Chapter 465
Since I was already at the Imperial Palace, I decided to pop over to the Ministry of Finance headquarters. Erich Pine was extremely busy with preparations for the establishment of the Information Department, so I figured it was best to visit occasionally so he wouldn’t feel neglected. After all, it’s usually the one having fun who should visit the busy one, right?
“Did the Executive Manager give you advice?”
“Well, it turned out that way.”
As soon as I joined the duo, I filled them in on the encounter I had with the Emperor. It wasn’t exactly classified information, so sharing this much was perfectly fine.
“Being the Crown Princess’s mentor and all, that’s quite impressive.”
“Mentor? I’ll just be adjusting the posture a bit from the side.”
I shook my head at the sight of Erich dramatically clapping and chuckling. Since the Emperor personally made the request, I would offer some advice but actual teaching was out of the question. I wasn’t exactly gifted at soft teaching.
Of course, I could probably throw Ainter around like I did with the Mukgwangdae back in the day, but making a young lord and member of the royal family roll around like that was a bit too much. If he got hurt, it would be embarrassing for everyone involved.
“Well, I might pull in Erich too. Since they’re about the same age, wouldn’t it be good for them to train together?”
Besides, there were already two club members diligently practicing swordsmanship in the bakery club. There was no reason for me to take charge of Ainter all by myself.
Though it would be unreasonable to completely back out since the Emperor handpicked me—Erich and Rutis weren’t the types to ignore a chance for their friend to train. My workload would be relatively light.
“Please stop making that annoying bishop!”
“Don’t worry, this time it’s the Knight!”
If Rutis ended up taking over, I could imagine Ainter grabbing his neck in frustration. That guy could perfectly land a tea bag on anyone, regardless of who it was.
“If Your Highness teaches him, Duke Idripen will surely become an outstanding warrior.”
In that moment, Pine, who had quietly been listening to me, nodded decisively. It looked like she was reminiscing about her past under my guidance.
I felt a bit awkward. While Pine and the Mukgwangdae grew significantly under my mentorship, the truth was their talents were remarkable too. If I had trained an average peasant, they’d probably just now be at the stage of skilled artisans.
“I hope so. If Duke Idripen marries the Baroness from Barandi, it would be easier for him to live in the North if he’s recognized as a warrior, right?”
However, I didn’t want to ruin Pine’s beautiful memories. Let’s just chalk it up to my excellent teaching skills.
Just as I said that, I planted a kiss on Pine’s cheek, and she shivered, bringing her lips to my cheek in return.
‘Oh my.’
For a second, I almost cried out of excitement. Pine, who once was so shy about physical contact that she could compete with Trixie, now was able to reciprocate naturally. It was a sign our time together hadn’t been wasted.
“Oh! You’re so sneaky doing this by yourself!”
Prompted by this historic exchange, Erich pressed his lips against my opposite cheek.
Thank goodness people have two cheeks!
“Oh right, Executive Manager.”
While we were lost in this cheek-pecking spree, Erich seemed to suddenly remember something.
“We’ll be staying at the Information Department headquarters starting next week instead of the Ministry of Finance.”
“Oh.”
I couldn’t help but admire this development.
It was natural for the Information Department to have its own headquarters, but they had been squatting with the Ministry of Finance until their formal establishment. This meant that any staff from the Ministry of Intelligence who needed to attend to the Information Department had to come all the way to the Finance headquarters, just like Pine beside me now.
But now, finally, the Information Department was getting its own headquarters. The Finance and Intelligence staff would be able to operate from the same place, and I could escape the teasing about being a parasite from the Minister each time they saw me.
‘Super parasite escape, here I come.’
I was finally going to be a legitimate host now.
“I took a brief look the other day, and the underground area is wider than the ground level.”
“They went all out assigning it.”
A smirk crept onto my lips at Erich’s words.
The underground—it’s a place outsiders would have a tough time figuring out. Even if someone invaded the Information Department headquarters, the underground would be hard to reach. Without the blueprints, they couldn’t see the underground from the outside.
So if the underground is indeed more expansive than the ground level, it’s practically a fortress. The Information Department Minister was actually more of a fortress commander.
“So this means we can finally make the torture room spacious, right? We had to make do with a cramped one in the Ministry of Finance.”
“You’ll need the Information Department Head’s permission for that.”
“Ugh…”
Erich, who instinctively wanted to slip in a request, pouted, frustrated at her failure.
But it was unavoidable. Even though Erich may be my future wife, she was going to be part of the Information Department, and it would be wrong to bypass the department head for the Information Department’s tasks. That would only create awkward tension with the department head right when the Information Department was launching.
Even though the situation and the Emperor had ridiculously boosted my authority, the department head wouldn’t dare show discontent outwardly. However, I still wouldn’t think of dismissing someone at that level.
‘We can’t create the impression that the Minister is involved in every single task.’
This is serious. If such an atmosphere permeated the whole Information Department, it would go kaput in no time. The department heads of the Information Department surely wouldn’t appreciate being overlooked in favor of the Minister’s signature.
‘Yikes.’
Just the thought of it sent chills down my spine.
‘I’ll delegate as much work as possible to the department heads.’
I would play as much as I could.
This is a conviction I wouldn’t sacrifice even if the sky fell.
“Um, Sir. The Special Duty Department is also planning to create a training ground…”
“Oh, just report back after Pine sets everything up.”
“Th-thank you.”
As Pine carefully opened her mouth, having witnessed Erich’s request get shot down in lightning speed, I agreed to Pine’s request immediately.
“Why the preferential treatment!”
Erich yelled, looking pitiful, but I didn’t feel the least bit guilty.
“Pine is a department head, so she only needs my approval.”
If you have a problem, why don’t you become the department head for a change?
At that, Erich’s eyes darted around, and she quietly closed her mouth.
It seemed she had come to the conclusion that landing a department head position was a crazy idea after all.
*
I trained at the practice grounds as usual today.
But while my body moved in a routine manner, my heart was a different story; it swung violently and couldn’t regain its calm.
Such a pathetic state where my mind and body weren’t in sync. Can I even call myself a warrior like this?
“Hah.”
In the end, I stopped swinging my sword and plopped down in a corner of the practice grounds, letting out a sigh. Training with this mindset would only lead to going down a twisted path.
‘What should I do…’
Resting my forehead against the hilt of my sword, I let out a second sigh. What on earth am I going to do?
I felt like I was going nuts. I had no idea how to face both Serra and Zenobia unscathed.
This wasn’t a case where I didn’t know how to reply to their confessions. Following my brother’s advice, I decided to take my time and respond carefully. They, too, wouldn’t appreciate a hasty response.
But the real problem lay elsewhere. Ever since I got those confessions, I lost my confidence in treating them casually.
‘How do I treat them like I used to?’
Acting normally with someone who likes me as a person? That’s just ungracious. They might think I’m dismissing their feelings and rejecting them lightly.
Worst of all, I can’t even be casual with them anymore. Knowing they harbor feelings for me makes it all so tense, I can barely meet their eyes and hear their voices.
The brilliant blonde hair of Serra, her sapphire-like blue eyes, the soft silver hair of Zenobia, and her ruby-red gaze—
“Your Grace.”
“Huh, huh?”
Startled by the knight’s call, I jolted my head up.
“Lady Serra has arrived.”
I almost bowed all the way down out of instinct.
With the most deliberate slow steps, I moved forward. I had heard Serra was with her nanny, so I should just head to the nanny’s room, but I could barely muster the courage to go confidently.
To put it frankly, I lacked the courage to face the nanny, either.
Serra was open about her feelings for me from the start, and her nanny must have known, too. But what would go through her mind seeing her only daughter’s crush being oblivious through it all? I can’t imagine how much she must have been exasperated and looked down on me during this time.
Should I just run away? If I lack the courage, I could just hold out until I can gather some guts.
“Where are you going?”
As I turned to escape the reality before my eyes, I heard Serra’s voice.
Crap, I’m totally caught! Looks like I’ll be penalized as a criminal now.
“Uh, just heading to the bathroom…”
“Really? Do you want me to go with you?”
“Actually, thinking about it, I don’t think I need to go.”
In a flash, I surrendered, and Serra grinned, linking arms with me.
Suddenly, I felt my hands and feet start to twitch from the sensation on my arm.
How strange. I could comfortably link arms with a friend, but thinking about it as something romantic sends my body into mayhem.
“Let’s hurry. I brought cake to share!”
“Uh, yeah, sure.”
Dragged along by the weaker Serra, I resumed my steps.
Then I suddenly had a thought about how fortunate I was that Zenobia was currently a Countess. If she were a direct heir like Serra, she would have dropped by our territory unexpectedly, just as Serra was doing now.
Sighing in relief, I thought, “This is what they mean by count your blessings…”
“Since Zenobia sent it, let’s eat it while it’s delicious.”
But I froze at Serra’s words. While Zenobia was physically at the Capital, her spirit seemed to have come along with the cake.
Moreover, Serra had started referring to her as ‘Zenobia sister’ instead of ‘Count Your Grace.’ When did that ever change?
‘What happened behind my back that I don’t know about?’
I felt anxious. Just what kinds of discussions had they shared while I spent these days in silence?
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.