🌷 🌷 🌷
TWO weeks had passed since the night of the ball, and on this day, Ophelia had gone to work at the Architectural Institute with her brother and father like normal. Their father worked in another department, so they parted ways in the foyer. Ophelia followed her brother toward the Management Department’s office.
The Repairs Division, where Bernard and Ophelia worked, was part of the Management Department, which was in charge of maintenance and repairs of public buildings.
“Today, we’ll be performing a regulatory inspection at the Ministry of Civil Affairs.”
“Okay.”
“But first, I’m going to submit a work order for that open-air corridor.”
“All right. I’ll get started cleaning.”
“Thanks.”
A decent number of people worked for the Management Department. However, most of them spent the majority of their time out of the office carrying out repairs and inspections, so the Management Department’s office was usually almost empty. Ophelia made her way around the office, cleaning the floor with a broom and occasionally exchanging a few words with one of her colleagues.
“Miss Ophelia, thanks for always keeping this place so spick and span.”
One of Ophelia’s coworkers called out to her from where they sat at their desk, and their words didn’t evoke any shaking or trembling whatsoever. The knowledge that this person genuinely appreciated her efforts made Ophelia flush with happiness.
“I’m not useful for much except cleaning the office, so I’d better at least do that well!”
The coworker laughed good-naturedly at Ophelia’s humble reply and turned back to their work.
By the time Ophelia had finished cleaning the office and organizing the paperwork, Bernard had returned. The two of them shrugged on their Ministry of Ceremonies-issued uniform jackets. Ophelia slid a file folder with the blueprints for the building they would be inspecting into her shoulder bag, and Bernard slipped his arms through the straps of a large, heavy backpack. This backpack contained a portable toolset. If they discovered anything that could be repaired easily, he would perform the repairs on the spot.
The two of them had the highest repair record in their division. From small defects to complete functional failure, the number of maintenance issues they discovered surpassed that of the second-place title holder by no insignificant amount. This was only to be expected, of course, since all they had to do was walk around until Ophelia started shaking or fell over, and they were bound to find something in need of repair in that spot.
“I was told that most of the people working for the Department of Civil Affairs left today for a meeting in a neighboring country. There should only be a few people left in the building. Fortunately for us, they were the ones who requested we do all the maintenance while there aren’t many people around to be inconvenienced by it,” Bernard explained.
“I see. That really works out well for us.”
The Ministry of Civil Affairs primarily handled international relations, so the employees were all exceptionally charismatic and had a way with words. When they spotted Ophelia, who was technically a young lady, they always greeted her in the most dashing, gentlemanly manner possible. They would then lavish such flowery praises on Ophelia that the blatant exaggeration would’ve been comical if not for the fact that it inevitably caused her arms and legs to shake so badly that she probably looked like she was having a seizure.
A gentle breeze ruffled Ophelia’s bangs, sending them dancing lightly over her forehead, and she let out a sigh of relief. She was glad to hear she wouldn’t have to interact with those people this time.
To save time, travel between the Architectural Institute at the furthest edge of the Royal Palace complex and the other ministries was done in a simple, open-topped wagon. Because they sometimes received visitors from other countries, the building housing the Ministry of Civil Affairs was grand and ornate. As the glittering façade of the Ministry of Civil Affairs drew closer, Ophelia unconsciously clutched the strap of her bag tighter.
“Let’s find everything that needs even the smallest repairs so we can take care of them all now and not have to come back here for a while,” Ophelia said with determination shining in her eyes.
“…Regardless of the reason, I’m glad you’re feeling passionate about work!” Bernard chuckled as he climbed out of the carriage. Then he turned and, as always, helped his sister descend.
The two stopped by the reception desk to get visitor passes, then slowly made their way around the building, referring to the blueprints as they went.
As they’d been told, the building was nearly empty. They made their rounds in record time without anyone stopping them to chat. Even so, by the time they made it back to the Architectural Institute, lunchtime had come and gone.
“Ophie, I’ll return the blueprints, so you can go ahead and start lunch without me.”
“Okay, thanks, Bernard. I’ll be in the usual spot.”
Ophelia took her packed lunch out into the courtyard. She sat on a bench inconveniently located in a spot with poor lighting and no view to speak of and ate her lunch. The Architectural Institute had an employee cafeteria, but Ophelia rarely went there because the idle chatter made her hands shake to the point that she was in danger of spilling her tea. Instead, she preferred to sit in an out-of-the-way spot like this and have lunch with her brother.
On the way back to the Architectural Institute, Ophelia heard a man’s voice somewhere behind her.
“Good day, my lady.”
Fairly certain that these words couldn’t be directed at her, Ophelia reflexively slowed her gait but didn’t stop walking.
“Ah, excuse me! You, miss… Please wait.”
Ophelia turned to look at the speaker and was surprised to find he’d nearly caught up to her. Ophelia instinctively recoiled, and the man reacted as if flustered, quickly lowering the hand he’d been reaching out to tap her shoulder.
“I-I’m sorry. I-I didn’t realize you were speaking to me…” she stuttered.
“No, I’m the one who should be apologizing for suddenly calling out to you.”
What could he possibly want with me?
The man’s stiff black bangs were swept to one side, and he was wearing a formal jacket tailored for a highly ranked noble, but it was casually unbuttoned as if he were intentionally flaunting society’s strict dress code. The man smiled brightly at Ophelia as he peered down at her. Looking into his blue eyes, Ophelia felt just the very tips of her fingers start to tremble almost imperceptibly. She knew this feeling very well—it was a sign that he was about to tell a lie.
“Wh-Wh-What business d-do you have with me, sir?”
“Now there, calm down, miss. You’re such a lovely girl that I just couldn’t help myself, and before I knew it, I was calling out to you…”
Ophelia’s knees folded, and she very nearly fell over right there.
Lie! He’s lying!
“Are you okay?!”
“I’m fine… Or, m-maybe not, actually…” she eked out.
“I was hoping if you had the time, we could talk for a bit, but it seems you’re in no state for that right now! Are you well, miss? Suffering from some illness perhaps?!”
“No, no, that’s…”
The shaking stopped just as suddenly as it had started. The man, genuinely concerned about Ophelia’s well-being, let out a sigh of relief before his suspicious smile returned, and he examined Ophelia’s face carefully.
“Are you feeling better now? Do you work here? That jacket you’re wearing belongs to the Ministry of Ceremonies, right? Would you mind telling me your name?”
The shaking in Ophelia’s legs came back full force. He already knew her name, but he was asking anyway for some reason.
Why does he know my name?!
Ophelia could no longer stand due to her wobbling knees, so she hobbled over to the side of the Architectural Institute building so she could lean against the wall for support. She wasn’t sure at this point whether her hands were trembling on the wall because of his lies or from fear.
“It seems you really aren’t feeling well. Here, take my arm. I’ll bring you to the infirmary.”
“I-I’m fine. I can make it back from here, so… Um…”
How does one say, “Please go away,” politely?
“I’m not up to anything suspicious, I swear,” he said. “I just happened to be walking by when I saw you. Please calm down. Take some deep breaths, like this…”
“I’m sorry! Please forgive me! I… I’m technically from a noble family, yes, but… My family are very simple folk, and we’re not particularly wealthy—all of us have jobs because we need to work for a living, even! So there’s really no benefit to kidnapping someone like me—you won’t get much in ransom!” she blurted.
Finally overcome by the shaking of her legs, Ophelia crumpled to the ground, and the man hurried toward her.
“Nooo! Don’t touch me!” she screamed.
“Hold on, you’ve got the wrong idea! I’m just—”
Ophelia slapped the man’s hand away as he reached for her, but try as she might, she couldn’t get her legs to hold her weight to stand and run away. With no other option, she scrambled away from him inelegantly on her bottom, shrieking at the top of her lungs.
“Somebody, help me! Bernard!”
“Ophie?!”
At that very moment, Bernard stepped into the courtyard and, hearing Ophelia’s screams, ran toward her. Seeing this, the man clucked his tongue irritably and turned to hide his face from Bernard. Then, in the blink of an eye, he ran off.
“Ophie! Are you okay? What happened?”
“Oh, Bernard…” Ophelia was so overcome with relief when her brother reached her side, breathing hard after sprinting across the courtyard, that tears flowed down her cheeks. “A strange man asked me my name, but he already knew my name, and he said that he wasn’t up to anything suspicious, but he was extremely suspicious, and, and…!”
“…I see. I’m sorry for sending you out here alone. That must’ve been frightening.”
Bernard gently tugged Ophelia to her feet and helped to brush the dirt from her skirt. When he used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe away her tears, Ophelia grabbed her brother’s hand and affected a stern tone, scolding, “Bernard! You forgot your handkerchief again, didn’t you?!”
“Sorry. Well, I have a dirty one on me, if you’d like that?”
“No, thank you! Haven’t I told you many times that there are clean ones in the closet?!”
“It didn’t look dirty, so I didn’t see any need to change it just for myself…”
Bernard laughed it off good-naturedly, and Ophelia couldn’t help laughing along with him, even through the last of her tears. Sniffling just a bit, Ophelia held on to her brother’s arm and let him lead her back inside.
“But still, I can’t believe I almost got kidnapped here, inside the Royal Palace…”
“That’s because you’re so cute, Ophie; you need to be careful.”
“I’m sure that’s not it. He probably had me mistaken for some other young noble lady.”
“I don’t know, but I’ll ask the guards to take a look around and see if they can find him…” Bernard said pensively, gazing in the direction where the suspicious man had run off.