After Isha confessed her identity, nothing particularly special happened.
The matchmaking event was a failure.
However, the Adolf family made a fortune by finding and selling a meteorite that had crashed nearby.
It was said that the empire even planned to develop the crash site into a tourist attraction in the future.
...
...
Isha went to work.
It was just that the atmosphere looked incredibly awkward no matter how one looked at it.
It was like drinking too much the night before and being unable to stop oneself from pouring out all of one's complicated family issues, only to suddenly realize upon waking up sober the next day that there had been absolutely no need to say any of it.
Then came the regret, leaving them with no choice but to face each other in awkward silence.
This was probably exactly how Isha felt right now.
“Please have a seat, Your Highness.”
Li An stood up, respectfully gesturing with both hands toward the Chief's chair where he usually sat.
“...”
Isha was completely speechless.
“Your Highness, would you like some peppermint tea today? The tea leaves were just delivered, so the aroma should be exceptionally fresh.”
“...”
Staring at Isha's ears, which were red enough to drip blood, Li An felt that if he continued to tease her, she might actually shred him to pieces.
And so, he prepared to sit back down in his own seat.
But the moment his bottom was about to touch the chair, he froze.
Wait.
Could he still sit here now?
After all, this was the Evaluation Department Chief's seat.
It was fine before when he did not know Isha's true identity.
But things were different now.
With her presence here as the Third Princess of the empire, it meant this chair was no longer a seat any ordinary official could just casually sit in.
Unless the Princess herself permitted it.
...
...
Yet the person who held the decision-making power was currently standing frozen on the spot as if her system had crashed.
In the end,
deprived of his seat, Li An could only stand there, silently organizing documents.
Isha also subconsciously began to help him tidy them up.
Thus, the standing desk system, bypassing thousands of years of evolution, was prematurely realized by the two of them.
Click.
The office door suddenly swung open.
“What are you two doing standing up?”
Sushia walked in.
“Wow, the Chief's chair! I've always wanted to try sitting here!”
She unceremoniously plopped down onto the Chief's chair.
“So soft.”
Sushia leaned back against the headrest, looking utterly blissful.
“To think the Chief has been using such a nice chair all this time. What a waste.”
She sank deep into the cushions as if she were the original owner of the chair.
Then, she stretched out her legs and propped her feet up on the desk.
“Isha, pour me a cup of tea, will you? And grab some biscuits while you're at it.”
Sushia spoke with a beaming smile.
Li An silently watched the scene unfold.
And then,
he bowed his head and buried his face straight into the carpet that had been laid down beforehand.
“Chief, why did you suddenly bury your head so low? Are you sleepy?”
“...”
“Chief?”
After a prolonged silence,
Li An finally, miraculously, received Isha's permission.
During her time working at the Evaluation Department, she would temporarily act as his assistant.
And so, Li An sat back down in his reclaimed Chief's chair.
Right next to him,
Sushia was kneeling on the floor,
holding a sign in her hands.
It read:
“I am an ignorant fool who doesn't know my place.”
“My knees hurt so bad, Chief...”
“Ten more minutes.”
“...”
Li An completely ignored Sushia's whining.
At this moment, he was contemplating a highly serious matter.
The news the Crown Prince had delivered to him this time was no small matter for Li An.
Why had Li An been able to keep holding the position of the Evaluation Department Chief until now?
The reason was simple.
The Evaluation Department was, in essence, a miscellaneous chore department that did a bit of everything.
Wherever help was needed, people from the Evaluation Department would appear.
However,
the contributions Li An had made were simply too astounding.
Coupled with the fact that the dissenting voices in the court had been dispersed,
a certain rumor had begun to circulate within the empire.
“We might as well promote Li An directly to a Senior Minister-level official.”
This was incredibly dangerous talk.
Even though both held ministerial titles, the gap between the Chief of the Evaluation Department and the Minister of the Ministry of Magic was wider than the gap between humans and pigs.
‘A ministerial position is a critical role in the empire. Once you sit in that seat, it's incredibly difficult to escape.’
‘Absolutely not.’
Li An had already rejected the Crown Prince's suggestions multiple times.
Yet the Crown Prince had merely patted his shoulder and said,
“Excessive humility can sometimes be a form of arrogance.”
There was about one month left before the Cabinet meeting.
Before then, Li An had to prove through concrete actions that he was incompetent.
The only way to avoid being promoted to a Senior Minister was to let the Evaluation Department's reputation plummet completely.
By creating an overwhelming contrast, he would make everyone feel:
This department is simply not worth promoting.
“When do the new interviews for the Evaluation Department start?”
Li An looked toward Isha.
“Li An.”
“Hmm?”
“What you asked just now was...”
Isha leaned close to his ear and whispered:
“You can do whatever you want.”
Li An gave a light cough.
“When do the interviews for new staff members begin?”
“Tomorrow afternoon. If needed, I can prepare the detailed profiles of all the applicants.”
“Please do.”
Isha handed over the list.
Li An narrowed his eyes and began to look through it.
Ever since the external reputation of the Evaluation Department had improved,
especially after its employee welfare system had been made public,
more and more outstanding talents had begun applying to join the department.
After all, it was currently one of the hottest departments in the empire.
The pay was high, the reputation was excellent, and the room for future growth was immense.
But under Li An's strict instructions, all normal, high-quality talents had been filtered out.
Those who remained in the end were all individuals who looked somewhat problematic no matter how one appraised them.
Li An nodded with satisfaction.
“Only candidates of this caliber are suited for the Evaluation Department.”
“Huh?”
Sushia suddenly pointed at the list.
“I recognize this name.”
“Don't tell me you actually have a friend among these people?”
“Yes.”
Sushia pointed at one of the names.
“Erin Asht.”
“She is a friend of mine.”
Erin Asht. I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before.
Li An tried hard to recall,
but he failed.
The place where they had met most recently was the Adolf territory.
“I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!”
“I will definitely pay you back for the cost of that gown!”
“Although I don't have the money right now, I'll definitely work hard to pay you back!”
“No need,” Serena looked at the young girl before her and spoke helplessly. “You can just throw this dress away.”
“Throw it away?” Erin's eyes widened. “Then... could you give me the dress instead of throwing it away?”
“...”
Serena was momentarily stunned. Then, she could not help but burst into laughter.
“Fine, you can have it.”
“Thank you! Thank you so much!”
“I will never forget your kindness!”
Serena's smile widened. For the longest time, she had only interacted with hypocritical, vain noble young ladies. Suddenly encountering someone so simple and rustic was actually quite refreshing to her. It was like seeing a completely harmless capybara or hamster.
“Hey,” Serena picked up a biscuit. “Have a taste of this.”
Erin obediently accepted it and popped it into her mouth.
“Mmm...”
Staring at the girl's clumsy demeanor, Serena suddenly had an idea.
This person... might be of some use.
Doesn't Elizabeth work in the Evaluation Department?
If she shoved this fool straight into the Evaluation Department, she wondered what kind of expression Elizabeth would make. Although the probability of passing was extremely low, she could just pull a few strings to squeeze her in when the time came.
“Hey, do you want to get a job?”
“A job?”
“In the hottest department in the empire right now.”
“The pay is very high there.”
“Where is it?”
“The Evaluation Department.”
“Can I really do it?!”
“Of course.”
Serena flashed a smile that signaled the success of her scheme.
The Evaluation Department interview room.
All the leaders of the Evaluation Department were present.
They carried serious expressions,
prepared to evaluate the candidates from every possible angle.
The Chief of Section One, Kane.
The Chief of Section Two, currently vacant.
The Chief of Section Three, Devon.
The Chief of Section Four, Herben.
And the existence who commanded them all.
The Light of the Empire.
The Chief of the Evaluation Department.
Li An.
They were prepared to rigorously screen for the most suitable talent for the Evaluation Department.
However,
“...”
“No one is coming.”
Thirty minutes after the interviews were scheduled to start, Herben finally spoke.
Such was the reality.
No matter how capable the examiners were,
if the candidates did not show up, everything was in vain.
Li An sighed.
“I thought there might actually be people who looked down on the Evaluation Department.”
“It seems I overestimated them.”
Right at that moment,
someone ran hurriedly into the interview room.
“Oh!”
Everyone's eyes lit up.
But in the next second,
they realized it was not an applicant.
“Young Master Cyril is asking if he can bring his parents to the interview!”
“...”
Kane fell silent.
“He can. He'd definitely get to see things he wouldn't normally get to see. So, please tell him not to come.”
Another thirty minutes passed.
“Chief,” Herben gave a bitter smile. “Are we completely doomed?”
“Of course, of the four candidates, not a single one showed up.”
Devon also sighed. “I completely did not expect this.”
A collective ghosting.
Just as Li An was preparing to get up and leave,
finally,
someone appeared.
She was a full hour late.
“Excuse me...”
The young girl stood panting at the doorway.
“Is this where the Evaluation Department interviews are being held?”
Li An looked at her, startled for a moment.
Isn't this the girl who caused that splashing incident?
“My name is Erin Asht.”
“I'm here for the interview.”
“Do you know what kind of place an imperial civil service interview is?” Devon frowned. “To be an hour late, you—”
“Proceed with the interview.”
Li An lightly tapped on the desk.
Then, he picked up Erin's profile.
Erin Asht.
Eighteen years old.
The daughter of Baron Asht.
Although she held a noble title, her family was extremely impoverished.
She had previously served as a maid for the Duke of Senistia's family.
Li An's eyes shifted slightly.
So that's why Sushia knows her...
She was truly a unique talent.
“First, let's take a look at the item you brought.”
The Evaluation Department interviews had a tradition.
They would give each candidate a single silver coin.
Then, they would have them use that silver coin to purchase an item from an auction house.
The higher the value of the purchased item, the better the appraisal score.
Up to this day,
no one had ever broken Li An's record from back then,
because the item he had purchased was ultimately forced into the Imperial Museum.
“Ah, yes, I brought it.”
Erin frantically searched around.
“How strange, where did it go?”
Devon knit his brows.
“You lost your item?”
“This is simply absurd.”
“What is that on your back?” Li An suddenly pointed at her.
Everyone looked.
Sure enough,
a tiny doll was stuck to Erin's back.
“Ah.”
“So that's where it was.”
Erin took down the doll.
The doll looked exceptionally eerie.
Its eyes were sewn shut with red buttons.
No matter how one looked at it, it did not resemble a normal toy.
“Check its value first.”
As luck would have it, a professional appraiser dispatched by the empire was present today.
Though they could not perform a lengthy, detailed appraisal,
simply determining its basic value was within their power.
The appraiser pulled out a magical tool and began to examine the doll.
In the next second,
his face suddenly contorted.
“...”
“What is it?”
“Is it some kind of Relic-grade magical tool?”
“No,” the appraiser's voice trembled. “This is a fucking cursed doll!”
“We must dispose of it immediately!”
He hurriedly pulled out some tools, setting the doll on fire.
The flames burned, and the doll was slowly reduced to ashes.
The entire room fell into a dead silence.
...
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
Li An began to applaud. A talent for completely messing things up—this was exactly what he needed.
“Excellent.”
“Starting tomorrow, you will join Section Two of the Evaluation Department.”
“Your position:”
“Section Chief.”
And just like that, Erin Asht officially became the Chief of Evaluation Department Section Two.
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