They arrived at the hall.
A few armed guards stood guard at the door. In the middle of the hall, a middle-aged man dressed in a gorgeous pale yellow formal robe sat on a chair.
Duke Lucas' chin was covered in a thick curly beard. He had a bloated body. He looked as if his entire body was going to sink into the large chair.
To the right of Duke Lucas was a charming woman wearing a white leather coat. Her face was covered in thick makeup. This was Lucas' youngest daughter, and also his only daughter, Catherine.
When Duke Lucas saw Lifa walking over, there was not a hint of respect in his eyes. He merely nodded slightly and continued to taste the palace wine.
In his eyes, Lifa was just a little girl and did not matter much.
In fact, Duke Lucas was even planning to coax and manipulate Lifa so that he could control the entire Noah Kingdom.
When Catherine saw Lifa walk into the room, a trace of jealousy flashed across her eyes.
She had not expected Lifa to be so beautiful. It should be noted that she had already asked the most famous healers in the Noah Kingdom to make her more beautiful, and had even used holy water from the Temple for that purpose. But even with those, as well as the makeup techniques that many noble ladies had taught her, she still could not compare to Lifa in terms of beauty.
When Catherine's gaze shifted to Rennes, her eyes burned with intense passion.
Catherine's biggest hobby was to collect toy-boys. This was a well-known matter in the entire kingdom.
However, it was the first time Catherine had seen such a perfect man. Compared to the fifteen toy-boys that she had collected, Rennes seemed like the Son of God from the divine realm.
Catherine could already imagine in her head the scene of her having sex with Rennes. A moist feeling came from her body.
This won't do. I must have this man!
Catherine stared at Lifa with jealousy once again.
"This woman seems to have some feelings for me!"
Rennes smiled faintly in response to Catherine's gaze and intimately leaned close to Lifa to whisper softly into her ear.
Feeling the hot air brushing against her ear and smelling the fresh fragrance of Rennes' body, Lifa blushed and only nodded slightly.
Catherine saw the whole process.
It made her even angrier.
As a Tier 5 Grandmage, Lifa had naturally noticed the abnormality on Catherine too. Furthermore, Catherine was staring at Rennes with so much desire in her eyes.
That made Lifa look at her with disgust.
"Lifa, my dear niece, long time no see. You have matured a lot. As your uncle, I am very pleased!"
Duke Lucas finally finished his glass of red wine and slowly stood up from his chair. He spoke some typical aristocratic greetings.
"Uncle Lucas, what business do you have here today?"
Lifa's tone was cold. She was ready to send the guests off at any moment, so there was naturally no politeness and respect in her words.
"Lifa!" Sensing Lifa's attitude, Duke Lucas' expression instantly turned ugly.
"Even your father never spoke to me in such a disrespectful tone. As your uncle, I'm very disappointed in you. Don't tell me that after you've become the Queen, you no longer regard me as your uncle anymore?" Duke Lucas looked at Lifa with a face filled with agony. He even wiped away a few drops of tears that he had managed to squeeze out.
"My father is my father. I am me, Duke Lucas. When I was rising in power, there were some bad rumors spreading throughout the kingdom. I ordered some people to investigate the matter. Guess who they traced it back to?" Lifa said with a faint smile, her eyes filled with iciness.
A few sentences were enough to make Duke Lucas' expression change.
However, an old fox was an old fox after all. Lucas instantly pushed down the dissatisfaction he was feeling and said with a smile, "Oh, I forgot. My little Lifa is all grown up now. I should address you as Your Royal Majesty the Queen, shouldn't I?"
"Uncle Lucas, you didn't come to the palace today just for some boring pleasantries, did you?" Lifa remained expressionless and retained her previous attitude.
Having experienced the cumbersome policies of the previous two generations of rulers, corruption had long seeped throughout the Noah Kingdom, and the main culprits were the nobles.
The nobility had long lost its initial vigor and vitality. Each and every one of them had lost themselves in power and money, no longer able to stop.
The aristocrats could be said to be the tumor that restricted the development of the kingdom.
Ever since she was a child, she had witnessed the terrible deeds done by various nobles with her own eyes. She had long wanted to make a move against them.
However, the power of the nobles was deep-rooted in the kingdom. They had great influence in the kingdom's politics, military affairs, domestic affairs, and culture.
If she made a rash move when she did not have enough power yet, she would very likely cause harm to a lot of civilians and cause the entire kingdom to suffer great losses.
Hearing Lifa's tone turning softer, the beam on Duke Lucas' face got even wider.
"Your Majesty, I am here specifically to discuss the issue of food. I have already raised my purchase price of grain to three copper coins per pound, but some unreasonable people still felt that the price was too low and had even gotten into intense conflicts with my subordinates. I hope that you can issue a new policy to address this, and it would be best if you can send guards to stop these riots."
Duke Lucas made the complaints with rich expressions, as if he was truly a loyal minister dedicated to the kingdom. If one was even a little naive, one could easily be fooled by his superb acting skills.
Lifa had heard of the grain problem, but the truth was not as Lucas said.
Duke Lucas had relied on buying the grain low and selling it high to earn several times the profits, transporting the grain from the south to the north. Now, he was using the excuse of war to deliberately lower the purchase price even more, which had led to the riots.
Duke Lucas' hypocritical expression made Lifa feel even more disgusted with him.
"Guards, escort the guests away!" Lifa shouted coldly.
Her small face was already as cold as ice, and she continued, "Where is the messenger?"
"I'm here, Your Majesty!"
"Pass down my decree. From today onwards, in both the northern and southern markets of the kingdom, the purchase price of grain must be no lower than five copper coins per pound, and the selling price must be no higher than eight copper coins per pound. Draft the decree now and convey it to all the provincial capitals as quickly as possible!"
Lifa's stance was aggressive, and her overbearing voice reverberated throughout the entire reception hall. Duke Lucas' face was as gloomy as a zombie's.
"It seems like I've underestimated you, Lifa!"
Duke Lucas' eyes narrowed slightly, and the trace of a cold smile hung on the corners of his mouth as he said, "But I wonder how much enforcement power the decree from the palace will still have without the support of the nobles!"
"Hmph! Let's go!"
Duke Lucas left some threatening words and was prepared to leave.
"Wait, father, don't leave in such a hurry. Maybe I can help persuade Lifa!" Seeing that her father was about to leave, Catherine immediately became anxious.
After all, she did not even know the name of the man in front of her yet.
She had to find a way to make him hers.
Being her father, how could Duke Lucas not know what his daughter was thinking? Ever since the blond young man had entered the room, Catherine's eyes had not strayed away from him for longer than three seconds.
The problem was that he loved his daughter very much. Otherwise, he would not have brought her here.
Forget it. As long as Catherine could have what she desired, the matter with the grain was of little importance.