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03.

I hastily arranged my hair and climbed into the carriage ‌‌‌that Cassian Artez had been waiting in. ‌‌
When he caught sight of me, he let out a soft chuckle, and for some reason, that only irritated me further.
Though truthfully, my foul mood today had nothing to do with Cassian's amusement.
'I really don't want to go where we're headed.'
Cassian Artez was ‌‌‌‌undeniably an insufferable man in every conceivable way, yet there remained one—just one—mitigating factor to his character.
At the very least, he assessed people ‌‌‌‌as people.
Cassian seemed to judge ‌‌individuals solely on whether they could be useful to him or not.
Thus, what mattered to ‌‌‌him was whether I could perform my duties competently—nothing more.
That my lineage traced back to an impoverished ‌‌marquis household, that I was drowning in debt, that I had never even made my debut at a debutante ball—none of these facts registered as worthy of consideration in his mind.
'But where we're going now....'
A heavy sigh escaped me before I could stop it.
At the sound, Cassian's gaze lifted briefly from the documents he'd been shuffling through inside the carriage, then ‌‌returned to them with indifference.
"Open that."
"Pardon?"
"We've arrived. Don't dawdle."
He uttered these cryptic words and exited the carriage without waiting for me to descend, leaving me to scramble after him.
I hurried to open the box he'd indicated, knowing I mustn't delay in following his orders.
He possessed a tyrannical nature—he despised it when people failed to execute his commands immediately.
The box was sized for documents, so I ‌‌assumed it contained additional paperwork. I opened it.
'...What is this?'
Some new form of harassment?
Inside the box lay a hair ornament with an elegant, refined design.
One that suited my usual hairstyle perfectly.
He wanted me to wear it, surely. That must be it, but....
The moment I saw the ornament, my hands began to tremble.
Just months ago, I had been forced to study obsessively about all manner of luxury goods circulating within the Capital City.
'I had to conduct forced seizures on those tax-evading scoundrels who played dumb about their wealth.'
And this hair ornament ranked among the five most expensive items in the entire confiscated collection.
I affixed the ornament to my hair, my displeasure evident across my ‌face.
In a place where ‌‌people already whispered about me constantly.
Cassian Artez was using my head as a declaration of war!

*

"Don't dawdle."
Only a minute and twenty seconds have passed.
I cast a look of mild complaint toward Cassian Artez before quickly turning my head away, and a low chuckle drifted down from above.
"Not bad."
Of course it wasn't—I could see it in the sharp gazes already pouring down upon me.
Inwardly, ‌‌‌‌I released a deep sigh.
This place was none other than the Ceremony Bureau, an institution that presided over various state and Imperial Family ceremonies. ‌‌
The senior nobility with their haughty bearing occupied the principal positions, and they were people who absolutely adored formality and the privileges that came with their aristocratic status.
To illustrate just how antiquated they ‌‌‌were—there wasn't a single female noble among the Ceremony Bureau's members even now.

'Shameless, truly. An advisor to His Highness the ‌‌‌‌Prince, ‌yet she hasn't even made a proper debut in society. What a wretched age we live in.'
'The Salice Marquis Household must be utterly without propriety. How could they allow their adult daughter such freedom?'
'Dressed in garments fit only ‌‌‌for commoners. No ‌‌matter that she hails from some obscure, ‌‌insignificant house in a remote territory—wouldn't it be better to simply sell off the title?'

Over the past year, their whispers—uttered whenever I happened to cross paths with them due to Cassian's duties—still echoed in my ears.
There ‌‌‌was no doubt that to these hidebound people, I was a protruding stone they longed to grind down and cast away.
Yet today I had come here for the Ceremony ‌‌‌‌Bureau's audit—how could their gazes possibly be kind?
Even now, in the presence of His Highness the Prince, they continued their refined conversation.
"Do look at that—she's wearing that precious hair ornament she allegedly seized so brutally, as though it ‌‌were nothing!"
"Good heavens, is she threatening us now? A mere marquis's daughter?!"
"Who else would it be? Why does His Highness the Prince tolerate such barbarous conduct? Could it be that this shabby ‌‌‌creature has somehow twisted His Highness's thinking?"
"Precisely. Ever since Miss Salice arrived, His Highness has done nothing but distance himself from the nobility rather than cultivate goodwill."
Cassian ‌‌Artez was already this sort of person before I ever arrived!
This was truly an unjust accusation.
Of course, the very person in question—someone whose shamelessness rivaled anyone's in the empire—
"Enjoying yourself, Rose?"
spoke to me with such cheerful familiarity.
"It would be best if we began the work, Your Highness."
Naturally, I replied to him with every ‌‌‌intention of not delaying my departure time by even a moment.
"That's my Rose."
At my response, Cassian let out a bright, pleased laugh and opened his ‌‌mouth toward the Ceremony Bureau nobles.
"Then let us begin the audit."
The eyes of the Ceremony Bureau nobles grew sharp and piercing.
Ugh.
This was truly a morning that called for an iced americano with four extra shots.

*

Within twenty minutes of arriving at the Ceremony Bureau, Cassian Artez had meticulously exposed their vulnerabilities and embezzlement schemes using his pre-gathered intelligence, then strode purposefully toward ‌‌the document vault without a moment's hesitation.
"Regardless of your status as a prince, this is an outrageous display of disrespect toward ‌‌our institution!"
The elderly Ceremony Director, encountering this calamity named Cassian for the first time in his life, cried out as his face flushed crimson and then purple.
"Open it."
Of course, Cassian simply pretended not to hear such protests and issued instructions to his servant.
Though at this distance, one could arguably claim ignorance if they wished.
"This cannot be allowed!"
The Ceremony Director's anguished cry echoed once more.
From a position more than fifteen paces away from where Cassian stood.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.
The hurried footsteps of the Ceremony Bureau's nobles sounded from ‌‌‌‌behind—urgent yet maintaining an air of ‌‌‌dignity even in this moment.
"Open it."
"I said it cannot be done!"
And so the servant found himself frozen before the document vault, unable to act either way.
Cassian regarded his servant briefly, then sighed and turned to me. ‌‌‌
"Rose, open it."
"It would be faster if ‌‌‌‌Your Highness opened it yourself."
"Nonsense, Rose. You must be the one to open this vault. Otherwise, there would be no meaning to what I've placed ‌‌upon your ‌‌head."
"...Pardon?"
At my question, Cassian's lips curved into an unpleasant smile.
My heart began to race violently.
With genuine excitement.
At the absolutely certain premonition that he was preparing yet another troublesome task for me!
"I thought you might find it a good way to relieve stress."
"I'm afraid I don't follow your meaning, Your Highness."
As I regarded him with utter bewilderment, Cassian smiled ‌‌beautifully and spoke to me.
"My dear Rose, are you ‌‌doubting me right now?"
"...What?"
That's quite an unsettling epithet you've attached to me, Your Highness.
And we're talking about the Ceremony Bureau!
You've been ‌‌‌putting off dealing with them precisely because you didn't want to get entangled with those people!
And now you're dumping all that resentment onto me?!
With my emotions deliberately laid bare across my face, Cassian laughed softly and whispered affectionately toward me.
"Five ‌‌‌‌times."
"..."
"I was asking whether you suspected I wouldn't pay that much for entrusting ‌‌these bothersome ‌‌‌matters to my precious Rose."
Click.
Action proved faster than words.
"R-Roselita Salice! Did you just dare ignore the Ceremony Director's words?"
The Ceremony Director raised his voice sharply in outrage.
So I.
Crash—!
I threw open ‌‌the archive door with all my strength ‌‌and turned to face them directly.
Then ‌‌‌‌I greeted them with the ‌‌‌polished business smile I'd honed under Cassian Artez.
"My apologies, but as an aide to His Highness the Prince, I follow only his directives."
"Step aside this instant, Miss Salice!"
"As of 9:45 AM this morning, this archive has become ‌‌‌‌‌subject to audit by the Second Prince's Palace. All objections must be submitted through formal documentation. Please understand that processing and response may require approximately five business days."
"Are you not hearing me?!"
"From this moment forward, entry to this location is prohibited without authorization from myself or His Highness the Second Prince, Director."
Beyond my voice, swallowed by five times ‌‌the magical power, Cassian Artez stepped into the ‌‌‌archive with a satisfied expression.
"This, this, this is—!! Such lawlessness and discourtesy! This is tyranny! Miss Salice, you are gravely mistaken!"
I'd heard such words so many times now ‌‌that they no longer ‌‌‌‌frightened me.
Perhaps mildly irritating, but since becoming Cassian Artez's aide, I'd been tempered by circumstance and felt no fear whatsoever.
I maintained my unbroken smile and addressed the Ceremony Director with measured composure.
"Thank you for your concern, Director. Should I ever come ‌‌‌‌to regret my ‌‌‌actions, I shall certainly seek your guidance."
I followed with a respectful ninety-degree bow, then closed the archive door ‌‌‌firmly behind me as I stepped into ‌‌Cassian Artez's wake.
"You, ‌you—! Demons of the Winter Palace!!"
The Ceremony Director's undignified voice echoed loudly from beyond the door.

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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
---------------