Did you just curse at me by calling me a witch?

I’ll destroy your little party completely.

“A demon is one thing, but a witch?”

I smiled ominously while mulling over his words.

I could somewhat make allowances if he called me a demon.

But a witch?

“What business? I came to return these tasks to you.”

“What…?”

“From what I just heard, it seems the Summer Palace assistants work very efficiently.”

I signaled to the knights.

Without a moment’s delay, the knights set down the mountain of documents.

Thud—!

There was so much that even on the soft grass of the garden, it made a heavy sound.

“After generously reviewing these in my nonexistent spare time, I determined these are all tasks that the Summer Palace is fully capable of completing.”

“Wh-what are you saying! You’re trying to dump work—”

“If the Summer Palace lacks the capacity, as colleagues doing the same work, the Winter Palace would gladly share the burden.”

I smiled sweetly.

“But from what I heard earlier, the Summer Palace seems to have plenty of excess capacity.”

“J-just because we work efficiently and have extra capacity doesn’t mean we should do the Winter Palace’s work! Don’t be unreasonable, Assistant Saliche.”

Wow, you really spoke the truth.

“Exactly, why should we do the Summer Palace’s work?”

Words that deserve a verbal beating.

“All these documents were originally the Summer Palace’s work — did Prince Charlie knowingly allow this?”

“Assistant Saliche!”

“If you continue being unreasonable like this, we in the Winter Palace plan to send all the work the Summer Palace dumped on us to the Sun Palace for complete review.”

While we’re at it, we can also let them know how incompetent Prince Charlie is.

“Including your testimonies that Prince Charlie instructed the assistants and administrators to handle work this way.”

Wouldn’t that be great for turning the Imperial Consort’s stomach inside out?

And that’s what you Summer Palace people want least of all, right?

Plus, the Sun Palace centered on His Majesty the Emperor relies on the Winter Palace for some work and has the second highest workload after us.

‘If you increase their workload during the settlement period with this nonsense, Emperor His Majesty will be absolutely furious.’

Well, some of that anger would fall on Cassian too, but the Summer Palace would take most of the blame.

I was confident in the public relations battle. I already had the opening lines written in my head for the article I would release.

Having been exhausted from continuous overtime and overwork, my mind was filled with thoughts that I couldn’t suffer alone.

I’ll gladly join you in that shared suffering.

Seeing my eyes glinting, the Summer Palace people’s mouths shut.

Having realized I was someone who could and would do that, the assistants looked back and forth between the mountain of documents and me.

“Ah, but still… The Winter Palace has been handling this work all along.”

“Has been handling?”

I immediately caught the words one administrator mumbled hesitantly.

“So you acknowledge we’ve been handling it out of goodwill until now.”

Go ahead, keep talking — the more you do, the more you expose yourselves.

Unlike you all, our Winter Palace fights only with righteous facts.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“There’s precedent and—”

“Would anyone like to put their name on a statement to the Sun Palace explaining why the Winter Palace should handle Summer Palace work that anyone can see?”

The assistant who was about to bluster shut their mouth.

They weren’t incompetent enough to not realize that if they took these documents now, they’d be living at the Summer Palace doing work instead of taking elegant post-lunch walks.

Since no one was being rebellious enough to speak up, with all of them keeping their mouths shut,

Then there’s no need to waste precious time here any longer.

“Well then, we’ve returned your lost items properly.”

I shot them a victory-filled smirk and left them behind, dumbfounded and at a loss for words.

*

On the day I returned the work to where it belonged, I managed to leave work before midnight for the first time in a while.

In truth, I hadn’t returned all the work the Summer Palace had dumped on us, so leaving at regular hours was still impossible.

‘But hey, getting home before the date changes is something.’

Cassian was also pleased about having less work, enough to order more elaborate snacks than usual be provided to the hardworking administrators.

That day, I was able to get six full hours of sleep for the first time in a while in bedding that the maid Joan had pleasantly sun-dried.

But the next day, my small moment of happiness developed a slight crack.

It was because of none other than…

“I’d like to have a word.”

The First Assistant of the First Prince’s Summer Palace’s Assistant Office.

“About this settlement period’s work — would you spare some time, Assistant Saliche?”

Francis Ashwood had come to visit.

“…You can say that even after seeing this situation?”

The problem was the time he came.

“Assistant Saliche, please process this document urgently. His Majesty the Emperor is waiting.”

“Assistant, please help me too, just this once.”

10:30 AM, when the Winter Palace was at its busiest.

Honestly, I couldn’t help but give him a look.

It was when administrators were running around trying to handle work after finishing the morning meeting right after arriving at work.

“Then when would be convenient?”

These days, no time is convenient.

I honestly wanted to answer that way, but I needed to hear the Summer Palace’s excuses.

Given Lord Francis Ashwood’s usual disposition, he probably wasn’t planning to postpone work like those idiots yesterday.

While handling and passing on work to other administrators who were rushing me, I glanced at today’s task list to find time to spare.

“Around 4 PM should work — would that be alright with you?”

Cassian should return from knight training around 3 PM, so I should be able to slip away briefly then.

To carve out time for a meeting on the same day during this busy period!

For me, this was an incredibly generous accommodation for him.

“…I apologize Assistant Saliche, but my work hours end at 12.”

“And?”

“It would be appropriate for you to make time before then—”

Snap—.

At that moment, the fountain pen in my hand broke.

Fortunately, it wasn’t the pretty pen Cassian bought me, but one that another administrator had thrust at me earlier for quick work processing.

A brief silence fell over the office.

Even the administrators and assistants who had been pressuring me to process work for their superiors were watching my reaction.

“Appropriate, appropriate you say? Aren’t you misunderstanding something, Assistant Ashwood?”

“But my time is—”

“Is only Assistant Ashwood’s time considered time, and my time not time at all? Or am I your subordinate who must make time whenever you say so?”

Cassian, my superior, pays my salary and allowances!

“Why are you speaking like—”

“I don’t understand how you can speak that way, really, the more I see, the more I wonder how leisurely the Summer Palace must be for First Assistant Ashwood to leave work on time.”

I roughly opened a drawer and took out a better fountain pen than the one I had just broken, processed the document, and handed it to the responsible administrator.

“Can’t you see me focusing on documents even while talking to you?”

“I actually thought that was quite rude, but I was being considerate since you seemed busy—”

“Considerate?! Just how much work must you handle like a greenhouse flower to say such things?”

Meanwhile, I was still diligently processing documents that administrators said were urgent.

Multitasking ability was essential to survive in the Winter Palace office.

“I don’t understand why the conversation is heading in this direction. I came to respectfully request the Winter Palace’s cooperation regarding the Summer Palace’s work—”

“So which side is more urgent!”

I raised my voice and glared at Francis Ashwood just once.

Are you mocking me by saying such things in front of me?

Finding it too annoying to argue further, I cut him off.

“4 PM, exactly 15 minutes. Remember that well, Assistant Ashwood.”

I told him while flipping through the next documents.

“Originally, these were tasks the Winter Palace had no reason to help with or be involved in.”

I pulled out a well-organized file and practically threw it down in front of his eyes.

“We didn’t even return tasks that were originally Summer Palace work but impossible to process without the Winter Palace’s power.”

“…This is…”

“I hope you learn some shame. Once you’ve looked it over, put that down and leave.”

With those final words, I focused back on the documents.

Next to me, he seemed to want to say something while slowly turning the pages, but the perceptive administrative officers appeared to have held him back.

After that, I processed work in a trance, consumed by anger.

*

After some time had passed, when my concentration began to waver, someone gently knocked on my desk.

“Why are you so angry?”

It was Cassian, his hair tips still damp as if he’d just washed.

“I even finished training early and came back.”

His tone was gentle, like he’s trying to soothe me.

“……Did you summon the knights since dawn?”

“Yes, since you bought me some time for once.”

It seems Cassian was also able to leave his office earlier than usual yesterday.

“The knights will resent you.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Cassian laughed as he took my hand and helped me up from my seat.

“You don’t know at all how our knights think of you, Rose.”

“……A demon?”

Though I didn’t want to say it myself.

When I spoke with a thoroughly displeased expression, Cassian let out a small laugh.

“To them, you are like a hero.”