Prologue – The 101th Resignation Letter

Edwin ruthlessly tore the 100th resignation letter from his hands.

“Rejected.”

Lorraine, who had been watching her resignation letter being torn apart with an indifferent expression, took out the 101st resignation letter from the notebook she was holding, as if she had expected it.

At this, Edwin’s well-sculpted face wrinkled irritably.

“Aren’t you tired?”

Blowing away the stray hair that had fallen over his forehead, he accepted the 101st resignation letter as well.

But that did not lead to a different fate. Edwin tore it into even smaller pieces, as if to prove a point.

Lorraine glanced down at the scrap of paper that had met the same fate as the previous one, the one that had been a resignation letter a minute ago.

“I’m quitting.”

It was an all-too-familiar preamble to Edwin. He pressed his temples, which were starting to throb, and opened his mouth.

“Well, what’s the problem this time?”

“…….”

“Instead of shoving resignation letters at me, why don’t we handle it like adults and talk it out?”

Despite the long time since Lorraine had entered the study, her posture remained upright, as if revealing her meticulous character.

She looked at Edwin’s face with an indifferent expression and slowly opened her mouth.

“Haven’t I told you many times what kind of position this is?”

Her slightly low and cool voice, using a noble tone, cut through the silence of the study. Lorraine pushed up her glasses and continued.

“Despite my repeated reminders, you refuse to listen… so I am left with no choice but to take full responsibility.”

“No, that’s not—!”

Edwin intended to make excuses for his actions, had Lorraine not firmly shaken her head.

‘So, I don’t even have the right to speak as a sinner, huh…’

Edwin felt wronged. He was her employer. But, he knew that bringing it up at this moment would only make things worse.

In such cases, it was best to back down.

Edwin knew that his appearance was quite effective at such times.

‘I am pitiful. Pitiful.’

He murmured to himself as if casting a self-hypnosis, lowering his eyes. 

His eyelids quickly turned reddish, and along with his slightly disheveled shirt, the pitiful atmosphere he wanted was created.

It was a sight that would have had Edwin’s followers clutching their handkerchiefs if they had seen it.

“Your Grace.”

But unfortunately, his secretary was the heartless Lorraine Wiig.

She shook her head firmly, looking at him with a contemptuous gaze.

“Enough with the unnecessary acting, please”

‘Acting?’

At a loss for words, Edwin looked at her with a wronged expression. Yet Lorraine continued to speak.

“I mean, really… what kind of nobleman walks out on a meeting with Her Majesty the Empress Dowager?”

“Get your facts straight. It wasn’t a meeting.”

At Edwin’s sarcasm, Lorraine nodded obediently.

“Okay, it was a matchmaking arrangement.”

Not expecting that response, Edwin looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.

“So, what? Is that a problem?”

Lorraine questioned, as if she truly did not understand why it was an issue.

“Every head of a family has a duty to produce an heir. That applies even to His Majesty, Emperor Moses.”

Even while openly mentioning the Emperor in front of his close aide, Lorraine remained composed.

“I have some unfortunate news to share with you.”

She had no time to waste on such trivial matters.

“The news that you stormed out of the greenhouse has reached Astia.”

“…….”

“Ah-it’s very unfortunate news, isn’t it?”

Her voice held not a shred of sincerity.

Before Edwin could point that out, Lorraine nodded her head and left the study.

***

The news that Edwin had stormed out of the Empress Dowager’s greenhouse reached the townhouse of the Duke of Duncan around lunchtime.

「Enjoy your meal.」

「Thank you.」

Lorraine had just picked up her fork when an uninvited guest burst in.

The name of the uninvited guest was Raoul.

He was the ‘observer’ sent from the Duncan family’s headquarters in Astia for the event scheduled for today.

Lorraine couldn’t tell his exact age, but she guessed he was not yet an adult, judging from his soft, downy peach fuzz.

The boy spoke with an indifferent expression.

「His Grace left the greenhouse less than thirty minutes after entering.」

「Unbelievable.」

This news, rather than a report, caused Philip to roughly run his hand through his hair.

「I expected it, but he came out too quickly….」

What had looked like a delicious cutlet just a moment ago now seemed like an oil-soaked piece of trash. 

Lorraine poked at the cutlet a few times before putting down her fork.

At that moment, the butler carefully opened the door to the dining room and entered, holding a small piece of paper in his hand.

‘We’re really in trouble now.’

Lorraine had a pretty good idea of what it was.

「Sir Lloyd, a telegram from the estate.」

It was as Lorraine had expected.

‘There goes my meal.’ 

Lorraine stood up and said to Philip, the chief of staff,

「Let’s go, Sir Philip Lloyd. Time to work.」

Philip grumbled as he got up from his seat.

「I should have gone with him.」

「It’s too late now.」

Lorraine shrugged her shoulders.

***

Astia was the capital of the Duchy of Duncan, where the Duncan family’s castle was located.

Originally, it was supposed to be the residence of the head of the family, Edwin. But due to his power base being in the capital of Lantil, his parents, Owen and Monica, were the ones currently living there.

“They’ll fuss for a few days and then just go back.”

Edwin shrugged as if he could handle that much.

Lorraine just silently watched him. Her blue eyes showed no emotion, making Edwin uneasy.

‘It would be better if she said something.’

To dispel the unease, he provided a plausible reason.

“…Have you ever seen Mother stay in Lantil  for long, leaving Father behind?”

As Edwin mentioned, his mother, Monica Duncan, rarely stayed away from her husband for more than a week.

「Madam, a telegram from Astia.」

The moment it exceeded three days, telegrams from Astia would flood the townhouse, paralyzing its telegraph operations.

Listening quietly to his argument, Lorraine smiled and opened her mouth.

“Unfortunately, that’s the situation.”

Her voice was as calm as ever, but in contrast, Edwin’s face grew anxious.

Lorraine enjoyed this moment, taking a breath. She was sure she was the happiest person at this moment.

“The Dowager Duchess will be coming with him.”

Edwin let out a deep sigh. Silence filled the study.

After a while, he spoke up.

“I went to inspect the border guards that day.”

‘What is he thinking so seriously?’

Lorraine, who had been staring blankly at his face, remembered the postscript of the last telegram she had received.

“Don’t even think about running away.”

“What?”

The formality she had maintained so far disappeared, and the sudden use of informal speech startled Edwin.

“-is what she said.”

Lorraine, returning to her polite demeanor, smiled faintly. Edwin then realized she had been teasing him.

“I’m really a punching bag, aren’t I?”

The response came immediately.

“A very sturdy punching bag at that.”

“Lorraine Wigg, aren’t you worried about the well-being of your salary?”

At his not-quite-a-threat, Lorraine, who had been staring blankly at him, shrugged and replied.

“You know that threats lose their power when used too often, right?”

“…….”

At her response, Edwin looked at her with an incredulous expression.

Lorraine gathered the documents on the public order survey of Bezar that were in front of him and said,

“Why don’t you try being a little more creative this time?”

“…….”

‘Well then.’ 

With that, Lorraine gave a small nod and left Edwin’s study, holding the file in her arms.

***

Lorraine usually left the Wigg townhouse around 8:15 AM.

“I’ll be going now.”

It took 40 minutes to walk from her house on Lantil 9th Street to the Duncan family’s townhouse on Lantil 5th Street, or 15 minutes by carriage.

“To Lantil 5th Street, please.”

While the distance was not far, Philip had offered to provide a carriage.

「9th Street, right? Start using the carriage from today.」

Lorraine shook her head at his words.

「No, the public carriage is quite affordable.」

She felt more at ease taking the public carriage rather than the Duncan family’s carriage. Not that she never regretted her choice from time to time.

Because every now and then-

As she boarded the carriage, the coachman, who had been stealing glances at her, asked,

“What business brings you to the 5th Street?”

“I’m going to work.”

Seemingly not getting the hint that Lorraine didn’t want to continue the conversation, the coachman persisted.

“Oh, you must be working as a maid.”

– This was because she occasionally received such clichéd misunderstandings.

‘What a lovely morning.‘

Lorraine suppressed a sigh and rolled her eyes. Regaining her composure, she smiled and replied.

“No. I may not look it, but I’m the Duke of Duncan’s secretary.”

“Ah…”

The coachman let out an awkward exclamation. At the same time, the carriage fell silent. Lorraine finally picked up the newspaper displayed on one side of the carriage with a relieved expression.

About 10 minutes after departure, the atmosphere of the street had changed quite noticeably.

It meant they were getting closer to the 5th Street. Imposing mansions were lined up on the street, as if to flaunt their grandeur.

An ordinary person would have been overwhelmed by now, but Lorraine looked out the window with an indifferent expression.

She then spoke to the coachman in a casual tone.

“Please stop here.”

Lantil 5th Street, where not only the four Dukes but also the Counts resided, was the wealthiest area in Moses.

“That’ll be 6 silvers.”

After Lorraine paid the fare and alighted from the carriage, it quickly departed.

She stood in front of the grand gates of the Duncan family’s estate and checked her wristwatch.

8:30 AM, the time was exact.

While the official start time was 9 AM, the work of the Duncan family did not distinguish between day and night.

Therefore, Lorraine often came 30 minutes early to handle the handover.

“Good morning.”

“Ah, good morning.”

As soon as Lorraine arrived, she started reviewing the documents from the day before.

After quickly clearing a few things, a new envelope caught her eye.

The sender was Tarf Port.

It was one of the ports owned by the Duncan family. Examining the front of the envelope, Lorraine asked the person sitting next to her, Philip.

“This has already arrived?”

“What? The financial report? It came this morning.”

The Duchy of Duncan had two ports, ‘Bezar’ and ‘Tarf’.

Both ports were among the largest in the Empire, so the workload was no small matter.

Of course, compared to the bustling Bezar Port, Tarf Port’s work was negligible, but it still got busy at the end of the month.

Lorraine, skimming through the neatly organized monthly financial report, murmured, 

“That was fast.”

“Where? Tarf?”

“Yes.”

Lorraine placed the financial report on top of the documents that needed to be reported to Edwin, and continued, 

“And it’s neat as well.”

Placing the financial report on top of the documents to be reported to Edwin, Lorraine opened another document.

***

On the days when Edwin and Philip went to the military office, the Duncan family’s mansion was generally quiet.

Everyone was busy with their own tasks.

Lorraine also stayed cooped up in the office as much as possible. Not only were there many documents to be processed, but she also didn’t want to disturb the busy household staff constantly moving around the house.

However, there was one who would break her peace-

Knock knock.

“Secretary.”

– It was Anne, the daughter of the head maid, Martha.

At her call, Lorraine, buried in a pile of documents, looked up.

“Ah, come in.”

Lorraine quickly tidied up one side of the desk. Anne skillfully placed the tray down on the empty space and opened her mouth.

“You’re amazing, Secretary.”

“…Me?”

Lorraine responded slowly, keeping her gaze on the documents. Her bright blue eyes behind the thick glasses were busy reading the text.

As Anne organized the teapot, she continued.

“You’re the first one to last this long, you know?”

‘What an odd thing to say out of nowhere…’

Lorraine quietly watched Anne before letting out a small laugh.

Anne had a tendency to say things out of the blue. She could be described as unreserved.

In fact, this trait helped them become close rather quickly.

As Lorraine moved the signed documents to one side and wiped the ink from her hands with a handkerchief, she responded.

“What did they say this time to make you think that?”

At that, Anne shrugged her shoulders and let out a heavy sigh.

“You wouldn’t believe how much they pester me.”

Lorraine laughed awkwardly.

Even after becoming a 4-year veteran secretary, Lorraine still had only a handful of people in the mansion with whom she could converse comfortably.

This was also the one weakness that Philip had pointed out about her.

“Do you know how much everyone respects you, ]Secretary?”

“Do they?”

Lorraine answered that way, but in truth, she had only half-listened to her claim.

Because it seemed unlikely to her.

“Everyone’s hoping you’ll stay for a long, long time.”

“Huh? Hahaha, no way.”

But unfortunately, Anne’s claim was 100% true.

The staff respected Lorraine for enduring Edwin’s difficult personality.

And it was no wonder, as Edwin’s sensitive and demanding personality was well-known even in the Lantil social circle.

Especially when it came to work, his personality shone the brightest-

「He’s supposed to be a brilliant talent.」

「…He is talented.」

「Are you sure you didn’t mean to say a dullard?」

– The first ones to be driven out were the secretaries.

Even when Edwin drove away the 49th secretary, he remained unfazed. It wasn’t his responsibility to understand Philip’s frustration or the resulting domestic discord.

It was only natural for gossipers to talk.

They bet on who would give up first, Philip or Edwin. They predicted there would be no more souls willing to walk into hell on their own.

When Lorraine was hired, they expected the same outcome.

But now, she had been holding the position of Edwin Duncan’s secretary for 4 years already.