It was a morning that felt longer than usual.
Today was the day I was to choose her maid.
Outside, noble young ladies who volunteered to become my maids were arriving one after another.
***
After a while, Julian was sent out and I, who had quickly finished preparing, went outside.
The noble ladies were welcomed in the second-floor reception room, which could accommodate many guests.
These girls, aged between 18 and 23, offered themselves as my maids.
When I first thought about taking on a maid as Seraphina advised, I wondered who would apply, but more people applied than I expected.
At the banquet, the nobles who had confirmed my influence pushed their daughters into it.
Everyone felt it.
The power structure in the palace is changing unusually.
The rumor that Julian was immortal became a fact through prophecy and signs in the sky.
Everyone knew that Julian had no interest in politics.
Not only was he not greedy, he was actually pretending to be a scarecrow.
Although there seems to have been an interest in welfare work recently, welfare has been a very small part of politics.
In fact, welfare was not even included in the politics that the aristocrats envisioned.
The Count of Kensington's corruption scandal was blown up by Chancellor Langston.
In their view, Julian was still a willing puppet of Chancellor Langston.
In such a situation, I appear, who seems to have influence over Julian comparable to that of Chancellor Langston.
Chancellor Langston's forces were tightly knit, with no room to dig in. It was too late to get in line now.
For those who had been watching the rapidly changing situation for the past three years and had been keeping a low profile without siding with either the Duke of Linchester or Chancellor Langston, I, who appeared Iike a comet, was an opportunity to draw the line.
It didn't matter that I was a Countess.
In the reception room, there were not only the young ladies of the Count's family but also the young ladies of the Marquis family.
'What a cute child.'
It was also possible to select an older person as a maid.
If applications had been received from noble ladies, there might have been applicants.
But Seraphina clearly said 'child'.
I sat in the drawing room, looking around at the pretty girls staring at me, and thought back to Seraphina's advice,
"Bring in a maid. A cute child."
The word 'child' can be somewhat objectively judged, but what criteria should be set for the word 'cute'?
The word cute is too broad and subjective.
In my opinion, all the girls gathered here were cute to look at.
They looked like chicks, all dressed up and observing me in my prime, following my gaze.
Of course, there may be some among them who have come with unlovable feelings.
But to me, who had been through many hardships and had experienced a period when my mind grew old and sick rapidly beyond the years, they were just greenhorns.
"Why are you laughing?"
A girl, unable to bear my silence, asked.
"Because you're cute."
At those words, some people laughed innocently, some thought we were joking and smirked. Some people just stared blankly.
"You will be staying in the palace for a few days. Some of you will return home quickly, and some of you will stay."
"Who's left?"
"Well, I don't know yet."
The girls exchanged nervous glances at my ambiguous answer.
It seemed like I was testing us.
"What should we do?"
"First, let's get your room assigned to Mrs. Spencer. She'll give you the details."
Millea, who was sitting closest to me, nodded with a stern face.
The girls seemed scared of Millea.
Someone asked.
"Isn't Lady Spencer a maid of honor to His Majesty the King? Why do you manage us?"
Millea asked the girl's name.
The girl answered quietly.
"This is Yuna Sinclair."
"You can go home, Miss Yuna."
"Yes? Why?"
"That's because you don't know."
The girl's face was crumpled.
Most of the people here have figured out Millea's Intentions.
This position was not one where the Queen, who could have as many maids as she wanted, would select the person.
Sometimes, the Queen would select her maids under some pretext to pair up her relatives' children with suitably qualified gentlemen.
But I am not a Queen.
According to the rule, if you are not of royal blood, you cannot have a maid.
They came in under the pretext of selecting Julian's maids. So they were under the care of Millea, who came in first.
Friendship between nobles becomes a power.
The King's government may receive maids as gifts from the King, but the number of maids the government can have is strictly limited to prevent it from becoming too powerful.
A strictly political position where I can build a personal support base.
There was no way I could have picked an innocent girl who didn't even know that much.
Someone chuckled at the foolishness.
Then Millea reported coolly.
"The two of you should each go back to your homes with Yuna."
The interview, which was more rigorous than expected, began.
***
Today, Bridget, who was in a particularly good mood, was surrounded by cute girls.
Isaac left the courtroom, clutching.
"What the! What the heck!"
In his hand was a judgment with a huge fine written on it.
Isaac has suffered great losses in business recently as Julian has been Implementing relief policies for war victims.
His office was now a mess.
Investigators from the police department came storming through the office, and things quickly deteriorated.
Isaac spent several days trying to salvage the situation by hanging on to the nobles who had invited him to their social gatherings and bribing those with any influence in the area.
But the results weren't very good.
The judge threatened that if the fine was not paid on time, he would go to jail.
They considered themselves lucky because the laws protecting commoners and children were weak, so they could commit such shameless acts and end it with a fine.
Isaac was slapped with a huge fine.
'Oh my God, this, this... what should I do with this?'
There was a danger that all of his assets would be lost.
'Let's calm down.'
Fortunately, Bridget had a lot of money invested in the trading business she mentioned.
He poured half of his wealth into showing off his prowess to the nobles who had won his favor by informing them of the business information.
Yes, even if he pays this fine, the investment will be recovered soon...
He can avoid a situation where he is completely ruined.
Still, Isaac shed tears of blood.
But it was not a time to cry comfortably.
As soon as he left the courtroom, people of all kinds came rushing at him and throwing rotten vegetables and all kinds of trash at him.
"The worst guy in the world!"
“Die!”
"Where are you selling the children, because you have nothing to sell them for?"
"You will be punished by heaven!"
They were civilians who knew what trial was going to take place today and came running.
The guards were having a hard time holding back the crowd that seemed ready to rush in at any moment.
In fact, the crimes of the other nobles who were included in the list were worse and more serious than those of Isaac.
Their trial was prolonged because the issue could not be resolved with a fine.
Isaac covered his face with his arms and cried out in frustration.
"You've got the wrong person! There are still people out there worse than me! I didn't do anything wrong!"
Those words did little to calm the angry crowd.
"Even so, this guy!"
Someone looked through old gossip magazines and compared their faces to Isaac's.
Isaac's face was sold because of the gossip that Bridget broke.
"That's Isaac Winston!"
"Ah, that's him!"
The people became even more excited.
The guards grew nervous and dragged Isaac away, throwing him in front of the carriage.
"Just go in quietly!"
"Ouch!"
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