[CHAPTER 55]
Dianu Ortensa felt guilty about having to temporarily suspend Princess Elpenlira’s lessons.
Princess Elpenlira’s Arasas language skills were only just beginning to gain momentum.
However, when Princess Elpenlira heard that Dianu would be helping Rision, she reacted with visible delight.
“Then does that mean we don’t have lessons while you’re doing that?”
“Yes, that’s true, but…”
Princess Elpenlira suddenly grabbed Dianu’s hand and began spinning around the study as if dancing.
Dianu felt deeply sorry that she had to dampen the joy of a princess exhausted from studying.
“I’ll still be giving you assignments…”
The bright smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
Princess Elpenlira muttered with a gloomy expression.
“I wish you were so busy that you couldn’t even give me assignments.”
“That won’t happen.”
It was something she could say only because she could not see the future.
* * *
Dianu entered the secretariat with confident steps, only to be greeted by the same chaotic scene as always.
Neyron Berdian, who had been rummaging through piles of scattered documents with his head buried between them, rushed over the moment he spotted her.
“Miss Ortensa! I heard the news! Are you starting work today?”
“Calling it work still feels strange, but yes. I’ll be coming here instead of teaching the princess.”
“How on earth did you persuade His Majesty? I thought he would never allow it, even if the sky fell!”
It seemed Rision had not told Neyron about Dianu’s brief detective work.
Dianu gave the secretary a concise summary of what she had uncovered.
Neyron looked impressed, though it was unclear whether his admiration was for Dianu’s deduction or for the Belua Duke who had orchestrated such corruption.
“A clever method. If the Aldebaron baron’s daughter had been more careful, it would never have been discovered.”
“But His Majesty said this alone isn’t enough to bring down the Belua Duke.”
“That’s true. Still, it’s fortunate that we now have grounds to punish Baron Aldebaron fairly someday. If you were an official, you would receive a great reward.”
Neyron led Dianu, who was rolling her eyes in embarrassment, to a desk positioned close enough to exchange items with a simple reach.
“For now, I’ve prepared this. You can use this area exclusively.”
From high-quality writing instruments to fine paper, the desk was fully equipped for an imperial secretary’s needs.
That was, at least, if one considered only the space inside the desk itself.
Dianu rolled up her sleeves.
She had deliberately worn comfortable clothes for this purpose.
“Let’s start by organizing.”
Neyron blinked as though he had heard a foreign word.
“Organizing? What exactly?”
“This room. You know where everything is, but I don’t. Asking you to find things for me every time is inefficient.”
In truth, it was almost miraculous that Neyron could retrieve documents so easily from this den of thieves.
It might have worked when he was alone, but Dianu had no intention of learning such a formless system when they needed to work together.
“You said we can’t bring in outside help, so let’s do it ourselves.”
Neyron did not bother hiding his troubled expression.
“Miss Ortensa, I understand the sentiment, but how are just two people supposed to organize six years’ worth of documents…”
“Then why were they left like this for six years?”
Neyron scratched the back of his head.
“I kept thinking I’d do it all at once when His Majesty hired more staff…”
“And?”
“Two secretaries were assigned here, but one collapsed from overwork and went to recuperate, and the other was executed for leaking information.”
He even added something unnecessary.
“Ah, this time it was a real execution.”
As Dianu stared at him in shock, Neyron merely shrugged.
“His Majesty has many enemies. There are very few people he can trust with the work done here.”
That made it all the more necessary for Dianu to be of help to Rision.
She clenched her fist, her fighting spirit ignited.
“Then let’s hurry and organize everything so we can work efficiently.”
“Once a system is in place, it will be much easier. Let’s start by cataloging all the documents here.”
Neyron let out a deep sigh but still accepted the paper Dianu handed him.
* * *
Neyron spent the entire morning compiling the document inventory alone.
While he struggled with paper and quill, Dianu carefully read through his work logs.
She wanted to understand what kind of tasks he had been handling.
If it was true that he dealt with the most sensitive matters, the contents were enough to overturn high society.
All names were encoded, but knowing the Belua Duke’s crimes, Dianu could easily infer who the key figures were.
“Even so, calling the Belua Duke ‘the snake’ feels a bit obvious, doesn’t it?”
“It’s intuitive, isn’t it? I suggested ‘maggot,’ but it was rejected on the grounds that even three characters were a waste of paper and ink for the Belua Duke.”
She had nothing to say.
It seemed Rision despised the Belua Duke even more than Dianu had imagined.
“His Majesty isn’t just trying to eliminate the Belua Duke for corruption alone, is he?”
For the first time, Neyron lifted his head from the papers.
There was surprise in his eyes.
“So His Majesty hasn’t told you yet.”
“Told me what?”
After a brief hesitation, Neyron reached a decision.
With an expression like someone chewing a bitter fruit, he spoke.
“The one who murdered Sir Edric Loisen was the Belua Duke.”
Dianu could not respond.
I already know who the true culprit is.
That was what Rision had said when he first mentioned Edric.
Dianu still vividly remembered the hatred in his eyes at that moment.
He had never shown such open hostility toward anyone since.
She managed to keep a calm expression, but her trembling voice was unavoidable.
“The princess… doesn’t know, does she?”
“Of course not. If she knew, the Belua Duke would have been riddled with arrows long ago.”
Dianu could easily imagine Princess Elpenlira taking up a bow and hunting down the Belua Duke.
She would not hesitate, and no one would be able to stop her.
Rision knew that better than anyone, which was why he had not told her the truth.
Even though she believed the Arasas imperial family was responsible for Sir Edric Loisen’s death.
“Then Sir Loisen…”
Neyron’s face darkened rapidly.
“He knows.”
“…”
“That’s why the Belua Duke will not survive no matter what. If His Majesty does not punish him, Sir Loisen will take revenge himself, even if it means bearing the stigma of being a murderer.”
Dianu sucked in a sharp breath.
She had thought Sir Loisen’s hostility toward the Belua Duke at the Fir Palace was excessive.
But if the Belua Duke had killed Edric Loisen, and Sir Loisen already knew the truth, it all made sense.
“His Majesty promised Sir Loisen a just revenge, and Sir Loisen was loyal enough to wait. Otherwise, the Belua Duke would have died long ago.”
“…”
“Sometimes I think that might have been better. The Belua Duke’s daughter is a wise person.”
With that, Neyron returned to compiling the document list.
Dianu understood that he was deliberately ending the conversation.
She pretended to read the documents in her hands, but her nerves were on edge.
So in the end… all of this only ends when the Belua Duke dies.
If Dianu truly helped Rision, the Belua Duke would lose his head.
Not figuratively, but literally.
A chill ran down her neck.
She had no doubt that he deserved execution, but only now did the weight of her actions truly sink in.
* * *
By lunchtime, both of them were exhausted.
Dianu readily accepted Neyron’s suggestion to have a simple meal brought to the secretariat.
However, Rision arrived even sooner than the food.
The moment he entered and saw Dianu squatting on the floor flipping through ledgers, he was aghast.
“Dianu. Why are you sitting on the floor like that?”
Her legs were numb from how long she had been there, and she could not stand up right away.
Rision quickly moved to her side and offered his arm.
“Did Neyron not even give you a chair?”
Neyron, who had been standing nearby with his hands clasped behind his back, jerked his head up, but Rision ignored him completely.
His worried gaze was focused solely on Dianu.
Dianu quickly changed the subject.
“Are you finished with your meetings?”
Rision raised an eyebrow but did not press further.
“I am on my way back. You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Eat with me.”
“Ah… I was just going to have something simple with the secretary.”
Neyron waved his hands hastily.
“I’ll eat alone. Please enjoy your meal together.”
Dianu tried to protest gently.
“You don’t have to—”
“I’m not that oblivious.”
As if he had been waiting for it, Rision led Dianu out of the secretariat.
The sigh of relief from behind them was not Dianu’s imagination.
* * *
The meal prepared for the two of them awaited in a greenhouse with massive south-facing windows set into stone walls.
Despite the chilly weather outside, the space was filled with vibrant orange trees.
Dianu let out an exclamation of admiration.
“An orangerie!”
“Do you like it?”
“I’ve never seen one this large.”
There had been a greenhouse that doubled as a tea room at the main residence of the Erbinjel grand ducal family, but nothing of this scale.
Expensive glass was used generously, and tasteful marble sculptures were placed among the orange trees.
As Dianu examined a statue of a saint carved delicately in muslin-like folds, Rision spoke softly.
“You can look around slowly later. Shall we eat first?”
Sunlight poured over a table where the meal was already set.
The menu was similar to what they ate at the Fir Palace, yet dining surrounded by orange trees felt like a dream.
With no attendants nearby, Rision pulled out Dianu’s chair for her.
She glanced around.
“There’s no one attending us?”
“I thought it would be more comfortable with just the two of us. I can at least refill your water.”
Dianu smiled playfully.
“That’s a bit extravagant for me.”
“Get used to it. It’s a luxury you’ll continue to enjoy.”
Whether she blushed or not, Rision personally refilled her glass each time it emptied.
There was no need to mind others, the conversation was pleasant, and the food was delicious.
Dianu felt the heaviness in her heart ease slightly, despite the troubling things she had learned about the Belua Duke.
Once Rision confirmed she had eaten her fill, he asked casually.
“What did you and Neyron work on today?”
“We decided to organize the secretariat first. In its current state, it’s hard for me to find what I need.”
“A good idea. But you must be short on manpower.”
“It can’t be helped.”
Rision clicked his tongue softly.
“I don’t like the thought of your hands becoming rough doing this kind of work.”
It was absurd.
Dianu grabbed Rision’s right hand resting on the table.
“Your Majesty’s hands have calluses too!”
“That’s from sword training. It’s not something to compare with a lady.”
“I’m not some noblewoman strolling around the palace. Since coming of age, I’ve worked every single day to earn my own money.”
Rision lifted the hand she held and kissed the back of it gently.
“No matter what anyone says, you are the finest lady to me.”
He was truly a man who made it impossible to stay angry.
As Dianu flushed deeply and looked away, Rision carefully released her hand and spoke.
“I’ll see if there’s someone who can help with organizing the secretariat.”
Though he said that, Dianu did not hold much hope.
She was fully prepared, in the worst case, to turn the secretariat upside down with Neyron alone.
But in the end, someone Dianu never would have imagined stepped forward and rolled up their sleeves.
