[CHAPTER 57]
Two days after Elpenlira and Sir Loisen joined in, the cleanup of the secretariat was finished.
Elpenlira, who had become completely absorbed in dusting and polishing the wooden shelves, looked extremely regretful, but once she heard that “cleaning” had to be repeated once a week to maintain a clean state, she left the Imperial Palace with light steps.
Dianu smiled with satisfaction as she looked at the shelves packed tightly with documents perfectly organized by type and date.
“Now this finally feels like a place where real work can be done.”
“Quite right. Then, shall we begin right away?”
Neiron, looking tired, began stacking ledgers onto the now spotless desk.
Flipping through the pages filled with numbers, Dianu asked,
“So what do we do now?”
“For several years now, I’ve been trying to determine the true scale of Duke Belua’s assets. It’s on an entirely different level from what is reported to the Imperial Family.”
“That sounds like far too much calculation for one person.”
Neiron shook his head as if fed up.
“It can’t be helped. There’s no other administrator I can trust enough to inform that I’m doing this kind of work. If this information were to leak to Duke Belua, years of effort would be wasted.”
“Hmm……”
“If only there were a device where you could just input numbers and formulas and have the answer pop out.”
Dianu fell silent in thought.
A_toggle where you just put in numbers and formulas and get an answer……
Such a magical object obviously did not exist.
Still, they couldn’t continue working this inefficiently forever.
Even at this very moment, Duke Belua’s “unofficial assets” were probably increasing.
Problem one: Neiron’s work could not be revealed to the outside.
Problem two: Someone was needed to ease Neiron’s burden of calculation.
Solution.
“Then…… wouldn’t it work if there were someone who could do calculations without knowing what the numbers actually represent? If they don’t know the secret, there’s no need for them to keep one.”
At Dianu’s muttering, Neiron, who had been shuffling through documents, looked up with a puzzled expression.
“Well, yes, in theory. But such a person couldn’t possibly exist. Unless there were some mathematical genius who was illiterate……”
“…What?”
“There is. A mathematical genius who can’t read.”
In her life, Dianu had met exactly one such person.
And that person was probably in the capital, Catalos, right now.
* * *
“This is Miss Obina Contar, who graduated from the Sirene Girls’ School in the same year as I did.”
Obina and Neiron stared at each other blankly.
Dianu gave a small cough.
The first to regain composure was Neiron.
“I am Neiron Verdian, serving as His Majesty’s Chief Secretary. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Contar.”
“Ah, y-yes. Hello, Sir Verdian. It’s nice to meet… you.”
Obina still looked completely bewildered.
That was only natural.
If an old classmate who you only exchanged letters with occasionally after graduation suddenly summoned you to the Imperial Palace, even Dianu would have been flustered.
Explaining everything by letter had its limits.
Dianu turned toward Obina.
“To be direct, Miss Obina, would you consider working as an assistant to His Majesty’s secretary?”
“…An assistant secretary?”
Obina raised her eyebrows as if wondering whether such a position even existed.
“Yes. We need someone skilled in mathematics and calculations to assist Secretary Verdian here. I thought you’d be the perfect fit, so I recommended you.”
“D-Dianu, what are you talking about……? I’m a woman, and setting that aside, you know about my ‘illness,’ don’t you?”
It was precisely because of that nameless “illness” that Obina was the only suitable candidate.
Dianu smiled brightly.
“You still can’t read a single line of text, can you?”
“Of course not…… I was so confused when you told me not to bring Lana today.”
Lana was the maid who followed Obina everywhere and read things for her.
Dianu spoke to the still-silent Neiron.
“Give her any problem.”
“…Any problem?”
“Yes. As long as it’s made only of numbers and symbols, not letters.”
Still looking doubtful, Neiron wrote down several formulas on a prepared sheet of paper.
Obina received the paper, frowned slightly, and instantly wrote down the answers.
She solved some without even writing out the process, doing them mentally.
Neiron’s eyes widened.
“Oh…… then can you do something like this as well?”
He handed over an even more complex formula, but Obina produced the answer just as quickly as before.
Neiron looked at Dianu in astonishment.
Dianu smiled faintly.
“I was the class representative at graduation, but when it came to mathematics, Obina was always first.”
“I see…… But is it truly the case that you can’t read letters at all?”
Obina looked bored with the conversation.
“The teachers said it’s probably a congenital condition. Apparently, people like me exist sometimes. Commoners can live without knowing letters, and among the gentry it’s usually kept quiet, so it isn’t well known.”
“I understand……”
Neiron bowed his head politely.
“Miss Contar, would you be willing to help us? His Majesty will surely praise you greatly.”
Obina looked tempted, but she couldn’t immediately give a positive answer.
For reasons befitting a proper lady of Catalos.
“Well…… I’m not sure how my parents would feel about me spending all day with a gentleman. I’m not even engaged yet……”
This time, Dianu stepped in.
“Miss Obina, where else would be better for finding a future husband than the Imperial Palace? If you come and go from the palace every day, I’m sure you’ll meet a good match.”
“…Do you think so?”
“If you tell them it’s no different from serving as an attendant to Her Highness the Princess, I’m sure your parents will think differently.”
Neiron added smoothly,
“The Imperial Palace is overflowing with respectable unmarried gentlemen! They’re all desperate to get married!”
“Really……?”
“I will actively assist in finding Miss Contar a suitable match!”
Obina went home in good spirits.
A few days later, she informed them of her intention to serve as the “Assistant to the Chief Secretary” at least until she married.
And so, the East Wing Secretariat of the Imperial Palace, which Neiron had been struggling to manage alone, finally began to take proper shape.
* * *
“…What on earth happened here?”
Ellaris, who had not set foot in the Imperial Palace at all since that day, finally seemed to have calmed down.
With a fairly composed expression, she looked around at the impeccably clean secretariat and the increased staff, utterly bewildered.
Rision, who guided her into the office, briefly explained Dianu’s achievements.
From single-handedly tracing the source of Baron Aldebaron’s slush funds, to establishing a document management system, to bringing in an assistant who could never leak secrets.
Though he tried not to show it, a hint of pride crept into his voice.
Ellaris let out a hollow sigh.
“I already knew she was capable, but……”
“Honestly, I think she’s remarkable. She herself is highly competent, but she also has a talent for streamlining work and placing the right people in the right positions. Had she been born a man, she could have become a prime minister.”
“So you want to claim that she could easily handle the role of Empress as well?”
At the sharp remark, Rision smiled faintly.
“Am I wrong?”
Ellaris pressed her temple.
“Has there been an agreement?”
“I haven’t asked her directly yet…… but I intend to persuade her when the time comes.”
“So you are aware that this is something that requires persuasion.”
“…It’s a big matter for her.”
It still felt too early.
Once the matter of Duke Belua took clearer shape, once Elpenlira and Lavelan’s marriage was settled, perhaps by then she could accept the role of Empress.
He could only hope that the work she was doing now with Neiron would help lead to that.
“Miss Dianu is our Erin’s benefactor. The Princess’s benefactor, and arguably Catalos’s benefactor as well.”
“……”
“I won’t allow her life to be ruined over this. If His Majesty doesn’t take responsibility to the end, I’ll send her abroad myself.”
As if that were her main point, Ellaris glared at Rision for a moment before standing up.
From afar, the sound of Dianu greeting her cheerfully in the secretariat could be heard.
Rision slumped back into his chair.
In other words, Ellaris was declaring that if Rision failed to take responsibility for Dianu, she would stand on Dianu’s side.
And for Rision, that was very welcome news.
Even if it never came to pass, should anything happen to him, Ellaris would protect Dianu to the very end.
Still, that alone was not enough.
Rision stood up.
I need to revise my will. And write a letter to Lavelan as well.
There was much to do.
* * *
“Your Majesty, are you busy?”
When the six o’clock bell rang, Dianu would finish her work for the day and return to the Oak Palace.
Since it was rare for Rision to finish work exactly on time, she would often peek into his office when the bell rang.
Rision, seated at his desk, gestured for her to come closer.
He seated her in a chair and instead perched himself on the edge of the desk.
“Was there a lot of work today as well?”
“Yes. But there was progress. I found evidence that Duke Belua owns far more shares in trade ships than he reported.”
“That’s a major achievement.”
“I still need to dig up a bit more proof, though……”
Dianu hesitated, as if unsure how to say what she wanted.
Rision waited patiently.
After fidgeting for quite a while, Dianu finally held out what she had been clutching.
A small silk pouch and a velvet jewelry box.
“The piece I ordered from the jeweler arrived.”
“Ah……”
“I thought it would be nice to exchange it along with the gift I’m giving you.”
Rision opened the silk pouch first.
On the outside, Dianu’s initials were embroidered, and inside lay neatly tied strands of brown hair.
Avoiding his gaze in embarrassment, Dianu added,
“I even attached a loop so you can tie it and not lose it.”
When Rision didn’t respond, Dianu waved her hands hurriedly.
“I’m not saying you have to carry it with you all the time. It’s just, in case you ever do—”
“I won’t let it leave my person.”
Dianu fell silent.
Rision wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her white forehead.
“Thank you. I’ll keep it with me always.”
“…If the pouch wears out, I’ll make you another.”
“I’ll remember that.”
Unable to suppress her smile, Dianu bit her lip lightly.
If he kept looking at her like that, he felt he might crush her in his arms, so Rision quickly picked up the jewelry box.
“May I open it?”
“Yes.”
Inside was a small gold necklace.
A teardrop-shaped transparent peridot was surrounded by tiny diamonds, and the artistic chainwork made its delicacy indescribable despite the simple design.
It was a beautiful necklace.
Still, he couldn’t help thinking there were many colors that might suit her better than green.
Noticing his puzzled expression, Dianu spoke with a hint of laughter.
“You said that in your letter, didn’t you? That I should choose something that reminds me of you.”
“…Ah.”
“The moment I saw this peridot, I thought of your eyes.”
Dianu looked down at the necklace in his hand with a warm gaze.
“Ever since I first met you, I thought your eyes were beautiful. Like a summer forest……”
“……”
“Will you put it on me?”
As she said this, she turned around and swept her hair aside.
Her pale, slender nape was exposed.
Suppressing the urge to cover it in kisses, Rision fastened the necklace around her neck.
Touching it carefully, Dianu asked,
“…How is it?”
“Beautiful.”
Not the necklace, but her.
Dianu smiled radiantly.
At that moment, not dropping to his knees and begging her to marry him was the very best Rision could do.
