”Princess!”
”Princess!!!”
Although the total number of people in the hall was less than thirty, the impact of their collective enthusiastic chanting wasn’t any less than that of a much larger crowd.
Had it not been for the fact that they maintained some semblance of decorum and order throughout, it would have been hard for even Crystal to know if they could remain rational despite their enthusiasm.
Of course, while Dixie and Crystal were admiring how organized and well-behaved Emilia’s ‘fan club’ was, the crimson-haired girl found it hard to believe that someone like Penny could lead a group like this.
After all, the petite girl might be adorable, cute, and full of passion, but she hadn’t exactly shown herself to be someone with a lot of self-control.
For Emilia, who always believed that a leader must have all the qualities that they want their followers to have, it was an eye-opener, to say the least.
Fortunately, Penny couldn’t read her thoughts, or her pridefully puffed out chest would have been immediately deflated. Even if she was well aware that she didn’t practice what she preached, it wasn’t something she wanted to let her princess know!
The first one to introduce herself to Emilia was someone she actually recognized.
”Princess, I don’t know if you remember me—”
Emilia grinned. “I remember you. Adele, right?”
The short-haired girl was momentarily stunned before a bright smile lit up her face. “I-It’s my honor to be remembered by you, princess! I-I’ve always kept your teachings in mind, and will continue to forever serve you faithfully!”
Emilia tapped her forehead with an amused smile. “You’re exaggerating too much, but as long as you have fun doing what you want… keep at it.”
Adele nodded happily, and soon another girl came up to introduce herself.
Penny let out a breath of relief when she saw that the girl didn’t take the chance to promote herself too much in front of Emilia.
Given her numerous contributions so far, it wouldn’t actually be unjustified for the girl to do so, but it would still go against the ‘rules’ she had established to keep everything orderly.
The order of introductions wasn’t random either. Aside from those few who had chosen to take the privilege of welcoming Emilia and setting things up, the rest were all lined up in order of their contributions so far.
Of course, with Penny in charge, things could never be completely fair. In order to better suit the tastes of her princess, not only were the most attractive girls moved forward, but the boys were directly put at the back without mercy.
Emilia didn’t get the time to realize these deliberate arrangements as she was kept busy getting her gloved hand kissed one over and over as she faced one embarrassing confession after another.
”Princess, I’m your long-time admirer, Natalie Dunbrock! The moment I saw you on TV that day, I have always looked up to you as an idol!”
”M-My name is Erica Whitsworth, princess, I-I’ve liked you since the moment I was born!”
Each of their introductions was more exaggerated than the last, and Emilia was already giggling in amusement by the time she was through the first few.
The ‘knights’ didn’t seem to mind at all.
”Watching you smile is like watching the most beautiful flowers bloom in front of our eyes, princess!”
”Thank you for the blessing, princess!”
Even Emilia couldn’t help but be embarrassed at this point. “D-Don’t be like that! Even I will get shy, you know?”
Seeing their idol blush because of them only made them more excited, however. Their compliments got even ‘worse’, and the atmosphere in the room turned feverish.
Penny was suddenly very glad that she had already trained them as best as she could to make sure they could control themselves in front of their princess, or else they would have surely made an even worse joke of themselves by now.
By the time the last of them was done kissing her hand after their over-the-top’ introduction’, Emilia was already feeling a little guilty for not coming over sooner. How could she have known they were looking forward to meeting her so much?
The crimson-haired girl could only rub her cheek in embarrassment. “Y-You could have approached me earlier, you know? It’s not like you can’t see me at school.”
The ‘knights’ could only avoid her gaze out of guilt. Given that they prevented all kinds of ‘disturbances’ from getting in her way, how could they pester her needlessly while at school? Just being able to watch her unobstructed was blessing enough!
Crystal covered up her amused smile with a cough. “I think they’re only so excited because your arrival here is like an official acknowledgment of their efforts.”
The crimson-haired girl blinked in surprise before nodding. “Oh… I guess that makes some sense.”
When she thought about it, wasn’t it just like a child who can always talk to her parents at home, but still would be excited upon earning their praise after getting a good result at the end of the year?
In reality, she’d had the thought of looking into some of their future goals and motives today, and see if it would be possible to take a few into consideration for her future endeavors.
After all, while what she planned to do was quite straightforward, she couldn’t get it all done by herself.
There was no lack of ‘competent’ and ‘loyal’ people under Noelle’s command at her company, but Emilia still believed that there was a special place for those with real passion.
Of course, today she realized that there was no need for her to pick and choose any such ‘seedlings’ from this bunch at all, since what she had… was an entire plantation.
Just as she was about to discuss her ‘proposal’ with them, however, Emilia saw Crystal’s expression change as she hurriedly handed over the phone she had been entrusted with.
Seeing the ‘Urgent’ message from Noelle, Emilia didn’t need to wonder about the reason at all as she opened it without delay.
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