Ophelia was secretly quite fond of the Ministry of Justice uniform that had been sent over in advance for her to wear. The slightest things often made her shake to the point of falling over, so she was happy this uniform came with pants. This way, no matter what kind of embarrassing pose she ended up in, no one would see her underwear when she fell over, and she wouldn’t scrape her knees. And the fact that the pants were capri-length made them feminine and cute. The durable, long skirt of the Repairs Division’s female uniform was ugly and drab.
But because it was her first day, Ophelia chose to wear the skirt option included with the uniform set.
When Ophelia stepped into the building, a familiar young man was standing in the foyer. He had black hair cut cleanly across at shoulder length and obsidian eyes. If she wasn’t mistaken, this was Claudio’s subordinate, Bruno.
“Good morning, Lady Narve.”
“G-G-Good morning. I-I-I’m looking forward to working with you!”
“There’s no need to be so nervous.”
When he was laughing cheerfully, Bruno looked a bit younger than his initial icy appearance made him seem. Ophelia wondered if he might actually be close to her age.
“Please, follow me. The Director’s Office is just up the stairs on the far side of this floor. It’s a bit of a walk, but the view from the windows on that side of the building is lovely.”
Bruno considerately adjusted his pace to match Ophelia’s as they walked. It seemed that, for now, this kind gentleman would teach her the ropes. It felt as if a ray of light had appeared to illuminate what she’d built up in her head to be a dark and terrifying workplace.
“This way, Lady Narve.”
Bruno opened a set of exceptionally large double doors and ushered Ophelia into an expansive room bathed in sunlight with sturdy desks lined up in the center and towering bookcases along every wall, stretching all the way to the ceiling. The bookshelves were packed full of thick, well-worn books, and even more were piled on the coffee table, which was part of a simple seating area set up in one corner of the room for receiving visitors. The room seemed a bit crowded for four men to work in, but considering there was also a table and sofa set up behind the partition for meetings and even a private kitchenette in a small adjoining room, Ophelia supposed the space was sufficient.
“Good morning, Lady Narve,” Samael called out cheerfully. He was sitting diagonally in his chair, his long legs crossed at the ankle.
“G-G-Good morning… I’ll be w-w-working with you from tod—”
“Morning, Ophelia!”
“Angelo, Lady Narve was in the middle of speaking.”
“Bruno, you lucky dog! I wish I could’ve gone to meet Ophelia at the door.”
“If you have time to be jealous of Bruno, finish up the paperwork that was due yesterday.”
Just as she’d done the last time they met, Ophelia let their energetic banter roll over her as she glanced furtively at their outfits. They all wore the same black Ministry of Justice uniform, but the shirt Samael wore beneath was flashy, with multiple adornments and a ruffled cravat tied around his neck. Claudio and Bruno wore simpler shirts that nonetheless were obviously expertly tailored and made of high-quality material, with neckties finishing off the look. Ophelia was surprised to see that Claudio, despite being a duke and the king’s younger brother, was wearing the same uniform as everyone else. At the Architectural Institute, persons of high status were not required to wear the uniform.
Only Angelo was wearing the standard-issue shirt. However, the white shirt looked intentionally mussed, with the top few buttons undone and no necktie. He also had his jacket open and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, making it look, upon first glance, as if he weren’t even wearing the uniform.
Samael, noticing Ophelia glancing back and forth between Angelo’s uniform and her own, gave a strange smile. “Lady Narve, you looked lovely in the green, but I do believe black suits you even better. As for Angelo over there, he’s a slob, so don’t use him as a reference.”
“I was just noticing how everyone expressed their own individuality…”
Angelo stood abruptly, making a loud, seemingly intentional noise as he did. “Ophelia, you’ll be sitting right here between Bruno and me. Feel free to ask me about anything you don’t understand.”
“Please don’t trust anything Angelo tells you,” Bruno cautioned. “Oh, but I suppose you’ll know if he’s just making up random answers, won’t you, Lady Narve? In any case, I’ll be your direct supervisor.”
Despite feeling somewhat uneasy over Angelo’s general unreliability, Ophelia was internally relieved. The fact that no part of her body was currently trembling was proof that he was genuinely welcoming of Ophelia’s arrival.
At Bruno’s urging, Ophelia moved toward her new seat. Just as she passed Angelo’s desk, her knees wobbled slightly.
“What’s this? Don’t tell me… Did being close to me make you weak in the knees, Ophelia?”
“No! Er, I mean… A small tremor like this… Probably means your desk is broken somewhere, Lord Angelo…”
“Wow, you can even pick up on things like that? Recently, the bottom drawer has gotten stuck and won’t open!” Angelo said with a broad smile, causing everyone’s eyes to focus on Ophelia. Even Claudio looked up from his work, having been reading over paperwork at his desk at the far end of the room, away from the main cluster of desks. Ophelia felt suddenly paralyzed under the force of his glare-like gaze. In an attempt to cover up for this, she frantically set down the bag she’d been carrying and took out a long ruler from inside.
“If you’ll excuse me for just a moment…”
Ophelia slipped the ruler into the gap of the defective drawer and wiggled it about in a practiced manner. After several attempts, she felt it catch on something.