The Secretary of the Northern Grand Duchess Has Run Away

Chapter 8:  Reception Room Showdown (3)

After Echina had left for the Academy.

My sly smile completely disappeared.

"Julius Roger."

Now, the only ones left in the reception room were me and the legend of the secretary world...

Debier Luton.

"Come over here for a moment."

I followed the Chief Secretary toward the sofa.

Then, the steward of the Grand Duke’s household took a sheet of paper from inside his suit jacket.

"It’s past three o’clock, so the evaluation is over."

With a sharp gaze, he began scoring all the behaviors I had shown until now.

If it had been the old me in this situation, I would have thought he intended to give me bonus points for handling things well.

But I didn’t allow even a trace of a smile.

Because Debier could never merely praise my conduct.

"Do you think what you did in the reception room earlier was correct?"

"……."

Indeed, while grading me, Debier asked in a cool, steady voice.

"No, sir."

"And why do you think it was not?"

When I showed no desire for reward, Debier’s eyebrows rose slightly.

"Because there were at least three mistakes in what I just did."

Not only admitting fault but even specifying three of them.

Perhaps finding my answer intriguing, the Chief Secretary lifted his monocle again.

"Tell me what they were."

Through the clear lens, my composed face was reflected.

With eyes that mirrored those of the Chief Secretary who was over sixty, I spoke.

"First, I left the Grand Duke’s daughter to enter the reception room alone."

As I recited information he hadn’t yet taught me, Debier’s lips parted slightly.

His teaching method wasn’t rote instruction but a style that encouraged learning by seeking out knowledge oneself.

"Second, even though I knew the way to defuse the argument, I failed to inform Her Grace in advance."

I picked up the report that lay alone on the table.

Then, as I handed it to the Chief Secretary, I spoke.

"A plan that isn’t coordinated in advance can make one’s lord feel uneasy."

Debier clasped his hands behind his back and slowly closed his eyes.

Then, in a calm voice, he asked.

"And what is the third and final mistake?"

"The last was…"

My answer to this was very simple.

But upon hearing it, the Chief Secretary’s eyes widened.

"That I escorted Lady Echina far too late."

At my meaningful reply, the Chief Secretary removed his monocle.

Then, wiping the lens slowly with a cloth, he spoke.

"Strange. You must be a candidate who only just entered this household."

Debier silently examined the cleaned lens.

That sight gave me the impression of watching a renowned master craftsman at work.

"You’re just a candidate who came in recently. Why did you give such an answer?"

Through the lens, he gazed steadily at me.

Debier was trying to see through the change in my inner self that had occurred in a single day.

“If I had been Lady Echina’s exclusive secretary, things would never have come to this.”

In a way, it was reckless confidence.

However, just in that moment as I spoke, a glimmer passed through my pitch-black eyes.

“Since I only recognized and served my lord belatedly, it is my fault.”

No matter what happened, I had to pretend that I thought only of the Luton family.

That madness and determination were precisely the common traits shared by all those who had risen to the rank of Chief Secretary…

‘Because that is the answer Debier wants.’

“You mean you blame yourself even for being chosen too late?”

The secretary of thirty years seemed almost exasperated as he lowered his monocle.

As though there was no longer any need to see through me.

“You’ve had quite an interesting thought, Julius Roger.”

The steward of the Grand Duke’s household, approaching old age, leisurely clasped his hands behind his back.

Then, turning around, he spoke.

“Let’s head out to the lobby. The evaluation will be resumed once everyone has gathered.”

The sound of the Chief Secretary’s shoes leading the way gradually receded.

I followed that sound and left the reception room without emotion.

――――――.

When I emerged into the central hall of the mansion, the other candidates had already arrived first and were lined up in order.

Lucun and Brook, who had escorted the Lize father and daughter, hurried to join the queue.

Judging by their grim faces, they had been scorched by the tense atmosphere of the departing guests.

In my previous life, it had been me who performed those duties in their stead.

“All of you have arrived on time.”

Finally, when I took my place at the end of the line, Debier steadied the atmosphere with a solemn voice.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he slowly looked over each of the secretary candidates in turn.

“Then, we shall now begin the individual evaluations.”

The Chief Secretary stopped first in front of Tobang and Windsor.

They, who had served Freya, the eldest daughter of the Luton family, stood there brimming with confidence.

Simply attending to one of the Grand Duke’s children was enough to leave a favorable impression.

If they were lucky, they might be chosen immediately and promoted to the rank of personal secretary.

However.

The Chief Secretary’s expression was, in contrast, rather chilling.

“Tobang and Windsor. From noon to three o’clock today, you were serving Lady Freya.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“It was a valuable experience.”

The two blond men replied in assured voices.

Among them, Tobang turned his head slightly to steal a glance at my face.

He gave a small derisive laugh when he saw me, the one who had arrived last.

No matter that Echina had remembered my name, he probably thought that, having served the eldest daughter, he would receive far greater marks.

“Lady Freya has given this assessment of you.”

But.

The stronger the person you serve, the more difficult it becomes.

“Of all the candidates who have ever come before her, she said you were the most insolent.”

A deep shadow formed beneath the Chief Secretary’s brows.

In that darkness, his lifeless black eyes glimmered menacingly.

“W-what…?”

“That can’t be. She clearly looked pleased the entire time we served her…”

The two young men exchanged bewildered glances.

Only moments ago, they had been snarling at each other to be chosen by Freya first.

“We weren’t the least bit insolent…!!”

But now that danger was upon them, they seemed to have fallen back into relying on each other again.

That was how formidable Debier’s presence was—so chilling it could make even sworn enemies reconcile.

“……”

The Chief Secretary clicked his tongue at the sight of these candidates who didn’t recognize their own mistakes at all.

Then, his gaze happened to meet mine.

“Roger. You must know, don’t you?”

When the Chief Secretary pointed at me, all the candidates standing in a line turned their attention to me at once.

“The mistakes Tobang and Windsor committed today.”

Tobang’s group seemed incredulous, clicking their tongues under their breath.

Their eyes said, How could someone like you, who was left behind, possibly know what even we don’t?

But their arrogant stares were soon shattered.

“Yes. I do know.”

“Recite them.”

I stepped forward a single pace.

Then, looking straight ahead, I spoke.

“First, they introduced themselves before their lord granted permission.”

“Continue.”

I turned my head and looked over at Tobang and Windsor.

“Second, when both of them stepped forward at once, one should have withdrawn so as not to trouble the Grand Duke’s daughter.”

Then I added, my eyes devoid of emotion.

“However, neither of them stepped back. As a result, Lady Freya had to intervene personally.”

“That’s right. She divided her bags and jackets herself to ‘personally’ assign them work.”

Debier, who must have been observing the situation from a distance, spoke in an icy voice.

At that, Tobang and Windsor’s lower eyelids began to quiver uncontrollably.

“The Duke needed to see her immediately to report an urgent matter. Thanks to you two, her time was wasted.”

The Chief Secretary’s thick eyebrows knit together in a frightful expression.

“If you had truly cared about the well-being of their lordships, it would never have come to this.”

Debier drew a small piece of paper from inside his suit jacket.

Then, with a fountain pen, he scribbled down their scores.

“Roger. Do you think that’s all there was to your peers’ mistakes?”

At his question, I pressed my lips together for a moment.

Then, leisurely rolling my eyes, I replied slowly.

“No, the last one I am not quite…”

Of course, I knew the final mistake, too.

But if I rattled everything off too easily, just as it had been with Echina, I might be suspected of being a spy.

So it was necessary to know when to step back appropriately.

“The last was their ulterior motive.”

Debier tapped lightly at his own temple with his long finger.

“Do you know why secretaries are paid so much more than any other servants?”

The elderly man in his black suit asked.

On his tie was a luxurious diamond pin.

“Maids, tenant farmers, and cooks all finish their work and go home when the day is done. But secretaries are different—they are like shadows who think only of their lord.”

The Chief Secretary raised his finger and pointed through the window toward the distant dormitory where the candidates were housed.

He emphasized that, unlike other servants, we were expected to dedicate all twenty-four hours of the day to our master.

“And yet you disgraced yourselves with that pathetic display just to claw your way up somehow?”

Tobang’s group fell silent, unable to find any words, perhaps never imagining someone had been watching them from afar.

With their eyes shut tight, they let out long, heavy sighs.

‘It stings a bit to hear that.’

This time, I pressed my lips together too.

After all, in this life, I had no intention of devoting myself wholly to secretarial work.

“Tobang Arman, Windsor Confield. Your first-quarter evaluation score is three points.”

Tobang and Windsor let out small sighs, as though just imagining it made their heads go blank.

Then they hung their heads low, hiding the arrogant expressions they’d worn so brazenly before.

“Next, Lucun and Brook. It seems neither of you were chosen by any of the Grand Duke’s children.”

“I apologize…”

The large-framed Lucun bowed his head first and spoke.

Brook squeezed his eyes shut without a word.

“There’s no need to apologize to me. That alone is not something that warrants a deduction.”

The Chief Secretary handed them each a sheet with their scores written on it, his manner indifferent.

“Both of you received six points.”

Twice as many as Tobang and Windsor, though still unimpressive.

Brook let out a heavy sigh, seeming at least somewhat relieved.

“……”

But Lucun was different.

He pressed his lips together, his desire for the secretary position too keen to conceal.

“Lastly, Julius Roger.”

The elderly man in the black suit stopped walking in front of me.

“I will now begin the evaluation of you, who served Lady Echina Luton.”

Wearing white gloves, the Chief Secretary slipped a hand gracefully into his suit jacket.

Then, he pulled out the score sheet he had prepared in advance from the lords’ assessments.

Adjusting his monocle, he checked the marks she had given me.

In that moment.

“Hm…?”

The old man fell silent, as though he had never in his life seen a score like this before.

He looked between me and the paper for a moment, then slowly spoke.

“Lady Echina has delivered the following assessment of you.”

Debier held out the score sheet to me in plain view.

The paper was densely filled with sections for conduct, attitude, work capability, and more.

Yet Echina had not assigned a single mark to any of them.

‘What is this…? I never experienced anything like this even in my previous life…’

I furrowed my brow at the result, which was completely different from what I had expected.

As I continued reading down the page, my eyes stopped at a single line written at the bottom in beautiful handwriting.

“Due to many tiring matters today, the evaluation of Julius Roger will be omitted…?”

After all the help she had accepted from me, she had written those words so offhandedly.

Utterly exasperated, I let out a sigh inwardly.

“She said she will give you your score at your next meeting.”

The next meeting.

At those words, I blinked slowly, my black eyes vacant.

“And so, the first-quarter evaluations will end here.”

While I stood there in confusion, Debier passed by me without a word.

“That is all for today. Until the next summons, all of you will wait in your dormitory.”

After Debier departed, the other candidates all stared at me, the only one who hadn’t received any score.

But even then, all I could see was the retreating figure of the Chief Secretary.

‘That old man… surely…’

He, too, seemed to be hiding a smile.

As if he alone understood the Grand Duke’s daughter’s intention.