I! Cleaner!
Chapter 481 - 417: Dinner Appointment

Chapter 481: Chapter 417: Dinner Appointment

"Toot..."

With a loud and prolonged whistle, two sets of gigantic steam-emitting winches operate in unison, opening the night gate of the Kingdom’s canal. Dozens of cargo ships from the outer rivers, along with the dawn’s glow on the horizon, sail into the Kingdom’s port.

As the sun breaks through the dawn and leaps off the ground, its unstoppable radiance dispels the remnants of the dim night sky, and the Kingdom, having slept under a million nightmare corpses, finally begins to awaken bit by bit.

"Hmm..."

As the sunlight crosses the tower bridge over the canal, sweeps past the spire of the clock tower, and slips into the palace’s windows, the woman lying on the desk trembles lightly, gently drawn out of her slumber by the warm sunlight.

Did I... fall asleep?

Awakening from sleep, the princess stretches her slightly stiff body, then sits hugging her knees on the spacious chair, gazing somewhat dazedly at the desk in front of her.

She remembers last night before nightfall, she brought all the execution documents for the tax reform, proposals for expanding citizen voting rights, and selection orders for military officers of the third rank back to her bedroom, preparing for a night-long battle by lamplight.

But just as she struck off the stall tax concerning small craftsmen and wrote two rebuttal opinions, a sudden inexplicable drowsiness overwhelmed her mind, and then she knew nothing...

Well... maybe not entirely nothing.

After rubbing her somewhat numb face, recalling the strange dream she had after falling asleep last night, a slight smile curled at the princess’s mouth.

In the dream, she finished all the paperwork and then at the council meeting a few days later, her words were sharp and cutting, causing the Finance Minister to faint on the spot, and she directly handed over the Ministry of Finance.

Then she took the opportunity to win over the council, settled the Old Nobility trying to stab her, and grabbed control of all seventeen major departments of the Kingdom, starting sweeping reforms.

Eventually, the Kingdom slowly became stronger, and in the dream, she also ascended the throne, married Joshua off across the sea to a monkey, made Leon a prince, and gave birth to an entire soccer team... ahem... In short, it was quite a good dream.

Taking a sip of the now-cold coffee, the princess, in a good mood, got up from her seat, held up the coffee cup, and walked to the bedroom window, voluntarily basking in the sunlight streaming through the window.

Although she accidentally fell asleep, failing to handle those documents in time, the result didn’t seem too bad. For someone often plagued by nightmares, this kind of light-hearted yet somewhat absurd dream was quite a rare experience.

"Princess Veronica!"

Just as the princess was bathing in the warm morning sun, enjoying her rare moment of leisure, the bedroom door was suddenly knocked, and the voice of the night-duty maid came anxiously from outside.

"I’m Lily, who was on duty last night. Sorry, Your Highness, I... I seemed to have fallen asleep as soon as night fell yesterday..."

"It’s okay."

After finishing the bitter black coffee in the cup, Princess Veronica put down the cup, stretched lazily, and said calmly,

"I also slept very early last night. If there was something to be done, I would have awakened you, but remember, when it’s your turn for night duty next time, be sure to get more rest during the day."

"Thank you, Your Highness, I’ll remember that."

Hearing she hadn’t delayed the princess’s matters, the maid outside the door secretly breathed a sigh of relief and then eagerly reported,

"Your Highness, according to the original itinerary, after breakfast, you’ll meet with the president of the Kingdom Business Association. If it’s finished within two hours, you also need to meet with a few newly elected parliament members from different districts, and after lunch, there’s the envoy from the Black Forest Duchy... Shall I call a maid to help you freshen up?"

"..."

A shame, finding a rare moment of leisure... but right now, business is pressing, and with the council about to reconvene in a few days, it’s not the time to enjoy leisure.

After hearing the pressured inquiry from the maid, the princess sighed softly and rubbed her temples, saying,

"A bit later then... what about the afternoon? How is the afternoon itinerary arranged? What’s the earliest it can be cleared up by the afternoon?"

"Well... afraid not in the afternoon."

The maid outside the door carefully reminded,

"Your Highness, your schedule today is quite tight, going all the way until eight o’clock in the evening, even dinner is pushed back to after nine-thirty... But if you really need some free time, I could try to rearrange it for you by postponing the meeting with the Minister of Defense to tomorrow afternoon."

Postpone it to tomorrow afternoon... and that would push back tomorrow afternoon’s matters as well, right?

Besides, the selection of military officers can’t be delayed, considering Leon always wants to annul the marriage contract with her. To be safe, it’s best to accomplish all tasks while this union remains relatively stable, lest unexpected complications arise...

"Never mind, no need to change, just follow the original itinerary!"

After weighing the importance of matters, Princess Veronica furrowed her brow in thought and then instructed,

"Do this, I’ll skip dinner today, leave me free time after nine o’clock."

"Your Highness?"

Hearing the princess’s words, the maid outside the door was slightly stunned, and then proposed with concern,

"I should rearrange the schedule for you because your stomach problems haven’t improved, it’s really unsuitable..."

"You’ve misunderstood."

Interrupting the maid, the princess chuckled and said,

"I’m not skipping dinner, I’m just not returning to the palace. Please help me invite the... invite the Duke of Lionheart for dinner.

It would be best if he picks the location. If he has no preference, then make a reservation at one of the two restaurants I frequently visit, in any of the ordinary boxes by the river with plenty of open spots."

"Okay, I’ll arrange it right away!"

"Go ahead."

After the maid left as instructed, the princess returned to her desk and continued her work. Behind her, on the shelf, a tin doll with a half-shattered cheek quietly blinked its green glass eyes.

...

The sun rises and falls from east to west.

After making a round in the misty sky above the Kingdom, the radiantly bright morning sun sank below the horizon once again.

Immediately, the tall streetlights on the roadside lit up one after another, casting a shallow glow over the dreary night. A plain, unmarked carriage glided through the night opened by the streetlamps, ultimately halting in front of a restaurant on Joyful Street in the canal district.

"Your Grace, we have arrived."

As she politely opened the carriage door, the short-haired, chestnut-haired maid beamingly said to Leon,

"You can go directly to Box 7, Princess Veronica and the meeting with the Prime Minister just concluded, she’ll arrive in no more than fifteen minutes, please wait a moment."