Days bled into a week, and Daphne's schedule was now a blur of meetings, blueprints, and budgets.
She sat across from the butler at the large oak desk in her study.
Her sadness had not disappeared, but it had been pushed to the background by her new sense of purpose.
Alice came in, a stack of scrolls in her hands.
"Your Highness, more applications for the Rose Charity Home," she said, her voice filled with a quiet excitement. "The posters have brought in many applicants."
Daphne took the scrolls, her eyes sweeping over the names and brief stories of widows and orphans.
"Thank you, Alice," she said.
She turned to the butler, her expression serious.
"We are only days from the launch. We must begin the selection process. I want our best knights to go and monitor the applicants."
The butler's brow furrowed. "Monitor them, madam? What would you have them do?"
