🔊 TTS Settings
| Prologue |
It wasn’t like I did those things expecting a reward.
It was simply because it was my job.
Because they were the responsibilities given to me.
I only worked hard as an imperial official, doing my duties faithfully……
“What a damn world.”
Instead of rewards, everyone around me was trying to tear me apart.
“Is that woman really her? That villainess from the Child Protection Bureau?”
“How many times has she already taken children away from perfectly fine parents?!”
“I heard three orphanages already shut down this year because of her……”
As usual, the things I heard on my way to work today were extremely colorful.
Well, let them bark and bite all they want.
I let out a scoff and opened the office door.
‘……?’
The door should have been locked, but not only was it already open, I could also sense someone inside.
‘What kind of bastard is this now.’
It was probably some thug who barged in to complain again.
Just as I stepped inside, ready to throw them out—
A completely unexpected face greeted me with a bright smile.
“……Tower Master?”
The words slipped out in disbelief.
“What brings you here so early in the morning?”
“It’s nothing special. I just had something to give you.”
The Tower Master shyly held out a bouquet of flowers, his face slightly red.
“Do you like it, Vice Director? Your office looked a little dull, so I brought these.”
His voice was incredibly soft and gentle—nothing like someone who could kill dozens of people with a single flick of his hand without even blinking.
‘It is my taste, though.’
After placing the flowers in a vase, the office really did look much brighter.
“Of course. Thank you for being considerate.”
Normally, everyone knew you should never casually accept something from a mage.
But it was only a bouquet of flowers.
What could possibly happen?
But starting the very next day, ‘things’ started happening.
The capital’s crowded streets suddenly became strangely empty whenever I went outside, and the carriages that usually clogged the roads vanished like a lie.
Even pouring rain would stop the moment I finished getting ready to leave, revealing a clear blue sky.
And the random stone I absentmindedly picked up while walking turned out to be a valuable specimen lost by the Imperial Geological Society, earning me an award certificate.
……Magic studies were basic knowledge for an excellent imperial official, so there was no way I wouldn’t recognize it.
‘This level of luck means he gathered the fortune of dozens of subordinate mages and piled it all onto me!’
This was bad.
I hadn’t done enough to deserve such a spell from that curly-haired Tower Master who kept visiting me and blushing whenever he saw me.
‘Next time, I should tell him not to give me such burdensome gifts.’
Fortunately—or unfortunately—the bouquet’s effects did not last long.
Because the subordinate of a very unwelcome person came looking for me.
“The Supreme Commander has sent you a gift!”
I pressed my throbbing forehead while staring at the proud-looking knight before me.
Again.
Not again.
I told that crazy bastard to stop showing up, and now he was sending gifts through his subordinate?!
“There’s really no need for him to keep sending gifts……”
“No, Vice Director. You solved the Supreme Commander’s greatest concern, so naturally you deserve to receive them.”
For reference, the Empire had no highly developed public ethics law like anti-bribery laws.
If it did, I would have used it as an excuse to refuse these things long ago!
But since nothing like that existed, I had no choice but to keep accepting and piling up the gifts this bastard kept sending me.
The bigger problem was—
“Wait a second. This is……”
“That’s right.”
The knight grinned.
“I knew you would like it.”
“……”
I was speechless.
Because I really did like it.
This pendant, made from a dragon’s claw, granted resistance against most powerful magic.
“The Supreme Commander personally obtained this protective item for you, so please carry it with you whenever possible.”
“Wait, personally obtained it? From where?”
“From a dragon’s nest, of course.”
……Has this crazy bastard actually lost his mind?
“He suffered rather severe burns in the process, but he’s recovering well, so there’s no need to worry! The moment he regained consciousness after only three days, the first thing he did was make sure your gift was delivered, hahaha.”
The problem was that it wasn’t only the Supreme Commander and the Tower Master constantly visiting my office.
“It’s been a while, Vice Director.”
“……Y-Your Grace, the Grand Duke.”
“You didn’t miss me at all?”
Why would I miss you?
You’re the hidden mastermind constantly dreaming of rebellion even now!
“I’m hurt you never contacted me. My younger sibling misses you so much they cry every night looking for you……”
“Your sibling?”
That was strange. The last time I saw them, they were extremely cheerful and lively.
“Yes. To the point they’ve stopped eating.”
“Did you call a doctor?”
“I called every famous physician in the Empire.”
Well, if it was the Grand Duke of Kardicha, the man said to hold power over life and death, he could probably summon every famous doctor not just in the Empire, but across the entire continent.
“It seems my sibling’s condition will only improve after seeing you, so I came personally.”
“W-Well, I’m currently working right now……”
“Then could you visit my residence briefly after work? You don’t need to stay long. Just comfort my sibling for a little while.”
I only nodded obediently, yet a lazy and arrogant smile appeared on the usually cold Grand Duke’s face.
‘I got tricked.’
Realizing I had fallen for it again, I tightly shut my eyes.
‘That fox-like bastard……!’
