TOPWL 148

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Khalid smiled and ruffled his hair.

“It’s alright. I’m not going far this time. I’m just doing some light maintenance work.”

But even at his reassurance, Yudit’s expression remained stiff.

Though the northern lands looked peaceful from the window, they were anything but.

There were monster attacks, raids from barbarian tribes, and constant tension with neighboring countries.

It was only two years ago that they’d nearly eradicated the monsters—hence the current relative calm—but lately their numbers had grown again. That’s why Khalid was going out for a monster subjugation first.

“When I get back, let’s go horseback riding. There’s a little cabin by the lake. We’ll spend the whole day fishing, cooking our own meals, and then just roll around wrapped in a single blanket.”

It sounded like a dream.

Yudit didn’t want to make Khalid worry anymore, so he smiled, trying to look excited.

***

“W-Welcome, Your Highness!”

As soon as she saw Yudit, Jayna—the staff member at the publishing house—shot up from her seat to greet him. The sudden motion caused the papers on her desk to flutter and spill everywhere.

Yudit stooped to help pick them up, and Jayna flailed with embarrassment.

“Oh, no, Your Highness, let me—!”

“I’m the reason they fell. Let’s clean up together.”

“And please, Your Highness, I beg you… could you speak informally to me…?”

Jayna spoke the request like it was physically painful.

Yudit had kept speaking formally, thinking she might be uncomfortable with someone who knew nothing about publishing suddenly acting like her superior. But every time he did, Jayna looked as if her lifespan was being shaved down.

Truthfully, it had been a little amusing. But he figured it was time to stop teasing. He cleared his throat and nodded.

“Very well. I’ll do that.”

“Oh, thank you so much.”

Jayna was a Beta woman in her late thirties.

Her husband had been a knight who died in a monster subjugation, leaving her to care for two children. Khalid had offered her this job.

She’d done well in language arts at school, so the work wasn’t too difficult. Plus, the job allowed enough flexibility for her to raise her children, so she’d stayed with the company a long time.

She proudly mentioned that the ridiculously thick glasses sliding down her nose were a five-year service gift from Khalid.

“Are these the books I’m supposed to read?”

“Y-Yes, just the ones that seem interesting to you.”

Stacks of manuscripts were piled high on the desk.

Since Khalid was the owner, only the works he wanted made it to print. But because the company had gained fame, submissions came in droves.

Jayna said she couldn’t reject them all outright, so she’d been saving them—until Yudit arrived a few days ago. She’d then sorted through everything, setting aside only unpublished and uncontracted manuscripts.

Even after narrowing them down in three rounds, the remaining volume was still significant.

But instead of being daunted, Yudit quietly opened the first manuscript.

“Have some tea while you read.”

“Thank you. Er, thanks.”

Even after handing over the tea, Jayna hovered nervously like a mother duck watching her duckling.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Eek!”

Startled by Yudit’s question, Jayna quickly averted her eyes.

“W-Well… if you read that thoroughly, it’ll take forever…”

“But you picked and sorted these out, didn’t you? That’s exactly why I should read them thoroughly.”

“W-Well… yes, of course…”

Her face twisted into a helpless mess at those words full of trust.

Yudit returned to reading, and as Jayna quietly watched him, her cheeks turned red and she quickly turned away.

***

How much time had passed?

Jayna approached hesitantly.

“Um… Your Highness?”

“…Hm?”

Yudit snapped out of the manuscript as if waking from a dream.

“I was wondering… when you might be having lunch…”

He glanced at the clock. It was already 1:30 p.m.

“Oh no. It’s that late already?”

He looked a little sheepish.

He’d planned to eat at noon and head to the school by one.

Looking down at the manuscripts before him, he saw four volumes had stacked up.

One book per hour, give or take.

He picked up all but one and held them out to Jayna.

“Should I reject the others?”

“Hm? No, I’m publishing all of them.”

Jayna’s eyes went wide.

“A-All of them?”

Her success rate was astonishing. She’d mentioned she only sent one or two manuscripts per quarter, careful not to disturb Khalid’s work—but the books she picked were all exceptional.

“Yeah. They were all really fun to read. Take a final look at them, and if you don’t think one’s quite ready for publication, just let me know.”

Jayna stared at Yudit with visible disbelief. He let out a soft laugh.

“Is it really alright… without the Duke’s approval? We’ve always run it by him first…”

“It’s fine. He entrusted the entire thing to me.”

“I-I see…”

Jayna hugged the manuscripts tightly to her chest. A faint blush colored her cheeks under the thick lenses of her glasses.

“You chose some really great books, and so carefully. It’s been a while since I enjoyed reading this much.”

At Yudit’s praise, Jayna bit her lip hard.

“T-Thank you.”

“I’ll stop by to help again. I might not be able to come too often if other duties pile up, but…”

“That’s alright. Even just this much help is a huge relief.”

Clearly, she hadn’t expected to have three books greenlit at once—her face was glowing with joy.

“Alright then. I’ll come by again tomorrow.”

“Y-Yes…!”

Jayna was so happy she even came to the door to see him out. Yudit had to stop her from walking him all the way outside.

He walked on, under the flood of sunlight.

The school was quiet.

The empty classrooms had a wistful air about them.

Yudit knocked and entered the faculty office.

An elderly teacher slowly rose from his seat.

“Well, if it isn’t Your Highness. Welcome.”

The old man, his face lined with age, offered a warm smile as he looked at Yudit. His name was Schmidt, and he was the school’s principal. Yudit handed him a small bag of cookies.

“I caught a delicious smell on the way here, so I picked some up.”

“Oh, cookies from Jenny’s Bakery. I know just the tea leaves to pair with them. I’ll brew a pot.”

With a relaxed gait, Schmidt went to the cupboard and pulled out a tin of tea.

Yudit watched him with a faint blush creeping into his cheeks. He looked a little nervous.

“Suspicious.”

The sudden voice startled Yudit.

Before he knew it, Khalid had come up beside him.

“K-Khalid? What are you doing here? I thought you were busy.”

“I couldn’t stop thinking about that sullen look on your face. So I wrapped things up early. I was planning to surprise you, but now I feel like I just caught you cheating.”

“W-What are you talking about? It’s not like that!”

“Oh? You sure? Looks like something to me.”

Yudit quickly brought his hands to his cheeks. They were warm—he was definitely flustered.

“I swear it’s not like that…”

He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. Khalid ruffled his hair and chuckled.

“I know. And I also know you’ve got a soft spot for older gentlemen.”

“That’s… hard to deny.”

Maybe it was because of Aldrich and Viscount Bashur—Yudit had always been weak to scholarly men of a certain age.

Having Khalid point that out made him a little shy.

“I love you, Khalid. You know that.”

“I do. But sometimes I wonder—which version of me you’d love more: me now, or me in my sixties?”

Khalid asked with a mischievous smile. Yudit hesitated, unable to respond right away.

“Of course… both.”

“Doesn’t sound convincing.”

“Then what about you?”

While they bantered, Schmidt returned with a pot of warm tea.

“So, you’ve been caught already.”

“Ahh, and it’s all your fault,” Khalid muttered.

“…Pardon?”

Yudit jabbed him lightly in the side, as if telling him to cut it out.

Only then did Khalid fall silent.

Once they were seated, Yudit flipped through some documents and looked around.

“There were two more teachers, correct?”

“Yes, the classes are wrapping up, so they’ll be here shortly.”

The number of teachers was small for the size of the school.

But the number of students was even smaller.

The building could hold five hundred, but fewer than fifty were actually enrolled.

“The subjects are language, mathematics, foreign languages, and science…”

“We also teach history.”

“Mm… Right.”

The core subjects were being properly taught. But the advancement rate was abysmally low.

“This school runs tuition-free, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Yudit looked through the documents beside him—numbers on children born, the ones required to attend school, and the actual number enrolled.

He let out a troubled hum.

“I think we need a large-scale reform.”