271 The Attendants
Selma Payne’s POV:
f𝙧ee𝔀𝑒𝚋𝐧૦ѵ𝑒Ɩ. 𝑐𝘰𝒎
At first, she was still a little ashamed, but after a few days, she had completely adapted to the life of a baby. She acted coquettishly with Kara without qualms just to get extra special milk from the head chef.
“You are depraved,” I said bitterly. “Your gentleness cannot breed strong wolves. Indulging in pleasure will destroy you.”
“Enjoyment will destroy me, and jealousy will also destroy you, my dear.”
What was she saying?! How could you slander my reputation?
Half a month passed quickly in a stable life, and in the blink of an eye, it was June.
On the morning of the 1st, my father called me to the study room. My mother was there, along with a few officials I’d seen but wasn’t familiar with.
I forced my casual greetings into my stomach when I saw everyone. Facing my parents, I calmly bent my knees and bowed. “Good Morning, Your Majesties.”
They didn’t return the greeting in a distant manner as they usually did to outsiders. My father waved his hand and smiled. “Come quickly, my child. Let the elders see you.”
I was at a loss for a moment at my father’s actions, but I quickly reacted. My parents had already discussed with me disclosing my identity. Today, they were probably going to meet all the important officials.
“Good morning, my Lords.” I played my princess role quickly and nodded to everyone.
“Allow me to introduce you,” my father proudly presented me to the crowd. “This is my daughter, Madeline. She disappeared twenty years ago. Fortunately, the goddess has taken pity on her and sent her back to the Queen and me. Due to various reasons, we didn’t disclose her identity immediately. Instead, we announced to the public that she was my wife’s niece. Now that she’s grown up to be a girl I’m proud of, I think it’s time to let you all get to know her.”
The ministers immediately congratulated my father happily, then bowed to me.
“I’m here to get to know the adults and children.”
My father introduced them to me one by one.
This is the left-wing President of the Council of Elders, Arkadius S. Williams.
A white-haired old man gently kissed my hand. He wore a pair of frameless glasses, and his muddy eyes shone with wisdom.
“The Minister of Defense, Duke Frank, Devin Leopold.”
This was an old acquaintance. We gave each other a warm hug.
“Earl of Marlowe, the head of the Royal Academy of Sciences, Morton Cletti Iberia.”
Earl Marlowe was nearly eighty years old. He was spirited and gentlemanly. There was a gold-chained monocle in his chest pocket. He looked like a scholar from an old movie who had walked into reality.
“Hello.” He bowed to me. “Long live, Your Highness.”
I smiled. “There’s no need to be so polite, my Lord. If I remember correctly, you have a granddaughter named Emma?”
“Yes, she was fortunate enough to be your attendants.”
“She’s a good girl, and we got along very well. If there’s a chance, I think we’ll become friends.”
I wasn’t being polite, but being with Emma and Jordin really made me feel relaxed. It was a stupid and happy experience to have someone criticize the etiquette teacher’s wooden mustache with you in a formal etiquette class.
The last one was even more familiar.
“The werewolf grandmaster’s representative, Mary Borgia.”
We just met last night. She came to examine Maxine and me, and we winked at each other in tacit understanding.
There were four ministers, all of whom were his father’s trusted aides, and they were also the pillars of support for the imperial court and the people.
Our conversation was quite pleasant. The old ministers didn’t question me or embarrass me. Instead, they took care of me like elders would.
This made me very touched, and at the same time, I was more willing to trust them. This was the political capital that my father had left me. If I wanted to gain a firm foothold in the Town Hall as a rookie, I had to rely on the power of my seniors.
The topic came to my social circle. The ministers were all very concerned about the issue of my servants. I also understood that as the heir to the royal family, I had to have a few noble ladies by my side to serve as my attendants. This was a tradition, a ritual, and had nothing to do with thinking or not thinking.
My mother had already warned me about choosing an attendant, and I had also hinted that I wanted to find someone I was more familiar with, such as Emma and Jordin. I felt that most noble girls followed the rules like Carolyn. This wasn’t bad, but it didn’t fit my taste.
So, I wasn’t surprised when my mother asked Bertha to invite Emma and Jordin in.
As for the heated discussion, it seemed that it was just a formality.
Three years had passed, and Emma and Jordin had also turned from young girls to energetic young women. The way they kneeled and bowed didn’t look like girls who would skip class. Only when the adults weren’t paying attention did they show some real liveliness by winking at me.
Everyone praised the girls and had high hopes for them. In the end, my mother put on the brooch that represented the status of the Crown Princess’ attendants for Emma and Jordin.
With the sapphire’s gaze, my pitifully small team now had two new members.
In addition to the ministers and my attendants, my father also decided on one thing: He’d be giving a speech at this year’s graduation ceremony and announcing my true identity to the public.
“Isn’t that a little too ostentatious?” Thinking about that, I felt a little embarrassed. I had so many classmates!
