Upon The Scandal With My Rival

My sister’s words astounded me.

 

“Who spread such baseless rumors?! He’s my enemy!”

 

“Who doesn’t know that? Of course, I thought it was a rumor as well, but as more evidence came out—well, you know that saying, ‘Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.’”

 

“What evidence are you talking about?” I scoffed.

 

“Well, I’m not sure if I want to tell you.” My sister shrugged as she spoke. It was clearly her way of getting back at me for not revealing anything the day before yesterday.

 

I looked at Sir Ruhel, trying to win adepts, but since he was on my sister’s side more than anyone else in the world, he avoided my gaze. I kept probing throughout the meal, but my stubborn sister never opened her mouth. In the end, I went to work without hearing the evidence.

 

Shaterian Mellys hates Ashed Astrea. This was a well-known fact for anyone in the Kentry Empire.

 

‘Why does it have to be Ashed, of all people!’ A love scandal at that! To be involved in a scandal with my archenemy was nothing but outrageous. How could people believe such baseless rumors that could be debunked in the blink of an eye?

 

Ignoring the persistent stares that were especially bothersome today, I arrived at the office located at the end of the first floor of the annex next to the royal palace.

 

A sign beneath the label “First Knight Division Aide’s Office” hung another sign that read “Grievance Counseling Center.”

 

The office had become part of the Knight Division two years ago. It happened after I became the head of the department following the previous director’s resignation. It was a crazy collaboration made upon my fame as ‘the mad ducal lady, Shaterian’ and my void counseling skills. As our performance dropped and results were lacking, the budget was reduced and staff was cut, eventually leading to discussions about our dissolution. As I sat in that meeting room, I wished the counseling center would simply disappear.

 

I had considered using that as an excuse to quit my job and continue a legitimate, unemployed life. But Sirellosa Mellys, my sister, and Ashed Astrea, the Commander of the First Knight Division, had foiled my brilliant plan. At the end of the meeting, the Grievance Counseling Center became a subordinate division of the First Knight Division, and my resignation didn’t take place. 

 

That’s how I became a subordinate employee of Ashed. 

 

The new office I was assigned was the innermost room of the Knight Division’s aide’s office. It was a small room with no proper counseling facilities or an office for the head—myself.

 

When I opened the door, the gazes of the aides who had gathered around turned towards me. If it had been the old Shaterian, I would have yelled, “What are you looking at?” But now, as a person of intelligence, I deliberately ignored those stares.

 

‘Should I explain it’s just a baseless rumor? No, it’ll make it amusing, too.’

 

“Strong denial is akin to strong affirmation,” they say. I just walked into the counseling office, thinking that such baseless rumors would soon disappear. The counseling office was empty. Phill, who always arrived earlier than me, seemed to be running late today. As I hung up my coat and was about to make some tea, the door suddenly swung open. Phill was breathing heavily.

 

“You’re running late today?” I remarked.

 

“It’s not technically late,” he replied. Phill wiped the sweat off his forehead and took his place.

 

Since he didn’t have a personal carriage, he usually walked from the walls of the main palace to the office every morning. He might have had good stamina as a member of the knight division, but he looked more like someone working at an office.

 

As soon as I sat down with my tea, he brought a bunch of paperwork, saying, “We have a lot to process today.”

 

I perused through the documents, pursing my lips at Phill’s firm words. He began working, and I stood there watching him before picking up my quill pen. The only sounds that filled the office were the occasional scratching of quill pens and the rustling of papers. It was Phill who broke the silence after a while.

 

“By the way, Chief.”

 

“Mh.”

 

The numbers written on the document were wrong. I marked that part with blue ink from my quill pen.

 

“I heard a funny joke on my way to work.”

 

“What?”

 

“A joke about you and the commander dating. Pfft. It’s amusing that such rumors spread, and even funnier that some people believe it.” Phill chuckled as if it were funny just to think about it.

 

“Aha. So that’s why you’re late.”

 

“Yes. But I made sure to tell them that you absolutely despise the commander.”

 

After listening to me say those words daily, he imitated me perfectly as he said, “Absolutely despise.” 

 

“I guess they have nothing better to do. Believing such baseless rumors,” I said, not bothered at all.

 

“I know, right? They all pretended to dislike you, acting as if they didn’t mind you, and then went around gossiping behind your back. Seriously, those devoted to Commander Ashed seem to want to burn something.”

 

“Haaa. Should I just round them all up and throw them in prison? Contempt against nobility or something like that.”

 

“It’s just a baseless rumor. It’ll die down soon. But we should punish the person who spread the rumor that they saw you rushing out of Astrea’s residence early in the morning. That could tarnish your reputation. It’s really…”

 

My hand, which had been marking the errors on paper, came to a halt. The conversation ceased, and the office fell silent again.

 

‘That’s why they say we’re dating.’ I finally learned the truth behind the rumor. Phill, realizing the awkwardness in the sudden silence, met my gaze. I avoided his gaze and murmured as if trying to justify myself.

 

“…I didn’t rush out. I wasn’t in a hurry.”

 

“…So, you did leave the Astrea mansion in the morning?”

 

“That’s right. I drank a lot and passed out.”

 

“Why did you choose the Astrea residence of all places…? How did you end up there after the party?”

 

“That was the Crown Prince’s scheme.”

 

“I see. I understand.” Phill quickly agreed. It was because he knew how much Orgon was fixated on my marriage. 

 

Phill began to shuffle through the papers again. As the stack of documents gradually diminished, he asked again, “So, who was the man you kissed in the garden that night?”

 

“What…?” The quill pen slipped from my hand and hit the floor. As a result, the floor became stained with ink. 

 

But it wasn’t important right now.

 

‘Who did what in the garden?’

 

“What-what are you talking about?”

 

“On the day of the party, someone claims to have seen you kissing a man in the garden. It was dark, so they couldn’t see the man’s face clearly, but the next day when they saw you coming out of the Astrea residence, well, they thought it was the commander.”

 

My mind went blank. I couldn’t remember anything.

 

“Was it really me? Please tell me it’s not. Say it’s not true.”

 

“I don’t know about the man, but they said it was definitely you,” Phill said firmly.

 

“Aaaaaah!” I let out a muffled scream, covering my face with my palm.

 

~ 

 “Where are you coming from?”

~

 

The persistent voice of my older sister echoed in my mind. The ones who were with me in the garden were Orgon and Ashed. There was no way Orgon and I had kissed, so it must really be Ashed.

 

Ashed and I—why? 

 

“This can’t be true!”

 

“Tut-tut. How much did you drink, really?”

 

“The wine that day was just too delicious. I never thought I’d blackout.”

 

“Didn’t the Commander say anything?”

 

“Yeah. He seemed annoyed that he had to put me to bed. Those weren’t lovey-dovey eyes at all.”

 

“What’s lovey-dovey?”

 

“Just a thing. I want to go home.”

 

‘Or maybe resign.’

 

“You just got to work,” Phill retorted, piling more documents on my desk.

 

I hated it. I lived a life where I had to focus on work even in moments like this.

 

“You know, being an office worker means thinking about quitting when you open your eyes and leaving when you go to work. Haven’t you ever felt that way, Phill?”

 

“I start thinking about quitting when you subtly postpone work, Chief,” he replied, not missing a word.

 

I let out a sigh and straightened my slouched body. I needed to work before Phill mentioned resigning again. I picked up the fallen pen and casually wiped the ink off the floor with my foot. There was no way to erase it since the ink had already soaked in.

 

“Why don’t the documents coming in ever decrease?” I muttered, frustrated with the fact that the office staff in the aid’s office clearly weren’t doing their jobs.

 

As I juggled between the never-ending work and the thought of assisting Ashed, my patience wore thin. Yet, I couldn’t afford to do my job half-heartedly, so I diligently sifted through the documents, albeit slowly.

 

If you were to pick the busiest department in the palace, it would undoubtedly be the Imperial Knights. With the Emperor’s genuine dedication to knight training, the ranks were overflowing, leading to a heavy workload. Lately, five different knight divisions took turns guarding the imperial capital, reducing crime rates but increasing the workload in the aid’s office.

 

The variety of reports was astounding. There were training reports from each knight division, palace and capital inspection reports, border patrol reports, knight personnel reports, soldier personnel reports, activity plans, and activity reports. In addition to basic accounting documents and other reports like complaints from the knights. The workload remained relentless because many tasks required hands-on attention. 

 

Ashed often left his desk, causing a backlog of approval paperwork. Thinking about how, despite his workload, he remained in good health made me involuntarily click my tongue. Looking back, I realized how remarkable I was in the past for daring to challenge him, knowing his stamina.

 

“Will you be going to the commander’s office?”

 

“Yeah, I’ll be back.”

 

I picked up the documents I had separated and opened the door. Several employees looked back in response to the sound, and as our eyes met, they lowered their heads quickly. 

 

It was inevitable. In the palace, rife with rumors, Ashed was the only one who had remained unscathed by gossip so far. The pearl that shone the most got mud on it suddenly; of course everyone was curious.

 

Knock. Knock. I knocked on the door, but, as always, there was no response. When I pushed the door open, I saw Ashed checking the documents. 

 

I approached, and, as usual, he didn’t give me a single glance. I casually brushed off the familiar disregard and placed the documents on the empty desk. Ashed paused what he was doing and checked the documents first. I quietly stood there, waiting, since he was the type to examine the documents and ask various questions. 

 

While he was scanning through the documents, I had nothing to do, so I rolled my eyes. Then, my gaze fell on the hair sparkling under the sunlight. It wasn’t that his hair was plain silver, but more that it glistened like silver. It twinkled subtly, like glass beads in a stream.

 

Come to think of it, wasn’t Ashed illustrated on the cover of the novel I read in my past life? I remembered being drawn to that drawing and picking up the book. Back then, I thought Ashed was the male lead of the novel. It was clear that the author favored Ashed, even if he was the sub-male-lead.

 

“Young Lady.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Out of the perfectly drawn face, I particularly noticed the lips. It must be because of what Phill said.

 

‘Should I ask or not?’

 

“Did we kiss?” Although my lips trembled, I couldn’t bring myself to ask. I was afraid he would answer affirmatively.

 

“Is there something on my face?”

 

“No.” I quickly shook my head.

 

“Milady.”

 

“Yes?”

 

Ashed put down the quill pen and looked at me. He seemed to be contemplating something for a moment.

 

“Did you hear the rumor?”

 

Ah, come to think of it, there was no way Ashed hadn’t heard that rumor. The palace was buzzing with that story wherever you went, and Ashed had exceptionally developed senses.

 

“Baseless rumors tend to die down quickly, so I thought it would be better not to explain anything and risk further misunderstandings.”

 

“Mm, that makes sense.”

 

“Furthermore, I have no excuse, since the rumor spread because of people who saw me leaving the Astrea mansion that morning. That I had come out of the duke’s room is a fact.”

 

‘Not to mention the romantic encounter in the garden. What’s all that about?’ I thought, even if that were true, Ashed must know about it, too. He seemed to have no intention of mentioning that incident.

 

“Hmm…”

 

Knock. Knock.

 

I turned around at the sound of a knock, and there was his subordinate, Ruth. He nodded at me with a somewhat flustered expression.

 

“Come in. We’re done here.”

 

The commander ordered, and I gleefully accepted the documents he handed over without a barrage of questions, exchanged a brief nod with Ruth, and swiftly left the office.

 

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Hello~ I made a Kofi acc and was wondering if you guys would be interested in advanced ch? Also, if you ever want to support me I’d appreciate it <3 If you have any comments, feel free to DM me~ If you like this novel please rate it on NU, thank you!!