Chapter 3

She was dumbfounded by her sister’s words.

“Who spread such nonsense?! That man is my nemesis!”

“Who doesn’t know that? Of course, I thought it was a baseless rumor at first. But as evidence kept coming out… I started wondering if you’d grown fond of him despite hating him so much.”

“What kind of evidence?”

“Well, I don’t feel like telling you.”

Her sister shrugged, withholding the details.

It was clearly revenge for not sharing anything with her the other day.

So, she turned to Lord Leheln for help. But as expected, he was firmly on her sister’s side and avoided her gaze.

She kept pressing throughout breakfast, but her stubborn sister refused to say a word.

In the end, she left for work without learning what the so-called evidence was.

Shaterian Melis despised Eched Astrea.

This was a well-known fact among everyone in the Kentri Empire.

‘Of all people, it had to be Eched!’

To be tangled up in a romantic scandal with that nemesis of hers was absurd.

Yet, people seemed to believe this baseless rumor without question.

Trying her best to ignore the lingering stares that followed her more persistently than usual, she arrived at her office, located at the far end of the first floor of the annex next to the main palace.

Under the sign that read “1st Knight Order’s Adjunct Office,” there was another sign that read “Grievance Counseling Office.”

The Counseling Office had become a sub-department of the Knight Order two years ago.

This happened after the resignation of the previous head of the Counseling Office, when she took over the position. 

The infamous combination of the crazy Lady Shaterian’s reputation and her lackluster counseling skills had led to a disastrous outcome.

As workloads decreased and results dwindled, the budget was cut, staff were reduced, and eventually, a proposal to dissolve the department was made.

Sitting in that meeting room, she had secretly hoped the Counseling Office would be shut down.

She had planned to use it as an excuse to quit and enjoy a legitimate life of unemployment.

But her brilliant plan was thwarted by her sister, Sirenrosa Melis, and Eched Astrea, the Commander of the 1st Knight Order.

By the end of the meeting, the Counseling Office had been absorbed as a sub-department of the Knight Order, and her resignation was out of the question.

Thus, she became Eched’s subordinate.

The new Counseling Office they were assigned was the innermost room of the 1st Knight Order’s adjunct office.

It was a tiny space, lacking a proper counseling room or even an office for the head counselor.

When she opened the door, the gazes of the adjunct office staff, who were scattered around, turned toward her.

In the past, Shaterian would have immediately shouted, ‘What are you staring at?!’

But now, as a refined person, she ignored their stares.

Should I explain that the rumors were untrue?

No, that seemed ridiculous too.

‘They say strong denial is strong affirmation.’

Deciding that rumors would die down on their own, she entered the Counseling Office.

The room was empty. Pell, who usually arrived earlier than her, was surprisingly late today.

She hung up her coat and started brewing tea when the door suddenly burst open. Pell entered, breathing slightly heavily.

“You’re late today.”

“It’s not like I’m tardy.”

Wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead, Pell went to his desk.

Since he didn’t have a personal carriage, he always had to walk from the city walls to the main palace every morning, leaving him drained.

Though he was part of the Knight Order, Pell looked every bit like someone who worked a desk job.

As soon as Shaterian sat down with her tea, Pell placed a pile of documents on her desk.

“These need to be dealt with today.”

At him firm tone, she pouted as she started flipping through the papers.

Watching him begin his work without delay, Shaterian reluctantly picked up her pen.

For a while, the only sounds in the office were the scratching of pens and the rustling of papers. The silence was broken by Pell.

“By the way, Chief.”

“Yes?”

She noticed a number in the document was incorrect. Dipping her quill in blue ink, she marked the error.

“I heard a funny joke on my way to work.”

“What kind of joke?”

“That you and the Commander of the Knight Order are dating. Ha! It’s hilarious enough that such a rumor exists, but there are actually people who believe it.”

Pell chuckled, clearly amused.

“Oh, so that’s why you’re late.”

“Yes. But don’t worry; I made sure to tell everyone that you absolutely despise the Commander.”

It seemed Pell had quickly picked up on her habit of loudly declaring Terry’s hatred for Eched.

“Don’t people have anything better to do than believe such nonsense?”

“Exactly. They were whispering about how you pretended to hate him but secretly liked him. Commander Astrea’s admirers even looked furious.”

“Ha. Maybe I should throw them all in jail. Charge them with defaming a noble.”

“It’s just a rumor; it’ll die down soon. But the person who spread the story about seeing you leave Duke Astrea’s estate early in the morning should be punished. That’s just…”

Her hand, which had been marking errors, froze.

The sudden silence filled the room once again.

‘So that’s why the rumor started.’

She finally understood the origin of the scandal.

Noticing the awkward quiet, Pell met her gaze.

She avoided his eyes and muttered defensively.

“…I wasn’t in a rush when I left. There was no urgent situation.”

“…So, it’s true you left Duke Astrea’s estate in the morning?”

“Well, yes. I drank too much and passed out.”

“But why were you at Duke Astrea’s estate in the first place? You said you were going to a party.”

“There’s a conspiracy by His Highness the Prince behind that.”

“I see. That makes sense now.”

Pell quickly nodded, familiar with the Crown Prince Orgon’s obsession with her marriage.

As Pell resumed his work, the pile of documents gradually decreased. Then, he asked another question.

“By the way, who was the man you kissed in the garden the night before?”

“What…?”

The pen slipped from her hand and rolled onto the floor, leaving an ink stain.

But that wasn’t the issue.

Who kissed whom in the garden?

“W-What are you talking about?”

“Someone said they saw you kissing a man in the garden during the party. They didn’t see his face because it was dark, but when they heard you left Duke Astrea’s estate the next morning, they assumed it was the Commander.”

Her mind went blank, unable to recall anything.

“Was that really me? No, right? Tell me it wasn’t.”

“They were sure it was you, though they couldn’t identify the man.”

Pell’s tone was unnecessarily firm.

“Ugh!”

She let out a muffled scream, covering her face with her hands.

‘Then where were you coming from?’

Her sister’s persistent questioning echoed in her mind.

The people she had been with in the garden: Orgon and Eched.

It couldn’t have been Orgon, so that left Eched…

But why would I kiss Eched?

“This is ridiculous!”

***

“Tsk. Tsk. Just how much did you drink that night?”

“The wine was just too good that day. I didn’t think I’d black out.”

“Did the Commander of the Knight Order say anything about it?”

“Not really. He seemed displeased even about letting me sleep there. That wasn’t the look of a man in love.”

“And what exactly is this ‘look of a man in love’?”

“It’s a thing. I want to go home.”

Or maybe resign altogether.

“You’ve just arrived at work.”

Pell placed another pile of documents on her desk with a disapproving look.

She hated it. Even in the midst of this chaos, she had to endure a life buried in work.

“A proper office worker always thinks about quitting when they wake up and going home when they arrive at work. Haven’t you ever felt that way, Pell?”

“I feel like quitting every time you subtly try to delay work, Chief.”

She never let her win an argument.

Letting out a deep sigh, she straightened her slouched posture.

She had to get to work before Pell started talking about resigning again.

She picked up the fallen pen and wiped the ink smeared on the floor with her foot. It was already stained, so there was no way to clean it properly.

“Why does it feel like the paperwork never decreases?”

She muttered, convinced that the staff in the adjunct office weren’t doing their jobs properly.

The endless workload, combined with the thought of helping Eched with his work, made her perspective skewed.

Still, she couldn’t afford to slack off, so she slowly began reviewing the documents.

If someone were to name the busiest department in the Imperial Palace, it would undoubtedly be the Imperial Knight Order.

With the Emperor’s dedication to fostering knights, the number of knights had grown significantly, resulting in a heavy workload.

Recently, five Knight Orders had been taking turns patrolling the capital to maintain security.

While this had reduced the crime rate compared to when only soldiers were deployed, it had also increased the workload for the adjunct office.

The variety of reports was staggering.

There were periodic training reports from each Knight Order, palace and capital inspection reports, border inspection reports, Knight Order personnel reports, soldier personnel reports, activity plans, and activity reports.

Accounting documents were a given, and there were also miscellaneous reports like complaints from Knight Order members.

The workload was immense, but what made it worse was the additional tasks that required fieldwork.

Eched frequently left his office, causing a backlog of documents awaiting his approval.

Thinking about how he managed to handle all that work without breaking a sweat made her marvel at his stamina.

Looking back, she couldn’t believe her past self had dared to challenge him, knowing his strength.

“You’re going to the Commander’s office, right?”

“Yes, I’ll be back.”

She gathered the separated documents and opened the door.

At the sound, a few staff members peeked their heads out, only to shrink back like turtles when their eyes met hers. Yet, they couldn’t stop sneaking glances at her.

It was no surprise. In the gossip-filled Imperial Palace, Eched had always remained untouchable, free of any rumors.

Now that the once-spotless pearl had been muddied, their curiosity was understandable.

Knock, knock.

She knocked on the door, but as always, there was no response. Opening the door, she saw Eched reviewing documents.

As usual, he didn’t spare her a glance, even as she approached.

Used to his indifference, she calmly placed the documents on an empty spot on his desk. Eched paused his work to review the documents she brought.

He usually asked questions about the papers she submitted, so she stood by, waiting.

With nothing else to do while he read, her eyes wandered.

Her gaze landed on his hair, gleaming under the sunlight.

It was more fitting to call it silver rather than gray.

The way it shimmered faintly, like glass beads in a stream, was mesmerizing.

Come to think of it, wasn’t Eched featured on the cover of a novel I had read in my past life?

She recalled picking up the book, captivated by the illustration.

Back then, she had assumed Eched was the male lead of the story.

The author must have had a soft spot for Eched, the second male lead.

“Lady.”

“Yes?”

Her eyes were drawn to his lips, which stood out on his perfectly sculpted face. It was definitely because of what Pell had said.

Should I ask him or not?

‘Did we kiss?’

Her lips moved slightly, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to ask. She was afraid he might confirm it.

“Is there something on my face?”

“No.”

She quickly shook her head in denial.

“Lady.”

“Yes?”

Eched set down his pen and looked at her. He seemed to hesitate, as if pondering something.

“Have you heard the rumors?”

Ah. Now that she thought about it, there was no way Eched hadn’t heard the rumors.

The Imperial Palace must be abuzz with the story wherever one went, and Eched had exceptionally sharp senses.

“I thought it would be best to let baseless rumors die out on their own. Speaking out to explain might only lead to more misunderstandings.”

“Hmm, that makes sense.”

“Besides, the rumors started because people saw me leaving your estate that morning, so I can’t really deny it. It’s true that I came out of your room that day, Your Grace.”

‘Not to mention the affectionate scene in the garden. What on earth was that about?!’

While she might not remember, Eched surely must.

Yet, he showed no intention of bringing up that incident.

“Hmm…”

Knock, knock.

At the sound of a knock, she turned to see his adjutant, Lutz, standing there. He looked somewhat flustered as he bowed slightly to her.

“Come in. You may leave now.”

With that, she was dismissed.

Relieved that there were no stormy questions, she took the documents he handed her, nodded to Lutz, and quickly left the office.