🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter : 07
‘But the fact that I’m just a low-ranking civil servant who can barely even exchange a word with the Crown Prince is a huge obstacle. If I were even a minister… maybe then…’
Anyway, I never expected my competence to become widely known because of this incident.
‘Though Luca, who only understands merit-based systems, probably wouldn’t realize it.’
In the original story, Luca survives the chaos of the imperial palace during the war and rescues the protagonist, Prince Jaden, helping him escape.
He also treats Jaden’s close knight guards with remarkable medical skill.
‘At least he’s not connected to the mastermind behind the war. Even if he exits the story early, he’s still a decent extra.’
Unlike that “decent extra,” I blinked slowly and continued speaking carelessly.
“Who would even care about scroll activation? The intern who came here saying they were interested in our Scroll Department quit after just one day. What do you expect from us?”
Luca frowned.
“You had an intern in your department?”
“Yeah.”
I muttered, recalling the handsome intern with glasses who looked almost too pretty to be real.
“But he was a complete jerk who only knew how to demand his rights.”
“What?”
“The first task given to him was just moving two boxes fifteen minutes before leaving work, and he refused. Unbelievable. Acting all proud when he asked for document access, too.”
Luca immediately agreed, visibly furious.
“Yeah, he sounds like a total jerk. People like that need to learn how harsh the workplace can be.”
“Exactly. If he had stayed under me longer, I would’ve trained him until he became a proper member of society.”
But there was no need for that anymore.
I had already processed his resignation that morning and revoked his access rights.
‘To revoke that access alone, I had to rush through paperwork during a busy morning assignment.’
Honestly, it was annoying.
But it was security-related, so it had to be done first.
“Alright… I should probably go wash up now.”
Feeling better than ever, I stretched.
I was planning to head straight to work.
Imperial Palace — Same Time
From early morning, Kiaro was receiving a report from the White Knight Captain.
“Your Highness, regarding the scroll department… Lady Namiya is reportedly being disciplined for incorrectly counting inventory.”
“What?”
At the word “discipline,” Kiaro frowned.
When he had infiltrated as an intern, he had overheard Namiya speaking with her team leader.
[Team Leader, aren’t six defensive scrolls too few?]
He had also personally gone to the storage room. There were definitely only six defensive scrolls.
‘So how did it become 172…’
He recalled Namiya’s request the night before—asking for large quantities of scroll-making parchment and ink.
And her exhausted appearance the morning after pulling an all-nighter.
The knight captain spoke cautiously.
“In recent years, only around five scrolls were ever assigned for escort missions, so the department likely thought six was sufficient.”
He tilted his head.
“To be honest… I thought six was enough too, since we rarely ever see defensive scrolls used. But after seeing it today, six was clearly nowhere near enough.”
Kiaro was no different—he also didn’t fully understand scrolls.
‘Hardly anyone does. Those who do are usually at the Magic Tower.’
Magic belonged to the Magic Tower—and the Tower was extremely closed off.
Even the Tower Master was eccentric, sensitive, and petty enough that it was best not to provoke him.
Kiaro spoke lowly.
“I suspect Lady Namiya Roapi made 166 scrolls overnight.”
“Is it even possible for one person to make 166 in a single night?”
The knight captain blinked in disbelief.
“Still… activating 172 scrolls at once was shocking. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Hm.”
“Are scrolls normally activated so easily? But if Lady Namiya were that skilled, she would already be in the Magic Tower…”
The captain scratched his chin, confused.
Kiaro frowned, staring at the report.
A silence fell.
Then the knight captain cautiously spoke again.
“Perhaps she should receive a commendation? Even if Your Highness handled the danger yourself, Lady Namiya was the only one who properly performed her duty.”
He still did not realize Kiaro had been in his “dark phase.”
“By precedent, perhaps an imperial commendation certificate would be appropriate.”
It was a reasonable suggestion.
But Kiaro ignored it and issued an order.
“First, report this matter to the Magic Tower Master and obtain their opinion.”
The captain frowned slightly.
“The Tower Master…? Isn’t that unnecessary? They probably wouldn’t care…”
“If it’s something I cannot fully understand, I should at least consult an expert.”
She had saved his life.
He wanted to thank her properly, face to face.
“And when Namiya wakes up, report to me immediately. I will go see her myself.”
He also wanted to see those bright eyes again.
“She should rest in the imperial hospital for a day.”
He sat down again, brushing his hair back.
There was too much to do because of the sudden attack.
He had barely slept.
Now, he finally had time to review the Scroll Department’s documents.
Something suspicious might be hidden there.
‘Still… I hope I can finish some of this before Namiya wakes.’
He placed his hand on the summoning circle to retrieve the documents—
And then a cold message appeared.
“…What?”
<Kiwen Altess — access revoked due to resignation on October 20.>
“…What?”
October 20—the day of the attack.
He stood frozen.
<Processor: Namiya Roapi>
Her name remained on the final line.
Kiaro stared at it.
‘No way.’
So she not only made 166 scrolls overnight, but also processed resignation and revoked access the next morning?
That clueless-looking woman?
He had thought she didn’t even understand what permissions she had given.
He had even considered using it as grounds to dismantle the entire department.
‘Wh-what is she…?’
He had expected resignation processing, maybe.
But he assumed he had at least three days.
Instead, she had acted immediately and cleanly revoked everything.
‘And she’s been stuck as a low-level clerk for 3 years and 7 months?’
He had thought she was incompetent—but she recited laws perfectly.
He had thought she was careless—but she handled 172 scrolls flawlessly.
He had thought she was irresponsible—but she was extremely strict about security.
Kiaro froze for a long moment.
Then—
“Your Highness.”
A subordinate returned.
“Lady Namiya Roapi has regained consciousness.”
“Good. Then send her to the hospital—”
“Ah, no.”
The subordinate hurriedly added.
“She immediately went straight back to the Scroll Department as soon as she woke up!”
“…What?”
Kiaro pressed a hand to his forehead in disbelief.
Even that woman… is somehow diligent?!
