༺ If the higher-up points, the subordinate rolls (5) ༻
Just as always, I was alone in the clubroom. To be honest, I wanted to organize my thoughts in my room. But for some reason, I had already gotten used to coming to the clubroom early morning. A civil servant can only feel comfortable after going somewhere early in the morning.
Although I felt relieved, my head was a mess.
‘He says it so easily. Damn it.’
Feeling frustrated, I leaned back on the chair and laid my head back. So this is what the ceiling looks like.
I grabbed my hair while holding back a sigh. I was expecting it from the moment Ainter joined the club; a situation I didn’t want to happen took place. From my point of view, it was something I couldn’t refuse.
I had received an order from the First Prince through the Minister of the Imperial Household. Although it wasn’t an official order, he was set to become the next Emperor, so I couldn’t go against his wishes. On paper, I was on the side of the First Prince, so even if it was a shitty request, I had to act as if I was following it.
But still, for him to ask me to “deal” with the Third Prince if necessary, isn’t that too much to ask? There was no way he’d die because of a kitchen knife, so I would have to disguise it as an accident.I already had enough of that struggle with the Second Prince. If a Prince died, it was for sure due to the First Prince’s order. When the Second Prince died, everyone knew the truth.
‘Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to be set on that.’
If the Prince really wanted to, he would’ve asked me to deal with him immediately. But Ainter had remained silent for a while. The succession was decided with little trouble, and it seemed like he decided to show him a bit of mercy because of that. To think that he would show mercy.
But I was glad. I felt sorry for Ainter, but I really didn’t want to send a wine set to him if possible. The First Prince still hadn’t lost this mind. So I had to resist as much as possible.
‘What an asshole.’
Although he was worthy of being cursed, it wasn’t that I couldn’t understand him.
He hadn’t been thinking about Ainter for a while. But then suddenly, he joined a club with princes from other countries and a Saint candidate.
But I knew the truth, so from my point of view, it would be a mistake. If the First Prince killed Ainter, he would obtain the title that he’d killed in vain, an innocent Prince who didn’t have the chance of succeeding to the throne. He had nothing to win and a lot to lose.
And if Ainter suddenly died, it didn’t matter how you look into it. Everyone for sure was going to think I was the one responsible, and I would then drag too much attention.
“I’ll pay the debt out with this.”
In the end, I couldn’t help but heave a sigh.
I would pay back how I threatened Ainter two years ago.
If the worse comes to pass, I’m going to have to kill Ainter. So if I stand up for him, it should be more than enough. No, maybe that’s too good.
I wished Ainter could see my efforts for him.
I was already struggling because of the quest ‘Louise and the Kids.’ But to think that I’d have to deal with the side quest ‘Determining Ainter’s Future.’
But what can I do? It’s an order from the higher-ups, and the ones underneath have to roll in the indicated direction.
The good thing was that I could regulate the direction a bit.
I wasn’t sure if that was something I should be glad about. But if not, I wouldn’t be able to resist it.
As the club’s time began, I became uncomfortable for another reason.
Although it wasn’t as much as the other day, I still could feel the sharp gazes of the other five. So you guys were the type of people who held grudges for a long time, and I didn’t know it…
But what saddened me was that among those five, there was Erich. Did you already forget about the advice this brother gave you? The word black-haired beast crossed my mind, but I ignored it. I believe that my brother wasn’t a beast.
“Oppa, here. I made a new one.”
I guess that the reason why those five still looked at me with sharp eyes was because Louise kept talking to me. It seemed like Louise also felt ashamed of having played a prank like that; she blushed a bit. Why did you do that? This became a battle with no winner because of that.
Anyways, since she said it’s new, I’ll have to try it.
“Fruits?”
On the plate, there was a cookie with fruits. I’ve never seen or heard about a cookie like this. I definitely think that Louise is good at this. No wonder she wanted to make a pastry club.
I took a bite. Once again, it tasted great. As I nodded, Louise smiled cheerfully.
“Should I also try one?”
‘Woah.’
Surprisingly, Rutis said that he would also try a cookie. Louise’s eyes became wide open in surprise. It seemed like she was happy that someone who had dodged it all this time had taken a step forward on his own. So she put out her plate toward him.
“Here! Have one!”
See that? Just offering to eat a cookie she’d put so much effort into was enough to make Louise happy. Despite there being an easy road like this, the five were trying to take an arduous route. But it seemed like there was someone who’d finally realized that.
I didn’t like that he’d realized that because of me. But what mattered was the result, right? Rutis had finally stepped forward to fulfill his role in a romance fantasy world. It was a moving moment.
“Hmm…”
I was moved too soon. After taking a bite, Rutis couldn’t hide his expression. I could see that Louise had shrugged in disappointment. So now they didn’t even think of hiding it.
“I guess it isn’t normal for fruit to be in a cookie. So I’m sure there will be split opinions about it.”
After saying that, I took the entire plate.
In situations like this, I always took care of Louise’s cookies. Regardless of what happened in the middle, it was me who dealt with things.
After I took the plate, Louise looked at me in a daze. Then she turned her head around as if she were embarrassed. Someone had said that what she’d prepared with so much care couldn’t be eaten. So she’s probably embarrassed. I looked at Rutis.
‘He was so confident that I had high hopes.’
Rutis was just a moron who acted before thinking. But still, he should be given points for having at least tried. The problem is that his base point was minus.
I looked at Rutis as if he were pathetic. But he was looking at me with a different gaze than before. He was looking at me in awe…? Why are you looking at someone in awe because he ate a cookie? What a crazy guy.
Turning my eyes from Rutis, I saw the other four standing while making awkward expressions. It seemed like when they saw Rutis confidently stepping forward to eat a cookie, they wondered if they should also try them; but decided not to after seeing his reaction. Pathetic; at least Rutis tried.
I carefully grabbed a cookie and ate another one. The sugar inside it made me comfortable.
After that, the pastry club’s activities continued. Besides Rutis, who became silent, nothing much had changed.
Hey kid, it was important to differentiate between confidence and recklessness. Although it was funny that I was saying that eating a cookie was something reckless.
While I was mourning Rutis, who tried to take the lead and finished last, I felt the communication device in my pocket vibrate.
I took a glimpse at it. It wasn’t shining, so it seemed like someone had sent a message. I thought that someone from the palace had decided to contact me again and was surprised.
It could be something important, so I stood up to check it outside. As I did that, my eyes met Louise’s, and I showed her my communication device. She nodded and turned her eyes to the right. I feel my eyes are meeting with hers more often.
Anyway, I walked out to the hallway and touched the communication device. Was there a need to send me a message?
『Come to my office the moment you read this message. – Minister of Finance』
My face hardened after reading the message. But as I read it carefully, I noticed it was the one he’d sent me a couple of weeks ago, and it seemed like I’d forgotten to delete it.
‘I thought that maybe he became senile.’
To think that he’d ask for someone in the Academy to come to his office. There were two options, he either lost his mind or became senile, and sadly, it was neither.
I then checked out the most recent message.
『I’ve sent the information the Prosecutor’s Office Executive Manager has requested. So please, check it. – Special Service Agency’s Information Executive Manager』
Ah, so it’s this.
‘They already sent it?’
After it was decided that I would come to the Academy, I asked for intel from the Special Service Agency’s Information Executive Manager. Although the Prosecutor’s Office could investigate, it couldn’t be compared to those who exclusively dealt with information.
It seemed like my ardent request moved the Special Service Agency’s Information Executive Manager. Although I had asked for a lot of information, he’d already sent it. How I’ve helped other Civil Servants has returned to me like this. Not bad…
Before sending a reply, I checked the content. Judging by the title, it was the information I had asked for.
‘Were these things different in the original novel?’
I couldn’t believe it. I would’ve suffered a lot if I hadn’t checked this information.
I quickly read through the information that I had received. It was the first thing I’d searched for after hearing that important people would gather in the Academy.
“So there’s this many people who are trying their best to destroy the Academy.”
I scraped together a list of all the organizations that had caused problems for the protagonists of the original novel.
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