Riya watched the three people in front of her squirm underneath her gaze, she would have apologised for being so intimidating but Shuu was paralysising her with his gaze, promising that if she didn't act like the Aub she is, he's gonna make her regret it.

All is well… All is well… don't you dare mess this up Riya! All is well… "So you two are the carpenter and the blacksmith that have been called to serve under me, correct?"

The bulky looking men nodded as fast as their necks would allow.

"Yes, My Lady!"

"Yes we are, My Lady!"

“Yes, My Lady!”

Ok… now what? She slightly turned her head to Shuu to see what she should say next. Shuu cocked his head slightly to the left to Sebastian, an attendant of hers who made the cut. He was holding onto the blueprints for the paper making technology, a blueprint on the fountainpens and how to make them and a list of ingredients needed to make ink. Right… she needed to give the tasks… “I assume you three already know why you’re here and have agreed to help me?”

The trio looked at eachother, Riya wasn’t sure whether she saw determination for getting the chance at glory shining through their eyes or maybe money or maybe both before nodding in unison.

"Yes, My Lady. We're honoured to serve and contribute to your cause," The carpenter (named Jhon, his name was definitely Jhon) said with conviction.

The blacksmith (Percy? Was that his name?) added, "We've readied ourselves for the tasks ahead, My Lady. Rest assured, we'll give it our all."

Riya nodded, reassured by their commitment. "Excellent. Here are your assignments."

She took a moment to gather her thoughts before proceeding. "Sebastian, you'll oversee the production of the paper-making machinery. I've provided the blueprints and specifications. Ensure that it's crafted with precision."

Sebastian inclined his head in acknowledgment, a glint of determination in his eyes.

Riya turned her attention to the carpenter. "You will be responsible for crafting the tools needed to make a new novelty item called ‘paper’. The blueprint details the specifications, but feel free to consult me if you need further assistance." She was doing it! She was talking formally! She was ordering people around without a stutter! Hooray!

The carpenter nodded.

Riya addressed the blacksmith. "You will be responsible for crafting a new novelty item called a ‘fountain pen’. The blueprint details the specifications, but feel free to consult me if you need further assistance." Ensure their quality meets our standards."

The blacksmith's eyes gleamed with excitement (maybe?). "Understood, My Lady. I'll make certain we have the finest commodities available for purchase."

Riya addressed the Head of the Ink guild. "And last but not least, you will be responsible for making and selling a new and cheaper way to make ink. The blueprint details the specifications, but feel free to consult me if you need further assistance." Ensure their quality meets our standards."

Riya surveyed the trio, satisfaction blooming within her. "You've been chosen for this endeavour because of your skills and dedication. Together, we'll revolutionise the way knowledge is preserved and shared in this realm."

She held their gazes, her mouth felt dry but she couldn’t waver now. She was an Aub! She was supposed to be a leader! Act like a leader!. "Report back to me in one month's time, along with a prototype if possible. Your contributions will shape the future of our kingdom."

The trio nodded. With one last bow, they left to embark on their respective tasks, leaving Riya with a feeling of needing to vomit out her guts because damn, being a leader was hard.

After they left she looked at her attendants, “You all did well today, you may leave for a tea break while Shuu and I talk.” It sounded like a request but there was no such thing as a superior ‘requesting you’ in Noble society, it was an order.

Hence, the attendances left for a short tea break..

“So?!” She asked Shuu, brightening up a bit after all that hassle, “How was it? Did I do well?!”

“It was good, not going to lie.” Shuu said, “But you need to be a bit more confident in what you say, and your posture was lacking.”

LACKING~?!?!?! “How?!”

Shuu though for a minute, “Try holding eye contact more and smiling-”

“No no, I mean, how was my posture lacking?” Riya asked.

“You slouched.”

Riya deflated like a balloon after hearing that.

“See?” Shuu said, “Like that.”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Riya deflated even more, "I'm never going to get this right." She said, "It's too hard! They'll never see me as a true Aub! I'm going to accidentally blow our cover just you wait!" What kind of 'messenger of the Gods' could be so bad at elegance and manners?! She then looked at Shuu. "Shuu! How are you so good at this?"

"I used to go to a private school, most of the students would tear into any weakness I had or if I ever showed weakness." Shuu said slowly, "Of Course, I was also in the MUN club, so it could have been from that as well."

Oh…

"... You like to read books, right?"

Riya slowly nodded, "Ya, fiction only though."

"Then why don't you try to act like that? Princesses and other nobility from books you've read?"

… Could she do that? But which one? Most of them acted like they were still in the modern world or were very… questionable moral wise (looking at you Penelope Eckhart and all those other isekaied Female leads who do absolutly nothing to stop slavery when you relise slavery exists in your kingdom!) Most even slapped servants! Who does that?! Just because they're in a new world doesn't mean they get to commit workplace abuse!

"No… I don't think they're good role-models in this situation…" Most were caught up in petty drama and tried to bring others down instead of simply running away to like a moderately wealthy life as a commoner (except in that one Manhwa where the male lead and the female lead run away to sell fried chicken, that was funny and refreshing to see!)

"What about Doroma? I mean, TV-dramas?" Shuu asked, "The way they talk and walk? Those two specifically."

TV-dramas? As in… Serials?

Riya started to think, she hadn't seen many Serials, they dragged on for too long and had too many convoluted plot lines. All of them were based on family in a sense, not family per say but more like hierarchy, one person upsets the hierarchy and suddenly everything goes to hell.

But…

They did walk and talk like they were these royalty or something, maybe she could try to emulate those?

It wasn't a solid plan, it wasn't even much of a plan to begin with, but maybe she could look a bit more graceful if she tried to walk how they walked? Talked how they talked?

Would it be enough to not expose her and the others? Enough to keep her head?

OOO

Riya didn’t bother to knock on the door when entering, but as she sat down, she made a gesture for the attendants to pour her a cup of tea. “So… Why did you call me here, Max?” Riya asked.

“You said you used to study Geography in uni?” Max asked as he looked up from the work that he was doing.

Riya nodded, “Yes? I was in Bsc Geography, Honours? A first year?” Where was he going with this?

“How are your trends going so far?” Max asked.

Riya thought about it for a few minutes, “Well, so far so good, haven’t gotten any complaints so far or anything like that and I’d got this letter from… Uh… John, I think his name was? He was the carpenter in charge of the paper making? Anyways, I got a letter from him saying that the prototype is almost finished and I was gonna go see how it looks, so currently I’m free?”

Max nodded, “Good good, does that mean you could do something else for me?”

Oh no, “Do you want me to take on more work?” Riya said, sure she was free… but did she really want to do any work? Couldn’t she just laze around for a few more months? On the flip side… She was getting kinda bored… There were only so many hours in a day she could bear to try and play the Harspiel (an instrument that looked like a frankenstein mashup of a guitar, a harp and a sitar) and miserably fail (her stubby little fingers were having trouble grasping at the strings ok?! It could happen to anyone!). And because she was supposed to be ‘lady-like noble-like’ she couldn’t go out to visit the commoner marketplace! The only thing she could do was socialise and hold ‘tea-parties’, read a book or go out for a walk.

But Riya’s socially-awkward ass hated ‘tea-parties’ and all the books in this universe were non-fantasy (she finished reading all the books in her bag ages ago~! Except for the textbooks… and the book series that was based on this weird place… Those books just weren’t vibing with her…) and she absolutely hated going out for walks (her retainers always chided how she wasn’t walking ‘like a lady-noble’).

Max nodded, “I need you to do a survey of the land if that’s possible, of course you don’t have to do it, but it would make my job so much more easier if someone who knew what they were doing was the one doing the map work.”

Riya thought about it for a minute, she actually had no idea on what to do, not really, her uni (as stupid as it sounded) had never taken her on any trips at all and only taught them stuff from books and notes the teachers gave, crazy right? The subject where exploration is a must to understand the subject and they say they don’t ‘have the budget’ to do any of the trips!

Probably because all the Uni’s budget is going towards the science and engineering departments, Riya’s classroom wasn’t even properly painted from what she remembered! Just eggshell-white walls of plaster of paris surrounding her and the rest of the twelve students in her class, all day everyday, for five days a week while the other classes had these lovely beige coloured walls…

Geography was, sadly, a very neglected subject… Even though she was paying 35,000 (roughly 500 US dollars) rupees a semester…

"I'll try my best." She said, it's going to take a month. She needed to train some of her retainers so they could also help her with taking the survey, "What's my budget, how long are you giving me to do this and I also need a few extra things."

Max started to sort through his desk before he found a sheet of parchment, "This is your budget." Riya accepted the paper, her jaw dropped, ten large gold coins?! From her calculations of whatever she understood of this universe so far… Ten large gold coins was roughly one hundred core rupees (twelve point five million USD)! "I don't know much about these things, but as soon as possible would be nice if you don't mind, what other extra things do you need?

For now? "A classroom to be honest, I need to train a few others to be able to do it as well so we'll go much faster, otherwise then that, a large blackboard and a few slates and chalk and some rulers and compasses and set squares and-"

"-You know what?" Max said, "Write me the list, I'll gather it all by the end of this week if possible."

Riya beamed a bright smile, "Great! Looking forward to working with you!" That wasn't cringy was it? It didn't sound cringy to her, it's simply something everyone says when they collaborate with each other right? Why was there silence? Was this getting too awkward? It was definitely awkward, best to go away now! "I have some other work to do now, see you around." With that, she left.

Success!