If my memory serves me right, that man is none other than the First Prince, Edmund Reihardt.

“Olivia! My name is Olivia.”

In the novel, he was the epitome of a meritocrat. As long as you delivered results, he didn’t care if you were a foreigner or a commoner — he would reward you accordingly.

Conversely, if you failed to produce results, he would discard you without hesitation — even if you were a noble or had been loyal to him for years.

This was why most of the people in his office were top performers and why half of the new recruits always disappeared.

As I recalled the countless rumours surrounding the First Prince’s office, I fidgeted with my fingers. Even after I had stated my name, he didn’t respond immediately.

“Ah, you.”

You know me? They say when your boss remembers your name—it’s never a good sign.

“You’re the one who was talking to Lucid in the garden earlier.”

“Huh? The Second Prince?”

When did I ever talk to the Second Prince?

“Perhaps you’ve got me confused with someone else. I’ve never had the honour of meeting someone of such high rank.”

At my response, Edmund’s expression twisted into a deep scowl. His thick black brows looked like they were about to meet in the middle.

“Do you know how good my eyesight is? And on top of that, I’ve got an excellent memory—I rarely forget a face.”

Was that supposed to be a humblebrag? No matter how hard I tried to remember, I couldn’t recall ever—

“No way. That brown-haired guy…”

“That’s right. Him. And now you’re pretending not to know?”

So that guy who gave me the wrong directions… the one with no manners and questionable upbringing…

“Oh my god.”

He was the Second Prince?

But then why would he give me completely wrong directions?! There’s no way he’s one of those “terrible with directions” types, right?

He must have done it on purpose. He’s clearly trying to mess with me because he’s Edmund’s rival.

“I guess you’d rather side with Lucid than someone like me, tainted with foreign blood. If that’s what you want, I can send you right back. Judging by how late you are, you’ll probably get yourself demoted within a month anyway.”

Wait—

Is he implying that I am incompetent?

Has he just insulted my South Korean pride?

“I just asked for directions. It’s unfair of you to misunderstand me like that.”

This novel’s male lead was Edmund. Which meant siding with Lucid wouldn’t guarantee any kind of social success.

On top of that, Lucid was known for enforcing anti-foreigner policies, which would only make it harder for me to find my master.

“I have to work here! You never know what someone’s capable of until you test them, right?!”

In my previous life, I was a seasoned student. Add to that fifteen years of study in this life? Don’t look down on me!

“You’ll regret it if you kick me out!”

Time to show the full potential of a South Korean exam veteran!

***

“Didn’t you say I’d regret it?”

I was determined to show him what I was capable of.

But now, I could only hang my head in shame.

I had made a basic maths mistake.

Why on earth had I said that?

“Did you mean I’d regret hiring you?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Math had always been my weakest subject.

“I had high hopes since you were top of your class.”

Edmund clicked his tongue, crumpled up the document I had messed up and threw it in the bin. I could have simply corrected the numbers. Was that really necessary?

“…Got a problem with that?”

“No, of course not.”

I pouted slightly as I answered, and Edmund tossed a file toward me.

“I’ll give you one last chance. Organize this and have it on my desk by tomorrow.”

“…By tomorrow??”

That?

Just a glance told me it was thicker than a world history textbook.

Cold sweat ran down my back.

“Can’t handle it?”

Faced with those red eyes clearly saying “If you can’t, then leave,”

I had no choice but to bow my head and answer, “Yes, sir.”

“Olivia, not heading home?”

I slowly lifted my head at the sound of someone calling my name, my grip on my pen remaining firm.

Edmund’s office was known for having the heaviest workload, which meant that it also had the latest finishing time.

Here, you couldn’t leave until you had completed your daily quota. In other words, the more competent you were, the earlier you could leave.

As a new recruit who hadn’t yet been assigned an official quota, it was normal for me to leave on time.

This was why Campbell, another new recruit, had clocked out a while ago.

But I was still stuck working on the task Edmund had given me.

“He knew it was too much and gave it to you on purpose.”

Natasha, my mentor, glanced over from the next desk with a vaguely sympathetic expression.

“I know.”

He did it just to screw with me. I snapped the pen I was holding and pulled out a new one.

“Still, I want to do as much as I can.”

“You really are something… Of all people, you just had to get on His Highness’s bad side on your first day.”

Natasha clicked her tongue a couple of times and placed an energy drink on my desk.

“Don’t push yourself. No one’s going to blame you for not finishing that.”

A kind person. I was lucky to have such a kind mentor.

“Yup! You go on ahead!”

“Make sure you lock up?”

“Don’t worry!”

‘Because I’m not going home tonight.’

Once I had confirmed that everyone else had left, I propped myself up on my elbow and stared at the report.

Spanning two thousand pages, it detailed the Empire’s business transactions across all provinces over the past year.

“Ha! Two thousand pages? I can handle that!”

I drank the energy drink and prepared myself.

I was going to show them the same passion that I had displayed during my exam-cramming student days.

It was time to show them just how determined South Koreans could be!

***

“…Didn’t think anyone would get to work earlier than me.”

It was early morning.

Worried about bumping into my colleagues while I looked the way I did, I went to wash my face.

When I returned, Edmund was hanging his coat on the rack.

While I looked exhausted and worn out, he looked as polished as ever.

Not a strand of his neatly slicked-back, jet-black hair was out of place.

His sharp, chiselled nose sat perfectly on his face, and his broad shoulders made his suit look as if it had been made just for him.

But the way he looked at me, with that flawless face twisted in disdain—

—stung more than I wanted to admit.

How could I describe it?

As if he was looking at something unpleasant.

A bug, perhaps.

Smack!

I slapped both cheeks loudly. There’s no reason to feel insignificant. After all, I did manage to complete everything that man set me yesterday. I’m amazing!

“Are you protesting just because I gave you a little extra work yesterday?”

I must have slapped too hard — my cheeks stung as I held them. Edmund clicked his tongue.

“Just trying to wake myself up.”

I moved toward the window to let in some fresh air.

Come to think of it, the sun had only just started to rise. And yet he was already here? So he wasn’t a boss just because he was a prince, huh? Well, he was capable and hardworking—that’s probably why he’s the male lead.

“Wait, did you not go home?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“There’s grease dripping from your bangs.”

He sat down, casting a disgusted look down at me as if I were unhygienic.

“Coffee.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Bring me coffee.”

What does he think I am, a barista? I debated for several seconds whether or not to spit in his cup, but in the end, I held back, forced a smile, and handed it to him.

“Here you go.”

“What’s this?”

He gestured toward the file I handed over with the coffee.

“The thing you assigned yesterday.”

“…You actually did it?”

“You told me to, didn’t you?”

I rubbed my dark-ringed eyes as I spoke.

“To be honest, I haven’t received a proper briefing on any of my duties yet. You asked me to organise it, but I wasn’t sure how you wanted me to do it.”

I pointed to the layers of stacked files, one by one.

“So, I organized this section chronologically, this one by business category, and this last one ranks all the profitable and unprofitable ventures in alphabetical order by region.”

“…Ha. Hahaha!”

Edmund suddenly burst into laughter, like something was really funny.

What the—? That’s terrifying. He’s not… crazy, is he?

“You’re an interesting one.”

“Uh… thank you?”

With a faint smirk, he flipped through the files I handed over, and before long, he was reading them quite intently.

“I originally had them sorted by date… but this business-based organization isn’t bad. I might start using this method from now on.”

His eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

“Newbie.”

“Yes!”

I quickly snapped to attention, regaining my focus.

“I thought you’d quit and run. But I’ll give you this—you’ve got grit.”

He said that while running his red eyes over me, as if trying to figure out my motives. Like he was asking himself why I’d go so far just to stay in this office.