115 — 115

Discipline. Hierarchy. Power. They pretend otherwise on the surface, but every company has them.

I hadn’t seen a scene like this in an ordinary company, but as a freelance assistant director I’d encountered something similar.

“Gather the juniors.”

They called the juniors together, forced them to bow so low they couldn’t even look up, then lectured them about “rotten heads” and “in our day” hardships without ever saying what they’d done wrong—just harassing them. I learned the reason later: it was ridiculous.

“Because they walked by without greeting?”

They’d been so busy they hadn’t noticed a senior walking by; they simply missed them. Fortunately it wasn’t the industry’s culture—just an encounter with an odd senior. It pushed me to leave sooner; it was one of the reasons I resigned.

And now I’m seeing that same spectacle here. Even when I first started as an assistant clerk there was territoriality, but not this kind of petty harassment.

“The Chancellery is a line. You need to judge well which line to stand on.”

“Oh, great.”

“At least if you stick with our side, you won’t be at a loss—remember that.”

“Really?”

“He’s a figurehead Chancellor, so if you came here dazzled by the idea of being the youngest Chancellor, you should give up that expectation.”

“What a joke.”

The more I listened, the more ridiculous it became. Elysia’s expression beside me grew increasingly sour.

“Which family are you from?”

Dominic jabbed his shoe against the assistant clerk’s foot to intimidate him, and I couldn’t hold back.

“Me? From the Libertas count family.”

I stepped forward, smiling coldly.

Dominic and Eldo’s faces registered clear surprise. They hadn’t expected me to come all the way. But Dominic seemed bothered by something beyond my arrival.

“…A count family? Ha, please refrain from lying. We already know you’re from a viscount family.”

I smiled thinly.

“I thought so too, but I went to the Imperial Household Office recently; they said you’d been elevated to a count—His Majesty supposedly promoted you as a congratulatory gift for your appointment as Chancellor. If you don’t believe me, check for yourself.”

“What?”

Dominic Lanchester. He’s from a count family—meaning he’s not a count himself, merely the heir.

When I was a baron, count families ranked above me, but now that I’m a count, the tide has shifted. I gave a small smile to the flushed, huffing man and turned my gaze to Eldo.

“What are you doing? You look idle. If you’re short on work, say so.”

“Ah, no… that’s not it… it’s that Dominic, the secretary, first…”

“If you stood by and let it happen, you’re complicit—so stop talking.”

I cut him off neatly.

“I never instructed anyone to carry out this pathetic discipline…”

I paused, then nodded as if conceding that it could be true.

“Alright, I suppose I can understand to some extent.”

“Ch-Chancellor?” Elysia stammered; I wasn’t done.

“But listen. You don’t enforce discipline like that—it’s unacceptable. I’ll show you how it’s done. Dominic, Eldo, you start.”

The two who’d been puffing with indignation now trembled, their protests dying.

I smiled.

“Discipline isn’t enforced with words. It’s enforced through work.”

“Now then—first and second secretaries of the Chancellery. Let’s see how you managed while I was away. Bring out the work you’ve done.”

Lukan and Elysia exchanged glances; they’d seen me speak to Dominic before and could tell I was genuinely angry.

“What are you waiting for? Bring it.”

I smirked; they hesitantly gathered the documents and shoved them forward. Eldo’s papers were folded neater than Dominic’s—Dominic, as expected, was worse.

Paper rustled.

The Chancellery fell silent except for pages turning. Secretaries, scribes, even assistant clerks stared. I didn’t need to summon them; they had to learn just how insignificant those pretentious, nitpicking seniors were—and who truly ran the Chancellery.

“Eldo, you’ve added unnecessary commentary, but you completed what I assigned. Dominic—first-class secretary—you’re barely halfway through.”

He stood there arrogantly, as if daring me.

They didn’t get it. My time as a K-office worker exposed me to so many humiliating, degrading moments; firing isn’t always the answer, so reluctantly I decided to try something else.

“At this rate, the new assistant clerks who just joined will catch up to you in no time.”

Dominic flinched and clenched his fist.

“Lukan, secretary.” “Yes, Chancellor.”

“I think we should add one more experienced hire. There’s someone in our department who’s not doing even one person’s worth of work.”

Lukan, without prompting, obliged.

“Dominic, secretary.”

“…Yes.”

“From now on, before you leave, have me inspect the work you’ve done. There’s too much nonsense, so I need to see it from the start. Also, every week report to me what tasks you’ve done and quantify—numerically—what and how much you’ve achieved. And as a first-class secretary, explain what tasks the second-class secretaries are handling and their progress.”

I saw Eldo’s lips twitch as if he wanted to speak, but my gaze stayed fixed on Dominic.

Of course he wouldn’t know. I pulled a stack of unfiled documents from storage and set them on his desk.

“There’s nothing like repetitive practice. From last time, it seems you haven’t adapted to the new format yet. Reorganize the previous documents here into the new format and report back. Lukan, Elysia, double-check what Dominic has written.”

This was a first-class secretary being checked by second-class secretaries. They often did sloppy work, lacked motivation, yet cared deeply about appearances and pride.

“If you’d kept basic standards, I wouldn’t have had to go this far.”

Would he prefer being called out in front of everyone? Perhaps not—but his disregard for me as Chancellor had gone too far to ignore.

Those people aren’t swayed by reviews or pay—they answer to the Crown Prince, so their motives lie elsewhere.

They probably want to tank the Chancellery’s evaluation to have me replaced.

So I chose this method. Discipline through work differs from one-on-one lectures; I’ll inspect tasks down to the smallest detail and harshly reprimand any deficiencies. I couldn’t do this if I hadn’t done every job myself, from assistant clerk to first-class secretary.

“Use this chance to shape up. Otherwise you’ll be clinging to my coattails and regretting it later.”

It was their last chance. We were at the line between being able to run the department together in a hostile environment or not. A workplace isn’t a place to work only with people favorable to me. So far I’d watched closely and tried to act professionally.

But it’s not only the Crown Prince who’s scheming—I’m scheming too.

Even I couldn’t predict exactly how I’d take down those who crossed the line.

I’m sorry for the assistant clerks, but the Chancellery’s atmosphere was downright brutal.

If such absurd discipline had gone unchallenged from the start, I might have quit on day one. It’s important for a boss to clearly assert control over the team.

Come to think of it, Eldo seems quiet.

Dominic was making such a scene that Eldo felt relatively subdued. To give the new hires some breathing room, I stepped out of the stifling office. Lukan and Elysia would sort out the rest.

I slowly headed to the Ministry of Finance on the third floor to report in and to ask the Minister whether there were any special issues with the royal household.

At that moment I came face to face with a familiar figure in a mage’s robe.

“Hello, Chancellor Cornelia.” He was a subordinate mage trailing behind Aidan.

“Hello. How have you been?” I used a topic-change skill because I couldn’t recall his name. He didn’t look bad, but he seemed drained.

“Congratulations on your promotion to Chancellor. We should have sent something to the Chancellery, but we’ve been too occupied lately and missed it.”

Is something going on at the Magic Tower?

“No. I don’t even know if I deserve congratulations for taking on such a burdensome post. The Magic Tower seems very busy.”

“Oh, don’t say that. We’re a complete mess.”

“What’s going on?”

“Well… since you’re close to that person, I suppose I can tell you this.” He glanced around a few times, then stepped closer. For a moment I was about to step back, but he gestured for silence and I leaned in.

“The Magic Tower Master has announced his retirement. Soon Aidan will become the Magic Tower Master.”