37

I calmly returned to the Marquis’s residence, leaving the Minister of Finance standing there in stunned silence.

‘They’re rich people, so maybe only rumors will spread, but it’ll still be humiliating.’

I don’t know whether the Minister of Finance can keep a secret or not, but once something like this leaks, someone like me will see it and tell someone else.

‘Whenever it happens, it won’t last long.’

Some might call that harsh, but someone crossed the line first. For the record, I come from a country with no ranks, so I don’t have the habit of bowing from root to crown.

Touch me and I’ll bite.

“Nothing unusual happened.”

Marquis Aurelius asked as he signed the papers.

“Yes. The Minister of Finance said he received it well.”

“Good. I’ve placed the newly selected aide candidates on the desk, so you look them over and trim the list as you see fit.”

“Me?”

A fairly tall pile of resumes caught my eye on the corner of the Marquis’s desk. I picked one up and everyone seemed to be academy graduates with impressive credentials.

“I don’t think I’m qualified to choose someone.”

I went to a decent university in the modern world, but here I didn’t even graduate from a proper academy. Who would trust someone like me to pick someone? It could cause needless backlash.

But the Marquis thought differently.

“I’ll choose the final candidate myself, but I don’t have time to interview everyone. You caught that rat who had been hiding in our family for a long time, didn’t you? You’ll do better than I would.”

There was an edge to his words.

After a moment’s thought, I decided to tell him there was someone suitable close to the Marquis.

“My lord the Marquis, may Lady Kiara join as well?”

“Kiara?”

His gentlemanly moustache twitched in surprise. His face was full of questions.

“Who do you think had chosen me?”

When I smiled faintly, his eyes widened as if he’d received an answer he hadn’t expected at all.

A moment later.

“Hahaha!”

The Marquis laughed heartily. It was a pleasant laugh I hadn’t heard in a long time.

“Yes, when she first said she’d hire you, I thought that no matter how well you did with the merchant guild, you’d lack the refinement an aide should have. And, of course, the qualifications too.”

‘That hit a nerve.’

“She was so strong-willed and so pleasant that I let her do as she wished. And if I didn’t like you I could always fire you. But I was wrong, my daughter is better than me!”

There was no hint of displeasure in the Marquis’s words. He sounded more proud than anything.

“I’ve felt since the last party that perhaps I was underestimating Kiara for being too young. Very well. I’ll tell Kiara myself. Take care of her.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

It’s good for me too that my direct superior can move on to bigger things.

Lady Kiara accepted the Marquis’s offer with great interest.

She examined each resume and ruthlessly narrowed down the assistant candidates.

Since this world had no ID photos, everything had to be judged by text alone, but Lady Kiara preferred to interview them in person.

“I liked you from the moment you entered. I was sure after talking that I should hire you. Appearance, gait, voice, manner of speech — attitude shows through. I don’t need sycophants.”

Lady Kiara was more discerning in judging people than I had expected.

She was delicate and observant. Butler Penel hinted that she had been through a lot with young ladies in high society, so that might explain it.

‘Come to think of it, she didn’t have a very pleasant expression toward that scoundrel before the incident either.’

I thought she could handle this task on her own.

Thinking of Lady Kiara, who was full of zeal and even volunteered for overtime, I turned my attention to our TWCR VIP client, Mr. Bull.

“What happened today that made Mr. Bull want to resign?”

I wanted to say that merely coming to work triggers the urge to quit, but as a consultant you shouldn’t spread negative vibes.

“It’s strange… really strange…”

But Mr. Bull’s state today was different from usual.

He usually spewed fire and swore a lot, but today he seemed to be facing a problem he couldn’t resolve.

“Did Mr. Bull’s boss hurt him by for being incompetent again?”

He shook his head.

“On the contrary…”

“Yes?”

“That’s why it’s strange. His words have softened lately… Anyway! He does point out mistakes, but he doesn’t say things like ‘you’re incompetent’, ‘you have no common sense’, or ‘how did you graduate from the academy’ like before.”

“…!”

‘Is he really doing exactly what I suggested?’

“Master Quokka. Why is he suddenly like this? They say people die if they suddenly change — hasn’t something big happened?”

Mr. Bull’s mask seemed about to slip off as he fidgeted anxiously.

“That… probably not…”

“Right? It’s probably a temporary whim? I’m so used to hearing it that now it’s empty without it. It actually makes me more nervous wondering what he’s thinking.”

“Perhaps the Duke himself is recognizing his mistakes and making an effort.”

Mr. Bull let out a short, surprised laugh.

“Him? Born to be the Next Archduke, graduating top of his academy class, earning merits on the battlefield and even receiving the title of Duke of Ariadne, and now, with no wars to fight, bored and joining the Ministry of Justice and becoming the youngest Supreme Justice — Vespera Ariadne Fortuna?”

It’s an ultra-impressive list just to recite.

“Would he even understand the feelings of small nobles like us?”

Things that had accumulated in Mr. Bull’s heart had become a solid wall. It wouldn’t be easy to tear down in a day or two.

‘Still, he’s listening to my advice and trying — I want to help.’

“Anyway, the situation is better than before, right?”

“That is… true.”

“Then don’t look at it negatively — watch and see. Whether it’s a temporary whim or his true intent; you have nothing to lose.”

I wondered whether Mr. Bull and the lamb would continue to be able to go on together.

‘By the way, if he’d rush over in such shock, he must really be trying hard.’

‘Damn.’

Vespera had his head down on his desk in his empty private office. If someone passing by had seen it, they’d have rubbed their eyes and looked again — it was that rare.

“Sigh.”

He was under such unprecedented stress that he couldn’t care about anything beyond it.

“It’s not easy.”

When he first heard advice from the boss wearing a cute Quokka mask, he found it hard to truly understand. Having never lived as a perpetrator, how could he empathize with the situation?

But he agreed that not everyone in the world is like him, so he decided to stop resisting the counselor’s ‘fact violence’, the act of stating facts brutally. It was a new phrase, but it fit well in his mouth.

Vespera thought it wouldn’t be difficult to do.

“If you can’t even do this basic calculation, how can you pass a hiring test… No.”

“Yes?”

“Recalculate it and bring it to me.”

But he ran into trouble on the very first day of trying.

“Tell me about the fine statute on adultery requested by the Ministry of Finance.”

“Well… Article 1: without mutual consent… uh… meeting with a non-spouse… uh…”

“How is it that a Ministry of Justice employee still hasn’t memorized a legal code? This is ridicu…”

“Yes?”

“No. Check the code, organize it, and report back.”

After that, he felt like he might vomit from holding back his constant nitpicking. He hadn’t realized he was this irritable. Simply holding it in didn’t solve the problem.

‘My chest feels so tight I could die.’

Not being able to say what he wanted made it hard to breathe. He had no idea how long he’d have to keep this up. The only good thing was that the gloomy, bleak atmosphere of the Ministry of Justice office seemed to have eased a bit.

That was why he continued this self-imposed torment.

“Supreme Justice, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sent this to convey.”

The Crown Prince’s attendant handed over a letter. Vespera opened the envelope with a stern expression.

There had never been a good reason for the Crown Prince to summon him. Ministry of Justice staff waited with tense looks as he checked the contents.

Crumple.

His face was expressionless as usual, but the letter in his hand was wrinkled. One of the watching employees asked — something none of them would have dared before, but the eased atmosphere made it possible.

“Supreme Justice, may I ask what this is about?”

Vespera answered in a numb voice.

“Prince Lawrence the Crown Prince pushed the Ministry of Finance while running a trade venture and secretly diverted another department’s budget to use. Unfortunately, that venture failed. In such a case, he requests that you draft an internal administrative statute that can convince the other department.”

“…!”

“Gasp.”

Sighs escaped here and there. Vespera stood up from his seat.

It was the limit.

“I am going to get some air for a bit.”

He never left his desk during work except for inter-department matters or outside duties. The suggestion to get some air made his subordinates’ eyes widen. Vespera, unaware of their looks, left the Ministry of Justice thinking.

‘Is this the urge to resign?’

A single image of the boss wearing a Quokka surged vividly into his mind.