CH 22

“…”

A woman sits slumped in her chair.

Her hair is disheveled, her skin rough, and dark circles have formed under her eyes.

She lets out a deep sigh.

“Haah…”

A pile of unfinished work sits on the table in front of her.

The clock’s hands have long since passed closing time.

But there is still an abnormal amount of work left to do, and she can’t complain to anyone.

She is not in a position to do so.

Because she is supposed to be the one assigning work to her subordinates.

“I have to finish this quickly…”

Since Freya left the court, the director has taken on most of her work.

There are various important matters happening outside, but she doesn’t have time to know about them.

She has locked herself in the laboratory and has been working tirelessly.

The workload that Freya was able to handle alone was not something that one person could handle normally.

Only a magic tool maker with skills equal to or greater than hers could finish it in a day.

In other words, the director was made to understand Freya’s bottomless talent. That a magic tool maker who was far more skilled than herself was so close.

“Kuh…”

She gritted her teeth.

For someone like her, who was a lump of pride, there was no greater unbearable pain than knowing she had been defeated.

The anger dispelled her drowsiness.

There was no end to the work in front of her.

These days would continue tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

She would continue to taste the bitterness of defeat.

“I can’t take it anymore…”

Her mental state was nearing its limit.

Physical exhaustion, the collapse of her pride, and anxiety for the future.

Various negative factors overlapped, and there was no way to heal her broken body and mind.

She had always looked down on others, and there was no one who truly supported her.

Despite everyone being aware of her hardships in this situation, not a single person thought to help her. That was the proof of her loneliness.

The feeling of isolation, with no one to support her, further eroded her spirit.

The crowning blow was a rumor.

That the magic tool maker for the Second Prince had made great strides in rescuing the prince’s life and exposing the great evil lurking in the darkness.

She is undoubtedly the greatest magic tool maker in this country.

Many people who did not know her before have come to know of her existence.

They have begun to recognize the existence of a great magic tool maker in this country.

If you were to ask those who know her who the best magic tool maker is, they would undoubtedly answer Freya Roaster.

The director’s pride had collapsed to the point where it was impossible to recover.

Finally, both her mind and body reached their limits…

❂❂❂

“What? Disappeared?!”

I raised my voice loudly first thing in the morning.

It was such a surprise.

“I-Is that true, Your Highness?”

“Ah, yes. I received a report from my subordinate earlier. The director of the Court Magic Tool Maker, Iris Routilus, has been missing since early this morning.”

“Was she abducted or involved in an incident?”

That would be a much bigger problem.

His Highness shook his head.

“No, most likely it was her own decision. They found evidence of packing up in her laboratory and home. If it were kidnapping or an incident, she wouldn’t have had time to pack up, would she?”

“That’s… true.”

The director has disappeared?

Does that mean she ran away?

Why… no, probably the reason is——

“I guess she couldn’t handle that workload anymore.”

His Highness said what I had been thinking.

I guess that’s what happened.

Since I entered the royal castle, the director has been doing most of the work I have been contracted to do.

It may sound strange for me to say this, but it’s tough to handle that much work in a day.

The director probably had other work to do and it was even harder for her than it was for me.

“Sigh… honestly, I didn’t expect this to happen. I thought she would come back and apologize after reflecting on it.”

“That would have been difficult, I think.”

I know the director’s personality well.

She doesn’t think she’s wrong.

She doesn’t bow her head to anyone.

We’ve been working together for almost four years, and I’ve never seen her apologize.

Admitting her own mistakes and relying on others.

I never thought she would do such a thing.

“But even so, I didn’t think she would run away…” 

According to His Highness, a search request has already been issued.

Her name, face, and identity information have all been made public.

It is now difficult for her to continue working as a magic tool maker in this country.

Even if she were to return, she could not go back to her current position.

She herself has thrown away everything she has built up until now.

“That was so difficult…”

However, I couldn’t sympathize with her.

If she could understand the pain I have experienced, that would be enough for me.

“Oh! What about the work the director was doing?”

“That’s the problem. Of course, she left all of her work behind. We cannot expect her to return, and even if she is found, we cannot force her to work. Therefore…”

His Highness looks apologetic.

I somehow understand what His Highness is thinking.

I laugh.

“It’s okay. I’ll do it.”

“Freya.”

“It was originally my job.” 

“I’m sorry. Of course, you don’t have to do everything. The rest will be divided among the other magic tool makers. It was never meant for one person to do it all.”

That’s right.

The director had been pushing a large amount of work onto me, but behind the scenes, other people were able to take it easy.

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Returning to the original workload didn’t actually increase the amount of work.

“However, I can only do my own job. I think being a director is a difficult job.”

“It looks like you’re doing okay too. It’s a headache, though.”

I tilted my head in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“That director seemed to be pushing her work onto you and the vice-director. So even if she’s gone, the court will continue to function as usual.”

“I see…I didn’t realize I was doing the director’s job too.”

It was news to me.

“Hey, Freya. Don’t you want to be a director?”

“…Huh?”

I blurted out in surprise at His Highness’s sudden words.

Me, a director?