they might as well really prepare for battle.
Meanwhile, inside the palace, the nobles still tried to persuade Aurelion, believing that there was still room for the civil war to subside.
They believed that making an example of someone was enough, and that the remaining nobles could be bribed with large sums of money to directly reclaim their territories.
They have just weathered a horrific internal strife and cannot afford another upheaval in the empire.
As a result, Aurelion's response to them was nothing more than indifference and coldness.
At only seventeen years old, she already displayed the resolute and ruthless demeanor of an emperor.
"No, just kill them."
She sat on her throne, her eyes as sharp as ice blades, looking down at the nobles below who were trying to persuade her, like a cold lion baring its teeth, staring contemptuously at the mortals at her feet.
The once naive girl is now resolute and decisive, her face etched with determination and resolve.
"What I want is absolute obedience."
...
As expected, the nobles' concerns were justified.
After the first nobleman was executed, the territory was returned, and the other nobles no longer harbored any illusions.
They were genuinely scared.
So they stopped pretending and actually began to amass troops, gradually building their own defensive system.
Perhaps only in this way can they gain a sense of security.
But this was clearly not enough, and these nobles began to band together for mutual support.
They knew that the moment Gwen silently beheaded the nobleman, their fate was sealed.
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