105

I had only seen kisses like that in dramas; this was only the second time I’d witnessed one in person since the Seref ducal residence. The first time, I wasn’t dating the Duke yet, so it didn’t move me much—this time it was different. I couldn’t take my eyes off them.

The lovers’ kiss deepened, their touch escalating as if a button might come undone at any moment.

My heart raced and heat flushed my face; unintentionally, my hand tightened around the Duke’s.

“This way.”

He murmured and led me away. The night was late, and I could clearly feel his embarrassment even in the dark.

“I didn’t expect to see something like this. It doesn’t look like they’re royalty, though.”

Because the place was secluded, they looked like palace staff secretly displaying affection.

“I’ll make sure to warn the guards properly at dawn.”

We met each other’s eyes and, startled, turned our heads at once. The easygoing joking vanished, replaced by an awkward silence. My face must have been beet-red. My head was seasoned at dating, but my body reacted like a rookie and couldn’t hide it.

“It’s late. Let’s go.”

He suggested returning home, and I nodded. During the carriage ride we stared out opposite windows without speaking, yet somehow we kept holding hands; the touch felt scorching, as if we’d been branded.

That night, as expected, I couldn’t sleep a wink.

A few days later things were back to normal—partly because we often crossed paths at work, partly because neither of us was truly angry, and partly thanks to the communication artifact.

Vespera Ariadne (Supreme Justice): The steward brought cake from a famous pastry shop. Would you like to join me for lunch?

He approached me like that. Fortunately, there was no difficulty in having a meal together.

“What? Lunch with the Supreme Justice? I might choke. Good luck, Chancellor.”

When even aide Illya reacted like that, I could dine with him without any suspicion. The Chancellery’s reaction wasn’t much different.

“Don’t fall for it. You’re now the same rank.”

They warned me to be careful—that he was likely laying groundwork to request cooperation—and joked about his gruff image. Whether I should be pleased about that was laughable.

I smoothed my clothes with a faint smile and stood.

“Chancellor, where are you going?”

Lukan asked politely.

“Just out front for a moment. I should be back soon, but if I’m late, everyone go home first.”

“Yes.”

After saying goodbye, I quietly left the central ministry. Usually I’d state my destination when leaving, but this time there was nothing to gain from revealing it.

The reason was—

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

I followed the maid into the room. Prince Raven sat there, his golden eyes and blond hair shining brilliantly.

Yes. This was the consultation request he hadn’t been able to make in Yuno.

‘I’m giving consultations for free.’

A wave of reality hit me for a moment, but like a professional I quickly restored a perfect poker face.

“Good day, Your Highness. How have you been?”

The prince nodded and gestured to the tea table opposite.

“The same as always. Nothing happens; every day goes by like a wheel turning.”

Something was off. Wasn’t he the type who hardly spoke?

“In fact, the interesting events happened to you. When I came back, you had become Chancellor. I was quite surprised.”

“I was surprised too.”

Who else could have been more surprised than me? I could only laugh—I’m still not used to coming to work, much less sitting in the Chancellor’s seat.

Putting feelings aside, I moved straight to the point.

“I don’t know if I can help, but I can listen to Your Highness’s worries without letting them leak. You needn’t worry about that.”

He was silent for a moment, as if unsure where to begin or testing whether he could trust me.

“Do you remember?”

He rested an arm on the table, propped his chin, and stared at the teacup as he spoke.

“You said you wanted to know how to stop being so conscious of others’ reactions.”

“Yes.”

“I…”

He faltered. I didn’t rush him and waited patiently. After a long while he continued.

“I lack confidence.”

“…Confidence?”

“I’m… a bit sensitive.”

His story began to drift from what I had expected.

“I’ve heard that a lot. After doing something I feel no sense of accomplishment, only relief. I make many mistakes and am unnecessarily sensitive, which tires those around me. I heard some people even quit because of me. It was shocking. So I kept watching others’ reactions. I became afraid of being assigned tasks and worried if I could perform as well as others. Eventually I thought it was better not to speak. I just went through the motions of work. After all, even if I don’t do it, everyone else handles things.”

I found myself frowning at how serious it sounded.

“My family and those around me thought I could live like that and it wouldn’t be a problem.”

His face looked neat and polished, but his eyes were hollow.

“But why are you telling me this?”

It seemed too deep a matter to confide to a bureaucrat he’d just met, face to face.

Prince Raven looked up and met my eyes.

“After seeing the Chancellor, an uncomfortable question arose about my life. You hadn’t attended the Academy, you’re young, not a proper noble of noble bearing. You were even poor. You had every quality people told me not to associate with.”

“Ah, yes…”

“Yet you shone among people who had everything. Seeing you speak your mind confidently at the conference, uncaring of others’ looks, suddenly made me wonder… I had chosen an easy way to live, so why am I so unhappy? Why can’t I be happy? So when I heard about the daily consultation booth, I impulsively requested one.”

Hearing this, it seemed the prince’s self-esteem had nearly hit rock bottom.

‘He seems to feel pressure from both his job and his family…’

That’s the unique downside of royalty: life itself is on display and constantly judged.

Judging by his behavior, he’d lived like this for a long time. It was enough to make me, someone from the modern world, seem extremely alien to him.

The rest of his account felt suffocating even to me—he couldn’t get close to anyone, had to uphold royal dignity, needed good Academy grades, had to show filial duty, and upon adulthood had to prove his competence at work. Because he struggled, people said all royals live like that and that he was just especially sensitive; later, they claimed his performance declined.

‘Given that psychological state, the fact he sought me out for consultation is remarkable.’

I’m not a professional counselor. It’s hard to snap out perfect advice in one go, so I decided to listen until a method occurred to me. That alone might give him some breathing room.

Once he opened up, his hesitation vanished and he poured out more and more words.

“… (omitted) …At that moment I thought so. I seemed to have heard it, but was I imagining it?”

I listened silently as long as needed. I thought this might be the most difficult consultation I’d done so far.

‘This won’t be easy.’

Talking with Prince Raven, I suddenly realized it was well past quitting time. When I went back to the Chancellery, everyone had already left and only an empty office remained.

‘I used to be the kind of employee who left right on the dot…’

It felt like only a month ago, but it seemed so distant.

‘Pull yourself together and go home quickly.’

Even with a higher rank, the desire to go home hadn’t diminished—if anything, it had grown—so I hurriedly finished the remaining work and bolted out of the office. The dark sky seemed to sneer, “Did you work late tonight?” but I ignored it. Instinctively I looked back at the central ministry buildings to see which offices still had lights on. As expected, only the Ministry of Justice was lit.

‘Has he been given more strange tasks?’

The Duke wanted to leave with me, but he had a lot of work. I could only hope that the unification of reporting documents and the simplification of the reporting system would reduce his overtime.

Anyway, thanks to that, it seemed no one suspected anything between the Duke and me. Of course, the biggest reason was the barrier his crafted image created.

I had been desperate to go home just a moment ago, but my feet led me back into the building. In the silent corridor only the sound of my heels echoed. I was glad I could help even like this.

I stood at the door and knocked.

“Come in.”

At the Duke’s low, deep voice, I opened the Ministry of Justice’s door and peeked in. He looked up from the documents and his eyes widened when he saw me. It was so endearing I laughed.

“Shall I help you a bit?”