Chapter 16: Chapter 15

“Today will be the first day of your test for admission to the palace.”

They are all seated at the long table that we arranged in the room. Each of the participants was given papers and a quill.

The test is quite simple. All they need to do is solve a basic mathematical problem, find a solution to the problem scenario I presented, and their birth token to prove that they are a citizen of Aswain. If they passed it, they’ll move on to the final step, a one-on-one interview with me. Nothing much. Unlike the country that I know in the past where they ask for a ridiculous amount of requirements to anyone who applies for a job with a low salary. Tch. That system is awful. I hope they abolished that crappy system already.

“The test for today is mathematics. It’s just basic so don’t stress yourselves out. Adam will give you the test papers in a minute.”

When all of the test sheets were distributed, I raised my megaphone again.

“The time limit will be 2 hours. It starts now.”

I sat on the chair that was prepared for me. This made me feel like a teacher watching her students take an exam.

“Adam, can you be on the watch for a minute?” I asked when an hour had passed.

He turned his head on me. “Of course, Madame.”

I nodded. I signaled at Lyra and she immediately stood from her seat to follow me.

“Where are you going, Madame?”

“Just taking a walk outside. My butt is hurting.” Lyra does not react anymore to my choice of words anymore. She got used to it. Well, probably.

“I see.”

We continued walking until we reached the garden. There were still gardeners pruning the unkempt flowers.

They stopped for a while to greet me and I did the same.

“I miss the manor,” I blurted out. It’s a floating land, who wouldn’t miss it?

Lyra looked at me the way Adam did so I rolled my eyes at her.

“You’re not gonna say something, are you?”

“No, Madame.”

“Good.”

We went back to the hall after 30 minutes to check how is it going.

“They all finished before the allotted time,” Adam said while raising the stack of papers in his hands. I looked at the participants discussing quietly about the exam.

I took the megaphone on my chair and started talking to get their attention.

“Well, well. That was easy, wasn’t it?”

They all turned to me and shouted ‘YES’ altogether.

“That’s good. Now that you’ve finished the first part, you can now go. The second part will be announced tomorrow at 9 AM so be sure to arrive on time.”

They all bid me goodbye and left. I turned to Adam and shrugged.

“Guess we have to check it now.”

He shook his head. “I can do the checking alone, Madame. You have urgent matters to tend to than this so leave it to me.”

He’s right. Even my presence wasn’t needed today. I am only here to take a break from looking at all of those paperwork. Hah~ Damn me.

“Yeah, sure.” I headed back to my office and dropped my ass onto the chair.

Ah, I can do it swiftly of course. I just have to complain first.

The next day, I did not go to the exam, unlike yesterday. Adam can handle it just fine so now, I am here signing the papers that were stacked on the table. What the heck did the past officers contribute? I even saw some papers containing the requests of the citizens which was 12 years ago! It’s a bit infuriating.

Anyway, I started sending delegates to other countries because the first thing that I am going to do is to make Aswain strong enough to be considered as a threat to the world, and by doing so, creating a bond with other countries is the first step.

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“I will send you to the manor. You’ve already learned the basics so make sure to help out the head maid.”

Josiah is the past kings’ adviser. He is pretty quick like Adam so I decided to make him manage the manor on my behalf.

“It will be done so, Your Majesty.” He kneeled. Gah! This one is tough. I already told him to stop doing that and call me ‘Madame’ instead.

“You’ll depart tomorrow, correct?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Bring someone you can trust to help you out. I’ll be rooting for you, Josiah.”

He left after I gave him a letter with my seal. I already informed the head maid in the manor about his arrival. The letter is just for confirmation.

After spending a few more hours in the office, Adam went in with the papers from the participants.

“Did all of them finish on time?”

“Barely. I brought the papers as you requested, Madame. Is there anything I can help you with while you check it?”

“Ah, yes. Sort out all of the papers on that side. You don’t have to be quick about it.” I pointed the other corner of the office that is filled with stacks of papers and scrolls.

His eyes were full of dread so I let out a chuckle.

“As I said, you don’t have to get it done quickly. Some people will replace you on that task once the test is done. I just need you to pick out the papers that need immediate attention.”

He pulled a chair and sat on it.

Now, let’s check what are their answers to the problem scenarios I made.

[rustling sounds]

Hmm. Interesting.

While I am checking, I separated the papers of those who answered well. As for the others, let’s just say they aren’t cut out for the upcoming tasks that I will give them.

“Adam. There are at least 20 people who managed to give me a satisfactory answer.”

I pursed my lips. I only need 5 people that will help me out. I don’t want the castle to be too crowded.

“Huh? You weeded out a lot.” He said while still doing his task.

It’s true. There were 110 participants yesterday. To think that I only got 20 out of it. Well, that’s the reality when it comes to hiring capable people.

“20 is still a lot. I only need 5 to help me out. Let’s just give other tasks to the 15 participants that’ll fail the interview.”

“How about appointing another lady-in-waiting?”

“Hmm. I haven’t thought of that. I’ll see what I can get tomorrow in the interview.”

“Madame, why are you limiting yourself? Even the other royalties have at least a hundred people working for them.”

“I don’t like crowded places, Adam. Have I told you that? Besides, none of these people will be working for me, they’ll be working for the country.”

Ah, just thinking about having a hundred people looking for me every day is tiring me out.

“I hope I can find a drinking buddy out of these people. It’d be great.”

Adam froze. I burst out laughing because I know what he will say again. His and Lyra's reaction never ceases to amaze me.

“Don’t start talking about my reputation Adam. You know too well I don’t give a shit about that.”

His lips pursed and started fixing his monocle. Wow, it’s been a while since I saw him fixing that abomination.

“Whatever the Madame says.”

I continued laughing until tears formed in my eyes.

“Oh, Adam. Did you miss Nayeli? You are grumpy these past few days.”

He flinched but did not say anything.

“All right, I’ll give you a break then to go see her… It’d be in a month so hang on until then.”

His expression then changed. Dang. This man is acting like a lovesick teenager.

On the third day, I went to the hall to personally announce the 20 participants that passed the initial test. When I finished calling their names, they all went to the room I told them to wait.

“As for those who did not pass the test, you are free to apply to the other jobs that we will post next week.”

Albeit wearing disappointed expressions, they still managed to thank me for the opportunity before leaving the hall.

“It proceeded smoothly as planned,” Adam said while we were walking on the way to the room where the participants waited.

“Of course. I have capable people working with me.”

I entered the room and the buzzy place that I set foot in went quiet.

“Congratulations everyone. You made it this far. We will begin the interview immediately. Enter the room next to this one when your name is called.”

The interview was both exciting and full of tension because not only did they answer confidently, they were all knowledgeable and had a quick wit. The past king missed out on this. It’s such a shame that he was coded to be stupid.

“In my hand, I have the names of 5 people who will be working with me in the palace,” I announced after carefully looking into it for an hour in my office.

“For the other 15 that won’t be called, don’t worry. You’ll still work in the palace. I will assign you to other jobs that I feel you’ll fit in.”

Among those, I found promising people who could work with Lyra. Some could also fit in the kitchen because I’ve also heard of their other capabilities in the interview.

“Step forward when your name is called,” I paused to make the tension go higher. Don’t ask me why. It’s just because.

“…Henry Bartillon, Raven Heavendoom, Heath Lily, Scylla Frost, and Azalea Hudges.”

When I called their names, their eyes lit up and could not stop themselves from whispering happy words to each other.

The others whose name wasn’t called was guided to the other room where Adam was waiting. He’ll tell them what their positions are.

“Congratulations to everyone. Good job finding your way to the palace. I welcome you with utmost sincerity.” Because you’ll be needing it. Oh, I hope they didn't notice the smug face I was making just now.

Ah, I feel like a huge boulder was lifted on my shoulders.