Newman was finally slightly moved and asked, “Sheffield University?”

Charlotte replied briefly, “Yes.”

This young lady, known as the Empire’s First Rose, showed the first smile since Charlotte had entered the office and said, “I’m your senior.”

Charlotte also returned a smile and said, “Sheffield University, graduate of Black Moon Year Thirty-Three, Charlotte greets her senior.”

The Empire’s education system is divided into six levels: elementary education, secondary education, higher education, public schools, national academies, and imperial universities.

To complete higher education already marks one as a rare talent in society. If a child from a poor family completes higher education, the family can proudly declare: their social class has risen.

Public schools are generally funded and established by nobles, and their graduates are already on a different level from commoners.

National academies are even more renowned—serving the royal family!

They mainly train grassroots talent for all levels of government, and the benefits for graduates are unimaginably generous.

It’s probably similar to being a university graduate in the 1950s or 60s in the world Charlotte came from.

As for imperial universities, they are a completely different concept from universities on Earth.

There’s a saying in the Empire’s education circles: National academies serve the royal family and the Empire, imperial universities serve the gods. Each university represents the favor of a deity, and its graduates enjoy unparalleled status.

This is also why Charlotte was able to work in the Central Government Office, earn a high imperial salary, and have the ability to take annual vacations.

Because he graduated from Sheffield University.

One of only four universities in the Fars Empire.

Newman nodded and smiled, extending her right hand downward.

Charlotte gently lifted her right hand with both hands and lightly touched her slender fingertips with his forehead.

This is a very important etiquette in the Empire, signifying that a pure friendship now exists between a man and a woman.

Chapter 4 Promotion and Raise

For unmarried young ladies, a gentleman may only touch her fingertips with his forehead; for married women, a gentleman should lightly kiss the back of her hand.

Charlotte had heard that this senior had once been engaged, but for a well-known reason the engagement was broken off, and she remains single to this day. By touching her fingertips with his forehead, he maintained the demeanor of a gentleman.

Newman said softly, “Transfer to my staff.”

Charlotte showed a hint of resistance and said quietly, “A demotion transfer?”

His indignant retort was actually a strategy of advancing by retreating.

Normally, low-level government clerks like him are promoted every three years, but if transferred to a new post, the promotion period resets.

There’s a saying in the imperial government: “A transfer without promotion is equivalent to a demotion.”

Newman snorted coldly and asked, “When is your next promotion?”

Charlotte answered without hesitation, “In a month and a half, I should be promoted to Level Three Clerk.”

It was true that Charlotte graduated from Sheffield University and, with that degree, entered the Central Government Office as a clerk, enjoying a high salary. But he came from a merchant family, had no connections in officialdom, and after two years in the Central Government Office, had never received any extra promotion opportunities, having to wait his turn and follow the standard process.

As a transmigrator, Charlotte’s boldness far exceeded that of the natives of this world. He slightly exaggerated his position and claimed he would soon be promoted again—an audacious and shocking move.

Newman shook the bell in the room, and soon a middle-aged officer entered. She pointed at Charlotte and said, “Transfer this person to Kilmainham Prison as the Chief Clerk of my office.”

After merging with the original owner’s memories, Charlotte had been surprised by the corruption and darkness of the Empire’s bureaucracy, but when the corruption benefited him and he became a beneficiary of backroom dealings, he appeared shocked on the surface but was inwardly thrilled, with no will to resist at all.

Charlotte had thought that if this senior agreed to give him the treatment of a Level Two Clerk and promised future promotions, it would already be a huge gain. If he were directly given the position of Level Three Clerk, it would be a leapfrog promotion. He never expected Newman to promise him the position of Chief Clerk.

The Empire’s bureaucratic system is extremely complex, divided into fifty-three ranks.

Clerks, as the largest group of government employees, range from the lowest, Level One Clerk at Rank Forty-One, to the highest, Level Five Clerk at Rank Thirty-Seven, which is already the end of the line for that position. Only by changing jobs can one continue to be promoted, and Chief Clerk is the most common choice for a clerk’s career change.

A Level One Chief Clerk and a Level Five Clerk are both Rank Thirty-Seven imperial officials, but their prospects are vastly different—the former’s future is bright, the latter’s is bleak.

He had risen from a Level One Clerk at Rank Forty-One to a Level One Chief Clerk at Rank Thirty-Seven. It looked like only a four-rank promotion, but in reality, it was five, with an implicit leap in social class.

Incidentally, Mrs. Aldegonde, who holds the highest authority in an office, took twenty-one long years to rise from Assistant at Rank Forty-Five to Level Five Clerk at Rank Thirty-Seven. Because she has been unable to change positions, Mrs. Aldegonde will most likely remain in that post until retirement.