Ludving stood up on his throne, grinning broadly.
“Duke Carlex, it is time to return to the Royal Palace.”
Carlex's gaze follows me sharply as he passes by me.
I avoided her, pretending not to notice, and lowered my eyes to the ground.
“Is it possible for you to return to the palace like this? Don’t you remember that the library director is waiting for you?”
"Aren't you William's best friend? Speak to him kindly. This man loves discussions to the point of madness, and they may last for hours. I prefer to avoid that if possible. Frankly, William in a heated argument is more terrifying to me than an enemy on the battlefield."
Carlex's anger was evident as he hardly restrained himself in the face of the Crown Prince's whims.
But the Crown Prince, for his part, did not care at all, and spoke to me mixed with jokes.
“Looks like I'll be visiting the Royal Library a lot from now on. I always thought it was a graveyard of moldy books, but it's quite interesting.”
***
It is said that the words of royals are like gold.
Indeed, Crown Prince Ludfeng was not talking nonsense.
As he announced, he continued to visit the library every day as if he was stamping his attendance card.
From my point of view, it was no different from the entry of a petty merchant whose only benefit was to raise his position.
He would visit the library majestically, accompanied by a knight of the royal guard, without paying any attention to scientific research or discussions.
Rather, he was enjoying the tea and dessert party in the parlor.
Sometimes he borrowed all the romance novels, saying that instead of reading books of statecraft, he should learn the hearts of women.
Administrative tasks have multiplied to accommodate this exalted person who visits the library two or three times a week.
Naturally, the dark circles under my eyes got darker.
Moreover, the Crown Prince's frequent visit to the Royal Library was itself an interesting topic.
This is natural, as he is the flower of society known for his romantic life full of sophisticated female relationships.
The news spread throughout the capital, and even became a conversation among curious people among high society.
The problem is that these rumors have a significant negative impact on my work.
“Don't you think the number of visitors has increased a lot these days, Rose?”
I turned to Rose as I arranged the book catalogs on the reception desk.
She was wearing a green dress decorated with nine layers of fringing, and studded with pearls and jewels like the Milky Way. The fluttering fan of ostrich feathers was an added touch.
Her hair, pulled high, was adorned with the most beautiful jewelry, and the brilliance of her diamond necklace shone so intensely that it dazzled the eyes.
Do you mix work with entering the dance hall?
I stared at Rose, pinching my eyelids.
She seemed to realize that her clothes were overdone, and an embarrassed expression appeared on her face.
“Hoho, I'm very interested in the fashion trend in the capital these days...”
“The dress is beautiful. I almost thought I was in a ballroom and not a library. The biggest problem is that all the visitors are dressed like this.”
I swallowed my breath and looked around.
After word of the Crown Prince's frequent hesitation spread, the number of new visitors increased dramatically.
The majority of the main visitors were elderly scholars or magicians, that is, those with specializations.
Now, beautiful women wear luxurious dresses and enter the library in consecutive rows.
They gather in small groups, either hiding behind bookshelves or sitting at tables with glowing faces, eagerly waiting for someone.
“Doesn't it look like a salon for fancy girls, not a bookstore?”
"Oh my god, Erica. You've got to be kidding me. Hohoho."
Rose waved her fan and laughed loudly.
I sighed as I was arranging the documentation papers, and something fell from among the papers.
It was a letter in an elegant envelope, bearing a family seal.
Its beautiful, wavy line was like climbing a trellis rose.
To Your Highness Crown Prince Ludving, the flower and hope of the Kingdom of Rubria, with all my sympathy.
I politely picked up the letter and placed it in the designated box on the reception platform.
The box was overflowing with fan letters addressed to the Crown Prince that had been “received” at the reception desk over the past few days.
“How will we deal with these letters? It seems that the ladies consider the Royal Library reception desk a direct mail window to the Crown Prince.”
“If I were you, I would not touch those emotional messages. I don’t want to earn hatred or curses for mishandling them.”
Rose said with a panicked face as she avoided looking at the letters.
Me too.
I have a lot of office work, how can I handle receiving messages too?
A headache I had forgotten about started coming back.
***
I headed to the director's office carrying the documentation to submit the morning report.
I knocked on the door and a calm voice responded: “Come in.”
When I opened the door and entered, I saw William examining papers on the plush mahogany desk.
He was wearing spectacles with a silver frame on the tip of his nose, and his gaze towards the papers was filled with seriousness and solemnity.
Sometimes, I felt a mysterious air from him, as if he was looking down on the world, perhaps because of his religious background.
“Mr. Director, I brought the papers that require your signature.”
“You're welcome...”
My eyes met his when he looked up from the papers, and I automatically smiled at him.
But William’s expression became serious, and he suddenly stood up and quickly walked towards me.
"What is happening?"
“One moment, please, hold your ground.”
Two soft but strong hands approached and started massaging my eyebrows.
I froze in amazement at the gentle touch of his hands, which were gently massaging and softening the wrinkles between my eyebrows.
“Mr. Director, what are you doing?”
“You shouldn't have wrinkles on your pretty face. Is work stressful for you? I've noticed that you're always frowning these days.”
I was silent as William squeezed my eyebrows hard to adjust them into a serious expression.
Sometimes, William confuses me with his careless touches.
Is it because he comes from a religious background that he is ignorant of these matters?
Or is he the naive and innocent type when it comes to dealing with women?
“Director, why don’t you use a recovery spell to prevent skin aging instead?”
“I haven't tried that yet, but it's worth a try.”
His very serious answer made me lose my guard.
A quick thought ran through my mind for a second:
A beauty salon opens in the library, and women line up to get their skin care with the manager's recovery spell.
This could become a huge source of income and the library's finances could become more prosperous...
I shook my head, trying to quickly get rid of this fantasy.
"No, that seems like a waste of talent. Anyway, the visitor problem is bothering me more than my work as a secretary and also, Mr. Director? Can you stop?"
When I pushed his hands away firmly, William smiled sheepishly
“Thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince, the number of visitors has increased. Listen, it is said that Duke Carlex also contributed to this. Many ladies have come to see him and thanks to him, book borrowings in the field of literature have also increased.”
Carlex did not always accompany the Crown Prince.
But he definitely visited the library once a week with the Crown Prince.
Thanks to him, I'm tired because I try to pretend busy to avoid being alone with him.
“From my point of view, it seems that His Highness the Crown Prince is forcing the Duke to accompany him. Does he have some weakness?”
“On the contrary, His Highness the Crown Prince owes a great debt to Duke Carlex.”
William’s lips were smiling gently, but his eyes were serious.
I wanted to ask about the nature of this religion, but a bad feeling made me divert the subject.
“I would first like to express my opinion. I am very concerned that the library’s supposedly serious atmosphere has become overly crowded due to the frequent visits of His Highness the Crown Prince.”
When I stated my opinion firmly, William who was signing the papers looked up with a surprised expression.
“Really? The staff were happy that the library was becoming more lively. Change is always good.”
William smiled satisfied and sent me a reassuring look.
“This will be a comfortable place for His Highness. The palace is full of eyes… and he is famous, so there are a lot of stressful things. He must want to find physical and mental peace in the library.”
“The problem is that he is only looking for physical and mental peace! He does not read books and only enjoys naps and tea parties every day. Isn’t this the royal library for exploring wisdom and thought?”
I'm angry and upset now.
I must offer my precious refuge as a place for the Crown Prince to nap.
This is an attack on the worker's freedom to rest. It is a violation of labor law!
The Royal Library, which was an ideal job at the beginning of my transition to this world, turned, thanks to the elders, into a hell of intense stress, administrative tasks, and complaints.
Should I be living a romantic, fantasy version of office misery after all this moving?
As if he completely understood my feelings, William smiled gently.
“I really appreciate your effort, Honest Erica. You put in a lot of effort.”
“Yes. Thanks for your appreciation, but I wish you could come up with some solutions.”
The words came out of my mouth unknowingly due to the accumulation of resentment.
This behavior is not good towards your boss.
The problem is that William makes me feel comfortable like an older brother, so it's hard to control my facial expressions.
"Oh, it's been so hard on you. I'm really sorry."
“This is not what you should feel sorry for.”
“Miss Erica, can you please forgive me again? In the future, when His Highness attends, I will make a greater effort to encourage him to read and discuss and I will also handle complaints.”
William gently folded the corners of his eyes and clasped his hands together as if in prayer as he begged.
When I saw him with this kind face, as if he was hoping for one more chance, my anger calmed down a little.
In fact, what power could William have against the Crown Prince?
His attitude is similar to mine, he must do what he is told.
Workers must understand each other.
I changed the topic to change the awkward atmosphere.
“Oh, by the way, did you find
?”
A dark shadow fell over William's face.
He shook his head with a serious expression.
“I haven’t found him yet by chance, I have to enter the palace now regarding this matter.”
“Can't you take responsibility for the loss of the magic book?”
Naturally, the director of the Royal Library would be asked about his responsibility for the loss of a precious magic book that was so tightly managed even with tracking spells.
Contrary to my anxiety, he remained calm.
“Unlike the Five Great Magic Books with tremendous magical power,
is an ordinary book with no magical power, so losing it is not a big problem. But I will take responsibility for security.”
“But in the worst case scenario... wouldn't you get fired?”
As an employee, this is an issue that concerns my livelihood.
As if my cautious question was funny, William laughed faintly.
“No one in Rubria can punish me. I am in overall charge of administering the Five Great Books of Magic.”
I thought he was just an ordinary director of the Royal Library, but I suddenly felt curious about William's true identity.
He goes to the palace regularly and discusses policies with high-ranking nobles.
Moreover, he treats the Crown Prince as a disciple, someone capable of taming Duke Carlix, the commander-in-chief of the kingdom.
William looked at me with worried eyes as if he was leaving home with a child.
“Once again, I place a heavy task on your shoulders, Miss Erica. I must deal with His Highness the Crown Prince on your behalf.”
"That's part of the job too. I can handle it."
Good. Anyway, I'm the only one who can deal with the Crown Prince rationally. I also have to keep an eye on him so he doesn't turn evil.
If you can't avoid it, enjoy it... No, giving up is easier.
William looked at my resigned expression attentively, and then said with determination:
“To be continued in the next chapter”
Loving translation