In his daze, Lu Li seemed to hear a light chuckle.
Looking at Julia again, her expression had already returned to calm.
At the same time, as if she had sensed something, she suddenly turned her head, frowning as she looked toward the empty throne atop the grand hall.
“What's wrong?” Lu Li's gaze followed hers to the throne, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes.
“It's nothing.”
Julia shook her head and stood up. Looking back at the youth, her expression grew a little peculiar.
Seeing her staring at the top of his head, Lu Li suddenly realized something. He quickly reached up to feel his hair, and just as he expected, a tuft had stuck up again.
“Laugh if you want...”
Lu Li didn't know what was going on either. Ever since he noticed a tuft of hair sticking up, he had tried to flatten it several times, but it just refused to go down.
When they were outside, the wind was always blowing, so nobody could tell his hair was messy. But the moment he entered the grand hall, his true state was exposed.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but after he said those words, Julia's features softened noticeably.
Her eyes had always left a deep impression on Lu Li—as deep as the starry sky, and as sharp as an eagle's.
If not for that, he wouldn't have been so scared of her that he hid whenever they met when they were children.
Although her gaze was still just as deep now, it lacked some of its former sharp edge.
However, Julia did not laugh. She merely extended a finger and, with a focused and serious expression, pressed it against the tuft of hair sticking up on Lu Li's head.
Then, something miraculous happened. The strands of hair that refused to cooperate under Lu Li's hand actually lay down obediently and smoothly.
Just as Lu Li was wondering how she had pulled this off, Julia spoke again.
“Your Holiness,” she called out.
“Hmm?” Lu Li indicated he was listening.
“I have no family left in this world,” Julia continued.
“Oh—”
Lu Li understood. She was hooked on this.
But it was understandable. After all, she had suppressed her emotions for so many years. Now that they were finally released, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe it as a tiger breaking out of its cage.
So he raised his eyes to look at her, his gaze filled with sincerity.
“It's fine. I will always love you like a father.”
Julia: “...”
“Do you have nothing to ask me?” she asked, unwilling to give up.
“Tsk,” Lu Li curled his lips, stating the truth that had plagued her for fifteen years in a single breath. “What is there to ask? It's nothing more than the typical mess of the royal family. Usurping the throne, fratricide...”
Power was indeed a terrifying thing. One thing Julia said was actually spot on: power was born a wild beast.
Emperor Shun of Song, Liu Zhun, was only thirteen when he died. Emperor He of Qi, Xiao Baorong, was only fifteen...
Examples like these were simply countless.
Otherwise, why would he be working so hard?
He certainly didn't want to follow in the footsteps of his predecessors and die at an early age.
“And after this? Do you plan on reclaiming the throne of Northland?” Lu Li asked casually.
In truth, he was only joking. Julia didn't even want to become the Pope, so how could she possibly care about the throne of a minor kingdom?
Naturally, she did not care for it, and she also caught the playful tone in his words.
“If you keep taking advantage of me, I might consider it.”
“Uh... this is also one of the Pope's responsibilities, you know...”
A person would always be trapped all their life by what they could not obtain in their youth.
Because he didn't have a son of his own, he was always looking to play the father...
When the ladies-in-waiting went to take inventory of Ragna Rowe's belongings, they discovered that only a single painting remained.
It depicted the castle of the royal capital in crude brushstrokes. The lines were childish, looking like the playful work of a novice.
Perhaps because it was worthless, it had been left behind by the attendants who had looted the palace and fled.
Seeing Julia staring at the painting for a long time, Lu Li couldn't help but ask with curiosity:
“Do you really like this painting?”
“Yes.” Julia nodded slightly, then chuckled softly. “This used to be my favorite painting.”
“Used to be...” Hearing this, Lu Li subconsciously asked, “And what about now?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he felt that something was slightly off. Sure enough, he saw Julia turn around, looking at him with a warm smile in her eyes.
“I...”
“Shoo!”
...
The fall of the Kingdom of Northland declared the end of the war in the north. However, under the seemingly peaceful surface, undercurrents still surged.
The Havaron Empire, in the name of being an ally of Northland, proposed negotiations to the Holy State, demanding that the Holy State return all of Northland's territory.
However, neither Lu Li nor the Secretariat would ever agree to such a request.
It was just that the Pope cared far less about this right now.
On his way back to the holy capital from Northland, he noticed that even though winter had already arrived, some of his subjects were still wearing thin, single-layered clothes. This made him realize that the pace of industrialization had to be accelerated.
“Julia, how is the promotion of the machinery going?” Lu Li asked. He sat in the warm carriage of the train, his gaze fixed on the pristine white snow outside the window.
Traditional steam engines suffered from insufficient boiler pressure and limited steam temperature, resulting in extremely low energy conversion efficiency.
Although this world's research in the supernatural domain made up for these shortcomings, he had overlooked an extremely critical issue.
As an improved power core capable of significantly increasing energy conversion efficiency, the red mercury power engine had one fatal flaw: it was highly expensive.
In the Holy State, a large portion of the mineral veins, including red mercury, was controlled by the nobility. It was the very foundation of their livelihood.
“There's a bit of trouble, but I will resolve it as soon as possible,” Julia said after a brief silence.
Lu Li turned his head to look at her, his tone very serious. “I do not want to see any child dying of hunger and cold on the streets of the Holy State.”
“Children are the future of a nation.”
The youth slowly lowered his gaze, his eyelashes trembling slightly as if he was deep in thought.
Not long ago, the laying of the railway had also run into some trouble. To resolve it, Julia had reportedly gained another nickname, which caused her reputation among the nobility to plummet to rock bottom.
“If it's still the same kind of trouble, then do it in the name of God.”
Lu Li raised his eyes once more, his voice calm yet carrying a trace of chill. “Tell them this is the Lord's will, and those who do not comply are all heretics.”
Julia frowned slightly, though not because she found the youth cold-blooded or cruel.
Rather, pushing this matter in the name of the Lord would inevitably drag him into it. When that happened, it would be hard to guarantee what kind of madness the desperate nobles might resort to.
“Oh, right. The Lord has one more task for you to do.”
“He says there is a crop in this world called 'potatoes.'”
Lu Li paused, looking into Julia's eyes before continuing, “Find it, and bring it back.”
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