Chapter 102
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102.
The Salice Advisor was—
Sending him where?
Francis Ashwood struggled to move his sluggish thoughts, barely managing a response to words he'd never anticipated hearing.
"Pardon?"
"That's precisely why I came to tell you to refuse, of course I, as a princess of this realm, am fully prepared to make any sacrifice!"
Sacrifice what?
Francis harbored the question but possessed enough sense not to voice it aloud.
"You're merely an ordinary nobleman, so there's no need for you to bear such a burden—refuse, then. I'll reluctantly accept instead."
"In other words."
"You understand, yes? You absolutely must not accept any proposal to transfer your position to my palace, because you needn't endure the sacrifice of becoming engaged to someone like me, whom you don't even desire!"
At the Second Princess's words, Francis's thoughts seemed to grind to a complete halt once more.
Lately, this happened far too frequently.
Overwork, perhaps...?
As he struggled to force his sluggish mind to function, the Second Princess pressed him again for an answer, and Francis managed only to say he understood.
It truly was something he didn't desire, after all.
But then....
'The Salice Advisor wants to send me to another palace...?'
Because my skills aren't improving quickly enough?
A memory surfaced from around last summer.
When I was trying to find enjoyment in my work, Roselita had mercilessly ordered me back to the Summer Palace.
'I wanted to stay by her side a little longer.'
A strange ache throbbed in one corner of my chest.
'That day, I fled without even properly organizing the documents...?'
Now that I think about it, why had I been so flustered then?
I still couldn't find that answer.
Francis Ashwood concluded that his current state was indeed quite abnormal.
*
This simply won't do.
I sighed, staring at the towering stack of documents piled as high as during the busiest accounting season.
"No, this really won't work!"
"I agree?"
Cassian Artez answered brazenly to words I hadn't even fully articulated in my mind.
"...How did you know what I was going to say?"
"Well, I didn't spend over two years as Roselita's superior for nothing."
As he spoke, Cassian Artez waved a fairly thick file folder at me.
"And the Emperor just granted proper authorization yesterday."
"Why does His Majesty always make things so difficult for us?"
As I tried to stand to receive the file folder, Cassian Artez stopped me with a gesture and rose to approach me himself.
"Well, His Majesty said he had to consider fairness in his own way."
When did the definition of fairness change?
Either I'd read the dictionary wrong, or His Majesty didn't understand the word's meaning.
When I showed my visibly crumpled expression at such thoughts, Cassian Artez laughed softly.
"I almost lost my composure in front of His Majesty for the first time in ages."
"Only almost, I hope?"
"Yes. Don't worry."
As I opened the file folder, Cassian Artez reached out and tidied my disheveled hair.
"If something had gone wrong, Prince Joel would have shown me that mischievous face he only reveals to me, but he was cheerful the whole time."
At those words, I felt reassured.
The truly lovely Prince Joel, true to being my actual brother, would grumble only to Cassian Artez.
'Though he doesn't do that with the Fourth Prince, which makes me think he's still a bit shy around Cassian Artez.'
That was endearing in its own childish way.
And it wasn't as if I pretended not to notice.
Cassian Artez had a demonic reputation in the outside world, but he clearly cherished his brothers enough to find them as adorable as I did.
I was certain that Empress Trisha and the reliable Fourth Prince must have also persuaded His Majesty as I examined the contents of the file folder.
'This is truly a situation I couldn't have imagined before.'
Though my heart raced at the thickness of it, seeing the actual applications inside was genuinely moving—there were quite a number of applicants.
Before Francis Ashwood arrived, the Winter Palace had been constantly recruiting advisors.
But during the approximately year and a half I struggled alone, only about two applications had come in.
I reluctantly called those dubious candidates for interviews, but one didn't show up without any notice.
'And the other one wrote the palace name incorrectly.'
The absurdity of that moment remained vivid even now.
I'd even suspected it was the Fourth Concubine's scheme.
And as I flipped through the résumés, I couldn't help but be startled.
"...The Lopez Duchy?"
"Yes, that's why His Majesty finally intervened in the Winter Palace's staffing, which he'd been silent about until now."
"'Fairness' makes sense now."
If that cunning man hadn't anticipated this, that would have been even more unbelievable.
The timing of our personnel recruitment coincided precisely with the downsizing of the Rose Palace.
We ended up shouldering most of their vacancy.
To be honest, I myself tried to move quickly before that cunning man could catch wind of it, but the Emperor being the Emperor, he blocked us, saying the matter of personnel recruitment required careful deliberation.
Though that too was already more than a month ago.
No matter how shamelessly the Sun Palace pushed considerable work onto the Winter Palace and attempted to distribute duties to the Fourth Prince and Third Princess with their newly acquired palaces, there were limits.
Some advisors and administrative officials had quit entirely due to the Rose Palace situation, and most of those assigned there were junior newcomers.
Even the masters of that palace themselves.
In any case, it seemed the Sun Palace had reached the conclusion that this state of affairs could not continue.
In truth, I—which was also something I desperately wanted to hold against the Emperor—worked overtime and weekend shifts as casually as eating meals, but even Francis Ashwood was accumulating such days.
Of course, no formal protest had come from the Ashwood Ducal House, nor was he the type to lodge one, but he would certainly have noticed the strain.
After all, unlike Jamoti, who carried considerable weight as a duchy, or the Lopez Duchy, always busy weighing their gains, the Ashwood Ducal House was truly an upright family.
'The fact that Ashwood himself took on those conditions and accepted Fourth Concubine's request to work at the Summer Palace.'
And perhaps Francis Ashwood didn't know, but the Duke's failure to confirm the position of heir apparent surely had its reasons as well.
He must have judged it problematic to create the appearance of supporting any particular prince.
But then Fourth Concubine lost the power she wielded within the Imperial Family and was pushed down to the lowest rank among the concubines.
Meanwhile, the Lopez Duchy, upon receiving their diplomatic authority, openly took a confrontational stance against House Jamoti, so they had nothing to fear.
And this was the result.
'...Two applications from the Lopez Duchy alone.'
Until now, watching Ashwood work at the Winter Palace, no one had found fault, reasoning that he came during a time when we were understaffed and struggling.
It appeared merely coincidental.
But if another member of the duchy were added, the balance of power would seem to tip decisively toward the Winter Palace.
As I pondered this and carefully examined one of the applications, Cassian let out a soft laugh.
"In any case, His Majesty said if he were to select one of them, you should choose whichever you prefer, Roselita."
"...Then you have some excuse prepared?"
"Yes."
That aspect frustrated me as well.
"Unlike before, attention has focused heavily on the Winter Palace. We cannot make selections that way."
It was different from when anyone becoming an advisor to the Winter Palace would have been a miracle.
As the power of Fourth Concubine and House Jamoti waned, most people knew that Cassian was now the one leading in the succession race.
People simply refrained from hastily mentioning the appointment of Crown Prince, watching the Emperor's expression, and some even watching the Temple's.
'Though some people probably still think Fourth Concubine has some possibility of rehabilitation.'
Of course, I had no intention of witnessing that.
In any case, this recruitment of a Winter Palace advisor would draw considerable attention.
And even those who had been favorable to Cassian until now might view this differently.
Cassian Artez was no longer the precarious Second Prince despised by the Emperor and the Temple, but had become the primary candidate for Crown Prince with genuine power.
"So Your Highness, you must select fairly. Based on merit."
Of course, even so, someone would speculate, but that was inevitable for anyone belonging to the Imperial Family.
Among those rejected, there would certainly be those who could not accept it and would voice their discontent.
At my words, Cassian lifted one stack from the pile of documents heaped on my desk and nodded.
"As long as you're satisfied, I'm content with anything."
"Not at all. I have a responsibility to consider the people I'll be working with at the Winter Palace."
As I spoke, I simply turned the page past the application I'd been fidgeting with.
It was my dear friend Wilhelmina Lopez's application.
*
That afternoon, after receiving the applications, I sought out Francis Ashwood's office.
I thought it wise to hear his opinion as well, since he would be working alongside whoever I selected.
While Cassian Artez would make the final decision, I needed other perspectives to create multiple evaluation criteria and ensure fairness in the process.
"I'm sorry to bother you when you're so busy, Ashwood Advisor."
The moment I entered, Francis Ashwood looked up in surprise and shook his head.
Of course, even in that moment his hands continued moving steadily, and I could keenly feel just how well he'd adapted to the Winter Palace.
"I wanted to discuss something with you—about selecting a new advisor."
As I spoke, thinking he'd surely welcome the distraction from his late-night work, I produced a rather thick folder of documents.
"A new... advisor?"
For some reason, Francis Ashwood's eyes filled with bewilderment.
Then, with a soft sound—
The fountain pen that had been moving diligently just moments before slipped from his hand, leaving a chaotic trail of ink across the documents.
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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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