Chapter 4

The next morning, Luarina went to work as usual. But for some reason, all her seniors looked unhappy.

‘What’s going on? Did something happen again?’

Luarina watched anxiously, her expression serious.

Was it the 2nd Princess again?

What kind of scandal was it this time? Did she seduce a married man like last time?

Or maybe it was the 3rd Prince.

After being involved in a group violence incident, could it be something else?

As her mind raced, Nellan spotted Luarina.

“Good morning, Luarina.”

“…What happened this time?”

She didn’t even say “good morning.” Just seeing Nellan’s face was proof something had happened.

Sure enough, Nellan opened his mouth with a gloomy expression.

“You know about the western wall collapsing, right?”

Of course she did. The Empire had been in chaos because of it for a while.

There were quite a few victims, and the area was a mess.

Thankfully, everything had been restored and stability improved.

But why was Nellan bringing it up now? That was all over.

Luarina felt uneasy, but pretended not to know and asked.

“Yes, I know. It was chaos for a while, wasn’t it? The administration is busy because of it, too.”

“It’s the administration that’s the problem.”

“Why? Their work has nothing to do with us.”

That’s how it should be. Luarina hoped Nellan would nod.

“That’s right.”

Thankfully, Nellan agreed. Phew, maybe it wasn’t a big deal?

At that moment—

“They’re telling us to handle the follow-up.”

“What? Us?”

Luarina jumped up.

The secretarial office mainly managed the Imperial Family’s schedule and protected their privacy.

Of course, they also handled palace events and affairs.

Every day, she was angry at how many palace events there were, wishing they could all be abolished.

But the western wall?

The follow-up work should clearly belong to the administration.

Luarina couldn’t understand.

“That’s the administration’s job. We’re the secretarial office.”

“Right, exactly.”

“Then why?”

Nellan answered with a gloomy face.

“You know who’s in charge of handling it?”

“The 1st Princess, right.”

“That’s the problem.”

Huh? Luarina doubted her own understanding.

She really couldn’t guess what was going on.

What did the 1st Princess being in charge have to do with the administration passing the work to the secretarial office?

Unable to say anything, Luarina watched as Nellan nodded as if he understood everything.

“You don’t get it, right? That’s normal. But this is office life, Luarina.”

Hmm?

The more she listened, the more confused she became.

Eventually, Nellan gave the answer first.

“Since the 1st Princess is in charge, it’s related to the Imperial Family, so we’re supposed to do it.”

Nellan complained that it was a ridiculous excuse.

“What?”

Luarina’s surprised voice echoed inside.

“What does that mean! Isn’t this unfair?”

Luarina stomped her feet. She already had a mountain of daily tasks—now she had to do even more?

And it wasn’t even their job?

Whatever the task, the follow-up always had the most grunt work. Outsiders only saw the surface, never realizing how much paperwork went into it.

And the western wall collapse was a huge incident.

It was obvious there would be an enormous amount of work.

But the boss and other seniors already looked resigned.

They had been demoralized long before Luarina arrived.

Years of working in the palace had taught them that protesting was useless.

“If they tell us to do it, what choice do we have?”

But Luarina was still only nine months in.

“We have to protest. This is unfair treatment.”

Unlike her seniors, she expressed her anger.

“To the 1st Princess? What are we supposed to say?”

But at Senior Yvanne’s question, Luarina was at a loss for words.

“Is this by the 1st Princess’s order?”

The secretarial office was directly under the Imperial Family. If the 1st Princess said to do it, they had to.

Of course, there was no way to protest.

Luarina realized she had no options. But that didn’t make her frustration disappear.

Still, why did it have to come to them…

“What happened that made the 1st Princess tell the secretarial office to handle this?”

“That’s just it. You know the youngest in the administration? Apparently, this time, he… ah, never mind.”

For some reason, Senior Nellan stopped mid-sentence. But Luarina, wanting to know the truth behind this unfair situation, kept asking.

“What did he do to the 1st Princess?”

“Well, um. Never mind. I guess they’re… just a little close, so she asked for a favor.”

“What? The youngest in the administration asked the 1st Princess for a favor, and now the administration’s work is coming to us?”

“Well, um, so…”

“Nellan. I think you should stop talking now.”

The boss glanced at Nellan, as if he’d said too much.

But Luarina had already heard enough. Her head was full of question marks.

Does the youngest just ask for a favor and get it?

“Then I’ll ask the 1st Princess for a favor too!”

The faces of the secretarial office seniors were filled with disbelief.

Is that how it works?

Luarina was a truly lovely junior, but sometimes her thinking was a bit different from theirs.

To put it nicely, she was innocent.

But it was impossible to be honest about the real situation with this junior.

The 1st Princess, notorious for her affairs with men, and the youngest in the administration were rumored to be involved lately, whispering every night about how hard the administration’s work was.

“Well, um, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not? I’m the youngest in the secretarial office too.”

“No, it’s not like that with those two. Ahem.”

Senior Nellan’s face turned red, and he didn’t explain properly to Luarina.

Luarina, frustrated, pressed her senior.

“What is it, then?”

“There are things you don’t need to know.”

What is that supposed to mean?

Luarina puffed her cheeks in displeasure. But the workload was obviously going to be excessive, so she couldn’t just let it go.

Shouldn’t she try something? Why did everyone accept it so easily?

Then a thought suddenly flashed through Luarina’s mind.

She clapped her hands together with a bright smile.

“Oh, I have a good idea.”

Six worried pairs of eyes focused on Luarina, wondering what she would say now.

The youngest, Luarina, was bright, cheerful, and good at her job. Since she joined, the atmosphere had changed.

Sometimes her lack of awareness was a bit of a flaw, but she was still the precious youngest of the secretarial office…

“I’ll just ask the 1st Prince, His Highness, for a favor.”

“What? No.”

“Absolutely not.”

Firm voices came from all around. She clearly didn’t understand what that meant, but there was no way they could agree.

Luarina complained, disappointed and confused.

“But the only one above the 1st Princess is the 1st Prince, right?”

She couldn’t even imagine speaking to His Majesty the Emperor. But if the youngest in the administration could ask the 1st Princess for a favor, why couldn’t she?

She thought she could secretly inform the 1st Prince about this unfair situation and get it resolved.

“No, don’t ever, ever think like that, Luarina. Besides, the 1st Prince isn’t even in the Imperial Palace.”

The boss’s voice was more stern than usual. It was the first time his normally gentle face was so firm.

And he was right.

She’d gotten so excited that she forgot the most important fact.

She didn’t even know what the 1st Prince looked like.

Luarina slumped her shoulders, looking upset.

“Okay, I understand.”

“Good. Don’t say things like that anywhere. Anyway, it’s already decided, so we have to do it. There’s no choice.”

A sigh spread through the secretarial office.

“All right, let’s get to work.”

“Yes. Let’s do our best.”

Because of this, they ended up working overtime for days.

Why was there so much material to organize? The work never ended, no matter how much they did.

While working, Luarina occasionally felt resentful toward the faceless 1st Prince.

Of course, she was most resentful of the 1st Princess and the youngest in the administration, but if the 1st Prince were in the Imperial Palace, she could at least try to sneak a visit, no matter what her seniors said.

‘Is the 1st Prince still staying abroad?’

Come to think of it, she’d heard he was in Cherdan, and would eventually govern the neighboring Grand Duchy.

If so, maybe her penpal friend H would know his whereabouts? He seemed like a noble from Cherdan.

Her thoughts drifted that way, but she quickly gave up.

Realistically, it wasn’t possible to connect to the 1st Prince through a penpal whose real name she didn’t even know.

‘Forget it, I just have to endure for a few more days.’

In the end, the secretarial office took on the work, and asking the 1st Prince for help now wouldn’t make much difference.