Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: The Incompetent Minister Wants to Retire
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“Please go back. The Minister is currently away.”
“I can sense a presence in the Minister’s office—what are you talking about?”
Celine scowled to herself, thinking that this was exactly why muscle-headed types got on her nerves. Ever since that matchmaking fiasco, Francesca had been showing up every other day looking for the Minister, pushing Celine’s stress levels to the breaking point.
‘There’s a limit to how shameless someone can be. He turned her down flat, so why is she clinging like this?’
She used to only come when there was friction between the Knight Order and the Intelligence Department’s jurisdictions, but now she dropped by so often it felt like she was just popping in for fun.
Celine didn’t want to let anyone interrupt the Minister’s already packed schedule, so she wanted to send Francesca packing by force if she had to—but she couldn’t.
“Like I told you before, the Minister gave me permission to come by anytime. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and check for yourself.”
Of course, Celine had already checked. And shockingly, Francesca was telling the truth. The Minister’s inexplicable behavior was par for the course, but this time it was on another level.
‘Why would he let a woman like this get close?’
To Celine, Christina, and several other staff and agents, Francesca’s presence was more than just irritating. What bothered them most was how her behavior, mannerisms, speech, and even her outfits had changed.
The woman who used to stomp around in full plate armor now showed up in light, casual clothes. Her speech and actions, once indistinguishable from a man’s, had taken on a distinctly feminine air. And the subtle, meticulous way she dolled herself up—details only another woman would notice—invited the worst possible assumptions.
‘No way… she couldn’t be…’
Putting together the Minister’s comment that the matchmaking itself hadn’t been bad with the look in Francesca’s eyes whenever she came searching for him, the answer was obvious.
“Then I’ll head in.”
“Ah, wait!”
Moving with the speed that had earned her the title of Knight Captain, Francesca brushed past Celine and threw open the Minister’s office door before vanishing inside.
“Hey, Minister.”
--
I set down my coffee cup at Francesca’s greeting. She really was coming by at all hours, just like I’d offhandedly told her she could during that matchmaking meeting.
“Training end early today?”
“Yeah. Until Prince Labor from Labor leaves, the Knight Orders are taking turns on security detail every day. We’re only doing enough to keep in shape.”
Made sense. If anything untoward happened in the capital with a foreign envoy in town, it’d damage the Empire’s prestige, so they had no choice but to stay vigilant. Thanks to that, the Intelligence Department was focusing on capital surveillance, aside from essential ops.
“Tough gig.”
“Pot calling the kettle black. You guys can’t be slacking much either, right?”
“Fair enough.”
I had nothing to do, but that was business as usual, so whatever.
“Anyway, one thing I wanted to ask.”
“Shoot.”
“Why’s your secretary just standing there?”
I turned to where Francesca was pointing and spotted Celine standing rigidly by my side, her face like a block of ice. What the—when did she get here?
“I’m the Minister’s secretary. Assisting him up close is only natural.”
“We’re just chatting as friends. What’s there to assist with?”
I didn’t particularly see Francesca as a friend, but I had to agree with her point. As I’d told Celine before, she handled most of the department’s actual work, leaving her swamped as it was. She only stuck close during meetings or when it was truly necessary.
Curious how Celine would respond to Francesca’s jab, I watched as she bowed her head to meet my eyes.
“Minister. You need me, right?”
Need her? Well, she was my secretary, so yeah.
“Please answer. Have I become unnecessary to you?”
What kind of question was that? Something felt off—very un-Celine-like—but the pressure in her gaze made me shake my head despite myself.
“No. You’re essential to me.”
“Hear that? I’m essential to the Minister. So it’s only natural for me to stay by his side.”
“……”
The mood turned weird. For reasons I couldn’t pinpoint, Francesca clamped her mouth shut and glared at Celine, who looked triumphant. Bad blood between them or something? Not my problem, anyway.
“Oh, right—Francesca. I heard some of the gifts from Prince Labor’s group went to the Imperial Knight Orders?”
“Oh? Ah, Aegis?”
Aegis was the name of an artifact shaped like a shield, seized from the kingdom during a past war with the Empire. I’d heard Prince Siegfried Labor had brought it back as part of the envoy and returned it to the Empire, where it was promptly displayed in the Knight Order headquarters.
“What about it? Wanna see it?”
“If I could.”
“Of course. Just come with me.”
The Intelligence Minister dropping by the Knight Order HQ unannounced would raise all sorts of red flags, but tagging along with the Captain herself? No issue.
“……Your secretary coming too?”
“Yes.”
“Fine. Do what you want.”
And so Celine and I followed Francesca to the Knight Order.
--
She knew it was wrong, but Francesca couldn’t suppress the surge of superiority welling up from deep in her chest.
“The Intelligence Minister?! At the Knight Order HQ!?”
“With Captain Chirner?”
“Didn’t their engagement talks fall through?”
“But don’t they seem kinda close?”
Whispers like that followed them everywhere as they passed through the Order. Seniors, juniors, peers—all gawking at them with wide eyes. Curiosity, fear, confusion, envy, awe—their gazes carried a whirlwind of emotions.
Francesca hadn’t deliberately tried to make it look like the Minister was her backer. Back in his office, she’d only wanted to show him Aegis out of genuine interest on his part. But now, faced with all those jealous stares upon arriving at HQ, a euphoric lightness bubbled up inside her.
‘Come to think of it, the more people who think the Minister and I have something special going on, the better.’
To breach a castle, fill the moat first, as the saying went. If this perception built up over time, maybe he’d eventually open his heart to her. Clinging to that hope, Francesca led him to the Aegis mounted on the central wall of the Order’s main building.
“So this is the famous defensive artifact, Aegis.”
The Minister stared at it with clear fascination, fiddling with the ring on his thumb. After a long while admiring the shield, he said he was done, but Francesca didn’t want the tour to end there.
“Since you’re here, how about a quick look around the Order?”
“That okay?”
“Like I said, we’re twiddling our thumbs until our rotation comes up.”
The Minister accepted her proposal—born of a desire to show off their closeness to as many people as possible—without a second thought.
Meanwhile, Celine, who saw right through her motives, ground her teeth from behind. ‘This woman’s after the Minister too.’ It grated on her. Grated so badly she could hardly stand it.
‘The Minister is a god.’ It felt like someone barging into her personal sanctuary with muddy boots. ‘The Minister is my god.’ Her faith was being defiled. ‘The Minister is my god alone.’
She hated seeing the usually stoic Minister flash even a faint smile at her words. ‘The Minister belongs to me.’ She didn’t want to watch him getting chummy with another woman right in front of her. ‘The Minister is mine.’
With that, the hollow shell of her faith crumbled, revealing the raw truth beneath. ‘The Minister is mine.’ Her Minister. For her alone. Made for her alone. That day, Celine branded Francesca an enemy.
--
Late at night. I bolted upright in bed at the faint presence, nearly screaming. A strange woman was lying there, staring right at me. Dozens of questions flashed through my mind, but I went with the most pressing one first.
“Where are my guards?”
“Impressive. You ask that before even ‘who are you?’” The woman chuckled lowly and snapped her fingers. A flame flickered to life on the candle by the bedside table.
A mage. No hostility, but best not to piss her off. “Don’t worry about the guards. They’ve got no clue I’m here.”
“I see.” I got out of bed and sat at the table. She sat across from me.
“Gonna ask who I am now?”
“Would you answer?”
“Yeah.”
“Who are you?”
“Asero Kerk.”
“Guess you’re not serious about answering properly.”
Asero Kerk. The name of a legendary witch from ancient times, thousands of years ago. Whether it was some mage’s inside joke I didn’t get or not, she clearly wasn’t treating this conversation with gravity.
“It’s my real name.”
“So, a namesake?”
“No. I am the legendary Asero Kerk herself.”
The ancient era was roughly a thousand years back. Assuming she meant that literally, only one conclusion followed. “That’s rough.”
“What is?”
“You’re looking at me like I’m some pitiful lunatic.”
“That’s exactly it.” Her unauthorized break-in already screamed “not normal,” but I hadn’t pegged her for a nutcase who thought she was a witch dead over a millennium ago.
“Anyway, what do you want with me?”
“Hmm… I figured you wouldn’t buy it, but seeing you up close, your condition’s even worse than I thought.”
“What’re you on about?”
“You don’t trust anyone from the start, do you?”
“?” What’s she saying? That’s a given, witch.
“You don’t trust humans—or any intelligent beings, really. At this rate, you won’t trust other races either, huh?”
“Want me to guess you’re an elf or something?”
“Nah. I’m human, even if I’m using a few loopholes.”
The woman, spouting nonsense while insisting she was Asero Kerk, let out a long sigh and stood. “I’ll head out now. Sorry for interrupting your sleep.”
“Hold on. You barge in out of nowhere, ramble cryptic bullshit, and now you’re just gonna ghost without explaining?”
Unable to hide my bafflement, I pressed her. She scratched her cheek awkwardly. “Didn’t plan on this, but I can’t see you asking for help in your current state… Still, if our understandings ever align someday, I’ll come back. I figure you’d at least hear me out then.”
With one last inscrutable remark, she snapped her fingers again. The candle went out. I hurriedly lit it back up, but the witch was gone.
“……”
What the hell was that all about?