If You Are Suited for the Villain's Secretary - Chapter 10

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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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If the Villain’s Secretary Suits Me
Chapter 10
It was rare for Aden to agree to anything.
Lenox across the way brightened visibly.
-Exactly! Anyway, I’ll stay in this town a bit longer and collect some clues. Oh! There’s the postman! Who sent mail here? I’ll subtly fish for information….
“That’s enough. Contact me if there’s any progress.”
Without hesitation, Aden ended the communication and fixed his gaze on the recorded footage.
Despite claiming no formal combat training, she defended herself by utilizing the terrain, then delivered a decisive blow.
Her unnaturally composed responses, her claim of spotting corruption in a single day with nothing but observation skills and no prior information.
[If you’re going to pull something like this, shouldn’t you be selective about your opponents?]
As Aden watched Iliana muttering to herself on screen, he paused the magical recording at the moment Jeremy lunged at her before hesitating and stopping.
“I have no choice but to acknowledge it, Miss Grecia. I don’t know who sent you, but.”
Aden recalled Iliana’s brilliant cyan eyes as he continued.
Those eyes visible beyond the bent frames of her glasses.
“That person’s eye for talent is quite… impressive.”
Aden didn’t notice the faint curve forming at the corner of his mouth.
***
I was forcibly sent home early.
Walking unsteadily out of La Mar, I suddenly realized something.
“Why are you following me, Luther?”
But Luther answered as if he found the question even more absurd than I did.
“Did you think I’d let my secretary go home alone after something like that?”
“Well, yes. Actually, I’m not even injured….”
“Listen. Even if your body isn’t hurt, fatigue and emotional shock hit you later. I’d rather not hear about a La Mar employee collapsing on the street!”
True enough, Luther was quite a decent person in the original story too.
I’d even wondered why someone like him stuck with the villain to the end.
Now that I understood his kindness, I decided to accept it gracefully. Besides, since the address on my resume was my actual residence, there was no point hiding where I lived.
‘Still, “secretary”? That’s more of a mental shock than anything, Luther.’
Just moments ago, when Aden thrust the employment contract at me.
Quickly regaining my composure, I immediately thought of an excuse to resign.
Something like being too terrified to continue working there, perhaps.
But before I could even open my mouth, the villain beat me to it.
“Didn’t I tell you yesterday? That your motivation is money.”
“I never put it quite so bluntly….”
“If that were true, there’d be no reason to hesitate. Why are you wavering?”
Only after hearing those words did I understand.
If I’d tried to make excuses like I was too terrified to work at the Merchant Guild, I should have already been crying and sniffling.
After answering all his questions so readily, if I suddenly begged to resign, that suspicious bastard would never let me go.
Watching me stiffen, Aden drove the wedge deeper.
“As if you have some other motive you haven’t told me about.”
And so I….
“Anyway, congratulations. Completing your probation and getting promoted in a single day is probably the first and last time in the history of La Mare, haha.”
True to Luther’s words, I’d shed my probationary status and earned a promotion in just one day.
Really, there’s no one to blame but myself—I’m the one who literally sent my senior flying and created the vacancy.
I wanted to cry. I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them to ask.
“What happens to Jeremy, then?”
“Huh? Uh, well. It’d be better if you didn’t know.”
“….”
“Guild regulations! According to guild regulations, he’ll be handled accordingly—something like that! Newcomers don’t need to know about regulations yet. It’s a headache.”
There was a subtle emphasis on the word “handled,” and I was certain it wasn’t just my imagination.
Could it be that Luther hadn’t followed me out of consideration, but rather because Aden had cleared the way for him to thoroughly deal with Jeremy as he saw fit…?
As I pondered this, Luther added something with a slightly exaggerated tone.
“It might feel overwhelming now, but once you become a full-time employee, there are plenty of benefits. Your salary increases, of course, and if needed, you can even receive additional training or take out internal loans….”
Certainly, it was welfare far ahead of its time, but since the guild master was none other than Aden himself, I couldn’t accept it at face value.
Internal loans? You mean borrowing from Aden? Isn’t that just putting on financial shackles?
Luther, oblivious to my inner turmoil, rattled off the perks of full-time employment and broke into a grin.
“By now, word that a newcomer’s arrived has probably spread far and wide, so everyone’s curious. There are quite a few people away right now, but they’re all good-natured folks, so you can relax. There’s really no one like Jeremy, I’m telling you?”
I understood he was trying to reassure me, but I couldn’t take this at face value either.
It seems my personal information has been sold throughout the entire Empire. This is a serious problem.
I gave a perfunctory response and walked ahead, when Luther’s voice drew slightly closer.
“So, about that.”
Looking up, I saw Luther scratching the back of his neck as he asked carefully.
“Spy work, you know, that must come with its own hardships. Right?”
“I…suppose so?”
“And there must be circumstances of your own.”
“Probably?”
His words made sense, but why was he telling me all this?
‘Was he close with Jeremy?’
But someone like Jeremy didn’t seem to have any particular backstory worth mentioning.
As I tilted my head in confusion, Luther, as if he’d made some decision, was about to say something.
“Oh, this is our house. Thank you for bringing me here.”
Luther’s mouth fell open.
“Your house is here?”
“Yes.”
“Is it alright?”
“Well, yes. It’s a bit worn, but for something I found in a hurry, it’s decent enough.”
My house on the Mountain Slope was, in truth, more of a cabin than an actual dwelling.
Of course, I’d prefer to live in a proper house, but there weren’t many options within my budget in the Capital City.
Still, despite its weathered exterior, the interior was reasonably cozy.
But then….
“…So that’s what it was. You had circumstances like that….”
Luther’s eyes, which had been alternating between me and my home, suddenly glistened with moisture.
“Why are you doing that?”
“Ah, it’s nothing! Well then, I’ll be on my way. Get some rest.”
It was the face of someone harboring some peculiar misunderstanding, though I couldn’t quite grasp what it was.
I watched Luther’s retreating figure with bewilderment before stepping inside my home.
“Luther was right.”
The moment I recognized this place—where I’d spent merely a single day—as home, as somewhere safe, exhaustion crashed over me all at once.
Unable to even reach the bed, I collapsed face-first onto the floor and mumbled to myself.
“Should I attempt a midnight escape? No, that won’t work. Start the ‘become a useless employee’ project again? No, I’ve done too much today for that. Or maybe I could embezzle like Jeremy, but just a tiny bit…? No, what nonsense am I spouting….”
I was rambling aimlessly.
A labor contract peeked out from my scattered bag.
The monthly salary I’d receive—combining base pay and various benefits—was written as a staggering 6 million Gold.
It was enough to pay back my debts steadily without needing a second or third job.
“Honestly, the conditions alone aren’t bad. The pay is generous, the benefits are excellent. Why does Aden have to be a villain? With that much money, he could just enjoy spending it.”
As someone drowning in debt, I couldn’t help but be dazzled by that sum.
If only Aden weren’t involved, La Mar would be the perfect workplace!
“…Well, strictly speaking, Aden isn’t quite a ‘villain’ yet.”
I tilted my head, turning over the words I’d heard.
Come to think of it, the current Aden was certainly unsettling, but he wasn’t yet the world’s greatest villain.
His descent into madness only began after he encountered the original female protagonist. In terms of time, that would be several months from now.
“Wait.”
If that’s the case….
“Couldn’t I just prevent them from ever meeting?”
I bolted upright from where I’d been lying down.
That’s right—I’m his secretary.
“If I adjust Aden’s schedule so he never even sees the female protagonist’s face, then he won’t go mad, and he won’t become the mastermind behind everything!”
More than that.
“I won’t get dragged away just for working at La Mar!”
I silently cheered at finding this glimmer of hope, then suddenly froze.
I’d remembered a massive obstacle standing in the way of this simple, elegant plan.
“…For that to work, I’d need to earn Aden’s trust.”
The fact that Aden doesn’t particularly like me is surprisingly the lesser problem.
My predecessor Jeremy was a secretary in name only—he didn’t handle any major duties for six months.
Yet with those limited privileges, there’s a precedent of him embezzling 300 million Gold.
“The moment I show up tomorrow, even going to fetch water would probably look suspicious…?”
This is hopeless either way!
I groaned and clenched my fists, thinking hard.
I really should have beaten Jeremy one more time.

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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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