Chapter 83: New Assistant

Chapter 83: New Assistant Dominic’s desire and stamina were far beyond Shiao Yi’s. Every time, Shiao Yi ended up giving in before Dominic was even close to finished. He always felt a little bad about it, but the truth was, their bodies were built differently—there wasn’t much he could do. As Dominic whispered softly into his ear, Shiao Yi slowly lost consciousness again that night. "Shiao, starting tomorrow, you’ll be my assistant. Shiao..." ... Shiao Yi was led by Dominic into his own office that was located in a wing of the royal palace. Dominic wore his knightly uniform, while Shiao Yi wore a high-collared shirt with a long vest of brown leather and a matching leather belt. His blue pants matched the shirt and he wore black boots. The outfit made him look endearing and his black hair and dark eyes gave him an air of mystery. As they walked down the corridor, the curious glances followed them. That was why Dominic didn’t want to bring him here. More than once, he’d considered quietly turning around and going home. Yet, leaving Shiao Yi alone in the house felt too risky. Dominic worried that he needed to make him stay within hi ssight, perhaps because his own selfishness. The Second Division’ quarters were in the west wing. The palace was divided: military in the west, administrative and policy in the east and the central areas housed the throne room and diplomatic halls. Beyond that was the royal family’s private palace. The west wing contained knights’ barracks around a courtyard, multiple training grounds, stables and riding arenas. The east wing held the palace gardens, a temple and the main headquarters of the Central Magic Association, including research labs and Mage Tower where the mages lived. Taken together, the palace was more like a self‐contained city. Once inside the knightly compound under his oversight, Dominic exhaled. He realized he’d been holding his breath, on edge and he couldn’t help but smile wryly. He shrugged off the feeling that every guard and officer eyed Shiao Yi as a target. Turning around, he saw Shiao Yi trailing behind, looking around with fascination. His steps were a bit faster than usual—Dominic chuckled inwardly, thinking Shiao Yi likely would have hurried to catch up. Tomorrow, the Second Division were due at work and the captain were already arriving. "You brought Shiao Yi too?" one of them greeted with a grin. They exchanged a bow with Dominic’s informal salute. Shiao Yi returned their smiles, looking quite at ease with the familiar faces. Just then, Louis peeked out from Dominic’s office. "Captain, you’ve brought Shiao Yi?" As Shiao Yi entered the room, Dominic spoke to Louis, "From today on, Shiao will become my assistance. Please process the paperwork." "Eh? Shiao Yi can read already?" Louis’s eyes widened in surprise. "Not just read—he can write too. His handwriting is much neater than yours." Dominic felt a small pride swelling in him. It wasn’t even his doing—the skill was all Shiao Yi’s. "Whoa—amazing! Shiao Yi, that’s incredible!" Louis was more astonished than Dominic expected, lifting Dominic’s mood even more. "So, it’ll help lighten your workload," Dominic said with a smirk. "You’ll even have more time to enjoy your favorite drills." "Calling it ’drills’ doesn’t change anything, Captain Dominic. That’s just your harsh way of talking. It’s still training. But now that it’s decided, I’ll make sure to whip those slackers back into shape after their lazy time off," Louis said, cracking his fingers with a grin. Dominic watched Louis’s eager expression and muttered to himself, Yeah, that’s totally just punishment, not training. Turning to explain Shiao Yi’s new support duties, Dominic looked behind him—but Shiao Yi wasn’t there. Scanning the room, he spotted him already at the desk, the same as he’d done back at the fortress. He quickly and efficiently organizing the piles of disorganized documents. Louis stood there with his mouth wide open while staring at the way Shiao Yi moved swiftly and confidently through the mess. "He’s more useful than three of you combined. Don’t you agree, Louis?" "Hah... I want a cleaning-up Shiao Yi of my own..." Louis sighed dreamily. "You’re not getting one." "C-Captain Dominic?! That’s actually terrifying when you say it like that!" Louis flinched and quickly slipped out of the office. ... After the meeting, Dominic ignored the calls from Quintus and Vundo and rushed back to the office, knowing Shiao Yi was probably still focused on tidying things up. Before heading to the meeting, Dominic had tried to kiss Shiao Yi, only to be scolded by him. "Think about the place we’re in!" Shiao Yi had turned bright red with embarrassment. However, since they had left the house together that morning, Dominic hadn’t gotten his usual goodbye kiss. He figured that one earlier was meant to make up for it. Naturally, now that he was returning to the office, he expected a welcome-home kiss instead. The boring, pointless meeting had worn him down, but now he felt lighthearted as he pushed open the door. For a second, Dominic thought he had walked into the wrong room. That’s how clean the office was. The messy piles of paperwork that used to dominate the desk were gone. Even the back shelf had been sorted and unnecessary documents were bundled with twine and neatly stacked on the floor. Shiao Yi turned around from the side table, where he had been flipping through some papers. "Welcome back, Dominic. Sit down in front of the desk." His voice was firm, not open for discussion. Dominic obediently sat down in the office chair. Immediately, Shiao Yi dropped a thick file of papers in front of him. "These are the unresolved ones. This pile is urgent—needs to be reviewed and signed today. This stack is due next week, but try to get it done early." "..." "What kind of management were you even doing? This is awful. I knew you weren’t good at paperwork, but come on. Now that I’m officially helping you, we’re going to do this properly." "Shiao, what about my welcome-home kiss?" "We don’t have time for that. Start working already!" "...Okay." Shiao Yi was strict. Dominic had a strong feeling that it wouldn’t be long before he was completely under his thumb.