If You Are Suited for the Villain's Secretary - Chapter 14

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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 14
***
Early dawn.
Lenox stepped off the train departing from Sirena, his expression unreadable.
In the distance, the La Mar Merchant Guild building glowed with lamplight.
After gazing at the structure as if trying to etch it into his memory, Lenox pushed open the door.
“Phew.”
Taking a deep breath in front of the office, Lenox lifted his voice and the corners of his mouth.
“Director….”
“Come in.”
The director I’d been watching for five years now remained unchanged.
Arriving at dawn, viewing pleasantries as a waste of time, recognizing people by their footsteps alone—all the same.
“I hope you’ve been well! Though I’m sure you won’t care, but I’ve been doing fine….”
“Let’s stick to business.”
“Yes, sir. I’ve thoroughly combed through Sirena. By the way, the elderly folks in that neighborhood are incredibly exclusive. They tried to chase me away like I was some debt collector, so I had to sneak around….”
“You couldn’t conduct an open investigation. And?”
“Right. But who am I? I gathered information by slipping in and out through back doors. These are documents I obtained from the Mason Trading Company, and it does appear the new recruit actually worked there since childhood.”
So I myself would need to remain as I always was.
“But the new recruit’s family home is listed for sale? Fortunately, it hasn’t sold yet, so I went inside—and you won’t believe it, the place was completely empty. Not a single piece of clothing.”
“You suspect it’s a false address?”
“It could be, or they might have preemptively destroyed all evidence. Or maybe they sold off everything of value. Or perhaps they’re obsessively clean….”
“Didn’t you mention letters in your last communication?”
“Ah! That was rather odd. The new recruit sent a letter of regards to the Mason Trading Company, but they also sent another letter to their family home where there’s no one to receive it.”
“You mean identical letters?”
“No, strangely enough, the one sent to the family home had the envelope but no contents. It could be encrypted or treated with chemicals, so I brought both just in case. Take a look.”
Lenox pointed to the document envelope on top.
“Good work.”
“Don’t mention it. It’s my job.”
Lenox added a lighthearted comment with his usual smile.
“I’m sure you won’t care much, but the sea in that neighborhood is quite beautiful. I took some photographs near the new recruit’s home, so have a look at those later. It was rough dodging the grandmothers while taking them.”
“I see. But is something the matter?”
“…Pardon?”
Lenox faltered.
Such a question came about as rarely as hearing “good work.”
“Your complexion looks poor.”
“Oh, well, I suppose I’m just tired from riding the train all night! A cup of coffee should fix it, haha.”
Aden, who had been studying Lenox’s face intently, spoke.
“I think you should rest today.”
“No way. I need to see the new recruit’s face too!”
“Iliana Grecia won’t go anywhere just because she’s taking a day off. …Probably.”
“Still, you never know. If we keep watch, we might just catch evidence of her being a spy today!”
Even after five years, I couldn’t tell if Aden was simply stating facts or expressing his own concerns.
But today, I had a feeling Lenox was leaning toward the latter.
“If that’s what you wish, I understand. I’ll go take a look.”
After bowing, Lenox left the office and paused on his way to the break room.
“The corridor floor has been replaced? When did that happen?”
Then he stopped again in front of the break room door.
“…Did the director just say ‘probably’?”
That was truly unprecedented.
Aden never used ambiguous words, and he never spoke sentences without conviction.
So was Aden struggling to make a judgment about Iliana Grecia?
Why?
“I couldn’t have misheard, ugh!”
Lenox, his face bewildered as he tapped his ears, stopped once more.
This time it wasn’t from thought. It was pain.
He hastily slammed the break room door shut and pulled down his shirt, then gasped at the sight of his shoulder.
An old scar was burning like a brand.
“It’s becoming clearer….”
The brand of a slave to the Mage Tower.
In the past, Lenox had made a blood contract with the northern Mage Tower, Siphron.
In name only—his will had never been reflected in it at all. It was, quite literally, a ‘slave contract’.
The only way to break it was to burn all the contract documents, which were divided across multiple pages.
“I did everything I was ordered to do. But to kidnap someone to become a test subject? That was….”
“What are you saying now? You’re surprisingly naive. Lenox, how do you think the ‘medicine’ you received was made? …Or, if you want to keep pretending to be so clean, why don’t you become the test subject yourself?”
“Ugh…!”
Unable to bear his wretched circumstances any longer, Lenox had stolen and burned every contract document bearing his name when an order came that he absolutely could not follow, and barely managed to escape.
He had thought he’d succeeded in breaking free from the contract. Until recently.
“This pain… could it be… No, no!”
The moment Lenox saw the brand, which had grown faint over time, flickering on his shoulder for the first time in five years, he was struck with the force of lightning.
He hadn’t stolen them all.
There was one remaining contract document he had failed to burn.
Judging by the speed at which the brand was regenerating, only a single page remained.
Had the Mage Tower only just discovered it? Or, with only one page left, had it been carefully waiting for the right moment to reactivate the brand?
There was no way to know for certain, but now that the brand had awakened, the reason mattered little.
What mattered was that the person who had acquired that Mage Tower—and thus now held his leash—was Kaileb Crimson.
‘Since Crimson acquired that Mage Tower, I’ve become nothing but Kaileb Crimson’s slave.’
Blood contracts are absolute.
Though only one page remained, so the magical power channeled through the brand was limited and its regeneration slow, the brand would eventually return to its original form. It was only a matter of time.
Once the brand became complete, Lenox would have no choice but to obey Kaileb’s every command.
‘At least I’ll be able to keep my life.’
Lenox was ashamed of his past.
He had never revealed to anyone that he was born a slave. He had meticulously hidden anything that could serve as a clue.
After all, I was a ‘Tracker’.
Since neither the people at the Merchant Guild nor even his family knew of his past, he couldn’t ask anyone for help.
Stealing that final page was virtually impossible. The contract would be hidden in the deepest vault of Crimson.
‘…But I can’t betray La Mar. I absolutely won’t return to the Mage Tower.’
It was a conclusion he had reached after fierce deliberation.
I would leave before the brand was completed. Somewhere far away.
Breaking the contract meant the blood magic inscribed upon me would inflict terrible agony….
‘Exposing the identity of the new spy—that will be my final task.’
Even so, this was the right choice.
Lenox, who had been sniffling, let out a bitter laugh.
***
One week into my employment.
There were several things I had learned in that time.
“Ah, so you’re the new hire? Jeremy’s replacement? Perfect timing—I never liked that guy anyway.”
“I heard he got his head scraped with a broom! I wish I’d been there to see it!”
First discovery.
My predecessor’s reputation was abysmal.
He wasn’t just a jerk to me—he was equally terrible to everyone. Of course, that wasn’t much consolation.
“Secretary, please help me…. I’ve lost count of how many cups of coffee I’ve made….”
“That would be the 78th cup, Luther. The director is on his eighth meeting….”
“Thank goodness the director isn’t drinking the coffee himself, or it would be 86 cups….”
Second discovery.
So many people came looking for La Mar.
The office, which had been empty for two days, was now constantly bustling with customers and employees from other regional branches—it felt like a lie that it had ever been quiet.
Since I didn’t yet have the authority to sit in on meetings or consultations, just preparing and setting up with Luther left me utterly drained.
I was newly reminded of just how prestigious La Mar was as a Merchant Guild.
“Iliana Grecia.”
And third discovery.
My superior Aden didn’t just have a bad personality.
“Deliver these documents to the Merchant Guild and bring back the response letter as well. Return by 10 o’clock.”
“Send these documents from the Central Post Office by registered mail. Don’t forget to get the delivery confirmation. Return by 11 o’clock.”
“Submit the transfer request at Imperial Bank Branch 1, wait until the counter sends a reply, and bring back the branch manager’s signature. Return by 12 o’clock.”
His personality was truly, genuinely, exceptionally terrible.
Making someone run back and forth multiple times in the blazing summer heat.
‘He could just give me everything at once! The Merchant Guild, the Post Office, and the Imperial Bank are all clustered right next to each other in the Plaza!’
And then he stares at me intently and asks.
“Is there a problem?”
…or so I thought.
Still, this endless running around had produced one unexpected benefit.
Aden’s pallid complexion and unnaturally low voice no longer frightened me. I’d grown far too annoyed with him for that.
So I found myself smiling without a shred of fear, deliberately bright and cheerful.
“No, sir. I’ll be on my way.”
‘I wonder if Jeremy went through the same grinding routine before he decided to embezzle…?’
If that were the case, perhaps Aden bore a tiny sliver of responsibility for it.
That was the revelation I’d gained yesterday, shuttling back and forth across the Plaza.
‘Luther’s been here so long that I understand his loyalty, but I’m genuinely curious why the others stayed by Aden’s side to the end.’
It would’ve been so easy to flee.
Pondering this, I arrived at the office and nodded when I spotted an unfamiliar face.
Ah, so that’s something I’ll learn today.
“…Oh, you’re the new hire. Hello, I’m Lenox.”
“Nice to meet you, Lenox.”
At last, we meet.
My thread of hope, my full house card!

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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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