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Chapter 4 …
Carlyle carefully controlled his expression as he replied,
“Ah, do both.”
Because supervisors, by nature, are the kind of beings who, if you hand them only one thing, immediately say, “Why didn’t you bring the other one too?”
But Leila’s questions didn’t stop there.
“Is it enough to simply determine the numbers? Or do we also need to derive some kind of meaning?”
“I’ll draw the conclusions myself, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
As Carlyle answered, he nearly clutched his chest.
‘What exactly is this feeling?’
His heart was pounding.
Faster than when he drank three cups of coffee!
‘I checked Leila Lowell’s background, but she’s never worked anywhere before.’
And yet she was this sharp?
Then there was only one conclusion.
‘She’s got sense.’
His heart… was beating like it would burst.
To an outside observer, it might have looked as though he had fallen in love at first sight.
Yuriana Crosswell and Seamus Finley also immediately understood Leila Lowell’s question.
And the four of them threw themselves into the work without pause…
“That should do.”
Carlyle accepted the organized materials the three had compiled and gave a nod.
It was truly perfect groundwork for the final report.
That was at 5:40 PM.
“You may leave first. No need for additional overtime.”
At his declaration, Yuriana’s eyes sparkled as she bowed at a perfect 90 degrees.
“Thank you very much! Good work today!”
Seamus merely gave a dissatisfied-looking nod.
“……”
And Leila Lowell…
“Goodbye, then.”
After giving a crisp farewell, she flowed out of the office as naturally as water.
That was at 6:10 PM.
Carlyle was so moved he nearly collapsed to the floor.
‘Leila Lowell… what on earth is she?’
Never before had his heart raced from such a positive emotion.
And for the dead-last trainee of the entire 218th class, whom he had expected absolutely nothing from!
‘……I need to look into Lowell immediately.’
At that moment, Carlyle thought:
Perhaps this… might be fate.
Imperial Palace bureaucrats at the team leader level were permitted to have personal secretaries.
While assigning department work to them was prohibited, minor errands could be freely delegated.
Thus, nobles often simply employed their family retainers as personal secretaries.
Cedric Lorrington, Carlyle’s retainer and secretary, was one such case…
[The Dirt Spoon Department handles too much classified information, so I’ll manage it myself.]
While other nobles often crossed lines by dumping excessive errands or work on their aides, Carlyle was meticulous in that regard.
As a result, Cedric had unintentionally been loafing around while collecting his salary. Not that he minded, of course!
‘But what’s gotten into him?’
Cedric watched in confusion as his lord read through the report.
‘He’s ordering a background investigation on someone?’
And not just anyone—the trainee bureaucrat, Leila Lowell.
“Hmm……”
Carlyle frowned as he reviewed Cedric’s findings.
<Affiliated with Capital District 15 Orphanage>
<Confirmed to have been raised there since infancy through a temple-funded institution.>
After the ‘Last Saintess Murder Incident.’
Though the Temple that served the God of Time and Purification had lost much of its former influence, it was still active in relief work.
‘Temple subsidies alone couldn’t have been enough.’
Considering the environment she had grown up in, the fact that Leila Lowell had entered the bureaucracy at all—even in last place—was extraordinary.
Though the Imperial Palace loudly preached ‘merit above all,’ nobles naturally still held the advantage.
After all, noble children never had to give up studying because of survival.
‘If Lowell had started from the same line as everyone else, then what?’
She already had work sense, and even the foresight to see the bigger picture.
Carlyle muttered with determination.
“……Which department is Leila Lowell assigned to next?”
He would do everything in his power to persuade Lowell—his future junior—not to develop any interest in another department.
After our tour of the Dirt Spoon Department ended, we moved on to the next department.
But on the day we headed to the next office, the heroine looked a little…
Discouraged. Or maybe just tired?
‘That won’t do. The team leader where we’re going next is famous for being a total lunatic.’
The team leader of the Imperial Protocol Team under the Central Department.
The first contributor to the heroine and male lead’s romantic flag.
The very first lunatic of Beyond the Golden Door—
Allison Capres!
‘“Imperial Protocol” sounds glamorous and all…’
But compared to the past, the Imperial Family’s power had greatly shrunk.
And when imperial authority weakens, the institutions basking in its prestige naturally weaken too.
‘The prime example is the Imperial Protocol Team. Even their organizational title is the lowliest—just “Team.”’
Allison vented the stress she suffered from external pressures onto clueless rookies.
‘In the original story, that backlash hit me. But if the heroine is already this discouraged, what happens now?’
Wait. What if things derail from the original plot and some emergency variable appears…!
If the heroine suddenly goes, ‘I’m quitting altogether,’ that absolutely cannot happen!
“Yuriana, whatever anyone says at the next place, just ignore it, okay?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, just think of it as barking nonsense from a dog and let it pass. Got it?”
“Oh—okay!”
Good. Nice response.
“And Finley, you.”
The moment I looked at Grape Hair’s outfit, my patience snapped. At this rate, we’d all get lumped together and criticized because of his delinquent fashion!
“Hey, wait. Finley. Button up.”
“Why?”
“Why? …Do you even know where we’re going right now? It’s the Protocol Team. Protocol!”
“But what does my outfit have to do with work?”
Aha. So that’s how you’re going to be.
“Finley, the Protocol Team is the most conservative place in the Imperial Palace. Why? Because they oversee ceremonies passed down for generations.”
“We’re just doing paperwork there anyway, so what does it matter…”
“What do you mean, what does it matter? When we’re trying to persuade someone else by saying, ‘You need to follow proper formality,’ who’s going to listen if we look sloppy?”
“……”
“If someone who never even took the Mage Tower exam tried to teach you, would you obediently listen?”
Grape Hair’s expression gradually darkened under my lecture.
‘Yeah, right. I’m not the heroine, so why would he listen to me—’
But astonishingly, he slowly began buttoning up!
Grape Hair grumbled sulkily.
“That’s rational.”
Wow. Victory through logic.
“Finley. Then what about a necktie? Didn’t you bring one?”
“I can’t wear things around my neck.”
“Oh? Really…?”
Well, some people couldn’t wear necklaces for psychological reasons.
However, Grape Hair still didn’t remove his skull bracelet.
“That bracelet…”
“This one’s approved.”
“Huh. Really?”
“It’s an artifact.”
Punk-style jewelry as an artifact, huh.
‘Come to think of it, this guy was the future Mage Tower Lord.’
I still had no idea why he chose the path of a bureaucrat instead of being worshipped there.
Grape Hair kept muttering.
“You’re the first person who’s ever criticized my clothes.”
So even I get to build a ‘You’re the first woman who’s ever treated me like this’ subplot with the second male lead—except as a nagging coworker criticizing his outfit.
‘Endure it…’
Right now, I needed my mental defenses fully prepared to deal with another workplace lunatic.
And when we finally met Allison Capres…
She was exactly as insane as expected.
“Hmm. So you’re the top-ranked group… plus dead last?”
First, she lined the three of us up side by side and slowly swept her gaze over us from head to toe in the most unpleasant way possible.
“Because you new bureaucrats were coming, this place even brought in three brand-new desks worth 300 marks each.”
“……”
“But do you look like you’re worth that price?”
Since 1 mark was equivalent to 10,000 won, that meant 9 million won total?
It wasn’t even her money, so what was with the bragging? Should we work on the floor instead?
At times like this, saying absolutely nothing was best.
‘If I remember correctly, in the original story Allison became fixated on me and tormented me relentlessly.’
If I just let things roll off me, maybe unlike the original plot, this would pass quietly.
Grape Hair also looked unimpressed, as if thinking, ‘That’s not rational.’
But I guess a fresh social newbie couldn’t help it.
The heroine ended up answering anyway.
“W-We’ll work hard so we can be worth—”
“Do you think this is some academy? What exactly are you here to ‘learn’?”
We were doomed.
Unlike the original plot, Allison had become fixated on the heroine instead!
After that, Allison viciously tore down everything the heroine did.
Over the most trivial things, too.
“Ugh, no sense at all.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
“Good grades, maybe, but no work sense… What a waste of desk money.”
“……”
“Oh my. Don’t tell me that hurt your feelings? But kids these days only understand if you’re blunt.”
Apparently satisfied that she had successfully crushed the heroine’s spirit, Allison finally turned her gaze toward me.
“And you’re still not done—”
“I’ve already finished the task you assigned.”
