The dinner was scrumptious. Althea wasn't sure if it was prepared by magic, but it was perhaps the best she'd had yet. The Steward had joined her after she persuaded him for a minute, and for once, he was happily devouring the food.

"Keron may know it." the Steward said, his mouth stuffed with food, muffling his words.

"Know what?" Althea asked, covering her stuffed mouth with her hand.

"The Zerolian kid." the Steward said. "Keron might know what happened to him."

"Oh?" Althea murmured. "Is he a bit of a gossip?"

The Steward scoffed, careful not to spill food from his mouth.

"In his own words, women tend to tell him things when he is…bedding them." the Steward said, his face contorting at the mention of sex.

"Steward, I am aware of what bedding means." Althea reminded, trying to stop herself from giggling. "There is no need to avoid talking about it in front of me."

"Talking about that is still highly inappropriate, Countess." the Steward answered, his voice spoiling into outrage. "As it stands, you are my commanding noble, I must maintain decorum in my interactions-"

"Steward Ven." Althea interrupted. "How many times have you saved my life? Guided me when I needed it? Given me advice even when I did not want it?"

The Steward looked at her, a piece of pasta dangling off his fork as he looked on awkwardly. Was he actually calculating it?

"There have been quite a few times like that, haven't there?" Althea commented. "And I appreciate that. The county couldn't do without you, you are its protector. The Empire may count you it's Steward, but I count you my General and Prime Minister. The advisor I rely on when things get hard. So please, do not mind the formalities. That is not how I rule."

The Steward put the pasta in his mouth delicately, looking thoughtful as he chewed on that one piece of pasta.

"If you say so, Countess," he finally replied.

"And now about your bottleneck, please tell me if there is something I can do to help you." Althea held the Steward's gaze, trying to figure out what held him back.

The Steward sighed. "There is. But I would recommend waiting till you reach the Master stage until you attempt it, Countess. The emotions involved in this particular case may be too much for the current you to handle."

Althea thought about the encounter she'd had with the Steward's emotional side back when she found out Nathan's identity. That event had long been buried in her memory, but now it returned to the forefront. Was that what held him back? What was it exactly? What was so powerful that it could keep a person that had gotten a Grandmaster Skill in the Adept stage? What exactly held such terrifying power?

The Steward continued eating as Althea watched, deep in thought. The dinner suddenly seemed to be unimportant as she thought of the pain that was hidden behind the calm facade. The Steward had always been silent in her memory, barely if ever speaking up. Just about every heard he spoke was about business.

The two-dimensional character that was just there to say things when the author wanted to give information. Or to hand-waive problems away. After that, he faded back into the background.

The Empress and the Emperor were technically his friends, but did they actually spend time anymore? Did he have any friends other than them? Did he actually talk about his feelings to anyone? How long had he been pining over Jerissa exactly?

"Are you not eating, Countess?" the Steward asked.

"No, I am full." she replied. The Steward continued eating as she wondered. The Steward had powered the carriage here, which had to consume a lot of mana. Was he not tired at all?

"I will arrange for accommodation for the night, we can leave in the morning." she said, resolving to try to be better at taking note of her most powerful subordinate's feelings.

The Steward simply looked up as she got up, an analytical look on his face. Althea ignored it, she was the Countess. This was her duty.

And so was making sure the most powerful man in the county did not have mental health issues.

sc

The carriage rumbled as it traveled through a stormy cloud, the windows thudding as it flew towards its destination. But for all the clamor, the structure remained intact. The Steward was too good at his job for it to fall apart now.

The clouds parted, and Deadre appeared, the

The Diery palace appeared as the carriage practically fell towards the training ground. And then, as if a phantom wind had caught it, it changed direction, circling the building a few times as it slowed down.

The inside of the carriage was nearly unaffected, had she not been looking out of the window this entire time, she would have not been aware that it was even happening.

The circles continued until the carriage came to a stop, carried forward only by a gentle wind she could feel at the back of her mind. The Steward's doing, no doubt.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

The carriage landed, and she got out, careful about how she looked. A Countess had to be presentable, after all.

The palace was a hubbub of activity, as usual. The servants barely had time to greet her as she briskly walked to her office. The old wood doors creaked open as she entered the posh waiting hall, expecting it to be empty. To her surprise, it was not.

"— do not know this woman. There are times when the Countess' will must be over the law, and this is-" Mira said as she entered.

Althea raised an eyebrow at that. Looked like she had just encountered an interesting conversation.

"Is there something I should know?" she asked.

"Yes, your grace." the Minister of Justice interrupted before Mira could answer. "A woman by the name Gerrilda Harkins has requested citizenship by descent for her daughter Emilia Harkins."

"Emilia is Nate's lover, your grace. The person who-" Mira began to explain.

"I am aware of who Ms. Harkins is, Mira." Althea replied as she walked towards her office. The female lead. The person who 'ruined' her marriage. What she had done did not matter, what mattered was why she was here.

The female lead should be off frolicking in the Zun Empire, not here. Did the diplomatic talks with them not work out? What has changed now? And what was this about the female lead being able to become a citizen of the county?

Althea took her seat, finding the office just as she left it. Not even a layer of dust waiting for her.

"Has she or her mother mentioned why they are applying for citizenship now?" she asked.

"Yes, your grace, they hope that Ms. Harkins can enroll in the college two years from now, when she turns eighteen." the Minister replied.

"Hmm." Althea thought it over. "What does the girl want? Does she wish to return to her lover, or follow her mother's wishes?"

"Countess! There is no need for you to allow that woman to-" Mira began.

"Please, Mira." Althea interrupted. "I may be able to change some laws at a whim, but that doesn't mean that I should. Even if I had an actual protest to Ms. Harkins coming here, I should not deprive her of her rights."

The Minister looked triumphant, prompting Althea to give him a look. Boasting over out-reasoning an emotional seventeen-year-old wasn't exactly mature of him.

Hmm, if she thought about it, wasn't even she, the Countess, just eighteen? And Vanessa and Isa could not be much older. In a way, this county was being run by teens. And people hadn't blinked an eye. How curious.

Althea sighed, turning to the two people in front of her. "Tell Ms. Harkins I would like to meet her."

The Minister walked away, looking quite happy about her decision.

"Countess…" Mira said. "There is no reason to let that woman in. The mother-daughter abandoned the county the second a better opportunity came around. The county does not owe them anything. There is no need for you to relive that pain again."

Althea smiled. Even now, Mira was doing what she had done all those years in the Bern march. Protecting her, going beyond her job and breaking rules to do what she thought was right.

"That is where you are wrong, my dear. There are few people that would not go to where better opportunities lie, that is just human nature. The greedy part of us wants more, and we spend our lives seeking it. And as for owing them, yes we do. The county owes them fairness, just like we owe it to every other person that comes to this court."

Mira said. "I would never leave you, your grace. Not if I was offered ten times the salary."

Althea laughed. "And that is why I trust you, my friend. Now, if I do not remember the date wrong, aren't you turning eighteen next week?"

Mira's face paled as she straightened, avoiding Althea’s gaze. "Ye-yes, your grace."

"What are your plans?" Althea nudged. There weren't any, were there?

"I- um, Steward Gan is going to make me a cake, and we are going to eat it in the kitchens."

"How about we have the party on a slightly bigger scale? How about in a ballroom instead? There are far too many of those in this palace." Althea replied.

Mira looked like she wanted to protest, but didn't know what to say.

"The maids can participate, of course. The only difference is that it will be held in the ballroom, and there might be one extra guest." Althea replied, wiggling her eyebrows.

Mira giggled. "Of course, your grace. I would be glad. But are you sure you want to keep a celebration just a week before the harvest? There will be the harvest festival soon anyway."

"What about it? A single celebration isn't going to make too much of a difference. I will make do." Althea replied as Mira stepped away. The Minister would probably take a while to get Ms. Harkins. Deadre wasn't exactly small, and she doubted that the mother and daughter were in the palace.

There was more than just what she told Mira influencing her decision. Emilia Harkins was the female protagonist of a fantasy romance. That involved a mandatory superpowered ability. In her case, she had the ability to manipulate the age of living creatures.

A sure to be valuable ability that would cause a huge uproar if revealed publically. There were limits to Emilia's ability, but there were too many old fogies that wouldn't care.

The author went on about causing errors in DNA and correcting them while referencing backups. Althea glossed over it. In fact, she had skimmed through most of the latter part, something she was sure would be an issue eventually.

The Empire fell into peril towards the end, but she wasn't sure how. At that point, she had been too frustrated with the writing to care. A random Lord had appeared from somewhere, with a massive army and powerful helpers, and tried to take the capital by force.

The female protagonist had coordinated a masterful plan to stop it. Althea, of course, did not remember one bit of said masterful plan. The content just wasn't important enough back then. Now, she regretted that. How was she to know that this was the book she would be transmigrating into?

So, she had to have the next best thing. The person that made said plan. Befriending the female lead was basically the meta in these kinds of situations anyway.

Mira popped her head into the office again.

"There is a letter for you that is critical, your grace. I kept it on the table." she said, stepping out again.

Althea looked at the table, indeed finding a letter. A letter stamped with the seal of the Diery agricultural company. The wind tore the envelope open as she pulled the letter out. A lot of words. A lot more than were needed. But she could see why they wrote it like that.

A number of noble houses had refused to buy crops at all, quoting a number of excuses. From lack of money to having enough food all ready. So many words that only told one thing.

If the county did not sell the crops outside, they would make a loss. The Leria Duchy could only handle so much. The first voyage to the Enara Empire had suddenly become very necessary.

The Duke's work, she had no doubt.