SOLIRF~69

Chapter 69

Your Partner

The Noble Asset Registration System passed its trial period amid explosive support and was officially enacted as law.

With the sudden surge of work, officials from the Concealment Department and mages from the Magic Tower were thrown into days so busy they hardly had time to breathe.

“Clerk Cornelia, aren’t you going home?”

Diplomat Simon stared at me in disbelief. I let out a small, tired chuckle.

“There’s too much work. I should finish it before I leave.”

Without realizing it, my eyes drifted toward the Chief Justice, who was silently processing documents. Maybe mentioning “going home” made him conscious of it.

“It’s reassuring having you here, Clerk.”

“You’re flattering me. Let’s finish quickly and end this horrible overtime!”

“Sounds good!”

Everyone tightened their resolve and returned to work mode. Since the project had succeeded, even overtime felt bearable.

The door opened, and Lucan, who had stepped out briefly, rushed back in.

“They’re holding a banquet to celebrate the enactment of the Noble Asset Registration System!”

Everyone froze with confused expressions.

A banquet no one from the responsible department even knew about? All eyes turned toward the Chief Justice, who was still working.

He spoke in a flat voice.

“His Majesty said he wanted to hold one. Looks like he finally went through with it.”

He looked completely uninterested.

At that moment, I remembered what Pinea—the Gossip Lady—had once shown us: that the Duke almost never appeared in high society.

That’s why even the illustrations showed him as just a silhouette.

As for me… I was honestly curious. A banquet in this world. It would definitely be different from just reading about it in a novel.

When I heard the banquet was set for two weeks later, I felt strangely excited—very unlike a normal office worker.

It was a rare day off.

A day with no work… and no side jobs.

Marcella had gone to the Academy for sword practice, and Julia and Rio had gone out to visit a friend’s house.

“It’s nice and quiet.”

Maybe those words were some kind of signal.

The moment they left my lips, someone started pounding violently on the door.

“Coco! It’s Pinea! Open the door!”

“Couldn’t she rest on weekends…? Why is she here again?”

Grumbling like a tired office worker whose rest had been stolen, I opened the door—

—and nearly fell backward in shock.

“Gah!”

Strangers flooded in, their arms filled with packages.

“Hi, Coco.”

“Good afternoon, Lady Cornelia.”

It was Chiara—and the designer, Laurent.

“This is perfect. No one’s home. We can use the living room.”

Since she’d visited a few times before, Lady Chiara gave orders to the servants as if it were her own house.

I snapped out of my daze and voiced the frustration of a worker whose holiday had been stolen.

“My Lady, you didn’t even contact me first. What’s going on?”

“Now is not the time to be leisurely.”

“…Excuse me?”

“The banquet is only two weeks away!”

“…And?”

“You have to prepare your dress and practice dancing in that time! Ugh, I should’ve mastered you completely before you went to the Imperial Palace… this is my fault!”

“Two weeks is enough, Lady Chiara.”

“…Is it?”

Then she turned to Pinea like a commander.

“Pinea, let’s do our best. Start immediately.”

Laurent, who had been running his hands over dozens of dresses hanging on the rack, approached me with a professional smile, holding a measuring tape.

“It’s your first banquet dress, isn’t it? Excuse me for a moment.”

I quickly raised my hands to stop them.

“Wait! Wait a second!”

“Coco, we really don’t have time. Just choosing a dress will take forever.”

“That’s why I said wait. I’ve already been preparing after I heard the news!”

It seemed Lady Chiara had forgotten how, back during the Marquis’s launch party, I’d gone through everything line by line.

I wasn’t the type to live carelessly.

It had become a habit I’d picked up from surviving a chaotic office life.

“Look.”

I showed them the simple dress design I had sketched and explained piece by piece.

“A pastel blue dress with bare shoulders, embroidered with three-dimensional flowers. The length will spread out to my ankles to give it a lively feel. I’ll keep my hair in a bob with just natural, soft waves.”

The three of them slowly fell silent.

“…Well done.”

“I think it’ll suit you, Coco.”

“I-It’s a design I haven’t seen before, but it perfectly matches Lady Cornelia’s age group while still being a safe, refined challenge…”

After thinking for a moment, Lady Chiara asked:

“So… where are you having this dress made?”

“Well, there’s a ready-made boutique I’ve been passing by o—”

“Absolutely not!!!”

I thought my ears would burst.

Lady Chiara exploded.

“You’re attending an Imperial banquet and you want to have a dress made at some nameless shop that doesn’t even tell you what materials they use?! Laurent!”

“Yes, my Lady.”

“Start making this dress with this design. You can do it, right?”

“Of course! I was disappointed thinking another shop was doing it, but I’ll make it perfectly. Please don’t worry.”

“Good. Coco, then what about shoes and accessories?”

“I was planning to look for those no—”

That was when Lady Chiara and Pinea lit up with motivation again.

“I brought some. Choose from these. Only my favorites are here. Now—shall we begin?”

“Yes, my Lady!”

That was how I was trapped for hours, being tortured over jewelry and shoes.

“There’s no way a low-ranking employee from the Chancellor’s Office can wear something this expensive. Even Laurent’s services alone cost a fortune… people will misunderstand…”

Lady Chiara scoffed.

“I’ve told you again and again. Show them who’s backing you.”

“But you said we’re friends.”

I pointed out the contradiction.

She didn’t care.

“Until you have a title equal to mine, I’m your backing. What’s so difficult about that? If someone causes trouble, just say, ‘If you touch me, Lady Chiara of Marquisate won’t let you live.’ Easy.”

“…Haha…”

That sounded like a disaster waiting to happen, so I vowed never to say that.

After organizing the accessories and shoes I’d chosen, Pinea asked:

“Have you chosen your banquet partner?”

Lady Chiara crossed her arms, looking like a strict mother-in-law who would not tolerate nonsense.

“Well… I can go alone… I guess not, right? A colleague from my department asked to be my partner, but my brother absolutely refused, so it was rejected. I’ll probably go with my brother.”

“Where is Aidan, anyway? I try to use him when I want, and he’s never around.”

I felt a little guilty.

“Aidan used too much mana for the Noble Asset Registration certification magic… so he’s resting at the Magic Tower.”

She was completely merciless—even to her own blood.

“Tch. He should’ve managed his stamina better. Then your brother needs formal wear too. I’ll tell Laurent, so have him come get fitted. He’ll take care of everything.”

I was genuinely moved.

Who would go this far for a former subordinate?

“Thank you, my Lady. If things go well, I’ll repay you.”

“Go and show them proudly who you are. That’s how you repay me.”

Lady Chiara placed her hands on her hips and lifted her chin proudly.

Her pose was so cute that I copied her without thinking—and both she and Pinea burst into laughter.

For the remaining time, I trained relentlessly with the dance instructor Lady Chiara sent.

My partner, Marcella, was not exempt.

Fortunately, neither of us was hopelessly uncoordinated, so by the day of the banquet, we’d improved to the point where we wouldn’t become gossip topics.

“An Imperial banquet…”

Marcella murmured nervously, wearing the custom-made formalwear Laurent had made.

Beside us, Julia and Rio were in an uproar, saying how handsome he looked.

Given his large build and recent sword training… he was, honestly, a little handsome.

“We’re not the main characters, so just think of it as going to look around comfortably.”

“Right, right. Julia, take good care of your sister.”

Julia and Rio nodded obediently without throwing a fit.

“Today, Big Sister and Big Brother look like a princess and a prince! You have to go find your fated love!”

“…What?”

“F-Fated love?!”

What were they even teaching at the Academy?

It felt like they were reading romance novels together.

I almost told them about the gap between reality and fantasy… then decided to preserve their innocence.

“Alright. This big brother will go find fate.”

Someone even more dramatic than the children existed.

Knock, knock.

“Looks like the carriage is here.”

I put on my earrings as a final step and opened the door—

—but instead of a carriage, there was a messenger.

He handed me a small note and disappeared.

What is this…?

With a bad feeling, I unfolded it.

[ Cornelia, I will send you a partner worthy of your achievements.
See you at the banquet hall. ]

“…What does this mean?”

At that moment, a carriage rolled into the courtyard.

But it was clearly not the one I had booked.

That crest…

The door of the carriage opened.

A long, powerful leg stepped heavily onto the ground.

“…!”

A man who resembled an enraged wolf stepped down and walked slowly toward me.

Then, wearing pristine white gloves, he extended his hand toward me.

“Cornelia, will you grant me the honor of being your partner tonight?”

Without realizing it, I covered my mouth.