Civil Servant in Romance Fantasy

Family was something that could be formed both by birth and by choice. Just as one could be a member of Valenti by birth, another could join it through marriage, as other families have connected with the Valentis. That was why Father placed great importance on this meeting.

With a single arranged meeting, our family formed ties with one of the Empire’s prestigious noble families, the Krasius family. The houses of the Dukedom of Catoban, the Marquis of Massello, the Count of Yorun, and even the Baron of Naird had all been drawn into our extended family. For Father, who cherished family above all else, this must be a source of great joy.

However, it wasn’t just the elders who were bound by the concept of family.

“Have you been working with oppa for a long time?”

“Oh, yes, we’ve been working together for about two years… Oh wait, I think it’s almost three years now? Before that, we were just in the same division.”

“Still, knowing someone for three years is quite a long time.”

There were also these women, who were strangers before and would now be sharing the same husband. We were once strangers, but now we were closer than anyone else.

And since the bond between our families depended on our relationship as wives, our roles and responsibilities were more significant than anything else.

As the first wife, I might feel more pressure, but—

It’ll be fine.

Seeing Lady Louise and Lady Elizabeth chatting so warmly put me at ease. Despite their different statuses—one from a marquis’ family, the other from a baron’s—and their different roles, one a civil servant and the other a student, not to mention their age difference of a decade apart, they smiled easily at each other.

It was truly a relief. It would be hard to maintain harmony within the family if even one of the wives had a difficult or sharp personality. Thankfully, not only were those two kind, but the other wives also had pleasant dispositions, though I wasn’t sure whether it was due to divine intervention or just Carl’s good judgment in people.

There were rumors about Lady Elizabeth in social circles given her position in the Prosecutors’ Office. But honestly, if we were talking about bad reputations, then Carl’s was much worse as he was the Executive Manager of the Prosecutors’ Office. So, I wasn’t too worried about mere rumors.

“It doesn’t matter, though. These days, the Executive Manager is always out. I wish I could’ve spent my academy days with him, too~”

Lady Elizabeth hugged Lady Louise while crying. The sight made Irina giggle, and the Mage Duchess also smiled in return.

It was truly an ideal scene. There was no jealousy or turning away from each other. We were still getting to know one another, but the very effort they made to connect was a positive sign.

Thank you, Lady Louise.

I looked at Lady Louise with a sense of gratitude as she still lay nestled in Lady Elizabeth’s arms. No matter how gentle their personalities might be or how hard they tried to get along, effort alone didn’t solve everything.

Sometimes, the awkwardness makes it hard to initiate conversation, leading to long, uncomfortable silences where everyone just watched each other and time slipped away. That was the unavoidable reality of a first meeting. But thanks to Lady Louise, we skipped through that awkward stage.

To Lady Louise, Lady Irina was her friend, while I was her senior; the Mage Duchess was her teacher, and even Lady Elizabeth was someone she had met at the academy’s club fair. With all these connections, Lady Louise worked hard to keep the conversation going, quickly easing the awkwardness between us. It seemed that her reputation for being charming enough to captivate both royalty and nobility was well-earned.

“I think she can’t breathe. Maybe you should let her go now?”

“Oh, right—”

Thanks to her, we reached a point where we could now chat while using Lady Louise as a common topic of conversation even though we hadn’t met before.

Seeing her student struggle, the Mage Duchess gently scolded Lady Elizabeth for teasing her. Then, Lady Elizabeth let go of the student with a hint of reluctance. A scene like this would have been unimaginable just a few days ago.

This is how people grow closer.

I smiled as I watched Lady Elizabeth now hugging Lady Irina instead of Lady Louise.

There was no need to rush. We’d grow closer, and eventually, we’d be able to chat easily without Lady Louise bridging the gap for us.

“Wow, do you work out? You’re surprisingly firm—”

“U-unnie!”

In the midst of it all, Lady Elizabeth couldn’t resist poking and prodding Lady Irina’s body in admiration. Startled by the sudden attention, Lady Irina raised her voice, clearly surprised but not genuinely uncomfortable.

Lady Irina must also be thinking that this was how friendships grew. Everyone seemed intent on becoming closer, and that filled me with happiness.

…It would have made me even happier if the Mage Duchess didn’t give me that strange look every time the word ‘unnie came up.

“We’re practically family now, so why don’t we start calling each other more casually when it’s just us?”

We all agreed to refer to each other as sisters when it was just us, but—I simply couldn’t bring myself to call the Mage Duchess ‘unnie.’

Fortunately, the Mage Duchess seemed to understand my hesitation and she didn’t push me to call her that. She just gave me those subtle glances, leaving me unsure of how to respond each time.

Beatrix unnie…

I tried practicing calling her ‘unnie’ in my head, but the very idea made me shudder with a sense of instinctive resistance.

Could I even dare to do that? She became a duke even before my father, grandfather, or even great-grandfather were around…

I’ll have to try…

But still, it wasn’t like I could go around calling her ‘Your Grace’ or ‘Mage Duchess’ within the family.

Yes, I should keep trying. One day, I’ll get used to it.

At least, that was what I told myself.

***The New Year’s Ball passed without any major issues, much to my relief.

Though there was a moment when I nearly got steamrolled by the Gold Duke and was left hanging on the edge of life, it was fine as long as I was still breathing. Besides, apart from the Gold Duke, my in-laws’ support had shielded me from most trouble, making the whole ordeal feel surprisingly peaceful.

Whenever I felt like I couldn’t count on them, I’d just slip over to the Ministry of Finance. It reminded me that a person really needed several escape routes prepared in life.

…So this is what peace feels like.

Suddenly, a wave of self-pity hit me. The emperor’s luncheon invitation, the intense gazes from the nobles, the Gold Duke’s grand declaration with twelve rings, and meeting four sets of in-laws all at once—I experienced all that, but I was calling this comfortable.

But what else could I say? Compared to the worst possible scenarios, this was a walk in the park. If I had to deal with the desperate pleas of the 1st Manager or the Mage Duchess’s tearful breakdown during this period like what happened last year, things would’ve been far worse. It wouldn’t have ended with just people staring at me.

Thank goodness. All those disasters were bound to happen eventually, but at least I experienced them in smaller doses beforehand.

There are no more crises left to handle.

I glanced over at my in-laws—or more specifically, my future wives.

In typical dramas, you’d expect wives to be constantly scheming and clashing, but thankfully, there’d been no sign of such behavior among the five. Even the absent 4th Manager didn’t seem like the type to engage in power struggles, so miraculously, all my wives appear to be of the mild-mannered type.

Well, maybe there was one among them who was pretending to be mild while secretly having a fiery side. But for now, I was choosing to think of her as a gentle person.

As long as they don’t fight, that’s more than enough.

I wasn’t expecting them to get along perfectly right from the start.

I just hoped we could avoid scenes where people would say things like, ‘Why are you sharing the same husband with me?’ or ‘Why are you the first wife?’ The last thing I needed was the Mage Duchess going on a rampage and turning the New Year’s Ball into a retirement party for me.

But now, not only were they not fighting, but they also seemed to be getting along quite well that I almost felt crying from relief. It was as if all the bad luck I had with my subordinates was being compensated for by my wives.

“I’m still debating. Should I give the wedding gift all at once, or in smaller amounts?”

“Do whatever is most convenient for you. It’s the thought that counts more than the formality, right?”

“That’s the harder part, you know.”

As I watched Irina escape from the embrace of the 1st Manager and immediately find herself in Louise’s arms, the Information Department’s Executive Manager casually strolled over.

The New Year’s Ball was the only time when the Information Department’s Executive Manager could legally take a break, so his expression looked noticeably brighter than usual. Of course, he still looked rather gloomy compared to others even then.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in person. How have you been?”

“Well, just being alive is doing well enough. I see you’ve been doing fine too, Prosecutors’ Office’s Executive Manager.”

I greeted him lightly, and his reply seemed unexpectedly sincere.

Right. As long as the Information Department’s Executive Manager hadn’t overworked himself to death, you could say he was doing alright.

“Anyway, I apologize for bothering you like this. I didn’t really want to talk about work during the New Year’s Ball.”

The Information Department’s Executive Manager had let out a brief chuckle before quickly regaining his composure and offering an apology. I had been lingering near my in-laws and the Ministry of Finance when he suddenly asked to meet, which was why we were having this conversation.

To be honest, I really didn’t want to discuss work, especially not during this event. But if someone like him—who probably hated work talk even more than I did—was initiating the conversation, I couldn’t refuse. In fact, it made me a little uneasy. What could have possibly happened for him to come to me first…?

“It’s fine. I mean, just having some rest is a rare enough luxury.”

“Thanks for understanding.”

The Information Department’s Executive Manager let out a small sigh, glanced around cautiously, and then spoke quietly.

“We’ve received some intel regarding the 5th Empire. I thought you, as the Executive Manager of the Prosecutors’ Office, should hear this.”

I nodded slightly in response.

Those bastards.

But while I remained calm on the surface, my thoughts were racing. After the spectacular self-destruction of the Five Pillars last year, there had been one calamity after another—the Third Honor in the first semester, the Twilight Cult over the summer vacation, and then the Red Wave in the second semester.

Since these incidents had lined up so neatly, I had my suspicions. But for something to come up during the winter vacation? Their timing was eerily consistent.

Starting the new year like this…

I could feel a headache start to form. Important events took place during the new year not just in the Empire but also in Armein, but for there to be strange activity while their own country was distracted by festivities and enough to catch the eye of the Empire’s intelligence agency, no less?

What a peculiar bunch. Sure, they might be an outsider faction in Armein’s political scene, but wasn’t this taking it too far?

“Their leadership has been purged. A number of key figures in the 5th Empire have been executed.”

Of course. If they were acting like outliers right at the start of the year, it was only natural they’d be pur—

…Wait.

“The purge was led by the 3rd Prince, Rutis. I thought you should know as his advisor.”

“…What?”

This time, my headache intensified for a completely different reason.

Who purged whom?