Chapter: 307
I felt like I was about to run away, pretending I wasn’t be about to become a big-shot minister serving the King Munjong. But I got caught when the Crown Princess insisted I stay for a meal. I can’t really say no to an invitation to eat, can I?
Honestly, I could politely decline. It feels a bit heavy to have breakfast at someone else’s house, and the Crown Princess was probably just being polite. However, considering the last thing we discussed was something like “You’re practically a slave to pass on to my child,” how could I just run away?
It’s unfortunate that our last conversation was like that, as it would mean the Crown Prince and Crown Princess would continue discussing this, and the talk of slavery and inheritance might accidentally turn from an offhand remark into an actual plan. I had to stop that.
“Starting the day together feels like becoming family. This is really quite reassuring.”
The Crown Prince’s words made my teeth grind. What a cheeky thing to say, acting all familial—what a jerk.
“Your words are too kind. How can you say something like that to a mere servant?”
“No matter how much of a servant you are, after spending so much time together, you’re almost family. I firmly believe the Executive Manager will become that family for our royal family.”
The shivers went down my spine even more. Did he just suggest that I’d be fed and put to work like a slave? How evil. If you get reincarnated, I hope you become someone’s boss.
“Who knows? We might really become family.”
With the Crown Princess confirming his words, I could only awkwardly smile. Sadly, compared to the horrific talk from the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess’s words were actually kind of realistic.
From her perspective, I was close with the late Vice-Captain, so I would seem reliable. And for the Crown Prince’s side, I belonged to the family that had sworn loyalty to the Empire for 300 years. Considering the issues with the current Empress and the Imperial Family for various reasons, I might actually be a decent choice.
But I don’t want that. I’m already going crazy, so how much more pain would I go through if tied to the royal family? It would probably lead to an excessive concentration of power in one family, and there would be checks—
‘That could be good?’
Wait, thinking about it, wouldn’t checks be a good thing? What better reason could there be to submit my resignation?
Suddenly, a sense of calm washed over me. Even so, I’d still feel guilty to push for a political marriage, so I’d prefer if one of my kids turned out to be attractive enough to win over a royal… it’s fine if a royal is entranced by my child.
“Bee is right. The Executive Manager’s family is bound to flourish, so it’s possible that the Executive Manager’s child could be tied to the royal family.”
That’s strange. It’s the same words as the Crown Princess, but coming from the Crown Prince, they sound so sinister. It seems like the messenger really matters more than the message.
“By the way, I envy the Executive Manager. With so many wives, you must feel a lot more happiness watching your children.”
Seeing the Crown Prince laugh, I understood it all too well. Yes, the messenger really matters. If someone else had said it, I’d have taken it as a compliment, but since he said it, it felt like a provocation.
But what can I do? With his status being so intimidating, I can’t straight-up curse him out, and since the Crown Princess is here, I hesitate to take a jab at him. So, I can only pretend to smile and endure.
Still, thanks to that comment about wives, I now had someone who could step in to speak for me even if I didn’t.
“Do you mean that it’s better to have fewer wives, which means you feel less happiness?”
That voice was oddly cold compared to before. Thanks to that, the Crown Prince’s smile froze.
‘Idiot.’
My heart completely eased. He really should have watched his mouth.
With a lighter heart, I finished my meal and made my escape from the Crown Prince’s Palace. Although there was a little moment that might upset the Crown Princess, I could enjoy the sight of her rage directed entirely at the Crown Prince, so I felt pretty good about it.
What a foolish guy. It’s a grand suicide to mention his number of wives when he only has one. Other people could misunderstand him as saying he’s envious because others have lots of wives. Regrettably—no, sadly—the Crown Princess was one of those people who misunderstood.
With this incident, I hope the Crown Prince learns not to speak so carelessly. They say the mouth is a door that invites calamity, don’t they?
‘He probably will.’
I mean, he just committed a ridiculous act of self-sabotage right now, but considering he survived the crazy assassination attempts of the Second Prince faction before his crowning, he’s probably someone who knows how to watch his tongue better than anyone.
But thinking about it like that just makes me mad. It means he got so caught up in teasing me that he dropped his guard. What a real lunatic.
‘You bastard.’
Anyway, I could easily shake off the negativity.
“Executive Manager!”
I couldn’t just ponder the Crown Prince when I was finally seeing the Second Manager after a long time.
Coming out of the Masalo family mansion was the Second Manager. On weekdays, I’d have had to go all the way to the Information Department to see him, but thankfully he was home today since it was the weekend. I was worried he might have been working on the weekend—thank goodness he wasn’t.
“How have you been?”
Waving my hand at the Second Manager, I greeted him with a friendly smile.
“I called you yesterday, didn’t I? Of course, I’ve been well!”
“Contact and meeting are two different things, though.”
Upon hearing that, the Second Manager chuckled and poked me in the side. I guess my recent comment was amusing to him.
“Hehe, still, it’s difficult for you to come all the way to the Capital just to see me, you know? Isn’t our Executive Manager not adapting to the Academy?”
Sorry, but I’m doing just fine. Unlike last year, I had up to Third Model working for me, so it made things way easier. Honestly, the thought of the Capital was starting to feel a bit hazy.
Of course, if I told the Second Manager that, I’d be facedown in bed whining, so I kept it to myself.
“I came to see the Crown Princess.”
I wasn’t trying to hide the truth either. If it weren’t for the news about the Crown Princess, I wouldn’t have made today’s trip.
“Wow, is the royal family more important than your girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
The Second Manager pouted, pretending to be hurt while I gave my terse reply. But my brevity made both of us burst into laughter.
Well, the royal family is definitely more important. After all, they’re the ones paying our salaries.
“Well, since you came all the way to the mansion, I’ll let it slide!”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
The Second Manager seemed to not really be too upset after all, crossing his arms as if to let it go. After all, he was the one who informed me about the Crown Princess’s pregnancy, so he probably expected that I would come to the Capital today.
“Let’s get inside! It’s still cold in the morning!”
With a bright smile, the Second Manager took my arm and led me into the mansion.
*
Humming away, I prepared snacks. It was something that could have been done by a maid, but since it had been a while since I last saw the Executive Manager, I wanted to do it myself. It’s said that a lover should prepare something by hand to make a bigger impression.
Truth be told, I wanted to prepare a meal instead of just snacks, but my skills weren’t quite up to that level yet, so I had to let that hope go. I couldn’t sacrifice such a precious meal just for a little adventure. Even if the Executive Manager was someone who could eat anything, I still wanted to give them something delicious.
‘Should I learn some baking too?’
I thought seriously, gazing at the treats on the plate.
The Executive Manager must have eaten plenty of sweets made by Louise, and recently, Beatrix said she started making cookies too. Am I really going to give treats made by someone else when other lovers are giving homemade ones? There’s no way I wouldn’t end up comparing.
Alright, if I find the time, I should make an effort to learn. Beatrix learned quickly, so why wouldn’t I be able to?
“Is black tea okay?”
“Don’t you usually ask before offering that?”
I pouted at the harsh reply. At this point, a “Anything you give is fine” response was what I was expecting.
“Just give me whatever works.”
Well, I could let that pass since it is a somewhat similar answer.
Yeah, it’s demanding too much to expect a younger sibling to pick up on more sophisticated responses. I’ll let it slide this time.
“It’s nice to see some store-bought items for a change.”
When I placed down the snacks, the Executive Manager smiled slightly, which made my heart drop.
He was probably just joking rather than criticizing, but hearing that while I was already stressed about baking made me feel a bit anxious.
‘Time to hit the books.’
Once the Executive Manager leaves, I’m starting immediately. I won’t just wait for the opportunity; I’ll make it happen.
“Store-bought snacks are steady in taste, after all.”
“That’s true.”
I answered nonchalantly. If I looked flustered here, the Executive Manager would feel awkward too.
“By the way, Penelia is coming back before dinner.”
I casually opened my mouth to the Executive Manager, who was sipping tea. Since I was saying this, it was clear I’d be heading to meet Penelia in the afternoon too, but it was also true the Executive Manager hasn’t seen her in a while.
“Really? She’s coming back faster than I expected?”
“Dragons are tricky to deal with, but their blood isn’t hard to extract.”
Surprisingly, Penelia and Mukgwangdae were carrying out a domestic mission instead of heading north. They were currently collecting what are considered high-grade magical materials: dragon blood.
Getting dragon blood involves poking through their scales, which isn’t something just anyone can do, but once you manage that, it’s a quick job to finish. With Penelia’s abilities, she could handle it quickly and come back.
“Did you say they were working with four this time?”
“Yes. Penelia was in charge of the dragons near the Capital, while other teams handled the rest.”
The Executive Manager nodded calmly to that. By the way, poor Penelia has a lot of work on her hands. It’ll be a hassle even dealing with one dragon, but here she is managing four.
Still, it’s a good thing that there were only ten dragons living near the Capital like in the past, right?
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