Chapter 4
Carlisle forced his expression into place and replied,
“Ah, then let’s do both.”
Because a superior is someone who, if you give them one thing, will immediately say, “Then give me the other one too.”
But Layla’s questions didn’t end there.
“Is it enough to just identify the numbers? Or do I also need to derive some meaning from them?”
“The conclusion will be handled by me, so don’t worry about that.”
While answering, Carlisle almost clutched his chest.
What is this feeling?
His heart was racing.
Faster than after drinking three cups of coffee.
‘I saw Layla Lowell’s personnel file—she has no prior work experience.’
And yet she’s like this?
Then there was only one conclusion.
‘She has instinct.’
His heart was… about to explode.
If anyone saw him, they’d think he’d fallen in love at first sight.
Yuliana Crosswell and Seamus Finley also immediately understood Layla’s question.
And the four of them buried themselves in work…
“That should be enough.”
Carlisle received the organized documents from the three and nodded.
It was a perfectly structured draft report.
It was 5:40 PM.
“You may leave first. No need for overtime.”
At his words, Yuliana’s eyes sparkled as she bowed at a 90-degree angle.
“Thank you very much! Good work!”
Seamus only gave a reluctant nod with a dissatisfied expression.
“….”
And Layla Lowell…
“Goodbye.”
She gave a clean farewell and slipped out of the office like flowing water.
It was 6:10 PM.
Carlisle nearly collapsed from emotion.
Layla Lowell… what is she?
His heart had never beaten with such positive emotion before.
And toward the absolute last place of the 218th batch, no less!
‘…I need to look into Lowell immediately.’
At that moment, he thought—
Perhaps this was fate.
An imperial official at team-leader level was allowed to have a personal secretary.
While they were not allowed to assign official departmental work, small errands could be freely delegated.
Because of this, nobles often used their family retainers as secretaries.
Carlisle’s retainer and secretary, Cedric Lorrington, was one such case…
[Black Underpaid Department matters involve classified information. I will handle it myself.]
Unlike other nobles who pushed even sensitive work onto their staff, Carlisle was strict about boundaries.
So Cedric was unintentionally being paid to do almost nothing. Of course, he didn’t mind.
‘But what is this?’
Cedric watched his lord reading a report with confusion.
‘He’s ordering a background investigation?’
And it was about Layla Lowell, one of the trainees.
“Hmm…”
Carlisle frowned while reading Cedric’s compiled report.
<Located in the 15th District Orphanage of the Capital>
<Confirmed to have been raised there since infancy with subsidies from the Temple>
After the “final Saint assassination incident,” the Temple of the God of Time and Purification had lost influence, but still actively engaged in relief work.
‘But temple subsidies alone wouldn’t have been enough.’
Considering that environment, Layla Lowell’s achievement in even entering the academy as last place was remarkable.
Although the empire claimed meritocracy, nobles still overwhelmingly dominated.
After all, noble children didn’t have to give up study time for survival.
‘If Lowell had started from the same point as everyone else…’
Her work sense and ability to see the bigger picture were already evident.
Carlisle murmured to himself.
“…Which department is Layla Lowell assigned to next?”
He decided he would do everything possible to prevent her from being poached by other departments.
He needed her as his junior.
After finishing their observation in the Black Underpaid Department, the group moved to the next department.
But on the way, the heroine seemed a little…
Downcast. Or just tired?
‘She can’t look like that. The next team leader is famous for being insane.’
The Central Administration Department’s “Imperial Protocol Team” leader.
The one who would trigger the first romance flag between the heroine and male lead.
Allison Capress—the first “crazy person” of Beyond the Golden Gate.
‘The name sounds fancy, but…’
The imperial family had significantly weakened compared to the past.
And when imperial authority weakens, the departments that depend on its prestige weaken too.
‘The Protocol Team is the best example. Even their name is just “team.”’
Allison took out her stress—caused by pressure from outside—on clueless rookies.
‘In the original story, I was the one who got hit by that… but now the heroine looks shaken. What happens now?’
Wait.
If there’s a deviation from the original plot…
What if the heroine says, “I want to quit immediately”?
That cannot happen.
“Yuliana, no matter what you hear next, just ignore it.”
“Huh?”
“Think of it as barking nonsense, got it?”
“Ah—okay!”
Good. She listens well.
“And Finley, you.”
I looked at Purple Head’s outfit and lost patience.
He looked like a delinquent—he might get them all labeled the same way!
“Hey. Finley. Button up.”
“Why?”
“Why? Do you even know where we’re going? The Protocol Team.”
“So what does my outfit have to do with work?”
“Oh, so that’s your attitude?”
“Finley, the Protocol Team is the most conservative department in the palace. They manage traditional imperial ceremonies.”
“Even so, we’re just doing paperwork…”
“Exactly. If we’re telling people ‘you must follow formal etiquette,’ who will listen if we look sloppy?”
“….”
“If someone from the Mage Tower told you to obey them, would you just accept it?”
His expression gradually darkened.
‘Good. I’m not even the heroine, and he still listens…’
But surprisingly, he slowly began buttoning his shirt.
He muttered sulkily.
“Makes sense.”
Wow. Logic victory.
“Finley. Do you have a tie?”
“I don’t wear things around my neck.”
“Oh… I see.”
Some people really can’t tolerate anything around their necks psychologically.
But he still kept his skull bracelet on.
“That bracelet…”
“This is allowed.”
“Huh? Really?”
“It’s an artifact.”
So punk jewelry is an artifact now.
‘Right. This guy becomes the next Mage Tower Lord.’
Not sure why he chose public service instead of being worshipped there.
He kept grumbling.
“You’re the first person to criticize my outfit.”
So I’m building a “you’re the first person to do this to me” relationship with the sub-male lead over fashion criticism. Great.
‘Endure it…’
I needed mental preparation to deal with office psychos anyway.
And Allison Capress was exactly as expected.
“Hm. So you’re the top group… plus the last place?”
She lined us up and scanned us up and down with obvious displeasure.
“We bought three new desks for 300 marks each because new officials were coming.”
“….”
“Do you think you’re worth that money?”
One mark is about 10,000 won… so that’s 9 million won?
And she’s bragging about spending money she didn’t even earn?
At times like this, silence is best.
‘In the original story, she was obsessed with me and made my life hell.’
If I stay quiet, maybe things won’t escalate like before.
Purple Head also looked uninterested, like this is irrational.
But the heroine…
As expected of a rookie, she answered anyway.
“I-I’ll work hard to be worth it…”
“You think this is an academy? What are you going to learn here?”
It was ruined.
Unlike the original plot, Allison had locked onto the heroine.
From then on, she relentlessly criticized everything Yuliana did over trivial things.
“You have no sense.”
“S-sorry…”
“You only have grades, no practical sense. What a waste of a desk.”
“….”
“Oh? Did that hurt your feelings? You young people need direct feedback.”
Thinking she had broken the heroine’s spirit, she turned her gaze to me.
“And you still haven’t fini—”
“Everything you requested has been completed.”
