The events of last night left a deep impression on the palace. Maids flocked outside my door, eager to serve me. Some of the nobles even waited in the hall to confirm the ‘rumors’ they heard- which is weird, honestly. As for the royalties, they all act as if nothing happened at all. They’re back doing the usual things, as Lyra said. That is what I expected anyone to do so what’s with all the ruckus?
“Madame, are you going to head down?” Lyra asked as she passed me a clean towel to dry my face.
“In a minute. Also, can you tell them to wait in the palace hall?”
When Lyra left, I dropped my body on the bed.
Hah~ I can’t believe the king and the officials weren’t revived the way I expected them to. They were revived, yes, but as freaking assassins. A weak one at that.
I was so sure they’ll go back the way they are but I am dead wrong. Now some of my beliefs about this game crumbled down. I can’t kill an NPC carelessly now, that’s for sure- unless I want an army of dead coming after me which in no way in hell would I want that. Just thinking about it is stressing me out.
What’s confusing me a bit is Trevor’s existence. He was already an assassin who was sent to kill me even before his death and his sudden appearance last night. Is he sentient like me?
Sighhhhh
I eliminated the king and his officials. Had I known it’d be like this, I shouldn’t have done it just to spite the developers.
Sighhhhh
More workloads. Goddamn.
knock-knock
“Who’s there?”
“It’s me, Adam.”
“Adam who?”
A moment of silence passed by.
“Your Majesty, please stop joking. I have a serious matter to report.”
Here we go~
I stood up and went to the door.
“Hey, what is it?”
He bowed his head and handed me a paper.
I raised my eyebrow at him. Did his code change too? He is more formal today.
“Huh? What’s with ‘Your Majesty’, Adam?” He is still bowing, it’s as if he refuses to look me in the eye.
“Stop bowing your head. Just act like you normally do.”
In a split second, his whole demeanor changed. He grinned at me with a terrified expression.
“What?” Why is he grinning like that?
“M-Madame… you are the king now…”
“Ah~ And so?” I shrugged.
“The workloads… the workloads… have tripled.”
Oh, that’s what he is worried about?
“Pfft!” He looked up as if he was trying to think what was funny. I held his shoulders with dread.
“I didn’t think that far. What are we gonna do, Adam?” I tried to look terrified as he is to feed more on his worries.
When I tell you he instantly fainted, I am not joking.
“Poor guy must’ve been stressed since last night. Hah~” What a meticulous character.
I carried Adam to the seat and waited until he woke up, and when he did, he started trembling. What is his deal?
“We’ll figure it all out. Stop worrying about that.” I sighed. He might just be an NPC but I’m not too heartless to watch him like that.
Hah! Who am I to say that? I killed a bunch of NPCs last night just to make them acknowledge my existence.
Gasp!
Wow, am I actually recognition-deprived? That’s news to me!
“Can you stand? We should head to our new office now to start sorting out this problem.”
It’s actually not a problem for me. Finding solutions or coming up with ideas is easy. It’s just so boring that I want to burn them all.
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He nodded and accepted the paper that he passed to me earlier. It was just a bunch of maid’s names.
I stopped walking mid-way and turned to him.
“Actually, let’s go to the hall first. I almost forgot about that.”
We went to the hall and saw all of the employees of the palace, and nobles gathering there.
The moment I was visible in their sight, they all kneeled and shouted, “HAIL TO THE KING OF ASWAIN! IN YOU WE PLEDGE OUR LOYALTY!” Great, Leonora. You sure know how to bring all of the attention to yourself.
I pressed my mouth tightly. Adam attempted to do it too but I stopped him quickly.
“Don’t,” I told him before walking down the stairs.
“Rise up,” I uttered. They all stood up without saying a word. The hall is covered with deafening silence as they all waited for me to talk when my stomach growled all of the sudden making me shut my eyes tightly. Fucking hell.
“Hah~” I sighed out of embarrassment. I never knew I could still be embarrassed like this.
Let’s pretend that didn’t happen.
“As you all witnessed last night, I, Leonora Stryker, seized the power of the late king.”
And because no one talked beside me, the second wave of my stomach growling filled the hall again.
“Fuck!” I cursed under my breath. That’s it. There’s no way I would want them to hear that every time I finish speaking.
“I’m hungry. Return to your posts and I’ll take a look at your profiles when I finish eating.” I turned my back before my stomach starts growling again. I looked at Adam who is now struggling not to laugh.
“You can laugh.” I plainly said while walking past him.
Lyra hurriedly ran after me and guided me to the dining hall. No one’s there, perfect.
I immediately sat down and gobbled the food that was already prepared at the table. This game’s food is amazing.
When I finished eating, a burp escaped my mouth.
“Haah, remind me to eat first before meeting the crowd, Lyra. That was really embarrassing.”
She handed me a glass of water. “Of course, Madame.”
I stood up. “I should take a short walk to digest all of the food I ate.”
We walked around the palace for at least thirty minutes before going to the office where Adam is already sitting, reading some files.
“Oh, as expected of my assistant! So reliable!”
He turned his head to me. “I am only this early because I feel bad for you earlier, Madame.”
“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, first thing first. Let’s appoint some reliable officials before we decide to deal with the palace’s problems.”
He nodded. I took a paper and wrote something to it then passed it to Adam.
“Attention! By the King’s decree, all of the people who can write and read are invited to the palace for the selection of officials to work within the palace. Anyone can participate, may it be noble or not. The time starts…” Adam’s eyebrows furrowed. “…now? Madame, you can’t write a royal decree like this.”
I shrugged at him. “That’s why I gave it to you. I want all of the capable people to gather in the palace within two weeks.”
I looked around the office. Oof, even the design inside is hard to stomach.
“While you are at it, I and Lyra will flip this place upside down.”
“What do you mean, Madame?”
I shrugged. “No way I’m going to reside in an ugly place like this. Ah, I miss the manor~”
Adam pursed his lips. He’s clearly frustrated. Wow, his character is designed well. Even Lyra’s. If I live here longer, I might even forget the fact that I’m inside the game.
“Change your expression. You look like a sulking duck.” I joked. He eventually managed to return to his normal face.
“Madame, what will happen if you do not see any potential vassals to work under you?”
“That can’t happen, Adam. That’s why, make sure to gather everyone. Search in every nook and cranny.”
He nodded.
“I shall get going now. The deadline you gave is too short, Madame.”
“No way! Two weeks is too long already! Should I make it a week?”
He flinched.
“N-No. Two weeks is already fine, Madame. I’ll be back in two weeks then.”
Well, that was quick.
knock-knock
“Come in.”
Oh, it’s Lyra.
“Perfect timing! Come with me to the throne room.”
“Where is Mr. Adam going, Madame?” Lyra asked while we were walking.
“Oh, he’s gonna look for potential people that I could work with. He’ll be gone for two weeks,” I stopped walking and turned to her. “that’s why, don’t leave my side because there’s only two of us left in here.”
She nodded so we continued walking.
I snapped my fingers when I remembered something.
“Ah right! We have to make restrooms in the palace too! I haven’t shit for days!”
“Sure will, Madame. Should I gather men to make them?”
“Yeah. I also need you to spread a poster. I’ll give you one later.”
When we arrived in the throne room, William was inside, staring at the image of the late king.
“What a surprise, First Prince.” He flinched before turning his head to me.
“I greet the King of Aswain. Good morning, Your Majesty.” He bowed his head.
“Good morning too. What are you doing here?”
“I am here to take a last peek at my father’s image. I already stared at it long enough to remember for years. I shall excuse myself now, Your Majesty.” And with that, he left. I cannot see a hint of anger on his face. What a weird character.
“What are we doing here, Madame?” Lyra asked.
“To take a look at this place. See the displays and the design?” She looked around and meet my eyes.
“It’s ugly, Madame.”
I chuckled at her straightforward reaction.
“Right? It’s an abomination. That’s why, I need you to look for at least 200 men to rebuild the palace. I’ll design this place myself.”
Her eyes brightened. She bowed her head and smiled.
“I will do it right now!”
“Only after you have the letter with the royal seal. Let’s head back to the office.”
“Aye, Madame!” She said as she saluted.
My, my… I’m starting to think that she and Adam isn’t a game character. They are thoroughly designed.