Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 125: Count Cordelia

Chapter 125: Count Cordelia

[I would get to meet them again now?!!] Nadia was overwhelmed. She was grateful that Arabella would even bring her along to Cordelia.

Nadia got nervous and excited at the same time since she haven’t seen everyone since she was caught and returned to Safiro.

"Prepare food?" Ivan didn’t understand what Arabella meant.

"Safiro had been under a drought for a while now and they are in dire need of food and supplies. The food supply is getting prepared but they also need ready-made meals to get by while the supplies are not yet transported," Arabella explained.

[The situation was this worse?! I knew there were problems with money and food since the Safiro tribesmen who worked on our farms before always spent their salaries buying food and sending it over to Safiro. Every harvest, we even ended up selling them some of our produce at a lower price and giving them a lot of freebies from the imperfect produce (rejects). But we didn’t know they were in dire need of food and were barely able to get by. We thought they were just lacking in supply due to bad harvest and the like.]

Ivan was shocked that the situation was way worse.

Arabella was impressed that Ivan and his family didn’t even know the specifics of what was happening in Safiro, and yet they helped Nadia’s tribesmen regardless.

With the help of Alwin’s assistant called Riley, Arabella and Raymond were ready to teleport to Cordelia with Rendell, Nadia, and Ivan.

Riley had already gone to Cordelia earlier before Arabella even summoned Ivan and Nadia to inform Count Cordelia of their arrival to give him a bit of time to prepare to receive them.

It was already too sudden and it was usually rude to visit like this but the situation demanded it so they had no choice.

"Are they ready?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

[Barely. But they had no choice. They managed somehow.] Riley thought. He just went to check on the preparations.

Riley then teleported them to a hall Count Cordelia had prepared.

Arabella saw Count Cordelia for the first time. He seemed to be in his late thirties.

His hair was neat but she could tell it was done in a hurry. He was also wearing his best suit but it was clear he put it on in a rush.

This was why visits should be scheduled in advance so the host could prepare as necessary.

"Greetings to Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress. Greetings to His Excellency, the Prime Minister," Count Cordelia bowed.

"Please be at ease. Our apologies for our late notice, Count Cordelia. The situation necessitated we visit."

"It is my greatest honor to be graced by Your Majesty and His Excellency," Count Cordelia was nervous but did his best to be polite.

[Her Majesty is indeed young. Her famed beauty is indeed unparalleled as well. No wonder His Imperial Majesty also pined for her as a lot of monarchs did. Even my sons her age wished for her hand as well when she was still a princess. But I knew from the start she was out of their league. Seeing her as the Empress of Valeria, I’m truly glad I dissuaded my sons and set them up with someone else.]

Arabella raised a brow. She didn’t know Count Cordelia had sons her age.

Nadia only ever mentioned his daughter who was taking lessons to be an official in Riva.

But then again, for nobles, especially leaders of a territory, it was a given to produce heirs for their territory and household’s stability.

"Nadia?!" Count Cordelia was wide-eyed to see Nadia.

[Thank goodness she’s alive. I thought she was executed after she didn’t return from Riva. My daughter cried a lot.]

"My deepest apologies for not returning without notice. I was caught and returned to Safiro," Nadia made a quick explanation.

"I am most relieved you are alive and well. My daughter would be elated."

Nadia was also relieved that the Count was not angry at her.

"Ivan?" Count Cordelia was surprised that Ivan was there as well.

[I heard he got into a fight with his superior again and got fired this time. Did he commit a huge mistake?! Is this why Her Majesty and His Excellency are here? No, no, no. They wouldn’t be here themselves if Ivan was just getting punished.]

"I, I passed as one of Her Majesty’s assistants," Ivan informed as an explanation for his presence.

"As Her Majesty’s assistant?!" The count was wide-eyed and glanced at Arabella. She nodded in agreement.

"Thank you very much for hiring this boy. He may have committed some mistakes but he is very knowledgeable and hardworking," Count Cordelia bowed in thanks as if he was Ivan’s father.

"The pleasure is mine. I wanted Ivan as my assistant once I read his profile. He did very well in passing the test to be my assistant. I am glad to have employed such a promising talent," Arabella smiled.

[Her Majesty recognized my abilities even just from my profile?! And she personally read my entire profile?!!]

Ivan was overwhelmed since his profile usually gets removed from the list by some officials just from seeing that he wasn’t from a noble household. They wouldn’t even bother to read it to know he scored best when he took his exam. This was why he had a hard time getting hired even though he was such a precious talent and hardworking to boot.

"Nadia passed as well. She also did very well. I am very much impressed she was able to pass the Civil Service Exam as one with the highest scores despite not having the same education as the others."

"Thank you, Your Majesty’s praises overwhelm us," Nadia and Ivan both bowed. Their ears were red, both happy and embarrassed to be praised.

Their reply was very much controlled. But deep inside, Arabella learned from their thoughts they were very much elated to have been praised to such degree.

Count Cordelia was also happy with this news as well and proudly said Nadia reviewed in his residence while his daughter was getting educated and Ivan always stayed in his library to study and read books since he was young.