Chapter 2213 – 2213. Dark Moon
Yuria followed Secretary Cynthia to the secretariat. The secretariat, which was set up like a company office, was half empty. The items on the desks suggested that the people weren’t absent but rather on business trips.
“Ms. Yuria, do you know how many businesses Her Highness the Princess operates?”
“No, I don’t.”
There was no way she would know, since she hadn’t been told. Of course, she hadn’t looked into it separately either.
“Her Highness the Princess operates 14 businesses, large and small. Of these, six are unofficial businesses that are not publicly known. Unfortunately, I can’t reveal them to you either. Unless you officially join the secretariat, Ms. Yuria.”
“There’s no need to feel sorry. It’s only natural to keep secrets. Does the secretariat directly manage the businesses?”
“We don’t have the manpower for that. The secretariat is involved in the management of businesses according to Her Highness the Princess’s wishes. In addition, Her Highness the Princess values talent and sponsors 13 artists and 75 students. Managing them is also part of the secretariat’s duties. And it’s also our job to deal with the rumors related to Princess Elsa.”
“…So you handle most of the work related to Her Highness the Princess.”
“That’s right. We work for Her Highness the Princess. Loyalty is as important as ability. Can you work for Her Highness the Princess, Ms. Yuria?”
“For now, I will work for Her Highness the Princess.”
“…Personally, that’s not a very satisfying answer, but very well. Let’s start with the document review first.”
“What criteria should I use to review the documents?”
“Her Highness the Princess’s time is precious. Please divide the documents into two categories: those that you think require Her Highness the Princess’s judgment and those that don’t.”
A total of 150 documents.
Yuria sorted the documents in three minutes. Cynthia, who had been watching Yuria’s document work with her mouth open, quickly closed it. She almost drooled.
“Ahem. You were just flipping through the documents without even looking at them…”
“It’s speed reading.”
“…That’s an enviable skill. Of course, that’s if you actually reviewed the documents properly. Accuracy is more important than speed in this kind of work.”
Cynthia checked the sorted documents. Out of 150 documents, 7 were classified as needing to be sent to the Princess.
“…That’s quite different from my classification. I thought about 50 of them would need to be judged directly by Her Highness the Princess.”
“It seems I made a mistake since it’s my first time.”
It wasn’t so much a mistake as it was that her judgment criteria differed from Cynthia’s.
As Yuria sorted the documents, she thought of Eugene. In [Baekhwan], Eugene didn’t do any paperwork, so most of it was Yuria’s responsibility. Yuria handled everything except for truly important matters.
“…A proposal to invite Her Highness the Princess as a guest on an entertainment show. I don’t think this is a document that Her Highness the Princess needs to handle directly.”
“Since it’s a proposal that was sent to Her Highness the Princess, I thought it should be sent up.”
“Her Highness the Princess’s image could be tarnished by appearing on such a vulgar entertainment show. And since Her Highness the Princess is minimizing her public activities right now, this kind of thing should be automatically cut off.”
Eugene would have been interested in an entertainment show. There were quite a few beautiful women in the entertainment industry.
“I see. I was short-sighted.”
“……Why did you leave the documents related to embezzlement? These important documents should be sent to Her Highness the Princess.”
Embezzlement of 300 million credits.
In Korean currency, that’s about 3 billion won. In Yuria’s view, it was a small amount. Was there really a need to send it to the final decision-maker? If she ordered her subordinates to catch the embezzler, recover the embezzled money, torture them, and kill them, the matter would be over. The report could be given verbally during tea time.
“It didn’t seem like a particularly serious crime.”
“…What about this new business report?”
“I judged that it was going well.”
“……Why did you ignore this investment proposal?”
“It’s an investment that won’t even recover half of the investment amount. I wonder if someone submitted the proposal as a joke.”
“It’s an investment proposal from one of Her Highness the Princess’s asset managers.”
“Ah.”
“Ms. Yuria, you sorted the documents like a plenipotentiary, not a secretary. I’ll tell you the criteria, so please sort them accordingly.”
“Yes.”
She sorted the documents again. This time, Cynthia nodded in satisfaction.
“You’re doing well now that I’ve told you. Next are the information-related documents. The secretariat operates a separate intelligence department. It’s confidential, so I can’t tell you the details.”
Cynthia brought new documents.
“Those documents are…?”
“They’re information coming from the intelligence department. Dozens of pieces of information are sent up every day. You need to select the information to report to Her Highness the Princess from these.”
“Is it related this time as well?”
“The top priority is information related to Her Highness the Princess. Other than that, it’s information that you think we should know.”
Yuria finished sorting the documents in three minutes.
They hadn’t shown her the really important information, but there was some interesting information. Information that would be helpful to Eugene. She planned to pass it on to Eugene when she had the chance.
After that, she continued with the paperwork. Yuria had to endure Cynthia’s burdensome gaze.
“Ms. Yuria, would you like to join the secretariat today? You’ll be working as the next head of the secretariat.”
“I’m just an intern.”
The daily work of the secretariat was a war with documents. They sorted through documents and, according to the Princess’s orders, created new documents to send to the businesses.
If there was any kind of deal between Princess Elsa and a politician, the practical work would be done by the secretariat. Based on the documents, Yuria met with Princess Elsa and shared reports. In the afternoon, she attended to Princess Elsa’s needs. But all that meant was being a conversation partner.
“The head of the management office and the head of the secretariat praised you so much. I was really surprised, especially when Secretary Cynthia was passionately advocating for your recruitment.”
“I’m glad they think well of me.”
“I won’t make you any offers. I know I’ll be rejected anyway. Let’s talk about the schedule. Tomorrow, you’ll be touring two businesses with the head of the secretariat, right?”
“Yes. I’m worried about whether I’ll be able to do well.”
“Those two places are already verified. You just need to go there and be treated well. The day after that, you’ll be working in the security office. Do you know what day that is?”
“It’s the day the Dark Moon rises. And I know it’s the day Her Highness the Princess hunts monsters for the citizens of Neo London.”
Going out on the day the Dark Moon rises is dangerous. Even ordinary monsters could mutate into something monstrous when the Dark Moon rises.
The reason why Princess Elsa and other nobles go hunting during the Dark Moon is for propaganda. They risk their lives to deal with monsters for the citizens! For that propaganda slogan.
“Many nobles and royals have died in the hunting grounds during the Dark Moon. They didn’t die because of the monsters. Ms. Yuria, always be careful. Anything can happen on the night of the Dark Moon.”
“…Yes, Your Highness. I will be careful.”
• • •
On the day the Dark Moon rose, Yuria acted with the head of the security office, Rita, from the morning.
“Well, you must have received security methods and combat training at the Maid Academy, so I don’t need to train you separately, right? Let’s go to the warehouse. We’ll lend you the equipment we use. You have to return it when you go back to the academy.”
The security office’s armory was full of all kinds of weapons. From guns to missiles, reinforced exoskeletons, and magical weapons.
“First, change into the combat maid uniform. It’s made of special magic fiber material, so it can withstand level 5 attacks head-on two or three times.”
“That’s an amazing combat uniform.”
“It’s our job to protect Her Highness the Princess, so this much is basic. In other words, it also means that the security office is recognized that much. Linda and Cynthia seem to have a good opinion of you… but I can’t evaluate you that highly. Your current level is 4. To join the security office, you need to be at least level 5 and have solid combat experience. …Are you offended by what I said?”
“No. There’s no reason to be offended when I’m hearing the truth.”
“You have a good personality. Pick out your weapons.”
Yuria chose seven daggers.
“Daggers? Are you using them as your main weapon, not your secondary weapon?”
“Well, daggers are the most familiar weapons to me.”
There was no special reason why Yuria preferred daggers. It was because they were easy to hide. A maid who serves her master armed with a conspicuous weapon like a sword or spear? It would lower the dignity of her master.
Rita took the armed Yuria to a place where no one was around.
“During this Dark Moon, you and I will be carrying out different missions.”
“Will someone else be in charge of Her Highness the Princess’s security?”
“That’s right. Our people will give their lives to protect Her Highness the Princess. Her Highness the Princess will be hunting in a safe place with other nobles, so there won’t be any particular danger. It’s called hunting, but in reality, the servants do everything.”
“……”
“There’s a rumor that ghosts are appearing a little away from the hunting grounds. As you know, even a small rumor should be taken seriously on the day the Dark Moon rises. The rumor could be materialized by the influence.”
“That’s such a random rumor. It feels like someone is spreading it on purpose. Wouldn’t it be better to change the hunting grounds since it feels strange?”
“Her Highness the Princess has decided on the hunting grounds. Change the hunting grounds because of a rumor? People would laugh at Her Highness the Princess for being a coward.”
It was a matter of face. Face and image were very important to politicians. Yuria understood the situation and nodded.
“You’re not afraid of ghosts, are you?”
“No.”
She could kill ghosts, so there was no reason to be afraid of them.
“Good. Then let’s move. It’s still daytime, but we need to arrive at the hunting grounds first and familiarize ourselves with the terrain.”
