Chapter 44

“Huh, that bold friend seems embarrassed at seeing him, the empire’s top catch.”

I wish that had been the reason. But in reality, it was because I had met a client whose identity mustn’t be discovered.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Do the two of you know each other?”

The Minister of Finance asked in surprise, curious.

I forced myself to steady my nerves and spoke as calmly as possible.

“He came as a customer when I was at the Daijo merchant guild. And recently, at the Black Dia new product launch party at the Marquis’s residence, he rescued me from an awkward situation.”

“Oh? Is that so? That’s quite a connection. This one is my disciple. I taught her personally at the Duke’s residence.”

I was more surprised by the unexpected connection between the two.

“Let me properly introduce her as well: Cornelia Libertas, whom I personally recommended to the Chancellery.”

I hastily bowed in greeting.

“Please take care of me, Supreme Justice.”

“I saw her excel as an aide at the Marquis’s residence and personally scouted her. I even promoted her to junior scribe within a day of joining.”

The Minister of Finance lavished praise on the Duke so enthusiastically it seemed meant to shut down my questions.

“We’re colleagues, so spare me the excessive formality. I also look forward to working with you.”

A large hand was extended toward me. I carefully took his gloved hand and raised my head. I saw the face of a handsome man emanating the chill of a winter wolf. He looked different from the Little Lamb guise I was used to.

‘What a face. Maybe because it’s been so long. This is intense.’

“Showing kindness you don’t usually display, huh?”

“Sir.”

“I didn’t teach him personally like I did you, but he’s someone I have high hopes for, so treat him well. Cornelia, don’t find him overly intimidating. There will be chances to interact across departments, so it’s useful to know each other.”

“Yes, Minister of Finance.”

My intent to press about the promotion had long since vanished from my mind.

All I could think about was avoiding facing the Duke as much as possible.

‘Is something jinxed?’

Could all of this happen in just two days?

‘You must never be found out.’

If it was noticed that I knew the Duke’s inner thoughts, who knew what would happen. The whole side job hinged on neither party knowing the other’s secret, and now one side had found out.

‘But I didn’t snoop — I only suspected because of Mr. Bull — what am I supposed to do about that!’

Worried about making things worse, I had deliberately avoided seeing Mr. Bull even at the central ministry. And yet here we were, running into each other! With his duke-level status nearing royal rank, he could easily sweep me away.

On top of that, there was territorialism to deal with.

“What’s the matter?”

“The Minister of Finance told me to revise it like this.”

“Then just do it that way.”

“What?”

“I said do it like that. Didn’t the Minister of Finance tell you to?”

Elysia snapped and grew cold whenever I asked anything, but it didn’t really affect me much.

“Yep.”

I replied and returned to my desk to refocus on work. I thought I heard a faint sigh somewhere, but it wasn’t worth dwelling on. Before I knew it, lunchtime rolled around like a wheel.

‘What will today’s menu be?’

After everyone had left and I was about to get up late, a shadow fell over my desk. Lukan Fairburn, a fellow senior scribe, stood before me.

“May I join you for lunch?”

I heard a book thud to the floor. It was Elysia. She glared sharply at me, snorted, and then stormed out.

What was that about?

“Ah, yes.”

I had a rough idea why, so I accepted. On the way down to the bureaucrats’ cafeteria, he asked me a few things.

“We look about the same age — shall we speak casually?”

“Sure.”

I didn’t decline. In K-workplace culture you don’t usually drop to casual speech first unless close, but his manner didn’t seem hostile. I’d seen him use casual speech with Elysia, and at Daijo Pinea and Nicola had spoken casually with me from the start, so it felt situational.

“How did you know the Minister of Finance was in a bad mood?”

As I suspected.

“I had a brief reason to see him this morning and visited his office; he seemed in a foul mood. I just thought there was no need to report today unless it was urgent.”

Of course, if it were good news you’d rush to report it — a perfect chance to score points. Lukan nodded as if he understood, then lowered his voice to ask carefully.

“Are you close with the Minister of Finance?”

In short: I’d been hired on recommendation — what was my relationship with him?

“I worked for another noble house; while running errands there he took a liking to me and recommended me. He said he urgently needed staff.”

He didn’t seem to know I had been an aide from the Aurelius Marquis family. Then again, since the Minister of Finance had brought me in personally, he probably had my records.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. It’s not the kind of closeness you might be imagining. I went to see him yesterday because he suddenly promoted me to senior scribe and I wanted to ask why.”

There was no real need to go into what had happened before I joined.

“Oh right. I was really surprised too.”

Perhaps because many patrons were from noble families, the staff cafeteria had maids bring dishes to the table after ordering. It was convenient not to have to stand and wait.

I ate slowly as Lukan talked. His genial face and friendly manner suggested an extrovert. He chatted easily and laughed cheerfully even when I was awkward — the textbook pleasant type.

“Anyway, thanks to that I avoided getting scolded. According to people at the Ministry of Finance, everyone who went to report yesterday got chewed out, and even small mistakes weren’t overlooked.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Smiling merchant-like Lukan began rattling off a background check I hadn’t even asked for.

“I’m Viscount Fairburn.”

A viscount? I thought bureaucratic posts usually went to daughters or younger members of families pushed out of succession — this was unexpected. He gave a knowing smile at my expression and continued.

“We’re a very rural family. Cornelia, you called your house humble, but ours isn’t much different. I felt I’d stay stuck if I stayed tied to the family, so I came to Rusera. With no connections, I wasn’t sure what to do, but I’m somewhat clever, so I took the Chancellery exam and passed. I think of working here as learning how to manage a household. It suits me better than I expected.”

He looked at me with an expectant gaze, but I returned a smile. I felt the surface-level information he’d offered was enough between people who weren’t close.

Lukan smoothly changed the subject without asking twice. He seemed perceptive and sensible.

“Anything you’re curious about? The department’s been difficult lately, but ask and I’ll answer as much as I can.”

A good offer.

“I’m curious who works in the Chancellery. I still don’t really know faces or names.”

“Right. I was baffled at first too. I expected the old man to introduce them since there’s no chancellor at the moment. But like with Leo, he showed no interest at all.”

Another mark on that pretender’s incompetence.

“I’ll explain. The Chancellery has twelve people in total: five assistant clerks, three senior scribes including you, two second-class secretaries, one first-class secretary, and the head, the chancellor.”

“That’s fewer than I thought.”

“The Chancellery makes decisions and issues orders to the lords. Each fief is managed by its own lord. The Chancellery handles the capital and major imperial administration, working from lords’ requests and compiled documents. They aren’t understaffed. Other departments are similar.”

Given the population isn’t like modern society, that made sense. Lucan continued his explanation.

“The junior scribe are Leo, Media, Hugo, Rick, and Hans — five of them. You’ll have to learn their faces yourself; it’s hard to describe.”

“That’s fine.”

“You know the senior scribes, right? Me and Elysia. Full name Elysia Langford, daughter of a Baron. She likes to work, is taciturn, hates losing, and likes things tidy. She’s been a bit prickly lately, but I don’t really know why.”

Now that I thought about it, when I handed her paperwork her desk had been unusually neat. I probably caused her prickliness.

“Above them are our seniors: second-class secretaries Victor Blackwood and Lucius Belmont. Victor looks scary but is taciturn and secretly tender. Lucius is kind.”

Giving personality traits along with names made them easier to grasp.

“And the first-class secretary, the chancellor’s direct subordinate, is Dorian Vainglory. He comes from a countly house. Everyone in the Chancellery knows him, but to put it plainly: with Chancellor Marcus stepping down and the position vacant, it seems he expects to become chancellor himself.”

It was obvious just from how he sat in the chair. Then Lukan suddenly leaned forward slightly and whispered.

“Be careful. You’re on the Minister of Finance’s line.”

Eh?

It was the first I had heard of it.