135: Chapter 135: A Million Gold Coin Beauty Pageant! Highly Recommended by Major Chambers of Commerce!

Three days later, a sensational piece of news swept through the streets and alleys of the five provinces in the Northern Territory.

The newly appointed Count, Rowan Flynn of Gino County, Will Province, would spend one million gold coins to host a beauty pageant, aimed at selecting personal maids and female officials to manage territorial affairs.

The prize for first place would be as high as ten thousand gold coins, with two thousand gold coins for the top ten.

The glimmer of gold coins could stir hearts far more effectively than any flowery rhetoric.

Ten thousand gold coins! It was enough to allow a diligent middle-class family to leap into becoming local gentry admired by all.

It could allow a small merchant lingering on a street corner to instantly possess the confidence and capital to join a mid-sized merchant guild.

It could even allow those seekers long trapped before the threshold of the extraordinary to trade this for critical resources, taking a single step across that unattainable gate.

And even the rewards for the top ten were enough to make any commoner, or even the children of fallen nobility, green with envy and heart-pounding with excitement.

More importantly, the rumors also mentioned: for those who passed the initial screening and verification, travel expenses, room and board, and round-trip costs would be fully covered.

This meant that even if one failed to win in the end, as long as they passed the initial screening, they could participate in this beauty pageant for free.

For most commoner women interested in participating, this undoubtedly removed their biggest worries.

Northern Territory, Will Province, Aksai City.

As the capital of the province, Aksai City was older and larger than Gino City, and it also gathered more knowledge and talent from all over the province.

In the western academic district of the city, there sat a complex of stern, gray-white buildings. This was the Silver Oak Academy of Administration.

It was not an academy for the extraordinary that trained knights or mages, but rather a cradle for civil officials specifically designed to supply the local administrative system with grassroots officials, noble aides, city-state administrators, and clerks.

There was no shortage of excellent students from commoner backgrounds in the academy. They were proficient in law, mathematics, documentation, and geography, longing to earn a place in the empire's class system through knowledge and hard work.

As it neared noon, outside the academy walls, the scene was starkly different from the usual sight of hurried students. Several spacious carriages decorated with the emblem of the Morning Dew Merchant Guild were parked by the roadside.

Eye-catching banners hung from the carriage bodies. The banners were written in clear, bold black characters, displaying a brief notice regarding the "Gino County Count Golden Flame Beauty Pageant and Female Official Recruitment Assembly."

In particular, the "ten thousand gold coins" reward and the "all expenses covered" phrase for contestants were deliberately enlarged and bolded.

A dozen uniformed merchant guild employees were energetically pitching to the students who had stopped to watch. On the small tables in front of them lay beautifully printed brochures and registration forms.

"Students! Future administrators! Look over here! A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

A young employee who looked to be just over twenty stood on a temporarily moved wooden crate, waving the brochure in his hand, his voice booming.

Using his silver tongue, he loudly and incitingly declared, "The new Count Golden Flame of Gino County, Lord Rowan Flynn, in order to enrich his castle and optimize management, is specifically opening a selection across the entire Northern Territory for maids and female officials who are both virtuous and talented, with good appearance!"

"This is no ordinary beauty pageant; it is to select capable assistants for The Count, who may in the future participate in territorial management and come into contact with true high-level government affairs!"

He paused, seeing more and more students, especially female students, being attracted over. A flash of triumph crossed his eyes as he continued to raise the stakes: "The Count is thirsting for talent, and the compensation is generous!"

"Anyone who passes our initial screening will have all carriage and lodging expenses to and from Gino City covered by The Count's estate!"

"The final selectees will receive generous compensation and have a bright future! And the champion of the assembly—" He drew out his tone, suddenly raising his volume: "A bounty of ten thousand Imperial gold coins! A solid ten thousand gold coins! The top ten will also receive rewards between two thousand and five thousand gold coins!"

"Wow—!" The crowd instantly erupted! Especially those students from commoner backgrounds, whose eyes widened in shock. Ten thousand gold coins! That was a massive fortune that many of their families couldn't save up in ten lifetimes!

"Is... is it real? Ten thousand gold coins? Just to select maids?" a girl holding several thick law books asked her companion in disbelief, whispering.

"The Morning Dew Merchant Guild is a famous major guild in the Northern Territory; they shouldn't dare to spread The Count's orders falsely, right?"

"But... this is too exaggerated! Could it be a scam to trick people into doing something bad?" another delicate-looking female student with simple attire showed concern.

"The notice says it requires identity verification, assessment of basic knowledge and even etiquette, and also a certificate of character and grade point average issued by the academy." A slightly more steady-looking boy squeezed to the front, carefully reading the brochure: "It seems The Count really wants to recruit capable female officials, not just looking at faces."

"But this reward... it really is shocking."

"Who cares! As long as you pass the initial screening, you can go participate for free! Just treat it as a trip!" a lively girl with short hair was already eager to try.

"But... going out and participating in a beauty pageant, won't that affect my reputation? I still want to work at the City Hall in the future..." the previous young female student was still hesitating.

"Reputation? Compared to ten thousand gold coins, that's nothing!" one of her companions retorted.

Soon, bold girls stepped forward to ask for details. The merchant guild employees immediately surrounded them enthusiastically, introducing the rules of the beauty pageant.

"Miss, one look and I can tell you have an extraordinary temperament; you must be excellent in both character and learning!"

"Come, fill out a form, it's very simple!"

"As long as you have the GPA certificate and character recommendation issued by the academy, and pass our initial interview, you can sign a contract immediately, and all expenses will be fully covered!"

"Rest assured, the process is completely official!"

"It is certified by a joint official document from The Count's estate and the Gino City City Hall! The selection is absolutely fair and open! The Count will even personally observe the final selection!"

"A territorial female official! That is a position that can touch the core affairs of the territory!"

"It has much more of a future than being a small clerk in the local area! If you happen to be favored by The Count for your ability, your future will be limitless!"

The huge prize money, the free trip, plus the highly incitive descriptions from the merchant guild employees, made more and more female students tempted. Long queues formed in front of the registration point.

The merchant guild employees were busy, but they were grinning from ear to ear. They got generous commissions for recruiting suitable, high-rated applicants!

An S-rank rating was worth a reward of up to ten gold coins! Enough to equal their salary for several years!

This made them push extra hard in their sales, and their eyes were very sharp, specifically targeting those with outstanding looks and good temperament.

Similar scenes were constantly being staged outside the main commoner academies in the major provinces of the Northern Territory. The employees of the major merchant guilds, motivated by the huge commissions, were completely crazy!