Duke, Please Let Go of My Ankle! (Web Novel) - Chapter 6

“Hello, my name is Audrey Kevelson, and I’m looking forward to working with you!”

 

“…I’m Hans Emilton.”

 

The Ministry of Finance’s attention was drawn to the two.

 

Claude also turned to look at the two in surprise.

 

“Haha! It’s good that the two of you have a good relationship. It’s like you’re following your brother to the Ministry of Finance!”

 

“I know, we have young talents here, so it’ll be a great help.”

 

“Why don’t you handle them Claude?”

 

“Okay.”

 

He took on a new task in the blink of an eye, but Claude grinned without getting upset.

 

Hans, who saw it, frowned as if he had never thought about it.

 

‘Damn it! Damn it!’

 

The original plan wasn’t like this.

 

Without going crazy, why would I come to the Ministry of Finance just to see my brother, whom I see every day, until I vomit? ᴴᵃⁿˢ

 

I just didn’t want to think about them flirting when I’m not around. ᴴᵃⁿˢ

 

Hans thought something would happen if they worked overtime together.

 

Obviously, everything was perfect until Audrey’s turn was intercepted.

 

However…

 

“Oh man! I misread it, two people should have been assigned to the Ministry of Finance, not the Ministry of Justice.”

 

When the person in charge of assigning employees to each department corrected the number of persons that should be dispatched. The excitement and sorrow of the two were mixed.

 

Hans just wanted to die.

 

It was already making me crazy watching Audrey, who was going to drop all kinds of silly praises along with seeing my sick and tiresome brother’s face.

 

Hans face, which had brightened for a while, has darkened again.

 

 

✿

 

Thud~

 

Audrey ended up in a series of accidents.

 

“Oh! Sorry, I’m sorry.”

 

What’s the point of tripping just before you’re about to put the paper box on the ground?

 

She also fell backwards and the piled-up papers were scattered all over the place.

 

Hans shook his head as if he had expected it.

 

“I already knew this would happen.” ᴴᵃⁿˢ

 

“Audrey, are you hurt?” ᶜˡᵃᵘᵈᵉ

 

“…Huh.”

 

“Where are you looking?” ᴴᵃⁿˢ

 

“It’s really fine… ” ᴬᵘᵈʳᵉʸ

 

“Hurry up.”

 

What’s the benefit of this? All I did was accidentally bring Claude’s worries!

 

As if to appeal to her reasons, she could not hide the corners of her lips from slowly rising even with a frown.

 

‘Was he worried so much? Brother Claude is really!!‘ ᴬᵘᵈʳᵉʸ

 

How sweet are those eyes that look worriedly if I had any injuries. ᴬᵘᵈʳᵉʸ

 

The pain in her hip was nothing more than a dull pain.

 

“If you step on the paper, you might slip again, so you’d better avoid it first. Hans, you should come and help.” ᶜˡᵃᵘᵈᵉ

 

“Me?” ᴴᵃⁿˢ

 

“It’ll only take a moment.” ᶜˡᵃᵘᵈᵉ

 

“Anyway. I’ve known it since she came here wearing that outfit. It’s going to cause a bunch of accidents.” ᴴᵃⁿˢ

 

“…”

 

However, I couldn’t erase the feeling of causing trouble for nothing.

 

As soon as I was about to feel guilty, a familiar voice came warmly.

 

“Audrey, would you like to work on some paperwork over there? You couldn’t just disappear somewhere. And if you feel sick, tell me right away. Okay?” ᶜˡᵃᵘᵈᵉ

 

“…Yes.” ᴬᵘᵈʳᵉʸ

 

Look at his delicateness of taking on a very trivial task, but even giving meaning to it while pretending to be an important task.

 

‘Brother, there’s no way I could run away from paperwork.’

 

It was embarrassing to be treated like a three-year-old, but I laughed because he was so caring.

 

If Claude says so, then it’s like that.

 

The Duke’s documents are unique, so maybe they have real feet on them.

 

Audrey responded to the mission in a serious manner, forgetting to blink.

 

It was because of her desire to surpass Claude’s expectations.

 

‘That fool. Would the paper run away?’

 

How amazing it was Hans shook his head with a frown on his face.

 

Unfortunately, Audrey’s mistakes did not stop there.

 

“Audrey, would you mind shredding some of the expired documents?”

 

“Yes!”

 

Audrey answered boldly and moved with a heavy file folder.

 

Tap, tap, tap~

 

Watching the documents being shredded, Audrey somewhat looked proud.

 

Most of all, there was no risk in making mistakes, because it’s just a simple repetitive task.

 

When the last batch of paperwork was split in half. Hans approached with a serious expression.

 

At the same time, Audrey was aware.

 

“What else? Why?”

 

If Audrey looked away all day, he would be even more surprised and run, so his words couldn’t come out well.

 

Hans was nervous, but didn’t know the reason why he felt that way.

 

“Where did that document come from?”

 

“Huh? Miller told me to crush the old documents.”

 

“All of that?”

 

“Yes, why?”

 

Tap, tap, tap~

 

Audrey had nothing to take this time.

 

All she had to do was to shred it when she received it. Only a fool makes a mistake when doing that.

 

However, as Hans’ silence prolonged, weak anxiety began to dwell in his eyes, which were full of confidence earlier.

 

“What? Why aren’t you talking? You’re making people nervous. Why? What is it?”

 

“…”

 

Hans silently rummaged through the empty folders. Audrey watched what her friend was doing with trembling pupils.

 

What Hans finally found was a blue filing that he didn’t even know existed…

 

Audrey, who put a pile of documents on the top without realizing it, blinked in embarrassment.

 

“This was the promissory note. Did they tell you to shred this too?”

 

“Why’s that… I don’t think that they gave me that.”

 

“…”

 

My heart started beating anxiously.

 

“Did I make a mistake again?” ᴬᵘᵈʳᵉʸ

 

At that time, Claude, who sensed something strange happened when he saw the two hardened meerkats, immediately approached them.

 

“Why? Is there any problem?”

 

“…”

 

Audrey looked at the shredder without realizing it.

 

The documents that had only a single finger left disappeared into the box of the shredder with a cheerful sound.

 

“Thatㅡ that.”

 

“Huh? Where’s the promissory note? Has anyone seen the promissory note?”

 

“…!”

 

‘Oh, my!’

 

Audrey’s face turned white.

 

It was like admitting, ‘I’m the culprit who got rid of it’.

 

“I must have put it on the desk somewhere.”

 

As Audrey was about to confess her fault with shaky hands, a familiar warmth came over her.

 

“It’s okay, I’m here. I’ll take care of it.”

 

“… Brother?”

 

Claude, who whispered, stepped forward without stopping.

 

“Sorry. I must have misclassified it.”

 

“Huh, Claude?”

 

“I was so busy working in the morning that it seemed like it was mixed with the other documents.”

 

“Oh my! Claude, do you make mistakes too?”

 

“Of course, I’m also a human. I will take the responsibility for the promissory note and restore it to its original state.”

 

“If it’s you Claude, there’s no reason to worry! It’s not urgent, so please take your time.”

 

“…”

 

Contrary to Audrey’s concerns, the work went smoothly. This was all possible because it was Claude.

 

“It’s been delayed because of me, so I’ll take charge of the repair of the western bridge. Please hand over the documents by the end of the day.”

 

“No, there’s no need for that…”

 

“Don’t worry about work, go on a date with Lady Lanmour. You’ve been very busy lately.”

 

“Oh, ow! If so, thank you! Haha!”

 

It was perfect until the end.

 

Claude came back smiling as if it was nothing special.

 

But Audrey still couldn’t lift her head to face him.

 

“You must be surprised”

 

“Because of me, brother… I’m sorry.”

 

“What are you sorry for? There’s no one that’s perfect, especially from their first day.”

 

“…”

 

Audrey knows.

 

That it’s never a simple thing to restore any promissory note.

 

Besides, he was given a job that he didn’t even have to do, so he’ll be busier than anyone for a few days.

 

Even so, I was grateful and sorry for Claude, who couldn’t express anything because he was afraid that I’d be worried.

 

“It’s all right, it’s your first time. Don’t worry about the people around you for nothing, and then if you make mistakes without realizing it, you don’t have to blame yourself.”

 

“…”

 

“But I know you’re trying to do better. I’m sure you would.”

 

“Brother…”

 

“If it’s really hard, why don’t you stay in the library until you get used to it? There were no eyes watching you there, so you could work comfortably.”

 

Audrey nodded gently.

 

I didn’t want to cause any more trouble, and if there’s no one around watching, I’d be able to use magic freely.

 

There was nothing more useless than Audrey without magic.

 

 

✿

 

Thud~

 

As the door of the cabinet opened, all the bundles of documents popped out.

 

The documents floating in the air were arranged in pairs in an instant as if they were attached to a magnet.

 

“Why am I so useless?”

 

Meanwhile, I sat in one corner and sighed.

 

It was the first time in 20 years that I felt so useless.

 

Aren’t I the only one acting like a missing tooth among the cogs that spin steadily?

 

It was my first time, so I couldn’t make excuses for it.

 

It’s because Hans worked skillfully like a man who had done it for years.

 

“I can’t do anything… What the hell do I know how to do?”

 

As if to comfort myself, the documents floating in the air suddenly suck into the cabinet.

 

The papers classified according to the preservation deadline and document characteristics were neatly arranged as if they were measured with a ruler.

 

Finally, the iron cabinet door was closed, and silence came.

 

“If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have come…”

 

The time that other people spend breathlessly in search of their own work was like an eons for Audrey.

 

There’s also a limit to killing time boringly.

 

Audrey, who couldn’t stand the boredom, swept over the cabinet with the wind, made the yellow faded paper white, and fixed the broken objects stuck in the corner.

 

They were so small and trivial that someone wouldn’t even know she had changed it if they didn’t pay attention.

 

The highly anticipated first day of work seems to end in a documentary library where there was no one around.

 

When Audrey was in her prime of depression, an old wooden door creaked.

 

“How’s it going?”

 

“Oh, brother!”

 

“Huh? You’re already done?”

 

“That’s…”

 

Claude, who suddenly appeared, his eyes widened when he saw the clean documents.

 

He was worried about Audrey becoming depressed and stopped by for a while.

 

The organization of the archives in the library, which the six men had been hanging on for a whole week, and finally gave up, was finished. And in just a few hours.