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OPHELIA walked along leisurely, listening as Bruno explained each area of the Ministry of Justice.
“The cases that are elevated to the Director’s Office involve highly ranked aristocrats. Such persons won’t deign to speak with mere commoners, you understand. You are aware that the director is the king’s younger brother, right?”
“Yes, so I’ve heard.”
“In reality, he’s the second most highly ranked person in the entire country after the king, so there’s no one with the authority to oppose him. Furthermore, he’s as strait-laced as they get, so bribery doesn’t work with him at all. In some ways, you can say this is the ideal job.”
“I-Is that so…”
After they’d looped the entire Ministry of Justice, Bruno headed toward the staircase leading back up to the Director’s Office, but then he suddenly stopped and thought something over for a moment.
“Lady Narve, before we return, there’s one more place I’d like to show you.”
Ophelia followed obediently after Bruno, who led her into a spacious cafeteria. It was well before noon, but a few people were still scattered across the tables, either on their breaks or perhaps eating an early lunch.
“I’ve been told that you don’t use the cafeteria, but just so you know, this is where it’s located. If you’ll please, come with me.”
Ophelia unconsciously stiffened in anticipation of the trembling she was sure would start any minute, but when Bruno directed her to a small table in an unoccupied corner of the room, her shoulders relaxed. He got two cups of coffee from the drink station and smoothly set them down on the table.
“Is coffee okay with you? I’m afraid the tea here is dreadfully weak.”
“Coffee is fine, thank you.”
Ophelia helped herself to the milk and sugar Bruno had brought over, adding plenty of both to her coffee. She stirred her coffee with a spoon, blew on it a few times to cool it a bit, then took a sip and let out a delighted sigh. Bruno watched with a smile playing about his lips.
“It seems you’re a bit less nervous now. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer them.”
“Oh, um… Y-Yes…”
“I’m sure there are some things you find difficult to ask about in the Director’s Office.”
“Umm, well…”
It seemed that Bruno had gone out of his way to secure this chance for Ophelia to speak her mind away from anyone who might overhear. She wanted to ask about a lot of things, and yet her mind went blank, and she couldn’t come up with anything to say. Unaccustomed to speaking face-to-face with someone outside of her family, Ophelia gripped the coffee mug tightly with both hands for emotional support.
Bruno waited patiently for Ophelia to find the right words, never once hurrying her along. His bearing as he brought the coffee mug gracefully to his lips was refined.
“Um, how long have you been working here, Lord Bruno?”
“It’s been… four years already, believe it or not. I was assigned to the Director’s Office two years ago.”
“I see. If it’s not too rude, may I ask how old you are?”
“I’m twenty.”
“Wow, only one year older than me! So you’ve been working since you were sixteen?”
“That’s right. I skipped a grade and graduated early from the academy.”
“I see. That’s incredible.”
Ophelia had started to feel a sense of familiarity with Bruno since they were both the children of earls and close in age, but it turned out he was actually a genius elite!
Come to think of it, Father said that no one can use their connections to get into the Ministry of Justice now, right? If so, Bruno must be extremely talented to have secured this position at his age. Ophelia felt as if he’d suddenly let go of her hand as she stood precariously balanced on the edge of a cliff.
“Rising to a position in the Director’s Office in just two years… You must be extremely capable, Lord Bruno. I also began working at sixteen but haven’t achieved anything like that…” As she spoke, Ophelia unconsciously drew in on herself, and her gaze dropped to the table.
“I wasn’t assigned to the Director’s Office because of my talents,” Bruno said, his eyebrows drawn together at Ophelia’s body language and a bitter smile twisting his lips. “I was working tirelessly, focused on maximizing efficiency as much as possible in order to deal with the mountain of paperwork that came through the division where I worked every day, but apparently that didn’t fit in well with the methods employed by those around me… Before I knew it, not only my coworkers but also my supervisors had started to draw away from me. Rather than boosting productivity, it only brought down the morale of the entire division. As a result, I was transferred to different divisions several times.”
Essentially, Bruno was so talented that it made those around him uncomfortable. It didn’t matter if one was incredibly skilled or completely ordinary; life was hard for everyone. That heavy fact made Ophelia want to run home and hide in her bed.
“No matter where I went, it was only a matter of time before I’d be forced out again,” he explained. “Then the director invited me to work in his office. He doesn’t care how I go about my work so long as it gets done, and he is equally unpleasant to everyone. The director took me in when no one else had any use for me.”
“I-I see…”
That grouchy director…? I assumed he was handed his position based solely on his high status, but it seems he actually has a sharp eye for judging people’s character… Ophelia couldn’t help being impressed in spite of herself. Of course, that didn’t change the fact that she found his broody expression downright terrifying.
“Um, I realize it’s presumptuous of me to speak as if I could relate to your experiences, but…” Ophelia clenched her hands tightly, fingers warm from holding onto her coffee mug, and spoke hesitantly. “Because of this strange ability that I have no control over, I understand the pain of being shunned by others. Oh, um, but… I think you are very brave for not running from it, Lord Bruno.”
When Bruno, his eyes widening slightly, adjusted his position, Ophelia got a glimpse of the people behind him staring at them curiously.
Lord Bruno sat there intentionally to shield me from prying eyes!
Ophelia blinked and found that Bruno had placed one hand on his chest, wearing a soft smile.
“Thank you very much. Your praise makes me especially happy, since I know you are unable to lie.”
Seeing Bruno, who was normally so cool and reserved, become emotional caused Ophelia to straighten up nervously. “Umm, so does that mean that the others were also scouted by the director?” she asked.
“No, that’s not the case. Angelo is a commoner, but his parents and siblings are all famous scholars, so the entire family is a bit strange. He doesn’t have any interest in things outside his own specialization, either, so as you’ve seen, he doesn’t have the best manners. He used to work for the division responsible for investigating ordinary criminals, where he specialized in torture.”
“…What?! T-Torture…?!” Ophelia squeaked.
“He was a treasured employee with a very high confession rate, but the way he tortured suspects with a smile led his coworkers to become concerned he might be mentally unstable, so he was transferred to the Director’s Office before he could become entirely morally bankrupt. It’s best if you don’t mention Angelo’s previous position in front of him.”
“O-Okay…”
That Angelo, with his fluffy blond hair, doe-like eyes, and angelic appearance, actually specialized in torture… Ophelia wished that now, of all times, her hands would shake to disprove this claim.
“While I’m at it, I’ll give you some pointers for dealing with the director,” Bruno said.
“Don’t tell me he has an even more shocking backstory than Lord Angelo…”
“The director hates lies and lip service, and if anyone dares to mention his beauty, he’ll become as furious as a raging fire. The reason he grew out his pretty pink hair is because, when it’s cut short, it becomes wavy and unruly, with pieces poking up randomly in a way that looks even more adorable. There’s a large age gap between the director, who’s currently twenty-seven, and His Majesty the King. If I had to sum him up, the director is a very direct person, which also means he’s pretty easy to understand. Please take care not to take care with how you behave around him.”
“How troublesome…” Ophelia sighed.
This is bad. As I thought, the Director’s Office is full of scary people.
“Um, what about the assistant director…?” she asked.
“Lord Samael? He’s exactly as he appears, so there’s nothing in particular to warn you about when it comes to him.” Bruno elegantly sipped his coffee, somehow without making a single unsightly slurping noise.
I see… It seems that the kidnapper might actually be the most normal of them all…
“Samael is the same age as the director, and the two of them are milk brothers,” Bruno added. “Even so, he’s always getting on the director’s bad side and being shouted at on a near-daily basis.”
“…”
Still holding the coffee mug in both hands, Ophelia tilted her head back to look up at the ceiling.
I want to go back to the Architectural Institute…
I miss my only coworkers being a nail remover and a tape measure…
“Oh, there’s one more thing…” Bruno said as almost an afterthought, cupping his chin with one hand and tilting his head back slightly to gaze off into the distance. “Your ability is incredible. We’re very glad you’ve joined us.”
After he said this, Bruno met Ophelia’s eyes with a mischievous smile.
Ophelia froze with her mouth open in shock, her cheeks visibly reddening by the second. She didn’t even have to look to know that her hands weren’t shaking at all.
I want to go back to the Architectural Institute… But I guess it might be okay to stay here a little longer.
She’d thought he’d let go of her hand on the edge of a cliff, but she’d been wrong. He’d actually taken her hand and pulled her up onto the ledge.
When Bruno stood and suggested they head back, Ophelia hurried to follow him.