Chapter 40: Luna Again

Laurel couldn’t breathe around her shock. Everything in her screamed that she would end up dead again if she agreed, but she held back her frantic response.
“No,” she said calmly. Adolph’s eyes widened. “It is not appropriate, Your Majesty. What reason would I do that?”
Adolph expected Laurel to refuse him, so he was prepared to convince her by any means necessary to agree.
“But you've done a good job on dealing with the orphanage, the school, and the hospital...” She averted her gaze, seemingly uncomfortable. “I am asking you to at least preside over the castle. Lily just arrived. There are many things that are still unfamiliar to her. Please? Would you help her?”
Lily stepped forward from the line of maids who had been serving their meal with a little smile.
“It’s my request too, Miss Laurel. Although I have a lot of experience, I am not familiar with this castle, and it would be great if someone could help me.”
Laurel hesitated. She could have refused Adolph once she got her mind together. It may have been a bit mean, but she could have done it and he wouldn’t have been able to do much about it, but Lily didn’t deserve that.
She was so nice, and she needed the help. If anyone had reached out to her when she had lived as Laura and offered help, she would have taken it. She would feel guilty if she didn’t reach out to Lily.
She huffed and glowered at Adolph. Though his expression was innocent and hopeful, she knew that this had to have been a setup. He was too cunning and had seen too much of her character not to be able to devise this as a backup to just asking her.
“Isn't this a win-win? You can help Lily, and the castle will be managed well.”
“It’s not a win for me!”
“What would you need to consider it a win for you?” Adolf asked.
She wanted to curse him but hung her head. There was nothing that she could ask for because he didn’t have anything she wanted or needed.
“Fine,” she huffed. “I’ll help Lily manage the castle and learn her new role.”
Managing the castle used to be part of the luna's duties. When she’d lived as Laura, Tina had used her control of the staff and her importance to Basil to obstruct her from function as the mistress of the castle, but that hadn’t stopped her from learning what was needed.
She wondered for a moment if he knew or suspected that she was Laura, but she kept her suspicions to herself as she at her pastries.
Lily thanked her with a little curtsey and they finished lunch in relative silence.
Adolph gave her another bouquet of roses and kissed the back of her hand.
“I hope you enjoyed lunch.” He said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “And I hope you enjoy the flowers.”
Laurel nearly went weak in the knees at the graze of his fingers across her cheek, but her mind turned back to her new duties. She had no time for swooning or much of anything else right now. Neither did Adolph.
“I did. Thank you… I have to get back to work….”
He chuckled and nodded, smiling helplessly as she withdrew from him, murmuring to herself about reorganizing her priorities.
“Goodbye, Laurel. If you need me, I will be on the training grounds.”
She nodded stiffly watched him go. With a sigh, she turned and walked with Lily back to her office.
They rounded a corner and saw Delia and Tina down the corridor. Laurel frowned and was resolved to go upstairs without interacting with them. Tina looked up from her conversation with Delia. Her gaze stopped on the red roses in her arms before she flashed Laurel a mocking smile.
Laurel turned without a word and headed up the stairs.

*******
The next day, Laurel brought Sarah back to the castle. Sarah had been a maid in the castle for a long time and had some knowledge of various jobs. She would be a great help to Lily. She introduced the two women to each other and was glad that they seemed to get along well from the start.
“I’ll do my best to answer your questions,” Sarah said with a smile.
“Thank you, Sarah,” Lily said as Laurel led them to the servants’ gathering area and posted the order that everyone was to report to Lily to give their name and duty in the castle before lunch on the front lawn of the castle.
“Why?” Lily asked, “Isn’t there a roster or something?”
“There is,” Laurel said, “But it’s best to have a face to match to the names.”
When she had been luna, she had memorized the names of everyone who worked in the castle. Knowing the staff was the most basic requirement to manage them.
Tina laughed from nearby, sneering at her.
“See! You’re just an ignorant little girl! That is no way to manage such a big castle! You want to meet everyone on the lawn, but that will disrupt everyone's work schedule and bring the whole castle to a standstill! Who's going to prepare lunch clean the rooms while they’re all outside?”
Lily gasped in shock at Tina’s words.
Laurel scoffed, “If having everyone meet just once on the law will paralyze the entire castle, then we’d be better off replacing everyone because they are a bunch of dumbasses who can't work things out.”
Tina sputtered and Laurel turned, “But since you put it that way, let me set out a clear schedule as I don’t have time to fire a bunch of people right now.”
She called the leaders of each area to her and gave out the order in which people would report to the lawn.
The kitchen would prepare breakfast. While they were doing so, the laundry maids would report to Lily and Laurel. After them would be the maids and servants who cleaned the rooms then the kitchen staff. By the time rooms were clean, the waiters and the personal attendants would come. When they were done reporting, they would have enough time to get back to their stations and dress Adolph, Basil, and Delia for lunch. At lunchtime, the kitchen maids and servants would come.
“I’ll be evaluating your abilities over lunch, so they’ll need to do their best.”
By the time she was done running through the schedule, Tina was shocked and speechless.
The other leads nodded in agreement and understanding before dispersing back to their areas. Tina seemed as though she wanted to argue, but she could only turn around and leave.
Laurel suspect that she was going to go find Delia and tell her what was going on, but Laurel would deal with that when the time came.
Luckily, most of the maids and servants were respectful to Lily and Laurel as they introduced themselves in between completing their work.
The few who were lazy and late gave her pause. Most of them were relatives of the imperial city’s nobles or the alphas of nearby packs. They’d been sent to work in the castle to get on good terms with the royal family, gain their trust, and collect information on them to send back to their original families.
After speaking with several of them, she suspected that they bribed Tina when she was the head maid to get easier work.
“You’re fired,” Laurel said to the group of them. “Pack your things and leave the castle by the end of the day.”
“You can’t fire me!” One of them yelled as Laurel and Lily turned to leave.
“Who do you think you are?”
“Lynn, Sam,” Laurel said. “Please get whoever you need to make sure these people are out of the castle by the end of the day.”
“Of course, Miss Laurel,” Lynn said.
It didn’t take them long to find comrades as all the guards of the castle had been replaced with the king's soldiers. They obeyed without question and only owed their loyalty to Adolph. They all knew that Laurel and Lily had been appointed to take care of it, so they each took charge of one of the servants as they protested.
Their protests died quickly in the face of the soldiers and the left without any more fuss.
Lily was shocked at Laurel’s actions. She was a beautiful petite young woman who looked so delicate, yet she had been so decisive and bold about her decision.
“Miss Laurel,” Lily asked as they were alone in the corridor. “Aren't you afraid of offending these people?
Laurel shrugged, “It’s important to do what’s right. Offending people is unavoidable.”
Laura had offended the nobles left and right. She’d tried to avoid doing so by making concessions, but they just continued to cause problems and make the same mistakes, just like Basil. She wouldn’t be making concessions this time because she knew better.
Laurel grinned slyly, “Besides, it was the king who asked me to manage the castle. If they have a problem with anyone, it’ll be with the king!”
Lily hummed thoughtfully as Lynn leaned to whisper in her ear, “I think the king made a wise decision. She’s best suited to be our luna.”
Lily couldn’t find a reason to disagree.