SFO CH 9

The Young Man May Be at a Turning Point

When I arrived at work, I was called by the Prime Minister’s aide. I took the tea leaves I had prepared as a thank-you for the sweets he had brought the other day and headed for the aide’s office.

The aide can usually be found in our department, but he has his own office. The work of the department directly under the Prime Minister is to oversee other departments and handle matters that cannot be sent to any other department, and although it may be hard to say, it basically serves as a “jack-of-all-trades” of sorts, so close coordination is necessary. One day, he simply brought a desk into our department, saying that it was a waste of time for his subordinates to go back and forth between this room and his office, and he has been working in our department ever since.

He may be a man who seems to be more at ease when able to enjoy time for himself, but he is also kind.

Aide Christopher Orkney is regarded as a man with an iron mask, but his good looks and the fact that he is the youngest aide ever made him extremely popular with the daughters and sons of many members of the nobility. And despite this, he is nearly 35 years old and hasn’t married anyone yet. How come?

I asked him once about this over drinks. Then I learned that he is in a de facto marriage with the butler he grew up with! He also told me that, because of his low status, the butler doesn’t dare to formally register their marriage, and so both of them purposely let it pass to the outside world as being single by choice.

On one occasion, when I was depressed because of the nature of my married life, the aide once took me out for a drink. I ended up being so drunk that I tearfully told him everything that had been weighing on my mind, and he has been very concerned about me ever since. Since I couldn’t stop crying at the bar, he told me how he and his butler first met. He told me that it was actually the butler who sought him out. I was so surprised that I nearly spurted out my drink! According to him, his butler is usually mild-mannered when it comes to housework, but when the two of them are alone, he becomes extremely manly. My my, that sounds so lewd!

I could never do that myself because I’m not that… masculine. But that kind of proactiveness might actually suit my husband… Not that I mean anything by that, of course.

When I saw him worrying about how he would like to think about having children once he settles down at work a little more, but at the same time he’s also worried about being too old for that, I found myself forgetting about my own tears and energetically encouraging him to give his best and never give up.

A little while later, I found out that the aide was pregnant. But since he was legally single, he secretly told our department that was in a de facto marriage and pregnant, and we all covered for him through the morning sickness period, and when her belly started to grow, all of the staff worked hard inside the office to get through the day.

Once the baby was born, she was looked after and loved by both the butler’s and the aide’s parents and the staff at their residence. The aide returned to work one month after giving birth. This was just two years ago, and I think the unity of our department has grown tremendously since then.

Even now, on her birthdays, we all get invited to the aide’s house to celebrate the baby girl named Aria. She’s a really, really cute, healthy baby girl, and when she first started toddling around, she would follow all of us around non-stop, much to the aide’s dismay.

Looking at little Aria, I wonder if I will ever have a child of my own. Up until now, there was a high possibility that I would never have children, and I didn’t really think about it as something I would eventually care about.

But the way I felt yesterday, oh, if we can kiss like that, does that mean we can actually… take it further at night…? I didn’t actually check his lower body, but… I wonder if he actually managed to get some kind of reaction from me…? If he was unresponsive after kissing me like that, I’d have to say he’s too experienced even though he’s younger than me.

Worst case scenario, even if I happen to feel no pleasure from being taken from behind by him, so long as he is able to finish, we should be able to conceive a baby. I was prepared for that when I agreed to marry him, or rather, when he became taller than me. Back when I used to date the slender Noah, I started training my muscles whenever I could to make sure he wouldn’t be stolen from me by someone larger than me, but by the time my then soon-to-be husband turned 15, he had passed me in height and his body was about 1.5 times thicker than mine, so I gave up on that. I lost. Do whatever you want.

And if I managed to get pregnant, would I be able bear the burden of having a baby inside me…? I watched the aide’s gestation period up close, and it looked pretty tough. When he started having his morning sickness, he couldn’t even eat solid food, so he had to take in all kinds of nutritional supplements. And even then, he would throw them up so easily that he wouldn’t get any nutrition at all. There were many days when he couldn’t even get up from the bed and had to take a day off. Once he entered the stable trimester, his belly became so heavy that he couldn’t sit for long periods of time, and had to go through his paperwork while lying on the couch. Would I be able to do that?

As those thoughts were swirling around my head, I arrived at the aide’s room. I knocked and waited for permission to enter.

“Sir, it’s Finn Graphite.”

“Oh, Finn. Please come in.”

“Excuse me.”

The aide welcomed me with a smile and urged me to sit on the sofa.

“You see, the Prime Minister is retiring.”

“Huh?”

“He has appointed me as his successor. So, since one of the aide’s seats will soon be vacant, I would like to nominate you for that position.”

“E-eeeh?!”

At 80 years old, the Prime Minister has had a long life—which is a rare occurrence in this country— but he is a resilient, sharp-eyed, wise old man who is reputed to be a man not even the King himself would dare raise his own head over his. Recently, he has been complaining about not being able to move as much as before, so perhaps he is returning to his estate to enjoy his remaining years watching his newborn great-grandchildren grow up.

There are two aides to the Prime Minister, each with four to six subordinates, who are in charge of the general affairs mentioned earlier and of handling matters that cannot be handled anywhere else.

Since they are essentially a guerrilla force under the direct control of the Prime Minister, they handle a wide variety of matters, which requires knowledge and flexibility.

There are currently six members in this aide’s department, including myself, and normally all six of us plus the aide himself work side by side at our desks.

Many civil servants are also part of the nobility, so they tend to quit at a certain age to take over as head of their families, or when they get married. It is difficult to quit if you are waiting for a position such as Prime Minister’s Aide or Foreign Minister, but it is rare to see someone over 40 still working as a civil servant.

I have only been assigned to this department for six years, but I am currently the manager. The aide is the head of the department, the senior count’s second son (42) is the section chief, and below him is me (26). When I first joined the company, there were about four seniors between me and the section chief, but as usual, they quit due to marriage, childbirth, or taking over the position of head of the family. Incidentally, since many families give extensive education only to the eldest son of the successor, there are few second and third sons who can pass the examination for promotion to the civil service. Though many of them have enough spirit and perseverance to serve as Knights of the Order.

Under me are a junior in his fifth year of assignment, a junior in his third year, and a newcomer from the accounting section, all of whom are excellent and well learned because they were personally scouted by the aide himself.

“But what about the section chief…?

“I asked him about it, but he turned me down, saying he didn’t want to be any busier than he already was. He also said you would be a good choice, you know?”

The aide laughed.

The section chief just married his beautiful wife—who is 15 years younger than him— last year and laments daily about his work, which requires a lot of overtime. It seems his wife is a famous dancer, and he screams every day to be allowed to go home early because, being a dual income couple, he doesn’t need that much money. Dancing is a job that attracts a lot of attention, and he seems to be afraid that his wife might be stolen away by a younger customer. From what I saw at their wedding, he seems to be quite the dominant husband.

“However, if you do take over as aide, you should expect to be so busy that you won’t be able to go home for about six months. Even once that’s over, while your salary will have gone up, but the overtime will also increase dramatically, so if you’re thinking about things like having children, you should talk it over with your husband before making a decision.”

“Yes…that’s right.”

“I know I startled you by saying this out of the blue. For now, you should go home and think it over.”

“Yes…”

“By the way, do you think you can talk it over with your husband?”

The aide peered into me, looking concerned. He is a really good boss.

“Oh, don’t worry about that, we’ve actually managed to have a little conversation lately!”

“Oh, I see! Good, I was worried about you.”

“I’m sorry for making you worry… I’ll talk to my husband when I get home!”

When I replied, the aide started talking thoughtfully.

“Also, this is my advice as an older friend…

You’re still young, so I don’t think you need to concern yourself too much about it at this time. Of course I’d be happy if you accepted the position, but I am sure that the other aide can come up with a suitable candidate, and you too can also bring in a senior from another department. There are certain things such as the right age and timing for having a child, so… please talk it over with your husband. I can wait until around the end of the month to get your answer.”

Moved by how much of a considerate, capable boss the aide is, I thanked him politely, handed him the tea leaves I had brought for him, and returned to my desk.

To be honest, this talk was too big for me to absorb it all. If I am appointed as an aide, I will be the youngest aide to the Prime Minister along with Mr. Orkney himself. I wonder if I can actually fill in those shoes… And I will also be the one at the head of our current department. Will I be able to do it… like he does it now?

And about children… I’ve been ignoring the issue up until now, but I’ll have to make a decision about that as well. I guess I’ll have to find out if my husband wants to have a baby with me.

After finishing work that day, my footsteps felt a little heavier than usual as I headed home.