Celebrity Lady - Chapter 131

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Celebrity Lady
Chapter 131
* * *
The next morning.
To start the day with a clean morning coffee, I headed to the dining room on the second floor.
Victor was there.
“Cough, cough!”
He was eating breakfast when I appeared suddenly, and he startled so badly he began pounding his chest as if he were choking.
“What’s wrong? Did you see a ghost?”
I filled a water glass and handed it to him, and Victor gulped it down greedily.
“Why are you being so cautious? You gave me the monthly rent yesterday without a second thought. Just relax, relax.”
“I’m not being cautious.”
“Where are you off to again?”
I asked as I sat down across from him, who was already dressed to go out early in the morning.
“I have to go to work.”
“Again? Are you going to skulk around the Mercenary Guild again looking for jobs?”
“Where else am I supposed to work? All I know how to do is use my strength.”
“You already paid the rent. Your body hasn’t fully healed yet, so just lie down quietly.”
“Listen, a man has his pride! I made big promises and brought you here myself—you’re not expecting me to just freeload, are you?”
Victor bit off a sausage from his fork with raw intensity, then added through a mouthful of food.
“Just wait. I’m going to land a proper job at the guild today, come back, handle all the living expenses myself, and I’ll even hire another hundred servants for you or something!”
“Sigh.”
That stubbornness is something else. I pressed my temples firmly and spoke.
“Do you realize how much of a burden it is for that guild to have you working there?”
“What? Why would it be a burden?”
“Obviously it’s a burden. Think about it. Those eyes of yours shine bright gold, and anyone can see that you’re screaming ‘I’m from the House of Diolus, a great noble family.'”
I pointed to Victor’s eyes as I continued.
“How can the guild comfortably assign work to you when you’re obviously a young nobleman from a great house?”
“Why couldn’t they? I told you I’m fine. Yesterday—”
“Yeah, yesterday. You got hired for a three-hour escort mission to some baron’s son’s outing and walked away with three million Marks, didn’t you?”
I swallowed a sigh.
“Which guild in the world pays that much for such a job? Three million Marks per day—that’s practically assassin rates. And if something goes wrong because they dared give a task like that to a young nobleman, what then?”
……
“They can’t bring themselves to give you rough work, but they can’t turn you away either, and when you whine about needing money, what are they supposed to do—hand you pocket change?”
As I counted off on my fingers, Victor’s expression went blank.
“I don’t even need to see it to know exactly what happened. The guild master took on unprofitable work out of deference to you.”
“……Really?”
“Good heavens. You’ve only ever worked in the Imperial House since you were young—how can you be so clueless about how the world actually works?”
Watching Victor sink into shock and contemplation, I spoke quickly.
“Let’s get you home once your body’s recovered. We can’t leave the Knight Order understaffed for too long anyway.”
“Thanks for telling me. I’ll let the guild know not to hold back and to use me however they need to.”
“Ugh!”
That stubborn mule!
In fact, what worried me more than the guild’s situation was Victor’s physical condition.
Right now, without a Spirit…….
“Are you determined to keep being stubborn?”
“Shouldn’t I become independent eventually anyway? This is a good opportunity to learn about how the world really works like you said, right? Don’t worry. I’m going to take full responsibility for you and make sure you’re fed.”
“Who’s supposed to be taking care of whom…….”
Victor finished his meal with practiced efficiency and got to his feet.
‘Wow, I have to admit—his bullheaded stubbornness is impressive.’
At this rate, I’m relieved he won’t have to starve his wife and kids later.
Coming back from the dead and still getting up four days later to earn money because of his sense of responsibility—that takes guts.
“Wait a second.”
Realizing I couldn’t dissuade Victor from his stubbornness at this point, I grabbed his arm.
“Standby Escort Duty. Starting salary is 84 million Marks per year. Meals provided separately, nine to six shift.”
How could I possibly stand by and watch this blood relative’s pathetic struggling any longer?
“You’ll be dealing with nobles. You wait on standby, and if any unexpected disturbances arise, you step in to mediate physically. If there’s any heavy lifting to be done, you help with that too.”
“Huh?”
Victor’s eyes went wide.
“There’s a job like that?”
“Yeah. I know the place well. Not bad, right? Should I write you a recommendation letter?”
“Not bad? Isn’t that basically getting paid to do nothing? Where is it?”
I gave Victor a bright smile as he lit up, his eyes shining.
* * *
His red hair swept back neatly.
Broad shoulders and impressive height that worked perfectly with a sharp black suit.
The man looked like a proper security guard, and I personally pinned a name badge to his chest.
[Victor Diolus]
Clap, clap, clap.
“Perfect. Isn’t he remarkably handsome? You’d never guess which family he comes from.”
“Absolutely.”
When I marveled at it, Isolde, who had been working as manager of the Main Branch since last month, smiled warmly in agreement.
“What… what is all this…….”
Victor, still apparently not grasping the situation, murmured vacantly.
“What do you mean, ‘what’? This generous Madam Ruby has taken pity on a poor runaway youth and provided employment out of the goodness of her heart.”
“So why exactly do you need me here!”
Leuton, Main Branch.
Victor looked baffled as he surveyed the lavishly appointed second-floor Reception Hall, which was just as spacious and luxurious as the shop floor itself.
“Stubborn and irritating as you are, you’re still blood of my blood. How could I just let you wander out and suffer? If you absolutely must work, then at least stay here and do some honest security work.”
“But a luxury boutique for nobles—what kind of security do you need……!”
Victor trailed off mid-sentence.
His gaze had landed on the Employment Contract and the substantial stack of bills piled on the table in the Reception Hall.
I asked with a smile.
“You don’t seem very interested? Well, then we can’t help it. Manager, let’s repost the security position and—”
“Wait!”
Victor shuffled nervously over to the table and began flipping through the contract.
“Now that I think about it, well, if we’re hiring someone anyway, it might as well be someone I know.”
“Heh.”
“Ahem.”
“It’s probably going to be way harder than you think. You’ll need to forget that you’re a nobleman and just work.”
I added that to scare Victor a little.
“You’ll be on your feet the whole shift standing by. Be absolutely courteous to every customer. Welcome them in, bid them goodbye, offer respectful greetings. You really think you can do that?”
“Why couldn’t I?”
“You’re full of spirit. This is Isolde, the manager—she’s a Baroness. From today on, she’s your supervisor, so listen to what she says. If you don’t know something, ask. If she tells you to do something, do it.”
The stern, middle-aged Baroness Isolde adjusted her glasses, her eyes gleaming.
“If you find you can’t manage, you’re welcome to say so anytime. It would be my pleasure to have you return quietly to the Knight Order.”
“What kind of person do you think I am? I’m planting my flag right here!”
“Victor.”
Baroness Isolde interjected then.
“Our staff places great importance on courtesy and maintaining order in the shop. When addressing Madam Ruby, the title ‘Madame Representative’ is absolutely mandatory. You must use formal speech at all times.”
Victor blinked.
I barely managed to hold back my laugh.
“Go ahead, try it. Madame Representative.”
“Y-yes?”
“Ma-dame. Rep-re-sen-ta-tive.”
Victor looked back and forth between the unyielding Baroness Isolde and me before finally speaking in a small voice.
“……Yes, Madame Representative.”
“Oh, this is driving me crazy.”
Victor shot me a look of complaint as I clutched my stomach and laughed, then turned his attention to his paycheck and contract, pouting.
Since he had to call his younger sister “Madame Representative,” he seemed determined to manage his new job bowl at least.
“Excuse me, Madame Representative? Isn’t this salary seven hundred thousand Marks a month? There are six bundles of bills here. Are you sure a successful representative like yourself is calculating this correctly?”
Victor pointed to six bundles of 1,000,000 Mark Banknotes and scoffed like he’d caught me in a mistake.
“That’s your monthly rent.”
“……?”
“You lived for free at Father’s house—did you think you’d live for free at mine too?”
“W-what?”
“Since you answered my questions politely, I’m waiving the first night’s lodging fee. I’d prefer if you’d go back to Father’s place quietly, but if you don’t want that, starting today you’re getting room and board at my place for a monthly rent.”
“Wow.”
“The three million Marks you brought yesterday is your security deposit, and your monthly rent is one million Marks.”
I patted Victor’s shoulder twice with a smile.
“With room, board, and servants attending to you, one million Marks monthly rent is cheap, cheap.”
“This heartless, bloodless—”
“Victor.”
“Ma’am Representative, you mean.”
I laughed as Victor immediately caught himself when Baroness Isolde was about to correct him.
“Haha, don’t be upset with me. I just have a rule about keeping things clear-cut.”
“You really have no compassion. I was going to earn money and give it all to you anyway…….”
“Victor?”
“Oh, just talking to myself. Just thinking out loud.”
Victor grumbled under his breath in response to the manager’s repeated corrections.
I stepped closer to him and straightened his slightly crooked tie as I spoke.
“You didn’t forget what I said this morning, right?”
“No, Madame Representative.”
“Let’s work on taming that temper a bit. Nothing serious will probably happen, but if you cause a commotion in the shop, you’ll really catch it.”
“I understand.”
Victor pouted as he answered, then glanced at Baroness Isolde behind me before adding.
“……ma’am.”
“Go ahead and clock out on time—I’ll pick you up. Let’s grab dinner outside and head back. There are some things we need to talk about.”
Next month, Nathan is going to cause problems, and everything that’s been lying dormant beneath the surface is going to blow wide open. Even the secrets of our household demons…….
Before that happens, I need to prepare Victor in advance so that he doesn’t get blindsided by the truth and go haywire without any brakes.
“What do you need to talk about? Business matters?”
Victor raised an eyebrow with a teasing expression.
“Really? A first-day rookie guard talking about business with the Madame Representative? How bold.”
“More like matters of the romantic sort of business, you know~?”
“What?”
Victor’s eyes darted around evasively, and he gave his shoulder a nervous shrug.
‘What are you talking about now.’
I finished tidying his appearance and gave his shoulder an encouraging pat.
“Anyway, see you later, Victor. Work hard.”
“Yes yes, Madame Representative~!”
* * *
Victor Diolus’s first day on the job.
Manager Baroness Isolde was so delighted with the new employee that she was nearly moved to tears.
‘A remarkable talent……!’
I had braced myself for a high-minded young nobleman from a distinguished house to be arrogant with customers and coworkers alike, but that wasn’t the case at all.
Perhaps it was because he’d been worked hard in the hierarchy-obsessed Imperial military?
He was unfailingly polite and respectful to his colleagues, asked no questions about his assignments, and completed every task without complaint.
‘And he’s strong!’
When it came time to replace the window display after lunch, the female staff were ecstatic watching him casually lift and carry the mannequins with ease.
And that was far from all.
‘There’s absolutely no doubt—the genes of House Diolus produce only handsome men!’
The young noblewoman customers who visited today were all smitten with Victor.
He simply stood motionless in one corner of the shop with his hands clasped behind his back, like a living mannequin…….
But without even realizing it, he was perfectly fulfilling his role as eye candy for the customers!
“My brother can have quite the temper, so he might not always listen. I’m sorry you’ll have to put up with him.”
Baroness Isolde was puzzled about why the Madame Representative had worried about such a thing. Where could you even find another employee this perfect…….
And Victor Diolus, that exemplary employee,
‘A dream… dream job……!’
Maintained a blank expression throughout, but inwardly was thoroughly satisfied.
Could there be a job more cushy than this in the world?
His legs were a bit sore from standing around doing nothing all day…….
But compared to the days when he’d been rolling around in the mud of the training grounds with other soldiers every single day, this was heaven!
‘A job where I just get paid to stand around and do nothing—and seven hundred thousand Marks a month? The employee benefits are out of this world, seriously!’
The old worry about his pride being hurt by having to call his younger sister “Madame Representative” had long since blown away.
‘Madame Ruby Representative! My loyalty, my loyalty!’
This place was nothing short of paradise compared to his old boss, who paid less while working him to the bone every day.
Ding.
Just then, as closing time drew near, the last customer of the day entered the shop.
“Welcome to !”
Victor offered his greeting smoothly now.
“I don’t know about this place…….”
“What do you mean, lady? You can’t wait outside in the cold anyway. Come on in.”
“Yeah, hurry up. It’s the day the new catalog comes out, so let’s look at it together.”
The last customers were a group of noblewomen of Rubetria’s age, dressed in their finest.
Three young ladies entered the shop.
And when Victor saw the final face that followed them in, he froze.
“Oh, O-older brother?”
Lilia…….
The one person he hadn’t seen even once throughout all the commotion these past few days.
No, the one he had deliberately avoided seeing to protect his job.
It was Lilia.
In that instant, Victor’s mind went completely white.
At the same time, the words from Rubetria’s diary that he had tried so hard to erase from his memory suddenly became vivid and clear before his eyes.
[Victor older brother said I was too fat, like a bear, and pathetic. But he called Lilia adorable, like a little songbird.
It’s not wrong, but it’s too much. He used to say my weight was fine and I was cute enough. He’s a liar.]
But what hurt most was this:
[Older brothers like younger sisters with lots of charm and aegyo. Victor older brother is the same, apparently. But when it comes to my charm—fat, ugly as I am—he said he couldn’t even imagine it.…
Yesterday Victor older brother came home after a long time, but when I saw pretty Lilia linking arms with him, I felt upset for some reason and just went to my room and went to bed.]
The fact that Victor had never actually said or done any of those things, yet his words and actions had become daggers embedded deep in Rubetria’s heart anyway.
“Older brother…….”
Before he knew it, she had come right up in front of him, tilting her head with an innocent expression.
Yes, because of this angel-faced liar.
“Sigh.”
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Victor clutched at his chest as his heart began pounding frantically, as if it might burst.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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