As expected, the Finance Minister was seasoned. He gave a guarded look, sensing sothing was off.
Up until now, I had sat silently with a blank stare—but then I spoke all at once.
“I believe you’re suggesting I recorded the remaining balance incorrectly. But actually, I’ve been concerned myself—because there’s sothing strange in the Finance Departnt’s paperwork. Right here, this section calculates the magic circle usage fee at 0.035%, but that was reduced to 0.032% five years ago. It was announced through the Scroll Managent Departnt, so the Finance Departnt wouldn’t have had direct access to that update. Technically, the Finance Departnt is supposed to check in with us once a year, but I guess since the rate didn’t change for the past 159 years, no one ever followed up.”
“Hrm?”
The Minister’s face changed imdiately.
Then he quickly composed himself and narrowed his eyes.
“But if the fee hadn’t changed in 159 years, and then it did, shouldn’t that have been reported to us? I an, that’s just common sense.”
“Of course, that would be the reasonable thing. But according to the regulations, the duty of confirmation lies with the Finance Departnt. As a principled man, I’m sure you understand, Minister.”
Of course, I wasn’t blaming the Minister.
He couldn’t possibly be checking every little detail like that.
“Very well. But—”
The Minister stared intently at the docunt, then narrowed his eyes even further.
“I understand the Scroll Departnt Minister’s point. But if the rate was reduced to 0.032% five years ago, why did the Finance Departnt’s remaining balances always match up so precisely?”
He seed to be putting aside his original goal—getting to resign.
Naturally, Finance Departnt business took priority.
I smiled brightly and said,
“That missing 0.003% over the past four years... soone must have been embezzling it. That’s why the balances ca out perfectly.”
The Minister's complexion went completely pale.
Got you.
I grinned and shrugged.
This is the end of House Roafi.
That missing 0.003%—on the departntal scale, it was negligible. But on an individual level, it added up to a significant sum over four years.
I discovered the discrepancy while helping Juan with his reports.
[Juan? About the magic circle fees—who in your departnt’s responsible for checking that with us?]
[. I’m also the one who pays the usage fee to the Magic Tower.]
[They lowered the fee last year. You need to fix this. Your calculations have been off since then.]
[Oh, so that’s why the Magic Tower refunded us in gold coins last year? Uh-oh. I just thought it was their mistake and... kept the money.]
[...What? Are you insane?]
I nearly flipped out, but Juan blinked calmly and said,
[Perfect timing. I’ll just keep it for a few years. I’ll say the fee change happened right before the official switched.]
[Are you out of your mind? That’s embezzlent, you idiot.]
[Who even knows the Tower lowered the fee? Your departnt doesn’t do its job. No one cares. The Magic Tower people never leave their bubble. I’m just making use of a loophole.]
[That’s ridiculous. Even if no one knows—it’s still wrong.]
[If I get caught, everyone will know it’s because you ratted out, Namia.]
Juan said smugly:
[Then you’ll never find out where your father is.]
[You—]
[Don’t act so pure. You cheated too, rember?]
[What the hell are you talking about?]
[You did all my assignnts. That’s academic fraud. You’re just as guilty—you’re using loopholes in the system for your dad too, aren’t you?]
In the end, I had no choice but to shut my mouth.
But I never forgot.
And it paid off.
The Minister wasn’t a fool. He’d figure out what Juan had been doing, now that I pointed it out.
“Minister,” I said, looking him in the eye.
“You must be wondering how I know all of this, right?”
“...”
“Try asking Juan about the reports he’s submitted so far.”
Of course, he wouldn’t be able to answer a single thing.
Then the Minister would know exactly whose mind those reports ca from.
To be honest, I wasn’t exactly proud of it.
I hadn’t planned to claim that work as my own, either.
But...
Even if I’m not proud of myself, if I can take it—I will.
I glanced out of the office at the staff trembling in the hallway.
All those mouths to feed.
Nine staff mbers left in the Scroll Departnt. Ten, counting the intern.
I couldn’t let them keep being trampled on.
And there was another reason.
If Juan gets fired, House Roafi is finished.
The Roafi barony was already drowning in debt. They’d been selling Juan’s status as a civil servant to cover their interest paynts.
If he lost that job?
The creditors would flood in, demanding everything back.
And on top of that, Juan would now legally owe the state three tis the amount he embezzled.
They’d have to sell the house.
As far as I knew, that was the only thing they had left.
The house my dad’s money paid for.
Guess they’re beggars now.
The Minister cleared his throat, clearly flustered.
“Oh, and by the way.”
I bowed politely and added,
“Just to clarify—under regulation, only the person who leaked the internal docunts is subject to disciplinary action. As you surely know...”
Even if I’d written those reports for him, I wasn’t the one leaking anything.
The Minister stared at with a wavering gaze.
Then he muttered:
“...I’ll speak with you later. For now, I’ll be going.”
He bowed stiffly and hurried out.
Ah.
Watching his retreating back, I thought:
Being a Minister is great...
Now that I am a Minister, I can speak directly to soone like the Finance Minister.
Back when I was just another low-level worker, that would’ve been unthinkable.
This is crazy... it feels amazing.
Even submitting this kind of budget—only a Minister can do that.
And only a Minister can make corrections using the docunt itself like I just did.
If I had tried telling this to so random Finance Departnt grunt, I’d have been brushed off at best—or blad for stirring trouble.
Having power really does make things fast and clean... it’s no joke...
That long-standing, aching emptiness inside—power soothed it, if only a little.
I smiled and turned to Kibon.
“All right.”
Kibon just stared at in a daze.
“Let’s get back to work. We haven’t finished reviewing everything yet.”
***
Kiaros stared at Namia. She really was a ridiculous woman.
First off, even just the interpretation of Imperial was shocking.
The idea of soone interpreting a language you’ve spoken all your life...
Juan will definitely be fired, Kiaros thought.
He’d already made moves against House Roafi.
The only obstacle left was Juan Roafi, whose status as a civil servant protected him.
And now she’s handled that herself.
Namia’s eyes sparkled as she returned to reviewing the docunts.
Kiaros watched her face.
The woman who had once just wanted peaceful dinners and °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° small talk with her family—
Now, she chased power, fiercely trying to soothe that emptiness.
She’s made an impression on the Finance Minister. He’ll be back.
Had she planned this from the start?
Kiaros knew that Minister well.
He was arrogant, but undeniably competent.
And that foster son of his... isn’t he in this departnt?
He glanced at the Scroll Departnt’s roster.
Namia had promoted that man to team leader during her restructuring.
She had even issued a sudden recall order while he was on extended overseas assignnt.
Victor Arwin...
Victor had been adopted into the marquis’ house after becoming a civil servant, so Kiaros had never seen him in high society.
Pretending to study the org chart, he asked casually,
“But Minister... this Victor Arwin listed here—he shares the sa family na as the Finance Minister.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Are they related?”
“Ah, yes.”
“So Victor must be just as uptight as the Minister, huh?”
“Ah—no.”
...Wait.
“Ah, no”?
Namia added,
“Senior isn’t uptight at all.”
...What?
“Seniorrrrrrr?”
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