Hayley headed straight to the office of the Association with the documents in her hand.

Waiting for her there were people who were just as eager for these documents as she was, having been notified in advance.

“Miss Hayley!”

“This is truly a cause for celebration, Miss Hayley. How did you find them?”

“Don’t thank me, thank Betty. She said she’s been searching for them since the audit was announced.”

As they entered and closed the door, Evan and the entire support project department cheered in their own ways.

To be honest, calling it an audit was a stretch. Count Felice was no different from a street thug.

He was quiet until the second day, but then he suddenly started messing around everywhere in the Association.

And he did it while using excuses that anyone would find suspicious.

One time, he said he was going to the bathroom but suddenly wanted to tour the inner parts of the Association. Another time, he claimed he saw someone he knew over there.

One day, he even barged into Hayley’s office, insisting that he wanted to become close friends with the Association Leader.

As a result, not only the support project department but also people from other departments had to keep a close eye on Count Felice’s movements.

Needless to say, all work was being delayed because of this.

“I really don’t like that person.”

Evan, the youngest member of the support project department, who had been tasked with monitoring Count Felice as his main job, muttered with a half-dazed expression.

Even now, he was on his way back from asking a reliable senior from the next department to watch the count.

Even though he was the youngest, he still had his own assigned tasks, but he couldn’t remember a single time he properly worked at his own desk since joining the department.

And it was the same for the other members of the department.

Everyone, including Hayley, nodded their heads with a sigh at Evan’s words.

“Evan had it the hardest.”

“Yeah. Department Head, please treat our youngest to something delicious today.”

“Alright, alright. We’re having a team dinner today, Evan!”

Rafaella, the head of the support project department, patted Evan on the shoulder.

She probably meant it as a gesture of encouragement, but the hands of Rafaella, who came from a knight background, were still too strong.

“It hurts, Department Head…”

“Wahaha! Cheer up, Evan. Still, having a drink with the department head is better than dealing with the count, right?”

The senior members of the department all gathered around Evan, giving him violent pats disguised as encouragement.

Thanks to them, Evan felt like his shoulders would bruise. He looked at Hayley with teary eyes.

“So, Deputy Director? How do you plan to use that?”

“Ah. This?”

At Evan’s words, Hayley waved the documents she was holding.

Then, she spread them out wide on the table.

“The support project department will decide how to utilize this.”

That’s the message from the Director.

At Hayley’s words, everyone in the department let out a short exclamation.

As expected of the Director, everyone admired.

At that moment,

“Isn’t the Director being too harsh? This homework is too difficult.”

Only Evan made a sad face while looking at the documents.

Of course, he was beaten on the shoulders by everyone for that.

“Then, let’s forget about Count Felice. Is there a way to take advantage of Count Filipa?”

After Hayley left, I asked Betty if she had any methods this time as well, just in case.

But Betty tilted her head and shook it side to side.

“Count Filipa is such an honest person. You know that.”

“That’s true, but…”

Still, there’s no one who doesn’t need something.

While I was lost in thought for a moment, Betty rummaged through the investigations she had done so far to see if there was anything useful.

After rummaging for a while, she suddenly opened her mouth with an “ah”.

“About Count Filipa.”

“Did you find something?”

“Well, not exactly.”

Betty looked at a small note with a somewhat serious expression and shook her head.

“It’s nothing much, but someone started investigating before I did.”

“You mean Lloyd’s side made the first move?”

“No. It didn’t seem to be from the side of the young duke. They seemed to be digging in a completely different direction from the beginning.”

It seems they’re trying to find a weakness or something.

Betty muttered and picked up another piece of paper.

Then she shook her head again.

“No. At least if I knew which side made the first move, I could request their cooperation in the investigation or dig into their background, but they kept rejecting me no matter how many times I tracked them.”

“Really?”

Then at least it means they’re skilled in this kind of work.

“What about the Valois side? Haven’t you investigated them?”

“Only Lady Valois is moving on that side, and the duke doesn’t budge at all. He’s like a baby bird that won’t eat unless someone feeds him.”

Still, he’s a duke of a nation, but a baby bird?

I barely suppressed my laughter at Betty’s words and waved my hand at her.

“Okay, okay. Let me know if you find anything else to use against Count Felice, and also find out who’s tailing Count Filipa. If it’s someone from Lloyd’s side, chase them away appropriately.”

“I will, Your Highness.”

Betty nodded and neatly reorganized the cluttered desk.

At times like this, she’s truly a capable person, our Betty.

I looked at Betty with a satisfied smile.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“What?”

“No, you’re looking at me like you have a favor to ask.”

“…I was just proud of you.”

Eyes that look like they have a favor to ask?

Were my eyes that full of things to say?

Feeling embarrassed by Betty’s words, I rubbed my eyes for no reason.

“Don’t think about anything else and prepare well for tomorrow’s banquet. You invited Lady Valois, right?”

As she spoke, Betty brought one of the documents from her desk to me.

It was the investigation results on Arianna Valois that she had shown me before.

“You kept this all this time?”

“I was going to burn it, but it seemed like Your Highness was showing interest in Lady Valois, so I kept it.”

It’s a summary. I already burned the original.

Betty replied in a calm tone and returned to her seat.

“Betty. Your desk seems to contain national security-level secrets.”

“Documents worthy of that are kept in a safe deep inside the desk drawer. I deliberately took some out today because I heard Miss Hayley was coming.”

Even at my rare joke, Betty responded without blinking an eye.

As if telling me to stop the nonsense and look at the documents right away.

“I don’t know for sure, but according to my investigation, Lady Valois will also come prepared with a thorough investigation of Your Highness. So don’t go and get hit hard, and memorize the documents well.”

“I know that much too.”

She’s especially naggy today, Betty.

As I muttered with a sulky face, she looked at me and let out a small sigh.

“I’m just worried. I heard even the maids can’t enter the tea party tomorrow.”

“That’s true, but…”

Countess Perche’s tea parties aim for intimacy among a small group.

So as much as possible, even the servants are sent out, and only the noble ladies gather quietly for conversation.

So it’s natural that Betty, who was always by my side and quickly helped me, can’t go in.

“Hurry up and find a good noble man and get married, Betty.”

“I won’t get married unless it’s to someone like His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince or our duke, Your Highness.”

Since I started attending various parties in high society, I jokingly told Betty to marry a good noble man.

If Betty married a noble man and gained the title of a noble lady, she would be able to accompany me to social gatherings.

There would be no more reliable support than her in the weaponless war that takes place there.

However, while there were many who wanted to take Betty, a former fallen noble and a maid, not even a lady’s maid, as a concubine or mistress, there was no one yet who wanted to make her the main wife.

Damn these class distinctions.

There were surprisingly many people who cared about the eyes of the world.

Whenever such conversations took place, I always got angry as if it were my own business and comforted Betty, but she always comforted me, saying it was okay even though I was upset.

It was at a rather late age that I realized Betty had been hurt more than I thought by the things that happened due to my greed.

And since then, I never seriously tell her to get married.

Betty also never responds seriously to my words like that.

“Anyway, I’m going to give it my all from head to toe tomorrow, so stop thinking about other things and go take a nap if you have nothing to do.”

“It’s still broad daylight, Betty.”

“Originally, the more you sleep, the better your skin gets.”

Betty answered with a straight face and finished organizing her desk.

After looking at the clean desk with a satisfied smile, Betty sat back at her desk and busily started working.

“I’m going to work, so if you’re not going to sleep, you should work too, Your Highness.”

“When did you tell me to sleep again?”

“If you’re not going to sleep, I said you should work.”

Continuing this somewhat silly, bickering conversation, we laughed with a “puha” and lowered our heads to focus on our respective tasks.

I focused on familiarizing myself with the information on Arianna Valois, and Betty focused on preparing materials for the audit that Hayley had requested.

And so, another day of preparing for the future passed.

As announced yesterday, Betty was fired up for party preparations from early in the morning.

Having gone to bed early just in case, I couldn’t come to my senses due to Betty and the maids rushing around from early on.

The maids were so persistent and noisy that even Leoprick, who was sleeping with me, woke up startled.

I handed Leoprick, who had been surprised awake, a cup of chamomile tea and was dragged around by their hands.

“Wait, wait. Can’t you go a little slower?”

“No, Your Highness!”

“That’s right. If you move now, everything we’ve done so far will be for nothing!”

“It may be frustrating, but please bear with it a little, Your Highness.”

The tea party is in the afternoon after lunchtime, so why do I have to suffer from this ungodly hour?

Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I blankly recalled the records about Arianna Valois that I had read yesterday.

Arianna Valois.

The only blood relative of the Duke of Valois.

Her mother passed away from postpartum illness, and her father had an authoritative personality, making it difficult for her to develop affection for her family.

After the death of her nanny, the only one who showed her affection, she secretly snuck into the library every day to read books.

While doing so, she is trying hard to act like the foolish and lacking noble lady who knows nothing, as her father wants her to be.

I thought about Arianna Valois, whom I would meet today, while suppressing a yawn that leaked out.

The lady must have had a hard life too.

I just hope we don’t have a relationship that’s too hostile.

That way, we can prevent falling deeper into a hellhole like Lloyd.

I had such thoughts while being swayed by the hands of the maids.

Even though she’s on Lloyd’s side, I hope she’s a good person.