Chapter 43

I learned a new fact here: a promotion decision could be made within a single day.

And the dramatic personnel move regarding me quickly became the talk of the central ministries.

How did they find out?

‘They keep glancing and whispering whenever I pass by—how could I not know?’

This provoked territorial behavior from the department staff.

‘I’d be wary too, honestly.’

An assistant scribe who should spend at least a year grinding it out had become a senior scribe overnight.

How irritated would those two senior scribe be, especially since when the Minister of Finance showed the papers I organized and said I could be promoted to senior scribe, they couldn’t even argue.

‘Of course, who would say no when an executive says it?’

There was no corruption at all, so whether they threw their weight around or not, I decided to walk proudly. My plan to just do the work I decided on yesterday remained unchanged.

“Do it like this.”

The voice of the senior scribe with dark-rimmed glasses, who was teaching the tasks, was icy to the extreme.

Most of the staff treated me that way. It was so bad that even the guy named Leo, who had been friendly on my first day, behaved like that.

But if you ask whether I’d stay a year doing the simple tasks of a senior scribe, I’d still say this situation is better.

“Yes, thank you.”

The girl named Elysia snapped and coldly returned to her seat.

Including me, there were three senior scribes. One was Elysia Langford, who had just told me the tasks in that frosty tone. Another was a man named Lukan Fairburn. He hadn’t shown any territorial sniping or pettiness toward me, but he also didn’t warmly start conversations. That was a small relief.

“A senior scribe is… probably a low-level practical position, right?”

If an assistant scribe did apprentice-like odd jobs, a senior scribe was the youngest person handling practical clerical tasks. They rewrote reports written by superiors into official formats, took minutes, and organized archives containing important records. The main difference was that the documents handled were closer to practical work and carried higher importance. Once familiar with the terminology and content, it didn’t seem too difficult.

‘I’m actually the most curious about what’s going on in this situation.’

In fact, I went to the 3rd-floor Ministry of Finance as soon as I arrived at work and came back having heard nothing but complaints.

I had intended to properly take down the former chancellor Marcus, but it seemed he had paid and protected many people in return for bribes. They’re dragging things out as if some obstruction exists. Even when the evidence is clear, they are pretending not to know. Their expressions were so grim that I couldn’t say anything and returned.

‘Whose fault is it that life at the Imperial Palace got tangled up? I won’t let it slide.’

I had a meager lunch alone in the bureaucrats’ cafeteria, then walked slowly around the central ministry buildings to lower my blood sugar.

“The scenery’s really nice here.”

Since it was the Imperial Palace, many people would be attached to maintain it. The wide-open view and perfectly groomed paths made me curious how beautiful a royal’s private garden would be. In web novels, if someone enters a princess’s garden, it’s chaos. I’ll wander the Imperial Palace slowly later. It’s an experience I can’t easily have, so enjoying it now would be a good way to clear my head.

“Oh, when did the time get like this?”

I checked the tall streetlight-shaped clock and hurried inside. Going up to the second floor and turning the corner, I nearly collided with a colleague coming the other way. I stepped back quickly and looked up—it was Lukan Fairburn.

He looked briefly startled, paused as he saw me, gave an awkward little smile and nod, then headed toward the stairs to the third floor. From the papers in his hand, it looked like he was going to see the Minister of Finance.

‘If he goes now, he won’t hear anything pleasant.’

The Minister of Finance’s condition I observed in the morning was the worst I’d seen so far. He generally has a calm, seldom-angry disposition. There’s a grim side behind his poker face. In any case, he didn’t seem likely to take it out on someone, but his impression of the Chancellery staff wasn’t great, so the situation was unpredictable. Since that guy hadn’t been territorial with me, I felt like saying something at least.

“Is that document something you absolutely have to report right now?”

Lukan, who was about to climb the third-floor stairs, froze.

“Not really… why do you ask?”

“If it’s not urgent, I’d recommend reporting it tomorrow.”

“Huh?”

“The atmosphere doesn’t look good.”

“Wait, what do you mean…”

I was too lazy to answer further questions, so I just smiled faintly and returned to the office.

“You’re late.”

“Sorry?”

Checking the office clock, it was one minute before the end of lunch break.

“There’s still a little time left.”

“All the seniors are back—what business does a newbie have doing outside?”

“What nonsense is that?”

I’d never heard anyone tell someone to return from lunch before their boss. An old man who had been secretly dozing in the chancellor’s chair immediately pointed out my lunch return time and said he had something to talk about, asking me to follow him.

‘Could he be trying to assert authority just because I got promoted?’

The day had passed in a blur and I couldn’t even memorize all the colleagues’ names. Rather than worry, I was more curious about what kind of person he really was.

He led me to the central ministry’s rooftop. There, small groups were gathered, smoking pipes. A man had a pipe in his mouth and struck a match to light it.

‘Ah, this world’s smoking break, huh.’

In K-workplace shorthand it’s called smoke break. I’ve seen people go out often during work when stressed or wanting fresh air. Colleagues go out to vent and exchange information, but if a co-worker who isn’t close calls you out here, it means they have a matter they can’t discuss officially.

“Oh, it’s nothing special—I just called to see if you’re adapting okay, if anything’s difficult.”

It felt eerily familiar, but I answered politely.

“No particular problems.”

He looked at me pitifully, as if seeing a newborn Little Lamb.

“You’ll adapt quickly. Hang in there a bit longer. If anything’s hard, tell me anytime.”

He patted my shoulder lightly with his hand.

“Wait a little and the chancellor will be decided, and working will get easier. Until then, follow me—the First Grade Secretary—well.”

He said that despite the Minister of Finance being the acting chancellor; he clearly assumed my youthful appearance meant I knew nothing.

“You know the rough details, right? It’s a hire recommended by the Minister of Finance. Something unpleasant happened in the Chancellery. So the department’s a bit chaotic for a while… hah, that’s bureaucracy. Everything has its way. The Chancellery’s things are best known by its own staff.”

‘He might as well openly say he’s the next chancellor.’

He seemed to be lost in a big delusion.

‘Someone’s name is coming to mind.’

“So tell me if anything’s hard. And our Chancellery discourages standing out. Trying new things is fine, but there’s procedure. If you actively present opinions through me, I can push things strongly for you.”

‘Ah, I remember—identical to my old team leader.’

What he said wasn’t entirely wrong. But seeing him dozing in the chancellor’s chair and already counting himself as the next chancellor, there’s no need to worry. Those words are all bravado put on before a newbie, and none of it will actually be followed.

Honestly, it doesn’t make sense when you listen closely. The promotion decision was made by the Minister of Finance, yet he’s blaming my actions.

‘I got pushed around a lot back then.’

There was a time when that kind of rhetoric crushed my self-esteem. I was swung around terribly.

Now it doesn’t even elicit a snort of derision.

‘Incompetent people always act like this.’

For a moment I felt like I was back in the modern world. I shook my head to clear it.

“Are you sick or something?”

“No. Thank you for the advice, First Grade Secretary.”

“All right, let’s get along well from now on.”

I made a decision.

From now on I’d call him ‘Absurd dreams’—short for ‘the one who dreams absurd dreams’.

Two days felt like a month. Incidents and troubles never stopped. I began to doubt whether the Chancellery truly gathered only elites.

‘Feels like they’ve assembled nothing but salary looters.’

If there are many like this, someone like me who joined with pure intentions after a long time would inevitably become jaded.

Why?

‘Because only the hardworking ones get weeded out!’

Is that the nature of workplace life? That’s why it’s so important for managers to manage their teams well. It’s a skill often harder than the actual work. Seeing Chancellery people packing up one by one, I quickly grabbed my bag, bowed silently, and left my seat.

‘Finally leaving work!’

Maybe because they’re all salary looters, I liked how punctual everyone was about quitting time.

I headed to the third floor to resolve the matter I had failed to settle in the morning. People were coming out of the Ministry of Finance one by one.

I entered the Ministry of Finance, giving slight nods to those I had come to recognize. I no longer asked who they were or tried to stop them.

I knocked on the Minister of Finance’s door and, upon hearing him say come in, opened it. I intended to enter boldly and press the Minister, but my plan froze the moment I stepped inside.

“Oh, has Cornelia, the talent of our Chancellery, arrived?”

I couldn’t move from my spot.

“Perfect timing. I was just about to introduce you.”

Because of the person beside him.

“The head of the Ministry of Justice, Chief Justice Vespera Ariadne Fortuna, the Duke.”

The Seraphina Empire’s top catch for marriage and a notorious workaholic among royal officials. Daijo’s last visiting guest. And a frequent client of the side-gig group ‘Those Who Can’t Resign’.

And now, about to be in front of a VIP…….