Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

“Oh, this creature doesn’t die even if its head is smashed? Interesting. Are its vital organs inside its shell?” Earl Iron stood up, adjusting his glasses, and looked at Aaron. “Let’s not waste time. Get to the point now.”

Earl Iron rolled up his shirt to his wrists, revealing his strong arms. He has always been a man sensitive to time, and time is money is his motto. But Aaron always felt that everything Earl Iron did now exuded a fierce energy.

"Actually, it's nothing..." Aaron suddenly changed his mind at the last minute.

"Speak," Earl Iron replied with a single, icy gaze.

“There’s really nothing to say…” Aaron turned his head away, avoiding Falk’s gaze.

“Don’t waste your time,” Earl Iron said coldly.

"bump!"

At the same time, the alligator snapping turtle was still alive and tried to fight back. However, Count Iron struck it in a vital spot with a punch, causing it to burst open. The blood splattered onto Count Iron's face, making him look even more ferocious.

Looking at the pitifully shaped alligator snapping turtle, Aaron swallowed hard, forcing back the words that were about to come out of his mouth. He wondered if he would suffer the same fate as that turtle if he told the truth...

"Do you really want to tell me?" Aaron seemed hesitant.

"Stop talking nonsense." Count Iron's eyes remained cold.

"I think it would be better to be more tactful..." Aaron still wanted to salvage the situation.

Do you think I'm a tactful person?

"Isn't that right...?"

"No."

"Then I'll really tell you."

"explain."

"I really did say that."

"Say it."

"I want to break up with Freya."

"bump!!!"

The next moment, Count Iron's fist missed the alligator turtle and slammed into the ground. Aaron truly felt what it meant for the earth to shake violently, and it felt like Count Iron was going to demolish the house.

"You don't need to use such force to kill me..." Even at the last minute, Aaron could still tell a lame joke.

Falk looked up at him from behind his glasses. Even among the nobility, Falk still possessed a powerful aura, not only because he was also a superhuman, but also because of the sharp lines on his face and his deep, dark green eyes. Especially when he stared at you, only he knew how many foreign envoys he had intimidated at the negotiating table with those eyes.

The eye contact lasted for several seconds. Coupled with the blood splattered in the room, anyone present could feel the immense pressure. Falk's valet was so frightened that he stopped at the door, barely daring to breathe, but Aaron never looked away.

“You saved my daughter,” Falk said coldly.

He wiped the blood off his hands, and his personal servant immediately took his coat from the hanger.

As he put on his coat, he said, "I need to go out for a bit. We'll talk about this when I get back."

He walked over to Aaron, stopped, and said, "There's this morning's newspaper on the table. It reports what happened yesterday evening. You can take a look."

He paused for a moment, then said, "You can go and take a look at the government building if you have time today."

After saying this, Falk hurriedly left with his valet, never directly answering Aaron's question. Neither Aaron nor the valet had ever seen the Earl of Iron like this before.

Falk's departure was not just a formality; the black sedan was already parked downstairs. He had already decided before today to travel to Lodoren, the capital of the Kingdom of Dok, to meet the King.

Aaron knew that Earl Iron was busy and was not naive enough to think that this matter could be settled in one go, so he was not discouraged. However, Earl Iron's suggestion that he read the newspaper piqued his curiosity.

On the Iron Earl's desk were several newspapers that had been delivered that morning. Aaron didn't know much about the kingdom's media, but he did know the readership of each newspaper. Someone like the Iron Earl, who was truly governing the country, should be reading the "Doc Times," but unexpectedly, the first page on the desk was Birmingley's local newspaper, the "Birmingley News," which usually only reported on internal affairs of Birmingley.

Earl of Iron would read a newspaper from such a small place? Aaron picked up the newspaper, and when he saw the headline and the attached photo, his eyes slowly widened and his mouth gradually opened into an "O" shape.

His photo was prominently featured in the newspaper, and the headline was quite sensational: "Birmingham's Hero! Birmingham Civil Servant Saves City from Lucerne Spy!"

"I...I...I..."

Aaron's hand trembled, and the newspaper almost fell onto the table. He needed to catch his breath. He immediately turned to the next newspaper. This time it was the "Doc Times," which was read by a big shot like Earl Iron. Surely it would be normal now.

The Power of the Ordinary: Heroes Don't Come from the Army, They Come from Birmingham!

"I...I...I...go!"

Aaron immediately went to find the next newspaper, the Kingdom's renowned "Doc Financial News," which had always only concerned itself with factories and banks; surely it had nothing to do with him now.

Chapter 122 Promotion and Salary Increase

The Birmingham spy case: The Lusset Empire is a disappointment.

"Holy crap...!"

The last one is "Hua Hua Fashion," a famous tabloid known for its third section featuring glamorous photos of beautiful women.

The article, titled "Beauty Saves the Hero? A Sensual Battle, a Beautiful Spy and a Clear Light!", includes a photo of Claire and Aaron amidst the ruins.

"I fucking..."

This was actually taken on the spot. Aaron could even remember who took the photo. He thought to himself that when there were crowds outside, there was a sleazy bald man who kept looking around suspiciously in the crowd. Turns out he was taking photos secretly!

No wonder the bald man risked his life to take a photo. His journalistic instincts probably told him that this was going to be big news, and he knew what kind of combination would generate buzz, so he spared no effort to take a group photo of them.

Damn it, these media outlets are spreading complete lies! First of all, he's not from Birmingham at all! He only spent two years in Birmingham, and he spent more time at Rhodorun College than in Birmingham. How can they consider themselves Birmingham residents?

Aaron slumped onto the sofa, feeling like the sky had fallen.

From local newspapers like Birmingham to serious newspapers like the Doc Times, everyone was reporting on him. Even "Fashion Magazine" didn't spare him. It's clear that yesterday evening's events had become the biggest news in recent times. The entire Kingdom of Doc would know about him. Simply put, Aaron had become famous, and as a national hero...

In this era, newspapers were the greatest mouthpiece, their influence extending not only to Dork but also to the world. The vast majority of people, including important figures like the Earl of Iron, would obtain information through newspapers.

The good news is that photography technology wasn't advanced in this era, so the photos in the newspapers were blurry. The bad news is that in this era, the "Doc Times" alone could have a circulation of millions, so who knows how many people would actually see his story.

He calmed himself down for a while before carefully reading how the newspapers reported on him. Apart from the Doc Financial News, which didn't seem to care much about his deeds and devoted most of its content to expressing concerns about the relationship between Doc and Lusset and predicting future trade trends, most newspapers hailed Aaron as a hero and denounced Lusset as a spy, saying that Aaron's victory was another thwart of Lusset's conspiracy by the people of the Kingdom of Doc.

Putting everything else aside, the media's praise was quite high, calling him a "hero" and a "savior" in various ways, and some people even sincerely thanked him in the newspapers. But Aaron wasn't very happy, because at the same time, all his deeds and history were dug up, including his school grades and his relationship with the Earl of Iron. In short, he became completely famous.

Aaron didn't leave the house for two days.

This was the Countess's advice to him. He was now a celebrity in Birmingham and would enjoy star treatment when he went out. If he didn't want to face annoying paparazzi and reporters, it would be best to stay in the villa to avoid the limelight.

He was doing quite well at the Earl's house. The maids and butlers were all very kind to him, and he enjoyed the food. The Countess even took an afternoon to chat with him and reassure him.

But Aaron knew he couldn't go on like this, so on the third day, he decided to go to the government building.

Before leaving, the Earl of Iron asked him to go to the government building, for reasons unknown, so Aaron decided to go and see for himself.

Aaron was about to leave when he ran into the postman at the door.

"Is there a letter for me?"

"Yes, please sign for it."

After Aaron signed for the letter, he opened it and found that it was stamped with the seal of the Birmingham government at the end. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that it was an appointment letter from the government building.

Aaron got promoted.

After reading the letter, Aaron was stunned for a full minute. Although he had somewhat prepared himself, was this promotion speed... a little too fast?

The kingdom's officials can be broadly divided into two categories: political officials and administrative officials. Aaron's clerical work falls under the typical category of administrative officials, which is the kind of civil servant that the public is familiar with.

Aaron graduated from Frisinhof University, one of the four best universities in the kingdom.

Although his education surpassed that of 99% of the people in the kingdom, he was born a commoner and lacked connections, so he could not take up important positions or lucrative posts in the economic sector after graduation like nobles. He could only obediently participate in the civil service selection examination held in Lodoron.

Aaron did well on his exams and was assigned to the Birmingham local government as a second-level clerk.

Although the position of second-level clerk is not high, only slightly better than that of lower-level clerk, in the kingdom, even princes will take on basic positions. The current king of the Kingdom of Dok, Sailor King Richard VII, once served as a sailor in the kingdom's fleet, hence the name Sailor King.

Just as everyone knows that Richard VII was no ordinary sailor, because no sailor could finish training and go home the next day to have a carefully prepared breakfast at his own castle before returning to the crew, Aaron was no ordinary civil servant either. Everyone knew Aaron's relationship with the Earl of Iron, and everyone also knew whose territory Birmingham was. Therefore, Aaron was no ordinary clerk either.

The new appointment letter shows that Aaron was not transferred elsewhere, but was directly promoted from a second-level clerk to the office director.

What level does this promotion correspond to? To understand that, you need to understand the kingdom's complex civil service system.

The kingdom's civil service system is quite complex, but it can be roughly divided into nine ranks. The lowest rank is the low-level clerk, which is the most junior position in the civil service system, only slightly better than a "copyist" in the government.

The scribes were temporary workers specially recruited by the kingdom to cope with the increasing workload. They would usually leave automatically when they reached the age of twenty. They were not civil servants, so they did not need to have any knowledge or training. They only needed to do copying and document delivery work. There were more than a dozen scribes in the government building alone.

Although Aaron's position as a second-level clerk was one level higher than that of a junior clerk, it still belonged to the ninth rank. This was because civil servants in the kingdom did not rise one rank at a time; there were still levels within each rank. Of the nine ranks alone, Aaron knew of five levels.

In other words, to advance from the lowest level of rank nine to the lowest level of rank eight, one needs to advance at least five ranks. Taking Aaron's position as an example, he would need to advance from rank five clerk to rank one clerk before he could be promoted to rank eight.

Even if the promotion speed is fast enough, it usually takes two to three years to upgrade from a ninth-rank clerk to an eighth-rank clerk. If a person can be promoted from a ninth-rank to an eighth-rank clerk in three years, then he is considered young and promising in the kingdom's civil service system and is appreciated by his superiors. This is the promotion speed that Aaron most hopes for and is also the dream material of most civil servants.

Chapter 123

But man proposes, God disposes. Aaron's promotion speed far exceeded his expectations. He was promoted directly from the ninth-level second-class literature department to the seventh-level office director, skipping two levels.

If the kingdom's promotion system is roughly divided into ten ranks, then Aaron would have skipped the eighth rank and gone straight from the ninth rank to the seventh rank. Although this is only the lowest rank among the seven, it implies two leaps in social class.

While this was an expected promotion, was it too fast? Considering that Aaron had only worked in the Birmingham government for a year, and in just one year he was promoted from a second-level clerk to the head of the entire office, was this promotion too rapid?

You should know that his immediate superior, Dorn—no, his former immediate superior, Dorn—had spent twenty years in the civil service system, rising from a low-level clerk to a seventh-rank district head, while Aaron had only worked for a year before reaching the same rank.

Moreover, Dorn is nearly fifty years old, and his potential for promotion has almost been exhausted. He will most likely stay in this position until retirement, while Aaron is still young. At his terrifying rate of promotion of two ranks a year, his future potential for promotion is immeasurable. He may even be able to stand at the top of the civil service system and become a first-class cabinet secretary.

Okay, that's unlikely. Let's do something practical first and go to the government building.

**

When he came downstairs again, he found the carriage already parked, and Freya was gesturing for him to get in through the window.

After resting for two days, Freya had recovered from her previous haggard appearance and her complexion had become rosy again.

She had clearly dressed up carefully before leaving home today, wearing a loose-brimmed hat decorated with bird feathers and flowers, and a heavy ruffled long skirt. When she waved to Aaron through the car window, the hat tilted slightly, and the lace on the cuffs swayed like flowers on a branch.

“My mother is too busy. She thinks I’m almost fully recovered, so she asked me to attend a salon gathering in her place.” Freya sighed as the carriage began to move smoothly.

"By the way, where are you going?"

“Go to the government building,” Aaron said.

"Going back to work so soon?"

Freya looked at Aaron and saw the letter clutched tightly in his hand. She immediately understood that Aaron had most likely been promoted.

Freya nodded thoughtfully, about to be happy for him, but when she saw Aaron's clothes, she couldn't help but sigh.

Unlike Aaron's mix of excitement and trepidation, Freya didn't feel much about Aaron's promotion itself. She was happy only because Aaron would be happy, since no matter how much Aaron's position was promoted, it still didn't mean much to the daughter of the Iron Earl.