Using volunteer work as an excuse, I roamed the war-torn streets whenever I could—but in the end, I still couldn’t find my master.

Well, if it were that easy, the demon wouldn’t have made the offer in the first place.

Today as well, I trudged back to the temple with an empty bread basket in hand. Just in time, the High Priest had also returned from the Imperial Palace, and we gathered together in the prayer room.

“As of today, the civil war is over. An official announcement will be made soon.”

“Is he going to become the Emperor?!”

I widened my eyes in feigned surprise among the others, though inside I let out a quiet sigh.
It looked like the first chapter of the novel was finally beginning in earnest.

“Yes. He will ascend the throne.”

Kai Reihardt.

He was the youngest prince of the Empire and had married a Puglish dancer he had fallen in love with—he was the father of the male protagonist in this novel.

Although he was lowest in the line of succession, the nobles supported his rise to the throne in the hope that his marriage to a Puglish woman would appease the foreigners.

In the original story, the new emperor is portrayed as someone who truly lamented the discrimination faced by commoners and foreigners alike. It is said that he introduced various reforms to address this discrimination.

“Olivia, the new Emperor is benevolent toward the foreigners. That boy you’re searching for will likely reveal himself soon.”

“Yes! I hope I find him quickly!”

When I beamed brightly, everyone looked at me with fond smiles.

Once Kai became Emperor, even commoners—if capable—would be able to work in the Imperial Palace. If anything, gaining power made finding someone a whole lot easier.

“High Priest, I have a request.”

“A request?”

“I want to study!”

I said with sparkling eyes.

“And I want to work at the Imperial Palace!”

“The Palace?”

“You said the new Emperor would promote policies for foreigners, right? Then that boy might show up too! He might even end up working in the palace!”

With a face flushed with excitement, I flailed my arms like a child. The High Priest smiled and nodded in understanding.

“Come to think of it, there was a young priest who graduated top of his class at the seminary…”

“…Are you talking about Priest Rowan?”

Wasn’t Rowan the librarian at the temple’s library?

“This child… I get the sense that she’s a soul born for languages.”

I let out a quiet “Hup” before quickly covering my mouth. As I thought—being a High Priest wasn’t something just anyone could handle!

“She’s a soul meant to study her whole life. It would be good for her to learn.”

Wow, he’s scary accurate. Me, study for life… no, for a whole lifetime?

I furrowed my brows, but quickly remembered I was in front of priests and smoothed out my expression.

And so, a few days later, I was granted permission to work at the library inside the temple.

That’s when I first met Rowan.

Just one glance was enough to know—he was the scholarly type who probably did nothing but study.
Thick glasses, a skinny frame, a stooped posture from reading too much, and a pale face like he hadn’t seen sunlight in ages.

“…So you’re the one the High Priest told me to teach?”

“Yes!”

“But… hmm…”

Rowan muttered with a troubled look on his face.

“You can’t even read. What am I supposed to teach you?”

The pride I held as a South Korean test-taker crumbled. Language had always been my greatest strength, which made this all the more humiliating.

I was illiterate? Why didn’t this world come with a transmigration language patch? I could understand everything I heard, but everything I saw just looked like meaningless squiggles. It was so unfair!

“U-Um, I’m really good at cleaning! And I’m strong too!”

Nevertheless, I wasn’t going to let myself get kicked out. So, at the most random moment, I picked up one of the heavy books that Rowan had been organising and started showing off my strength.

“Olivia, in that case…”

Rowan assigned me to clean the library.

Though he said “cleaning,” to be honest, all the priests already kept their spots tidy, so there wasn’t much work to be done.

Thanks to that, I had plenty of time to study.

***

“You really pick things up quickly.”

Of course I do. Do you know how many years I’ve been grinding through exams?

I twirled the pencil I was holding with pride.

Priest Rowan was kind and incredibly knowledgeable.

“You speak so well, I figured you’d pick up Imperial quickly, but still…”

He muttered this as he looked over the stack of books he had taught me from over the past month. The more I learned, the more enjoyable language became, from ancient script to Nikitan and Arian.

When the High Priest heard this, he patted me on the head, crouched down and met my gaze. He had recently returned from travelling across the Empire to assist with post-war recovery efforts.

I wanted to accompany him on his search for my master, but he said it would be too difficult for a child. In the end, he left without me.

“Have you been doing well?”

“Yes!”

Still not used to my sky-blue hair, I tucked it behind my ear and cautiously asked:

“By any chance… have you heard anything about that boy?”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you. No matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find anyone like that. He might not even be in the Empire anymore.”

The High Priest spoke with a look of pity.

As expected, it wasn’t going to be that easy to find him.

***

Once I turned ten, I began traveling across the Empire in earnest.

Temple after temple, I went with the priests, offering help to foreigners wherever we stopped. And each time, I searched for my master again—but never once did I find a trace of a foreigner with a gunshot scar on the back of his hand.

Time slipped by, indifferent to the storm quietly brewing inside me. My once stubby arms and legs had stretched out, and the baby fat that had rounded my cheeks was long gone. Because now… I was already twenty.

“My goodness, Olivia. I’m so proud of you.”

“Oh, come on, Rowan. Stop crying.”

I gently patted Rowan on the shoulder while he sniffed and continued staring at my acceptance certificate.

“But still! Who would have thought that that tiny girl would grow up to become the highest-ranking administrative officer in the First Prince’s office?”

This novel was a romantic fantasy revolving around a love triangle between two princes and the female lead, Ecla, a foreigner.

The First Prince, Edmund, was born of the foreign Empress and was half-blooded—making him more tolerant of foreigners.

Unlike the Second Prince, Lucid, who was born to the Imperial Queen and despised foreigners, Edmund had promoted many policies in their support.

So, someone in his office might know something about my master.

That’s why I studied so hard to get a job in Edmund’s office. And in the end, I succeeded.

***

This is my last chance. I braced myself, determined to succeed. But where on earth am I?

Where on earth am I?

“I actually got lost…”

I didn’t see that coming! This is bad. If I’m late on my first day, I’ll definitely offend someone.

The imperial palace was unnecessarily vast.

After grumbling and wandering around looking for the right path, I finally spotted someone.

He had chestnut-brown hair, pale skin and long, fluttering lashes.

His soft green eyes suited the season of spring so well.

He wore a beige shirt to match his eyes and chocolate-brown trousers.

Since he wasn’t wearing an official uniform like mine, he probably wasn’t a civil servant.

Well, not that it mattered. What mattered was that I could ask him for directions.

“Excuse me—!”

“Who goes there!!”

I just wanted to ask for directions. That’s all.

But suddenly, a man leapt down from a tree and blocked my path.

“I-I’m just a person.”

“Pfft.”

The brown-haired man laughed softly at my answer and gently patted the shoulder of the person who had blocked me.

“Look at the uniform. She’s probably the new recruit starting today.”

He then scanned me up and down and smiled, his eyes crinkling into crescent moons.

“So? What’s your business?”

Why was the speech so informal from the outset? Was he a high-ranking nobleman?

Having grown up in a temple where status didn’t matter, I was still not used to the class system.

However, given that he had a personal guard, I figured I should tread carefully.

Even after living in this novel world for fifteen years, I still wasn’t fully used to it—especially coming from a democracy.

“I-I’m Olivia. I’ll be working in the First Prince’s office starting today.”

Just as I was taught, I greeted him politely.

“Oh? Must’ve had a pretty good score to get in.”

His eyes curved into an odd shape as he looked at me. I did introduce myself, didn’t I? Shouldn’t he at least have given me his name in return?

Apparently not. He didn’t look like he was going to say it anytime soon.

What’s the point of being handsome if you lack basic manners?

Seriously, go back and have some manners training!

“I—I’m sorry, but I’m looking for the First Prince’s office…”

“So you really were lost, huh?”

The man gave a playful smile and pointed in a direction.

“Over there.”

“Ah, thank you so much!”

Without a second thought, I set off in that direction.

But despite running so fast, the place I arrived at was the complete opposite of the First Prince’s office.

I ended up cursing that nameless man in my head as I arrived at work a full hour late.

“I-I’m so sorry for being late!”

Just earlier, my hair had been neat and tidy, but after all that running, it was a mess. My skin, fresh and dewy with makeup, was now streaked with sweat.

“I swear, I came on time, but I got lost! And then someone gave me completely wrong directions—!”

I tried to explain through heavy breaths, but no reply came.

Yep. Definitely got myself blacklisted on day one.

“Name.”

Just one word—two syllables—yet it carried such heavy pressure.

He had tanned skin and piercing eyes. The more pure-blooded a Puglish person was, the redder their eyes, and his were vivid blood red.

His black hair was slicked back neatly with pomade, accentuating his sharp jawline. Beneath this, the firm lines of his body were concealed by a crisp white shirt.

The buttons were fastened all the way to the top, and every time he moved, the muscles beneath the fabric shifted subtly — clear proof that he was a mixed blood.

No matter how much they trained, Imperials couldn’t build bodies like that due to simple biology.

“Your name. Must I say it twice?”

A single vein popped on his smooth forehead.

Panicked, I quickly bowed my head again.