Grace Winslow’s words were far from polite, and many people’s expressions immediately turned ugly.

The person who had first provoked Grace, her anger finally subsiding, came to her senses. "What did you say? You’re just here for an internship and leaving in twenty days? You haven’t actually joined the Ministry of Diplomacy as our colleague?"

"Who told you that?" Grace Winslow narrowed her eyes.

’Someone’s trying to sabotage me.’

’But not many people knew I was temporarily assigned to an internship at the Ministry of Diplomacy during my break. At school, only Claire Dunn knew, and my good friend Joanne Chase. Maybe someone overheard a few words, misunderstood, and spread the rumor that I’d officially joined the Ministry.’

’So who exactly is targeting me?’

"Never mind who told me. If you’re not trying to take our spot for this year’s promotion, then why would I have any reason to target you? Am I crazy?" Maeve Sawyer said before turning and heading back to her desk.

The others quickly dispersed as well.

Grace Winslow raised an eyebrow.

’So, it looks like someone deliberately spread a rumor to make everyone think I’m here to compete for the promotion. The goal was to get them all to target me, ostracize me, and force me out of the Ministry of Diplomacy.’

’But who would be so petty, and who holds such a grudge against me?’

Grace Winslow wasn’t worried. ’The culprit will show their true colors sooner or later.’

’All I need to do now is lie low.’

Before long, the Minister arrived for work.

He paused in surprise when he saw Grace Winslow sitting by his office door, then turned to his secretary. "What’s going on?"

"Well, Minister, I’m not sure. I’ll go ask right away."

Secretary Ford went to ask around. Unfortunately, while everyone’s opinion of Grace had improved after hearing her explanation and they were no longer targeting her, no one would admit to intentionally leaving her without a place to work. They certainly wouldn’t confess that their actions had forced her to move her desk right outside the Minister’s office.

Instead, they embellished their stories, painting Grace Winslow as an unreasonable person who threw her weight around because she had powerful connections.

After making his inquiries, Secretary Ford returned with a poor impression of Grace. "Minister, that’s what they all say. This Grace Winslow is just a freshman, and her foreign language skills don’t seem to be up to par. Maybe we should just send her back now."

Leon Rhys just smiled. "Ford, is this how I’ve taught you to handle things?"

"You only asked the people in the office. Why didn’t you ask our new colleague what she’s been through?"

"Go on. Ask Grace Winslow to come in. Ask her what happened today. You might get a different side of the story."

Although Samuel Ford didn’t think he’d done anything wrong, he dutifully went out and called Grace Winslow in.

Leon Rhys smiled warmly at Grace Winslow. "Grace Winslow, how are you finding your first day of work?"

"It’s fine," Grace Winslow said after a moment’s thought. "The office is just a bit small, so there isn’t enough room for all the desks. I had to set up by your door, Minister. I hope it won’t disturb you."

"Hahaha, not at all. It’s no bother whatsoever," Leon Rhys laughed. "And how are you getting along with your colleagues?"

"Oh, very well," Grace Winslow answered thoughtfully. "They can’t win an argument against me, and if it came to a fight, they probably couldn’t win that either. So I don’t think I’ll be bullied. Besides, under your brilliant leadership, Minister, I’m sure my colleagues won’t give me a hard time. I think we’ll get along great."

Samuel Ford: "..."

He had a feeling Grace Winslow’s words were barbed with sarcasm, that she was hinting at something.

But he had no proof.

Leon Rhys was quite satisfied. He waved his hand, dismissing Grace to continue her work.

After she left, he asked Samuel Ford, "Well?"

"Minister, I don’t get it. You didn’t ask her why she’s working right outside our door, and she was clearly being sarcastic just now. I don’t think her character is sound. She doesn’t seem suitable for the Ministry of Diplomacy."

"Ah, you. Do you know why you’re still just my secretary? With a mind like yours, if I sent you out on a diplomatic mission, you’d be sold down the river and wouldn’t even know how it happened."

"Grace Winslow didn’t lodge a single complaint just now, yet she managed to explain the entire situation perfectly."

"It’s obvious those wily old hands out there tried to bully the newcomer with their seniority, only to fail and be left with a grievance they couldn’t even voice."

"As for Grace Winslow’s desk, she’s only interning for a short period. Let her sit wherever she likes. Don’t worry about it."

"Oh, right. Take some foreign-language documents over to her and ask her to translate them," Leon Rhys said, shaking his head with a smile and wagging a finger playfully at Samuel Ford.

Samuel Ford frowned. He didn’t quite understand Leon Rhys’s intentions, but he obediently went to do as he was told.

A moment later, a thick stack of documents landed on Grace Winslow’s desk. "The Minister wants you to translate these. Bring them to him when you’re finished."

Grace Winslow nodded. She was a bit surprised but didn’t think much of it.

She took the documents and flipped them open. Her head swam.

She had only been studying the foreign language for six months. While she had been working incredibly hard, the scope of what was taught at school was limited, and she hadn’t yet had enough time to build up her knowledge through self-study.

After all, learning something like this required a great deal of time and accumulation.

The foreign documents were highly technical. She recognized many of the words but had no idea what they actually meant.

She had no idea how long it would take her to translate even one of these documents.

And a thick stack was sitting on her desk.

’I’ll probably have to spend my entire twenty-day internship just translating these documents.’

Grace Winslow felt a headache coming on. However, the Ministry of Diplomacy had its own resource library, which was well-stocked with a comprehensive collection of foreign language books.

She flipped through the documents, confirmed the content was related to physics, and got up to borrow some reference materials.

A few colleagues wandered over to look at the papers on her desk, their faces breaking into gloating smiles.

"Secretary Ford is clearly trying to give her a hard time. Looks like she won’t be staying long after all. She’ll probably be gone soon. That material is tough—I don’t even recognize most of the words. She’s just a freshman; there’s no way she can translate that."

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief at that and couldn’t help but start laughing.

Now that Grace Winslow was no longer a threat, their animosity toward her dissipated considerably.

Grace Winslow returned with several reference books and immediately buried her head in her work, starting the translation.

She learned as she translated. This method was much better for retention than simple rote memorization.

Grace Winslow was instantly absorbed in her work. By the time lunch came around and everyone else had gone to the cafeteria, she hadn’t even noticed.

It was Samuel Ford who, upon coming out of the office, noticed she was still working. He walked over and tapped on her desk to remind her it was time to eat.

Grace Winslow snapped out of her concentration and smiled at Samuel Ford. "Thank you, Secretary Ford. Has the Minister eaten yet?"

"The Minister has an important guest to meet with shortly. He’ll be dining with them, so you don’t need to concern yourself," Samuel Ford said with a frown. He thought Grace Winslow was deliberately trying to suck up to Leon Rhys, which only soured his opinion of her.

’He couldn’t stand women who didn’t put in the effort and were always looking for shortcuts.’