If You Are Suited for the Villain's Secretary - Chapter 31

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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 31
Startled, I found myself looking at Aden without thinking.
He was staring intently at Laklan.
“How disappointing, Laklan.”
Right, even you don’t think this is acceptable, do you?
Clinging to a sliver of hope, I waited for Aden’s next words with my eyes squeezed shut.
“‘At minimum’ one million gold, then. Are you planning to use only one explosive?”
“Ah, I’ll correct that.”
“If Noel refuses to hand over the land until the very end, we’ll proceed that way. We’ve already secured sufficient explosives.”
“Understood. I’ll prepare accordingly.”
I was going to lose my mind…!
I felt like grabbing the back of my neck in despair.
‘Why do they already have enough explosives?’
It wasn’t merely that their conversation defied all common sense.
The moment I heard the word ‘explosives’ from Laklan, a memory struck me like lightning—an incident from the original story.
‘In the latter half of the original work, the Protagonist’s party discovered a report about an accident while tracking Aden’s movements.’
On a day when torrential rain poured down, a landslide buried hundreds of construction workers and dozens of carriages under tons of earth.
Even the rescue workers were swept away by the debris, resulting in countless casualties—a tragic disaster.
But according to the evidence attached to the report.
‘That very landslide was caused by reckless blasting operations conducted by Aden and La Mar.’
The location where the landslide occurred—which wasn’t explicitly mentioned—was the Cassis Autonomous Territory.
And that ‘blasting operation’ was happening at this very moment!
‘Did Aden really blow up the house as a last resort? And did that cause the landslide?’
The mere thought made my skin crawl, but I forced myself to think rationally.
No, that couldn’t be it. The report said ‘reckless’ blasting operations.
‘Destroying a single house requires only one explosive. There’s no reason to detonate multiple charges.’
Moreover, if there had been casualties from the blasting, it would have been documented in the report.
But there was no such mention. So then?
‘Ah, they must have left the house untouched and started road construction from the access road first. After all, everything around that house belongs to La Mar anyway.’
There was no legal loophole to exploit, and more importantly, it was a method perfectly suited to instilling both threat and isolation in the homeowner.
‘I remember reading about this in the newspapers from my past life. You can’t forcibly evict someone who’s dug in, so they resort to tactics like this.’
By blocking the access road and designating it a ‘danger zone,’ no one except authorized personnel could enter. In other words, the homeowner would be trapped inside.
Eventually, suffering from noise and vibrations, running out of water and food, the homeowner would have no choice but to surrender.
It clearly worked. The homeowner gave up and handed over the land, allowing dozens of carriages to traverse the newly constructed road.
Noel must have certainly raised objections, but I still don’t know how that was resolved.
‘Regardless, the real problem is that the area literally became a ‘danger zone’ as if the words themselves had manifested into reality.’
Aden, indifferent to the chaos in my mind, answered Laklan matter-of-factly.
“Then let’s move on to the next agenda—the matter of allocating personnel for the Harbor construction….”
Listening to his chillingly low voice, my thoughts organized themselves with crystalline clarity.
‘…The landslide wasn’t something Aden intended.’
I wasn’t about to gamble on the uncertain humanity of a villain-to-be—if it even existed.
I judged rationally. Aden might be mad, but he wasn’t foolish enough to take losses.
‘Now I understand why this massive project wasn’t mentioned in the original timeline. The workers who were mobilized suffered such an accident that the project couldn’t continue.’
Of course, if the original report was accurate, I couldn’t claim Aden bore no responsibility for the landslide that would follow.
But I couldn’t simply treat such a catastrophic accident as the karma of a thoughtless villain.
I recalled Aden’s words and reached a conclusion.
“If Noel refuses to hand over the land until the very end, we’ll proceed that way.”
‘I need to acquire the land while I’m here. I must prevent them from starting the blasting operations recklessly.’
Once the house disappears, a path opens. Instead of forcibly expanding the road, I’ll begin construction from the Harbor first, step by step.
‘That way, I can avoid the accident.’
My mouth went dry. And there was one more element that made me uneasy.
The problematic report discovered by the Protagonist’s group.
A document with records of La Mar purchasing massive quantities of explosives and witness testimony that they were used in blasting operations….
‘Who on earth wrote this?’
***
The basement of Crimson.
“How can every single one of my subordinates be this incompetent?”
Kaileb Crimson stared at his secretary Norbert, who was writhing like a snail on the ground.
He was deeply irritated by the sight of the man acting as though a mere kick to the shin would kill him.
“Didn’t you say you’d prove you were still useful to me by going to the Auction House, Norbert?”
“Ugh….”
Kaileb’s movements as he tapped Norbert’s cheek with the back of his hand grew increasingly harsh.
“Yet you couldn’t even accomplish that simple task of acquiring a single watch.”
Norbert had confessed to accepting rebates from clients, but that had long since slipped to the back of his consciousness.
In truth, he’d known and half-tolerated it.
An honest man might betray him at any moment. But a greedy wretch like Norbert would always lick his boots whenever given a chance to make money. And having leverage over him made him easy to manipulate.
Besides, since it wasn’t Crimson’s own funds being touched, it was merciful enough to overlook.
The problem was that this rat had damaged his master’s reputation. And at the Merchant’s Guild luncheon held the day after the auction, no less.
“That upstart Walton dared to flaunt ‘Tate 81’ right in front of me?”
Kaileb Crimson was a baron. A hereditary title.
But his position was too low to receive what was called “aristocratic treatment,” and crucially, it was the only title above the rank of viscount that could be purchased with money among the nobility.
Kaileb resented this fact. The thought that people naturally assumed he’d bought it with money made him utterly sick.
The somewhat excessive title of “The Chairman” stemmed from his complex about being called a “baron”—though he would never admit it.
But as those with complexes tend to do, Kaileb’s victim mentality flowed downward.
Toward commoners—those he deemed beneath him.
“How dare a mere commoner presume to rival me?”
Thus, Kaileb felt extreme displeasure and a sense of crisis whenever a commoner tried to match him.
Even if the other party harbored no such intention, he would dwell on it and shudder with rage.
And in this already sensitive situation….
“How in the world did Lenox escape the Blood Contract? How is this even possible!”
“…Chairman, sir.”
“And now this new girl has ruined my plans! What am I supposed to make of this!”
Every time I heard that these worthless fools—including Norbert standing before me—had destroyed my carefully laid plans, I felt my sanity slipping away.
The Blood Contract no longer glowed red. The connection had been severed.
Even the mages at the Mage Tower were bewildered, repeating only that this shouldn’t be possible.
It was astounding enough that Lenox possessed knowledge of contract-breaking magic that even the mages didn’t know, but now Jeremy and Norbert alike were making excuses about some girl—the new recruit—being responsible for the failure.
Was such a thing even conceivable?
‘No, that can’t be. A slave of the Mage Tower and some twenty-year-old girl couldn’t possibly have seen through my plan.’
My fury crystallized into a single point of focus.
This was all orchestrated by that contemptible man. To make me taste defeat!
‘Aden!’
He’d put the girl forward as a mockery, and now he was surely watching everything unfold with ease—the mastermind, the true architect of it all.
Grinding my teeth as I thought of Aden, I gestured to the guards standing at the door.
“Bring me the new drug they created at the Mage Tower. I need to see directly how my investment was used.”
“Chairman, sir…!”
Norbert wasn’t entirely useless, but with my vision clouded by rage, I needed someone to vent my fury upon immediately.
“Why that expression? This is your chance to prove you’re still worth something.”
The magical potion was about to spill into Norbert’s struggling mouth.
Knock, knock.
“Dad—? Are you here?”
A innocent voice rang out along with the sound of knocking on the basement door.
My hand, tilting the vial, froze in place.
Then, to the astonishment of all who knew my cruelty, I answered with surprising tenderness.
“Yes, my precious princess! Dad was just working.”
“Oh, I see. Are you very busy?”
“When my daughter comes to see her father, I have to make time no matter how busy I am. Just wait a moment!”
I set down the vial carelessly and hurriedly straightened my appearance.
With a glance, I ordered the guards to hide the collapsed Norbert from view, then moved toward the door.
My precious daughter, my swan.
She who would make me a count’s father-in-law and soon the grandfather of a young countess—she who would fill the bloodline of ‘Crimson’ with pure blue blood that commoners wouldn’t dare even speak of….
“Odette! How did you manage to come all this way when you’re feeling so heavy, hmm?”
My most useful piece.
Turning my back on the blood-stained basement, I smiled brightly and pressed a kiss to those lovely cheeks.

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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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