Gender-swapped Saintess: A Survival Diary on Hell Difficulty

"Miss Roland, you seem a little out of sorts?"

MaiMai's concern made Roland feel as awkward as a desperate miner or a sad pilot.

Hidden behind the desk, her rounded thighs unconsciously folded together, and her fox tail curled up slightly, her heart filled with unbearable shyness.

Fortunately, having transmigrated and served as a leader for more than half a year, she was still able to handle this small situation.

Roland took a deep breath and composed herself.

"Cough cough, I'm fine."

"But why do you all look so anxious? Has something happened?"

When Roland spoke again, the coquettishness in her voice had completely disappeared, and she quickly entered a serious working state.

Except for the slightly damp sofa seats, everything seemed to have returned to normal.

Knowing the inside story, Nightingale wanted to investigate Roland's current state further, but the situation was urgent, so the important matter had to take precedence.

So Nightingale walked back to Roland's side and stood behind her on the left.

This is the usual standing position for a personal maid.

In the etiquette of the imperial nobility, the right side was considered the place of honor.

Personal maids and head maids usually stand on the left side, a position that makes it convenient for them to serve tea and snacks to their masters while they are working.

Upon hearing Roland's question, Cat Mai Mai disregarded Roland's unusual behavior and led Jenny to the desk, placing several newspapers in front of Roland.

"Miss Roland, something really big has happened. Please take a look at the contents of these newspapers."

"The major newspapers in Port Hysen are all publishing news articles attacking you and your lineage."

Roland reached out and picked up a thicker newspaper, unfolding it in her hand.

Newspapers in this era are not much different from those on Earth.

Alchemy technology enabled paper production and printing technology to far surpass those of the rest of the world at the same time. Although the poor still wouldn't buy it, it had already become popular among the urban population.

The newspaper in Roland's hand is from the Harbour News, a well-known newspaper in Harbour City.

This newspaper is very powerful, with the support of local nobles in Haisen Port, as well as various chambers of commerce and large enterprises as its backers.

Even the Imperial Noble Council holds a very small share in it.

Although the Noble Council usually doesn't bother with it, it still greatly increases the influence of the Harbor News.

At this moment, the headline on the main page of the newspaper was about Roland.

Is it nobility or the fox clan?

These eye-catching headlines were accompanied by several ink-printed images.

Among them were photos taken secretly by Roland during her inspection, which deliberately highlighted Roland's fluffy fox ears and big tail.

The newspaper also thoughtfully included a photo of a fox succubus in Pink Harbor using a magical prop to conjure a tail.

This allows readers to easily distinguish between the genuine and the fake, and between the superior and the inferior.

Without a doubt, Roland's fox-like features are more natural, and her appearance and charm are incomparable to any counterfeit.

Although the news report did not make a definitive statement about Roland's bloodline, it was filled with doubts and accusations that Roland had deceived the Noble Council regarding her bloodline.

Furthermore, the Harbour News also accused the Roland Group of excessively favoring orcs, squeezing out employment opportunities for local humans in the capital.

Another photo, taken at the Roland Group Plaza, was added to the left of the text as an illustration.

In the photo, a large number of animal girls are gathered in front of the fox Roland statue to celebrate their paychecks, and many people are also placing food and spicy snacks in front of the statue.

Anyone who sees this will think that the Roland Group is really biased towards the orcs.

Cat Mai Mai was so angry that she pointed at the picture and cursed.

"These newspaper staff are utterly rotten!"

"On payday, apart from a small group of orcs in the middle who were in charge of hosting the event, everyone else was a human employee!"

"Our group's orc employees make up less than 20% of our workforce. This news is a fabrication to slander us and is an attempt to further prove that you are not of pure blood and are a fox from the south."

Roland remained completely calm in response.

Smear campaigns and rumors are not uncommon in aristocratic circles, and she was already mentally prepared for it.

She continued reading, and another medium-sized headline appeared.

Shocking! Nobles jump off buildings en masse as the business opens at 7 PM!

Orcs smuggling into the Old Port District are rescued by Sister Roland.

Roland's expression finally changed.

These two news items seem unrelated, but they are arranged side by side, one on the left and one on the right, seemingly conveying the same message.

That is, the nobleman's suicide was not a suicide; the beast girl who opened at 7 o'clock was the culprit.

Because of her fox clan blood, Roland sheltered and took in these beast girls who had committed heinous crimes.

All three news items were printed on the main page, all pointing the finger at Roland and the Roland Group. Even the Victory Day celebration in another world did not receive this treatment.

Roland closed the newspaper, placed it on the table, and shook her head helplessly.

"It was one thing to spread such rumors before, but now they actually dare to make it into the news. That dead tiger has been pushed to the limit."

Roland, looking at her own ample buttocks, knew perfectly well that Bizzan was behind this.

Because only Bizan was certain that Roland herself possessed the bloodline of the Golden Fox.

To this day, other nobles in the empire still regard Roland's fox-like features as magical and alchemical effects.

Magic and alchemy, after all, produce countless amazing effects.

Moreover, Roland is close to the succubi, so maybe she got interested and specially transformed into a fox tail for fun?

This is not surprising at all; everyone knows about the bad habits of the imperial nobility.

Roland's identity can also be traced back to the records of the Noble Council.

Those were true imperial nobles, with birth records, baptisms of honor, noble oaths, coming-of-age ceremonies, and written records witnessed by parliamentary envoys.

Although his current status is not high, he is definitely not some peasant fox from the south.

The Noble Council would never bother to test Roland's lineage based on a few rumors.

Otherwise, it would be tantamount to insulting a nobleman and the interest group behind Roland, and would definitely be condemned by other nobles.

Therefore, the negative news about her bloodline posed less of a threat to Roland than the two subsequent news items.

However, people already knew the ins and outs of those nobles who jumped off buildings.

They were just a bunch of losers who hoarded grain, speculated on prices, and ended up going bankrupt and jumping off buildings.

It also directly led to the great famine and decline of the old port area, and even the Steel Church and the Church of Light directly condemned it.

Faced with irrefutable facts, any attempt to shift blame is futile.

Roland chuckled softly and offered words of comfort to the two.

"MaiMai, Jenny, don't worry too much. These news reports won't affect me much. The Noble Council won't come after me because of this."

"By the way, is it possible to find out who started these rumors? I'm very curious who was so blind as to lead the smear campaign against me."

Upon hearing this, MaiMai immediately moved a step to the left, making room for Jenny.

"Miss Roland, perhaps Miss Jenny should answer this question."

Jenny stepped forward under Roland's curious gaze and spoke.

"Miss Roland, it was the Spice Merchants' Alliance that first spread the rumors and bought front-page headlines in the newspapers."

"The Spice Merchants Alliance?"

"Yes, they are a monopolistic business alliance of spice merchants who usually control the spice market in the capital."

As Jenny spoke, she handed a piece of intelligence she had gathered to Roland, adding to the discussion.

"This year, due to the mild climate in the south, they increased their spice shipments by 50%, but they encountered market competition from Yulong spicy strips and now have a large amount of unsold stock."

"That's probably why they took action."