‘Good’
Cassia’s eyes widened like a cat’s.
Based on her experience as a K-office worker in her previous life, nothing was as effective as delicious snacks in lowering people’s guard and irritation.
For example, an hour before leaving work, her half-bald manager would suddenly announce overtime.
“Sorry, but the client is asking for the settlement data by today.”
The biggest reason she was able to hold on to her sanity was the personal card her manager handed out.
“Don’t starve yourself, and have a cup of coffee too. Okay?”
That day, she bought a special beef bowl with her manager’s card and was able to avoid assassinating her manger by also drinking an iced cafe mocha with extra chocolate drizzle and an extra shot.
Based on that experience, she decided to give the knights snacks first.
‘I didn’t know it would be this effective.’
Cassia nodded her head with a satisfied expression.
After all, the Azure Dawn Knights were just barely adults. At a young age when they could digest even hardtack, they weren’t even getting the minimum support they deserved.
‘They must always be hungry.’
As evidence of this, the knights’ eyes were slowly turning…
‘Right? Doesn’t the butter smell good?’
Cassia, who was chuckling softly, glanced back at Giscard.
“Sir Romanov, what are you doing? Try this.”
“……”
For a moment, Giscard’s face became extremely complicated.
‘Damn it.’
His first instinct was to throw away the snacks, thinking of all the trouble she had caused him. He still felt a shiver of anger.
But.
‘It’s true…that the princess sent us purification elixirs and supplies.’
And he couldn’t just refuse the pie, especially when he kept seeing the knights looking at the pie box with longing eyes.
The imperial family and the Northern Command had been ignoring the Azure Dawn Knights for years, so of course the knights hadn’t even seen luxuries like sugar and butter.
“……”
In the end, Giscard silently accepted the pie box.
Then he glanced at the knights who were huddled together in the distance.
“Go eat first.”
“Yes? Then, Sir…”
“I’m fine.”
Giscard replied, looking at Cassia with a cold gaze.
“Your Highness, it seems we have a lot to talk about. Don’t we?”
It was the murderous gaze of the world’s strongest man.
Cassia seemed a little tense, but she didn’t look away.
Instead, she met his gaze directly.
Giscard’s blue eyes were tinged with surprise at her confident demeanor.
After a while, Giscard curled his lips.
“Let’s go.”
Then he turned and walked briskly ahead of Cassia.
Cassia, who had been tense on the inside, let out a sigh of relief.
‘Whew.’
It seemed like it was going to be a lot of work to convince Giscard.
* * *
‘Wow, this office is seriously crappy…’
Cassia’s mouth fell open as she looked around.
The old wallpaper was peeling and looked like it could fall off at any moment.
The large desk, piled high with papers, had legs of uneven height, propped up with folded paper.
The chair was so worn out that its cushion had completely collapsed.
There was even an old bookshelf that looked like it would collapse with the slightest touch.
It was hard to believe this was the office of the commander of a knight order.
“So,”
Giscard turned sharply to Cassia with a fierce glare.
“What on earth are you doing here, Your Highness?”
His voice was edged with tension.
But Cassia wasn’t intimidated at all.
“Oh my, wasn’t it Sir Romanov who suggested I enlist as the administrative officer?”
She tilted her head with a childlike expression.
Giscard let out a short, incredulous laugh.
“Ha, since when did you start listening to me so well?”
“I haven’t listened to you until now, so I’m going to try to listen to you from now on.”
“Then I retract my suggestion for you to enlist as the administrative officer. Please leave.”
“That’s not possible. I’ve made an investment, and I need to see some return.”
“Return?”
“I told you, I plan to restore my reputation.”
…What is that woman thinking?
Giscard looked at Cassia with wary eyes. Honestly, if Cassia had cared about her reputation, she wouldn’t have lived as a troublemaker in the first place.
Of course, this time she had somehow managed to provide purification elixirs and supplies. But he couldn’t trust her blindly given the long history of suffering she had caused.
‘Yeah, It’s better to get rid of the princess now.’
Having made up his mind, Giscard drew a firm line.
“Your Highness, I truly appreciate your support with the purification elixirs and supplies. However, I cannot appoint you as the administrative officer for that reason…”
Suddenly, Giscard felt a chill run down his spine.
Instead of saying anything, Cassia was staring at him intently.
From past experience, he knew that whenever the troublesome princess had that calm, crazy look in her eyes, she always caused big trouble!
“…Your Highness?”
“Ah, I see.”
Cassia tilted her head crookedly. A sly smile began to form on her shadowed face.
“So, you’re planning to use me and then discard me?”
No, what is that woman talking about now?!
Giscard was shocked, almost to the point of fainting. But Cassia, ignoring his reaction, crossed her arms and began to berate him mercilessly.
“Think about what I did to regain your trust.”
She raised her hand pointedly, as if to emphasize her words.
Facing her appearance, Giscard felt a strong sense of déjà vu.
‘I’ve seen that pose before, haven’t I? At an imperial banquet?’
More specifically, it was the way she was folding her fingers.
Giscard recalled being accused of having an ‘overinflated ego’ by her…
“I gave you purification elixirs.”
Cassia mercilessly folded down one finger.
“I brought all sorts of supplies.”
Two fingers.
“I even agreed to work on the front lines as an administrative officer, as you suggested.”
Three fingers.
“And now you’re telling me to just give you the purification elixirs and supplies and go back?”
Cassia narrowed her eyes at Giscard.
“Don’t you think it’s a bit unfair to obstruct me like this? What about my reputation recovery?”
“No, that’s…”
“If this isn’t using and discarding me, then what is it?!”
The mix of truth and manipulation in her sharp accusation left Giscard feeling dizzy.
Cassia raised her chin confidently and asked,
“You know, Sir Romanov, that I have a terrible personality, right?”
“Is there anyone in the Empire who doesn’t know that?”
Giscard replied with a hollow expression, as if his soul had left him.
At his response, Cassia’s ruby-like eyes sparkled mischievously.
“Exactly. So, I can’t take kindly to being used and discarded.”
She put her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and gave a confident smile.
“If you use and discard me like this, I’ll have no choice but to turn your reputation into a mess too.”
Giscard felt a chill run down his spine as if cold water had been poured on him.
This crazy princess was more than capable of causing trouble. She had a long track record of it…
But he didn’t want to lose this battle of nerves.
“Ha, and how exactly would you do that?”
Giscard forced a relaxed tone.
However, his feigned calm shattered instantly at Cassia’s next words.
“Hmm, how about this rumor?”
Cassia’s eyes glinted slyly.
“The Empire’s sole legitimate princess was deceived and abandoned by the knight commander of the Azure Dawn Order?”
“What on earth are you talking about?!”
Giscard was horrified.
Cassia continued nonchalantly, “The story goes something like this. I was so madly in love with Sir Romanov that I ran away to the north.”
“What?”
“In the process, I lost my reason and seized the chance to spend the night with you. That night we spent together was… very, very…”
Cassia trailed off, staring at Giscard with an oddly intense and sensual look.
Then she finished with a wicked grin,
“Passionate.”
Has this woman finally lost her mind?
Giscard’s pupils quivered as if an earthquake had struck them.
* * * *
Note: This time I only uploaded one chap, cuz I have a lot of work going on, thank u for your understanding!
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