49

I hurried back to the office so the pompous fellow wouldn’t turn around.

“Crown Prince.”

He was more strikingly handsome than I expected. Maybe because he was the Duke’s cousin? His good looks seemed almost hereditary.

‘But I’m not bad either.’

Though poor, the siblings of the Libertas family were also attractive. In any case, the Crown Prince had the silver hair and tall stature many romance protagonists have. Small details like his eye color or nose bridge couldn’t be seen from that distance.

‘His name was Lawrence.’

I wasn’t particularly interested in the power elite, but before joining the Chancellery it was helpful to know my employer’s family tree, so I kept a rough mental note. There were three half-siblings: Lawrence, the Empress’s only son; Raven, the second prince by the Imperial Consort; and Princess Reiana. The emperor was allowed multiple wives, yet surprisingly only kept one concubine. Less to memorize suited me fine.

“We reorganized the evaluation reports.”

Carrying tea back to the parlor, Lukan took the tray and said as he lifted it.

While everyone drank tea, we looked over the tampered evaluation forms spread on the table. A company that should have been at the bottom was almost at a perfect score.

“We couldn’t bring ourselves to lower the other companies’ scores, so we just gave more points to this one.”

Given the effort they put into applications and interview prep, I might have done the same. Watching it, I felt a slight sense of disillusionment.

‘I was that desperate when I prepared for jobs and interviews too.’

Thinking my effort was merely a prop for someone already chosen made me uncharacteristically irritated. Just then, the pompous fellow strolled in at an unhurried pace.

“All done?”

His snake-like eyes scanned the evaluations. He gave a satisfied smile, then neatly gathered the forms.

“You should’ve done it this way from the start. Such a hassle.”

For some reason I felt as if he glanced at me with a sneer.

“……”

He walked out and the door closed. Everyone just stood there quietly.

“So, Mimi asked me to come over to her place!”

“I’m having a spinning-top duel with Ricardo tomorrow!”

Although newly enrolled at the academy, fortunately Julie and Rio adapted as if they’d been waiting for it. Maybe because they had the Minister of Finance’s patronage, they weren’t persecuted or ostracized for being poor.

The Minister of Finance didn’t come to see the siblings, but he provided their recommendation letters and tuition as scholarships. I paid the entrance fee myself out of the generous severance I’d received, for conscience’s sake.

“They’re excited.”

Marcella said as he placed a steaming stew in front of his siblings.

“You seem the same way, big brother.”

His complexion was livelier than before. It was believable to say his lost teenage years were returning.

“Ahem. I won’t deny it.”

Marcella had barely enrolled before catching the eye of a certain noble and was reportedly receiving private lessons. When I asked who it was, he said they refused to say and told him not to think about anything unrelated to swordsmanship. Still, the tutor was said to be an exceptional swordsman. If someone can enter the academy, their identity is probably vetted. I just hoped they wouldn’t suddenly demand tuition.

“Swordsmanship turned out to be more fun than I thought.”

“That’s good to hear.”

I had sent him to the academy partly so he wouldn’t spend his life slaving on construction sites—if he was going to work, he might as well earn more—and it seemed a good fit. His glossy hair and skin, even through hard training, proved it.

“But why the long face? You didn’t even do overtime today.”

He sat across from me, scrutinized my face, and frowned.

“Me?”

Oh—apparently the mood I’d felt at the Chancellery lingered after work. For the record, everyone assumes my late returns are due to overtime from a side job.

‘If only I could switch work and home modes better, I’d be less stressed.’

“I don’t know what’s up, but if you have worries, do what you want. I don’t like that thanks to you we get to do things but you’re the only one who can’t.”

His gruff consolation made me snort-laugh.

“What if we get on the Minister of Finance’s bad side and he withdraws academy support?”

Marcella raised and lowered his eyebrows as if it weren’t a big deal.

“Consider it an academy experience. Or we earn money later and re-enroll. You can go somewhere else easily.”

“Easier said than done.”

I took a spoonful of the meat stew, then put the spoon down again. I had no appetite today. Seeing that, Marcella breathed out softly.

“Coco.”

“Yes?”

“You said you are not really Cornelia. If you’re not, why care so much?”

“……”

I was caught off guard and couldn’t say anything. My mind went blank. I hadn’t expected that question at all. But Marcella remained composed.

“No matter what nonsense you spout, Julie, Rio, and I don’t intend to be a burden to you. So do as you want—just don’t commit crimes.”

Having said his piece, Marcella scooped a big mouthful of stew and shoved it in.

“…What is he saying.”

Somehow I felt noticeably lighter.

The boss of the TWCR who had shaken off the previous day’s sobering reality, had to fight hard to suppress her sudden urge to quit as soon as she arrived at work.

“Have the attendant deliver these documents. And pick up some snacks on the way.”

“Sorry?”

“Don’t use the communication artifact, set up a meeting with the Ministry of Finance.”

“Sorry?”

“The meeting minutes look a bit skewed, redo them.”

“Yes?”

The pompous fellow not only delegated work to the senior scribes but also nitpicked ridiculous things, forcing already completed minutes to be rewritten. I instinctively knew.

‘I’ve been targeted.’

It was surely because I protested an evaluation during the company selection. I was annoyed by the Minister of Finance’s recommendation to begin with, and apparently I really got on someone’s bad side. The senior scribes and seniors, who’d been flustered at first, clicked their tongues once they guessed what happened.

“Should I tell the Minister of Finance?”

Senior Lucius offered, but I refused.

“Let’s wait and see. If he’s placated, I’ll quit.”

A month passed like that. Nothing changed. Maybe it annoyed him that I completed even huge workloads and still left on time. From my view, he probably didn’t have the intelligence to notice sloppy work anyway. Still, I was getting tired—main tasks existed, yet petty errands kept being piled on. But as a seasoned K-company worker, I took it in stride.

‘In one ear and out the other. I’m a working machine. Machines have no emotions.’

Actually, that was the surest way to make someone furious. They’d be satisfied if I showed struggle or hardship, but I acted unaffected. Every time I felt the pompous fellow glare at me with a strained expression, there was a strange pleasure.

Senior Lucius clicked his tongue and said a particularly harsh junior had arrived. But it was true I was getting more exhausted than usual office life would demand.

“Cornelia, let’s go get snacks.”

Lukan grabbed my hand while I had my head buried in paperwork. I still had tasks to finish if I wanted to leave on time, but giving the desk a lingering look, I left the Chancellery.

“Ask the junior scribes. The senior scribes have a lot of work right now.”

The staff canteen always stocked bread and tea for employees. I liked that this world wasn’t stingy with food.

“Let’s be clear—you have a lot of work.”

“Is that so?”

I bit into a cookie and answered. He furrowed his brow as if at a loss about me and began filling a basket with snacks.

“You never move outside for lunch, so I thought we’d step out for some fresh air.”

“That’s fine.”

“Are you really going to keep being like this?”

With a cookie in my mouth I suddenly craved sugar. I piled the basket mostly with cream-topped pastries. Lucan went pale.

“Cornelia, st-stop filling it!”

“Don’t worry. I promise. They’ll disappear into my mouth before I leave.”

“Cornelia.”

I knew his urging wasn’t about the piled snacks, but I couldn’t give the answer he wanted.

“Will you at least apologize?”

“If necessary, I can. Whatever the truth is.”

A response befitting the head of a family.

“I’m not at fault.”

“I know, but you can’t go on like this forever.”

Maybe he was actually offering a more efficient approach to the situation: how to blend into the Chancellery without expending too much energy. That’s how I’d managed workplace life too.

“Lukan, luckily he, no, the first-grade secretary doesn’t do that to others. I’m getting by in a way that suits me.”

But since coming into this world, questions popped up in my mind: will I live the same here? Will only my location change while I act unchanged?

I didn’t want that. Not that I wanted to go wild, but I was curious what would happen if I did things I’d wanted to but couldn’t before.

“If I get worn out, I’ll collapse on my own. Thanks for worrying.”

Maybe realizing more talk wouldn’t help, he stopped bringing up the pompous fellow. We walked toward the central ministry exchanging small talk to ease the awkwardness, when a desperate voice called out somewhere. Turning, we saw someone arguing with a soldier.

“I’m just so curious… please, just once!”

“If you don’t have a prior appointment, civilians can’t enter. How on earth did you get into the Imperial Palace? Please go back!”

The man didn’t give up and kept trying to persuade the soldier.

‘He looks familiar.’

“Isn’t that the head of the construction guild we interviewed?”

As Lukan finished speaking, the man wildly waved his hands at us.

“Oh dear, sirs! Please! Just tell us why we were eliminated! We prepared harder than anyone else!”

His disheveled hair, sweat pouring like rain, and wrinkled suit, coupled with the desperate expression and gestures of the boss, left Lukan and me speechless.

‘Shit……’