Chapter 6

After a few more days, with work piling up, Luarina forgot all about H’s letter.

Today, as soon as she arrived at work, there was a mountain of things to do.

‘Ugh, I got home at eleven yesterday.’

She’d probably barely catch the last carriage again today.

With her mind in a jumble from the morning, Luarina was approached by Senior Nellan.

“Luarina. Did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

Luarina’s voice was tired.

“There’s really surprising news.”

“Are we getting a new hire?”

Luarina asked indifferently, not even looking at Nellan. If it wasn’t that, she wasn’t interested.

She was so sleep-deprived lately. Thankfully, things were wrapping up, but the recent string of overtime had left her body aching.

If she ever saw that youngest in the administration, she wouldn’t let it go!

But Nellan’s answer was shocking.

“That’s right. We’re getting a new hire.”

“Huh?”

Luarina’s head whipped around.

Did she really hear that right?

A new hire? In our secretarial office?

Luarina’s eyes widened as she repeated the question.

“Unbelievable, right?”

Nod, nod. Luarina quickly nodded, but couldn’t erase her suspicious look.

Are the seniors all teasing her together?

“What is it, you’re lying, right? You said there wouldn’t be anyone for three years. I’m not falling for it.”

Luarina glared at them.

But Nellan raised his voice, insisting it was true.

“I’m serious. Suddenly they said they’d add more staff.”

“From where?”

“Where else? His Majesty.”

His Majesty? Even as she listened, Luarina couldn’t shake her doubts.

They’d said it took three years for her to join, so how could hiring be approved after only nine months? It didn’t make sense.

“I’m telling you, it’s true. Oh, there he is.”

Nellan’s gaze turned toward the entrance.

Step—step—

At the same time, heavy footsteps echoed.

Everyone, including Luarina, turned their heads in the direction of the sound.

There, stood—

“Hello. I’m Heston. I’ll be working in the secretarial office starting today.”

A black-haired, incredibly handsome man stood there.

He introduced himself as Heston, greeting Luarina and the seniors.

He was tall, with broad shoulders. Above his long neck was a beautiful jawline.

He looked more handsome than pretty.

His eyes seemed gentle at first glance, but there was firmness in them, and his nose was straight and clean, with no excess.

The man’s deep blue eyes were mysterious.

Didn’t the nearby lakes used to have that color?

His appearance was so captivating that it made one forget staring at someone was rude.

For a moment, silence fell in the secretarial office.

Probably everyone was thinking the same thing.

Wow, he’s handsome.

But admiring his face was brief.

Luarina quickly recalled his greeting.

She felt like she’d heard something very important.

‘Did I hear that right? He said he’ll be working in the secretarial office from today?’

That meant—

There really was a new hire in the secretarial office.

Senior Nellan was right.

Luarina couldn’t believe it.

“Really, a new hire?”

The question slipped out in her amazement.

Oops.

Luarina closed her mouth belatedly, but Heston just smiled brightly and met her gaze.

“Yes, Senior. Please take care of me.”

Se—Senior?

Luarina’s heart fluttered at the title she’d never heard before.

He called her Senior!

She’d always been the one to call others, but now she was the senior?

She wanted to hear it again.

“What, what did you say?”

“Please take care of me, Senior Luarina.”

Gasp.

At that moment, Luarina made up her mind. She would treat her junior well.

Luarina had always been the youngest.

At home, at work.

But now a junior had arrived. It was a huge event in her life.

As she was moved, Senior Yvanne asked curiously.

“Oh, Heston, right? Nice to meet you. But how did you know Luarina’s name?”

Heston was just starting his first day at the secretarial office. He hadn’t been introduced, so how did he know her name?

But Heston acted like it was nothing.

“Oh, when I came in, the others were calling Senior Luarina’s name.”

Really? Was that so?

Luarina couldn’t remember.

But maybe it happened.

With all the uncertainty about the new hire, she probably didn’t hear.

The other seniors were puzzled, but didn’t ask further. It wasn’t important enough to pursue.

More important was that the secretarial office now had eight people instead of seven.

“It’s nice to have another youngest in our secretarial office.”

“Right, after just nine months, having more hands is great! With Senior Jade on leave, it’s even better news.”

“Luarina, you’re already not the youngest anymore?”

“I couldn’t even imagine that when I started. Lucky you.”

“Are you confident about teaching your junior?”

The seniors commented on Luarina escaping the youngest status so quickly.

“Hehe, of course! Just trust me.”

Luarina was simply happy. Her junior in front of her seemed like a blessing!

She’d wanted a new hire so badly that anyone would be welcome.

She was fired up to raise this precious youngest to be a dependable colleague.

Anyway, with one more person, maybe she could leave work an hour earlier than usual?

That was a big joy, but even more important was something else.

She was now a proper senior with a junior to look after.

Luarina straightened her shoulders, full of responsibility.

“I’ll get you seniors out of work earlier, just watch!”

“You’re the most confident of us all.”

The boss, watching Luarina with an amused look, turned his attention to Heston.

‘Hmm?’

Why did his face seem so familiar? The boss narrowed his eyes as he examined the new hire’s face.

He seemed to resemble someone.

Did he know anyone else with such dark hair?

He tried to recall, but couldn’t think of anyone.

Nothing unusual in the information he’d received.

‘Must be my imagination.’

Probably so. He’d worked in the secretarial office for ten years and seen so many people.

Passing it off, the boss clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.

“All right, let’s work well together. Heston, learn diligently from Luarina.”

“Understood.”

Heston bowed briefly.

The staff returned to their desks. There was a mountain of work as usual.

Without anyone telling him, Heston quickly sat next to Luarina, as if it was obviously his seat.

“Senior, what should I start with?”

“Um, you said your name was Heston? Since I’m your senior, I’ll speak informally, okay?”

Luarina spoke carefully.

She finally had someone she could speak informally to.

It felt moving.

In the Imperial Palace, seniority mattered more than age or status.

It was because this was a workplace.

In fact, Luarina had the highest status in the secretarial office.

The other seniors ranged from commoners to minor nobility or viscount families, so Luarina was fundamentally different from them.

But if she acted distant because of her status, work wouldn’t get done.

Because of this, the Imperial Palace emphasized senior-junior relationships over age or status to prevent any disruption in work.

It was a society of status, but the Empire’s relatively open culture allowed ability to overcome background.

Of course, the authority of the Imperial Family was absolute, so that was a separate matter.

Anyway, Luarina was both excited and nervous to have someone she could speak informally to.

“Of course, Senior.”

“Just call me Luarina.”

“All right, Senior Luarina.”

“Mm.”

Even though he was new, Heston seemed relaxed. He didn’t wander around unsure of what to do, nor did he look awkward or anxious.

Almost as if he was familiar with the Imperial Palace.

Luarina was the one actually nervous.

It was her first job as a senior. Unlike her confident boasting to the other seniors, she was unsure what to assign.

‘He must be nervous, right? I was too.’

Luarina assumed Heston was secretly very nervous, despite appearing calm.

He didn’t need to pretend to be relaxed, she thought sympathetically.

She’d been there for nine months, so she was used to the work, but it was Heston’s first day.

If she gave him something too hard and he quit, it would be a disaster.

She remembered a story from another department where a new hire quit on the very first day after being assigned too much work.

So…

“For today, why don’t you start by memorizing the Imperial Family tree? You know what our main tasks are, right?”

“Of course. We support the various affairs of the Imperial Family and assist the Princesses, Princes.”

Oh, he stuttered a bit, just mentioning Princesses and Princes made him nervous. Cute.

Luarina nodded understandingly.

Working in the Imperial Palace, with its high-ranking Imperial Family, was hard to believe at first.

Of course, over time, they would become the object of resentment, but still.

“That’s right. So knowing how the Imperial Family is structured is most important. You might think the family tree ends with His Majesty the Emperor, Her Majesty the Empress, the Princes, and Princesses, but that’s not true.”

There were also collateral branches outside the palace, and to work in the secretarial office, you had to know all those family lines, Luarina warned him.

“Before I explain, why don’t you write down what you know, Heston?”

It would probably be hard.

Everyone learned that way at first.

“Yes, I’ll try.”

“Don’t feel pressured. Let me know when you’re done.”

Luarina finished her instructions and turned her attention to her own work on her desk.

She opened a page about the 3rd Princess’s budget, but honestly, she couldn’t focus.

In her head…

‘Did I do it right as a senior just now? Yeah, I did. Good job, Luarina.’

She was thinking things like that.

‘I really sounded like a senior just now!’

Luarina Delail, Senior Day 1, already skillfully assigning tasks to her junior.

She was proud of herself. She was finally a working adult.

Luarina remembered the days when she first joined and learned from Senior Nellan.

The embarrassing days when she couldn’t even prepare simple documents were now over.

She glanced at Heston, who wasn’t moving his pen.

He was probably struggling.

‘Hehe, it must be hard. It’s okay, I understand. I had days like that too. Nine months ago already.’

Thinking thoughts that would make her seniors laugh, Luarina was lost in her own feelings.

But soon she reminded herself it was time to get to work.

Then—

“All done.”

A pleasant voice came from beside her.

“Mm, it’s probably hard…, huh?”

Luarina was momentarily confused.

She hadn’t expected him to be finished. She thought he was just starting to ask a question.

“What, what did you say?”

She realized she’d misunderstood.

Checking the paper on Heston’s desk, she was shocked.

He’d handed it over blank, but now it was filled.

He’d completed the family tree in less than ten minutes.

Impossible.

Did he just do it roughly?

She was briefly suspicious.

“May I ask you to check it?”

But as soon as she saw the family tree he handed over, her eyes widened.

‘What is this…’

It was not just accurate, but perfect.

Most people didn’t know how the Imperial Family’s collateral branches were structured. There was no need to, and it was so vast and complex.

Luarina had tried to adjust the difficulty, but worried that giving too easy a task would make him think secretarial office work was simple, so she’d given him something moderately hard.

But the new hire in front of her had written it out perfectly.

A genius!

Luarina was genuinely impressed.

Did they really get such an elite new hire? Amazing.

“Are there any mistakes?”

None. Not at all.

She was more curious about his secret.

“How did you know all this in such detail?”

“Oh, well…”

Heston hesitated briefly, then smiled.

“I really wanted to join the secretarial office.”

How thorough his preparation was.