13. The Protagonist of Power
Now that the tyrant who had oppressed them was gone, the nobles' gatherings were more lively than ever.
"Marquis Meisner, you've arrived."
As an elderly man walked in, the nobles seated greeted him. The man called Marquis Meisner ignored the greeting and simply sat in his place. His furrowed brow revealed his discomfort.
"Now, now, thank you all for coming on such a fine day."
Count Labant, the host of the gathering, hurriedly spoke after glancing at Marquis Meisner's expression.
"It's a joyous day, so let's drink and get drunk to our heart's content. Come, a toast!"
"Cheers!"
A loud sound rang out as the nobles clinked their glasses. Shortly after, with reddened faces, they leaned back in their chairs and conversed in drunken voices.
"It's really great that that tyrant is gone."
"Indeed, how many people suffered because of him."
"Marquis Zibel was truly pitiful."
"And Viscount Yering and Count Lilienthal..."
"Ah, the most pitiful was Baron Georgi!"
They began to talk freely about the deeds committed by the deceased tyrant August. Previously, they always had to be cautious for fear of someone reporting them, but now that August had already died as a criminal, there was nothing more to be wary of. As there had been a lot accumulated over time, the conversation flowed smoothly.
"At least this new Emperor will be better than August, right?"
The atmosphere of the conversation began to change from that point. When a drunken noble mentioned the current Emperor, everyone started to watch each other's reactions.
"By the way, about the newly enthroned Emperor, ahem, does anyone know anything?"
"How could we? What connection do we have with noble young ladies?"
"Come now, you might know through your daughter."
"Hah, don't even mention it!"
At those words, one noble slammed the table as if excited.
"As it is, our family is in crisis because of that! Tch, that useless daughter of mine apparently bullied Her Majesty the Emperor in the past."
"Ah..."
As it wasn't just someone else's problem, the atmosphere in the banquet hall instantly became gloomy. They thought they should ask their daughters about what had happened in social circles when they returned home.
"It's worrying. This Emperor will enjoy more powerful authority than ever before."
"With not only the people's support but also the temple's backing, it's only natural."
"From the return of Gracia alone, the symbolism of this imperial family is great, who would dare to break that?"
They had no intention of gossiping about the new Emperor. About half of those present were anxious because of their daughters' past words and actions towards the Emperor. Stories about Liv being a fake saintess or chasing after Duke Lartman meant nothing to them. Now, all of that was considered as hardships and adventures Liv Gracia had gone through to become Emperor.
"That's right. This Emperor will enjoy stronger power than anyone..."
At that moment, Marquis Meisner, who had been silent, opened his mouth, and the dining room instantly fell quiet. He was the most powerful person in this gathering and essentially the real power, so the other nobles had to listen to his words.
"Then what do you think, Marquis? No matter how much love she receives from the Supreme God, if the imperial power becomes too strong, we..."
"It would be the path to the country's ruin. For power to be concentrated in one person."
At Marquis Meisner's words that hit the nail on the head, they looked relieved. However, they started to watch their words, wondering if it was alright to speak like this about the Emperor.
Fortunately, Marquis Meisner didn't cross the line and only said this:
"So we should try to get in the new Emperor's good graces to secure our positions. I hear they're soon recruiting new maids, it would be good to consider how to make your daughters imperial maids."
"Ah!"
That was quite an appropriate measure. Instead of opposing the current Emperor, inserting their own people into the imperial palace.
The Emperor was already married to a man from the Lartman family, and the strongest way for them to connect with the Emperor had disappeared. However, it wasn't that there was no way at all. There were still maid positions left. Yes, if they seized that opportunity well, they too could become families trusted by the imperial family.
At Marquis Meisner's words, the nobles' eyes began to burn with desire. Marquis Meisner just quietly watched the scene with his arms folded.
* * *
"Your Majesty, here is the list."
Liv received the documents handed over by the head maid. After receiving a heavy pile of documents, Liv's face became gloomy.
"You've filtered these once, right?"
"Yes, as Your Majesty said, I excluded those who didn't meet the conditions and strictly checked for any illnesses."
What Liv held in her hand were maid application forms. It was time for Liv to recruit maids now.
Although the head maid said she had screened them, there were still plenty of applications for Liv to review. It seemed too much for Liv, who didn't know much about social circle rumors having been an invisible person in society, to select alone. In the end, Liv decided to ask for Hildegard's help.
"Your Majesty, I don't know much about social circles either... Is that still alright?"
"Well, what can we do? The men wouldn't know anything if we asked them."
At those words, Hildegard nodded as if convinced. As she flipped through the documents with Liv, Hildegard pointed to a familiar name with a brightened face.
"Your Majesty, how about this person?"
"Hmm, not bad."
"She's such a kind person. It would be comfortable for Your Majesty to have someone familiar. Above all, didn't she help in the fight against August this time, so wouldn't she be trustworthy?"
At those words, Liv pondered for a moment, then finally set that document aside. As Hildegard said, Liv needed someone familiar.
"Ah, Hilda."
"Yes."
"Then this one wouldn't be bad either."
Hildegard tilted her head at the person Liv pointed to.
"Who is that... Oh, is this the person you mentioned in your letter before, sister?"
"Yes, she was one of my few friends. This person seemed kind-hearted too."
"It wouldn't be bad to choose one from the Edelburg region. It's necessary to have people from various regions as close aides. However, I'm worried that since she's from the same region as Duke Lartman, people might say we're favoring that side too much."
"That wasn't unintentional."
"Oh, so that's how it was! Then I think it wouldn't be bad."
Next, Liv was able to find another familiar person.
"Ah, I didn't know this person would apply."
"Oh my!"
Hildegard blinked in surprise after reading the application.
"I recommend this person. Anyway, this family needs compensation for the time they lost."
"Right, and this person said she's good at swordsmanship."
"It's good to have someone skilled in martial arts as a maid! My goodness, I didn't think she would apply as a maid after seeing her last time."
After selecting three maids like that, Hildegard waved her hand saying they really couldn't do this anymore.
"We can't keep selecting based on connections. Now we need to look at the families."
"I did look at the families."
"Of, of course all the families are meaningful to Your Majesty, but now we need families that everyone, not just Your Majesty, can objectively acknowledge. Families with strong power among the nobles."
As Hildegard's words were correct, Liv carefully read through the remaining documents.
However, it wasn't easy to find someone suitable as a maid. There were hardly any noble young ladies from families with strong power, without bad rumors, of good character, diligent and devoted, loyal, and who had a not bad relationship with Liv.
"They all have at least one problem..."
"It could be misreported. I had bad rumors too."
"Still, Your Majesty. For someone from a high family to have rumors means they've exposed their true nature to the extent that even power couldn't silence it."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, rather we should give up on something... Ah."
Hildegard pulled out one document with a bright face.
"Your Majesty, how about this family?"
"It's a good family. I heard this person's father has such strong power."
"Even so, they were powerless during August's era."
"Are there no bad rumors about this person?"
"Hmm, I haven't heard anything particular. I think this person could be hired as the head maid. The three young ladies you mentioned earlier are good people, but the head maid needs power after all."
"I'll consider it. But I'll decide after the interview."
"Is this enough now?"
One head maid candidate and three maid candidates. If there were no peculiarities in the interviews, Liv intended to accept these people. In fact, because Liv had been such an outcast in social circles in the past, it was difficult to find young ladies who hadn't bullied her.
However, on the other hand, there was also a hesitant feeling. Rather than using only her own side, perhaps...
"Hilda."
"Yes?"
"What about this person?"
"That person... Wasn't she one of Miss Zibel's group? I think she bullied Your Majesty!"
"Yes, that's right."
"Why that person..."
"I don't intend to completely reject everyone. It's like a reconciliation signal saying let's do well from now on."
"Is it alright to select maids with that mindset...?"
"I'm not sure, but let's proceed with an interview for this person too."
With Liv's decision, one more person was added to the maid candidates.