The News Release Is Ready (1)

A few days later, Cordelia happily looked at the two announcement newspapers delivered to her room in the royal palace.

“They look wonderful!”

One had been requested from the Kentonis Company, the other from the Sphida Company. Both announcement papers included an engraved portrait of Cordelia in addition to the text.

Hearing her voice, Isaac—who had lately taken to using the room as a makeshift office—stood from his chair and peered over.

“…Even with engraving it can be expressed this beautifully. Noble, dignified, and elegant.”

“Yes. The Kentonis Company distributes to the nobility, so we emphasized refinement.”

“My lady, is this the Sphida Company’s one? The smile is lovely, almost like a holy mother!”

Lily said dreamily with her hands on her cheeks. Jean cut in.

“A holy mother? People would call this one a scam. Ow!”

Lily immediately pulled Jean’s ear. Over the past few years the four of them had often acted together, and she no longer held back with him.

“The Sphida Company is for the general public, so I had them make it look gentle.”

As she spoke, Cordelia admired the engraving’s quality.

(That man Sphida… as expected, he properly delivers the work requested.)

She had conveyed the image she wanted for the portrait beforehand, but the arrangement of the engraver had been left to each newspaper company. It was expected the large and historic Kentonis Company would meet the request, but Sphida had also apparently found a highly skilled artisan. Had he used his famous “magic eyes”? Or his romantic persuasion?

—In the end, Cordelia had been carried along by Sphida’s strange pace and told him everything.

When Cordelia said she absolutely couldn’t reveal her identity, he insisted with a mysterious logic: “Then it won’t spark my creative drive… Don’t you want to see a fabulous world completed only when all pieces beautifully align?” Eventually she obtained Isaac’s permission and revealed she was the second Holy Maiden.

(However you look at it, his approach is skillful. He slips into your guard like an eel…)

At the same time, his advice had been precise and logical, and she had immediately felt he was capable.

Even though this task lay outside normal journalism, he handled it alone without difficulty and procured a talented engraver, showing remarkable competence.

“…Well, with this quality, it should be fine.”

Jean’s words sounded careless, but since he never agreed to anything he didn’t approve of, he must have accepted it. Cordelia smiled in satisfaction.

Both completed announcement newspapers were highly satisfactory. Though the content was the same, the engravings and wording were subtly different: the noble version appealed to pride with refined and cultured language, while the public version conveyed compassion and approachability.

“But… will the nobles attend the treatment gathering?”

“They won’t come to the ‘treatment gathering.’”

Cordelia answered Lily clearly.

“A free event where large numbers of commoners gather. From a noble’s pride, receiving charity for free would be nothing but shame—so look here.”

She pointed to the noble-oriented newspaper.

“It says, ‘We are also recruiting supporters who agree with our cause,’ right? For nobles, it benefits both sides more if they participate as patrons.”

Lily exclaimed, “I see!”

The plan was this:

The openly held treatment gathering would welcome anyone regardless of status, making commoners the main target.

Meanwhile, nobles unable to attend for appearance’s sake would accompany her later as supporters when visiting monasteries and clinics. That way they could interact with Cordelia the Holy Maiden while gaining credit for participating in charity.

“That said, it’s unclear how many nobles we can win over… If they have ambition for the throne, they’ll side with Hina.”

Saying that, Cordelia let out a small sigh.