It had been two days since I unknowingly held a one-person concert in the King's office.



And yet—



The damage remained.



Because, unfortunately, His Majesty refused to let me live it down.



It started innocently enough.



I walked into the royal study, preparing tea as usual, when the King casually spoke.



"Tell me, Thalia."



I glanced up. "Yes, Your Majesty?"



He took a slow sip of tea, his golden eyes unreadable.



"...Are you the problem?"



I froze.



My soul left my body.



A teacup nearly slipped from my hand.



"...What?" I croaked.



His lips twitched.



"You sang about it quite passionately the other day."



I wanted to perish.



The teasing didn't stop there.

1. During meetings, the King would hum the song under his breath.

2. During lunch, I caught noblemen whispering about the 'mysterious maid with a lovely voice.'

3. And worst of all? The palace BARD had heard about it.



Because by the end of the week—



The song had become trendy.



Servants hummed it in the hallways.

Nobles referenced it in passing conversation.

Even the royal knights were using it as a training chant.



"Who started this?!" I demanded.



Mara, my fellow maid, shrugged innocently.



"Oh, I don't know," she said, grinning. "But apparently, His Majesty really enjoys it."



I internally screamed.



As if dealing with my sudden musical fame wasn't bad enough—



A new problem arrived.



And it came in the form of a letter.



I was cleaning up the King's study when I noticed a neatly folded envelope addressed to me.



Curious, I opened it.



Then, as I read the contents, my stomach dropped.



"To the King's favored maid, Thalia Windrose,

Consider this a warning.

Your presence near His Majesty is undesirable. It would be wise for you to step back before you invite greater consequences upon yourself.

Some places are not meant for people like you."



I stared.



Then, because I was Thalia, I immediately did the most logical thing.



I stormed toward the royal study, fully prepared to snitch.



But—



The King wasn't there.



I hesitated at the doorway.



The royal study was empty, save for the massive pile of documents stacked across the desk.



I frowned.



"...Does he actually read all of this?"



Curious, I walked over and picked up a random document.



Then, as I tried to read it—



I immediately regretted my life choices.



The entire thing was written in:

1. Absurdly formal legal jargon.

2. Sentences so long I lost my place halfway through.

3. Unnecessary wording that made my brain melt.



I blinked rapidly.



"...What the hell does this even mean?"



Then, an idea hit me.



"If I don't understand it... maybe I should rewrite it."



I grabbed a blank piece of parchment, dipped a quill in ink, and started rewriting the first page.



1. I simplified the terms.

2. I condensed the sentences.

3. I made sure everything was still correct.



And after twenty minutes—



I had successfully rewritten a royal document into something a normal person could actually read.



Then, suddenly—



A system notification appeared.



[New Skill Unlocked: Administrative Genius (Lv.1)]

You can now organize, simplify, and optimize documents with minimal effort. Congratulations! You are now a human Excel sheet!



I stared.



"...Oh no."



I had just finished rewriting another page when I felt it—



That heavy presence behind me.



A familiar, powerful aura.



I slowly turned around.



And standing in the doorway—



Was the King.



His golden eyes swept the room.



Then, without saying a word, he strode forward and picked up one of the rewritten pages.



I held my breath.



He scanned the document carefully.



Then—



"...Who did this?"



I swallowed.



"...Me?"



He looked at me.



Back at the document.



Then back at me.



Then, in an uncharacteristically soft tone—



"...Impressive."



I blinked rapidly.



"...Huh?"



His lips twitched.



"You simplified an entire trade agreement into one page," he mused. "I have ministers who can't even manage that."



I stared.



"...Is that a compliment?"



He placed the paper down and folded his arms.



"Yes," he said smoothly. "And also a realization."



I suddenly felt very, very nervous.



"...Realization?"



The King's golden eyes gleamed.



"You are clearly underutilized."



I took a step back.



"...Under—?"



His lips curled into a knowing smirk.



"I should add more to your workload."



~~~



An hour later—



I was dramatically collapsed on the floor.



"THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANTED!" I wailed.



Mara, watching me suffer, tried not to laugh.



"You did rewrite the documents, though."



"I WAS JUST TRYING TO HELP!"



And now?



I was not just the King's tea maid.



I was also his unofficial document manager.



...And I still hadn't even told him about the threatening letter.



Because apparently, I was now too busy being a secretary.



This was not the life I signed up for.



And somehow—



I had the sinking feeling that the King was enjoying this far too much.