IWTGHFW CHAPTER 28

Episode 28

In the meantime, Mishy took out an empty cup, placed it in front of the crown prince, and poured him tea.

How can every single one of his gestures be so elegant?

I barely managed to clamp my lips shut, which were about to open in a goofy grin again, when the crown prince turned the conversation toward me.

“This is the first time we’ve spoken like this, isn’t it?”

“Ah, yes. My name is Ail, from the Administrative Support Team.”

“I see, Ail.”

Each word he spoke carried an indescribable air of authority. Sure, the Marquis of Rondo was high-ranking, and Mishy was a prince too, but the crown prince was on an entirely different level. It was as if he had been born with the natural qualities of a ruler.

Well, I suppose that’s all part of growing up as a prince—he must have had endless lessons in imperial studies and all that.

Even so, I couldn’t help feeling a bit petty about his imposing presence, though outwardly I maintained a polite demeanor. I do have more work experience than most, after all.

“There’s something I’d like to ask you.”

“Yes, please ask me anything.”

“Are you the top scorer in this year’s Imperial Civil Service Exam?”

“Huh? Uh… yes, I suppose so.”

“I see.”

And then he simply sipped his tea without another word.

I glanced at Mishy, wondering what that was about, but he only shrugged. What, is being top scorer some kind of big deal or something?

After a long pause, the crown prince spoke again when he’d drunk about half his tea.

“If you’re unhappy with your current posting in the knights, I can have it changed. You’ve made a contribution recently, so there wouldn’t be any objections to reassigning you.”

“Pardon?”

“If you want my aide’s position, I can give you that too.”

…Huh? Just like that?

Is this how fast people in the empire hand out rewards?

I just stared at him for a moment, trying to process it. It might have been a tempting offer to someone else.

But not to me. I’d already turned down Team Leader David’s scout offer—why would I want to work as the crown prince’s aide?

I had no desire to work alongside someone with such a razor-sharp presence. If I’d wanted to show off my abilities, I’d have joined David’s audit team long ago.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m satisfied with my current position.”

“So even the position of the crown prince’s aide isn’t good enough for you? I heard you were dissatisfied with your knights posting and took two months off in protest.”

Ah, that. That wasn’t me, that was the real Ail.

Of course, I couldn’t just say that, so I carefully chose my words.

“At first, yes, but not anymore. I’m happy with my life in the knights now.”

“Someone like you rotting away in the knights is a waste of the empire’s talent.”

“That waste wasn’t my choice—it was the empire’s.”

“That’s…”

The crown prince’s words faltered, and he took another sip of tea.

Even with me talking back like this, he wasn’t shouting “How dare you!”—so maybe he did have some tolerance. In that case, I could push a little more.

I cautiously tested his boundaries.

“And if I became your aide, Your Highness… could you handle it?”

“What do you mean? I’m not incompetent.”

Yes, I’m sure you’re not.

I knew he was capable. From things I’d heard from Mishy, I’d realized that it was actually this young crown prince, not the emperor, who was running the empire in practice. The policies he’d implemented and the way he’d carried them out made you think, Wow, what an enlightened ruler!—he was both inclusive and highly competent.

Which is exactly why I couldn’t accept.

“It’s because you’re competent that it would be difficult. Right now is the time to build up your support base—you don’t need to hand the opposition a reason to attack you.”

“What kind of logic could they possibly use to oppose appointing the top civil service exam scorer as my aide?”

“Because I’m a woman.”

“…”

“And a commoner.”

Even in Korea, which claimed to be a democratic society, I’d been passed over for promotion plenty of times just for being a woman, or for lacking connections. Here, in a rigid class society, it would be even worse. I could tell just by looking at Mien’s case.

The fact that a common-born woman could take the imperial exam, pass it, and work as a civil servant at all was already proof that the Cassian Empire was a relatively progressive country. In the neighboring Sioum Principality, as Rose once ranted, the male nobles hogged all the positions for themselves.

But still—some things just weren’t possible. The fact that I was a common-born woman was, in this world, the most “logical” reason for opposition you could find. The crown prince offering me an aide position outright was already far outside the norms here.

He seemed to understand this, because he said nothing and drank the rest of his tea. Mishy quietly refilled his cup.

“My captain is a good boss.”

“Yes. Sir Ronn is a good knight, a good vassal, and a good man.”

“Exactly. So there’s no need to worry about me—I’m really content.”

After that, we chatted about trivial things like the weather before the crown prince left. I started to get up as well, but Mishy gently grabbed my hand.

Whoa—coming at me like that is going to make my heart flutter. Calm down, heart.

“Ail, I… I’ve never thought of you as a woman.”

I see… our pretty Mishy—wait, what?

With that beautiful face, that beautiful voice, holding my hand… that’s what you’re going to say?

Am I being rejected without even confessing?

Seeing my stunned face, Mishy seemed to realize something was off and shook his head.

“I mean, I’ve never once seen you as a woman.”

Ah. Rejected twice in a row. You do realize you’re repeating yourself, right?

Mishy, seemingly unaware of the rock he’d just thrown into my heart, continued in his pure, earnest way.

“You’ve always been a friend to me. An irreplaceable, precious friend.”

“Oh… right.”

“So don’t worry about what other people say. To me, you’re a precious friend beyond gender.”

Hmm.

I could sort of see what he meant.

I remembered my old coworker Miyon saying that fangirling wasn’t the same as romantic feelings—you just like that person’s existence and enjoy seeing them, but even if you had the chance to date them, a true fan would turn it down.

I felt the same way, but… it still stung a little to be “rejected” when I hadn’t even confessed.

Still, I knew his words came from a good place, so that was enough for me. I smiled faintly at him.

“By the way, Mishy.”

“Mm? You can tell me anything.”

“Are you done with the whole ‘pretend servant’ act?”

“…Huh?”

When I first found out Mishy was the second prince, I’d had a brief mental breakdown, but I got over it a long time ago. Since he didn’t seem eager to reveal his identity, I’d played along and never brought it up.

But earlier, when he’d greeted the crown prince as “big brother” and they’d shown their warm brotherly bond, it seemed like that little charade was over.

Or so I thought…

“You didn’t forget you were hiding your identity, did you?”

“Well…”

When he trailed off and avoided my eyes, I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

What was I supposed to do with this beautiful idiot?

The conference room in the main palace, where the nobles’ meeting was being held, was as noisy as a marketplace.

When the crown prince, Rozen, took over the reins of government, one of the first things he’d done was renovate the meeting room so that he and the nobles sat at the same eye level—around a large round table, so they could exchange opinions directly. Since there were only a handful of high-ranking nobles of count rank or higher, this arrangement was feasible.

At the time, Rozen had been proud of himself for being such a progressive crown prince.

Now, he regretted it bitterly.

If I’d known it would get this noisy, I’d have left it the way it was.

As he silently cursed his past self, some random noble—he wasn’t even sure where this one had come from—raised his voice.

“That’s why I’m saying we need to appoint another marquis from among the counts! How can the great Cassian Empire have only one marquis? And that one marquis happens to be the commander of the imperial knights—how biased is that?!”

“You were quiet enough when the duke’s seat was vacant, but now you’re making a fuss just to get some scraps for yourself?! And why did you oppose elevating Marquis Metailer to duke back then?”

“If the commander of the imperial knights were to become a duke, the abuse of power would be enormous!”

“Are you insulting Marquis Metailer? I’ll be sure to inform him in detail of your words.”

“T-That’s not what I meant… Anyway, whether marquis or duke, the empire needs more high-ranking nobles to support it!”

Rozen pressed his index finger to his temple. His head throbbed. Why did these old men always have to shout their opinions?

In his weary mind, he suddenly pictured Ail, calmly and clearly stating her views.

If only she weren’t a woman, the thought crossed his mind before he quickly shook it away. Even he had such ingrained preconceptions—no wonder someone like Ail was stuck in the knights.

His gaze swept over the bickering nobles before he raised his hand and slammed it down on the table. The heavy oak table shook violently with a resounding bang, and the nobles finally shut their mouths, watching the crown prince’s expression.

“So you’re all making this—pardon my language—this damn fuss because there’s only one marquis?”

“Your Highness, did you just say ‘damn fuss’…?”

“Answer the question.”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

Rozen’s golden eyes swept over them like a predator about to pounce. The nobles instinctively shrank back; despite his youth, the crown prince already carried the authority of a full-grown lion.