Chapter 1
“How old are you this year?” His hand, which was clearing away the teacup, paused for a moment and then resumed. It was early spring, with the lingering traces of the mirror still visible.
“Why suddenly inquire about my age?” Emily Milton raised her black-rimmed glasses and lifted the tray with the neatly arranged teacups. From the crisp white blouse to the black skirt reaching down to her ankles, to her tightly pulled-back hair, she exuded an air of impeccable neatness.
Emily Milton, known for her foul temper, had served as the secretary to Lord Hamilton for three years. There was a rumor circulating that if one could endure a day in her position, it would extend their life by a year, and if one endured a year, they could be reborn as a wealthy magnate.
For three years, Emily had held this infamous position, revered by her fellow secretaries as a deity or a hero. Perhaps because without her, there might be a chance that I would have to take over as Lord Hamilton’s secretary.
“Hasn’t it been over three years since we met?”
“In the three years we’ve known each other, you’ve never once been curious about me. Were you being considerate?”
“I was grateful.”
Emily frowned at Lord Hamilton’s words. The interest of the tyrannical old man was something to be avoided on this end as well. Emily glanced discreetly at the Lord, who was lighting his pipe, and headed for the study.
Lord Hamilton’s study, where he managed the empire’s finances, was larger and more spacious than other offices.
I wanted to condemn this inefficient use of office space, but as a third-year royal secretary, there was nothing I could do.
“Milton, do you have any thoughts about trying something new?”
“Do you think it’s easy to find a job that pays a monthly salary, has excellent benefits, and includes four types of insurance and a pension?”
Returning from the study, Emily sat down and spoke. The Lord Treasurer pretended to be busy every day. From the Treasurer’s perspective of bossing around subordinates, he might not have realized that it was just an ordinary job. But there were still many people studying hard even now to get this job. In short, there were many aspirants.
“Is it your first time enduring under me for so long?”
“Thank you for the praise.”
Sorting through budget documents transferred from the Ministry of Finance, Emily responded in a soulless voice, her eyes fixed on the papers.
The elderly Lord Hamilton, smoking his pipe, leisurely gazed out the window. His desk was filled with documents awaiting his attention.
“Praise? You’re cursing me by calling it an endurance.”
“Indeed, my lord is stingy.”
“As always. Here.”
The Lord Hamilton, having approached Emily’s desk unnoticed, suddenly extended his hand. The item, gleaming in the sunlight, had a golden hue.
As Emily looked at it with a puzzled expression, the Lord extended his hand as if urging her.
“What errand is this now?”
As the Lord’s personal secretary, Emily handled numerous tasks. She asked calmly without smoothing the wrinkles on her forehead. The sparkling object was unsettling just to look at.
“An errand, you say!”
“Isn’t it your lordship’s specialty to assign tasks without distinguishing their nature?” Emily said, poking the gleaming object with her finger.
“Did you find it bothersome?”
Lord Hamilton chuckled. The errands he assigned were diverse, mainly involving meeting people. He usually paid appropriate compensation for them.
“Did you expect me to be willing?”
Every time an errand was assigned, she made it clear that she didn’t want to do it. Nevertheless, Lord Hamilton’s flickering finger effectively quelled Emily’s rebellion.
“Aren’t they good people?”
“Well, it’s hard for me to judge whether they’re good or bad people when it comes to evaluating His Majesty privately, my capacity is too small.”
Emily frowned as she looked at the golden card that was causing a stir in front of her.
“No way…”
“Too small of a capacity, you say. Are you still able to respond so well?”
Lord Hamilton shook his head in disbelief, saying, “This is absurd.”
“For now, just take it.”
“It’s a big deal to accept something without knowing its purpose.”
“Why?”
Lord Hamilton shook the object in front of her once again. The sunlight reflecting off it was ominous to look at.
“I’m a government official.”
A smile formed on the Lord’s face at her straightforward gaze.
“Just because you’re honest doesn’t mean I am!”
“It’s not bribery. It’s not given as a Treasurer, but as Lord Hamilton.”
Emily’s face was filled with distrust as she looked at the Lord.
“Is it gold?”
Pure gold. 99 percent.
In truth, she wasn’t blind. She didn’t know if it was a typical errand to simply hand it over, perhaps to be given to His Majesty or deposited in a bank vault.
It wasn’t the first or second time the Lord had toyed with her.
With a low sigh, Emily accepted the gold nugget offered by Lord Hamilton.
“The future Lady Hamilton.”
“Pardon?”
“Congratulations. You are now officially the successor to the title of Lady Hamilton.”
The silver-haired Lord Hamilton turned around with satisfaction. Unbelievably, his back seemed to be smiling. And without hesitation, the Lord left for home.
*Thud.*
As the sound of the door closing echoed, Emily snapped back to reality.
“We don’t need this nonsense, you damn old man!”
***
“How much longer?”
“I think we only have about three more hours to go.”
Sitting in the carriage and traveling gracefully was not something that suited my fierce temperament. But for now, there was no other choice. Ian sighed as he looked at the pile of documents stacked beside me.
“Would you like to take a break and walk for a while?” The coachman approached the carriage where Ian was absent. He seemed to understand well what his boss was feeling at the moment.
Being suddenly dragged away like this because of a single unexpected document was not something I wanted, but the other party was the Emperor. If the Empire was the knight, refusing his orders was not an option.
“No, there’s still a mountain of things to see.”
A sigh mixed with Ian’s words. Fortunately, it wasn’t midsummer yet. If it were the sticky, hot summer, I might have exploded in the stuffy carriage several times.
“I’ll hurry up a bit more.”
The coachman spurred the horses and moved closer to the front of the carriage. Sensing the carriage’s speed increasing significantly, Ian turned his gaze to the documents he was holding.
A gust of wind carrying the chill blew into the open carriage. It tousled his black hair in the wind.
*Sigh.*
However, the documents he was about to look at were promptly pushed aside. The newspaper article lying at his feet never failed to ignite his usually composed heart.
“Lord Hamilton’s new successor?”
“Title of kinship succession revoked.”
“Where is Ian Laker’s whereabouts?”
The eye-catching headlines immediately caught Ian’s attention. Though the photo attached at the end of the article was blurry, it was still recognizable.
Ian looked at the woman in the photo. The woman peering out beyond the curtain was hunched over, her shoulders drawn in.
“She dares to lay her hands on what’s mine without permission.”
“Going to the capital at this time might not be a bad idea.”
Ian tapped Emily in the photo with his finger. His dark eyes seemed to glare at the image as if it would swallow the Emily in the picture whole.
When Ian set foot in the capital, it was dawn.
“Are you planning to go straight to work?”
Ian’s attendant, who had accompanied him on the journey, asked, observing Ian’s movements. Ian had been cramped in a small carriage for days, managing paperwork on top of that.
Ian, still feeling unsteady as if he were still in the saddle, couldn’t comprehend the news swirling around him.
“Is he really a monster?”
“The Emperor didn’t seem urgent.”
“No, but still.”
The Laker’s mansion in the capital was bustling due to the return of its long-absent master. But where Ian stood, it was quiet, contrasting with the hustle and bustle elsewhere.
“We can drop by for a bit.”
“Drop by?”
“You need to rest.”
Ian tapped the shoulder of the family knight. It was early to be going to work. The knight, conflicted as he watched his master leave, remained silent, his head bowed. Even though he was his master, it had been a hectic fortnight without proper rest.
A warm and cozy bed was desperately needed. Moreover, he hadn’t explicitly ordered to rest.
The knight decided to play dumb for today and follow Ian’s words.
At that moment, Ian arrived in front of Emily’s house alone.
“What’s this? Such a rundown place?”
Ian clicked his tongue while looking at the alleyway that was slightly better than the slums. It didn’t seem like a place where a young woman could live alone.
His face stiffened as he looked at the dilapidated building, as if it could collapse at any moment.
Then, the woman the knight had seen appeared.
Ian quickly hid in the adjacent alley. He judged that it wouldn’t be good if the woman noticed him. His black eyes glanced outside, catching sight of Emily, who had just emerged.
“What a beautiful lady.”
Emily’s demeanor turned fierce at the sudden appearance of the man in front of her.
Despite experiencing countless encounters in the past few days, it was an experience that never became familiar.
Rough words escaped Emily’s red lips, a reflex action learned from experience.
“4!”
What just passed by?
It didn’t take long for the man holding a rose to be bewildered by the unexpected reaction on Emily’s face.
“Huh!”
Ian, who had been observing from the alley, let out a hollow laugh at the sight. It was a stark contrast to the delicate figure he had seen in the photo. Unconsciously clenching his fist and covering his mouth, Ian chuckled.
Perhaps there was a feeling that something quite amusing was about to happen.
The distant nobleman of the Hamilton family stared blankly at the closed door. Then, he quickly regained his senses and glared at the door where Emily had entered, his face flushed with anger.
It seemed like he was itching to confront her right away, judging by his fidgeting eyes and restless feet.
But she was the acknowledged successor of the Lord Hamilton.
There was no satisfaction in waiting with the morning dew on his face. His plan to deliver the rose and pour out his heart had long gone awry. The man breathed heavily, determined.
