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THE other staff working in the Director’s Office were all out on some business or another, leaving Ophelia alone in the office with Claudio. Ophelia’s status was that of a temporary loan employee who would eventually return to the Architectural Institute. As such, she wasn’t allowed to view classified documents, so when she wasn’t sitting in on interrogations, there wasn’t much for her to do other than clean and organize the office.
Ophelia almost never served tea and coffee, despite this being a common task for secretaries. The reason was simple: if someone thanked her because common courtesy demanded it rather than genuine gratitude, it would make her hands shake, and she might accidentally spill their hot beverage all over them.
When Ophelia finished tidying up and cast about for something else to work on, she spotted Claudio out of the corner of her eye, with one hand pushing the hair back off his forehead, seemingly deep in thought.
Come to think of it, I don’t think the director has eaten lunch yet…
With that in mind, Ophelia decided to try making tea. She felt that the director would be safe enough to serve tea to. He never sugar-coated anything and certainly never lied. When he looked angry, it was because he was, and when he didn’t look angry, he wasn’t. That was it. When he looked tired, he was tired, and when he looked incredulous, he was feeling incredulous. Although she’d never seen it, she assumed that if he ever looked amused, it would be because he was indeed amused. When she considered that he didn’t have a hidden agenda and was actually very easy to understand, Ophelia felt there was no need to be afraid of him. All she had to do was avoid getting too close when he was in a foul mood.
When Ophelia went to the drink station in the adjoining kitchenette, the can of tea leaves for preparing tea was empty. There was, however, a veritable mountain of coffee beans in stock. The drink station was supposed to be stocked by the cafeteria, so why…
Oh, that’s right! Bruno said the tea from the cafeteria was terrible. They must’ve requested only coffee instead…
“Um, Director… I’ve brought you some coffee.”
Claudio looked up from his paperwork when Ophelia set the mug of coffee down nervously on the edge of his desk. Ophelia’s shoulders flinched reflexively, and Claudio’s fierce gaze flickered once to the coffee before returning immediately to the paperwork in front of him.
“Thanks. Sorry for the trouble.”
Ophelia had been prepared for a reprimand, but he’d accepted the coffee much more easily than she’d thought. She bowed her head slightly, then shuffled backwards awkwardly without daring to turn around until she made it to her seat, where she plopped down.
As she’d thought, she was able to serve coffee to Claudio without incident. In her heart, she’d desperately wanted to pump her fist victoriously when she set the mug down on his desk without spilling it. However, she knew that such an unprofessional display would definitely earn her a scolding, so she’d resisted the impulse.
Ophelia fiddled absently with her jacket sleeve and peeked over at Claudio to find he’d finally reached for the coffee. He blew on it once and then brought it to his lips… And made a disgusted face.
“That’s terrible.”
“It is?!”
Ophelia shot to her feet without thinking, and Claudio set the mug back down on his desk with a heavy sigh.
“It’s so weak… What even is this? Are you sure you made it correctly?”
“Um, well, I watched the others make coffee and just copied what I saw them do…”
“Are you an idiot? No one has ever dared serve me such terrible coffee before.” With a disgruntled, half-disbelieving expression, Claudio stood and crossed the room to the door leading into the kitchenette. “Come on, then. I’ll teach you how to make coffee properly.”
“Director, you know how to make coffee?”
“Even I can manage something this simple by myself,” Claudio responded, popping the lid off the can containing the ground coffee beans. His behavior suggested he felt the entire thing was a huge inconvenience, but even so, he angled his body to the side intentionally to give Ophelia a clear view of what he was doing with his hands.
“But you were a prince, weren’t you, Director? It’s really impressive that you know how to do things like this.”
“A prince… Well, I suppose that is how I was raised, but… There’s a large age difference between His Majesty and me, and I abdicated from the line of succession and moved out of the Royal Residence as soon as His Majesty’s eldest son was born. After that, I made a point of doing as much as I could for myself.”
“I don’t think that many aristocrats, even the lower-ranking ones, know how to make coffee.”
“It was easier to just learn to brew my own coffee than to put in the effort to search for a servant who doesn’t lie.”
It seemed he really did prepare his own coffee regularly. With practiced ease, he poured the brewed coffee into two mugs.
The majority of aristocrats can’t even get dressed without assistance…
“People aren’t exactly knocking the doors down trying to gain employment with a prince who will never take the throne. Of course, my reputation for barking at my employees doesn’t help.”
“That’s unfair; you’re not that harsh…”
“I can practically hear your knees knocking together from here.”
“Oh! No, um, this is… Uh…”
“It’s fine. Don’t try so hard to spare my feelings that you fall over.” Claudio grabbed Ophelia’s arm to help stabilize her, and her trembling suddenly stopped. “More importantly, do you understand how to brew coffee now?”
“Yes! I even took notes!”
“If you have nothing else to do, practice making it for the others.”
“Okay!”
Claudio leaned against the counter of the drink station, drinking his coffee. Ophelia followed suit, blowing lightly on her coffee before taking a sip. Claudio watched her closely, his brow furrowed.
“It’s delicious. I could probably drink it even without milk or sugar,” she said. Ophelia held the warm mug with both hands, a soft smile stretching across her face. She didn’t notice the way some of the tension left Claudio’s shoulders at this reaction. “Director, you’re my ‘first person I ever served coffee to.’”
After Ophelia said that, she sensed more than saw a gruff, huffing expulsion of air somewhere above her head. Looking up, she spotted one corner of Claudio’s well-formed lips tugging up just the tiniest bit.
“What kind of title is that…” Claudio turned and headed back into the main office, carrying his coffee mug in one hand.
It had only been for a moment, but it had set Ophelia’s heart beating so hard that her pulse was racing and she couldn’t seem to slow it down. Claudio’s beautiful smile that she’d just witnessed for the first time up close overlapped perfectly in her mind with the fuzzy memory of his elegant appearance at Dominica’s wedding ceremony.
The director really was a prince…
Ophelia pressed her hand over her chest and took several deep breaths, trying to calm her pounding heartbeat. It was a long while before she could leave the kitchenette.