My Name Is - 2
I quietly turned my gaze toward the Audit Department Chief. The way he kept stealing glances at Eri told me the shock of something new had landed exactly as planned.
It worked.
Of course it did. I was the one who planned it—there was no way it would fail.
It wasn’t that the Audit Department Chief was some womanizer who lost his mind at the sight of any pretty face. But when someone you were close to suddenly looked different from usual, your eyes couldn’t help but be drawn.
And Eri was a beauty. That wasn’t just me being soft on a junior; it was objective fact. Her personality and behavior might not always live up to that face, but when she actually dressed up properly, she was the kind of woman who made everyone stop and stare.
Then I turned my eyes on Eri herself.
…Should I kill her?
The thought rose on pure instinct the moment I saw her like that.
Hold it in, reason of mine. If I lose my temper now, the whole thing goes up in smoke.
That hopeless girl.
But I couldn’t stop the strength from gathering in my hand. I ended up dragging the knife across the plate hard enough to leave a mark.
I was about to explode. The girl who usually ran her mouth so brilliantly was nowhere to be found; in her place sat a demure young lady who looked like she was mid-prayer at church.
And she won’t even open her mouth?
Yes, I told her to show a different side. That quiet look was certainly different. But did she have to show it now?
I swallowed the sigh that threatened to burst out and took a sip of wine. Normally she was such a chatterbox—why did she have to turn into a perfect listener tonight of all nights?
This wouldn’t do. We needed the fresh impression that could pull the Audit Department Chief’s gaze and Eri’s usual dazzling banter. The two had to come together for there to be any real chance. Just looking different meant nothing on its own.
Say something. Right now.
I glared at her with a wish that had grown almost desperate. Eri must have felt the weight of it; she gave a startled little flinch.
Instead of trembling, open your mouth. Do you want to be the one catching the bouquet, or the one throwing it?
There won’t be a next time.
If she failed with the board this carefully set, it wouldn’t just be a missed opportunity. This was a place the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were tacitly backing, and the shock of novelty was a weapon you only got to use once.
With cards like that in her hand, if she still couldn’t even open her mouth, there would never again be a situation where Eri could confess. You don’t walk to a place you already failed to reach by carriage.
“The Audit Department Chief seems to have quite a few ties to beautiful women.”
Just as I was wondering whether I should flip the table to reset the mood, His Highness spoke.
It was far too blunt, the kind of remark that could put the Audit Department Chief on edge. But right now I would take anything. No—emphasizing how many people were after him was exactly what would make Eri move. Perfect timing.
And sure enough, Eri flinched again at the Crown Prince’s words.
“…They are connections beyond what I deserve.”
The Audit Department Chief, who had paused for a moment, answered calmly.
He’s rattled.
Looking closer, I saw the corner of his eye twitch ever so slightly. For all his composed words, he was more shaken than he let on.
Sorry, Audit Department Chief.
I offered a silent apology and opened my mouth. Tag-teaming him like this really was unfair, but I was doing it for my junior.
And in the long run, I believed it was for him too. We were giving him the chance to gain a pretty, lively bride like Eri. Absolutely—this was for the Audit Department Chief’s own good.
“Heh. True enough. There’s Lady Margeta, the Demon Duke, and even Lady Erzebet among them.”
At that, the Audit Department Chief’s gaze shifted to Eri.
Yes. This was what we needed. Mention her once more from the side; make him look at her once more.
If both of them just sat there doing nothing, nothing would happen. Shy unrequited love, destinies that simply intertwine—those only belonged in fairy tales. Nothing comes of staying still.
“Yes. The First Division Chief is also a connection beyond my station. Enough to make one wonder who could possibly take her away.”
After a brief pause, the Audit Department Chief spoke in a low voice.
Right now Eri was here as my guest, so the words sounded more polite than heartfelt—but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that he had said something kind on the surface.
Now.
I looked at Eri again. Say anything. At least something like “Then the Chief should take her himself!”
“Hehe…”
But Eri only gave a vacant little laugh and quietly sipped her wine.
…
Should I kill her?
Don’t hold back, reason of mine.
Tonight was Eri’s last dinner. We would settle this tomorrow.
When the Crown Prince suddenly started talking about “connections,” I thought my heart was going to drop out of my chest. I was sure the crazy bastard was going to start teabagging me right in front of the Crown Princess.
But the Crown Princess just laughed it off, they exchanged a few more lines, and the topic died quickly. Thankfully it hadn’t been teabagging—just something he’d tossed out.
That bastard nearly gave me a heart attack.
It was enough to make a man cry. Don’t they say even a dog isn’t bothered while it’s eating? I was being treated worse than a dog.
…Well, the reason you don’t bother a dog is that it bites, and I couldn’t exactly bite the Crown Prince.
Anyway, after that remark the rest of the meal passed without incident. We had a proper dessert and some after-dinner drinks.
“It was a pleasant evening, Your Highness.”
And so the invitation dinner ended just as uneventfully. I never did figure out why I’d been summoned in the first place.
I couldn’t understand it. Had he truly, genuinely invited me with pure intentions? Just to eat together?
“I feel the same. Making time like this more often wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
“It would be an honor.”
Watching the Crown Prince say something so terrifying with a smiling face only deepened the confusion. If he still had nothing to say at the very end, then there really had been no business at all.
They say when a person starts doing things they never used to do, it means their time is near.
So only half my prayer got through?
I’d clearly asked for a long and healthy life, yet somehow the “long” part got lost and only the “unhealthy” remained. And I hadn’t even prayed for a disease that would carry me off this quickly.
“Audit Department Chief.”
“Yes, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
While I was lost in absurd thoughts, the Crown Princess seated beside the Crown Prince spoke.
“If it isn’t too much trouble, would you see Lady Erzebet home?”
I glanced at the First Division Chief. She was thoroughly drunk and leaning on the Crown Princess for support.
Anyone else would have called the sight presumptuous, yet neither the Crown Princess nor even the Crown Prince reacted. As if this were perfectly natural.
Terrifying favoritism.
A marquis’s daughter close enough to the Crown Prince and Princess that they treated her like this. On its own that wasn’t so strange—except the young lady in question was the First Division Chief of the Audit Department. Rank and station simply didn’t match.
I still didn’t understand it. If she submitted a resignation it would be approved on the spot, so what joy did she find in Audit Department life?
“Of course, Your Highness.”
I collected the lunatic who was currently using the Crown Princess as a human prop.
The moment I draped her arm over my shoulder to support her, the smell of alcohol hit me full force. Just how much had she drunk?
“I’ll leave her in your care, Audit Department Chief.”
The Crown Princess, who had been watching the First Division Chief in silence, gave a small smile.
I’d been to the First Division Chief’s mansion before, so finding the way wasn’t hard.
The only problem was the nuisance of having to prop someone up the whole way.
Drinking until you’re this far gone—what were you thinking?
I looked at the groaning burden beside me. This was the first time I’d seen anyone get properly drunk at an ordinary dinner instead of a company drinking party.
After-dinner drinks were usually limited to a pleasant buzz no matter how many you had. Ending up unable to walk straight was extremely rare.
…Though now that I thought about it, the Crown Princess had drunk roughly the same amount, hadn’t she?
I must have misseen it.
I must have. I’d never heard any rumors that the Crown Princess was a heavy drinker.
I suppressed my irritation and kept walking in silence. Truthfully I wanted to dump her on the roadside with a “Your house starts here now,” but she was wearing a full formal dress of all things.
Thinking of her not as the First Division Chief but as an ordinary young lady made it impossible to treat her roughly. So a person’s packaging really did matter.
She never wears anything like this normally.
And if she could wear it this well, then why had she always…
If she’d gone around looking like this every day she would have been married ages ago. I had no idea which unfortunate sinner would end up bound to the First Division Chief, but at least one would have been caught.
“Ch-Chief…”
“You finally back with us?”
The First Division Chief, who had only been moaning until now, finally made a sound that belonged to a person.
“Hehe… I’m okay now.”
She lifted her heavily bowed head and gave an awkward smile.
Of course she looked nowhere near okay. Her face was flushed deep red from the alcohol, and there were even faint tears in her eyes. From the headache, maybe? Just how much had she put away?
“I… I can walk by myself.”
“Crawling on all fours doesn’t count as walking.”
“Aigoo, I’m serious!”
She shouted at my words, shook off my hand, and tried to walk alone.
Naturally she only managed a few steps before crumpling to the ground.
“Just take my hand. If you’re going to lie down, do it on a bed.”
Looking at her pitiful seated figure, I sighed. I’d been careful not to dirty her dress, and the owner herself had ruined it in one go.
All my effort… turned to trash in an instant…
“Chief…”
“Yeah, what.”
“Chieeeef…”
But the First Division Chief ignored the offered hand and just kept mumbling.
A drunk who couldn’t even get drunk gracefully and only made trouble for others. My chest swelled with a sense of grandeur all on its own.
“If you dress up this nicely and then act like a drunk, you’ll never get married.”
With a small sigh I took hold of her shoulder again. If she’d been in Audit Department uniform it wouldn’t have mattered—people actively avoided getting involved the moment they spotted the department. But a young lady dressed this prettily? Someone walking by might see her, and the rumor that the First Division Chief had been doing freestyle on the ground could spread.
Her marriage prospects were already sealing shut, so the damage would be limited, but it still wasn’t a dignified look.
“It’s fine… I won’t be able to anyway…”
The sudden self-objectivity was so chilling it briefly stole my breath.
Well… I’d vaguely thought the same thing, of course, but hearing it from the person herself was something else.
“What could you possibly be lacking? Where else are you going to find someone like you?”
So I gave her confidence a boost. My subordinate might get torn down, but only by me. Even if the self-deprecation came from the person herself, I couldn’t stand hearing my own subordinate put down.
And someone at the First Division Chief’s level absolutely deserved to marry. Setting her personality aside, what else was she missing that would leave her single for life?
Setting her personality aside.
“Really…?”
Thankfully my words seemed to comfort her a little; she let out a small laugh.
“Then… could the Chief take me?”
“What?”
My face twisted on its own at the sudden question.
“I… I like the Chief. I really, really like you…”
Ignoring my reaction completely, the First Division Chief giggled and kept going.
“I’ve liked you since the first time I saw you… Really, really a whooole lot… I’ve liked you for two years…”
And then she suddenly started shedding tears, drop after drop.
“I… liked you first… I know I’m nowhere near Lady Hecate, buuuut… still, still, I liked you before anyone else…”
“First Division Chief.”
I patted her shoulder, trying to calm her. She wasn’t in her right mind. She was so drunk she was saying things she would never be able to handle later.
The polite thing was to cut this off quickly. How mortified would she be once she sobered up?
“Don’t call me First Division Chief!”
But she slapped my hand away and shouted, crying as if her heart were truly breaking.
“I… I’m Erzebet… I’m Erzebet…! Not some name like First Division Chief—I’m Erzebet!”
At those words my body went rigid without thinking.
“…I know. I know perfectly well… that you only call me by my title… I know why you do it…”
After that one shout, the First Division Chief’s voice softened a little.
“But still… still… do you know how sad it is… not to hear your name from the man you love?”
Unable even to hide the tears that kept streaming down, the First Division Chief wore a twisted little smile.
In the moonlight, her white hair looked especially pitiful tonight.