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Chapter 53
Kibon flinched. I shook my head and added,
"No, even if you were royalty, they'd only apologize to your face. Nothing would actually change."
Kibon paused, but the atmosphere around him grew ‌‌‌even colder.
This was why teaching sheltered newcomers to office life was so exhausting.
I led Kibon outside as I spoke.
"Calm down. From their perspective, ‌‌‌‌it might ‌‌‌‌seem ‌‌‌natural enough."
"Natural? Civil servants with the same salary being so petty...."
"We're all earning the same pay, but our department looks completely incompetent. And honestly, we were."
It had always been like that in the past.
Whenever I mentioned the Scroll Management Department elsewhere, the treatment was terrible.
'Whenever there were any official ‌‌events, ‌we always stood at the very end....'
It was ‌‌the same in daily life too.
Whether in the Dining Hall or the Cafe, we'd stand up whenever others gave us the slightest hint.
We knew all ‌too well that we were in a position to be mocked and despised.
'But now there's only ‌‌‌‌‌more ridicule waiting for us, I suppose.'
Sure enough, the upper management had been purged en masse, and one of them was even exposed as a spy.
Things would only get worse, not better.
Behind closed doors, they were definitely saying things like, 'This is our chance to eliminate them....'
I spoke to Kibon in a soothing tone.
"They're all elites who passed difficult exams to get here—they have every right to look down on us." ‌‌
Salary ‌‌‌‌thieves.... ‌‌‌How many times had I heard that over the years?
"The number of staff in a department is one indicator of its importance. And now we're down to just nine people."
"But that's unavoidable, isn't it?"
"And then there's this young minister the Tower Master parachuted in. Mockery is certainly wrong, but contempt is inevitable."
In this situation, expecting proper treatment as a minister was unrealistic.
It was obvious the other ministers resented me too.
"We've only shown incompetence so far, ‌‌‌so insisting on respect would just come across as ‌‌‌whining."
I'd somehow become a minister, but at this rate, I'd only be treated as the Tower Master's ‌puppet.
And my staff would continue to be disrespected everywhere.
"Then what should we...."
"Stop complaining and overcome this through other means."
"Um, how exactly...?"
Kibon looked at me with confusion.
"We need to grow the ‌‌department."
I spoke with determination.
"We have to prove ourselves through results. We need to show ‌‌‌‌everyone that the Scroll Department can become an important ministry."
"Um, how exactly...?"
"For now...." ‌
Kibon's responses remained brief, but I didn't point it out. Lunch break was ending.
I turned ‌slowly and spoke.
"First, I need to secure a budget."
Money.
To demonstrate anything worthwhile, I absolutely needed funds.
There were several ways to indirectly display a department's authority.
Among them, the allocated budget was considered one of the most important factors alongside personnel count.
But since we were a newly established department, our ‌‌budget hadn't even been allocated yet.
"A lot."
I'd already cast the bait this morning by sending a budget proposal to the Ministry of Finance.
"A very large amount." ‌‌‌
Now it was time to wait patiently.
"...Truly, a very, very large amount."
* * *
Namia and Crown Prince Kiaros eventually returned before the appointed time.
They'd practically shoved food into their mouths and hadn't even properly enjoyed dessert.
Crown Prince Kiaros didn't mind that he hadn't eaten properly, but I was concerned about the gaunt Namia.
'That meal voucher wasn't meant to be rushed ‌through like this.'
Perhaps ‌sensing my gaze, Namia chuckled and spoke.
"I'm a minister, after all."
She sat down and ‌‌‌‌‌pointed at the clock.
"If I don't keep proper work hours myself, how can I expect my department members to do the same?"
The Scroll Management Department had always ‌had terrible attendance issues.... She seemed determined to ‌‌change the atmosphere through her own example.
I stared ‌‌‌‌‌at Namia for a moment, ‌‌‌‌then spoke impulsively.
"Minister."
"What?"
"That... what you heard at the cafe... you don't need to take it to heart."
"Hm?"
"I'm speaking out of ignorance, not knowing how thorough you are."
Just thinking about it made me angry. How dare they judge without knowing anything....
[A twenty-three-year-old minister? Who'd want ‌‌to work under her?]
[I'd never ‌‌become a team leader under a twenty-three-year-old minister.]
I ‌‌‌wondered how much those words must have hurt Namia.
But Namia... simply turned away coolly, saying she'd prove herself through her abilities.
"They're just the gossip of people whose faces and names I don't even know. I'm sure even the Royal Family receives that level of criticism."
It was meant as consolation on her part.
After all, Namia had comforted me during our meal ‌‌‌‌time too.
I'd learned so many new things about her that it was difficult to process them all.
In truth, the emotion that weighed ‌‌most heavily on me was guilt.
'It feels like I opened up my heart ‌‌‌as if to console her, just because she said she had no family....'
Honestly, I was moved by that warmth of hers.
But before that, I felt a pang of guilt for deceiving Namia Loapi.
'No. This is ‌‌‌an investigation. Namia herself said to investigate freely if anything seemed suspicious. This is official ‌‌business.'
At the same time, I made another resolve.
I would not let the Loapi Marquessate off easy.
I'd already issued all the necessary orders, but it felt insufficient.
'And Huan Loapi even had Namia handle his work ‌‌too?'
Leaking internal department documents was grounds for disciplinary action.
Violating ‌protocol was infuriating, but what truly angered me was that he'd unilaterally ‌dumped his work on ‌‌‌Namia.
"Hmm."
In any case, had Namia found comfort in my words? ‌‌‌
Crown Prince Kiaros watched her quietly, and her small lips parted.
"Fifth-year civil servants from ‌‌‌the Ministry of Education."
"...Pardon?"
"I know their faces and names. I look at organizational charts and photos whenever I have time. Even if I haven't memorized all their names, I know roughly their seniority and departments."
"..."
The Ministry of Education, while not quite the scale of the Treasury Department, was still considerably large, and its civil service exam cutoff scores were high.
Yet mere fifth-year employees were showing such disrespect to the Team Leader and Minister...
That was absurd enough, but what was even more absurd now was Namia's ‌‌‌murmuring.
"Since those bastards like to rank departments, I'll properly reorganize the hierarchy later. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."
Crown Prince Kiaros ‌‌swallowed hard.
Namia Loapi hadn't brushed ‌‌‌this off coolly. She remembered ‌‌‌‌everything. ‌‌‌
And somehow, he sensed she would never forget, no matter how much time passed.
"I don't know all their names, but roughly starting from the one on the left—Ardan, Rebon, Udis... ‌‌‌‌‌Wait. Let me check the organizational chart."
Namia flipped through and pulled out the organizational chart document.
She immediately began cross-referencing her memory with the black-and-white photographs, and then started marking several faces with red circles.
"Seven ‌‌‌people... Good. I found them all."
Cold sweat dripped down Crown Prince Kiaros's back.
Then it happened.
With a bang, ‌‌‌‌the office door swung open and commotion erupted outside.
"Hmm?"
Namia Loapi, who had been staring intently ‌at the organizational chart in the Minister's Office, lifted her head sharply.
A startled voice of another employee came from the office.
"The, the Finance Minister, ‌why are you here..."
Crown Prince Kiaros furrowed his brow.
The Finance Minister had come?
'Why at this timing?'
But Namia Loapi ‌‌didn't look particularly surprised. ‌‌‌‌
Rather, as if she'd been waiting, she even offered a smile.
'That is...'
Crown Prince Kiaros involuntarily flinched. His body trembled instinctively.
That bright and beautiful ‌‌‌smile was the same one she had worn when she saw him this morning.
A smile that spoke of genuine delight, of anticipation, and....
'Of having caught him perfectly....'

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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