ARML 17

Chapter 17 …

At the Imperial Palace library during lunchtime.

Seamus was quietly observing “Leila Lowell.”

A fellow member of the same team—and now a colleague in the same department.

Right now, she was reading a thick book with a serious expression.

《Encyclopedia of Bewildering Magical Herbs》

And she was doing it by cutting into her precious lunch break.

All of this was because of the question Leila Lowell had asked earlier.

‘Why would she ask something like that?’

[There is a type of magic that can recall in extreme detail what you saw long ago. But…….]

[But?]

[……That is something only the current Tower Lord can perform.]

As someone who had not yet inherited the position of Tower Lord, Seamus could not use such high-level magic.

He hated admitting that fact, but……

Still, it wasn’t like there was no alternative at all.

[But if you can’t do it with magic, you can replace it with ingestion.]

[Ah!]

So now, Leila Lowell was checking herb names together with him.

Seamus stared again at Leila, who was quickly scanning the book.

‘At first glance, she doesn’t seem special at all.’

In fact, on the first day he arrived at the office, he had been more wary of Yuria Crosswell.

‘The one who suppressed me into second place.’

Just recalling that word made Seamus struggle to breathe.

Even though he wasn’t wearing a necktie, it felt like his throat was being strangled like in his childhood.

[Seamus. You must be perfect.]

In his childhood, the Tower Lord used to whisper this while slowly tightening a necktie around him.

[You are the masterpiece of our family…….]

[But the moment something greater than you exists.]

[You become nothing.]

And then came the endless struggle “to be perfect.”

Seamus looked back at Leila Lowell again.

‘At first, I thought she was just an ordinary human.’

But when it came to seeing cores, her talent was superior even to Seamus.

Creak.

For a moment, breathing became painful.

Just like those hands that had once tightened the tie too hard.

At that moment, Leila Lowell lifted her head.

“By the way, Seamus. Is it okay if you don’t go eat? I’m fine either way.”

“It’s fine. That’s the ‘condition,’ isn’t it.”

“Haah…….”

Leila Lowell looked completely exhausted.

The condition he had set in exchange for teaching her the method was simple.

[While we’re in the palace, stay with me the whole time. I want to observe you.]

To observe closely and prove that he was the superior existence.

‘Let’s find this woman’s weakness and break her.’

Leila Lowell waved her hand as if already fed up.

“If you’re willing to waste your break time, do whatever you want. It’s all coming out of your salary anyway, handle it yourself.”

“……I already know that.”

Seamus replied sulkily.

In truth, he didn’t really understand such things well.

Leila Lowell, despite being irritated, still explained everything clearly.

Until now, no one had ever spent this much time explaining things to him.

‘Because if you don’t figure it out yourself, you’re not a genius.’

No one had ever praised him so plainly like that either.

At that moment, Leila Lowell covered her mouth and exclaimed.

“Ah, this is it. This is the one.”

“What is it? Why are you acting like that?”

“Heh heh…… I found something useful.”

Leila spread open the page she had been reading.

And she smiled an extremely sinister smile.

“Seamus, from now on I’m going for a one-shot, two-kill.”

“What?”

“Ah, but I’m going to need your help too. Will you help me testify?”

“What……?”

Finally, Arthur Featherston (38) had shown his worth!

‘Haa. This feels good.’

And it was against that infuriating Black Underclass Department!

‘They stole our department’s work and still dare to rush us?’

And how vulgar were the Grand Duke Rupesque and Duke Crowe?

Even having beds in their offices and working day and night like that?

‘A proper noble would never do such a thing!’

Well, in the first place, 300 years ago,

their ancestors had raised swords against the “Mad Emperor.”

‘Even if it was to save the Empire, they dared to oppose His Majesty?’

These nobles were fundamentally “Imperial Faction” aristocrats.

And then there were the “Noble Faction,” who supported what the Rupesque and Crowe families had done.

The tension between these two sides had long been simmering beneath the surface.

Right now, the Noble Faction had the upper hand, but Arthur, from the Imperial Faction, smirked.

“Heh. Serves them both right.”

Most of those two families were dead now anyway……

Of course, in front of them, he always kept his head down and stayed quiet!

But there was no need to bow to those beneath him. Thinking of that “lowest commoner” girl made his stomach burn again.

“In my day, people like that would’ve been fired on their own!”

……After repeatedly reaffirming the correctness of his generation, Arthur finally arrived at his destination.

After clearing his throat a few times outside the door, a dignified voice came from inside.

“Come in.”

“Ahem! Excuse me.”

Arthur straightened himself and opened the door.

“Long time no see, Lord Wordsworth!”

In the center of the greenhouse-like room, Theodore stood by a table.

This magical herb research lab was always peaceful.

If other departments were like this, it would have made him furious—but here, he felt no hostility.

‘Haha, they’re all so clueless.’

They didn’t even realize how much Arthur was profiting off their medicinal supplies. For years!

Theodore smiled like a boy and gestured toward an empty seat.

“You must be very busy. Sorry to call you.”

“Oh, not at all! Haha, but what brings you here……?”

“Well…… I have a concern. Something I must confide to you, Team Leader Featherston.”

“Oh, please, speak freely!”

At that, Theodore lowered his eyebrows sadly.

“I received a report that your team has been deliberately taking more herbs than necessary from our lab…….”

“Hmm……?”

“And secretly selling them on the market. Even poisonous herbs.”

“What?!”

“Oh, it has been such a heavy concern for me, Team Leader Featherston.”

Through his glasses, Theodore’s eyes shimmered with moisture. But he did not cry—he stood firm and handed over documents.

“So, before calling you, I already reported this to the Treasury Department.”

“What, what did you say…….”

“I hope you will forgive me for making such an unpleasant report. But ever since the Kafres Team Leader incident, things have been quite tense……”

“No…… no, wait……!”

“Of course, I’m sure you will be found innocent. In that case, I will personally offer compensation under the name of the Wordsworth family.”

“N-no……!”

Arthur Featherston (38), on what should have been his lucky day,

that afternoon, he could only watch helplessly as an audit team stormed into his office!

After Arthur Featherston turned pale and fled, muttering, “I—I’ll excuse myself first.”

“Miss Lowell, thank you for telling us this.”

“Oh, no, Head Director. I was worried I might have judged too hastily.”

Seamus and I stepped out from our hiding place and greeted Director Theodore.

‘As an errand under the pretext of the Black Underclass Department.’

The alibi was perfect.

“I was uneasy about the number of ‘equipment herb requisition documents for the Magic Knights Department’ I saw during my trainee period……”

“So I couldn’t stop thinking about it……”

While hesitating as if I were uncertain, I pointed at the expressionless grape-haired boy.

“Seamus said it was too much even for high-performance artifact production materials!”

Seamus, who had been staring blankly forward, only nodded after I elbowed him.

Director Theodore’s face turned red.

“I’m grateful and embarrassed that you noticed so carefully. There were dangerous herbs among them, so they should never have been sold on the market……”

“I’m glad it was caught in time.”

“Thank you so much, Miss Lowell, Finley. I don’t know how I can repay you……”

“Oh my, repayment?”

Yes. That word—repayment. I had been waiting for it.

If this involved material embezzlement, then naturally the Magical Herb Research Lab would also have supplies involved.

But what matters in workplace matters?

‘The rule is to go for a one-shot, two-kill and leave work early.’

Even if Director Theodore was once my “high-value stock,” workplace relationships were all give and take.

This couldn’t end with just “Thank you! I’ll buy you coffee!”

Now then, let’s conduct some proper social negotiation!

“Director, although I’m not officially part of the lab, I still want to contribute to the Empire wherever I work as a new employee—so could I possibly get a Mandrake used for memory enhancement?”