Side Chapter: The Laments of a Government Official

On the road leading from Hamridge Camp to Vernum City, there was a single horse-drawn carriage. From the design of the carriage and the image of a tree surrounded by hands imprinted on the doors, this was clearly an official carriage of the Amber domain. Any commoners who saw it would imagine that someone of great importance was sitting inside, but in reality it was an ordinary female government official.

She had been stationed at Fort Hamridge to assist with entry permits, military supplies, Hamridge Camp administrative tasks and basically anything else they could throw at a person who could read and write. When she first heard about this position, she had expected that there would be a lot of work, but it was even more than she thought.

To start, she couldn't oversleep even if she wanted to because military training started at the crack of dawn, and they made sure that everyone was aware of it with ear-splitting clangs and incessant shouts. There was a large communal bath at the fort, but unless she wanted to bathe in the presence of burly men, she couldn't use it, so she had to settle with a pail of lukewarm water. There was a cafeteria where she could get her meals, but despite ample supplies, they served food that prioritised nutrition over taste. She even wondered if they intentionally made the food taste bland and sold the leftover seasoning, and as a proud government official, it was her duty to find the truth of the matter.

Long story short, it was above her pay grade, and if she wanted to keep her head, then it was better that she kept her mouth shut.

When it was time for work, her direct superior assigned her new tasks no matter what she had scheduled, including jobs that he was clearly responsible for. Unfortunately, everyone she could complain to was either close to him or might ask her for special favours if she accepted their help, so any revenge would have to wait until she left the fort. It was difficult to say it was a good thing, but her superior was at least competent enough to recognise her limits, so he wouldn't give her more than she could handle by stretching herself to the utmost.

Although there was less work involved, interacting with people in the tent for governmental affairs wasn't very pleasant either. The comments she received were ruder, more inappropriate and more thoughtless than those she heard when she worked in the city, and despite there being fewer clients on a daily basis, such comments were more frequent. If it wasn't for the soldiers inside the camp, she was sure that some of these men would do more than just talk, and she doubted her superior would move an inch to assist her.

Nonetheless, she wasn't some greenhouse flower who had never been around their type before. Her rule for interacting with ill-mannered clients was simple: do not react. No matter what sort of vulgar compliment, groundless insult or cheesy pick-up line she heard, she maintained a neutral expression. Some of them liked when she acted that way, but for the most part it stopped them from escalating their tactics before it was time for the next client.

"That reminds me. I wonder how that girl is doing?"

Anyone with proper insight could tell that this was her first time travelling, but she didn't look like a complete houseflower. More like a sunflower surrounded by tall shady plants. The female official didn't know if she managed to make it to her destination, but at the very least she didn't hear news of her being killed or sold into slavery. The female official thought she had lost all passion for this job, but she couldn't ignore her wish to help that girl. Part of the reason was likely because the girl reminded her of her past naive self.

She was born in the capital of the Kingdom of Ataraxia, Leticium, named after the first Queen, Leticia Karomina Ataraxia I. Her family was of peasant origin, but they worked in the clothing industry and were relatively well-off. As the second-youngest of four siblings, she was free to choose her career and saw her future in the heart of the kingdom.

She knew it would be too much of a fantasy to reach any prominent positions with her background, but she believed that if she tried her hardest, she could become a senior government official with the ability to effect change within the kingdom. This desire became even stronger with the changing of the throne and the new policies that were enacted.

She earned top marks as a student, putting even some noble scions to shame, while also being the pride and joy of the teaching faculty, so no one could cause trouble for her. After earning the honour of valediction and getting a job as a junior official in the Department of Finance, she believed that her way forward was clear, but that was where her rise ended. In the office, there were no teachers to back her up, only superiors whose relatives' children she had offended.

At first she had hope that if she worked above and beyond, she would be able to convince them that she was too valuable to snub, but the more she shone, the harder they tried to hold her back. Eventually, they grew tired of her resistance and reassigned her to the Amber region for training that would likely never end. Even if she earned the praise of Baron Amber himself, he had no authority to return her back to the capital; at best, she would have to spend her days working in the Amber territory.

After realising that she had been pushed into a dead-end position, she fell into despair. Her family had never believed she could make it to the core of the government, so while they comforted her and wished her the best at her new office, the female official still felt empty. Chaos was only growing in various territories of the kingdom, and there were rumours that the Amber domain was in trouble with the throne. Despite her sharp brain, she couldn't see a way out of this dilemma.

She considered begging the culprits, but she knew they weren't the type to forgive and forget; she would have to put her pride on the line. Denouncing them also wasn't possible. Though they were certainly corrupt, she didn't know enough about the personnel in the justice department to tell who would really be in trouble if she talked about their misdeeds. She didn't want to give up, but there simply weren't enough cards in her hands.

Three years later, she was mostly used to her new life in the Amber domain. She ended up at Fort Hamridge because the person originally scheduled to be there fled the territory, but she was usually stationed at the capital of the Amber domain, Orchard City. The financial, political and logistical circumstances of the territory were terrible, but she could still live a modest life until everything came crashing down.

"It would be nice if this trip they're sending me on isn't in vain."

She was supposed to stay at the fort until shortly before harvest season, but she was now being reassigned to Vernum City, apparently to assist the officials there in a major project that could pull the domain out of the swamp that it was slowly sinking in. She didn't fault the messenger for not sharing many details; in fact, she would have thought less of him if he did. She only hoped that there was more truth to his words than exaggeration.

"Vernum City. I wonder if that girl is there. Well, we probably won't meet regardless."