If You Are Suited for the Villain's Secretary - Chapter 18

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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 18
Given that this was an Imperial Charity Auction with regulations requiring swift cash submission, I’d anticipated they would use standardized boxes that were easy to count.
And my prediction proved exactly right.
After thoroughly inspecting the carriage, I quickly composed my expression and donned the face of a burnt-out office worker caught in routine.
“I’m only doing this for you this once. And don’t neglect those wheel hubs until they’re in this condition—replace them frequently. What good is a pristine carriage if you end up in an accident?”
“Yes, understood! Thank you for your inspection!”
I’d pointed out the safety hazards as a bonus and excused myself from the scene.
After pretending to inspect the other carriages and moving far enough away that the coachmen couldn’t see me.
‘Two billion three hundred million Gold. Our budget is one billion five hundred million Gold, so I need to make up the difference of eight hundred million Gold….’
If it were Aden, who ‘stops at nothing’, he might have solved it through force.
Or perhaps invested in building long-term trust with the client by using La Mar’s personal funds as a concept.
But I had a simpler method available to me.
‘I just need to make Crimson burn through that eight hundred million Gold difference somehow.’
Hearing the sound of a horse’s neigh, I turned my head and smirked.
A woman with ash-gray hair was stepping down from a carriage that had just arrived.
‘Found her!’
The woman’s attire was so flamboyant it was literally dazzling to the eyes. It looked as though she’d dusted herself with gold powder.
As she descended from the carriage with elegant grace, carrying a large bag, she hesitated upon seeing me charging toward her like a bull.
“Hello.”
“What is this about…?”
“That bag you’re holding looks absolutely stunning, and I was wondering if I could take a photo of it?”
The woman, who had been backing away cautiously, brightened at the word ‘bag’.
“Oh my! Isn’t it gorgeous! Here! My face doesn’t need to show well, so just focus on this bag! Make sure the bag looks good!”
I’d been planning to photograph only the bag anyway.
After excitedly turning the bag this way and that for quite some time, the woman took the printed photo and marveled at it.
“Goodness! You’re an excellent photographer! This could run as an advertisement right now!”
That hardly mattered.
With time and tools, I could even apply edits using memories from my past life, but that wasn’t what mattered right now.
‘Good, that’s done.’
After confirming the bag photographed from various angles, I turned my attention to the woman who was fidgeting with anticipation.
“Are you a newspaper journalist? Or perhaps a magazine journalist? What’s your field? Fashion? Economics? Either works, I can even do an interview! Say, my name is Delilah. I run a very small Magic Tower in the Eastern Region….”
“Well, I should mention this first. I’m not a journalist.”
“…Really? Ugh, what? Then why did you take a photo of my bag, getting my hopes up like that?”
Delilah, who had become dejected, widened her eyes at my next words.
“But I have seen the advertisements you’ve placed in newspapers. It means you’re someone who understands the value of that bag. Moreover, you also know how to promote and sell it.”
“…I’m sorry, but who are you?”
“I apologize for the late introduction. I’m Iliana Grecia, secretary to the guild master of the Merchant Guild La Mar.”
“La Mar? That’s a very famous guild….”
Delilah, taking my freshly printed business card, alternated her gaze between me and the card.
I smiled faintly and asked.
“Delilah. Would you like me to share a marketing method far more effective than a few lines in a newspaper?”
At first, Delilah seemed hesitant and uncertain.
“…Yes.”
But soon she nodded with determination. She was that desperate.
I spoke brightly.
“Then, would you give me your hand?”
“My hand? Why my hand?”
Why indeed.
“Because we need to dash to the Auction House right now! I’ll explain on the way!”
Time slipped away while taking photographs!
I grabbed Delilah’s hand and began running toward the Auction House.
***
Lenox felt dazed.
Since things had gone awry, he’d planned to cause a commotion or even set a fire in some corner—willing to be arrested himself if it meant delaying the auction.
But then.
-Just trust me, Lenox. You can’t go anywhere. Don’t set fires or knock anyone out, alright?
“Understood, I understand for now… Wait!”
-What do you mean wait? Anyway, I’ll explain when I get there. Let’s meet by the Fountain.
This person was certainly strange. I still didn’t quite understand why she’d asked me to trust only her.
But whenever the new hire and that gray-haired woman placed a bid, those Crimson bastards in the distance would jump around frantically….
‘I don’t know the reason, but this situation doesn’t seem bad for us?’
When I deliberately made a show of tossing and catching the listening device I’d found near the Street Stall, Norbert trembled quite visibly.
So it was definitely Crimson who’d planted it. Lenox glared at them before concealing himself in the crowd and heading toward the Fountain.
“The Late Empress Dowager’s Pendant—Bidder Number 77 has offered 420 million Gold! Are there any further bids?”
As the auctioneer’s voice echoed through the hall, Lenox suddenly heard ragged breathing in his ear.
“Hello, huff… Lenox….”
“Hey, you…! What’s wrong? Are you alright?”
It was the new hire, appearing utterly exhausted.
“I’ve been running around all day, huff….”
Something was definitely off….
I was considering whether to help the new hire up from where they’d collapsed onto the fountain’s edge when they spoke first.
“Did Crimson try to pull some trick?”
“How did you know that?”
A spy after all?
Lenox asked seriously, but the new hire seemed puzzled instead.
“You said you wouldn’t contact me first, but you did—and very urgently at that. So I figured something must have happened.”
“Ah, well… that’s true.”
Embarrassed, Lenox explained that someone had been impersonating him.
However, he didn’t mention that the budget had been changed to 1.8 billion Gold.
“…So that’s how our budget got completely drained. The situation isn’t looking good.”
Confessing my own mistake like this left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Yet the new employee listening to my explanation showed a surprisingly composed expression.
No—beyond composed, her eyes beneath her glasses gleamed with an oddly brilliant light.
“I don’t know how you found out about their budget, but honestly, knowing doesn’t change anything. Our budget is woefully inadequate compared to theirs. Twenty-three hundred million Gold—we’d practically need to set fire to money….”
“To be precise, it’s one billion eight hundred eighty million Gold.”
“What?”
“Four hundred twenty million Gold just flew away. From their starting budget.”
The new employee gestured toward the stage.
Lenox’s head snapped around.
“Bidder Number 77 has successfully won the Empress Dowager’s pendant for four hundred twenty million Gold! To confirm the purchase, payment must be submitted to the reception desk within five minutes.”
The auctioneer’s cheerful voice rang out, and I could see Bidder Number 77 accepting the donation certificate with a bewildered expression.
I recognized that face. One of Crimson’s employees.
So four hundred twenty million Gold had vanished….
“New employee—you already knew that Crimson was going after that pendant too?”
Lenox shot to his feet in shock.
“That pendant is worth at most one hundred million Gold at best. But the bidding war drove the price up like that… Wait. Then the gray-haired woman who was competing over the pendant—is she someone you know?”
“Well, yes, I suppose you could say that.”
The new employee explained matter-of-factly.
How she’d posed as an inspector to examine the carriage and learn their budget, and how there were several empty bags wedged between the money boxes.
“One of the best ways to determine contents is to examine the packaging itself.”
She mentioned there were watch storage cases, clothing bags, and jewelry boxes.
“Since this auction only has one type of jewelry—the pendant—and only one type of dress, I could identify what else Crimson was targeting besides the watch. That’s how I was able to ask that woman for help.”
Lenox stared blankly at the new employee.
He’d suspected her of being a spy, worried about her since she was around his younger sister’s age, and found her clumsy surveillance utterly absurd. Was this really that same strange new employee?
The person standing before him now….
“So it doesn’t matter if our budget is a bit smaller, right?”
“….”
“No matter how much money Crimson has, if I drain their wallet beforehand, they won’t even get close to the watch. And I did it twice over.”
She read the flow of the stakes and completely cut off every card her opponent could play—a truly skilled gambler.
“…New employee, what exactly are you?”
Lenox found himself asking before he could stop himself.
But instead of answering, the new employee simply adjusted her camera strap and smiled softly.

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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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