If You Are Suited for the Villain's Secretary - Chapter 13

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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 13
That explained why Luther had been acting strangely yesterday.
“I mean, being a spy comes with its own difficulties, doesn’t it?”
“I… suppose so?”
Both Luther and Aden were clearly testing my reaction.
Otherwise, there’d be no reason to reveal the truth about La Mar to me on only my second day of work!
My heart sank the moment Aden spoke, but I forced my mind to work desperately.
‘I haven’t done anything particularly suspicious. It’s probably just vague suspicion stemming from Jeremy, right?’
There was only one reason I could think of.
That damned Jeremy had provoked the already sensitive Aden.
And because I happened to be his successor, I’d inherited the director’s distrust as a standard package deal.
If he decided to scrutinize the position of executive secretary more rigorously, that made some sense given Aden’s personality.
Though I couldn’t quite understand why he’d go so far as to convert me to permanent staff just to keep me close and observe me.
‘It’s a kind of test.’
How should I respond appropriately?
As I pushed my glasses up to buy myself a moment, I suddenly realized something while thinking hard.
…Did I really have to take this test?
No matter how I handled this, Aden’s opinion wouldn’t change. That’s just how human psychology works, not just for him.
‘If I answer well, he’ll think it’s suspicious. If I answer poorly, that’s suspicious too.’
So I decided that if I was going to lose points anyway,
‘I’d make sure that question-mark-obsessed killer couldn’t ask any follow-ups.’
I chose to lose points spectacularly.
I’d ask about things I was curious about, subtly protest about him constantly interrupting me, and casually slip in assurances that I wouldn’t do anything illegal.
He’d have a headache trying to score all that, but that was his problem.
‘Maybe it’s for the best. Since Aden showed his hand first, I don’t need to waste time pretending to know nothing anymore.’
I took a deep breath and organized my thoughts.
‘But why is there a manual for everything I just randomly picked up…’
Half-daunted by the thickness of the manual Luther had given me, I finally returned to my seat.
My nameplate, replaced in a single day, greeted me.
[Secretary: Iliana Grecia]
‘Let them investigate me all they want. I have nothing to hide.’
When I thought about it, there was no need to scramble desperately to prove my innocence.
Even if they picked through everything about me, all they’d find would be a heartbreaking household ledger and debt repayment records.
Aden would eventually remove the tinted glasses he’d put on himself. In a way, it was just a matter of time.
I was flipping through the manual with a slight smile when I suddenly stopped.
‘Wait. La Mar is going to investigate me?’
For most people, that would be terrifying, but my situation was different.
‘…Then they’d dig into my family too, and if they’re good, couldn’t they even locate my father?’
My eyes widened.
Finding people was always the most expensive commission. Especially missing persons cases—they started at a minimum of ten million gold.
Yet this task would be done for free? And by La Mar, the Empire’s shadowy hand?
This was what true welfare looked like. This right here.
‘If I play this carefully, I should subtly encourage Aden’s suspicions at just the right level.’
If he harbored even slight doubts, the investigation might end before reaching Father.
My heart hammered against my ribs. The plan to turn the villain against himself was terrifying at first glance, yet anticipation burned far brighter.
‘In a way, this is gambling. Pure gambling.’
I certainly didn’t enjoy gambling.
But if you asked whether I knew how to ‘win’ at it, that was another matter entirely.
‘I just do the opposite of what Father would do.’
If it was a gamble with high odds of victory, wasn’t it worth approaching carefully?
I swallowed hard, my gaze fixed on Aden’s closed office door.
Of course, Aden wouldn’t investigate personally. He was the one who received reports.
‘Of course, even if Aden receives the report, he won’t share it with me. He won’t tell me he had someone investigate my background. But….’
My wandering gaze drifted toward an empty desk.
[Lenox]
La Mar’s tracker.
If a serious background investigation into me were to begin, he would be the most likely candidate to handle it.
‘Lenox is different, though.’
As I flipped through the calendar, my fist clenched tight.
A method had occurred to me—one that would secure Lenox’s cooperation while simultaneously making me appear highly suspicious in Aden’s eyes.
‘…But when is he even coming back?’
Why were so many people absent from this Merchant Guild?
***
At that very moment, at Crimson.
Crimson was a merchant guild boasting one of the Empire’s most storied histories.
While countless upstart trading companies appeared like meteors only to vanish, it stubbornly held its ground—a towering pillar of imperial commerce.
People regarded Kaileb Crimson, the Chairman who led Crimson, as the very embodiment of trust and credibility.
“Stupid bastard!”
Yet those few who truly knew Kaileb called him something different.
A “butcher” who had ravaged the Empire’s trading ecosystem.
“You can’t even manage something as simple as stealing a single document, and you’ve turned everything into this mess?”
In the Trading Company Basement.
Kaileb, venting his rage with brutal kicks, gasped for breath.
He spat on the face of Jeremy, who had lost consciousness under the intense interrogation, then jerked his chin.
“Throw him into the Magic Tower.”
“T-the Magic Tower?”
“Didn’t they say they need test subjects for the newly developed drug? The bastard’s useless anyway—might as well put him to some use there.”
….
“Get him out of my sight, all of you!”
After the trembling employees filed out like a receding tide, dragging the limp Jeremy with them.
Kaileb, spewing curses, sank deep into his chair.
“I should have eliminated that brat long ago.”
Whenever a promising new trading company showed signs of growth, Kaileb deployed every illegal means at his disposal to nip it in the bud.
Crimson had flourished so brilliantly because they had withered every other tree to death.
“A nobody with no foundation!”
Kaileb’s wrinkled eyes trembled with rage.
He was thinking of Aden—the one person he had failed to eliminate.
His mistake had been underestimating what a rootless boy could accomplish.
While Kaileb had been occupied arranging his daughter’s marriage, La Mar had seized the opportunity to expand its influence at a terrifying pace, and before he knew it, the company had grown to rival Crimson itself. The audacity!
“What exactly is his background?”
What infuriated Kaileb even more was that his usual methods of eliminating competitors were proving ineffective.
He preferred to uncover the weaknesses of rival company heads, blackmail them, or spread rumors about them.
The reason was simple: it was the most economical, sordid, and devastating approach.
“What the hell does this man do?”
Yet Aden remained utterly mysterious—where had he crawled up from?
Was “Aden” even his real name to begin with?
Then Kaileb obtained information that La Mar kept the personal records of its members, including Aden, and the company’s secrets separately managed under what they called “Black Label” documents.
Thinking he had found it, he sent Jeremy in—only to fail so miserably.
And what’s more?
“It was because of a new female recruit! Some woman named Iliana—if she hadn’t been there!”
Caught by a twenty-year-old girl who’d only been employed for a single day?
It was absurd nonsense. Or perhaps Aden had instructed her to say this to humiliate him.
Either way, Jeremy was no longer of any use.
“You’d be mistaken if you thought I was relying solely on that fool Jeremy.”
If I cannot uncover the Chairman’s weakness,
then I simply need to exploit the weakness of his closest associate instead, don’t I?
“Acquiring the Magic Tower was a wise decision. I never imagined it would prove useful in a situation like this.”
The information had fallen into my hands by chance, but how one wielded it depended entirely on one’s capability.
Kaileb Crimson, who had been staring at the paper that gleamed with a soft crimson hue, murmured the name written at the very bottom.
“Lenox, then….”
As Kaileb Crimson smiled with contempt, a beep interrupted his thoughts and he turned his head.
The moment he checked his communication device, his face lit up with warmth.
-Dad?
“Yes, my dear daughter! What’s the matter?”
-There’s something I want to ask you for….
“Don’t hesitate—just tell me anything. Is there anything your father wouldn’t do for his precious princess?”
Treading across the blood-soaked floor, Kaileb Crimson spoke with tenderness.
“For you, I would walk through the depths of hell itself.”

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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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