“Last night, those assistants mishandled an elemental crystal and caused an explosion. As a result, a large portion of three months' worth of research data and experiment records was damaged.”
“Oh dear.”
I was about to examine one of the scattered documents when—
“Hey! What do you think you're touching?”
A mage shouted irritably.
Startled, I quickly apologized.
“Ah, sorry. My name is Freesia Violet. I'll be working as the Duke's secretary.”
“A secretary? Putting a woman in the Mage Tower of all places...”
The mage openly looked me up and down.
“You probably think magic is all sparkles and pretty lights, but this is mathematics. Pure mathematics.”
His tone dripped with contempt.
Even in the already conservative Empire, mages were especially conservative.
The professors in the Academy's Magic Department openly excluded female students too.
I was used to it, so it didn't really surprise me.
Then, unexpectedly, a cold voice cut in.
“So someone as impressive as you couldn't even handle a single elemental crystal and caused this disaster?”
Aaron unleashed his sarcasm.
“You should be grateful the Duke was away on business. It extended your lifespan by at least another day.”
Though he looked gentle on the outside, he really was the Duke's closest aide.
Come to think of it, I was wondering why I hadn't seen him. Duke Croitz isn't here right now.
The mage immediately fell silent under Aaron's rebuke.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, I examined the damaged materials more carefully.
Many sections had been burned away.
Less than half remained readable.
As I squinted at the records—
A spark flashed through my mind.
Huh?
This looked...
[Benefactor! Benefactor! This!]
Pipi bounced excitedly inside my pocket.
I nodded.
Right? There's a pattern, isn't there?
I could vaguely see a pattern in the remaining data.
The problem was that identifying the pattern properly would require processing...
I stared at the mountain of damaged records.
Far too much data.
[Benefactor! This is going to require an absurd amount of brute-force work!]
You're right.
But who was I?
During six years at the Academy, I wasn't just some ordinary lovesick girl.
I was a lovesick girl fueled by sheer obsession and determination.
One completely dedicated to making my fiancé rank first.
For that goal alone, staying awake for days at a time wasn't unusual.
...Not exactly something to be proud of.
Still, I should at least try.
Even with Pipi's help, there was no guarantee we'd finish before the Duke returned.
But if I worked myself to death, maybe I'd earn a chance to at least mention the possibility of a salary advance.
[Poor Benefactor! Having to work this hard! And after your uncle even took away your food money! Your uncle is truly awful!]
Pipi, you're helping too.
[Trash uncle!]
“Miss Violet, don't overdo it. Feel free to look around. Since this isn't your official first day, you may leave whenever you'd like without reporting to anyone.”
Thanks to Aaron making that announcement so openly, I was able to work without interruption.
“What's with that woman?”
“No idea. She's supposedly a secretary. What does she know about numbers?”
“A secretary should act like one and just handle the Duke's paperwork. Leave her alone. She'll give up eventually.”
Every time I heard them mocking me, my commoner's heart pounded nervously.
But—
[Benefactor! The calculations are finished!]
Thanks to Pipi constantly keeping me focused, I soon became completely absorbed in the documents.
“Ugh, I think I'm dying. I haven't eaten all day. My stomach hurts.”
“Same. My mother said joining the Mage Tower would get me tons of girlfriends and a successful life. Look at me now. I'll die from overwork before I even get a date.”
“Let's go eat. I can't do this anymore.”
Eventually I looked up.
The archive room was empty except for me.
That day, the sun set.
The moon rose and set again.
Yet the lights in the archive room never went out.
“We've committed an unforgivable sin!”
“We're truly sorry, Duke!”
The mages bowed repeatedly.
“But we'll restore everything somehow! As quickly as possible—”
“Restore it?”
Kaien lowered his eyes ominously.
“Instead of wasting precious oxygen, how about all of you jump off the top of the Mage Tower together? I think that might actually help the restoration effort.”
“H-Hiiik!”
“Tch.”
Kaien clicked his tongue and barked:
“Get out.”
“D-Duke, we're really doing our best—”
“Can you not hear me? If your ears are blocked, shall I clear them myself?”
His hand moved toward the sword at his waist.
It was said that nobody who saw Kaien draw that sword survived.
Remembering his reputation, the mages panicked.
“Aaaah!”
“We're sorry! We'll leave immediately!”
Idiots.
Watching them flee in terror, Kaien erased all expression and sank into his chair.
He pressed his fingers against his temple.
Throb.
Throb.
It felt as though someone were hammering nails into his skull.
A normal person would have screamed and passed out from the pain.
It's getting worse.
Clicking his tongue in irritation, Kaien lit a cigarette.
Whoosh.
As he exhaled, white smoke filled the air.
The tension between his brows gradually relaxed.
His long, powerful legs stretched lazily across the chair.
If his physician saw this, he'd probably faint.
"Please! Think of your health! You need to reduce your workload! Work-life balance is essential!"
Work-life balance?
With assistants like those?
The tower was full of fools who could memorize exam material spoon-fed by their parents but couldn't accomplish anything on their own.
“Maybe I should just blow up the whole tower.”
Aaron flinched.
Seeing Kaien's fingers twitch as though preparing to snap, Aaron turned pale.
“M-Master! Please give them one more chance!”
“I was joking.”
When you say things like that, they don't sound like jokes!
Aaron screamed internally.
Kaien chuckled and stood.
“Come on. Let's go admire the disaster my pet pests have created.”
“You're going right now? Perhaps some deep breathing or meditation first— N-No, never mind.”
Aaron immediately shut his mouth when Kaien glanced at him.
If he sees the archive room... this might finally be the day one or two mages lose their heads.
He absolutely did not want "disposing of corpses" added to today's task list.
Praying the mages had somehow cleaned up at least a little, Aaron hurried after Kaien.
The archive room was noisy.
“No! You can't rearrange the documents like this!”
“Damn it. The Duke is coming to inspect them soon...”
Several mages surrounded a single woman, pointing fingers.
Standing in the center with a stack of documents clutched tightly to her chest, her head lowered—
Aaron recognized her immediately.
“Miss Violet?”
The mages turned at his voice.
“G-Gasp! The Duke!”
“Ugh!”
Kaien calmly observed the panicking mages.
The woman trapped among them was someone he knew.
Freesia Violet.
The newly hired secretary.
I heard her official start date was tomorrow. Why is she here?
From the looks of things, she had meddled in work she wasn't assigned and was being blamed by the mages.
Whether the newcomer had ruined the documents or not made little difference to Kaien.
His "pet pests" clearly hadn't managed to restore the records anyway.
Still, seeing them bully a new employee while failing their own responsibilities irritated him.
Mistaking his silence, one mage quickly pointed at Freesia.
“We had already restored 13% of the documents yesterday! But this new secretary completely mixed up the order!”
“This is an unbelievable nuisance! Since the Duke is here, the new secretary should explain herself personally!”
The atmosphere naturally shifted toward using Freesia as a scapegoat.
Aaron was about to intervene when—
“I...”
Freesia slowly raised her head.
Her lips trembled.
Then she spoke.
“I restored everything.”