[Translator’s Note: Sorry for making you guys wait longer! I thought it was a normal fever, turns out it was a typhoid fever…]
【Holy Year 741, August 9th, 9:58 AM】
【Countdown – 23:59:59】
Silver-white light gradually dissipated before Ciel’s eyes.
A fantastical, sweet scent entered Ciel’s nasal cavity. She felt a slight numbness spread through her body, but Ciel’s thoughts were unaffected.
This feeling made Ciel a little strange… but it didn’t seem to have any impact.
With the help of 【Calm Mind Lv.5】, she could still think calmly.
Good, August 9th, and the time is exact. She hadn’t died prematurely in the simulation, so…
A voice interrupted Ciel’s thoughts. She looked up and saw what was before her.
It was a rectangular conference table. Well-dressed, well-mannered noblewomen filled both sides, and beyond those seated, even more noblewomen stood in a circle around them, almost entirely filling the conference room.
And a noblewoman, dressed in a black gown, stood behind the first seat on the left. Her long black hair was elegantly coiled high, and her cold, dark purple eyes were fixed in Ciel’s direction as she spoke calmly.
Ciel, in a daze, shifted her gaze from the noblewoman before her and scanned the other ladies around. Some abrupt memories surfaced in her mind, and her 【Calm Mind】 began to help her calmly analyze these memories.
I am the First Minister of Finance…
Ciel looked down at herself. She was currently seated at the head of the main table, wearing a well-tailored tailcoat.
It looked like it was made based on a man’s tailcoat, using pure black worsted wool as the base material, and paired with dark patterned jacquard silk.
The garment retained its double-breasted design, satin lapels, and knee-length coattails, but the shoulder and waist lines were narrowed to better fit a woman’s figure.
“First Minister of Finance” was the official title in Ansu. Both parliamentary bills and royal edicts would use “First Minister of Finance” as the designation.
Not “Prime Minister.”
At this moment, Ciel was sitting at the head of the long conference table…
—I am the First Minister of Finance.
Ciel lowered her head, glanced at the documents in her hand, and quickly flipped through them.
Seemingly realizing that Ciel was a little off, the noblewoman with coiled hair raised her hand and waved to the others.
“The First Minister of Finance needs a moment longer to think. Let’s adjourn for now.”
“Of course, Your Excellency.”
The noblewomen present all stood up. After bowing to Ciel, they filed out of the conference room. The last person closed the door behind them.
The previously crowded conference room now only had three people left.
Ciel’s gaze rested on the pink incense burning in the center of the conference table. Faint pink-purple smoke wafted, seeming to calm Ciel’s mind considerably. Even her previously blurry memories gradually became clear.
“What’s wrong? Is the pressure still too much?”
A gentle voice, tinged with a little worry, came from her left side.
Ciel turned to look. A beautiful blonde woman with a slightly thin face was sitting in the first seat on the left, looking at her with concern, her sapphire-like eyes subtly flickering.
“She is bearing this pressure for you, William.”
A slightly cold voice came from behind William. The standing noblewoman sighed softly, looked down at Ciel, and her voice softened slightly, “Don’t worry, I will clear away the remaining obstacles for you.”
“If you feel unwell, you can go back and rest first. We can resume the meeting at noon… Avena is waiting for you at home.”
Hearing the noblewoman’s words, Ciel’s mood seemed to relax somewhat. She nodded very naturally and said:
“Thank you, Duke Charles.”
“Step down! Step down!”
“Charter! Universal suffrage! Dissolve the cabinet! Or we’ll hang you!”
“Bread prices fall, but your wallets are full!”
“Blood and mud stain the velvet! The blood of North Ansu people covers your white gloves!”
The carriage struggled through the angry crowd and stopped in front of the Prime Minister’s residence at No. 10.
Under the collective deployment of the police, a slightly open space was finally cleared in front of the carriage. Just then, the carriage door opened. A slightly plump female police officer pressed her steel helmet and said, “Come down quickly, Your Excellency Prime Minister.”
Ciel got out of the car. As she reached the wide-open door of the Prime Minister’s residence, she looked back.
A dense crowd of people almost filled the street. Most of them were dressed as farmers, with a few wearing workers’ clothes, fiercely arguing with them, defending the Prime Minister.
When Ciel looked back, it seemed to further incite the riot below. Some reporters also took the opportunity to squeeze to the front, starting to question Ciel about the repeal of the 《Corn Laws》 across the police line.
But Ciel didn’t speak. She just waved her hand, then turned and walked into the Prime Minister’s residence. A green-haired maid came forward to greet her.
“Lord Ciel, you’re finally back…”
Tara looked at Ciel, whose face was slightly haggard, and then at the agitated crowd behind Ciel. She gritted her teeth and said in a low voice, “How dare they disobey Lord Ciel’s orders. They will pay the price…”
Ciel shook her head, then looked upstairs and asked, “Where’s Avena?”
“Lady Avena is in the study…”
Before Tara could finish speaking, a familiar figure seemed to have heard the commotion outside and was already at the top of the stairs.
Avena looked at Ciel, quickly walked down the stairs, and immediately embraced her. “Are you alright? I heard someone set fire in front of the Parliament Building today…”
“I’m fine. Just some minor issues.”
Ciel hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached out and embraced Avena’s slender waist.
When did Avena become so… gentle?