Progress

Luxanna was suddenly hit with Nidu's suggestion that she could become queen, and it gave her a serious headache.

She did hope the northern nobles would become more progressive, but not in this way—not this obviously political opportunism masquerading as "progress."

All Lux could do about Nidu's nonsense was reject it in no uncertain terms.

However, Nidu wasn't willing to give up so easily.

Though he had been among the first nobles to come to Freljord in hopes of solving the population exodus, Nidu was nothing like Guswo, who had spoken plainly and directly.

Ever since Lux had helped him free himself from the shackles imposed by his family's collateral branches, Nidu had proudly considered himself one of Lux's staunchest supporters. He was the sort who openly called for Luxanna to become the leader of the north.

However, behind this outward support, his true motivation was still his own interests. He had given up the textile industry controlled by the collateral branches in exchange for large agricultural contracts from Freljord. Beneath all his talk of principles, Nidu was thinking about business.

So this time, when he came forward to encourage Lux to become queen, Nidu wasn't merely trying to pick a side. After crippling himself by abandoning the textile industry, he had shifted the Nidu Family's territory, Temula, entirely over to agriculture. Temula was fairly close to Freljord, and its commoners had plenty of contact with the city. When Freljord began absorbing people on a massive scale, Temula had been hit far too hard!

With his industry completely tied to Freljord, Nidu didn't want to foolishly say no to Lux. And now that he had finally cleared away the influence of the collateral branches, he had begun to see farming and rent collection as beneath him.

Nidu wanted a big