108

“What’s ‘quick’ about it? If it’s an opportunity, you should seize it.”

Is this really the Pinea I know? What’s with this bewitched big-sister vibe?

“Actually, I was planning to go with my brother Marcella.”

Pinea gasped and slapped my arm.

“Ouch!”

“Why would you pass up such a good opportunity? What would Marcella learn by inspecting the estate? If the Duke can be more helpful, that’s enough! It’s a chance to go legitimately!”

Taken aback by such a radical proposal, I didn’t know what to say and stammered. Nicola beside me just kept nodding.

In contrast, Pinea remained completely calm.

“Listen to a sister who’s been in relationships. It’s all advice that’ll be good for you.”

I swallowed without realizing it. It had only been a few days since my first kiss, after all.

Seeing my expression, Pinea let out a small sigh.

“I’m not saying you must do anything. They say you’ll only see each other briefly. I’m saying try staying together for a while this time and get to know each other. There’s a saying in Ophel: you have to travel together to learn someone’s true colors.”

“R-Really?”

Was there such a proverb?

“You’d refuse the offer? Unless you have an unavoidable work schedule, reconsider whether continuing the relationship is the right choice.”

At Pinea’s decisive words I nodded as if spellbound. Strangely, Nicola’s silence beside her made me trust Pinea’s advice even more.

‘A trip…’

At the Chancellery I could handle anything that came up, but romance was unpredictable. I felt like a new recruit who knew nothing.

Unable to argue with Pinea after her long speech, I went to work with that thought stuck in my head.

‘How do I bring this up?’

The reason I couldn’t firmly reject her suggestion was that it made sense. In my previous life I’d seen many couples break up after traveling together—when you spend a long time with someone, differences in status or environment show up.

‘I also want to spend time together…’

The Duke worked late so often it was hard to see him. I had side jobs too, so there was a limit to how much I could wait around and help every day.

‘First, the Duke has to agree. Handle what’s in front of you first.’

I stood and walked slowly over to Dominic. He still hadn’t turned in a report due today.

I gave him leeway to see how far he’d get and watched. But he left punctually, and no results came back. What should have taken two days had dragged into its seventh. Today was the deadline.

No matter what, he left on time. He had a mindset I could admire, but what good is that if he misses deadlines?

“Secretary Dominic. When can I receive the report organizing the avenue construction budget, audit materials, and construction plan?”

He leaned back with his legs crossed, tapping his foot.

“Well… there’s quite a lot of content. Hmm… I’m not sure. Maybe… in an hour or two?”

It was clear he planned to brush it off. He had no intention of submitting it for review and edits. I smiled slightly.

“Ahem. You do know today is the deadline, right? Secretary Dominic.”

“Was it?”

“Yes. I have to confirm it. That means you can only leave after I approve the secretary’s document.”

“Yes?”

He snapped to his feet.

“I only have to submit it; the rest is for the Chancellor to handle. Why are you interfering with my quitting time?”

‘Oh.’

I smiled wider.

“Do I have to spell it out? It’s because you lack skill.”

“What did you say?”

“The Chancellery accepts only the most capable among the central ministries. Did you think I’d be satisfied with a roughly done report?”

“Ha! You haven’t even come from the Academy, what are you—!”

Riled by the critique, Dominic made the same slip a subordinate, Eldo, had made before. It was oddly satisfying to see him drop the mask he wore during Eldo Hyberg’s heyday.

“Exactly. But I’m the Chancellor.”

“……!”

“If you can’t stand it, you may leave the Chancellery right now. I won’t stop you.”

“I’ll formally complain to higher-ups…!”

“Do so. You know I’ve been tolerating insubordination until now, right? I’ve recorded it well, so this will be interesting. I’ll personally inform the Supreme Justice.”

When I mentioned the Empire’s most influential figure, his braggadocio quieted. I glanced at the report he was preparing and said,

“I usually don’t like comparing people, but it feels unavoidable. Secretary Dominic’s performance as a Grade 1 secretary is far below Secretary Eldo’s as a Grade 2.”

“……!”

“I’ll stop there.”

For a moment I saw Eldo’s smug expression—simple fellow.

“Please consider my position too—I have to tutor the secretary in his duties after working hours.”

I shook my head as if from a headache and returned to my seat. Dominic trembled and stormed out.

“Ahh. That feels good.”

Lukan rubbed his chest and sighed in relief.

“There have been more than a few times I wanted to sew his mouth shut. Good that it worked out.”

Elysia voiced a cutting remark in a flat tone. Lukan asked,

“Chancellor. Is it really necessary to stay after hours and teach that fellow? I don’t think it’ll help…”

I know that too. But the Chancellor isn’t just a department head or a mere team leader. The Prime Minister isn’t a team leader, after all. I recalled a few supervisors I had respected in past jobs.

‘They focused more on managing people than hands-on work. They emphasized planning and strategy.’

I had come to understand each team member’s work. If the Chancellor plays an executive role, the secretaries must function as deputy managers and team leaders. The scribe is like an assistant manager, and the junior clerks are staff.

‘If things stay like this, we’ll only be trimming tasks handed down from above. For efficiency’s sake, we must change.’

So I needed to train the secretaries to be subordinates capable of stepping into team-leader or deputy-manager roles. The most crucial one was the Grade-1 secretary—Dominic—so getting past this obstacle wouldn’t be easy.

‘Was there ever a time it wasn’t hard?’

If not, I’d have to bite the bullet. I grinned and delivered the news to the secretaries.

“All right. Your roles are important. We happen to have an opportunity to review work carefully, so let’s go over all our secretaries. Is that okay?”

When I smiled at Lukan, he gave a reluctant smile.

“Ah, y-yes… o-of course.”

“What about the others?”

“Do as you please.”

“Good.”

I could feel Eldo and Elysia shooting Lukan sharp looks, but I pretended not to notice.

‘I’m the one who hates this the most, you lot.’

From then on, daily group tutoring began. I kept telling myself I had to struggle now to be comfortable later.

“What I want from the secretaries isn’t just the ability to process tasks. Practical skills are a given, but you must also manage the scribe and junior clerks and support their work. Only then are you qualified to hold a secretary’s post.”

The Chancellery isn’t large, but it receives many documents and reports from across the Empire. Often they’ve already been filtered through subordinate departments or lower civil servants. The incoming papers required at least some knowledge of finance, law, and foreign affairs to understand. They weren’t called the most elite of the central ministries for nothing.

“New junior clerks will be joining soon, so let’s prepare well until then. Practical skills should be a basic requirement, right?”

Leadership training comes after that. Honestly, it’s an area I’m weak in too, so I doubted how well I could teach it.

After giving feedback on each secretary’s practical work, I set new assignments so they could internalize it.

“Seeing that guy’s expression is reassuring.”

Elysia muttered as she scribbled the assignment on parchment. Dominic looked pitiable. Eldo, though arrogant, isn’t the type to avoid work and was happily jotting things down, while Dominic wore a resentful look, as if dragged into unexpected overtime—like when, in my previous life, I couldn’t go somewhere because I was fretting about my boss.

‘He won’t go. He has at least that much sense.’

That way he might be able to enter the Crown Prince’s service.

I watched the secretaries diligently working and activated my communication artifact. Following Pinea’s advice, I intended to ask the Duke whether he’d be interested in visiting the Libertas estate together. I was a little embarrassed to ask in person, so I decided on a casual suggestion via messenger.

Cornelia Libertas (Chancellor): Are you busy?

Vespera Ariadne (Supreme Justice): Not off yet? It’s late. Wait a bit and I’ll bring you home.

Cornelia Libertas (Chancellor): Great! But um… are you very busy next week?

Vespera Ariadne (Supreme Justice): Hmm. Probably about the same as now. What’s up?

Cornelia Libertas (Chancellor): Ah, then that won’t work. I was thinking of visiting the Libertas estate and thought it would be nice if we went together. So I just wanted to ask.

But after that, the Duke didn’t reply.

‘What’s this? Is he very busy?’

At that moment, the Chancellery door burst open. The secretaries turned to the Duke, who took a small breath as he entered.

“Supreme Justice?”

They widened their eyes at the sudden arrival. I gestured for my staff to continue their assignments and naturally led him out the door.

“Why did you suddenly come to the Chancellery?”

“I can.”

“Yes?”

“I’m available next week.”

“You came all the way here to say that?”

His rumpled gray hair made him look exactly like a puppy. Seeing him so eager, I couldn’t help but nod.

‘Pinea, I think it’s okay for us to keep dating.’