55

For a moment, Vespera and the Minister of Finance’s eyes met. The Minister of Finance understood well that this was the burden he, as the superior here, had to bear.

‘I removed Marcus’s lackey; this is the least that should be done.’

“After Chancellor Marcus’s resignation created a personnel gap, I brought in senior scribe Cornelia.”

“A senior scribe, huh. I expected at least a 2nd-rank secretary.”

The Minister of Finance had to report that Cornelia did not have the Crown Prince as backing. Of course, even though he knew and had acted intentionally to remove someone, reporting it that way would make life in the Imperial Palace easier going forward.

“I was also surprised by that girl’s loyalty to the royal household. She said it was a construction project that could be tied to the royal honor, went to the contractor herself, carefully revised the contract, and accidentally discovered this fact. She reported it to me immediately, and the Supreme Justice and I verified the evidence.”

“Then why did it leak to the press first?”

The Emperor did not like that. But the Minister of Finance had an answer prepared. He had the seasoned experience of over ten years in the post.

“My fault. While discussing the matter with the Supreme Justice, it seems information leaked to reporters. Still, I made sure there was no mention of royal involvement or the Crown Prince. The scribe says she didn’t expect things to blow up like this and is terribly worried about sullying Your Majesty’s honor.”

The Emperor’s mouth twitched into a small smile.

“He’s a child who ran around for me, so he shouldn’t be blamed. Honestly, I knew the Crown Prince was getting funds through the Chancellery, but I didn’t know it was this bad. Sigh. Political funds shouldn’t be made that way. When will he learn? It’s lucky it was exposed before the new construction began.”

“I’m grateful you see it that way.”

“How admirable. I’m curious what kind of child he is, perhaps we should—”

“It would be best to quickly calm public sentiment. Otherwise you’ll only hand prey to the nobles.”

Vespera hurriedly changed the subject. Excessive attention from a powerful figure is not good. Fortunately, the Emperor nodded without comment.

“Yes. The Gaho Bridge incident is truly horrific. Send generous consolation payments to the bereaved and attend to any inconveniences. Reinvestigate all previous projects and rework any with defects. Cancel the contract with the contractor that performed substandard work and embezzled from the treasury, and execute the ringleaders and anyone who knows the inside story.”

“I will carry out the orders.”

Vespera forced a bitter smile inwardly, seeing how the supposedly good ruler was conveniently excluding punishment for his own son.

“Fire the 1st-rank secretary for corruption and cancel the contract with the company Rinus. According to the contract, make a new agreement with the next highest-rated contractor from those interviewed.”

“Yes, understood.”

The Minister of Finance conveyed the decision to the Chancellery himself instead of sending someone. I busied myself restraining the smile that wanted to creep up.

“The Chancellery has had a rough time lately, but now it’s only a matter of normalization. Everyone, be diligent in your roles. We’ll soon replenish staff and reassign duties, so hang in there a bit longer.”

At that moment, the Minister of Finance met my eyes and gave me a wink.

‘What the…’

It felt a bit off, but I decided to take it as his expression of joy at removing Marcus’s lackey. I’ll visit soon to ask how it was handled.

At this point, the pompous fellow would have a hard time surviving. Well, he has some backing and a solid family, so maybe it’ll stop at dismissal. In any case, I felt I could now go to work in peace and found myself humming.

That mood lasted until after work. I skipped my side job today and invited Nicola and Pinea to my home.

“You… know how to cook?”

“A little.”

Living alone without a guardian, cooking was essential to save money. It wasn’t fancy dishes with expensive ingredients, but I tried to eat healthily with cheap seasonal produce. Though I did it on and off.

Marcella, Rio, and Julie hovered around, looking at me with curiosity.

“Sister, this is a dish I’ve never seen before — what is it?”

“…I just looked at the ingredients and made it. Eat.”

To Julie, I wanted to be curt like with Marcella — ‘Do you think I can cook this world’s food?’ — but the words wouldn’t come out. Annoyingly, Marcella snickered beside me.

“Set the plates and cutlery.”

“All right.”

“Sis, sis! What should I do?”

Rio, who had brightened since entering the academy, was very excited that guests were coming to the house.

“Then wipe the table clean, okay? When Pinea and Nicola arrive, greet them nicely.”

“Okay! I will greet people properly now!”

His awkward but earnest attempts at manners learned from class were adorable. A healthy child is the best, after all.

‘I want him to get better soon. Relying only on medicine makes me uneasy… Rio has to recover to become independent. He’s trying to become independent quickly.’

“We’re here!”

Pinea and Nicola came in carrying their arms full of things.

“What are you bringing all this for? I’m the one who invited you.”

“Because I’m so touched that someone as prickly about privacy as you invited us, what else?”

In fact, I had been to Pinea and Nicola’s homes several times; they’d often invited me to dinner.

But I was reluctant to invite coworkers into my home. I’d shown my family and private life to others before, and when relationships sour, the wounds that remain are considerable.

‘They helped me a lot in the Rinus matter.’

They followed me despite the danger, stood guard, and helped with the operation. Without them, the infiltration would never have succeeded. I wanted to treat them properly.

“It’s new snacks from Daijo. Share them with the siblings.”

Nicola handed over a large basket and greeted my brother and siblings. Marcella stared quietly at Nicola, then nodded and shook hands.

The room was a single space, but we clustered around the table and began to eat.

“You really made all this, Coco?”

“Delicious!”

I didn’t know how to cook the local cuisine and there were no Korean ingredients here, so I made pasta, soup, and a modern-style tonkatsu; the reaction was good. I used money from my side job to buy high-quality ingredients, which made it tastier.

“Wow, you never made this before? Coco, that’s harsh.”

Marcella said this as he shoved a piece of tonkatsu into his mouth.

“I will make it often when I have time.”

I had no real excuse not to, so I said it. But Julie actually objected.

“No. Sister is always busy. Either I or our brother will cook.”

“Julie! How could you…?”

Marcella looked at me with eyes full of betrayal. Why at me…?

“That’s right. Sister has thin arms like this; she can’t do both work and cooking. She’s always working overtime. Brother doesn’t work now; he’s studying.”

“Rio, even you…!”

Seeing this, Pinea and Nicola burst out laughing.

“Your siblings have personalities similar to yours, Coco.”

“Similar to me…?”

“Yes. The way they speak so bluntly is just like you, Coco.”

“…Oh… really?”

For a moment, I didn’t know how to answer and was speechless. It didn’t make sense that they resembled me, but hearing it warmed my chest in a heavy way.

“Of course. They’re family.”

Marcella wrapped his arm around my head and suddenly tried a headlock, leaving me no room to think of anything else.

“Aagh, hey, aren’t you going to let go? Do you want to kill me?”

“Think of it as affection for your sibling.”

Nicola said, watching the scene.

“You all get along well as siblings.”

“Indeed.”

“That’s not it!”

My protest went unheard as the evening meal continued.

The pompous fellow’s dismissal led to a peaceful work life. Unnecessary workloads decreased and I no longer had to be on edge, which was a relief. Assistant scribe, senior scribe, and secretaries all showed excitement at his absence.

“Really, is it us now?”

Lukan’s vague words of consolation became reality and returned to the head of the construction guild. He was so moved that he thanked us repeatedly.

“Thank you, thank you. We will truly make it the best road in the Seraphina Empire…!”

Watching him, I felt not so much pride as a bitter thought that the other contractors hurt by corrupt companies might have felt the same.

“Then, we’ll be counting on you.”

“We will do our best.”

With Senior Lucius’s greeting and signatures on the newly drafted contract, the avenue construction was finalized. At that moment, assistant scribe Leo burst into the interview room and shouted.

“There’s been an announcement of Chancellery personnel transfers on the central ministries’ bulletin board!”

“Personnel transfers?”

From the Minister of Finance’s earlier words, we had expected changes due to vacancies. The Chancellery staff rushed en masse to the central ministries’ bulletin board on the first floor, where people from other departments had gathered and were buzzing.

But for some reason, there were prickling looks directed at me. As I moved forward, people politely made a path.

‘What’s this about.’

When I looked at the board, even I couldn’t help freezing.