Chapter 2

When I opened the wooden door, its surface eaten away and rotting in places, an icy draft colder than the outdoors in midwinter struck the tip of my nose.

‘This is the Imperial Palace in name only… Did they fail to get any heating budget at all?’

The inside was even worse.

It was practically a storage room, with all sorts of junk piled and tangled together.

There wasn’t even the slightest sign that anyone actually managed the place.

‘Did I really come to the right place?’

Just as I was debating whether I should leave or stay—

“Grrrrr… Grrrrr… Zzz…”

I heard a faint snoring sound.

I carefully stepped inside and found a weary, elderly-looking middle-aged man sleeping soundly behind the piles of junk.

‘Samuel McGuffin, Director of the Child Protection Bureau.’

That was the name written on the nameplate sitting on the desk.

“…Director.”

I spoke in a clear voice, and Director McGuffin jolted awake.

“Who… Ah.”

His face took on an expression of recognition.

“You’re the new Deputy Director. Tessa, was it?”

“Yes, Tessa Harrington. But I’m the Deputy Director?”

I immediately asked him to confirm.

Deputy Director?

At my level of seniority, I should have been wondering whether I’d finally be promoted to section chief.

Yet here I was, skipping over section chief and department head to become a Deputy Director?

“That’s right. It’s a little courtesy. Might as well let you have one fancy title before you leave.”

“…”

No further explanation was necessary.

‘He’s basically telling me to realize where I stand and crawl out on my own.’

It was such a petty scheme that I almost laughed.

“For your information, it’s just you and me here. Once you leave, I’ll be alone.”

I looked around the office.

So this junk-filled storage room was supposed to be our office?

“Be grateful. Before I managed to secure even this place, I had to work in the bathroom.”

“…How long did my predecessor last?”

McGuffin thought for a moment.

“It was last summer… Hmm, a month? No, about three weeks. That was pretty long. Usually, they leave after a week.”

I understood completely.

I was already feeling the urge to quit on the spot.

I had experience, after all, and I wasn’t exactly stupid.

Couldn’t I just get a job at some large merchant guild?

But voluntary resignation did not exist in my vocabulary.

‘Let’s see who gives up first.’

If I quit now, it would be the same as admitting defeat.

I wanted to hold out until the very end, somehow.

“What are my duties?”

“That.”

McGuffin pointed at a pile of documents with the tip of his chin. They weren’t neatly organized either. The papers had simply been piled up in complete disarray, and my chest already felt tight just looking at them.

“Just stamp them roughly and take it easy.”

McGuffin said this with a yawn.

“Oh, and don’t go outside. If you get caught taking a walk, you’ll be disciplined for neglecting your duties.”

In other words, once someone was assigned to the Child Protection Bureau, they were destined to quit, whether they wanted to or not.

‘Like hell I am.’

I carried the pile of documents straight over to my desk, then rubbed my freezing hands together before starting to examine them one by one.

‘…There really isn’t much to them.’

I’d assumed that, with such a grand name, the Child Protection Bureau would be a department dedicated to helping the Empire’s children and teenagers.

It was actually the exact opposite.

Budget proposals for local festivals, designs for Imperial Palace servants’ uniforms, and all sorts of pointless paperwork that made absolutely no difference who stamped them.

Apparently, documents everyone else wanted to avoid were passed around until they eventually ended up here, where no one was in a position to refuse them.

Was I angry about it?

No.

‘So I just turn my brain off, stamp papers, and clock out on time? This is practically a dream job.’

They say that if you can’t avoid something, you should learn to enjoy it.

I quickly scanned through the documents and began stamping them with brisk, practiced movements.

A week passed.

The resignation letter from an infuriated Tessa Harrington that my former colleagues at the Ministry of Finance had probably been expecting never came.

Aside from the cold and the complete lack of any sense of fulfillment from my work, it was actually a pretty decent position.

Certainly much better than being constantly harassed at the Ministry of Finance.

Just as I was beginning to settle into my new position—

“Got some work for you, Deputy Director.”

Director McGuffin slipped an invitation bearing the crest of House Bayrets between his index and middle fingers and waved it conspicuously.

I stared blankly at the invitation.

What does that have to do with me?

“Unfortunately, I’m busy that day. You’ll have to attend in my place.”

…What did I just hear?

“Are you talking about me?”

McGuffin narrowed his eyes at me.

“Is there anyone else here?”

“…No.”

“Then the Deputy Director is going.”

“But I’ve never attended a ball in my life.”

A ball was a playground for nobles.

There was absolutely nothing for me to gain by going.

“Just go, fill a seat, and slip away when the time is right. All we need is a record showing that you attended.”

Had my displeasure been that obvious?

McGuffin’s eyebrow twitched.

“Don’t want to? Then quit.”

“…”

“It’s an order, Deputy Director.”

And so, my first official assignment as an official of the Child Protection Bureau was…

To attend a ball at a ducal residence, something that had absolutely nothing to do with protecting children in distress.

The Bayrets Ducal Estate was even larger and more extravagant than I’d expected.

Even I, who had grown accustomed to the Imperial Palace, couldn’t help but marvel at it.

As befitting a prestigious magical family that had produced Fabian Bayrets, the heir to the dukedom and the youngest Tower Master in history, every corner of the estate was decorated with intricate magic.

But I didn’t have time to stand around admiring it.

‘As expected.’

Just as I’d anticipated, Director McGuffin wasn’t the only one who had been invited. Department heads from all sorts of other offices had been invited as well.

Including even the Minister of Finance, who seemed determined to devour me alive whenever he got the chance.

We had never had a proper conversation, but there was a fairly high chance that he would recognize me.

I had been quite famous at the Ministry of Finance, after all.

‘I should just kill some time on the balcony.’

A servant was continuously recording the arrival and departure of the guests.

If I left immediately after arriving, I might get criticized for it later.

Just as I was about to make my way toward the balcony—

A booming voice announcing the arrival of important guests rang out.

“The Grand Duke of Cardicha, His Grace Achilles, and his younger sister, Lady Melissa, have arrived!”

The servant’s voice echoed throughout the ballroom, and the guests immediately began to stir.

I was no exception.

‘The’ Grand Duke of Cardicha was in the capital?

In the northern autonomous territory, where he wielded power virtually equal to that of a king, the Grand Duke of Cardicha was second only to the Emperor in terms of power throughout the Empire.

‘I heard he hardly ever leaves the North… And now he’s come to the capital with his younger sister.’

The moment I craned my neck forward out of curiosity—

‘…Holy shit.’

His presence was overwhelming enough to intimidate anyone with eyes.

His inhuman beauty was as cold and sharp as a freshly honed blade, and a chill ran down my spine as though a piece of cold metal had been pressed against the back of my neck.

Beneath his silvery hair, which shimmered like cascading moonlight, were perfectly sculpted features without a single strand out of place.

…And a pair of violet eyes gleaming with a cold light, as though they could see straight through a person.

I knew instinctively.

This man was dangerous.

Whatever happened, the best course of action was to avoid getting involved with him.

‘Whatever novel this is… he’s definitely one of the main characters.’

With looks and an aura like that, he had to be either the male lead, the second male lead, or the hidden mastermind.

‘Well, it has nothing to do with me.’

You needed to be someone like the Minister of Finance just to exchange greetings with a Grand Duke.

That meant that, to the Grand Duke, I was probably less significant than a stray dog.

My gaze soon shifted to Lady Melissa, a young girl with long, flowing silver hair.

‘There’s quite an age gap between them.’

The Grand Duke looked to be in his mid-twenties, while Lady Melissa appeared to be only around ten years old.

Whispers rose from the surrounding nobles.

“Lady Melissa? You mean that Lady Melissa? The one rumored to be the illegitimate child of the late Grand Duchess…?”

“Shh, what are you saying? You’d better not say anything that might make an enemy of the Grand Duke.”

“But I hear everyone who needs to know already knows.”

I swallowed a sigh.

Noble conversations truly were the pinnacle of vulgar gossip.

They probably wouldn’t dare utter a single word of it in front of the Grand Duke himself.

Then—

Crash!

The loud sound of shattering glass rang through the ballroom.

“Melissa!”

At the same time, someone shouted the young lady’s name, and everyone’s heads instinctively turned toward the commotion.

“Sniff… hic… Hic…”

Directly in front of the sobbing Lady Melissa lay a massive glasswork sculpture, clearly crafted by a master artisan, shattered into pieces.

“I-I didn’t mean to…”

“…Melissa.”

The Grand Duke of Cardicha let out a deep sigh that everyone nearby could hear.

His sculpted face was filled with an expression of worry utterly at odds with his youth and striking appearance.

If I had to put it into words, he looked exactly like a parent exhausted from raising a child.

“I don’t know what to do with you anymore.”