Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress-Chapter 721: Her Support System
[I know I won’t be able to defeat his memory but I might be able to perform better in something else.]
[I have to win the best performing award this time!]
Arabella’s assistants found a chance to overthrow Ivan who topped monthly and always got the first prize among the rewards and gifts Arabella had set.
Lately, after getting defeated months in a row, they had resigned themselves to fighting for the rewards from the second and below.
But after hearing that Ivan might be gone for a while, they were once again aiming to compete for first prize now that the most formidable competitor was temporarily gone.
They did not mind the extra workload since they were keen on proving that they could do better than they do now.
"Then, I look forward to your performance. I’ll give twice the usual rewards on who ranks first this time," Arabella further added to their enthusiasm.
With more rewards in mind that they could brag to their families and social circle, her assistants were further motivated to work. They were filled with fighting spirit as they bowed and returned to their seats to begin working.
Meanwhile, Arabella left her office and prepared to head to the Court Sessions.
Her maids checked her once again just to make sure she looked best for her first Court Session without Ferdinand.
"Dress. Check."
"Jewelry. Check."
"Crown. Check."
"Heels. Check."
"Ring. Check."
"Overall appearance. Perfect."
"Aura. Superb!"
"I think this will do. They will be awed and intimidated at the same time," Irene and Carla finally concluded.
Blanca and Eunice were silent but they were also checking that everything was perfect.
Only once they thought Arabella was dressed to kill did they finally allow her to head to the throne room. They even followed her closely and made sure none of her jewelry and clothing accessories were misplaced.
[This should do it. If they look down on Her Majesty despite all this, something must be wrong with them.] Irene thought.
[Everything will be alright, right?] Carla nervously thought.
[We have done our best to prepare. Nothing should go wrong.] Even Eunice was worried.
[I don’t know why everyone is so nervous since I have not encountered other nobles aside from the ones in Her Majesty’s immediate circle yet. Are they truly that terrifying? Will they be willful even towards Her Majesty?] Blanca was fretting as well.
They kept having panicky thoughts that Arabella began to grow nervous as well.
’I have done this repeatedly in my past life. There is nothing to fear,’ Arabella chanted in her mind to calm her nerves.
She was confident she could do this earlier, but now that they were close to the throne room, she was nervous as well. Especially since she kept hearing panicky thoughts from her maids.
[What if they insult Her Majesty?]
[What if they do not pay attention while she is speaking?]
[Her Majesty is still trying to build her support base and reputation so she cannot talk back carelessly even if someone was rude.]
[Will Her Majesty be alright?]
’Please stop worrying about such things. You are making me lose my mind as well,’ Arabella wanted to say. She was happy that her maids were genuinely concerned about her well-being but their thoughts were making her panic too.
[I wrote a letter to my parents and they replied favorably. I hope they do their best to support Her Majesty.]
Carla prayed for Arabella’s success since she had been treating her very well contrary to the other households’ worries that Arabella might not treat them well.
[My family said they would do their best to support Her Majesty if the need arose. I hope they could be useful. Her Majesty is so generous and has been so kind to us. She always gave a lot of gifts. Rather, we are the one who gets to use and consume the gifts given to her most first before she distributes to everyone else.]
Irene wanted to give back for everything she had been receiving.
[I wish I had a family that could help Her Majesty as well. I have no one to ask since Aunt Esme is so far out in Safiro and her existence is a secret.]
Blanca was saddened she had no one to call for support. She still sent a letter to the one who had been assigned to pretend as her family’s butler and representative in Court Sessions. He was secretly one of the magicians in the Magic Tower and was pretending to be Blanca’s representative to affirm her as the only heir left of her family and the one who hid and protected her.
[The three of us wrote letters to our families and all responded well. Our households were not that powerful but with three of us working together, it should at least count as one Duchy. Blanca doesn’t have any family members left so she counts as the head of her family. Her family may have fallen but it’s an old household so they would keep in mind what her representative would say. The households of Her Majesty’s assistants would surely support her as well. This means 14 households in total. This should be more than enough. Her Majesty did very well in choosing her assistants.]
Eunice made calculations in her mind and hoped that the voices of their households could help Arabella in case she gets into a pickle.
’Right. I can do this! They would be there to support me. We have a beneficial relationship at the moment so I’m sure they would support me. Among my assistants, only Narcissa’s family might not support me but they knew of a good relationship with Clarisse as well. They have been treating me well so far. Let’s see how they treat me now that Ferdinand is away.’
Arabella felt assured and confident once she thought about things this way.
She took a deep breath before finally continuing to walk to the throne room.
