Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress
Chapter 50: Assistants

Chapter 50: Assistants

Lobelius was a prosperous land so Arabella never experienced having to work hard to earn money for the sake of her people.

Her monthly allowance as a princess was more than enough to help build an orphanage and take care of the workers’ pay as well.

Meanwhile, Nadia and Odette put down their pride as princesses and royal blood just to help and save their people.

To Arabella who had been so absorbed with revenge for a decade, their souls are shining so brightly, she was almost envious. She needed these good souls by her side so she won’t be led astray again.

Arabella decided to hire them and try to help them. After all, she did not know these two were actually very capable. They passed the Imperial Civil Service Exam and now their scores in the tasks given by the ministers were very high.

Nadia and Odette could be good assistants to her since they are desperate to work hard for their homeland. If Arabella helped them out, they might end up as her allies for life.

But, if they still choose to betray Valeria even after she helped them, she could easily imprison them with the help of Rendell and Alwin.

Or, she could use them to track those who are against Ferdinand. She could read their mind after all. If they become ingrates and traitors just like she did in the past, she could check their minds for their comrades to prevent them from harming Ferdinand or the Empire.

’Yes, that’s it. For now, I have to acquire all the people I need,’ Arabella focused on getting her assistants.

Ivan, Nadia, and Odette add up to three. She needed seven more.

And the candidates from the most prestigious and powerful Households in Valeria closely followed the scores of the top three in her list.

For the fourth, Arabella got Narcissa Ryvaleh. Narcissa is from the Ryvaleh Dukedom, Clarisse’s home. Narcissa was Clarisse’s cousin.

Ryvaleh had grown so powerful after Clarisse became the wife of the Prime Minister and gave birth to his children. They gained the support of the Reginald family. And when Clarisse became more active in the social circle to support Raymond, Ryvaleh’s power and influence grew exponentially until it rivaled Reginald.

Arabella can use Narcissa to get close both to Clarisse and the Ryvaleh Dukedom. Plus, Narcissa had the highest score among the candidates from the most prestigious houses in Valeria.

Fifth was Ronald of the Reginald Dukedom. He was Raymond’s younger brother from another mother.

In her past life, Ronald became the Prime Minister after Raymond died. But Ronald was killed in the battle of Riva when the united army of the Secret Alliance attacked. Ronald refused to surrender so he was eliminated.

Perhaps, Arabella could change his fate in this life. Ronald was said to be not as good as Raymond who was good at everything, But perhaps that was because Ronald became the Prime Minister at a chaotic time.

Sixth was Oscar from the Maximus Household. He was the grandson of the Great Elder Walter Maximus. Oscar was beefy since from his profile, he was supposed to be a knight but he preferred becoming a civil servant.

Oscar was almost an outcast from a family filled with warriors but Walter dotes on him. Arabella could use him to get closer to the Great Elder.

Oscar also had high scores in every task the ministers gave him. He was among the few who remained calm and focused and just kept doing his task as the others got distracted by Ivan’s feat.

His focus was wonderful and he was clearly not insecure about what others can do and believes in himself.

Seventh was Denzel from Farrell Dukedom. The Farrell Household used to be more prestigious than Ryvaleh. But Farrell was surpassed once Clarisse kept gaining more power and influence in the social circle.

There was still a strong rivalry between Ryvaleh and Farrell so it was necessary for Arabella to hire one assistant from each of these dukedoms.

If she got an assistant only from one of them, it would imply siding with the other and making the other her enemy.

Arabella couldn’t afford to make enemies when her new goal was to help Ferdinand and Valeria remain in power.

The eighth assistant she chose was Norbert Fidelis. The Fidelis Household was among the most powerful families in Valeria. They rule the Fidelis Dukedom which was said to be the home of the First Empress of Valeria.

It was once the Fidelis Kingdom and they played an important role in the formation of the Empire. They had been Valeria’s ally since time immemorial and they are loyal to the Emperor.

In her past life, the Fidelis Household stood by Ferdinand’s side even when the situation looked grim. They did not give up on the Empire even if it may mean the end of their Household.

They were once a thorn in Arabella’s eyes, but now, they were allies she wanted to be on her side. And this time, she would take care of them for their loyalty to the Empire.

Ninth was Felix of the Orville Dukedom. Felix was the fifth son of the Duke of Orville. And from his thoughts, Arabella heard that Felix had to prove his worth to his family so he was determined to work in the palace.

Felix was thought to be the happy-and-go-lucky type who takes it easy because he always smiled and laughed carelessly unlike his serious older brothers. All of his elder brothers were either already knights or serving as government officials in high posts.

Felix was the only one who was not yet employed and he was rumored to be incapable compared to his brothers.

However, in her past life, Arabella knew that Felix became one of the Head Ministers and he did well on his job even when the Empire became chaotic. He was very capable and trustworthy.

Lastly, Arabella’s tenth chosen assistant was Egbert. He was from the Vertus Household ruling the Vertus Dukedom.

Egbert originally wanted to be a knight so he trained in swordsmanship for a long time. But he was challenged after getting criticized as nothing but a musclehead so he decided to prove everyone they were wrong and studied for the Imperial Civil Service Exam.

He passed with flying colors and decided he wanted to be an official instead of a knight.

After all, a lot of officials hail from the Vertus Dukedom as a lot of former officials hail from there and they educated the younger generation to be government officials.

Before taking the exam in Riva, Vertus had its own screening test to see who could be sent to the capital to take the test. They were much more strict compared to other dukedoms since they wanted to produce only the best officials.

As such, all exam passers from Vertus had high results in the exam since they were already screened and educated well.

Moreover, Egbert would become the Duke of Vertus in the future so it was good to get him on her side early on. She can get close to him while he was still her assistant so he would be her ally once he becomes a duke.

’Aren’t I plotting again?’ Arabella tilted her head. It was truly hard to move on from what she had been doing for so long. But still, even if she was plotting again, it was for a different purpose.

After all, Ryvaleh, Reginald, Maximus, Farrell, Fidelis, Orville, and Vertus were dukedoms surrounding Riva.

Riva was surrounded by the dukedoms of the most prestigious families in Valeria. What separated Riva from them were rivers from the north that flowed on either side of it. But the territories were all connected with sturdy bridges.

If the most prestigious houses turned against Ferdinand and attacked Riva, they had no escape aside from Alwin’s teleportation ability.

Arabella had to get the most prestigious houses on her side and get them to learn more about Ferdinand so they would trust him more as the Emperor of Valeria. So that if one day the Secret Alliance attacks, the most prestigious houses would be on Ferdinand’s side.

Arabella was finally done with her picking. She had the ten assistants she needed.

[She got all the best candidates?!] Raymond gawked at her list. He had told her before the event started that she should get assistants based on her needs. She didn’t have to get all the top performers but people who suited her needs.

’Why is he looking at me like that? These are the people who suited my needs. It just happens that they performed the bests among the candidates. Hehe.’ She stopped herself from smirking evilly.

"Then, Your Majesty, please sign your name and use your seal at the bottom of your list if you are sure they are the people you want. But if you need more time to think, we can postpone the announcement for a few days," Raymond offered since he wanted to poach some of her chosen assistants the instant she changes her mind. But she wouldn’t.

"No need. I am sure of these people," Arabella crushed his hopes. She used her Empress seal and signed the document.