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I tried to escape, feeling like I was about to be bound as a lifelong servant to the imperial family, but I was caught by the Crown Princess’s invitation to at least have a meal before leaving. It was hard to refuse an offer to stay for food.

Of course, I could’ve politely declined. Eating at someone else’s house first thing in the morning could feel burdensome, and her invitation might have just been a polite gesture. But after that last conversation basically amounted to ‘You’re a slave I’ll pass down to my child,’ how could I run away without looking bad?

If I ran off now, they’d likely continue discussing that topic, and the idea of inheriting me as a slave could turn from an offhand remark into a concrete plan. I needed to prevent that.

“Having breakfast together like this makes us feel like family. It’s incredibly reassuring.”

His words made my skin crawl. Family, my foot. You’re acting more like a leech than a family.

“You honor me with your words, Your Highness. How can you say such things to a mere servant who’s nothing more than a guest?”

“Even a guest becomes like family if you spend enough time together. I do not doubt that the Executive Manager will become such a guest to the imperial family.”

That sent another shiver down my spine. Was this some twisted declaration of endless servitude? This man had the mindset of a slave driver. If there was any justice in reincarnation, then I hope he ends up with a boss just like him in his next life.

“Fufu, who knows? We might really become family.”

And with the Crown Princess’s finishing blow, I could only manage an awkward smile. Unlike the Crown Prince’s horrifying words, the Crown Princess’s words unfortunately had a decent chance of coming true.

From the Crown Princess’s perspective, I was someone close to her father, the Invincible Duke, so I was trustworthy, while from the Crown Prince’s view, I was from an Imperial family that had sworn its loyalty for over 300 years. Considering the issues caused by the backgrounds of the current Empress and Empress Dowager, I might be a good choice.

Of course, I hated the idea. I was already going crazy, so how much more would I suffer if I were connected to the imperial family? Perhaps there would be checks against too much power concentrated in one family—

Wait, that might actually work out.

On second thought, wasn’t that a good thing? Political meddling would give me the perfect excuse to resign. There was no better justification than that for handing in my letter of resignation.

I suddenly felt at peace. Still, I didn’t have the conscience to push for an arranged marriage actively. I’d leave it to fate—maybe one of my kids would be charming enough to captivate an imperial. I wouldn’t mind if the tables turned and an imperial grandchild fell for one of my children.

“The Crown Princess is right. With how prosperous the Executive Manager’s family is bound to be, it’s entirely possible for your lineage to intertwine with the imperial family.”

It was strange. The Crown Prince was saying the same thing as the Crown Princess, but it sounded so much more sinister coming from him. I guess the messenger was indeed more important than the message.

“By the way, I envy the Executive Manager. With so many wives, you must experience the joy of having children many times over.”

I became certain after seeing the Crown Prince burst into laughter. The messenger really was more important. I might have taken it as a simple blessing if someone else had said it, but it felt like a provocation coming from this bastard.

But what could I do? His status meant I couldn’t openly insult him, and with the Crown Princess present, even indirect barbs felt risky. All I could do was grin and bear it.

Thankfully, his comment about wives gave someone else the perfect opening to intervene.

“So Your Highness is saying you’re less happy because you have fewer wives, right?”

Her voice was noticeably colder than before. The Crown Prince’s smile froze in place, his expression turning stiff.

What an idiot.

I felt an instant wave of relief. That’s what you get for running your mouth carelessly.

***

I finished the meal with a light heart and escaped from the Crown Prince’s palace. Although there was an incident that upset the Crown Princess, that anger was directed entirely at the Crown Prince, so I could comfortably watch from the sidelines.

What a fool. For someone with just one wife, commenting on the number of wives was a flashy way to self-destruct since others might misunderstand it as envy for having many wives. Fortunat— no, unfortunately, the Crown Princess was one of those who misunderstood.

I hope this will serve as a lesson for the Crown Prince to stop running his mouth. Wasn’t there an old saying that the mouth was the gateway to disaster?

He’ll manage somehow.

Although he just spectacularly self-destructed, this was the same man who survived the 2nd Prince faction’s relentless assassination attempts before being crowned heir. He should know better than anyone how to watch his words.

But thinking about it that way made me even angrier. It meant that he let his guard down while focusing on teasing me. Was he really insane?

Bastard.

Still, I should quickly put an end to these negative thoughts.

“Executive Managerrrr!”

I couldn’t keep thinking about the Crown Prince when I was about to see the 1st Manager after so long.

The 1st Manager came running out of the Massello family mansion. I’d have to go to the Prosecutors’ Office to see her on a weekday, but she was at the mansion since it was the weekend. I was worried she might have gone to work on the weekend, but thankfully she hadn’t.

“Have you been well?”

I waved and greeted the 1st Manager as she approached.

“We talked just yesterday. Of course I’ve been well!”

“Talking and seeing you in person is different.”

At those words, the 1st Manager grinned and poked my side. She must have really liked what I just said.

“Hehe, but it’s troublesome if you come all the way to the capital just to see me~ Executive Manager, are you having trouble adapting to the academy?”

I’m sorry, but I’m adapting well.

Having three workforce units unlike last year made things incredibly comfortable. Honestly, I was even starting to forget about the capital.

Of course, I held back from saying this since I knew the 1st Manager would immediately flop down and start whining.

“I came to see Her Highness the Crown Princess.”

I didn’t intend to hide the truth, though. If it weren’t for the news about the imperial grandchild, I wouldn’t have come today.

“Wow, is the imperial family more important than your lover?”

“Yes.”

The 1st Manager protested as if hurt, and I gave a firm, short answer. We both burst into laughter at that.

It was true—nothing was more important than the royal family. They were the ones paying our salaries, after all.

“Well, I’ll let it slide since you came all the way to the mansion!”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

The 1st Manager didn’t seem to be truly upset, even linking arms with me as we walked. After all, she was the one who told me about the Crown Princess’s pregnancy. She must’ve expected me to come to the capital today.

“Let’s go inside! It’s still cold in the morning!”

She grabbed my arm with a bright smile and led me into the mansion.

***

I hummed a tune while preparing tea and snacks. Although I could have asked a maid to do it, I wanted to prepare it myself for the Executive Manager, whom I hadn’t seen in a while. They say lovers are touched when you take care of things personally.

Honestly, I’d have preferred to prepare a full meal, but my cooking skills weren’t quite there yet, so I had to abandon the idea. A meal was too important to risk experimenting on. Even though the Executive ate just about anything without complaint, I still wanted to serve something delicious.

Maybe I should learn baking, too?

I seriously considered this while looking at the cookies on the plate.

The Executive Manager must be eating Louise’s homemade sweets often, and recently, Beatrix unnie had started making cookies, too. How could I just serve store-bought ones when his other lovers were giving him homemade sweets? It would be hard not to compare.

Fine, I should start studying it in my spare time. If Beatrix unnie learned it quickly, then there was no reason I couldn’t.

“Is black tea okay?”

“Shouldn’t you ask that before brewing it?”

I pouted at the blunt response. This was supposed to be the part where he says, ‘Anything you make is perfect,’ or something along those lines.

“Anything is fine, so just serve it.”

I decided to let it slide since it was close enough.

Right, expecting impeccable manners from someone younger than me might be asking too much. This noona will let it go.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen store-bought snacks.”

My heart sank when he said that with a slight smile as I set down the refreshments.

He probably meant it as a joke rather than criticism, but hearing a comment like that right when I was worrying about baking made me anxious.

I need to start studying right away.

I should start as soon as the Executive Manager leaves. No more waiting for free time—I’d make time if I had to.

“Store-bought ones have a consistent taste, you know.”

“Fair point.”

I replied as casually as I could. Showing my nerves now would only make him feel awkward.

“Oh, right. Penelia said she’d be back before dinner.”

I casually mentioned this to the Executive Manager as he was drinking tea. He’d probably go see Penelia later this afternoon, but it had been a while since she last saw him too. I couldn’t monopolize his time.

“Really? That’s earlier than expected.”

“Extracting dragon’s blood doesn’t take long once you get past the scales.”

Surprisingly, Penelia and the Masked Unit were on a domestic mission rather than being dispatched to the North. They were currently extracting dragon blood, which was considered a high-grade material for mages.

Extracting dragon blood required piercing their scales, which not just anyone could do. But once they managed that, it was a quick process. With Penelia’s abilities, she could handle it quickly and return.

“It’s four dragons this time, right?”

“Yes. Penelia’s only dealing with the ones near the capital; the other units are handling the rest.”

The Executive Manager nodded calmly at this. Penelia was really working hard. Even one dragon would be troublesome, but she was handling four.

Still, I suppose we should be grateful. It wasn’t so long ago that ten dragons lived just around the capital. Compared to that, things were looking much better.

***

I just nodded along as the 1st Manager explained. It had been six years since I started living in this world, but hearing about dragons still left me conflicted.

In most stories, dragons were either majestic beings of great power or insurmountable forces of evil. Either way, they were typically depicted as an overwhelming force humanity could never hope to defeat. But that wasn’t the case here—or at least, it used to be, but it wasn’t anymore.

Around the early days of Apels, humanity’s magical power and technology developed dramatically, reaching a level where they could subjugate dragons. Of course, it still involved considerable casualties, but there was a big difference between an unbeatable enemy and a difficult but defeatable boss monster.

Those Apels bastards.

There was a saying in this world’s historical and biological academic circles: ‘If something bizarre happens, there’s a fifty-percent chance Apels is behind it.’ It reminded me of a certain country from my previous life. Yet in this world, Apels managed to surpass even that country in audacity.

When humanity realized they could hunt dragons, Apels began the task without much concern for military casualties. As a result, the dragon population plummeted dramatically during the Apels’s period. People even seriously wondered if they might go extinct.

A lot happened after that, but the end result was that the dragons, fed up with Apels’ bullshit, joined hands with Kefellofen to destroy Apels. Legend had it that Emperor Amanca the Great commanded his troops while riding the Dragon Lord of the time.

Anyway, the dragons tormented by Apels reached a grand compromise with Kefellofen. One of the terms of this pact was the periodic offering of dragon blood. Rather than dying and giving up all their resources at once, the dragons would live long lives and provide blood regularly in exchange for being left in peace. It was a peculiar compromise, but one that worked.

“They say that the dragons used to live in the imperial palace during the founding days, but nowadays they all live in mountains or caves, which is troublesome.”

She added something about how, if dragons were still in the palace, Penelia’s mission would have been much quicker—but I barely caught it.

I wonder what a dragon living in the imperial palace would be /genesisforsaken