~TMPM 02~

Chapter 02

Today again, my boss showed no mercy, and just as he said, instead of a very delicious dinner, I was rewarded with brutal overtime work.

Thanks to that, I only managed to get back to my sweet home—just ten minutes away—right before midnight.

Seriously, that vicious lunatic….

I got scammed by a job listing.

Exhausted in both body and mind from today’s excessive workload, I enjoyed the bathwater the maid had prepared and a warm stew, then quickly burrowed into my blankets.

The blanket rustled pleasantly and smelled as if bright sunlight had melted into it.

…The weather must have been nice today.

Realizing the day’s weather from inside my blanket—wasn’t that just too sad of a life…?

How was this any different from my previous life?

I felt a little… no, very bitter.

I had possessed the protagonist, yet the result was no different from being a salaried slave like in my past life.

“Haahhhm…”

A breath escaped my mouth—half sigh, half yawn.

Still, on the other hand, I felt really relieved.

When I had first arrived in the capital, I had been terrified that I might never have such ordinary days again.

Had there ever been a time in my life when I was as nervous as the day I stepped off the train at the capital station about a year ago?

It was exactly the same time when Roselita from the original novel came to the capital, and for the same reason—to meet the male lead, Cassian Artez.

Just like the protagonist Roselita in the original story, I thought all kinds of tragic events would be waiting for me, so I had nightmares and lived in fear.

But what was waiting for me wasn’t tragic events—it was a vicious boss who worked me to the bone every single day.

There was a reason I had been the only applicant for such a good position.

“Miss Saliche, if you finish just these documents today, you may go home.”

If he couldn’t even say things like that, maybe I wouldn’t hate him so much.

Finish just these documents and I can go home?

At first, I didn’t realize anything because of the generous salary and the recurring nightmares every night.

But humans are creatures of adaptation.

As I got used to being worked to the bone and became accustomed to reality, I started cursing at the amount of work that vicious Cassian gave me.

As if he refused to allow even a few seconds of me slacking off while being paid, he kept piling mountains of work on me.

“This should be simple for you, Miss Saliche.”

Even worse, whenever I desperately worked faster to finish early and make a little free time for myself, it was like some kind of step-by-step training program—

“Good work, Rose. Thanks to you, this was finished quickly. So please take care of this as well before you leave.”

As if he had been waiting for me to adapt, he would give me even more work.

And yet, I couldn’t quit.

Because the salary was too good.

Just the base salary of 500 gold felt like about 5 million won in my previous life, and even that alone was money a new employee without experience normally couldn’t earn.

Just like in my previous life.

But Cassian worked people to the bone.

And he paid them according to how much they were worked.

In the past year, my salary had even exceeded 1,500 gold at one point.

Of course! That month I barely had any days off.

On top of that, I didn’t have to pay for food or rent, so the money piled up intact, and it looked like I might finally be able to pay off my family’s debts, which had once seemed impossible.

Maybe in…

About 20 years?

That was still much less hopeless, wasn’t it? In my previous life, buying a house meant paying the bank for even longer.

And my parents are holding on too.

We at least managed to keep our territory, so if we had a good harvest, or a hot spring suddenly appeared, or if a magic stone deposit was discovered, things might go faster.

And if I kept earning money steadily like now, I could even start a business with my savings!

When that time came, I would definitely enjoy the privilege of being a protagonist who transmigrated!

I couldn’t keep being worked under Cassian for 20 years.

If that happened, I’d definitely die from overwork first.

Still, it’s really peaceful.

I continued thinking while fighting against my drooping eyelids.

Even though I didn’t have a smartphone to hold, maybe it was inevitable for a working adult to feel that going to bed early was a waste.

I let out small chuckles.

I was grateful that I could complain about such ordinary things, and that I could curse Cassian only because he was just my workplace boss.

After becoming Roselita, I had avoided getting involved with Cassian, but I didn’t actually dislike him.

After all, he was the male lead from a novel I had enjoyed reading, and he only showed a warm side to the female lead.

It wasn’t just because I would suffer—he would obviously suffer too, which was another reason I tried not to get involved with him.

Cassian Artez, the Empire’s Second Prince.

Handsome appearance, top-tier work ability, unmatched swordsmanship.

He truly had the specs worthy of a male lead.

And just like a male lead in a tragic novel, his life was just as difficult.

He lost his mother at birth, and on top of that, he didn’t even inherit the blue eyes that all direct members of the imperial family were supposed to have.

Naturally, the imperial family was thrown into chaos. Not having blue eyes was already a big problem, but the prince’s eyes were violet.

“He has been cursed by the gods!”

As soon as the Empress, mother of the First Prince, found out, she shouted in horror and condemned him.

Even the Emperor found it difficult to accept his son. Beautiful blond hair and violet eyes—neither of them were inherited from the Emperor.

Well, because of that, Cassian had a really hard life. When he was young, he nearly died from starvation, assassins, and poison. When he got older, he was only sent to dangerous battlefields.

In the original story, his involvement with Roselita was also one of those life-and-death moments.

Cassian, who had always survived alone, experienced kindness from another person for the first time and began living for Roselita, cherishing her.

That was the story.

Maybe because that Roselita ran away.

The current Cassian had escaped many threats, but instead had become a cold-blooded man without tears or mercy.

He became a workaholic and handled so many tasks that even the Emperor couldn’t easily interfere with him anymore.

And thanks to that, I, his subordinate, was also being worked to death. Haha.

After cursing Cassian thoroughly in my mind, I closed my eyes.

I should sleep quickly.

If I wanted to survive the overwork my boss would gift me again tomorrow.

Interview Memory

“I shouldn’t be the one saying this when I want to hire you, but why does a noble lady want to work?”

Cassian, who had spoken kindly throughout the interview, asked me gently near the end.

“And normally, you should have attended your debutante ball.”

He looked very sympathetic.

Sympathy—that was something I had welcomed at the time.

So I ended up answering too honestly.

“Because my family circumstances don’t allow us to worry about things like that.”

I should never have mistaken the slight change in his expression for pity.

Why didn’t I realize then that it was the joy of someone who had just found a subordinate who wouldn’t easily run away?

“…Don’t sign it…”

I woke up with a groan-like sleep mumble and let out a deep sigh.

It was a dream.

I need regression…

Not transmigration as the protagonist.

Even seeing my boss’s face in dreams—just seeing him 14 hours a day was already painful enough…

This must be a prophetic dream that today would be a tough and unlucky day.

That intuition became certainty when I looked at the clock on the desk.

I lost… 5 minutes of my morning sleep…

That enemy called Cassian Artez, who was only useful because of my salary.

I wanted to sleep a little more, but maybe because of the terrible dream, sleep had completely left me.

Holding my head, I started getting ready for work.

Today would be very busy from the start since the first schedule was an outside appointment. End-of-year busy season was the same in both my previous life and this one.

After drinking strong coffee prepared by the maid to wake myself up, I headed to the office and saw Cassian looking almost the same as when he had told me to leave first yesterday.

Did he even go home, that work demon?

Well, his clothes were different and his appearance perfectly neat, so he probably at least went to his room.

“Relaxed, Rose? You even have time to observe me this early in the morning.”

The slight concern I had felt disappeared instantly at his annoying voice.

“Of course not, Your Highness. Since we have an outside schedule today, I was just checking whether your shirt collar might have flipped over.”

“I’m not you, Rose. I wouldn’t make that mistake.”

Cassian said with a low laugh.

Normally, someone would at least touch their collar after hearing that, but he didn’t even glance up, as if he didn’t doubt himself at all, and simply organized the documents he had been reviewing.

Meanwhile, before he finished, I gathered all the materials needed for today’s outing.

If I was even a little slow, I would have to listen to his irritating sarcastic remarks.

Holding the bag with the important documents, I opened the office door wide at the exact moment he approached.

I wasn’t bragging—it was truly perfect timing.

But then—

“Hmm.”

Cassian Artez didn’t immediately walk out like usual. Instead, he stopped and stared at me.

“Is something wrong, Your Highness?”

He lifted the corner of his mouth mischievously and reached his hand toward my ear.

“Y-Your Highness?”

When I called out in surprise, the smile on his lips grew deeper.

He said “Shh,” as if calming a child, and his finger traced lightly from my earlobe up toward my jaw, tickling slightly.

“One strand of your hair is sticking out. Poor thing.”

He hooked the stray hair behind my ear as if teasing me.

“I’ll generously wait, so go fix your appearance neatly before coming out. Of course, there will be no deduction from your salary.”

“……”

“I can’t make such a perfect assistant sad over something like a stray hair.”

After saying that, Cassian even politely closed the office door with a click.

I stared blankly at the door containing that completely unnecessary consideration, then silently screamed inside.

Cassian Artez, you’re seriously so annoying!