“The mother cat, you see. It seems she asked Jediel for treatment, thinking that if left alone, the baby cat would be in a lot of pain.”

“Ah…”

Jediel looked up at Veronia, wiping his tears with his sleeve.

“For now, let’s take the cat and treat its wounds.”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course. Treating sick animals is just as important as treating sick people.”

“Yes!”

Jediel’s face finally began to brighten as he wiped away his tears completely.

“We can’t take it where the patients are, so let’s bring it to Mother’s office, give it water and food, and examine it. And we should call for a veterinarian.”

“Can I carry the cat?”

“Yes, of course. The mother cat entrusted it to Jediel.”

“Okay.”

Jediel nodded and carefully picked up the cat with both hands. His eyes, focused on the fragile cat, filled with firm responsibility instead of tears.

“It’s all done, Your Imperial Majesty.”

The maid who had finished putting on the necklace and earrings stepped back. Clarissa’s brow furrowed slightly, still unfamiliar with the title of ‘Empress Dowager’.

She had lived half her life as the Duchess or Dowager Duchess of Drea. She thought she would continue to live that way for the rest of her life, but the flow of life had brought her to the imperial palace.

“Thank you. I’ll take care of the rest, so you may go now.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Then, please rest well.”

After the maid bowed politely and left, Clarissa roughly opened a newspaper and looked at the wall clock.

‘It’s time for them to come.’

She seemed to be waiting for someone. She tried to read the newspaper briefly while waiting, but couldn’t concentrate easily. Her gaze kept going back and forth between the wall clock and the door.

‘Oh, me.’

Finally, Clarissa put down the newspaper and sank deep into the sofa. As she closed her eyes quietly, she heard quick, cheerful footsteps coming down the corridor.

Knock knock knock, along with the sound of knocking, the door opened and a lovely face peeked through the gap. It was Jediel.

“Grandmother! It’s time to eat!”

“Our prince, welcome. I’ve been waiting.”

Tap tap tap, Jediel, moving his short arms and legs quickly, ran and fell into Clarissa’s arms.

Clarissa hugged her beloved grandson tightly and lightly kissed his forehead. It was the time of day she looked forward to the most.

“Grandmother! This afternoon, I went to the infirmary with Mother, do you know what happened there?”

“What happened?”

Jediel chattered about how they met a mother cat on the street who had left her baby cat behind, and how they brought the baby cat back for treatment.

The cheerful voice of the young boy resonated freshly in the corridor as grandmother and grandson walked hand in hand.

It was dinner time when the whole family gathered. While Veronia, Jediel, and Clarissa were sitting at the table waiting for Killian, the imperial palace’s chief attendant came and bowed his head, saying:

“His Imperial Majesty the Emperor said he cannot attend dinner as his work is running late. He expressed great regret at not being able to join you.”

“Oh dear. Please make sure he eats something, even if it’s simple, and doesn’t skip meals.”

“Yes, I understand, Your Majesty.”

It wasn’t surprising as it happened often, but they couldn’t help feeling disappointed. Veronia, in particular, felt quite sorry.

“It seems the Emperor is very busy taking on 70% of the work I should be doing.”

“Did His Majesty only take 70%? I think he could take 90%.”

When Veronia showed a regretful expression, Clarissa shook her head. To this, Veronia pouted her lips and said:

“You’re exaggerating, Mother. I appreciate your concern for my health, but I don’t want to lose my husband to excessive work either.”

“My, I thought an empress wouldn’t let her husband be taken by anyone or anything.”

You worry too much, Your Majesty. Clarissa, with an expressionless face, finished speaking and picked up her spoon to eat the mushroom soup. Pffft, a pleasant smile formed on Veronia’s lips.

“If Mother says so, then it must be so.”

“…”

Veronia and Clarissa, meeting each other’s gaze, smiled at each other.

“Oh, the list of top bride candidates should be ready by next week. I look forward to your valuable opinion, Mother.”

“I’m worried that I’ve added another task to the already busy Empress’s schedule.”

“Not at all, Mother. Rather, I’m happy and excited that there’s a tradition to continue.”

“Hohoho, how does our Empress speak so beautifully?”

At that moment, Jediel exclaimed in a mischievous voice:

“Grandmother! That’s because our mother takes after me! You said so yourself. That I also speak very prettily.”

“I did say that… But wouldn’t it be that the prince takes after the empress?”

Clarissa said as if admonishing, while trying to suppress her laughter. But Jediel didn’t seem to have any intention of backing down. The child shook his head and spoke again.

“No. Mother takes after me. And I take after Grandmother!”

“…My goodness! I see!”

In the end, it was Clarissa who gave in. Perhaps this was the expected outcome from the beginning of the conversation. After all, Clarissa couldn’t help but be infinitely weak in front of her adorable grandson Jediel.

Although it was getting late at night, the Emperor’s office was still brightly lit. Thick file folders were piled here and there on the wide desk, and a half-eaten sandwich was also visible.

Killian’s eyes were sharp as he looked at the documents. He was exercising his best concentration, not missing a single number or letter.

“Now that fire extinguishers have been installed in the Hinchi region, all major facilities in the five western regions have fire extinguishers.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“…Good. Schedule a tour of the western regions for next month. As it’s the early stages of the project, it would be beneficial in many ways to check it with my own eyes.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

The hand of Windler, the aide taking notes on Killian’s instructions, moved very quickly.

“And next would be the eastern region. Is the installation plan ready?”

“Ah, that… It’s currently in the final stages. We’ll finish organizing it and report to you by next week.”

“Alright. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Scratch scratch, Windler’s hand moving busily over the notepad became even more forceful. Windler managed to swallow a sigh with difficulty, but failed to manage his expression. Seeing Windler’s furrowed eyebrows, Killian spoke gruffly.

“Didn’t I increase your secretaries because you complained about having too much work? Yet you still have that suffering expression. Have some conscience.”

At Killian’s pointed remark, Windler, who had something to say, opened his mouth as if feeling wronged.

“You speak well, Your Majesty. The number of secretaries under me increased by 5. It was a very grateful thing. But…”

Windler paused for a moment to catch his breath. It was to give a dramatic effect in his own way.

“Since then, the work assigned to me has increased tenfold.”

“…”

Windler, who had blurted it out, looked at Killian’s reaction, but Killian didn’t show any particular response, keeping his mouth shut.

Sometimes silence can be scarier than a loud voice. Windler swallowed dry saliva, tense in the ensuing silence. After pondering for a moment, Killian finally opened his mouth slowly.

“So how many would be enough?”

“Pardon?”

“Your secretaries, how many more do you need?”

For a moment, the corners of Windler’s mouth curled up nicely. He was touched that his sincere complaint seemed to have reached Killian’s heart. Windler carefully chose a number.

“About… 10 more?”

“Alright. Let’s make it 12. Quickly post a notice and start receiving resumes.”

“Yes, understood.”

Actually, Windler had said 10 as a generous estimate, expecting it to be reduced, but to add 2 more to that and make it 12! Indeed, the lord he serves is a man of great generosity! Windler’s mouth spread into a wide grin.

“If we post the notice this week and receive resumes for a week… Hmm, let’s see… We should be able to screen the resumes and report in two weeks, right?”

“What? In, in two weeks… you say?”

It was an extremely tight schedule. The trace of smile that had filled Windler’s face disappeared in an instant. The cold sweat sliding down his spine was chilling. Seeing Windler’s rapidly changed expression, Killian furrowed his brow and asked again.

“Why? Does it seem difficult? If so, would it be possible if we reduce the number of people to select?”

“Ah…”

Isn’t it too petty to give and then take back! Windler desperately wanted to shout out, but he chose to keep his mouth shut. If he made a mistake, he might end up with nothing at all.

Windler racked his brains, but there was no other option. He had no choice but to say he would do it unconditionally.

“No, no. I can do it.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I will screen and report on the resumes of 36 people, which is three times the 12 people, in two weeks.”

“Good.”

Satisfied with Windler’s answer, Killian’s gaze, which had been fixed on Windler all along, finally returned to the documents. Windler swallowed a sigh of relief.

‘Right. If I suffer for just 2 weeks, I’ll gain 12 additional staff afterwards! Let’s endure for 2 weeks, just 2 weeks!’

Windler tried hard to comfort himself.

He decided not to worry yet about having to split the busy schedule, screen the resumes once, and then conduct interviews again. He also decided to think later about having to train the newly selected staff.

‘From today for two weeks, no, for at least a month, it’s definitely going to be overtime work. Well… since he’s a generous person, if I collapse from overwork, he’ll probably give a lot of consolation money.’

Windler’s face turned ashen. For a moment, he felt choked up, but Windler suppressed his tears with the skill honed through years of experience.