Kibun has not yet left the men's bathroom.
I stood in front of her, lost in thoughts of what was coming next.
‘Regarding the original story… no important events will happen for a while.’
In fact, I changed the original plot a lot.
'Kiaros should be doing a good job of tracking down the mastermind, right?
Other than observing the people in the Manuscript Department, there's not much I can do…'
At this point, there was one more thing I had to deal with.
I pondered deeply, lost in thought.
“It's time to save the hero of the original story.”
He is the half-brother of Kiaros, and the son of Empress Vron, the young prince whom many describe as “an annoying boy.”
'Jayden Polaroid.'
Until now, Jayden's special ability had not yet appeared.
Right now, he didn't even know what kind of power he possessed.
'Once the Little Prince's ability manifests itself, it will be extremely useful in the current situation.'
If I hadn't intervened, she would probably have appeared a few years later like in the original story...
‘It is an amazing force, and it would be a shame for it to remain useless.’
Moreover…
‘Having the ability to help and not save an abused child does not make one a good person.’
I knew very well the hardships the hero faced in his childhood, but until now, I couldn't intervene.
But the situation has changed.
‘Now I have access to the imperial family.’
I remembered the Empress's look when Jayden was mentioned—a look steeped in endless sadness and worry.
I wanted to fix the misunderstanding between them as well.
‘In the original story, misunderstandings remained due to the death of the Empress, but now, she is still alive.’
Combining my knowledge of the original story with the current situation, I realized that this was the perfect opportunity to implement my plan.
✧✧✧✧✧✧
Stop nosebleeds quickly.
Kiaros looked at his reflection in the mirror.
A pale-skinned young man with black hair, he is trainee Kibun.
He was completely used to this look now.
“The human body is really weak.”
He still couldn't adapt to the dark period.
Although he was able to stay awake for an entire month without a problem, a few days of lack of sleep caused a nosebleed.
'Maybe I've been overexerting myself lately.
It must have been a bit daunting.'
Namiya made sure he left at ten o'clock in the evening.
But his work did not end there.
Until he arrived at work in the morning, he had to perform his duties as crown prince.
Although all official affairs of the palace were managed by the emperor, tracking down the chief mastermind was his responsibility.
'But…'
Kiaros thought about it while unconsciously touching his nose.
'...Today was kind of fun.'
He was surprised at himself just thinking that.
Does he find hardship enjoyable?
Frankly, the extra work was often stifling and painful.
However, the feeling of euphoria at finally getting a “seven times” answer from the Finance Minister was immense.
'I've always been the one who makes decisions, so helping someone else make their decisions is a new experience for me...'
Kiaros blinked, then gently slapped his cheek.
“Hold on… fatigue clouds your judgement.”
He splashed water on his face, then regained his focus.
“Now, I should have plenty of time to catch my breath.”
The task of securing the initial budget, which Namiya was worried about, had been accomplished.
According to her, there will never be such busy periods again.
[Soon, Chief Advisor Victor will arrive.
Then, your workload will be much reduced.
Just bear with it a little.]
He wasn't sure why he felt uncomfortable with those words… Anyway, now that he had some time, there was something else he had to do.
'I must visit the Star Palace.'
The Star Palace was the residence of Prince Jayden, his younger brother.
Despite the huge age difference between them, Jayden has always been an exemplary child, polite and obedient.
'But why does everyone describe him as (the annoying boy)?...'
The Emperor cared for Jayden, but due to his illness, he was unable to take care of him as carefully as he had taken care of Chiaros before.
His biological mother, the Empress, had a very distant relationship with Jayden.
'Anyway, I'm the only one who can take care of him now.'
In Kiaros's eyes, Jayden was a very mature boy.
According to teachers' reports, his achievements were excellent.
However, he didn't have any friends his own age.
But, well, that might be normal, considering he's a descendant of dragons.
'I'll visit him after work today.'
Then he came out of the bathroom.
Namiya immediately ran towards him, looking worried as she waited in the corridor.
"Kibun!
Are you okay?"
تفاجأ كياروس.
“Minister?
Were you waiting here?”
“Yes.
I was worried.
But I couldn’t go into the men’s bathroom.”
Namiya looked at him warily, studying his features.
"Are you really okay?
You still look a little pale."
Then she moved closer, standing right next to him, her blue eyes filled with worry.
Then it happened—his pulse suddenly quickened.
“Sorry.
I thought letting you leave at 10pm would be enough.”
“Ah... ummm.”
“I didn't realize you were exhausting yourself.
Why didn't you tell me you were feeling weak?
I would have been more considerate.”
For a moment, Chiaros was unable to speak, feeling as if something had gotten stuck in his throat.
He had met Namiya many times before, but until now he had considered her to be a devil-like figure.
Just facing her suddenly made his body twitch, and he instinctively took a step back.
“I am not weak.”
"Don't worry, you're fragile.
I won't hurt you.
I'll be gentle with you."
When Namiya noticed his decline, she raised both hands, as if to indicate that she understood.
“If you feel severe pain, leave early and take a few days off.
There is no pressure at work, so just take a break and leave early.”
Kiaros tried to calm his racing heart, and forced himself to speak in a normal tone.
“Isn't there something I can help with?
You always seem busy.”
"There's nothing urgent.
I've gotten a lot done already, so I feel pretty comfortable.
I just want to take a look at something that's bothering me personally."
Namiya smiled sweetly as she explained:
"So, really, it's okay.
Get some rest, okay?"
"subjective…?"
Kiaros narrowed his eyes for a moment.
Something personal, not public...
'What is this?' Is there something fishy?
Are you hiding something from me?'
Even if he was pretending to submit to Namiah, Kiaros had not forgotten his primary goal.
He was monitoring the manuscript section, and Namiya was his first target.
“Can you tell me what it is?”
Suddenly, he felt a little nervous.
What if Namiya is hiding something?
But Namiya simply answered, unaffected.
“Ah, I was on the inventory team previously.
The inventory of scrolls sent to Prince Jayden’s headquarters has been a bit irregular lately.”
Kiaros's body tensed slightly.
“This matter was bothering me, and even when I mentioned it to my previous bosses, no one paid any attention to it.
So, I thought I would investigate it now.”
✧✧✧✧✧✧
Kibbon was still a newbie in the world of work.
I couldn't believe he asked his boss for additional tasks.
“If you make a mistake, you could end up with more work.
You should have pretended not to understand and ducked when I offered to leave...”
However, contrary to first impression, Kibun's charm lay in his frankness and inflexibility.
Anyway, there was no need to hide anything from Kibune, so I answered honestly.
“Anyway, it's okay.
Since it's just a solution to a personal problem with a higher purpose, there's no need for you to help me or anything like that.”
I smiled at Kibon reassuring him.
“No, it's not.”
Kibon said, looking at me from above.
“Huh?”
“I will help you.
Can you explain the details to me?”
“Huh?”
Is this man crazy?
“You got a nosebleed, and yet you're still determined to work?”
I looked at him in amazement, in disbelief.
When I remained silent, Kibun spoke firmly.
"I want to help.
I don't want to rest."
“Huh?”
“I want to work.”
“Huh?”
Oh my God...
I inhaled deeply and shuddered.
Am I facing a true legend of workaholics...?
“Kibun...”
I couldn't contain my overwhelming emotions, so I held Kibon's hand tightly.
“Let's go right away.
I'll tell you what to do.”