PMPR 07

Only after arriving in her room and firmly closing the door did Hamiel finally let out a long sigh.
Her visit to Oren hadn’t been a lie. It had been a miserable two hours where she felt like collapsing onto a bed at any moment, but in the end, it was true that she had ordered two dresses for spring.

Of course, it hadn’t been her will. It was Rosen who had “ordered” her to stop by Oren on her way home and buy new dresses.

“Whatever the process, you’re mine now. Don’t do anything that draws attention. That gloomy dress of yours—if I see you wear it again, I’ll tear it apart.”

“That was a dress my late father bought for me.”

“…All the more reason to cherish it. Those kinds of things are only for very important days.”

Rosen, who had switched gears remarkably fast, even wrote her a letter of introduction to an atelier he knew in Oren.

Though she hadn’t liked the idea, the atelier Rosen recommended had been respectable and neatly refined enough to please even Hamiel. Frederick, who ran the place, was also a very kind and dignified man.

Thanks to that, she had managed to purchase light green and sky-blue dresses—colors she had never once worn in her life. If Lisa saw them, she would probably be happier than Hamiel herself.

‘I’ll probably just end up more annoyed, though.’

Hamiel clicked her tongue softly.

Even after finishing her conversation with Rosen and enduring two hours in Oren, she still couldn’t rest.

She immediately took her research notebook out of her bag, lifted the bed sheets, and slid it beneath the mattress frame. It was fairly thick for a notebook, but once tucked between the mattress and frame and the sheets smoothed back down, it was completely invisible.

Nodding in satisfaction, she reached back into her bag. Her fingertips brushed against a telepin set with a violet melteor stone.

Rosen had given it to her, saying she would need it for independent communication.

For a moment, Hamiel stared at the telepin resting in her palm.

Her conversations with Rosen at Kifrix had been long but useful. Things like the loopholes in the patent system and the examination process were things Hamiel had never even imagined, yet Rosen seemed to know everything she needed.

‘So this is what it means to make someone “yours.”’

She realized it anew. Indeed, it would be difficult to betray someone who was this useful.

At that moment, the telepin suddenly vibrated strangely. At the same time, the violet melteor flashed blue.

Hamiel first checked whether the door was properly locked. Then, just in case someone might be listening outside, she moved to the window and stood facing the door before putting the telepin to her ear. In that position, she would immediately notice if anyone came in.

“You’re late.”

The moment she placed it to her ear, a clear voice came through. Hamiel swallowed dryly.

The sound quality was far clearer than the public telepins of the count’s estate. It felt as if Rosen were speaking right next to her.

“I’m sorry. I just got back.”

“Home?”

“Yes, I’m in my room. I stopped by Oren and just arrived.”

“Why Oren?”

“You told me to go.”

At her question, Rosen’s voice carried confusion, and Hamiel responded as if it were obvious. She had simply done as she was told—what was the problem?

There was a brief silence. Since it was a telepin, she couldn’t see his expression, so Hamiel quietly waited for his next words.

“…Well, good job. You did get a decent dress, right?”

“I don’t know if it’s ‘decent,’ but Mr. Frederick chose something that suits me.”

“Do you like it?”

“Hmm…”

At Rosen’s question, Hamiel paused, thinking back to the dresses she had tried on.

The soft fabric and lace were something she had never experienced before. Her father’s dress had been comfortable too, but it was true that the new ones looked prettier.

“…Yes.”

“Good.”

Rosen gave a low laugh.

Hamiel flinched slightly. Because of the telepin’s clarity, it felt as if his laugh were right beside her ear.

“Tomorrow at 3 PM, come to Kyrgis. The place we met before.”

“What’s going on?”

“There’s somewhere we need to go together. Oh, bring that self-defense item too. Kyrgis isn’t safe for a woman alone.”

“Yes, understood.”

“See you tomorrow.”

Rosen ended the call with a faint laugh.

After removing the now-dark telepin from his ear and placing it on the charger, Rosen let out a satisfied sigh and leaned back comfortably in his chair. The soft cushion swallowed his entire body.

“Phew…”

Relaxing into the seat, Rosen tapped the tip of his fountain pen against his lips and looked out the window.

It was dusk, but Belpost sprawled below was still brightly lit.

Belpost’s nickname was “White Night”—meaning it was a city that worked itself to exhaustion. It made sense, given how many administrative offices were concentrated there, but every time Rosen saw the densely lit windows, he felt strangely suffocated, as if he were inside a coffin.

“Did you start dating or something?”

A flat voice came from behind him. Rosen spun his chair around with a bright smile.

“Cedric, are you jealous?”

“What a disgusting thing to say.”

“I only have you, you know.”

“I’ll report you for workplace harassment.”

At the emotionless reply, Rosen chuckled.

Cedric, who had been organizing documents on the desk, frowned openly. Beneath his black hair, his narrowed green eyes held a faint sense of disgust.

“I’m serious.”

“Great. Please send me to prison and become the director in my place.”

Rosen grinned as he spoke. Cedric sighed as if he had expected this and shook his head.

“A reply came from the Price Guild.”

“Fast. So there really was something shady.”

“They asked if you could meet the director sometime this week. Will you go?”

“No, you should handle it. You’re the audit officer.”

“I’m reporting your case. Shouldn’t you meet them yourself?”

“I’m busy.”

Rosen cut him off immediately. Cedric clicked his tongue.

“Can you explain exactly what’s going on?”

“The Earl Walter stole his younger sister’s research and sold it to the Price Guild. She didn’t know and spent three years developing new research. She only recently found out and filed for patent invalidation today. Directly to the director.”

“…The Guild will try to silence her.”

“Of course. She’s an innocent girl who only knows research. They probably thought she’d just complain to her brother or the Guild at most. Who would’ve expected her to go straight to the Patent Office Director?”

Rosen leaned back slowly, recalling Hamiel from earlier that day.

Fiery red hair, but cold green eyes. If she dressed up, she would probably be quite beautiful, but without makeup and in outdated clothes, she looked like a textbook researcher who knew nothing of the world.

‘She should’ve been like that…’

Rosen glanced at his left palm, where he had covered her mouth earlier. The faint heat still seemed to linger there.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and let out a short, regretful sigh.

‘What a strange woman.’

If Hamiel had wanted, she could have easily used Rosen however she liked.

But Rosen was not someone easily controlled either. If she tried to use him, she would have paid a heavy price in return for achieving her goals. Rosen had never been sincere often—but when he was, he never failed to accomplish what he set out to do.

Yet Hamiel had chosen something completely unexpected.

She hadn’t tried to use Rosen—she had asked for cooperation. She was the first person to do so.

Ignoring the fact that she had even gone to meet the Patent Office Director alone, Hamiel was clearly the most unusual woman Rosen had ever met.

“So you’re saying there’s money to be made?”

“The Guild will probably offer a fortune in exchange for silence.”

“What about the patent? Lady Walter is waiting for invalidation.”

“Well, that’s…”

Rosen avoided Cedric’s gaze. Cedric narrowed his eyes again.

“What exactly did you do this time?”

“Nothing much.”

“Whatever. Just don’t end up bringing a newborn baby saying Lady Walter had one ten months later.”

“They found out I’m the director.”

Cedric froze mid-file sorting. Rosen gave an awkward smile.

The moment Cedric realized he wasn’t joking, his eyes turned ice-cold.

“Then just bring the baby yourself.”

“What are you saying? The one I really love is you.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“Harsh.”

Rosen shrugged. But Cedric’s expression remained deadly serious.

Even Rosen couldn’t tease him this time. He understood very well what mistake he had made.

“So what are you going to do?”

“I already handled it. I told them I’d keep the secret in exchange for helping restore the patent rights.”

“…And the money from the Guild?”

“That’s that, this is this.”

“Sir…”

Cedric rubbed his forehead.

“You’re taking bribes and still planning to process the invalidation? How are you planning to fix this mess?”

“I never said I’d invalidate it.”

“Huh?”

Cedric looked at him, even more confused. Rosen smiled and rested his elbows on the desk, propping his chin on his hands.

“Invalidation? Do you know how much money that patent brings in? Six different ones. One of them is the new melteor engine used in the Premial Sea. That alone could buy a small house in the countryside in a year.”

His blue eyes darkened faintly.

Cedric flinched slightly. He knew very well what it meant when Rosen made that face.

“…You’ve got the smell of money on your face.”

“Correct, Cedric. And once this is over, I’ll propose to you for real.”

“Have you finally lost your mind?”

“Yeah, I love you too.”

Cedric sighed deeply as Rosen chuckled.

“Anyway, just handle it properly. And I’m rejecting your confession.”

“That’s the important part…”

“Instead of lamenting that, think about how to fix this. What should I tell the Guild when they request a meeting?”

Cedric asked anxiously. But Rosen simply shook his head.

“It’s not difficult. Just say the Director is taking this matter very seriously. And that a full audit evaluation of the patents will begin if things continue like this.”

“That’s all?”

“Yeah. They’ll probably ask to meet the Director. You can schedule something around three days from now in the afternoon.”

“Understood.”

“And since we’ve started, we’ll proceed with the audit. Start preparing for mid-next month.”

Cedric looked up again, his eyes narrowed as if something still didn’t make sense.

This time, Rosen tilted his head in confusion.

“What? It’s about time, isn’t it?”

“True, but… is this because of Lady Walter?”

“What are you talking about?”

Rosen blinked.

“If we start a full patent audit, think of how many dirty people will start throwing money at us? You have to ride the wave while it’s there.”

“….”

“Looking forward to it. I wonder how much we’ll make this time.”

Rosen looked genuinely happy. Cedric quietly shook his head.