Chapter 23
1.If I Become the Villain’s Secretary (23)
The bell signaling the end of the meeting rang.
Marquis Rantlsia, the official aide, asked,
“Your Majesty, what will you do about lunch?”
“Hmm, I’ll dine with the prince and my secretary. All of you may enjoy your time. You’ve worked hard during the meeting.”
“What do you mean, hard work? It was nothing.”
“It was an honor to contribute to the Empire’s future alongside the heir of the great Sun.”
“Yes, a truly honorable place to be.”
The nobles threw their final flattery.
Helwid smoothly slipped away from the crowd and headed toward the office, where Blind and Indellis were surely bent over their workbook solving problems.
“What? His Majesty is coming?”
“Just stay still, milady.”
While drawing glasses on my face, Indellis frowned sternly.
“Yes. As soon as the State Council meeting ended, His Majesty began returning here to have a meal with the secretary.”
Are you kidding me? He could’ve just eaten fancy food with the nobles—why is he coming back here?
“All done.”
Indellis pulled away, giggling.
Both of his cheeks had hearts drawn on them.
My handiwork.
Shortly after Helwid left for the meeting, Indellis had shown up. As usual, we opened a workbook and started studying together.
Indellis asked about the problem he’d been stuck on and I easily wrote out the solution.
He was a genius—he memorized formulas after seeing them once and applied them perfectly.
Eventually, we had extra time.
I taught him Omok (Gomoku), and we decided the loser would get their face drawn on.
At first he resisted, but after I drew a heart on his cheek he became desperate to win.
Result: 2 wins, 1 loss. He lost twice, so both cheeks had hearts. I lost once, so he drew glasses on my face.
“We need to wipe these off.”
“What? Why? I’m going to win until your whole face is covered.”
“His Majesty is coming.”
“So what.”
Indellis, newly obsessed with Omok, pouted.
With hearts on both cheeks, he looked like a cute student at a sports festival.
Awgh, adorable. So cute. Who cares about the Emperor when he looks like this?
We were starting another round—Indellis was too cute to refuse—when a shadow fell over us.
“Oh? What game is this? It’s not chess…”
The gentle, rich voice belonged to Helwid.
I forgot all about the glasses drawn on my face and looked up brightly.
“You’re back?”
“Mm? Looks like you were having fun?”
Helwid smiled like we were amusing.
“Cute, right? Doesn’t it really suit His Highness the Prince?”
“Milady, how many times must I tell you—princes should NOT be cute—”
“Yes. He’s cute.”
“…Your Majesty.”
Indellis grumbled, cheeks flushing.
Good. Brotherhood affection route: still on track.
Watching the two seem much closer than before, I smiled proudly.
Indellis, annoyed, handed Helwid the pen.
“This game is called Omok. The lady made it.”
“My secretary did?”
Well, technically I didn’t make it, but saying I dreamt about it would lead to talk about divine revelation again, so I deflected.
“So you use that smart head for this… impressive application.”
“It’s simpler than I thought but quite fun.”
“Ah, and the cheek doodles are the penalty? So I can legally draw on my secretary’s face.”
“If you want to challenge Lady Blind, you’ll have to defeat me first.”
Indellis spoke confidently.
I quickly yielded my seat. Helwid, receiving the pen, sat down like he’d been waiting.
After a brief explanation, the brothers began.
Indellis had practiced with me, but Helwid was surprisingly good for a first-timer.
After a few fierce rounds, victory went to Helwid.
“What! Why!”
Indellis shook with frustration, tiny fists clenched.
“Shame. You should have blocked here, not there.”
Helwid teased him and—without hesitation—took the brush. He wrote “Prince” on each cheek, over my hearts.
Indellis froze at the mirror, humiliated.
Then Helwid and I faced off.
“Did I tell you? I’m actually pretty strong at Omok.”
“I look forward to it.”
With Indellis judging fairly, we played several rounds. I won.
“Yes! YES!”
Indellis jumped on the sofa, happier than I was.
Sometimes he really was just a child.
To display my magnanimity, I offered the penalty to him.
“Really?”
“Who does that?”
“I do.”
Even while laughing in disbelief, Helwid sat still and let Indellis draw.
After thinking, Indellis wrote “Em” and “peror” on Helwid’s cheeks.
Probably revenge for the “Prince.”
Helwid checked the mirror. His expression crumpled.
“One more round?”
I declared, triumphant. This time, the Emperor and Prince teamed up.
Two versus one felt unfair, but watching them strategize together was too heartwarming to complain.
They won.
“Well. I lost.”
I accepted defeat gracefully.
“Alright, face forward.”
“That’s right, penalty time.”
They grinned mischievously.
These guys were too happy.
Each claimed one cheek.
“All done.”
“Here’s the mirror.”
The words “Sec” and “retary” were written on my cheeks.
Speechless, I stared at the mirror. Helwid walked to his desk and pulled out…
“Is that… a camera?”
“If you look, you’ll know it’s a camera.”
“So why did you take it out?”
Helwid set up a tripod and smiled at my clear anxiety.
“Just one photo. You all look too funny.”
“You want to keep a photo of me like this forever?”
“Imagine how cheering it’ll be when I’m feeling down.”
“What about my mental health?”
When I firmly refused, Indellis quietly held my hand.
Looking up with big, pleading eyes—like a kitten in boots—how was I supposed to refuse?
Sighing deeply, I lifted him into my arms. He wrapped his arms around my neck shyly.
Helwid came over and wrapped an arm around my waist.
“One, two—”
Click!
With Emperor, Prince, and Secretary written on our cheeks, we beamed.
It was our second family photo.
Time passed since the meeting. Tomorrow was the summit.
I examined the venue carefully and spoke through the comm device—earpiece shaped, just like on Earth.
“Section 3: the end of the armor decoration is sharp. Add a safety barrier.”
Even though I wasn’t officially aide yet, I couldn’t leave any flaws.
While I checked the seating again, Helwid approached.
“Is work proceeding smoothly?”
“Yes. I’m trying my best.”
“The previous aide, Iroel, didn’t leave a handover.”
“That’s true, but there was remaining summit information, so… I’m managing.”
I survived by piecing together records and help from high-ranking officials.
“And you really put kimbap on the banquet menu?”
“As an appetizer. It seemed appropriate.”
“Who eats kimbap as an appetizer?”
“Why not? My secretary received divine inspiration from the god of Infelion. It’s perfect for opening a majestic meal.”
Right. Kimbap was declared divine revelation.
Ahh… this cursed mouth of mine.
Helwid rubbed his chin lazily.
“But I’m concerned about Count Nostalgia attending the banquet.”
“Oh, right. Father’s stressing over that. ‘Is it okay for a mere count to attend?’”
Since emperors and rulers were gathering, only the highest-ranking nobles accompanied them.
That’s why Marquis Rantlsia’s family had always been the Imperial aide family.
But now—
“Of course he should attend. He’s the lord of the aide family, isn’t he?”
Even though I was just a count’s daughter, I would be attending as the aide.
Thus, Count Nostalgia must attend the banquet and hunting event—an unprecedented situation.
Well… I hadn’t exactly told Father that I’d become aide yet.
Everyone—including foreign rulers—thought he got invited because of the Tilen diamond mine.
“Republic of Liston is curious about him too. Must be because of the mine.”
The diamond mine given to Count Nostalgia, formerly state-owned, was now known internationally.
Since it bordered Liston, they’d naturally be interested.
“Well… even if Father’s timid, he is still a count. He’ll be fine.”
I said that, but I was deeply worried.
What if he fainted at the banquet? Should I preemptively bring a priest?
Actually… if I bring Gloomy, does that defeat the purpose of exiling her?
I could protect Gloomy if I wanted, but the villain was going to eliminate the original plot characters anyway, so why interfere?
Too bad I can’t help her regrow hair for a while…
But you need to be alive to grow hair, right?
