Chapter 2

Mornings at the Syveric estate were always lively.  

In the cozy manor bustled a swarm of busy servants, and seamlessly among them moved the Count and Countess of Syveric.  

Anyone observing them could tell at a glance—they weren’t ones to flaunt their authority.  

As the Count passed by a servant and accepted a bright red apple, he handed it to his daughter with a gentle gesture.  

“I wonder if I caused you trouble by asking you to drop by, when you’re so busy?”

The Countess turned to her daughter with a worried look.  

“No, not at all. I was planning to come around this time anyway,” Rodella replied casually.  

Though the capital was quite a distance from the Syveric borderlands,  

Rodella still made the trip regularly to visit her parents.  

Sometimes, like today, it meant risking being late to work.  

But that didn’t faze her.  

Rodella Syveric— the only beloved daughter of the Syveric house, and the dependable ace of the Imperial Capital Administration Bureau—grinned confidently.  

“They’re treating you well at the bureau, right?”

The Countess looked worried still, even as her daughter waved a dismissive hand.  

“Of course. The Chancellor himself is watching over us.”

“It’s not the Chancellor I’m worried about…” 

Rodella pulled her mother into a hug before she could go on.  

“I’ll be back! Don’t worry so much.”

“And when will you have time again, once you go?” 

Her father’s voice was blunt, yet tender. Rodella glanced up at him.  

She mentally did the math, then replied with a faint lilt.  

“Barring anything urgent… maybe in a month?”

“Alright, just keep in touch. Oh—do you need to read these letters?” 

The Count gestured to a stack of envelopes he held.  

“Ah, those?”

Rodella gave her mother another quick hug, then walked over to glance at the senders.  

Her expression twisted.  

“Ugh. These persistent bastards…”

Among noble families, marriage usually happened before the age of twenty-four.  

Even though Rodella had been engaged to Aivert Royden, she hadn’t married by that age.  

And so, there were still those who dared to send these speculative, disrespectful proposals—letters shamelessly hinting at alternate possibilities.  

Some were even adorned with gold dust, as if hoping to stand out.  

“Obviously, they should all be burned.” 

Rodella grabbed the pile from her father and tossed them straight into the fireplace.  

— Whoosh!  

“Cough!”

Gold dust flew up with a shimmer.  

It always happened when she burned that particular sender’s letters.  

So annoyingly theatrical.  

Wrinkling her nose, Rodella gave her father a tight hug as well, then strode briskly toward the manor’s exit.  

“I’m off, then!” 

The Countess pulled her back for a final hug and planted a kiss on her cheek.  

— Smack! 

Rodella laughed.  

“That tickles!”

“Take care. And if anything’s hard… don’t hesitate to tell us.”

In the Empire, Rodella Syveric was a rising elite, a top graduate of the Academy, and carried numerous prestigious titles.  

But here at home, she was simply their beloved daughter.  

“I’m leaving now!” 

Rodella waved with a beaming smile as she left.

* * *

It had been over a decade since the war that engulfed the continent had come to an end.  

In the postwar Harnes Empire, the current generation was often referred to as “the last generation able to rise by merit alone.”

A time when one could carve out a place at the top, breaking through the old guard of stale nobility—if only they had the ability.  

Rodella Syveric was one of those people aiming for that chance.  

The House of Syveric was once an unknown name, but through their critical role defending the borderlands near the desert, they were elevated to the rank of Count.  

A newly established noble house, born of this generation—and with that, a family open to new ways of thinking.  

That was why, long ago, the Count and Countess of Syveric had adopted Rodella, a war orphan, and raised her as their daughter.  

At a time when most families clung even tighter to bloodlines, Syveric had chosen another path.  

And it had proven to be a brilliant choice.  

[The Greatest Talent in the History of the Harnes National Academy] 

[A Student Who Never Once Lost Her Spot as Top of the Class] 

The postwar era had already seen the rise of many brilliant commoners, and the notion that bloodline had nothing to do with talent had become widespread.  

Rodella was the perfect product of that era—her natural brilliance shining at just the right time.  

Every major imperial institution sought her out.  

Naturally, that included the palace.  

Even the Imperial Capital Administration Bureau—the highest department directly under the crown—offered her a position.  

And it wasn’t just anyone who came with the offer.  

It was the Chancellor himself.  

“I accept!”  

Rodella had no reason to refuse.  

That’s how she’d come to the Administration Bureau. And yet—  

— Click-clack.

The click of her heels echoed down the long hallway of the Administration Bureau, laid with a red carpet.  

“Syveric. You’re late.”  

A familiar voice lashed across the back of her head. It was her superior, Ryan.  

Rodella’s face twitched.  

‘I got here twenty minutes early.’

“Look at that.”

She wasn’t even planning to argue, but before she could say anything, several bureaucrats—noble-born, of course—brushed past her without bothering to lower their voices.  

Rodella offered a sweet smile.  

‘What are you, seven-year-olds? Picking sides and talking behind others’ backs like children?*’ 

Ever since she’d joined the Administration Bureau with dazzling credentials, Rodella had become the target of pointed resistance from the noble-born employees.  

Her noble house may have adopted her, but her birth was still that of a commoner.  

Even so, she consistently produced results that set her apart, and her path had remained steady and sure.  

‘Let them laugh. I’ll keep working, keep rising—until one day…’  

She glanced toward the end of the hall.  

There stood the ornate double doors of the Chancellor’s office, gleaming.  

Yes, one day… 

‘I’ll be the one behind those doors.’  

— Nod.  

She gave herself a small nod, recalling the dream she always held close.  

If there was one problem, though—  

“Isn’t Lord Tien’s family business struggling lately?”

“Lord Ryan has a wife and kids to support…”

No matter the era, the powerful cartel of high-ranking nobles remained unbroken. 

Because of this, noble faction members who joined later than her, for various reasons, were promoted earlier. It wasn’t as if they had achieved any notable results. 

Moreover, not only did they ascend to higher positions at an overwhelming pace despite lacking achievements, but they also…

“That was my work.” 

“Too late. Lord Ryan already submitted the report saying he did it.”  

Her achievements were often taken as if it were natural.  

The only thing they had over her—was that their families were close with the top brass of the Administration Bureau.  

Of course, Rodella had her chances too.  

Plenty of opportunities to latch onto someone’s lineage.  

[I’d love to have a deeper conversation with Lady Syveric.] 

[For the mutual benefit of our two houses…]

From the moment she was in the academy, she’d received letters starting with those kinds of lines.  

Endless offers to meet eligible heirs of prestigious families.  

They were so persistent they disrupted her studies.  

Worse, they framed themselves as *helping a talented girl with no background,* offering their “kindness.”  

Eventually, she snapped.  

And took drastic action.  

Rodella was recalling those events when noise stirred at the far end of the hallway.  

The doors of the Chancellor’s office opened—and out walked a man.  

The very “drastic action” she’d taken.  

“Aivert!”

A radiant smile bloomed across Rodella’s face.