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In that moment the Minister of Finance and the Duke caught my eye; I was certain they were thinking the same thing I was.

“No, what was done was wrong… but is it something worth going that far over? To bring down the Chancellor, I mean, and the secretary too. Look at this. In the end it dragged on and they put an inexperienced kid who still has baby fat in the seat, didn’t they?”

Left alone, his tone turned harsher.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs restrained him.

“You’re very drunk. It’s best to stop here for today.”

But a man that drunk wouldn’t stay quiet.

“Yes, it’s all your fault!”

He suddenly jabbed a finger at me.

My expression hardened. That was the moment I confirmed the new Field Marshal was definitely a lackey of the Crown Prince. Being young makes it hard to earn recognition, invites biased views, and makes people let their guard down—this proved it.

“So clever, he dared to blow past the great seniors and even caught the Emperor’s eye?”

Amused, I decided to play along.

“How could I possibly imagine such a thing? How could I even dare utter His Majesty’s name? Please—don’t be too angry, Field Marshal.”

He seemed to see me as a tame puppy; his anger softened into a satisfied smile.

“Good thing you know your place. I’ll be watching. If you do that one more time, I’ll give you a very severe punishment!”

His tone was like scolding a child.

To think he’d take that tone with the Chancellor. I bowed, inwardly counting how I might repay him.

“Yes, yes, senior. I’ll learn a lot.”

“Alright, haha!”

As the situation wrapped up and I stood to leave, I saw the Minister of Finance and the Duke looking at me with pale faces.

“Why are you like that?”

When I smiled faintly, the two cleared their throats and quickly took their leave. After escorting the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Commander into carriages, we remained to talk.

“You’re… a frightening person.”

“Only as much as the Minister of Finance,” he said with an affable smile; I had seen how fierce that man could be when money or his interests were involved. Then, catching the Duke sitting silently, I realized with a jolt.

“Supreme Justice, were you… very surprised?”

He jumped, then composed his voice.

“No. Thanks to that I can clearly see who the Crown Prince’s lackey is. I can’t rule out the Minister of Foreign Affairs being in on it, but the Commander seems certain. It’s almost as if he doesn’t intend to hide it.”

The Duke seemed a little different than usual, but maybe I was imagining it, so I let it go for the moment.

Was it that shocking?

“Yes—we found out thanks to our new Chancellor. Now this dinner meeting is over. The previous Commander hated politics, so conversations were easier. I don’t know the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ intentions, but there was no sign he passed our talks to the Crown Prince.”

I pointed out the flaw.

“He may not have passed it to the Crown Prince, but he could have passed it to someone else.”

“Someone else… could it be His Majesty?”

The Duke propped his chin and frowned. I nodded.

“That’s the likeliest possibility. I didn’t expect a situation like today… but I want to propose something for smoother communication and contingency planning.”

“What is it?”

The Minister of Finance leaned forward, curious.

“We should have a slang or cipher only we know. A code.”

“A code?”

The Duke straightened.

“We can no longer be sure whether anything said at this meeting will stay private. It would become tiresome digging up intel and testing intentions. But it’s a meeting worth keeping. Think of it as a simple code for referring to people it’s awkward to name directly. Nothing grand.”

They agreed it wasn’t a bad idea and even invented hand signals to go with it.

1. Code Red: Emperor appearance (make a V sign with fingers)

2. Code Blue: Crown Prince appearance (brush shoulder)

3. Code Black: internal enemy, spy, Crown Prince lackey appearance (touch earlobe)

4. Code Green: situation resolved/ended (brush hair up)

They’re practical, real-life signals; I wondered how reliably I’d parse them without mistaking one for another… but it was better than nothing, so we agreed. You can’t fully trust written communication either. Using codes instead of real names when relaying urgent situations seemed sensible.

“Then right now it’s Code Black.”

We hoped we’d seldom have to use these codes.

The Chancellery’s effort to restore discipline was progressing smoothly.

Dominic and Eldo were growing increasingly weary from the mounting work and nitpicking. In truth, I’m not a micromanager—I don’t relish checking, inspecting, and issuing orders for every little detail.

That will kill someone. Not everyone is like me, and you can’t perfectly match another person’s ways. So whether people left early or late, as long as they finished their work and met deadlines, I didn’t meddle much. Eldo in particular couldn’t stand being criticized in front of the newly promoted Lucan and Elysia.

“Just wait and see.”

His stubbornness as a Crown Prince lackey was regrettable, but it was only the beginning.

Actually Dominic was the harder one to handle; he was clearly shirking or fudging work, but I was watching. Their relationship wasn’t what it used to be.

Today I left on time for the first time in a while and leisurely went to Those Who Can’t Resign. Since becoming Chancellor I’d been so busy I’d had to close it for a time. While catching up with the backlog of clients and counseling them, a welcome visitor arrived.

“Miss Penguin!”

Penguin burst in with a bright smile. She, who had been hurt deeply by that strange married man, now looked completely revitalized. She bounced up and handed me a parchment.

“I passed the first stage!”

I opened the parchment: ‘First-Round Pass.’ But on closer look, the place named was…

“Cha…Chancellery?”

That’s where I work! How did she—how?

Whether she noticed my confusion or not, Penguin chattered happily.

“I saw the Chancellery’s announcement for assistant clerks and applied. It’s famous! They say the youngest female Chancellor—who hasn’t even graduated from the academy—was appointed!”

They may have handed out appointments casually, but the Emperor used it for press. That old fox.

“Isn’t that amazing? It’s different from what I used to do, but I wanted to try it so I applied and I passed the written test. I’m so excited! What kind of people will they be?”

I tried to calm her. They’re planning to hire two more assistant clerks, but there was no guarantee she’d pass, and newcomers who arrive with such illusions will only end up disappointed.

“You know from working before, right? Don’t expect too much—”

But my words didn’t reach her.

She’s probably floating on dreams of changing jobs, so it’s useless.

“I don’t think about that jerk anymore! Master Quokka, I’ll come again if I pass! The competition is fierce, but I’ll work hard!”

I awkwardly cheered her on and saw her out.

I flopped my head onto the table in exhaustion.

“How small the world is.”

I hadn’t expected to be found out, but the feeling of danger kept growing. For my own safety, I decided to scrutinize Penguin’s interview more strictly.

The jaded office worker in me shook his head, thinking of pitiful newcomers who enter central ministries with illusions.

Knock, knock.

“Ah, is the next client already here?”

I opened the window to find Little Lamb in his mask, legs crossed—the Duke, a VIP of our shop.

This was the first time we’d met like this since we started seeing each other.

But work is work. I treated him as usual so I wouldn’t be discovered.

“The confession succeeded.”

“…Yes?”

After only a few lines of conversation, I was at a loss for words.

At this rate, am I actually going to give dating advice?

I felt ambivalent—part of me wanted to know his inner feelings, and part wondered whether it was appropriate.

“Congratulations! I told you it would work out!”

Then, unexpectedly, Little Lamb bowed his head to me in greeting.

“W-what is this?!”

“Thanks to Master Quokka, I was able to realize what my feelings were. And I learned that the other person might have complicated circumstances. I delivered my feelings at an unexpected timing, but… it went well. If it weren’t for you, I would have lost her. Thank you.”

“Ah, no. Haha…”

Little Lamb shook his head firmly.

“You deserve the thanks. It’s small, but a reward.”

He handed me an elegant pouch.

“I put some gold coins and jewels in it. Since we don’t know each other’s identities, I couldn’t tell what you’d like. Buy what you need. If it’s not enough, say so.”

It was an amount that could buy a building at a glance. I swallowed as I looked at the VIP client—and boyfriend—sitting before me.

If I get found out like this, what will happen to me?