“Huh?”
“You could just quit—or even apply for a transfer to another departnt, claiming you're not adjusting or sothing.”
It was pretty clear he didn’t think much of our departnt. I responded blankly.
“There hasn’t been anything serious enough to warrant that...”
“You don’t need to be so self-conscious. Just be honest. Getting chewed out like that and you’re saying it’s not serious?”
“Yes. In the Scroll Managent Departnt, this kind of thing is just an ordinary, uneventful day.”
At my polite answer, Kiaros clicked his tongue in disbelief.
“Sounds like a departnt that could shut down any minute.”
If I quit, I wouldn’t get paid...
Still, as for why I hadn’t submitted a transfer request due to ‘poor adjustnt’... honestly, I didn’t really know myself.
Or maybe I did?
‘It’s just that... I really do like scrolls.’
Maybe it was because I’d been playing with scrolls alone since I was a kid. Even if the departnt was a ss, I never felt a strong desire to move elsewhere.
Still, hearing Kiaros grumble reminded of the intern.
‘Oh right, soone actually did quit on the spot...’
That intern had just flat-out handed in their resignation.
At least they’d helped move so boxes before quitting, which worked out for .
As I was quietly smiling to myself thinking about the intern, Kiaros suddenly furrowed his brow and asked,
“Why are you smiling?”
“I’m sorry.”
Seriously, I only smiled a little. His eye for detail is terrifying.
I quickly bowed my head and explained.
“I was thinking about an intern I had recently who quit after just one day... that mory popped into my head.”
“Ah.”
Unexpectedly, Kiaros continued the conversation about the intern.
“Why’d that intern quit after just one day?”
“Uh, well, I’m °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° not really sure...”
“Didn’t you receive the resignation letter yourself, Miss Namia?”
“Y-yes, I did.”
“Then you must’ve handled the paperwork afterward too. Why didn’t you ask for the reason?”
I was suddenly stuck.
Honestly, I hadn’t had the motivation to ask why the intern quit.
I wasn’t even that curious, to be honest. But I couldn’t just say, “They probably just wanted to or sothing...”
So I scrambled to co up with any excuse and blurted it out.
“I-I thought they might feel uncomfortable if I asked...”
“Hm?”
“I did give them a task, and they seed to dislike it... I thought maybe they didn’t even like talking to ...”
As I kept fabricating, my speech slowed and my words started slurring.
“I’ve never had a junior under before... So I always thought, when soone did co, I’d be super nice to them...”
That part was the truth. I had always sworn to myself that if I ever had soone under , I’d never be like Oson.
Even if the first person assigned under ... turned out to be that brazen, rude, foul-mouthed intern.
“Even if it was just that one intern who quit after a day... Anyway, that’s why I didn’t ask.”
Is this going over okay?
I snuck a glance. Kiaros was staring at , clearly doubtful.
Yeah, that was the look of soone who didn’t believe at all. Definitely not an easy person to fool.
“A-also.”
But once you start lying to your boss, you absolutely cannot get caught.
“He was kind of handso. And had a good build, too. Honestly looked like the kind of guy who’d be super popular with won, and I was worried if I asked more questions, he’d think I was hitting on him or sothing.”
At that, Kiaros let out a small cough.
“S-so, um... you’re saying you thought he was handso?”
It’s working! I nodded enthusiastically for emphasis.
“Yes. Very, extrely, absolutely, truly.”
“...Really? That outer shell was that good?”
Kiaros had never even seen the guy, yet his face turned serious. Then, with a surprisingly solemn tone, he asked:
“Was he better than ?”
Uh? What kind of self-centered logic is this?
Still, saying sothing like “Why are you even asking that in this context?” wasn’t an option. That’s the fate of a subordinate.
I answered awkwardly, but honestly.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
“No matter how good-looking that intern was, he can’t compare to His Highness the Crown Prince, a Dragonblood...”
It was a sincere answer, so I didn’t think it could be taken as flattery. Maybe that’s why Kiaros didn’t look particularly pleased either.
Then what was even the point of asking?
I rolled my eyes and added,
“B-but now that I’m talking to Your Highness... um, I realize that maybe the intern misunderstood sothing.”
Anyway, it was ti to end this conversation.
Caught off guard, I’d been rambling without logic or structure this whole ti.
So I decided to wrap it all up with a nice, clean lie.
“If that intern ever does return soday...”
That cocky intern who glared at just for making them move a single box—if, by so miracle, they ever co back...
“I’ll clear up the misunderstanding and make sure they feel totally comfortable.”
I’d roll them around until they really understood what work ant.
“Well. I’m sure your sincerity will co through one way or another.”
Kiaros finally accepted it! He even nodded like he was genuinely touched.
“Though I doubt that handso, well-built intern will ever return to that departnt.”
“Yes, he probably won’t...”
As we talked about the intern, we finally arrived at the office.
Just as we were about to open the door and go in—
“Your Highness!”
Kiaros’s aide ca rushing toward us.
“I ca as quickly as possible with urgent news from the investigation. There may be collusion within the palace int— Oh, apologies. I didn’t realize there was a guest.”
The aide stopped mid-sentence when he saw .
Clearly, the palace was moving fast to track down whoever was behind yesterday’s assassination attempt.
Kiaros gave the aide a subtle look, telling him to stay quiet for now, then turned to .
“Hmm... anyway, back to the intern. It’s only natural for superiors to assign tasks. That intern probably just misunderstood. I doubt he really disliked you, Miss Namia.”
“Riiight...”
I guess the lie worked, because Kiaros seed convinced that I’d gotten pretty attached to that intern.
I didn’t care about the intern. What I really wanted to know was about that background investigation...
‘Wait? Hold on.’
As I naturally started thinking about the assassination scene again, sothing suddenly hit .
‘That’s it! Why didn’t I think of that until now?’
It felt like a lightbulb went off in my head. anwhile, Kiaros was still talking.
“So, um, you’re not exactly the type to speak clearly and logically, Miss Namia. You do tend to leave a bit of room for misundersta—”
I cut him off, gasping as I shouted.
“Your Highness! One mont!”
I widened my eyes and continued urgently.
“We need to reexamine that brief breach in the guard formation.”
Both Kiaros and the aide stared at , stunned.
“That legal officer was facing southeast and shouted, ‘Aaargh! Over here! Three o’clock! They’re here!’ Then, three of the five royal guards—who were facing west—ran off. But that ‘three o’clock’ wasn’t from his point of view—it matched the guards’ position. But usually, soone without physical training or directional awareness wouldn’t be able to reference soone else’s position like that in a panic. That’s not sothing an untrained civilian could do without experience or professional context.”
The aide’s jaw dropped as he muttered,
“My god. To say sothing so clearly and logically, with no room for misinterpretation...”
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