The Former Empress Roughly Hides Her Abilities - Chapter 19

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【Chapter 19】

Late evening.

“I’m tired.”

Rianel rolled her stiff shoulders and cracked her neck.

The reason Rianel felt this fatigue wasn’t solely due to working overtime.

Such unexpected situations could happen at any time.

Even when she was a professor and when she was the Former Empress, she had been caught off guard by unforeseen events several times.

The source of her fatigue lay elsewhere.

“You’re really not going to transfer, right? You’re not going to change jobs either?”

“I’m not sure why you would make such assumptions, but I have no such plans.”

Rianel was truly someone prepared to dedicate her life to this department.

Mel flew into a rage.

“That was when this was a relaxed department with no overtime…!”

‘Oh.’

Rianel was genuinely impressed.

‘How did he figure that out?’

Since he had been acting distant from the first day, she thought he was the type to keep an appropriate distance from others. But apparently he had been quite perceptive about such things.

“That’s not it.”

“Really?”

It was true. Rianel had a clear motivation as well.

“Yes, job hunting makes it difficult to be ‘half-hearted.'”

Job hunting was about showcasing how valuable a talent you were.

Job seeking was something where even giving it your all might barely be enough.

Rianel knew that showing a lazy attitude even in such moments wouldn’t lead to good results.

“Are you seriously giving me that as a reason?”

And Mel’s face contorted as he got angry.

Where could there possibly be a place you couldn’t go in the first place!

In any case.

Rianel was only able to leave the government building after swearing that she had no plans to change jobs, that even if she felt like it she would give advance notice, and that even if she did change jobs, it would absolutely not be because of Mel.

‘He seemed to do his work well enough, but his perception is a bit… Is that why he’s at the Special Tax Bureau?’

Rianel had thoughts that would have made Mel indignant if he knew, as she adjusted her sliding bag back onto her shoulder.

Perhaps because it was much later than her usual commute home, the space shrouded in silence felt awkward.

How far had she walked like that?

“Are you leaving work now?”

Rianel hugged her bag and turned around.

As expected, it was Bureau Director Asil who had called out to her.

“Yes. But what brings you here at this hour, Bureau Director?”

The Bureau Director’s office had been empty when Rianel left work.

Rianel had thought he would have left work early, not that he would still be remaining in the Imperial Palace like a restless ghost.

And with such a haggard face at that.

“Did something happen?”

Asking the question was almost like a whim, but she couldn’t help but ask.

In an instant, as if something that had been maintained like a thin thread had snapped, the smile disappeared from Asil’s lips.

“Something happened…”

Asil, who had been looking at the ground in silence for a moment, spoke.

“I couldn’t accomplish it.”

That voice.

[I couldn’t accomplish it.]

It resembled the voice of a student who had been heartbroken over a failed task.

“I couldn’t persuade the higher-ups… that is, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager. I couldn’t prevent excessive work from being assigned to all of you.”

Rianel looked at him with clear eyes.

“How is that your fault, Bureau Director?”

“Well, coordinating and negotiating schedules with upper management is something I, as the department head, should do.”

“…”

“So I failed to do the job given to me.”

Asil dejectedly dropped his shoulders.

“So when I went to lend a hand, albeit belatedly, the lights in the government building were already out.”

Rianel was overcome with a subtle feeling.

She had thought he was absent because he was loafing around somewhere.

It seemed her admirable student had been doing his job as a superior.

When that didn’t work out, he had hurried to the government building.

Even though he himself was deeply distressed.

‘My goodness.’

It was pride.

‘Whose student is this diligent.’

“Fortunately, I’ve secured all the necessary documents. Tomorrow when we come to work, we just need to compile the data.”

“That would all be your work, wouldn’t it.”

Rianel didn’t deny it.

“As I mentioned before, I’m concerned that you might be overexerting yourself.”

No matter how capable Rianel was, she was still human in the end.

Everyone had their limits.

Even that great Master had collapsed under dozens, hundreds of stones thrown by ordinary people.

Humans were beings that were both strong and weak.

“I’m fine.”

“I thought you would be. You’ve been leaving work punctually on time until now.”

So he knew that too.

“This time was force majeure.”

When upper management tells you to do something, you do it – that was the fate of civil servants. The lower the rank, the more so.

“…I had hoped you all would engage in work slowdown.”

“I understand what sentiment you’re speaking from, but there are no civil servants who would risk their position on such an adventure.”

“I know that too.”

Asil smiled bitterly.

“It’s all just the ramblings of my incompetence.”

Rianel felt frustrated.

“Why do you blame yourself so much? This incident occurred due to the whims of upper management that you had no control over. A person’s worth doesn’t diminish from a single failure.”

After staring at Rianel for a long while, Asil chuckled.

“You speak just like my Master.”

Just like that day when he left him at the Academy and went to the Imperial Palace.

“!”

While Rianel flinched.

Asil, realizing his slip of the tongue, hurriedly put on an expressionless face. Thanks to that, Rianel was also able to hide her confusion.

“I appreciate your concern. But I’d like to tell you there’s no reason to worry.”

Because.

“I truly love the Special Tax Bureau.”

It wasn’t a lie.

The people here saw Rianel as eccentric, but they didn’t doubt or envy her abilities.

Strange in their own strange way.

Understanding only as much as they could understand.

They accepted Rianel’s existence purely, without any intention of trying to transform her, and left her as she was.

The peaceful daily life she could never obtain as Empress, she could finally enjoy after becoming Rianel.

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Having composed himself by then, Asil wore his usual neat smile.

“It’s gotten quite late. Since this seems to have happened because of our conversation, I’ll escort you to your residence.”

And then.

“Of course, it’s not proper for a superior to know a subordinate’s home address, so I’ll only go partway.”

He added this ‘consideration’ so Rianel couldn’t refuse.

“Thank you for your kindness. I’ll gratefully accept.”

* * *

On the day the Administrative Council was held.

“Those parasites actually managed to pull it off?”

Minister of Finance Royhum received a report that was truly astounding.

With two days left until the deadline—no, to be precise, a day and a half—they had completed the work assignment! That impossible workload!

Those detestable Special Tax Bureau bastards had actually done it.

‘It was an amount even we couldn’t have handled!’

Though he could no longer call them ‘parasites’ at this point, Royhum didn’t correct his words.

From an outside perspective, the bomb that fell on the Special Tax Bureau seemed to have happened due to the Empress Dowager’s whim.

That statement was half right and half wrong.

The trigger for the Empress Dowager’s whim lay with Royhum.

He had squeezed every connection he didn’t have to persuade the Empress Dowager’s associates to prevent the Special Tax Bureau from submitting their report.

‘But the result turned out like this!’

At this rate, it would only expose the competence of those Special Tax Bureau people.

“What should we do?”

One of the Ministry of Finance officials trembled.

It was clear that the documents from the Special Tax Bureau would cost Ministry of Finance people their heads.

At least Royhum could preserve his position as minister, but as a low-ranking official, he would obviously be cut immediately.

“Even now, if we could intercept the report…”

“No, no.”

Such crude methods were what amateurs resorted to.

Most importantly, hadn’t Cedric already tried and failed once?

Those Tax Bureau people would surely be prepared for that possibility.

“If they submitted a report in such a short timeframe, there must be gaps.”

“…!”

“We’ll attack those points.”

The man smiled with relief.

“You’re planning to undermine the credibility of the entire data!”

“Exactly.”

No matter how excellent the report was, if it couldn’t be trusted, it would be nothing more than worthless rumors.

Fortunately, he had made preparations in advance, so Royhum believed he could overturn the situation.

And so the Administrative Council began.

Royhum skimmed through the submitted report.

‘Perfect!’

He found what he was looking for.

However, instead of showing his joy prematurely, he cleared his throat to hide his expression.

“The report submitted by the Tax Bureau this time was truly impressive. In addition to its substantial volume, it was clearly organized and made it easy to identify the list of tax evaders and delinquents.”

Unexpected praise.

Not only the Ministry of Finance people, but even the Special Tax Bureau people looked at him as if wondering ‘did this minister come here with his brain smoothed out?’

Of course, Royhum had ulterior motives.

The praise was groundwork for criticism.

“But why isn’t House Vincenheim’s tax evasion charges listed here?”

As his lips twisted, his gaze toward Rianel also twisted.

“I suspect it might have been deliberately omitted because it’s the reporter’s family house.”

His tone was so openly sarcastic that even the Special Tax Bureau people who weren’t directly involved felt momentarily indignant.

“My answer is simple.”

However, even in this moment, Rianel remained calm.

“It’s because my family house has not committed tax evasion.”

Now was the time for counterattack.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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