I Was Threatened To Go Out With Her Majesty the Princess

2 – Candidate for the First Princess’s Magic Professor

Lying on her luxurious bed, the Empire’s star, First Princess Stella von Arcellian, slowly opened her eyes.

This tired body still seeks sleep.

“Did you cough, Your Highness?”

A husky voice rings out. Stella lazily turns her head. Where her gaze lands is her bodyguard knight, Crimson.

He bows his head. He tells her of the schedule ahead.

“Your Highness, the professor candidates have arrived.”

Some candidates have already entered the palace and are waiting. The pre-exam interview is set for the afternoon, so there’s still plenty of time, but Crimson gives her an early heads up.

“Crimson.”

Stella opens her mouth sluggishly. Crimson immediately responds to her murmur.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Are there any particularly interesting ones among the candidates?”

“Apologies, I do not know what would interest Your Highness, but there were some exceptional ones.”

The laziness in Stella’s eyes urges Crimson on.

“Who exactly?”

“Cardian, Professor Trinan, and Professor Pinsel.”

It was odd that only one lacked the professor title. Stella shows her curiosity.

“Cardian, that wouldn’t happen to be the Cardian I know?”

“I believe so.”

Stella listens to Crimson’s report.

“They say these three all solved the problem within an hour, so they are exceptional.”

“I see. But according to you, the first to solve the problem was Cardian, no? Doesn’t that mean he has the greatest ability? We could just hire him right away as professor. Why bother with the afternoon?”

On Stella’s speaking face, her will to ‘just randomly pick the best one, don’t bother me’ is clearly written.

Without hesitation, Crimson conveys his opinion.

“However, Cardian is not a professor. He is an unproven individual, so I recommend another professor, but I conjecture Cardian’s abilities surpass the other professors. I think it best to observe a little longer before making your selection.”

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“Fine. But I still don’t want to get out of bed yet, so let’s go when everyone has gathered this afternoon.”

Stella closes her heavy eyelids. Crash, she falls back asleep. Keeping neither too close nor too far from Stella’s bed, Crimson stands guard.

2.

Since I came to the palace early, I decided to work.

Although I’ve been nominated as a candidate for the Princess’s professor, as a civil servant slave to the country, I still have to work even after coming to the palace.

‘While those from the Magic Tower don’t have to work…I do.’

At this rate, I’ll end up both working as a civil servant and doing the Princess’s professor work.

With a sigh, I headed to the familiar Intelligence Division. Easy to find since I snuck in a lot during my Royal Guard days.

I came to process the work the Minister bastard dumped on me.

I open the door to the Intelligence Division. Through the open door, the strong scent of caffeine and stimulants wafts out.

Creak, the door opens noisily but there’s no reaction.

People with gloomy expressions, looking like they haven’t slept for days, zombie around going ‘Uggghh’ as they organize documents, analyze information, pass handled information to other departments, and list incoming real-time information.

‘This place is still hell.’

All departments say

their department is the hardest.

But even they can’t say their department is harder than the Intelligence Division in front of the Intel guys.

The Intelligence Division was truly one of the hells descended on earth.

8 hours of basic work, 8 hours of overtime as a given, and sometimes up to 8 more hours to perfectly finish all the work – the Intelligence Division where those slow or lazy at work could never survive.

No wonder the saying ‘I’ll transfer you to the Intelligence Division’ circulated like a catchphrase in all departments except Intel when a subordinate messed up.

The Intelligence Division was seriously one of the hells on earth.

The Vice Minister of that hell sees me.

“…Cardian. Why…are you…here…”

Syllable by syllable. My junior and peer Leon barely squeezes the words out.

Seeing him stirs mixed feelings of camaraderie and pity.

Just a few years ago he was still bright and lively.

We both got rapid promotions, becoming Vice Ministers in 5 years, but he’s burnt out now.

How the hell did he live that he already has dark circles up to his chin?

Those can’t be shadows made in just a day or two.

With those deep dark shadows and his complexion looking half dead, it seems he’s been living like this for at least a few months, on the verge of collapsing from malnutrition or lack of sleep.

I joke that I’m a slave to the country, but the real slaves were here.

‘Compared to them, where I am is heaven.’

A thought that crosses the minds of all departments when they see Intel.

I handed out the coffee I brought to the evolving undead of the Intelligence Division.

The caffeine brings Leon to his senses and he asks in a clear voice.

“What brings you here? If it’s about the Princess’s professor candidacy, you should be going to the Home Office, not Intelligence.”

“I came to get some information the Minister asked for.”

“Ah, that.”

Recalling something, Leon rummages through his desk and takes out a stack of documents from one drawer.

“Here. Info we gathered on the trends of dark magicians and the recent Five Dragons Gang.”

“Thanks. Keep up the hard work.”

I got the documents and immediately left the Intelligence Division.

Right after leaving the Intelligence Division, I ran into another new candidate for the Princess’s professor.

“Cardian, Vice Minister of Magic?”

Silver framed monocle on one side of his face. The robe brushing precariously close to the floor displays the insignia of a high ranking magician.

The middle aged man swaggering through the palace was a face I recognized from before.

“Professor Trinan. Long time no see.”

“It really has been awhile. Magic Vice Minister. First time since the Magic Terror incident?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The Magic Terror incident, I really went through a lot back then.

Looking at it now, the intel I have on dark magician trends is also work I took on because of the Magic Terror incident.

If not for that incident, half my current work would’ve disappeared.

Recalling that, I could roughly guess why Professor Trinan was here.

“Professor Trinan, you’re also a candidate for the Princess’s professor?”

“That’s right. Don’t tell me you are too?”

I nodded.

Trinan and I walked side by side down the long palace corridor. Lined with lavish decorations, continuing down that hall leads to a path to the gardens.

At the end of the gardens was the First Princess. And all the other magicians had gathered.

“Looks like we’re the last ones.”

Trinan murmured softly. I didn’t show it outwardly, but agreed.

“You’re right.”

Among all the already gathered magicians, we slowly paid our respects to the royal.

The bodyguard knight, Crimson, confirms those present and tells the Princess.

“Your Highness, everyone has gathered. You may begin.”

Stella speaks.

“Are you the candidates to teach me magic?”

A slow voice. Sluggish movements. Like the incarnation of laziness.

The majority of magicians answered at once. Surprisingly, their answers were uniform. “Yes.” The single word echoes.

Stella sits up from her languor and asks.

“What will you teach me?”

Just as the magicians were about to open their mouths to answer.

“I dislike boring things. And learning magic is a very boring and tedious task.”

Stella smiles mischievously.

“Let’s hear from the furthest left. What do you plan to teach me?”

The furthest left.

I casually glanced left.

There was a carefully manicured garden the finest gardener tended to.

Hmm. There’s no one to my left.

Which means.

‘I’m the furthest left.’

I suddenly became the first to have to answer.

Usually with the powerful, the best move is to observe the situation and timing to appropriately cut in and answer somewhere in the middle. But if that’s not possible.

I have no choice but to run my mouth.

“I plan to teach Your Highness magic.”

I hope my bullsh*tting skills are on point today, I rolled the dice.

“Even when I said learning magic is tedious?”

“Your Highness, pardon me, but have you ever learned magic before?”

My tongue starts rolling.

“I have learned it before.”

“Then have you closely delved into magic as a field of study?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because magic cannot be tedious for magicians.”

I confidently explained to Her Highness.