Chapter 1

The Erinharte Empire’s Imperial Palace secretarial office was, as always, far from peaceful. Overtime was the norm, and being busy all day was just everyday life.

Looks like overtime is certain again today.

Luarina, the youngest in the office, flipped through documents with a tired face.

A glance at the clock: 5:58 PM.

Just two minutes until the end of the workday, but no one seemed to even consider going home.

Luarina was no different.

‘With all this work, when am I supposed to finish!’

She sighed heavily at the pile of tasks.

Ring—

The phone rang loudly, piercing everyone’s ears.

The head of the secretarial office, looking resentful about a call at 5:58, slowly picked up the receiver.

“Yes, Imperial Palace secretarial office.”

Luarina looked at the boss with pity.

It was probably another weird call.

As expected.

“What? The 2nd Princess’s scandal? That can’t be. Don’t you know our Princess’s character?”

Hahaha!

The boss laughed heartily, but Luarina clearly saw it.

His fist clenched tightly on the desk, and the hand holding the phone trembled.

Why?

Click.

As soon as the call ended, everyone looked at the boss. A collective sigh spread.

“Delrun Newspaper, right?”

Unable to resist, Senior Nellan asked.

“Ha, yeah.”

The boss, responsible for the secretarial office, let out a deep sigh.

The newspapers probing into the Imperial Family’s private lives was nothing new.

Luckily, they managed to block it again today.

But how long could this last?

The 2nd Princess’s character? That was all nonsense.

It was a miracle nothing had been exposed yet.

With men changing every day, how could it stay hidden?

Clearly, a big incident was bound to happen soon. Then the secretarial office would have to handle the aftermath, meaning more overtime.

Not just Luarina, everyone seemed to share the same thought, and their faces grew even darker.

“All right, let’s work.”

“Yes…”

“Yeah.”

6 PM—these weren’t words for the end of the workday, because everyone turned to their tasks as if it was normal.

The secretarial office’s work was endless.

All the countless tasks from the Imperial Family were handled by the secretarial office.

Only seven people did all the work—unbelievable!

The glamorous Imperial Palace, with its secretarial office at the core, had hardships no one could imagine.

Luarina slightly resented her past self for applying to the secretarial office without knowing anything.

How could she have known? She didn’t!

This was practically a job scam.

“Hey, Senior. Aren’t we hiring any new staff?”

Luarina, the youngest in the office, quietly whispered to her colleague Nellan next to her.

“You’ve been here nine months, right?”

“Yes. It’s already been nine months.”

Luarina nodded eagerly. Now that a junior could join, she felt she could teach everything and her eyes sparkled.

But Nellan’s pupils looked at her as if she were a clueless, naive little sister.

“Already? Luarina, how long do you think I was the youngest?”

Hmm. How long?

Senior Nellan was 28. Luarina was 24, and Nellan said he’d been here for four years…

“Gasp.”

Luarina closed her mouth.

By her calculations, Nellan had been the youngest for over three years before she joined.

Nellan shook his head, as if Luarina had finally realized.

“Don’t even dream about it. Even when you were hired, it was only after a petition. Maybe two years from now, but who knows.”

“No way…”

Luarina was crushed.

If there was at least a three-year gap between hires, she still had two years and three months to go.

“But since you joined, I can’t tell you how much better things are. You’re really good at your job.”

With Senior Nellan’s compliment, Luarina smiled shyly.

“Really?”

“Of course. It was so much harder with just the six of us before you.”

Nellan’s eyes grew moist as he recalled the past, when he was so busy he couldn’t even date, and got dumped by his girlfriend repeatedly.

Now, he sighed in relief, feeling he wouldn’t get dumped by his current girlfriend.

“Thank you, Ace Rookie.”

Just as Nellan said, Luarina was doing her job so well it was hard to believe she’d only been here for nine months.

Life in the secretarial office wasn’t easy, but the boss and seniors were all good people.

And receiving compliments like this sometimes gave her strength.

If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it!

Besides, Luarina had her own reasons for not being able to quit the secretarial office.

Determined, Luarina worked hard at her tasks.

So, 10 PM.

Most people had left, except for the secretarial office staff.

“Thank you for your hard work today!”

“Good job, everyone. Hurry home.”

“Ha. Let’s think about what’s left tomorrow.”

Finally, it was time to leave.

Step, step—

In the quiet hallway, only Luarina and Senior Nellan’s footsteps echoed.

Because they were headed in the same direction, they often went home together.

Walking through the quiet Imperial Palace corridor after work, Luarina slyly asked her senior:

“Why is everyone in the Imperial Family like this, except for His Majesty the Emperor?”

It was a comment that could get her arrested for insulting the Imperial Family, but Senior Nellan didn’t bother pointing it out.

Everyone in the secretarial office shared the same thoughts and was enduring tough days.

The reason the secretarial office had so much work was entirely because of the Imperial Family.

With all the trouble they caused, it was only natural things were hard.

The Emperor, who married the Empress last year, didn’t have children yet, but had quite a few siblings.

Three Princes, three Princesses.

None of them had yet received a Grand Duke’s title or married out, so they remained in the Imperial Palace as Princes and Princesses.

Including the Emperor, there were seven siblings in total.

Some were still minors, while others had already come of age.

Not only the 2nd Princess, who was under the closest scrutiny, but all of them had their own presence.

Whenever trouble occurred, it was always the secretarial office’s job to clean up the mess.

“If five of them each cause just one problem a day, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Five days go by and it’s endless.”

Nellan shook his head.

“But there’s still one more, right? The one who isn’t in the Imperial Palace right now.”

Luarina thought of the one not included among the ‘five’ Nellan mentioned.

The 1st Prince, Hestian Erinharte, who was currently staying abroad.

He was destined to become a Grand Duke, and was currently residing in a foreign country that bordered the duchy he was to inherit.

Unlike the other members of the Imperial Family who only caused trouble, he was already paying attention to international affairs, so perhaps he was a little different? Luarina thought so.

“I don’t know. But he’s probably not much different.”

Nellan’s opinion was different from hers.

He meant that bloodlines don’t change.

“Well, maybe you’re right.”

Luarina nodded without much concern.

It would be nice if he resembled the Emperor, who was called a wise ruler. But seeing his other siblings, that seemed unlikely.

“I just wish he would stay abroad forever.”

“A six-day work week would be terrible.”

If one more joined, weekend shifts would be almost guaranteed.

Please, let the 1st Prince never return—that was their last hope.

If even that Prince caused trouble, they really wouldn’t be able to handle any more.

He had been absent from the Imperial Palace for so long—about ten years—that few knew what he was really like.

But rumors said the 1st Prince is extremely handsome. They claimed his face was unforgettable once seen.

Especially his beautiful blond hair, said to be like honey, and his mysterious blue eyes, praised as the most beautiful jewels in the world.

Despite this, no one in the secretarial office wanted to see his face.

No matter how handsome he was, for office workers, peaceful weekends were the most precious thing.

“Senior, have a safe trip home.”

“You too. Good work today, see you tomorrow.”

The carriage heading to Luarina’s house was to the right.

She always parted ways with her senior here.

Left alone, Luarina walked a few steps toward the direction of the carriage.

‘It’s fortunate they operate carriages this late.’

By the time she washed and went to bed, it would be well past eleven.

How many times had she worked late? Or maybe it would be easier to count the days she left on time?

Reality was so grim that Luarina let out a deep sigh.

Let a miracle happen—please just hire one new person.

That was her wish.

From somewhere, the sound of people whispering drifted over.

‘Huh? Who’s here at this hour?’

Luarina turned her head toward the source of the sound, her face curious.

‘Ah, it’s the people from the Finance Department.’

They were also people from another department heading home.

The Finance Department was less busy than the secretarial office, but they weren’t much better off.

During busy seasons, they too worked overtime every day.

They must have come to catch the late carriage as well.