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SEVERAL days after the Ordination Ceremony…
Ophelia was cleaning the hidden room behind the window in the interrogation room. The only interrogations that escalated to the Director’s Office were those involving highly ranked nobles, whom ordinary employees would struggle to deal with.
Now that the case of the attempted theft of the holy remains had been wrapped up, this interrogation room was rarely used. The mat that had been specially made for Ophelia was now folded neatly and placed in a corner. After lining the cushions up in a breezy spot by the window to air out, Ophelia returned to the Director’s Office.
She quietly opened the door and found Claudio and Samael trading opinions about a document that had been sent over from another department. Both men glanced over, but Samael simply raised a hand in greeting before returning to their conversation. Bruno sat at his desk, his pen racing over the paper in front of him. Angelo was absent, but the top of his desk was unusually tidy.
The interrogation of the nobles who’d been involved had mostly finished, and it seemed like the rest would be left to the people who worked “downstairs.” It was the Ministry of Safety’s job to track down the ringleader who’d escaped. Even if they did manage to arrest him, now that the plot had been mostly revealed, it was uncertain if the ringleader’s interrogation would be handled by the Director’s Office or not.
Angelo had already cleaned up all the materials he’d accumulated over the course of the investigation, and Bruno was nearly done writing his final report on the case.
Ophelia’s job here was done. The thought made her chest ache. The plan had always been for her to return to the Architectural Institute once this case was solved. This kind of situation must’ve been what the phrase “feeling like you’re being pulled in all directions at once” was coined to describe.
Having nothing to do, Ophelia gathered up a few books that had been left out on the meeting table and carried them over to the bookshelf.
Around the same time Ophelia was finishing putting the books away, Angelo returned. Samael, his meeting with Claudio concluded, headed back to his desk, and Bruno was organizing the documents he’d finished writing.
This is my chance! Ophelia raced back to her desk and removed four small, crisply wrapped packages from her bag.
“Um, this is a small expression of my gratitude for taking care of me these past few weeks… Please accept it.” With this, she handed out the packages to the others one at a time.
The moment Angelo received his, he eagerly tore the paper open to reveal the item inside. “Wow, a handkerchief? It has my initials embroidered on it! Don’t tell me, you…?”
“Yes, I put my heart and soul into embroidering it myself,” Ophelia said.
“Wahoo! I’ve never received this kind of thing from a girl before! Thanks!” Angelo held the handkerchief up with both hands and literally leapt for joy.
Samael’s eyes crinkled happily as he brushed his finger over the embroidery on his handkerchief. “Hmm, you’re surprisingly talented, Lady Narve.”
“Um, well, I’ve been stuck at home all the time since I was a child, and the only things I could really do alone in my room were read or work on embroidery, so…”
Ophelia averted her eyes bashfully, this time accidentally making eye contact with Bruno. He was holding the handkerchief and gazing straight at Ophelia with his brows furrowed.
“Lady Narve, if this is a thank-you gift, does that mean… you’re planning to return to the Architectural Institute?” he asked.
“Huh? Well, I mean, I was only called in to help with this case, and I was told I’d be sent back after it was solved, so…”
“Transfers aren’t that simple, are they, Claudio?”
Claudio didn’t even raise his head when Samael addressed him, merely raising his eyes. His mouth twisted irritably, and he nodded.
Ophelia tilted her head to the side, confused. “But, I… I submitted my transfer request to you, didn’t I, Director?”
“Transfer request?!” Samael cried, whipping around to glare at Claudio. Bruno and Angelo both seemed uneasy as well, but Claudio remained silent.
“Umm, I heard from some ladies from another division, who I’ve become close with, that if you submit a transfer request, it would make the process smoother…” Ophelia said softly. “And, um, I thought it would be better not to make more of a hassle for the director when you’re all so busy, so…”
“Director, did you accept it?” Angelo pressed, and finally Claudio raised his head. His typical fierce glare was there in full force, but now it rivaled for dominance with his scowling mouth.
“I took it, but… I’ve been too busy to file it.”
“What? B-But all you have to do is sign it and hand it off to the General Affairs Division, and they’ll take care of the rest, right?” Ophelia protested.
“I’m busy! I don’t have time to waste on extra paperwork for you!”
Faced with this sudden outburst from Claudio, Ophelia unconsciously checked to make sure her hands weren’t shaking. The others all followed suit, leaning in to take a peek at her hands.
“Wh-What?! It’s not a lie; I really am busy! I was planning to get around to it after I’d finished with this stack of paperwork here,” Claudio said, thumping his hand down on a large pile of papers on his desk.
“But more paperwork comes up from the other divisions every day. You’ll never completely finish that pile,” Angelo pointed out incredulously.
“By ‘making the process smoother,’ they probably weren’t referring to lessening the director’s work…” Just as Bruno muttered this under his breath, the office door suddenly slammed open.
“Ophie! Good day!”
“Duke Vigatto?!”
In the doorway stood Gian, clutching a massive bouquet and smiling from ear to ear. Back when they first met, Ophelia never would’ve dreamed she’d ever see such an expression on his face.
At the sudden appearance of this dedicated recluse, who wasn’t even an employee and therefore shouldn’t have been able to get into the Ministry of Justice in the first place, the members of the Director’s Office team all froze, their eyes wide with shock.
Ophelia reflexively accepted the bouquet thrust into her arms, and when she peeked out from behind the bundle of deep red roses, she found Gian standing in front of her with his arms open wide.
“Good job on your stint at the Director’s Office, Ophie! Now, please marry me!”