Chapter 01
It wasn’t as if I had done all that hoping for a reward.
It was just work.
Just the duties I was assigned.
I only worked hard as an imperial official, that’s all…
‘What a shitty world.’
Far from any reward, everyone around was practically tearing each other apart trying to get a piece of me.
“Is that her? The villainess from the Child Protection Bureau?”
“How many children has she taken away from perfectly fine parents now?”
“Because of her, three orphanages have closed just this year…”
The things I heard on my way to work this morning were quite colorful.
Well, let them bite and claw as they please.
I scoffed and opened the office door.
‘…?’
The door should have been locked, but it was already open, and I sensed someone inside.
‘What kind of bastard?’
Probably some thug who broke in to file a complaint.
I was just about to step in and kick them out when—
A completely unexpected face smiled brightly at me.
“…Master of the Magic Tower?”
I blurted out, dumbfounded.
“What brings you here so early in the morning?”
“Oh, nothing special. I just have something to give you.”
The Magic Tower Master shyly held out a bouquet, his cheeks flushing.
“Do you like it, Vice Director? Your office looked a bit bare, so I brought this.”
His voice was incredibly delicate and gentle—hardly the voice of someone who could kill a dozen people without blinking or lifting a finger.
‘I do like it, actually.’
Once I put the flowers in a vase, the office seemed to brighten up considerably.
“Of course. Thank you for your thoughtfulness.”
It was common knowledge that you should never accept anything from a wizard carelessly, but a bouquet should be fine.
What could possibly go wrong?
But starting the very next day, all sorts of “things” began to happen.
The suffocating crowds in the capital and the carriages that always clogged the morning roads—the moment I stepped outside, they thinned out as if by magic.
Even a torrential downpour would stop as soon as I got ready to go out, replaced by a clear blue sky.
I once picked up a random pebble on the street, and it turned out to be a precious specimen lost by the Imperial Geological Society—earning me a letter of commendation.
‘…I know magic.’ It’s basic knowledge for a fine imperial official, so even if I tried not to know, I couldn’t help it.
‘With this level of luck, he must have siphoned together the fortune of dozens of his subordinate mages and brought it all to me!’
This is bad.
I hadn’t done anything to deserve such a magical gift from that curly-haired Magic Tower Master who kept visiting me and blushing.
‘I’ll have to ask him not to give me such burdensome presents next time.’
Luckily—or unluckily—the effect of the bouquet didn’t last long.
Because a subordinate of a thoroughly unpleasant man came to see me.
“The Supreme Commander has sent you a gift!”
I pressed my throbbing forehead with my fingertips as I looked at the imposing knight before me.
Again.
Again.
I’d told him to stop bothering me so many times, and now that crazy bastard sends his subordinate with a gift!
“I’ve told you countless times there’s no need to send gifts…”
“No, ma’am. You resolved the Supreme Commander’s greatest concern. You absolutely deserve this gift.”
For the record, the empire has no highly developed code of official ethics like the “Kim Young-ran Act.”
If it did, I would have used it as an excuse to refuse long ago!
But since there wasn’t, I had no choice but to accept and pile up the presents that this son of a bitch kept sending.
The bigger problem was…
“Wait a minute. This is…”
“Yes.”
The knight grinned.
“I knew you would like it.”
“…”
I was speechless.
Because it was true—I really did like it.
Wearing this pendant made from a dragon’s claw grants immunity to most powerful magic.
“It’s a protective charm that the Supreme Commander personally acquired. Please wear it at all times if possible.”
“Wait, personally acquired? From where?”
“From the dragon’s lair, of course.”
…Has that crazy son of a bitch actually lost his mind?
“He did suffer severe burns in the process, but he’s recovering well, so don’t you worry! He was lucid enough to ask about your gift first thing after regaining consciousness three days later. Haha.”
The problem wasn’t just that the Supreme Commander and the Magic Tower Master kept coming in and out of my office.
“It’s been a while, Vice Director.”
“…Your, Your Highness the Grand Duke.”
“You didn’t miss me at all?”
Miss him? What’s there to miss?
Especially from a mastermind who’s always scheming treason!
“I’m hurt you never even contacted me. My little brother misses you so much he cries every night…”
“Your little brother?”
That’s strange. The last time I saw him, he was very cheerful and lively.
“Yes. He’s stopped eating and drinking entirely.”
“Have you called a doctor?”
“All the empire’s finest physicians.”
Well, I suppose the Grand Duke of Karditsa—said to be able to bring down birds in flight—could summon not just the empire’s but the continent’s best doctors.
“I thought it best to come in person since my brother’s condition seems to require seeing you.”
“Ah, but I’m on duty right now…”
“Then could you stop by my house briefly after work? You don’t need to stay long. Just give my brother some comfort.”
I merely nodded obediently, and the Grand Duke’s usually cool face broke into a languid, arrogant smile.
‘I’ve been played.’
Realizing I’d been fooled again, I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘That… that fox!
