# Chapter 4
If my memory is correct, that man is the First Prince Edmund Reyhart.
"Olivia! I'm Olivia."
He is the character in the novel who believes only in achievements.
As long as the required performance was achieved, it did not matter to him whether you were a stranger or a member of the general public, as he was giving a reward worthy of the results.
In other words, if you don't achieve something, being a noble or being loyal to him for a long time won't work for you. He would simply abandon you.
That's why his office was made up mostly of senior staff, while half of the new ones always disappeared.
I remembered the rumors circulating around the First Prince's office, so I moved my fingers nervously.
Although I mentioned my name, I received no response.
“Ah, you are then.”
Does he know me?! They used to say that the worst that could happen is for your boss to remember you by name.
“You were talking to Lucid in the park a while ago.”
“Huh? You mean His Highness the Second Prince?”
When did I speak to the Second Prince?
“Could it be that you have confused me with someone else...? I have never met someone as high-status as him.”
Edmund furrowed his eyebrows so sharply that they almost met.
“Do you know how sharp my eyesight is? And my memory is excellent. I can distinguish people’s features at first sight.”
Is this… some kind of bragging now?
But, how could I have talked to Amir?
“Don't tell me...was he the brown-haired one...?”
"Yes. That very man. Are you pretending not to know him now?"
So, that person who showed me the wrong way, that rude, impolite person...
“Oh my God.”
He was the second prince?!
But why did he show me the wrong path then?!
There's no way his character could be that bad...
He must have done it on purpose to annoy me because I was from Edmund's side.
“It seems that you would rather side with Lucid than me, I who have the blood of strangers running through my veins. That's fine, if you wish, I can relieve you immediately. Anyway, your delay today suggests that you will not last a month in this place.”
Does this mean that he thinks I am incompetent?! This is a clear provocation of my dignity as a Korean!
“I only asked the way, so I'm sorry you misunderstood me like this.”
In this novel, Edmund is the main hero.
This means that siding with Lucid will lead to social failure.
Moreover, Lucid hates outsiders and has a policy of excluding them, so it will be difficult to find someone to support me if I side with him.
“I'll work here, of course! Long and short are known for comparison, right?!”
Fifteen years of study in this life, and years of struggle in the previous life. Don't underestimate me!
“If you kick me out, you'll regret it later!”
I will show him what a Korean student can achieve with his effort!
***
“…Didn’t you say I would regret it?”
I wanted to show him what I could really do, but I made a simple calculation error.
I felt very ashamed and lowered my head even more.
“Did you mean to make me regret hiring you?”
"… I apologize."
Mathematics was never my field.
“I expected more from someone who ranked first.”
Edmund clicked his tongue, then balled up the wrong paper and threw it into the wastebasket.
He could have just corrected the number instead of tearing it up.
“…Do you have an objection?”
“No, of course not.”
I replied with a frown, and he threw a new file at me.
“I'm giving you one last chance. Arrange this and bring it to me tomorrow.”
"… tomorrow?!"
I looked at the file, which seemed thicker than a world history book, and felt a cold sweat running down my neck.
“You can't?”
That red look that said, “If you don’t, get out,” forced me to bend over and submissively answer, “Yes.”
“Olivia, aren’t you leaving?”
I slowly raised my head while holding the pen.
Edmund's office was the most stressful part of the palace, so the working hours were long.
No one is allowed to leave before completing all daily tasks.
Therefore, only the skilled ones were leaving early.
Since I'm still new and haven't received my daily ration yet, it's natural for me to leave at the end of work.
So Campbell, my new colleague, had long since left.
As for me, I kept working on what Edmund assigned me to do.
“I think he knew you wouldn't be able to do it, yet he deliberately asked for it.”
Natasha, my supervisor, said, looking at me worriedly.
"I know that."
I replied, breaking my pen out of anger and grabbing a new one.
“But I will try my best.”
“You are such a stubborn girl. Your first day, and you have already caught the prince’s attention.”
She said as she placed an energy drink can on my desk.
“Work a little and then come back. No one will blame you if you can’t finish this.”
She was really good.
"Thanks! You can leave first!"
“Make sure you close the door tightly when you go out.”
"Don't worry."
'I won't be back tonight at all.'
After I made sure everyone had left, I leaned my arms on the desk and looked at the papers.
A total of two thousand pages of reports on projects carried out across the empire last year.
“Huh, just two thousand? It's okay, I can do it!”
I sipped my energy drink with determination.
I will show them the passion of the Korean student who used to stay up late!
I'll show them what Korean determination means, Edmund!
***
“…I didn’t expect anyone to come to work before me.”
Early in the morning, after I had washed my face to appear less tired, I found Edmund hanging his coat on the hanger.
He was unusually elegant, unlike my miserable appearance.
His black hair was neatly styled, not a single strand out of place.
His high nose and broad shoulders gave him a perfect appearance as always.
But that mocking look he gave me was as sharp as an arrow.
It's like he's looking at an insect.
I slapped my cheeks with both hands hard.
'There's no need to back down. I finished what he asked for yesterday. I'm amazing!'
“...Are you hitting yourself in protest because I gave you some work?”
He asked me, clicking his tongue when he saw me in pain.
“Just trying to wake up.”
I approached the window to air the room.
The sun had barely begun to rise, so I was surprised that he had arrived so early.
Does he work hard even though he is a prince? No wonder he is the protagonist.
“Is it possible that you didn't leave last night?”
“Does it seem that clear?”
“Your front hair is dripping with oil.”
He said this with disdain and sat down in front of his desk.
"coffee."
“…Excuse me?”
“Bring me a cup of coffee.”
Does he think I'm a waitress?!
I suppressed my anger as I placed the cup in front of him with a fake smile.
“Here.”
“What is this?”
He looked at the file she presented with him.
“The file you requested yesterday.”
“...did you get it done?”
“You asked me to, didn't you?”
I said, rubbing my puffy eyes.
"In fact, I had not yet received an explanation about the nature of the work, so I did not know the appropriate way to arrange it. So I classified the papers according to time periods, others according to projects, and these I divided them into winning and losing projects according to alphabetical order."
“…Ha, ha-ha-ha!”
Edmund suddenly started laughing.
What's wrong with him? Did he go crazy?!
“You look really amusing.”
“Uh...thanks?”
He smiled slightly, then began flipping through the papers intently.
“I usually organized them by time, but it's more effective to organize them by project type. It looks like I'll be following this system from now on.”
There was a glint of satisfaction in his eyes.
“You newbie.”
"Yes!"
I answered quickly as I sat upright.
“I thought you would run away, but that's okay... I'll admit how tough you are.”
He said that while looking at me with his red eyes, as if he was trying to understand the real reason that made me insist on staying here with such determination.