The World Is Mine For The Taking-Chapter 1275 - 196 - Boiling Point (4)

We met Galdea at her office, which was located inside her residence itself. Calling it just a residence honestly felt like an understatement, though. The place was enormous. It was less like a normal home and more like a small estate that happened to have walls around it. Even from the outside, the building gave off that quiet kind of authority that made you instinctively straighten your posture a little. You didn’t need someone to tell you that an important person lived there. The place practically screamed it on its own.

The moment our car rolled through the large front gates and into the courtyard, several knights immediately stepped forward and stopped us before we could go any further. They were clearly on high alert, hands resting near their weapons, their eyes scanning us carefully like they were trying to dissect every little detail about who we were and why we were there.

We handed them the letter.

The moment they saw the signature on it—Galdea’s signature—they exchanged a few glances with each other before stepping aside and allowing us to pass.

Honestly, I found that a little impressive.

They didn’t even recognize the face of the Princess standing right in front of them.

Then again... thinking about the current situation, it wasn’t really that strange. Right now, the entire place practically felt like a pot that had been boiling for too long. Everyone looked like they were ready to jump at each other’s throats at any moment. So the fact that the knights were this cautious—even when the Princess herself showed up—was probably the most reasonable thing they could do.

Paranoia was practically a job requirement these days.

When we were finally escorted inside and brought to Galdea’s office, we found her sitting behind a large desk that was absolutely drowning in paperwork.

No, drowning wasn’t even the right word.

It was more like the papers had declared war and completely conquered the desk.

Stacks of documents were piled on top of each other like unstable towers that could collapse at any moment. Some papers were neatly arranged, while others looked like they had simply been dropped wherever there was a tiny bit of empty space left.

Galdea herself sat behind all of it, looking like the general who had been left to manage the battlefield alone.

The moment we entered, she looked up from the document she had been reading.

"I’m sorry, Princess, for not meeting you at the entrance," she said, her voice carrying a faint trace of exhaustion. "As you can see... I’m pretty busy at the moment."

Her tone was polite, but the tiredness in it was impossible to hide.

Myrcella glanced around the room before looking back at her.

"Well... I guess that’s understandable," Myrcella said slowly. "Looking at you right now..."

She didn’t even need to finish the sentence.

Anyone with functioning eyes could see what she meant.

Galdea had dark circles under her eyes. They were deep enough that it looked like sleep had abandoned her several days ago and never came back. Her hair, while still neat, had a few stray strands that suggested she had run her hand through it more times than she probably realized.

In short, she looked like someone who had been fighting paperwork instead of monsters.

And judging from the sheer amount of documents in the room, the paperwork was winning.

"There’s really no rush," Myrcella continued calmly. "If you’re busy right now, we can talk about what I came here for another time."

Galdea shook her head lightly.

"Well... it’s not exactly something that’s really, really urgent on my side," she said. "Honestly, I think whatever you came here to talk about probably matters more right now, Princess."

That was what she said.

But the way she looked right now made it painfully obvious that she was already exhausted to the point where her body might just give up at any moment. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

After a moment, she pushed her chair back and stood up.

Or at least... she tried to.

The moment she got to her feet, her balance wavered.

Her body tilted slightly forward.

And for a split second, it looked like she was about to fall face-first onto the desk.

I reacted without thinking.

I dashed forward and caught her before gravity could finish the job.

"T-Thank you," she said, looking slightly surprised. "You’re... very fast."

"Well, I try to stay attentive," I replied with a small shrug. "Can you stand properly now?"

She nodded once.

"Yup."

Once she regained her balance, I slowly let go of her so she could stand on her own again.

After taking a moment to steady herself, she began walking toward the living room area of the residence. We followed behind her, leaving the battlefield of paperwork behind for the time being.

When we arrived at the living room, one of her maids quickly brought out some food for us.

Or rather... dessert.

My eyes immediately recognized it.

It was a cake from Leonamon.

"I’m sure you’ve probably eaten this many times already," Galdea said as she gestured toward the cake. "Considering that you’re the owner of Leonamon as a whole. But it’s the only thing I had prepared right now, so I apologize for that."

I looked at the cake for a moment before letting out a quiet chuckle.

"Honestly, it’s not really a problem," I said. "There are actually a lot of flavors in the shop that I haven’t even tasted myself."

She blinked.

"Really?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Some of the stuff we sell, I’ve never personally tried. Including this one."

Running a business didn’t exactly mean you had time to sit down and sample every single product.

Sometimes you were too busy making sure the place didn’t explode financially.

Galdea let out a soft laugh.

"Well... I’m glad to hear that," she said. "Honestly, this is the first time I’ve ever had both the Princess and a big businessman visit me at the same time."

She paused for a moment before adding with a faint smile,

"I’m pretty sure some people would panic and have a heart attack trying to figure out what to serve."

"You didn’t really need to prepare anything special," Myrcella said calmly.

"Well... maybe," Galdea replied with a small shrug. "But habits are hard to ignore."

She then leaned slightly back into the sofa before continuing.

"Anyway... enough about that."

Her expression became a little more serious.

"I read the letter you sent," she said. "I didn’t realize Sir Gaspard had done something like that."

She sighed quietly.

"But honestly... considering the kind of person he’s always been, it was probably only a matter of time before something like this happened."

For a moment, the room became quiet.

Then she turned her gaze toward Myrcella.

"You came here because you want me to side with you, didn’t you?" she said directly. "You want my support so you can counter Sir Gaspard."

Myrcella didn’t hesitate.

"Yes," she replied firmly. "If you would permit it, I want you to affiliate yourself with me."

For Myrcella, having Galdea on her side wasn’t just helpful.

It was extremely important.

Galdea wasn’t just another administrator within the academy. She held real authority there, and her influence extended far beyond simple paperwork or minor decisions.

More importantly, her background carried serious weight.

And in the current situation, that kind of influence could make a massive difference.

On top of that, she held the exact same administrative rank as Gaspard.

Technically speaking, the two of them stood on equal ground.

The only real difference was that Gaspard had been an administrator for far longer. His years of experience had allowed him to build connections and influence within the academy over time.

But rank-wise?

They were the same.

And that fact alone had always annoyed quite a few people within the administration.

Even so, Galdea’s position and authority were strong enough to become a powerful pillar for Myrcella’s faction.

If enough people started backing Myrcella up, then there would be no denying her position anymore.

Galdea listened quietly.

Then she gave a small smile.

But the smile didn’t carry much happiness.

It looked... tired.

A little sad, even.

"I don’t..." she said softly, lowering her gaze slightly.

"I don’t even know if I could really be useful."