If You Are Suited for the Villain's Secretary - Chapter 2

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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 2
I swallowed hard and opened my mouth.
“…My apologies. My throat was just parched for a moment. I’ll continue with my answer.”
A final method to survive.
For now, I’ll simply do as I’m told.
After clearing my throat, I began answering what Aden had demanded, choosing my words with utmost care.
“Seven years ago, when Dokuk’s specialty—the Airen flower—became fashionable throughout the Empire, some merchants deceived the market by distributing seeds of a similar-looking poisonous plant. That’s why I….”
“I’m already aware of the circumstances. What I’m curious about is how you distinguished the ‘counterfeit.'”
Aden cut me off abruptly, his tone turning glacial.
“Surely you’re not claiming that you, who was merely fourteen at the time, possessed botanical knowledge?”
‘Listen to that tone.’
Was this an interview or an interrogation?
My expression nearly cracked, but I managed to maintain my smile with great effort.
“No, sir.”
“That’s what I thought. Then….”
“Botanical knowledge wasn’t necessary in the first place. The problem was with the sacks containing the seeds themselves.”
The Airen flower had become a nationwide craze, and many Empire citizens had suffered losses from the counterfeit seeds.
However, not a single incident occurred with the seeds distributed through Sirena, the small port city where I lived.
“You said ‘sacks.'”
“Yes. Since the seeds are sensitive to moisture, they require double-layered, moisture-resistant sacks. But the cargo that arrived that day came in single-layered sacks. I thought it was unlikely that such precious cargo would be packaged so carelessly.”
The moment I noticed something amiss, I opened every sack and inspected them thoroughly.
It was a classical inspection method—floating the seeds in water—and though it took several times longer than usual, it was worth the effort.
“As a result of conducting a complete inspection, I discovered that all the seeds were counterfeit and was able to take action accordingly.”
‘In truth, it wasn’t just the sacks that seemed odd. The expressions of the Dokuk sailors transporting the cargo were different from usual as well.’
But adding such details would only make my explanation longer.
I closed my mouth there and watched Aden anxiously.
The gaze examining my resume and recommendation letter was utterly emotionless. That made it all the more unsettling.
With a face devoid of any softness and eyes completely devoid of warmth, he seemed less like a person and more like some artificial being.
‘When will this end? Though I suppose I’ve been interviewed for quite a while now.’
“I’ll ask just one more thing.”
Finally!
I composed my expression and nodded with deliberate composure.
“You said earlier that you didn’t know what kind of Merchant Guild La Mar is.”
Damn.
Before I realized Aden’s true identity, I had indeed said something like that.
But I’d had no opportunity to gather information. I’d only been in the Capital City for a few days, having come from a rural port village.
‘I was in a rush to find employment, so I didn’t have time to research what kind of Merchant Guild it was. And even if I had looked into it, the Merchant Guild is secretive enough that someone like me, just a job applicant, would have had no way of finding out anyway.’
“Then why did you apply despite that?”
My mind raced quickly.
‘The original story’s timeline is one year from now. The information I have is also from around that period.’
In other words, trying to guess and speak about what La Mar is doing now, when I know nothing about it, would be suicide.
But giving a safe answer like ‘I wanted to gain an opportunity to grow’ wouldn’t work either.
‘If I mess this up, I’m done for. I’m supposed to stay away from this situation right now!’
So then?
‘I have no choice but to be honest.’
An answer came to mind that aligned with what I’d said earlier, yet was exactly the kind of thing my employer would hate most.
After all, my reason for applying to La Mar without knowing anything about it was crystal clear.
“The job posting stated that you guarantee the highest salary in the industry.”
“So… it’s about money?”
“Yes. To be honest, I was skeptical at first, but after coming here, I thought that claim might not be a lie. And it seemed like my salary wouldn’t be delayed either.”
“Huh.”
Was that a scoff just now?
“What made you think that?”
After asking, Aden lowered his gaze back to the documents.
It seemed like a perfunctory question. Or perhaps one that had slipped out because he found it so absurd.
Either way, I needed to answer and get out of here quickly. I blurted out the first thing that caught my eye.
“Because you’re actually using a blackwood desk.”
“…What did you just say?”
“Blackwood. It’s a tree that grows very slowly, so it takes nearly a hundred years for it to reach a size suitable for a desk. That’s why it’s extremely expensive.”
That’s why even wealthy people use darkwood painted black instead of blackwood.
With good dyes, it’s hard to tell the difference with the naked eye.
“But not only your office desk, but all the desks in the workspace are genuine blackwood. So I thought, ‘There’s no way the salary would be delayed here.'”
“You identified that just by looking at it? The moment you came in for the interview?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
To be precise, I’d seen so many darkwood furniture painted black during inspection processes that I could tell the difference.
I’d never seen genuine blackwood before. But it had a subtly luxurious and smooth luster.
‘No wonder he’s the mastermind—I noticed it because his office was pitch black everywhere.’
And to think he’d dyed not just his clothes but his entire office black like that.
Does he express his sense of self this way so no one forgets he’s a villain?
At this point, it wasn’t a preference—it was an obsession. Half exasperated inwardly, I asked politely.
“Are your questions finished then?”
“…Yes. We’ll contact you through the agency.”
“Thank you very much.”
As I turned to leave, I thought to myself.
Well.
They won’t be calling.
***
I thought I was going to suffocate to death.
Only after backing out of the office and closing the door behind me could I finally breathe deeply.
Still, I was grateful for that much.
‘I’m definitely going to fail, aren’t I? That’s how it’ll be. Aden didn’t seem particularly interested in me.’
I had always been quite perceptive about these things.
Even without knowledge of the original work, my instincts kicked in the moment the interview room door opened. This was going to be nearly impossible to pass.
And since I’d stumbled over my words in the middle of the interview, the outcome was obvious.
‘Surely he wouldn’t harm me just because I failed the interview…? It bothers me that I handed over all my personal information with my own hands, but there’s no way I can steal it back now.’
After adjusting my glasses and straightening my clothes, I stepped into the hallway.
Someone was leaning against a doorframe in the distance—the employee who had greeted me when I first knocked on La Mar’s door.
“How did the interview go?”
“Ha, I wish it had gone that well.”
“Our guild master isn’t easy, is he?”
Despite his rather intimidating appearance, he spoke to me in a friendly manner. His name was Luther.
I forced a smile while suppressing the urge to nod in agreement, and answered instead.
“Thanks to you, I learned a lot. It was a good experience.”
Luther seemed surprised by my response.
He stared at me for a moment with an ‘Oh…’ expression, then let out a chuckle.
“Right, you did well. Here’s your interview fee.”
Before I could even accept it, Luther slipped an envelope into my bag and waved his hand.
“Take care on your way out.”
I finally left La Mar behind.
The guild’s logo was engraved on the closed door.
As I stared at the waves and jagged rocks in the logo, and the silhouette of someone sitting atop the stones, I laughed hollowly.
“Mason said people from the Capital City can’t be trusted, and here I am meeting the number one untrustworthy person right here.”
Mason, the president of my previous employer Mason Merchant Guild, and I had been quite close over seven years.
Still, the reason I came to the Capital City was because Mason had retired.
World travel after retirement had been a long-held dream, but Mason had hesitated due to worry about my unemployment, so I half-pushed him out the door to say goodbye just days ago.
After composing myself, I began walking forward with renewed determination.
“Let me head straight to the employment agency next.”
Meeting Aden had been shocking, but I still had work to do.
I had a debt. And it was entangled with ruthless loan sharks.
‘The principal is around 200 million gold, but the monthly interest alone comes to 5 million gold. …It’s an amount where repaying the principal is practically impossible.’
Since it was my father’s gambling debt, it couldn’t be legally forgiven.
So I had to find a job as quickly as possible.
‘Now that I think about it, how much was the interview fee?’
I rummaged through my bag and pulled out the job posting.
[※ Salary guaranteed at industry-leading levels]
[※ Salary paid during probation period (1 month)]
The salary terms were tempting enough on their own,
[※ Interview Fee Paid Immediately]
This immediate payment was the primary reason I had applied in the first place.
I was in dire need of funds at that very moment.
‘In truth, using expensive company furnishings doesn’t necessarily guarantee good wages. Besides, it’s that Aden we’re talking about. I shouldn’t harbor grand expectations….’
Yet the instant my fingers found the envelope and grasped it.
“Hmm? With this thickness?”

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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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