Chapter 104

I seriously worried whether I should accept this money.

But there was no way I could suddenly take off the mask and say, ‘Actually, I’m Cornelia. Surprised, right?’

“Don’t refuse—take it. You deserve it.”

Right, this money was earned through my side job regardless of any rational feelings!

I repeated that to myself as I accepted the relationship-advice payment from my lover……. I couldn’t find words to describe how this felt.

The Duke smiled approvingly and, fortunately, didn’t nitpick about what had happened to me. But I couldn’t help myself.

“How long have you been dating—?”

We’d been seeing each other since the delegation, so it had been about a month.

“As of today, it’s been 35 days.”

He remembered it more precisely than I did.

“No major problems? Anything you want?”

He shook his head.

“Even now, I’m at a loss for what to do—it’s almost a shame just to watch you.”

“…….”

I felt embarrassingly self-conscious facing him. Looking at him like this, apart from the mask, he was nothing less than a handsome wolf.

‘So that’s all hand-holding is.’

Although we’d never agreed on it out loud, we both tacitly refrained from making our relationship obvious. It wouldn’t help either professionally or socially.

After some thought I decided to use this opportunity as a chance to find out my boyfriend’s true feelings.

“Do you perhaps want to take physical intimacy further…”

“What? It’s only been a month. That’s far too soon.”

He flailed, startled in a way that betrayed his usual composure. The skin under his mask had flushed red, so he clearly had no immunity in this area.

‘I’m the same, though. Should I protect him a bit?’

It turned out that Vespera, Duke of Ariadne—the empire’s super ultra-elite specimen—was actually an innocent man.

“…She is too young.”

“…!”

Wait, age even here! So it wasn’t me protecting him—he was protecting me?

I reminded myself again: among the nobles I knew, he was the most committed to noble duties. I didn’t have to worry about him cheating, but progress would likely be snail-like.

“What are you talking about? She’s clearly an adult, isn’t she?”

“That may be true, but I’m not eager to move forward as if I’ve been waiting for it. I take her seriously. I want to advance slowly, step by step.”

He said that so earnestly I had nothing to reply. It felt warm to be considered not a fleeting romance but a relationship with a future. My heart felt light.

“If that’s how you feel, I’ll fully respect it.”

Even without a single finger touching, my thirst felt quenched.

“Next number, please come in.”

The door opened and a mild-looking Chancellery applicant shuffled in, visibly nervous. When she sat, I scanned her resume and asked professionally.

“Please introduce yourself.”

“Ah, yes!”

She swallowed and began her introduction in a trembling voice.

“Hello. I’m Selena Laurentia. I previously worked as a manager at the Demian Trading House. I mainly handled document organization and accounting. I applied for the Chancellery assistant clerk position because I want to do work for the imperial people. I believe incidents like bridge collapses should never happen again.”

After interviewing thirteen assistant clerk candidates, I finally met an interviewee who could actually speak, and I internally cheered with joy.

We’d chosen new assistant clerks using a different method: modern practical and personality interviews. I’d heard this place had a culture of asking absurd questions in interviews. It was astonishing.

‘What business does your family mainly run?’

‘Which families are you close to?’

‘Can you drink well?’

‘Isn’t it time to find a husband to marry rather than a day’s job?’

‘Which academy did you attend?’

‘What do your family members do?’

‘If you have any special skills, let’s see them.’

Most questions were about family background or political connections. Very few questioned job competence. The way the Minister of Finance scouted me started to seem almost normal by comparison.

Anyway, once I understood why the Chancellery had been such a mess, I decided to hold the assistant clerk interviews myself. Hence the current situation.

None of them could properly introduce themselves, but finally one could. Yet her voice sounded terribly familiar.

‘Could it be that Penguin?’

There were only a few candidates left and we needed to hire two people. I had planned to reject or recommend them elsewhere, but now it looked like we had to save our own department first.

“What would you do if a boss asked you to do something you didn’t want to or couldn’t accept?”

It’s a standard interview question.

Applicant Selena thought for a moment and then spoke.

“A boss has more experience than me, so unless it’s illegal, I would follow orders at first. And I would ask questions: I’d say I find this hard to understand for these reasons—could you explain?”

‘She’s really good.’

For one, she’s definitely not egotistical like Eldo. And she has a clear stance against illegal acts. Just because a boss orders something doesn’t make it right. Not every superior is competent or moral.

I asked various other questions, but Selena—whom I suspected was the Penguin—gave faultless answers.

“Any final remarks you’d like to make?”

It’s a bonus question. If there’s none, the interview ends; if there is one, depending on the content she could gain bonus points or lose them.

“If I pass, what kind of work would I be doing?”

‘…Pass….’

I let out a long sigh and put her name in the pass column.

Her proactive interest in the work she’d do deserved points. You can’t fault a new recruit with little experience for answering this well in a first-time interview format.

Right. She’d already been through enough; disqualifying her just because her identity might be discovered would be absurd. It wouldn’t be fair. I reflected on that as I finished the interview.

The rest of the interviews continued, but no one answered as clearly as she had. Lukan and Elysia beside me nodded in apparent satisfaction.

Elysia muttered as she organized the documents.

“If those two had interviewed, they’d be instantly disqualified.”

That’s exactly what I thought.

Having spent the day on interviews and catching up on remaining work, I had long missed quitting time. In the company, I rarely saw team-leads leave on time, and sadly I was beginning to understand why.

The Chancellery encouraged people to leave once they’d finished their duties, so I was the only one left in the office. Lukan had said he’d wait, but I firmly told him not to—ridiculous.

‘This is the first time I’m the last to leave here.’

It had been common in my previous world, but since it had been a while, the feeling was nostalgic. I snacked on treats Lukan had bought and, with nothing urgent, walked out slowly.

“You’re back?”

But there was the Duke standing at the entrance, waiting for me.

“Did you wait for me, by any chance?”

“I didn’t see your face even once today.”

There had been so many applicants I was busy the whole time. Now that I thought about it, apart from a trip to the restroom I hadn’t left the interview room.

‘Wait—he probably thought I was leaving on time and waited?’

“Did you wait long? I’m late getting off today…”

He chuckled and casually took my bag. Then he extended his other hand. I’d gotten used to holding hands, but situations like this still made me embarrassed.

‘What was that question about wanting to move forward for? I can’t handle this.’

Since it was late we decided to walk through the Imperial Palace gardens instead of continuing the date. It was a special route only possible because the Duke was royal. There were no people, so we walked comfortably.

“Give me your bag. I can carry it.”

“It’s heavy. No.”

“What do you mean heavy—this would look bad: the Duke carrying a woman’s bag.”

“Why care what others think? I’m offering to carry my tired lover’s bag. If you have any strength left, how about lifting my hand instead?”

He loosened his grip on my hand. When I suddenly lost my balance and staggered, he hastily tightened his hold.

“……”

“Now listen to me.”

“Yes……”

My mouth popped open without meaning to, but the hand touching his swung back and forth lightly.

“Did you have a good day, Duke?”

“I praised Illya for improving his document drafting skills and he cried.”

If that’s the case he really had reason to cry. He’d always been told he was incompetent, but finally someone started acknowledging him!

I silently cheered, ‘Mr. Bull, well done.’

“That’s really wonderful. I hope you get praised by the Duke often from now on.”

“If you worked like you do, he might praise you until he got sick of you.”

“Ugh, there you go again.”

“I’m not flattering you. How many times must I say it for you to accept the praise? You are…”

We shared our days and chatted without noticing the time. Strangely, despite the stark difference in status, the Duke and I communicated well and even enjoyed it. It might be because it was early in the relationship and we were adapting to each other, but neither of us seemed to be forcing ourselves or putting on fake smiles. I felt the same.

“Hoho, let’s sit for a moment on that lamppost bench.”

“Sounds good.”

We turned the corner toward a lit lamppost, and suddenly the Duke stopped in his tracks.

“Duke? Uh…?”

I followed his gaze and froze at the scene before us.

A man and a woman were pressed together, kissing each other fiercely as if to devour one another.

I swallowed involuntarily.