Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress-Chapter 718: Assigned Somewhere Far From Riva
Once Arabella was ready, she headed to her official office for her meeting with Ivan.
Ferdinand had gone to work so Arabella was on work mode as well.
"Greetings to Your Majesty," Ivan greeted once she arrived. They were supposed to meet in fifteen minutes more but he was already here.
"Follow me inside," Arabella gestured to her office.
Ivan obediently followed her in and waited until Arabella gestured for him to sit before he did.
[I suddenly received Her Majesty’s summons this morning. Did I make a mistake somewhere? I was sure I rechecked all the documents I worked on before submitting them. Or did Narcissa try to do something behind my back? She’s been behaving well lately; it’s also terrifying.]
Arabella heard from Ivan’s thoughts that he was worried Narcissa may have been up to something again because she had been behaving too well lately when compared to her former behavior.
Ivan was worried that Narcissa’s current behavior was just a front because she was scolded by Arabella.
That Narcissa was pretending to have changed for now but had dark plans in mind she would do later once everyone had dropped their guard and relaxed.
However, from what Arabella heard from Narcissa’s thoughts, she had indeed finally accepted that Ivan was better than her.
Narcissa was trying to improve herself to try to catch up with what she was missing or lacking.
Moreover, Ferdinand had assigned knights to guard Ivan while Arabella had asked Alwin to assign someone to watch over Narcissa’s moves.
Thus, Ivan did not need to fret about Narcissa anymore.
But just for sure that Narcissa was not able to do something despite the magician assigned to watch her and the knights guarding Ivan, Arabella decided to ask.
"Good morning, Ivan. How is work for you lately? Have you encountered any difficulties?"
"I’m doing well, Your Majesty. So far, everything is going smoothly," Ivan replied politely.
"Has Narcissa not caused you any more trouble?"
"No, she hasn’t. She has been behaving well lately."
[Did Her Majesty summon me to check whether Narcissa was keeping her promise or not?]
"After her apology, she never approached me again," Ivan added.
[She’s still not talking to me but I prefer it that way. I’d rather not speak with her as well. Who knows when she gets triggered and suddenly gets angry at me again.]
’He’s still traumatized from Narcissa’s actions last time,’ Arabella felt bad for Ivan.
She hoped Narcissa would truly change for the better as she had promised and not cause anymore trouble. This way, Ivan could recover someday and move on from his trauma.
"I see. That’s good then," Arabella nodded.
[If it’s not about Lady Narcissa, then, what did Her Majesty want to speak with me about?]
"Uhm... Your Majesty, did I make a mistake with my work?" Ivan nervously inquired.
"Haha," Arabella could not help but chuckle at his question.
With how much of a perfectionist Ivan was in his work, there was not a single mistake he had committed when he began working for her. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
All the documents he had worked on were superbly done.
[Her Majesty is laughing. Does this mean I truly made a mistake or I didn’t? She doesn’t seem angry, but who knows. Maybe, it’s something else. Or did His Majesty conclude that I am a spy and wants me to resign from my post?!]
Ivan’s thoughts went from bad to worse.
"No need to fret. I did not summon you here because you made a mistake. I simply found a new task for you," Arabella assured her assistant.
Ivan sighed in relief upon hearing her words.
"It’s a task that would necessitate you to stay outside of Riva for a while. Is that alright with you?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. I’d love to do any task as long as it’s something I can do," Ivan had a good response. He had already experienced getting assigned by her elsewhere twice so he was not scared.
[Her Majesty is the best superior I’ve had so far. She’s not underestimating nor judging me because I’m a commoner. She gives me any tasks she thinks I can do but does not overwork me either.]
’Oh my,’ Arabella was delighted at the thoughts she heard from Ivan. It made her want to be an even better superior for him so he could shine as bright as he should.
"I see. That’s good then," Arabella smiled. "I recall from your profile and your research in Cordelia that you are well-versed in agricultural related matters."
[Her Majesty still recalls what my works there were all about?! I thought she would have forgotten by now since she was busy with the issue in Safiro at that time.]
Ivan was touched since his former superiors did not really care about what he could do since once they realized he was so much better than they were, they closed all doors for him so he would not shine brighter than them.
It was quite a sad reality that talents like Ivan do not get the chance to reach their full potential because of such people obstructing them before they could bloom to their fullest.
’I hope this challenge, but likewise, opportunity could help you,’ Arabella prayed. She had high hopes and expectations of Ivan and all her assistants.
"Yesterday, His Majesty discovered that several smaller territories in the Valeria are currently suffering from pests and diseases," she then began explaining the situation.
"Several territories? Is it from the same pests and diseases? Does this mean it has already spread?" Ivan was wide-eyed.
"Yes. Keep this information confidential for now. As far as we know, it originated from a part of Sibruh and spread to the ones near it. His Majesty and his knights along with magicians from the Magic Tower are already there trying to prevent it from spreading further," Arabella told Ivan what she knew so far.
[His Majesty is taking care of it again? He’s so much more diligent than people know.]
