“Miss Namia! Are you even listening? Huh? Are you ignoring now? Why aren’t you answering?!”
It didn’t really matter whether I answered or not. If I did, he’d find fault. If I didn’t, he’d find fault anyway.
So the best option was to just play along and let ti pass.
“...I didn’t get into the Magic Tower because I lacked the qualifications...”
“If you didn’t have the grades, you shouldn’t have tried to act like you were all that in the first place!”
Still keeping my head down, I put on an extrely apologetic face.
“His Highness the Crown Prince is a Dragonblood! He had the entire White Knights with him! Even if you hadn’t stepped in, he would’ve dodged all those arrows just fine!”
Uh... no. He definitely wouldn’t have.
But I guess that’s what regular folks assud.
Well, of course. Kiaros wasn’t an idiot. There’s no way he’d reveal that he was in the middle of a second blackout period.
‘And he probably never will.’
No Crown Prince would ever announce that he was weakened—not in a situation like this.
Blackout periods in Dragonbloods were usually classified anyway.
While I was lost in thought, Oson tilted his chin up and started mocking .
“Thanks to how great Miss Namia is, now everyone knows, huh?”
“Ah, yes...”
“Why don’t you sound sorry? Huh? What are you so proud of, answering so promptly?”
Sigh... See? Whether you answer or stay silent, they’ll chew you out either way.
“If you’re so great, why even work in a group? Huh? Why join an organization?”
To make money...
Of course, that’s the one answer you can never say out loud.
“If you’re going to ignore your coworkers and act on your own, you shouldn’t have joined a departnt at all! I swear, you’re exhausting!”
Then maybe you should’ve just stayed ho today...
I stayed silent, and Oson slamd the desk.
“You clean this ss up.”
Oh. We’re moving to the next phase. As expected.
That ant Now, here cos my conclusion. Which also ant this uncomfortable session was finally wrapping up.
And indeed, Oson solemnly declared:
“Write an explanation report.”
“Explanation report...? For what exactly...”
“Say there were 172 scrolls in stock but you mistakenly thought there were only six, and then realized right before departure, so you brought them all. Take a light disciplinary action and let’s be done with it.”
Wow. Exactly what I expected.
Just then, the Director standing behind Oson gave a subtle glance.
He mouthed sothing silently at .
So only I could see it.
“Imperial comndation.”
As expected.
Just the outco I’d hoped for—so I didn’t feel nervous at all.
The implication was clear: don’t argue, just go along with it. The comndation would arrive soon anyway.
No matter how incompetent, a director was ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) still a director. He must’ve heard sothing about what happened.
‘Looks like His Highness really is planning to toss a comndation. What a decent guy.’
That was good enough for .
‘And, clearly, the Director has no intention of informing the Magic Tower.’
Which was fine.
I’d never had high expectations for this organization to begin with.
Technically, our departnt belonged under the Magic Tower, but in practice, we were the one place in the palace that higher-ups avoided ddling in.
Which ant... the Scroll Departnt was a place where people just coasted day to day, looking out only for themselves.
‘I’m no different from any of them.’
I’d adapted far too well to feel disillusioned by this point.
‘I guess I wasn’t like this at the beginning, though.’
Honestly, when I first joined... I’d actually had hopes for working in the Scroll Departnt.
Even if I’d placed first in the civil service exam, I probably would’ve still picked this place.
‘I used to really love magic. There was a ti when I genuinely enjoyed studying scrolls...’
But after three years and seven months in this hopeless departnt...
All my idealism had been steadily crushed, and my enthusiasm had long since faded.
Even now, since everything was going exactly as expected, I wasn’t even disappointed.
“You don’t like it? Huh? What, why aren’t you answering?”
Oson glared at like he was going to explode.
“If you don’t like it, leave the palace. Go work alone sowhere, then!”
“I just... didn’t answer because you told not to earlier...”
“You see?! This is the problem! No sense of timing! Huh? With this kind of attitude, how do you expect to survive in an organization?!”
Yeah, this was starting to get boring.
I put on a regretful face and glanced at the clock.
The start of first tasks in every departnt.
‘Should be about ti for the White Knights to deliver the comndation.’
And then—
Bang!
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
The door burst open, the handle slamming against the wall with a loud clang.
‘Finally! It’s here!’
Wow, that was so dramatic door-opening.
Probably so squire from the White Knights bringing my comndation?
‘I’ll get to check the cafeteria nu soon!’
I turned around, excited—only to freeze.
“Interesting.”
A cold voice brushed past my ear.
Fiery red eyes glead sharply. Hair like sunlight, golden and radiant. A tall fra, perfect proportions, solid muscles, refined balance.
A man so flawless it almost felt ridiculous stood with a crooked smile on his face.
“Truly fascinating.”
More than anything, the aura he gave off was terrifying enough to make your skin crawl.
Unlike when Oson had been yelling earlier, the entire departnt froze in a completely different kind of silence.
He spoke with a regal, cutting tone—clearly accustod to this kind of stifling stillness and deference.
“Since when was it acceptable for a team leader to talk about firing soone without Imperial permission?”
He hadn’t even raised his voice.
And yet my legs felt like jelly. Oson looked like he was about to faint.
The Director was the first to snap out of it and jump to his feet.
“Y-Your Highness the Crown Prince!”
Wait—WHAT?!
Why is Kiaros here?! Where’s my comndation?!
I spiraled into panic, my breathing rapid.
‘No way! Did he hear everything Oson said?!’
It was way too unexpected.
My heart thudded loudly in my chest as I thought—
‘If he didn’t hear sothing, I’ll find a way to tattle myself!’
The whole room had gone dead silent. Like soone had dumped a bucket of cold water over us.
Now, even Oson was trembling all over—he looked pitiful.
‘Ugh...’
Kiaros hadn’t shouted. He hadn’t made a threatening gesture.
And yet none of us dared to even breathe loudly.
‘The pressure he gives off is insane...’
It felt like we were all being crushed by the sheer weight of his silence.
“So this is how the departnt’s being run. Daring to even ntion disciplining soone for their accomplishnts?”
Kiaros spoke slowly, his red eyes glowing icily.
I looked like I was scared to death, but inside, I was relieved beyond words.
‘Guess I don’t have to report him myself. He must’ve heard everything.’
His voice carried a clear, unmistakable anger.
“I was truly incompetent. If I can’t even manage one royal departnt, how could I possibly rule the Empire?”
Which basically ant, I will rule the Empire—and I will make you all pay for this.
He turned to the Director with a chilling tone.
“Transfer the Scroll Managent Departnt’s docunt access rights to . I’ll be overseeing this departnt personally for a while.”
Now that was unexpected. He wanted access? Just like that? No subtlety?
“B-But we need the Magic Tower’s approval... Ah—no, I misspoke, Your Highness. I’ll prepare the paperwork right away.”
The Director scrambled to sign over the access rights. I just watched and gave a ntal shrug.
‘The Tower’s going to throw a fit.’
On that point, the Director and I were in agreent.
‘There’s definitely going to be a huge clash with the Tower Lord... But did he really have to go this far and demand it outright?’
The Magic Tower didn’t want to actually manage us, but they still wanted to maintain their pride in front of the royal court.
‘If he really wanted access, he could’ve just quietly used so shady loophole no one would notice...’
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