The duchess pressed her palms against her temples, attempting to soothe her headache. She looked over once again the documents sent to her by her vassal. Reforming an education system was an incredibly taxing and time-consuming task. Who would have thought?
It had all started two days ago when Janice decided to establish a scholarship to give the promising students of her land a chance to attend the Royal Academy even if they lacked the means to support themselves.
She had made a treasure of Jasper's words and decided to remember and honor her niece by doing what she had always fought for; equal opportunities. Even when she was a CEO, it was Haley who begged her to give a chance to students who didn't come from prestigious universities, reminding her of how unfair it was to let people's potential go to waste just because they couldn't afford a prestigious university.
It seemed like a good idea, at least until she had discovered the state of the schools in her duchy. Given the abysmal organization, it would be an achievement to find a student, finding a promising one would simply be unthinkable. And it wasn't simply that the classrooms were half empty, since parents preferred to employ their children rather than send them to what they thought was a waste of time.
What really disquieted her was that... this should've been illegal. She knew her niece, and how much she was invested in giving everyone the opportunity of showing their abilities, regardless of their background. Haley would've never written about children not going to school, as idealistic as she was.
It could only mean one thing. It was an unreasonably disquieting thought, a strange chill that crawled under her skin and left her squirming, trying to get rid of the uncomfortable sensation.
This was unreasonable; Haley simply must have forgotten to write anything about it. Really, she had no reason to react like this, it was just a small detail, almost insignificant: it made sense that Haley hadn't touched on it and so whatever force regulated this world had filled the gap. In truth, it had been foolish of her not to think about it before; her niece couldn't have possibly solved every single administration or bureaucratic issue nor written all the laws of the empire and surely a functioning country couldn't possibly perform on the few guidelines left by sixteen-year-old girl. She was overreacting; Every day she interacted with characters that in the novel had been only mentioned and yet they had full personalities.
Until now, she had operated on the knowledge that she knew intimately this world but what difference could these inane matters make? The smartest thing she could do was adapt and compile a list of things that Haley could not have specified and that she would have to look out for.
Perhaps the reason her discovery made her so upset wasn't her lack of control of this reality but some sense of righteousness orange in place of Haley. Her niece had designed her world to be a bright, good place where there was no space for cruelty, and where everyone could have a chance to live their best lives.
Janice promised herself she would do anything in her power to respect Haley's wish.
If only it could be that simple.
The only way to solve such an intricate and complex issue was to break it down into smaller problems. Firstly, if every child had to go to school Janice needed to know exactly how many children lived in her duchy, and then she would need to know what job all of their parents did and how that impacted the probability of the child dropping out of school or not even ever entering in it. When that was taken care of, she was going to institute a bonus to cover the loss of manual labor that a child going to school represented. She would need a lot of officers to regulate the operation and make sure that everything went smoothly.
She was getting a headache only thinking about it.
It was a big investment, even now that Janice was repaying their debts, but it was a worthy one. Investing in education was always useful, preparing new generations, and making sure that their land would never lack intelligent, competent individuals who would know how to keep it up to date with the empire and how to successfully administrate it.
She sighed, before gripping determinately her quill, readying herself to get to the bottom of this new challenge.
---
There was a man in the hall, prowling around the duchess' chambers. No, not a man; a shadow. A black figure whose steps made no noise on the floor, and that, even with its imposing stature, managed to blend in with the darkness of every nook and corner of the walls. Annette had only noticed him because her ring, once her mother's, had, as usual, slipped off her finger, and bounced on the warm brown of the parquet, ending right in front of the shadow's black leather boots. His leathered hand had picked the small trinket up before silently depositing it in the maid's trembling hand.
She had never been an example of courage and boldness and that tall figure chilled her to the bone, her body detecting the there and itching to run in the other direction. And yet, she wouldn't let an unknown man close to her duchess without her permission; she put up a frown trying to be as intimidating as possible. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to see her Grace." His voice was deep and rough, the tone brusque and commanding. Annette had the strange impression of finding herself in front of one of those big, vicious dogs that every night mauled each other in the fighting rings near her house, from where she could hear the ecstatic screams of the men, inciting the slaughter, that same air of barely restrained power and danger, ready to be unleashed at its owner's whim
A man like that had no place here.
"Is the duchess expecting you, sir?" His face remained unreadable, the only sign of his frustration was the light clench of his fists. "Tell her that I'm here to report my assignment. She will understand."
She didn't want to leave him here, unattended but she had to tell Lady Juliana, at least to get the matter sorted. Reluctantly, she backed down, heading slowly towards her mistress' bedroom, hesitant to turn her shoulders to the man.
---
Corvus had refused the armchair Janice had pointed to when he entered the room: now he stood tall in front of her desk, his hands behind his back, like a soldier waiting for orders. "Have you found what I asked you to?" She eyed curiously the stack of papers in his hands, seemingly empty.
He bowed his head. "Yes, My Lady. I've compiled these documents with the utmost attention; everything you could possibly need to know is stored here." Janice lightly arched her eyebrow, admittedly impressed with the spy's efforts; it had only been three days and the list she had given him had been quite long.
"You completed the assignment in only three days. It's impressive." Corvus stood a little straighter, his chest broadening almost imperceptibly with pride at the praise. He looked a little bit like her sister-in-law's Doberman, whose ears perked up every time she would call it a good boy.
"I- The Guild of the Shadows always strives to impress. We are the best you can find, my Lady."
"I'm beginning to believe that. I suppose that the ink you used is Loraine's; the famed invisible solution. The Guild surely pays no mind to expenses."
"Only the best for you, Your Grace." He coughed lightly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Had he been hurt while he was completing his assignment?
"Here is the rest of your money and..." She let her voice trail off for a minute, watching the man pocket the pouch. "I want you to stay in town, Corvus. Soon, I'll need your services again."
The spy looked at her, his face morphed into the same peculiar expression he had made during their nightly meeting in the tavern, the change similar to the melting of ice, left too near to a fire. The harshness in his features drifted away, his jaw losing its tension, and his eyes, of a striking amber color in the afternoon sun, widened.
It was but a fleeting moment, his mask firmly back in place. He stood a little straighter, his voice firmer, as if to make up for his previous slip.
"I'm honored to hear that my lady's opinion of me is high. Then I will find myself a place to stay; if your Grace ever needs to contact me just leave a note at the tavern we've met at."
He bowed and in a blink he was gone, the only proof he had ever been in that room was the papers on her writing desk. Janice flipped through them, quickly reading their content; it had been a risk, to contact so freely the Guild of The Shadows so freely, when they were supposed to be known only by a very few people.
In the novel, they were hired by one of the Emperor's functionaries, a marquis, to spy on him and the female lead, tasked with reporting to the man the developments of their relationship. He had planned to marry off his daughter to the Emperor and tried to sabotage the main characters' romance, only to be discovered and promptly exiled.
But Janice needed the work done and knew about their abilities: they were the best of the best. If your allies knew you were spying on them they would have been displeased and that would not do. While none of her officials had been in any way suspicious, she still preferred knowing everything about them and, most importantly, Janice liked having something to blackmail them with, if the opportunity arose.
She recognized it wasn't the most ethical course of action, but that strategy had served her well in her first life.
After all, it was better to ask forgiveness than have to deal with the consequences of her own complacency.