For unmarried young women, a man could only touch his forehead to their fingertips; for married ladies, he was to lightly kiss the back of their hand.
Charlotte had heard that this senior had once been engaged, but had broken it off for some well-known reason and remained single to this day. He touched his forehead to her fingertips, thereby preserving a gentleman's decorum.
Senior Menilman said softly, "Transfer him under me."
Charlotte showed a faint trace of resistance and asked in a low voice, "A demotion transfer?"
His indignant retort was merely a strategy of advancing in order to retreat.
Under normal circumstances, low-level government employees such as clerks received a promotion every three years. But if they were transferred to a new position, the time toward promotion had to be counted anew.
There had always been a saying within the Imperial Government: "A transfer without a promotion is the same as a demotion."
Senior Menilman gave a cold snort and asked, "When is your next promotion?"
Charlotte answered without hesitation, "In a month and a half. I should be promoted to Third-Rank Clerk."
It was true that Charlotte had graduated from Sheffield University, and that this degree had earned him a position as a clerk in the Central Government Office, with a high salary. But he came from a merchant family and had no connections in official circles. In two years at the Central Government Office, he had never received any extra opportunities for promotion and could only endure the years, waiting for advancement step by step.
As a transmigrator, Charlotte possessed courage far beyond that of the natives of this world. He had slightly inflated his rank, then claimed that he would soon be promoted again. It was simply audacious beyond measure, shocking as a stone splitting the sky.
Senior Menilman shook the bell in the room. Before long, a middle-aged military officer entered. She pointed at Charlotte and said, "Transfer this man to Kilmainham Prison. His position will be Chief Clerk of my office."
After merging with the original owner's memories, Charlotte had once been startled by the corruption of the Imperial Bureaucrats and the darkness of the workplace. But when that corruption landed on his own head and made him the beneficiary of workplace backroom dealings, he looked astonished on the surface while inwardly he was thrilled beyond measure, without the slightest desire to resist.
Charlotte had originally thought that Senior Menilman's offer of the pay and benefits of a Second-Rank Clerk, along with the promise of future promotion, was already an enormous gain. To directly give him the position of Third-Rank Clerk would have been a leapfrog promotion. He had never expected Senior Menilman to promise him the position of Chief Clerk.
The Empire's bureaucratic system was exceedingly complex, divided into fifty-three ranks.
Imperial clerks, the government's most numerous employees, ranged from First-Class Clerk at the lowest forty-first rank to Fifth-Rank Clerk at the highest thirty-seventh rank. That was already the end of their career path; only by changing professions could they continue advancing, and Chief Clerk was the most common choice for a clerk's career transfer.
A First-Rank Chief Clerk and a Fifth-Rank Clerk were both thirty-seventh-rank Imperial Bureaucrats, yet their prospects for advancement were utterly different. The former had a bright future, while the latter was bleak and dim.
He had risen from a forty-first-rank First-Class Clerk to a thirty-seventh-rank First-Rank Chief Clerk. It appeared that he had only advanced four ranks, but in reality he had been promoted five levels, with a class-crossing promotion hidden within it.
Incidentally, Madame Aldegonde, who held supreme authority over an office, had spent a full twenty-one long years rising from a forty-fifth-rank assistant administrator to a thirty-seventh-rank Fifth-Rank Clerk. Unable to change professions for so long, Madame Aldegonde would most likely remain in that position until retirement.
Charlotte dearly wanted to say, "I am willing to die for you, Senior." Or perhaps, "Greetings, my lord Senior." He had even considered the classic line: "I have drifted through half my life, traversing two worlds without encountering a wise master. If Senior does not disdain me, I am willing to acknowledge you as my sworn mother." But considering the different cultural atmosphere of the two worlds, he could only abandon those thoughts resentfully and say with a gentlemanly smile, "Please take good care of me from now on, Senior Menilman."
Senior Menilman nodded slightly and said, "You're exhausted today as well. Go home and rest first. Move into the prison tomorrow. You'll be working overtime these next few days, so remember to bring enough daily necessities."
Charlotte did not mind.
Wasn't it just overtime?
As if he had never worked overtime in his previous life.
High school math teachers did not work 996, but staying up late to grade assignments was commonplace. Their workload was no less intense than anyone else's.
Seeing that Senior Menilman had nothing else to say, Charlotte left the office and hurried out of Kilmainham Prison.
There were no public carriages in the Marne District that stopped at a wave.
Charlotte could only walk to another district before encountering a public carriage. He waved it down and returned to his residence in the Alexander District.
Although the Alexander District was far inferior to the Val-d'Oise District, it was still one of Strasbourg's Upper Seven Districts, the Imperial capital. Its residents were mainly prosperous merchants, and the neighborhood was quite bustling, with several large shopping centers and markets.
Charlotte rented an apartment in the Alexander District.
The apartment had been built by the Savings Union and was called the Savings Society Apartment. It was specifically provided to single young people with a certain amount of savings. The living environment was excellent, and the services were highly comprehensive.
This was Charlotte's "first" visit to the Savings Society Apartment. The last time he had come here, he had been someone else.
Charlotte entered the apartment building as though he knew the way well, but he was actually extremely uneasy.
The elderly doorman smiled at him kindly and did not question him.
Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief and went up to the second floor. Since the low floors facing the street were relatively noisy, the rent was somewhat cheaper.
He opened the door with his key, pushed open the door to his room, and could not help shaking his head.
The room was rather messy. The original owner had not been a tidy person.
Besides men's clothes strewn everywhere, there were also some disordered women's garments in the room.
According to the memories, these clothes had come from different women, though their appearances and names had long since become blurry.
Charlotte casually tidied up, separating the men's clothes from the women's. He planned to take all the clothes that belonged to "him" to be washed early the next morning and throw away everything that did not belong to "him."
Slumped in a wicker chair in the room, Charlotte suddenly suffered a slight emotional collapse. He did not want to say anything or do anything; he only wanted to sit quietly like this for a while.
He had inexplicably transmigrated here, taken on another identity, and arrived in a completely unfamiliar world.
This was a world with gods.
He was unquestionably a heretic.
Charlot Mecklenburg worried almost every minute that some stranger would suddenly leap out in the street, shout that they were punishing him on behalf of the gods, tie him to a pyre, pour lamp oil over him, and set him alight.
Mm, and there were evil gods as well!
His predecessor had died from summoning an evil god.
Every one of Them in this world was "dangerous."
Perhaps the slightest mishandling would contaminate his spirituality, turning him into a monster or even reducing him to ashes.
The burden weighing on him was simply beyond words.
Today was Charlotte's first day back from vacation, and also his first day attempting a new life.
He chose to integrate into this world rather than resist it.
This day had begun exceptionally perfectly.
The beginning had even exceeded Charlotte's own expectations.
Before you continue