Civil Servant in Romance Fantasy - Chapter 305

Chapter 305: Fools who are happy just by seeing each other's faces (1)The banquet celebrating the end of the club fair was quite impressive. Irina, who had been tied up in preparing the gardening club’s booth, finally joined us. With her addition, I boldly entered the banquet hall with four ladies.

Thanks to that, we received some pretty heated glances. If we got that much attention with just four, imagine how intense it would be if all six of us were together. It was a moment that gave me a strange respect for the Gold Duke.

Of course, I was past the stage of being swayed by others’ gazes. After all, it wasn’t like I was in a position where I needed to be considerate of others; they were the ones who should be watching me. If I carried myself with confidence, it didn’t matter how others looked at me. I just realized this a bit late.

But even with that realization, I couldn’t help but find the banquet impressive due to a scene that was beyond my control.

What an idiot.

I massaged the back of my neck as yesterday’s events came flooding back. The sight of Erich stuck between Sarah and Countess Horfeld was a situation where even my newfound confidence was meaningless. As his brother, what solution could I possibly offer him when my little brother was digging his own grave?

To be honest, I almost had a PTSD episode when I first saw him between the two women, remembering last year’s banquet for the Crown Princess’s birthday. But seeing Erich’s calm expression amidst it all quickly brought me back down. While I was busy being overly conscious of the two, that bastard didn’t show even a hint of awareness.

I’m the one who fell off the horse.

It was strange. Clearly, it was my body that experienced the fall, so why did it seem like it was Erich’s intelligence and awareness that became damaged? Do brothers’ bodies synchronize somehow?

Anyway, between Sarah and the Count of Horfelt’s intense verbal sparring, the pastry club members gawking at Erich’s calm demeanor despite being flanked by two women, and the general chaos surrounding the infamous Executive Manager’s brother, the banquet turned into an unforgettable event etched into everyone’s memory.

At least he didn’t dance.

I rubbed my neck even harder as I felt a headache coming on. Yeah, at least Erich didn’t dance. If he had, it would’ve been chaos depending on who he danced with first.

Perhaps thanks to divine intervention—or maybe just exhaustion—Erich declined all the offers to dance, claiming that he was too tired. His firm refusals left both Sarah and the Countess silent. After all, dancing was meant to build goodwill, but forcing someone uninterested to participate would have been absurd.

...But was he really tired? Could it be that he sensed something was off and made an excuse?

No way.

I quickly dismissed that thought. Absolutely not. If he had that level of intelligence and awareness left, then things wouldn’t have gotten to this point.

Besides, Erich wasn’t maliciously ignorant. He wouldn’t knowingly ignore other people’s emotions without good reason. He had even experienced unrequited love himself, so he wouldn’t be indifferent to such feelings.

“It’s been a while since I’ve made tea myself, so it took longer than I expected.”

Gerhardt returned with the tea as I continued rubbing my neck, smiling lightly.

“Well then, it seems you’ll need to bring in a new assistant teacher soon.”

“Haha, I’d like to, but history isn’t very popular. I guess I’ll have to improve my tea-making skills in the meantime.”

I lowered my hand from my neck since there were now eyes around me and replied, only to receive a somewhat sad answer. It was clearly meant to be a joke, but why did it make my heart feel heavy?

Still, judging by Gerhardt’s expression, he didn’t seem dissatisfied with the lack of an assistant. Well, someone who’d fret over a single staff member wouldn’t be researching history—especially something as niche as the northern nomads. He might even prefer being able to focus on research without anyone to look after.

“Besides, after having Miss Christina as an assistant, I doubt anyone else would measure up.”

Gerhardt’s shrug gave me mixed feelings. It was like watching a professor praise a graduated doctoral student, or a slave owner mourning the loss of a good slave.

Of course, it was an unfair thought to both Gerhardt and Christina, so I quickly brushed it off. For individuals who dedicated themselves to the pursuit of knowledge and progress, likening them to slaves or masters was an insult. After all, they were martyrs who willingly chose a challenging path.

“Next time we meet, she’ll be a teacher and not an assistant, right?”@@novelbin@@

So, I tried to change the subject, but I was surprised when Gerhardt quietly shook his head.

His reaction sent a chill down my spine. What did that mean? Didn’t she already have her thesis deadline extended? Did her defense fail?

What should I do?

Guilt started to creep in. Even though the deadline for Christina’s thesis had been extended, she was still forced to rush a new one, which inevitably affected its quality.

In the end, it was because I threw Christina’s thesis in the trash that she failed to escape her master’s degree. At this rate, I might need to plead with the compilation department—

— ...Pardon?

But it was already too late.

In the past, I would have immediately contacted the 2nd Manager upon hearing news about him. Then, after witnessing his paternal instincts and sense of responsibility, I would have kept quiet, thinking, ‘Even this crazy guy is sincere when it comes to his family.’

However, I now had a (prospective) family of my own. I’d found someone I could contact first when I heard something interesting or fun.

“I already told Elizabeth.”

— Ah.

I quietly ended the call as the 2nd Manager let out what sounded like a death rattle.

But was it just my imagination? Just before I hung up, I thought I heard the 1st Manager’s voice calling for the 2nd Manager.

Well, it didn’t matter. After all, the more people congratulating him, the merrier, right?

***

That night, the 1st Manager contacted me first.

— This is too much, really. How can he hide that they’re having a baby? Is he ashamed of us?

I couldn’t bring myself to deny the 1st Manager’s words, which were accompanied by indignant snorts. I understood all too well why the 2nd Manager had kept quiet.

“It’s his first child. He was probably being cautious.”

I just stated the obvious and tried to remain neutral. Fortunately, the 1st Manager wasn’t in the mood to complain further as she didn’t argue with me, or perhaps she had already vented all her disappointment to the 2nd Manager earlier.

I’m sorry, 2nd Manager. I’ll admit I was reckless this time. Knowing your reputation, I assumed you were keeping quiet for a trivial reason.

— I heard from Senior today, too. Hiding things must be the trend these days.

I almost nodded absentmindedly but froze mid-motion. Senior? There was only one person she referred to as ‘senior,’ right?

“...Senior?”

— Yep. She got pregnant at the end of last year but kept it secret just in case. She’s entering a stable period now, so it seems they’re planning to announce it soon.

The 1st Manager delivered this earth-shattering news as casually as if she were discussing her dinner plans, but the implications were far from trivial.

Until now, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess hadn’t had any children. This meant that the child she was expecting would be the first imperial grandchild and, barring unforeseen events, the future ruler of the Empire.

So he’s human, after all.

I was surprised in a different way than when I heard about the 2nd Manager’s baby. Considering the Crown Prince’s behavior, I’d half-believed he wasn’t even human, but seeing that he was having a child, I guess he was biologically one.

I should at least give my congratulations.

The birth of the first imperial grandchild was a monumental occasion. If I hadn’t known about it, I could’ve let it slide. But now that I did, it would be inappropriate to ignore it.

Even though the official announcement hadn’t been made yet, the Crown Princess shared the news with the 1st Manager knowing it would reach me. Offering congratulations before the other nobility started stirring up chaos felt like the right thing to do.

Fortunately, tomorrow was the weekend, so I’d have time for a brief visit to the capital. While I was at it, I should see the 1st Manager and the 4th Manager, too.

Thank goodness she’s still in the capital.

I thought the 4th Manager would be dispatched to the North as soon as I went to the academy, but they were surprisingly still active domestically. Thanks to that, we were able to communicate daily through the communication crystal. Didn’t she say they were going to extract dragon blood before heading North?

Either way, the 4th Manager had been working hard. If she was still near the capital for dragon-related missions, then I should make sure to meet /genesisforsaken