Chapter 49 : Completing the Mission
Chapter 49: Completing the Mission
“I am responsible for establishing order. You are responsible for eliminating all the trash that obstructs that order.”
The Queen’s command was absolute.
She could look down on this maid of unknown origin, but she could not defy Her Majesty.
“Fine.”
A single word was squeezed out from between Camilla’s teeth.
She turned and walked to Lilia’s desk.
Work was work, hatred was hatred.
Lilia’s taut nerves did not relax because of this.
She began writing again.
“Department positioning, scope of authority and responsibility, workflow, reporting mechanisms, reward and punishment regulations.”
She murmured softly, as if speaking to herself.
Camilla did not respond, but Lilia could feel that the other party’s attention had already focused.
“This is the basic framework. Now, let’s fill in the first item—department positioning.”
Lilia dipped her pen in ink, the tip hovering above the parchment.
“All documents submitted to Her Majesty the Queen must pass through our department for review. The review will consist of two parts: format compliance and information authenticity.”
“For format compliance, the templates I establish will serve as the sole standard.”
“For information authenticity, we must conduct cross-verification. For example, if the northern legion applies for winter supplies, we will need to consult data from the same period last year, as well as recent battle reports from the border conflicts, to determine whether their request is reasonable.”
After finishing, Lilia raised her head.
“Do you have anything to add regarding this?”
Camilla let out a cold snort.
“Add? You’re trying to establish an internal authority that stands above all other departments. Lilia, do you even know what that means?”
“It means we will become a thorn in the side of every Demon General and lord,” Lilia replied calmly.
“Good that you know.”
“And that is precisely where your value lies, Duke Camilla.”
Lilia tapped her pen against the words “scope of authority and responsibility.”
“I will be responsible for formulating the rules and ensuring internal operations run without any errors. And you, the Succubus Duke, one of Her Majesty Hera’s Four Great Demon Generals, will be responsible for making those ‘thorns in the side’ obediently follow our rules.”
“You want me to play the villain?”
“This isn’t about being a villain. This is duty. What Her Majesty needs is results, not complaints.”
Lilia pushed the parchment to the center of the table.
“Or do you think you’re incapable of handling it?”
Camilla stood up, walked to Lilia’s desk, and picked up the parchment containing the framework.
She read it word by word, a complex light flickering in her purple eyes.
After a long while, she put it down.
“The division of authority is acceptable. But the allocation authority for personnel and resources required by the department must be under my control.”
Here it comes.
Lilia understood immediately.
This was Camilla’s counterattack—trying to seize real power in the soon-to-be-established department.
“Agreed.” Lilia’s answer exceeded her expectations. “Personnel and resources will be allocated by you.”
A trace of victory appeared on Camilla’s face.
“However,” Lilia’s tone shifted, “all allocation requests must be submitted as written reports that meet the standards I establish. I will review every expenditure to ensure they are all used toward the ultimate goal of ‘establishing an efficient and transparent intelligence system.’ Any request unrelated to this goal will be rejected, accompanied by my comments, and reported to Her Majesty the Queen.”
Camilla’s smile froze.
She controlled the power to spend, but the approval authority was firmly held in this maid’s hands.
Every coin she spent, every action she took, would ultimately have to pass Lilia’s review to become a “legitimate” departmental act.
“You…”
“This is to ensure our work receives Her Majesty’s approval, Duke,” Lilia interrupted, her tone impeccable.
The two fell into confrontation once more.
This time, Camilla remained silent for much longer.
She finally realized that in the domain of “rules,” she might be completely no match for this seemingly fragile maid.
“Continue.”
She eventually spat out two words and returned to her seat.
The first round of the power struggle ended in Lilia’s complete victory.
【Ding! In your first power struggle with Duke Camilla, you utilized rules to seize the dominant position.】
【“Social Maid” talent experience slightly increased.】
【“Aura of Authority” skill proficiency increased.】
Lilia ignored the system notifications; she knew this was only the beginning.
Over the next few hours, within the grand and empty study, only two kinds of sounds remained.
The scratching of quill against parchment, and the occasional short, cold exchanges between the two.
Their working state entered a strange harmony.
Relying on the management knowledge accumulated in her previous life and the “Administrative Maid” talent granted by the System, Lilia continuously produced sets of modern management systems and workflows.
She built an entire department from nothing.
Meanwhile, Camilla played the role of a perfect “stress tester.”
“This clause won’t work.” Camilla pointed at a line in the draft. “You require all legions to attach detailed personal information of fallen soldiers when submitting battle reports? On the Abyss battlefield, many low-tier demonic soldiers don’t even have names, only numbers. If you require this, they’ll just fabricate data. How can you ensure authenticity?”
Lilia paused for a moment, then immediately crossed out the clause.
She had indeed overlooked the realities of the Demon Realm.
“Then we’ll change it to reporting total casualties by squad units, with a focus on recording casualties among officers with ranks.” She revised it quickly.
After a while—
“Here,” Camilla spoke again, “your ‘dereliction punishment’ is ‘confiscation of half a year’s salary and public announcement.’ That’s meaningless to major lords. What they care about is reputation and Her Majesty’s perception.”
“Your suggestion?” Lilia asked, looking up.
“Change it to ‘deprivation of promotion opportunities and recording the misconduct on file.’ That’s far more effective than fines.”
Lilia’s pen paused.
She had to admit that Camilla’s understanding of the Demon Realm’s power structure far surpassed her own.
The efficiency was astonishing.
When the sky outside shifted from bright to dark, and the last trace of light disappeared from the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, Lilia wrote the final stroke.
《Draft for the Establishment and Operational Charter of the Eternal Night Palace Document Audit and Inspection Department》 was complete.
Lilia let out a long breath, feeling as though her entire body had been drained.
She leaned back in her chair.
Across from her, Camilla also appeared somewhat fatigued.
She picked up the freshly completed draft and carefully read it from beginning to end once more.
This time, she did not point out a single flaw.
She set the parchment down, and silence once again filled the study.
Camilla said nothing, merely gazing quietly at the document that embodied both of their efforts.
She still disliked Lilia.
She disliked the Queen’s aura on her, disliked her composed façade, disliked the inexplicable favor she had received.
But…
She had to admit that when this maid handled such tedious and dull paperwork, the almost obsessive focus and talent she displayed were something she had never seen before.
She could turn a pile of chaotic, disordered trash into a perfectly ordered blade.
This ability to create order… perhaps it was exactly what Her Majesty valued.
“I’ll prepare two copies—one to submit to Her Majesty, and one for the archives.”
After a long while, Camilla stood up.
Lilia slumped in her chair, watching Camilla’s back, her mind in disarray.
She could not understand why a single collaboration had caused such a subtle shift in their relationship.
At that moment, the System notification finally arrived.
【Ding! Emergency Side Mission “The Double-Edged Sword of Order” Phase One completed!】
【Mission Objective: Jointly draft the department charter with Duke Camilla—completed.】
【Mission Evaluation: S+ (Unimaginable cooperative efficiency)】
【Reward calculation in progress…】
【Due to your outstanding leadership and ability to construct order during cooperation, and having initially gained Duke Camilla’s recognition on a professional level, the mission evaluation has been upgraded!】
【Final Evaluation: SS!】
【Rewards: 1. “Social Maid” talent tree unlocks new branch—“The Embryo of Power Tactics.” 2. Significant increase in proficiency of the skill “Aura of Authority (Beginner).”】
【Ding! It has been detected that the host, through efficient cooperation with an enemy, has experienced a pure “sense of professional accomplishment” that transcends personal likes and dislikes.】
【Your pleasure derived from “controlling order” is beginning to override “personal emotions.”】