If You Are Suited for the Villain's Secretary - Chapter 38

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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 38
Was Aden really the kind of person who could intertwine personal feelings with work?
I was trying to gauge his true intentions.
“However, I should mention this: while ‘by any means necessary’ is the fundamental approach for this project, it would have been better if you’d given your superior advance notice. Stepping into a dangerous situation alone is neither a means nor a method.”
I had definitely told Racklan about it…!
But since it might look like I was blaming someone else, I wisely kept my mouth shut.
Aden was my superior, after all. Besides, it sounded less like a rebuke and more like a note of caution—or perhaps just the faintest hint of concern.
“Yes. I’ll be more careful going forward.”
“Furthermore.”
Aden gestured toward the recording artifact.
“Iliana Grecia presented a new option, and while I agree it’s ‘temporally’ efficient, I question whether it’s ‘financially’ efficient when costs are factored in.”
He had regained his characteristic businesslike tone.
“Julius Noel is deeply fixated on the figure of ten billion gold. So we’ll proceed with the meeting focused on devising a strategy to sway the Countess Noel’s position. Keep that in mind.”
He was right.
Even if we seated Julius directly at the negotiation table without Victor Noel, he wouldn’t easily abandon the ten billion gold.
An ordinary person would find compromise at some reasonable point, but Julius—rationality be damned—was so obsessed with that ten billion gold that he might actually dig in his heels even harder out of a sense of being owed compensation.
‘And if someone else took advantage of that gap to slip in, things would only get more complicated.’
But it was equally difficult to simply approach the Countess directly.
That was because I still wasn’t certain who had written the report analyzing the cause of the landslide.
Given the circumstances, it had to be either Noel or Crimson—but it could be both.
The Countess had said she’d requested Crimson’s cooperation, after all.
‘Crimson has maintained the relationship on the surface even though they know Noel stabbed them in the back. But the Countess doesn’t know she’s been exposed. However, if Crimson seizes this opportunity to access the materials…’
I made a decision as I was thinking.
Let me just take a shot at this.
“Then let’s head to the conference room.”
“Sir, I have an idea I’d like to run by you. Would you hear me out?”
“I see.”
Aden had elegantly rephrased what amounted to ‘why here instead of the conference room,’ but he stopped nonetheless.
“Go ahead.”
“Well, so…”
Throughout my explanation, Aden’s expression remained unchanged.
That was understandable. In truth, I wasn’t certain myself.
More precisely, while the idea itself was solid, I was unsure whether it would violate Imperial law.
But Aden didn’t interrupt me.
“Intriguing. However, we need to review the legal risks. So, let’s head to the conference room.”
Scott, the legal expert who had been dozing while waiting for the meeting, opened his eyes wide when the representative and his secretary suddenly woke him up.
As if he hadn’t been sleeping at all, he flipped through his books rapidly before stopping at one spot with a triumphant cry.
“It’s possible! There’s precedent! There’s no legal issue!”
So now there was nothing left to hesitate about.
Bang, bang!
Julius found himself face-to-face with an uninvited group of visitors knocking on his door in the dead of night, still wearing his nightcap.
“What, what is this! If you’re thinking of laying hands on me and dragging me out like this, absolutely not…!”
“No, Julius. You said so this morning, didn’t you? Bring 10 billion Gold next time.”
“…Huh? Then, you really…?”
“Before that, would you listen to this for a moment?”
Click.
I played the recording artifact, watching Julius’s expression shift and transform with each passing moment.
“This, this is that Randolph’s… If I’ve been deceived all this time… No, no! Even so, the value of this house doesn’t change. I still won’t hand it over to you unless it’s 10 billion Gold!”
“Yes. That’s why we’re planning to deposit 10 billion Gold directly into Julius’s account.”
Julius’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“However, not by selling this house, but by selling the Kona Marble Mine.”
“…What? You’re saying you’ll ‘sell’ the Kona Marble Mine rather than ‘buy’ it from us?”
“Yes. In exchange for selling the Kona Marble Mine to you for 10 billion Gold, you simply need to hand over this land to us.”
I smiled faintly.
“It’s my lottery ticket after waiting over 30 years.”
Julius’s lottery ticket was never the house. It was the mine.
“What do you think? Simple, isn’t it?”
A glimmer of delight gradually appeared in Julius’s eyes.
The answer was already decided.
“Excellent!”
***
Randolph was half out of his mind.
The first reason was the hazy memories of last night.
‘I remember meeting Iliana and contacting Tessa….’
But I have no memory of how I got home. And what was this ugly bruise on my neck?
Without even drinking alcohol, my memories had been completely severed in an unprecedented manner. Even as Tessa interrogated me, I couldn’t say a word.
And the second reason was the telegram that arrived this morning.
I was certain the negotiations with La Mar had gone well yesterday.
The process hadn’t been smooth, and I was furious at Victor Noel for missing the point, and for some reason thinking of Aden made my entire body crawl with unease, but regardless, La Mar had no other options besides us.
And yet….
[Cassis Harbor (Provisional) Land Acquisition Negotiations Concluded and Terminated]
This morning, I received a unilateral notice of negotiation termination.
Flustered, Randolph observed the Viscountess’s movements.
Could it be that the Viscountess had hastily taken La Mar’s hand? The same woman who spoke of protecting Noel Harbor?
“What is the meaning of this! How can negotiations suddenly be suspended? We need to buy more time…!”
But hearing the Viscountess’s shout, it seemed their situation was equally dire.
Entering Victor Noel’s room in confusion to make a report, Randolph heard a tsk-tsk sound.
“We’ve been played, completely played.”
“Pardon?”
“It seems that dark-skinned man from yesterday found another way. We’re the fools here.”
Randolph’s eyes widened as he took the newspaper from Victor.
Above a photograph of brilliantly gleaming, translucent marble stones glittering under bright sunlight—the kind that commanded everyone’s attention—
Become the owner of the Western ‘Kona Marble Mine’ for just 10,000 Gold! You too can become a mine owner!
※ Maximum 10 shares per person, 1,000,000 total shares / Prize: 100% stake in Kona Marble Mine (taxes processed)
※ All entry fees for this lottery will be paid in full to the current owner, Julius Noel
※ Lottery Agent: La Mar
A prize lottery advertisement offering nothing less than a mine as the grand prize was plastered across the page.
Victor Noel chuckled wickedly.
“Julius gets 10 billion Gold, La Mar gets the land, you and I end up with absolutely nothing and get kicked out, and the Viscountess is left with a dead harbor and an empty marquessate. What now?”
Darkness descended before Randolph’s eyes.
***
Third Branch Conference Room.
“The response has been explosive.”
Laklan added in a tone that was anything but explosive.
“Just three hours after the newspapers were distributed, we’ve already surpassed a 40% application rate. I’m genuinely concerned Julius might suffer a heart attack when he sees the numbers reflected in his account.”
“We’ve received several complaints—and you don’t need to guess who filed them—but they’re all the same story. Is this legal? How is this acceptable? That sort of thing.”
“However, according to Imperial law, lotteries have no restrictions on prize categories or monetary limits, and there’s even a precedent from 216 years ago in the Imperial calendar where a coal mine was made a legal prize. Once we cited that, they fell silent.”
“We also made sure to include a clear disclaimer that it’s a decorative, lowest-grade marble stone with no commercial value!”
Scott, who had been exchanging words amicably with Laklan, added his own comment.
“For the record, I entered the lottery myself! To become a mine owner for just ten thousand gold—even if it’s a marble mine with no commercial value, I couldn’t pass up the chance to boast that I’m a mine owner.”
Like Julius, the previous owner, the Kona Marble Mine had only one advantage.
The ability to boast about being its owner.
But just as people’s perception shifts when someone claims to own even a dilapidated, tiny building, so too did it shift for a mine owner.
And though it lacked practical utility, beautiful marble stones had demand as decorative pieces, and small income opportunities existed—developing it as a tourist attraction or creating a marble mining experience center.
It was a prize that guaranteed no major gains but absolutely no losses.
Moreover, the opportunity cost was merely ten thousand gold—an excellent bargain for the price of a small sack of flour.
As Scott continued to preen as though he’d already become a mine owner, Laklan drove home his final point.
“Most crucially, the taxes La Marque agreed to bear are calculated at standard market value, not one hundred billion gold, so the total cost including newspaper advertising comes to merely one hundred fifty-eight million gold. The publicity value gained from this advertisement will be incomparable.”
Only as he spoke of the costs did Laklan finally smile with satisfaction, then suddenly raised an eyebrow.
“But I notice the one person who would be most delighted to hear this news is nowhere to be seen. I mean Iliana, your secretary.”
Aden answered expressionlessly.
“She’s taken ill.”
“Ah, what a shame.”
Laklan shrugged.
“Then I’ll continue with the report.”

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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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