Yes, Madam Prime Minister

"Don't you care?" Elena asked.

Alice tilted her head and asked in return, "Have you ever seen a maid care about her master's affairs in this regard?"

"Heh, when did you start thinking of yourself as a maid? You're more like the young lady of our family," Elena said. "But in any case, you bear the mark of the young master, and you've now entered the civil service system. Do you think the young master's future won't affect yours? I don't believe you're unaware of this."

Alice was well aware of this, but she still thought Ambrina was very good.

Clearing her throat, Alice looked at Elena. "So, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Elena's pupils flashed with gold. "Young Master and that woman can be left alone, but we absolutely cannot allow Young Master to have any further contact with the princess. Young Master, don't worry. I'm only worried that you'll become someone's spy and make that princess continue to be obsessed with you."

"Ha." Alice sneered, "You think too highly of me. Do I deserve it?"

Seeing that Alice was genuinely angry, Elena quickly softened her tone, "I was wrong, I was just saying. Don't look so serious, Alice. We've been best friends since we were little."

"Good sister? You just spoke to me like I was a suspect." Alice turned her face away, not wanting to deal with this blond scoundrel.

“Let’s change the subject,” Elena said, then proceeded to ask what she truly wanted to ask, “Alice, when do you plan to officially become the young master’s mistress?”

"Lover? And officially?" Alice couldn't help but laugh.

Elena's expression changed. "So, are you planning to find someone to marry?"

"I haven't thought about it," Alice denied.

“You’re not young anymore,” Elena said.

“I am a magician,” Alice replied. In this era, most women married at fourteen or fifteen, and noble ladies usually married at eighteen or nineteen. However, male nobles and magicians were exceptions. Male nobles enjoyed freedom, while magicians had long lifespans and prolonged youth.

Elena stopped the carriage. "Don't forget who you are today because of."

Chapter 105 A family, a collective system, only I am allowed to represent them

Alice met his gaze sharply. "I've said it countless times, he thinks, I won't hesitate for a second."

Elena gritted her teeth, "You know perfectly well that the young master doesn't want to force you to do anything."

Alice stepped down from the carriage. "That's his own problem."

“I think you’re the one with the problem,” Elena said.

"Think what you want," Alice said coldly.

She knew very well that her father's death and her mother's abandonment of her and her sisters had nothing to do with Ronan. Ronan owed her nothing; on the contrary, she owed Ronan a lot.

But she didn't know why, she just didn't want to take the initiative to start a new relationship.

"Whatever I want? Heh." Elena's temper flared up. "I think you just want the young master to play the role of debt collector, so you can feel like you've paid off some of your debts and feel relieved."

“You’re wrong. If I take the initiative, that’s what turning things into paying off a debt,” Alice retorted.

“As expected, you see all the good he’s done for you over the years as a debt,” Elena said. “How can you be so cynical?”

"Is this what you call shady? I'm not like you, able to accept favors from others with a clear conscience."

Alice said.

Elena scoffed at Alice's argument, "If it's family, if it's a lover, then I can accept it without any problem. Whether it's him or me, we've always considered you family, haven't we?"

One sentence silenced Alice.

"I'm going to buy some things. You should think about it carefully."

After saying that, Elena jumped down from the carriage, settled the carriage and horses by the roadside, and walked into the pasture, heading towards the center of the ranch.

Inside the car, Alice leaned back, looked up at the canopy, and let out a long sigh. The word "family" began to echo repeatedly in her mind.

Without realizing it, Alice thought of Ronan, Elena, and herself.

Ronan's father died early, and his mother fled with her brothers and sisters before the rebellion even began, leaving Ronan, the eldest son, to be forcibly placed in the leadership position by another group. If they won, he would be a puppet; if they lost, he would be a scapegoat.

Elena lost both her parents at a young age and grew up with the help of relatives. Before she was ten, she encountered villains and fled alone to Wright City.

All things considered, she was actually the luckiest one. Although she lost her parents, she was adopted by Ronan immediately, and Ronan never treated her like a maid.

Aren't these three lonely people a family?

It's ridiculous that I seem to have only just realized this.

More than an hour later, Elena returned, leading a lamb and carrying a jar of honey in her other hand.

After loading the sheep and honey onto the carriage, Elena handed over a flask of mead. "Mead, I've had a couple of sips, it's quite good."

Alice took the flask and instinctively reached for her handkerchief to wipe the spout, but then gave up, unscrewed the lid, and began to drink.

"Hey, drink less, I paid for it," Elena said, adding that mead is expensive.

Alice put down the wine jug and let out a long, satisfying sigh. "Aren't we family?"

"I don't want to be family with you anymore," Elena said angrily, and got into the driver's seat.

Alice picked up the wine jug again, seemingly in a fit of pique, and prepared to take two big gulps. But as soon as she drank, Elena suddenly yanked the reins, and the carriage started to move, swaying violently. Alice choked on the wine and coughed for a long time before she recovered.

“Are you a child?” Alice questioned.

“You’re the child,” Elena retorted.

In the afternoon, the two returned to Ronan's mansion.

Elena went to put the sheep in the backyard, while Alice went straight to the living room, where Ronan was talking to Mrs. Antari.

Seeing Alice enter, Ronan quickly greeted her, "Alice, you've come at the right time. Mrs. Antari and I are discussing the details of the powers and responsibilities of the oversight department. In a few days, Agustina will help you complete the sacrificial ceremony. After the New Year holiday, there will be a joint operation so that we can free up some land to establish a collective farm and promote the large-scale planting of high-yield crops."

In fact, there is no need to establish collective farms to promote high-yield crops.

On the contrary, agricultural capitalists and emerging landlords are far more enthusiastic and willing to invest in new things than small farmers, who may actually resist them.

But for Ronan, managing capitalists and landlords was far more difficult than managing the masses.

Because it is collectively owned, the city hall can more easily intervene. Capitalists and landowners resist government intervention, so Ronan wants to eliminate some of the capitalists and landowners, as well as their protectors, before the parliament is formed.

This also has another advantage: once the parliament is established, there won't be so many members who have a say, since members of parliament in this era can speak because they can represent the people.

It's all collectively owned, so what are you representing?

In short, Ronan only allowed himself to represent the people of the new city.

As for improving productivity and raising people's living standards, those are secondary benefits.

Besides, once farmers become wealthy, they naturally want their children to study to change their fate. This way, schools will have more students, and they can also sell some houses along the way.

Those who wish to change their fate will receive financial assistance plus low-interest loans.

If anyone doesn't want to change their fate or buy a house, Ronan will never punish them. Instead, he will treat them well and find a way to get the Haidi people to give them some "chips" so that they can take the chips to the "game ship" and play a few rounds for free.

"Alice, remember, you must strictly follow legal procedures when you do things."

Ronan gave his instructions.

Alice frowned.

If everything is done in accordance with legal procedures, how can those bureaucrats be brought down? These people are cunning to begin with, and in recent years they have all learned Ronan's tricks, making them appear extremely honest on the surface.

Mrs. Antari paused for a moment, then guessed what Ronan was thinking.

Ronan sighed. Alice still had some room for improvement. "Anyway, mind your own business, your team, your superiors, and your colleagues. Don't worry about what they do."

The head of the supervisory department is the president of the "Northern Reading Club," which is descended from the rebels of the Party. More than a decade ago, they were far more noble than the current officials. But now, those former vassals have become officials and are riding on their heads because of their defection, while the former officials can only vent their frustrations as ordinary citizens.

It is foreseeable that once this group comes to power, they will definitely take action against their enemies without regard for anything else.

This group of book club members is Ronan's knife, but only for one-time use.

After they're done using her, they can see each other again, and Alice, who hasn't violated any legal procedures throughout the process, should take over.

"I understand," Alice nodded in response. After Ronan's specific reminder, she fully understood his intention.

"Good that you understand." Ronan smiled.

Although he's still a bit lacking now, with a few more years of training, he should be able to become my capable assistant.

“Then I’ll take my leave.” Mrs. Antari stood up and left.

Chapter 106 The Question, the Clarification, Part 1

That night, Alice asked Ronan to go for a walk with her. The two walked and walked without saying a word until they reached a lake several kilometers away, where the water was as smooth as a mirror.

The lake is called Lake Tao, named after the foot of a mountain that produces clay. The locals of Wright like to make steamers out of clay and steam small shrimp and shellfish all at once. A hundred years ago, a down-on-his-luck nobleman from the north improved the method by adding a little sauce before steaming.

And that's how the signature snacks from Wright City to accompany drinks came about.

"How about we dig some soil tomorrow and make a steamer pot? Then we can perform a steamed chicken dish for you."

Ronan deliberately changed the subject.

Having come all this way, Ronan knew Alice wasn't here to ask for advice on work-related problems, but he really couldn't guess what she wanted to say.

Alice seemed not to hear her, and asked a strange question to herself, "Ronan, what am I to you?"

"Could you make it a multiple-choice question?" Ronan said.

"Friend, servant, or tool?" Alice presented the choice.

“Neither.” Ronan denied it very simply and directly. “You’re not a friend, you’re still a child. If I were to call you a servant, I would have fired you long ago. As for a tool, you’re too long to train and you often come up with your own ideas. Do I look like someone who would use this kind of tool?”

As Ronan continued speaking, Alice became increasingly dejected, but the next sentence made her suddenly raise her head.

"If I had to name one, it would be family, a rebellious daughter, a sister who dislikes her brother, anything goes," Ronan said, his tone completely joking.

"Can't it be a wife?" Alice asked.

Ronan was taken aback; he never expected Alice to ask such a question, especially with such a serious expression.

After a smile, Ronan also put on a serious expression and replied, "No."

“Yes, that’s true.” Alice sighed. “But it’s already very good, to be family.”

Ronan felt that Alice was acting strangely. "Alice, are you alright? You're acting a bit odd today. It's not like you're having your period these past few days. I remember it very clearly, the time of your period."

When Alice had her period for the first time, her dress was stained red, and she stood there like a dork, completely at a loss. It was Ronan who explained what was going on to her.

Looking back, it was he who taught Alice and Elena this knowledge.

"You..." Alice was so angry she couldn't speak. Her eyes, which were already slightly narrow and had a bit of white showing, stared intently at Ronan, and that expression of shame, anger, and disgust reappeared.

"Tsk, that's the expression, that's more like you," Ronan teased.

Alice turned her face away and stopped talking.

Ronan pulled a pendant necklace from his inner pocket. "Alice, look, this is your New Year's gift."

Alice turned back and saw the necklace.

“I think a white sapphire pendant would suit you very well. Those intensely colored gemstones don’t suit your temperament. This white sapphire is like a diamond, but without the gaudy brilliance of a diamond. Of course, most importantly, it’s inexpensive and sturdy.”

"If I hadn't said the last sentence, it would have been perfect," Alice muttered.

“I can’t help it, I’m a paragon of integrity and honesty, I really can’t afford expensive jewelry,” Ronan said in a matter-of-fact tone, then changed the subject, “I’ll put it on you.”

Under the bright moonlight, Alice's hair was styled in an updo, and her smooth, delicate, and fair nape was fully displayed in Ronan's view. Only a few strands of hair were mischievously messy. Ronan made the mouth shape of whistling and gently blew on those few strands of hair.

Alice immediately turned around and glared at Ronan with disgust.

Ronan reached out and pinched Alice's lips, making them look like a goldfish's mouth. At that moment, the upper half of her face showed disgust, while the lower half showed a pout, which was really cute.

Alice was really angry now and kicked out, but Ronan grabbed her slender leg with one hand.

Ronan looked down. "Why did you decide to wear white stockings today? But they suit you quite well; you have slender legs and small feet."

Alice tried to pull her leg back forcefully, but Ronan suddenly let go. Alice fell backward instantly, but as a magician, she quickly regained her balance and stood up again.

"Can't you cooperate a little? That way I can rush up and grab you around the waist," Ronan said.

After saying that, Ronan sat down on the grass. "Alright, I'm not teasing you anymore. Just tell me what's on your mind. Do you want to leave?"

Alice sat down on the grass next to Ronan, paused for a moment, and said, "I want to move in with you. I won't live outside anymore."

“Just so you know, Elena is yelling really loudly,” Ronan said.

Alice gritted her teeth and said angrily, "Do I really have to explain myself clearly?"

Before she could finish speaking, Alice was suddenly picked up horizontally by Ronan. Before she could even react in surprise, Ronan had already carried her into the sky.

Ronan, holding Alice, stood on the shield and manipulated it to fly with them.

His magic wasn't enough to support long-duration, high-altitude flight, but flying from here to the pavilion on the platform halfway up Tao Mountain was no problem.

Alice landed smoothly; it was her first time in the air, and she was still a little shaken.