Fresh out of school, Xietiwa wanted to find a job.

As a nationally renowned genius, Xietiwa felt she deserved a nice, comfortable position—one where she could effortlessly earn enough to squander for the rest of her life.

Seeing her lofty ambitions and limited abilities, her nagging old mom spoke up once again.

“The palace has started hiring recently. Depending on the luck of their assignment, applicants might even be chosen to serve at Her Majesty the Empress’s side.”

“You want me to become a government employee? But the royal salary has never been all that high. The local lords are much more willing to spend.”

“Just listen to your mother and you won’t go wrong. These days, no high salary is reliable. An iron rice bowl is the only real security!”

Unable to resist her mother’s relentless encouragement, Xietiwa eventually submitted her résumé to the head palace maid, who had somehow taken on recruitment as a side job.

Filled with boundless hopes for the future, Xietiwa entered the palace for the first time in her life.

“You’re that famous top student?”

Before the throne, the current Empress summoned her over and looked her up and down.

“Now that I’ve seen you in person, you’re nothing special. You look dull, and you even wear glasses. I’m not interested in you at all.”

The Empress let out a bored yawn.

If the woman hadn’t been sitting in that position where she ruled over life and death, Xietiwa would have beaten the crap out of her.

Just then!

“Mother, I’ve learned a new spell...”

Ignoring the guards’ attempts to stop her, the young Crown Princess—the only princess of the Dibiles Empire—hurried into the throne room.

The moment the little girl entered, Xietiwa happened to notice the woman sitting on the throne curl her lips upward in displeasure.

“Look, look! I can use lightning magic skillfully now.”

The princess bounced up and down while chanting rapidly. When her feet touched the ground again, lightning was already swirling around her right hand.

It wasn’t merely a matter of summoning it. Just as she’d said, the princess deftly rotated her wrist, controlling the lightning as it shifted into all kinds of shapes in her palm.

“That’s amazing!”

Xietiwa forgot where she was and spoke without waiting for permission;

the first thing she said of her own accord was a heartfelt compliment to that little girl.

The princess was only about ten years old;

to accomplish at that age what only a court mage could normally manage, Xietiwa thought, was proof of a first-rate genius.

“What’s so impressive about that?”

Just as Xietiwa stared in amazement and the little girl waited for praise, the Empress expressed her disdain in the most literal sense:

“What’s the big deal about controlling it with one hand?”

As if she meant to prove her daughter’s incompetence, the Empress—who had rarely ever taken anything seriously—raised both hands and began rotating them;

not long afterward, both of those raised palms summoned lightning at the same time.

Watching the Empress, Xietiwa felt that going all out like this was completely unnecessary.

For someone around thirty to use her own level of achievement as the standard for a child who wasn’t even considered a girl yet was utterly absurd.

“Get out!”

After finishing her demonstration, the Empress ordered her daughter, who stood below the steps:

“Come back and make all that noise after you can reach my level. At the very least.”

After being yelled at by her mother, the princess left with her head hanging.

She was only that age, after all. Even if she’d burst into tears in front of everyone, it wouldn’t have been strange.

Yet Xietiwa hadn’t seen the slightest trace of sadness in the princess’s expression before she left;

it was far too abnormal. The child in front of her sometimes behaved like a mature adult who had long since seen through the ways of the world.

“Finally, she’s gone...”

Once the sound of footsteps had faded away, the Empress made no attempt to hide her irritation, clicking her tongue several times;

then she turned her gaze toward Xietiwa.

“I’m in a bad mood, so this meeting ends here. I never intended to have you serve me, but of course, I can’t just send you back like this, either.”

After waiting until the very end, Xietiwa finally heard the decision of the ruler of the nation:

“Go look after that little brat. From today onward, she’s in your care.”

With her future and fate decided, Xietiwa felt a strange sense of disbelief;

not only was she not disappointed, she was actually a little happy. Even she couldn’t explain why.

The moment her future duties were confirmed, Xietiwa’s residence was decided as well.

For the sake of care and close protection, she moved next door to the princess’s room, as the rules required.

Once she’d finished moving in, Xietiwa went to the princess’s door, thinking she should get acquainted with her “new neighbor,” and gently knocked.

Knock, knock, knock, knock!

She knocked for a full minute, but there was still no response from inside.

“Huh? Did she go out?”

Taking emergency action into consideration, the head maid had given Xietiwa, as the princess’s personal attendant, a key that could open the door.

The head maid had given her a special warning:

“Don’t try to enter the princess’s room unless it’s absolutely necessary!”

Even now, Xietiwa still remembered those words. Just a moment ago, however, she’d inserted the key into the lock without the slightest hesitation.

Click—the door opened!