Chapter 24
“Oh? What’s this, Serge—bringing a woman in here?”
The voice belonged to a young representative, about Serge’s age. Josée recognized him immediately—she’d entertained him once at Lirondelle. Enzo de Rucel. An economist and a fellow representative. Blond hair slicked back, a bit on the heavier side.
Serge forced a pleasant smile and jumped in before Josée, who was already scowling, could speak.
“Saying I ‘brought her in’ is a bit misleading… More like, I begged her to come.”
He tried to smooth things over, but another voice cut in.
“Is this the brothel owner you mentioned before? Quite flashy. If she wants to be a representative, shouldn’t she dress more like a proper lady?”
The speaker was Maurice de Latière—the eldest representative in the Radical Party and Enzo’s father-in-law. A short, gaunt man with a hawkish face and a voice like dry paper.
Still speaking on Josée’s behalf—now while she was grinding her teeth—Serge replied:
“Flashy? I’d say she’s rather understated for a young woman, honestly.”
Then came the sound of heavy footsteps, and a third man stepped forward.
“Having a woman here feels out of place. And with only male representatives allowed right now, what’s the point in making her a party member?”
That was Pascal Lambert. The son of a merchant who’d clawed his way into the world of politics.
Serge countered, his tone sharper now:
“I didn’t bring her in because she’s useful *now*. I brought her because female candidates will be *essential* to politics *moving forward*.”
“…Hmm? Sure.”
The three men openly scrutinized Josée, their gazes crawling over her like insects. She felt thoroughly, viscerally repulsed.
“Shall we proceed with the contract, Madame Josée?”
The calm voice came from Representative Clovis, as if none of the barbed remarks had happened. Josée snapped back at him, her tone bright with sarcasm:
“Yes, let’s. After all, I hear signing the contract makes it harder for the party to arrange my untimely death.”
Serge went pale.
“Hey, Josée—!”
“Everyone, thank you for the lovely poisoned wine the other day. It looked so delicious, I fed it to the fish in the river. They all died—it was *that* tasty.”
“...!”
Serge clamped a hand over her mouth, but the words were already out. The room fell silent. The men froze. But seeing the blood drain from their faces, Josée felt a flicker of satisfaction. For once, *they* were the ones sweating.
Enzo recovered first, letting out a mocking laugh.
“Serge, you’ve lost your mind, pushing this woman as our first female representative.”
Maurice shook his head, clearly fed up.
“I’ve no idea what she’s going on about. What a strange woman.”
Pascal roared with contempt:
“Liars don’t belong in parliament! Get out of party headquarters *now*!”
Josée stiffened. She turned on her heel to leave, but Serge caught her by the arm at the threshold and leaned in close.
“…Don’t go, Josée.”
“Why not? After being insulted like that, I’d be crazy *not* to leave. I’ll just join another party someday—excuse *me*.”
“…Look.”
“What?”
“I want to *change* this party. This attitude.”
Josée let out an exaggerated sigh.
“Then *you* do it. I’ll come back when you’re done.”
“Don’t you want to *prove* it, Josée? Your brilliance. Your boldness, your wit, your network. You’ve got more of all that than any of those men.”
“…Are you serious?”
“Let me ask you this—do you honestly believe those fools have more nerve, more brains, more connections than *you*?”
Josée looked up, really looked at Serge. His eyes were fixed on hers, dead serious.
“After seeing men like *that*, is it so strange that I want to pave the way for female representatives?”
“…Well, yeah. That *was* pretty pathetic.”
“I’ve said it before—there are plenty of brilliant women in the military. Officers and subordinates alike. That’s why the men there work hard—not to lose to them. But in parliament? It’s full of second sons who’ve lost their inheritance and titles, hanging around for the safety net of a representative’s pension.”
“…That criticism kind of circles back to *you*, you know.”
“I know. It applies to me too. That’s why I want to fix this. Representative Clovis is one of the few who supports women’s suffrage. With him in leadership, we have a real shot. But I can’t do it alone—I need your help.”
Josée stared down at the hand gripping hers. Then she looked up again, meeting Serge’s intense gaze.
“Well... if you're *that* serious, fine.”
Serge exhaled, visibly relieved.
The two of them turned and walked back into the reception room at party headquarters. Under the cold, disapproving stares of the other representatives, Josée—moved by Serge’s passion—picked up the pen and signed the documents Clovis laid before her.
As she set the pen down and glanced around the room, Serge beamed and declared:
“There’s a dinner this evening to welcome you. Until then, let me give you a tour of headquarters.”