If You Are Suited for the Villain's Secretary - Chapter 54

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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 54
In the end, I found myself eating the more perfectly golden pancake I had set aside for Aden.
Since I hadn’t tasted it yet, I popped a piece into my mouth with some skepticism, and I couldn’t help but smile.
‘Oh, this is actually good.’
Thank goodness. A properly cooked pancake truly was delicious.
As I ate, I stole a glance at Aden. The burnt pancake clearly wasn’t to his liking—he was eating from the top down—yet he hadn’t set his utensils aside either. The deliberate pace suggested he was savoring it quite seriously.
I found satisfaction in that fact. It gave me the courage to broach a somewhat personal question.
“What kind of food do you prefer, Director?”
Why are you asking?
That was the look he gave me—one tinged with curiosity.
“For the Branch 3 company dinner. We’ve prepared various things, but even Racklan doesn’t know what you like, so Selby asked if maybe I knew.”
“Is it necessary for the Branch 3 staff to know my culinary preferences?”
“Well, it’s not necessary, but… we’re curious.”
“Are you saying that Iliana Grecia is curious?”
Would anything change if I said yes?
With a puzzled expression, I nodded anyway.
“Yes.”
After a moment of thought, Aden spoke.
“I’m afraid I can’t answer that. Because there isn’t one.”
“You don’t have any food you prefer?”
“That’s right. Neither cooking nor eating.”
Aden paused mid-sentence and looked down at the pancake with an oddly fresh expression.
“I don’t enjoy either.”
“But that apple honey tea you made last time was really delicious. So I suppose I was treated to something quite rare.”
Aden’s eyes narrowed slightly.
There was something questioning in his gaze, so I retraced my words, wondering what I’d said wrong.
“I didn’t mean anything by it—it’s just that you’re someone who isn’t comfortable in the kitchen, and yet you made it for me. So in a way, it’s simply not an opportunity that comes around often…”
“No. I wasn’t asking for an explanation. It’s just that I expected you to ask why I have no preferred foods, but you didn’t.”
He chose his words carefully, which was rare for him.
“An unexpected reaction.”
I knew that Aden disliked being caught off guard.
But this response seemed less like approval or disapproval and more like encountering something unfamiliar.
I laughed lightly.
“Well, it could happen, couldn’t it?”
The way he spoke suggested it might be connected to his past—something not mentioned in the original work.
My philosophy was that any knowledge worth having was worth keeping. Especially information about Aden.
“I don’t have a particular favorite color either. I wear beige or brown clothes often, but that’s because they’re neutral colors, not because I specially chose them out of love. Just like me… it could simply be that way.”
But I wasn’t inclined to press someone who claimed not to enjoy eating while actively eating my pancake.
If he wanted to tell me himself, I could listen then.
I added my response with a slightly playful tone.
“Still, if you ever develop a preference, please let me know. It would be useful when deciding on the menu for company gatherings.”
Aden, who had been listening quietly to my words, let out a soft laugh.
Perhaps because it was rare, his smile was so devastatingly charming that my gaze naturally lingered on it.
“You certainly know how to connect everything back to work.”
“Well, I am the Director’s secretary, after all.”
As I joked and continued eating with my fork, Aden asked in a slightly lowered voice.
“Then what about you?”
“I’m sorry?”
“What do you like?”
My fork stopped at a question I never expected to hear from Aden.
I blinked several times before clearing my throat.
Though it was an ordinary, common question, the fact that it came from Aden made it feel strangely unfamiliar and oddly ticklish.
“Well… I like quite a lot of things. I like my work, I like organizing documents, I like my salary and bonuses…”
Aden laughed again at my nonsense.
“I know that. I mean something else.”
“Oh! I really like these pajamas. They’re soft and comfortable.”
I was wearing cloud-patterned pajamas today as well.
I had bought them at a market in Sirena, and after trying them on, I liked them so much that I bought several more pairs.
So all my pajamas were cloud-patterned ones.
“Is that why you agreed to sign the agreement? Because you like the clothes?”
Aden, dressed in his characteristic dark shirt today as well, asked.
Before coming to Aden’s house, we had stopped by the Company Residence briefly.
The officer had informed us that we would be unable to enter during the investigation period and that we couldn’t take any belongings with us. I was devastated, but after pleading, I managed to sign an agreement and retrieve a few items. One of them was these pajamas.
I answered somewhat awkwardly.
“Well, I can’t sleep in my outdoor clothes, can I? And I couldn’t exactly borrow your clothes either.”
After a brief silence, Aden asked again.
“Then the jewelry box you brought with you—do you like that as well?”
I hesitated for a moment.
The perceptive man read my hesitation.
“If the question is difficult to answer, you don’t have to.”
“It’s not so much difficult as… the contents are my mother’s keepsakes. So yes, I do like it.”
I spoke with deliberately brighter cheer.
“The officers probably won’t secretly take anything, but I didn’t want to leave it in someone else’s hands. Besides, the one I like most is already lost, so I was a bit worried about it.”
Aden looked at me silently.
After a brief pause, his voice came back much softer than usual, almost sounding tender.
“I see.”
What meaning did this “I see” carry? I couldn’t quite grasp it.
His deep violet eyes lingered on me for a long time. Suddenly, that gaze felt heavy.
So I decided to change the subject first.
“Oh, right—what about the communication device that was confiscated? By now, the branches that heard the news must have sent countless messages.”
It would have been painfully obvious.
Yet Aden, fully aware of my transparent attempt to change the subject, simply continued.
“Branch communications will be handled entirely by Luther, so you needn’t worry about that. I’ll give you a backup communication device now—I’ve already loaded the contact information for Headquarters staff. And weren’t your glasses also confiscated?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“There’s a possibility magic or magical artifacts were embedded in them, so let’s have them checked. I’ll bring a detector, so please wait a moment.”
“My glasses?!”
I pretended not to notice and closed my eyes.
***
“So you’re saying there’s a way to circumvent the logistics blockade?”
“That’s correct. The blockade order applies only to branches within the Empire.”
In the end, my glasses showed no abnormalities whatsoever.
Aden adjusted them on my face and continued speaking while watching me diligently take notes.
“It’s certainly painful that the cargo stored by our domestic branches is frozen, but the shipments that were docked at the harbor were moved to international waters beyond the Empire’s borders just before the blockade took effect.”
“Ah, so there shouldn’t be any problems with exports then.”
“Correct. I’ve also verified the legal risks. However, it’s merely a stopgap measure—to move domestic inventory, the investigation will ultimately need to be resolved quickly.”
I paused, then hesitantly asked.
“What about Crimson then? …What are you planning to do?”
Aden always had a plan.
A faint crease appeared between his brows as he recalled Kaileb Crimson’s wrinkled eyes.
For someone who had crossed the line so egregiously, a truly miserable end would be fitting. Aden was prepared to construct that stage for him.
But watching the clock hands drift far past midnight, Aden spoke without emotion.
“For now, let’s observe how the investigation unfolds over the next three days. We’ll discuss it after that.”
“…Ah, I see. Understood.”
I answered immediately, but for some reason, anxiety flickered across my wide eyes.
But it was brief. As if to conceal that expression, I exhaled a relieved sigh and spoke in a voice slightly higher than usual.
“Still, I’m grateful for that much. I thought the Trading Company would collapse entirely—I never imagined there was something more frightening than being fired.”
As I listened to the report on the interrogation details, the story that had stretched across several hours finally came to an end.
Gone was the playful demeanor from before; I had been serious throughout the entire report.
It was an expression that couldn’t be feigned. Her words about loving her work had been genuine.
If not for that cloud-patterned pajamas, I would have thought this was the La Mare office rather than a safe house.
‘But why….’
Why did she keep bringing up being fired?
Even knowing it was nearly a joke, I felt compelled to answer.
“That won’t happen.”
It was a response weighted toward the dismissal itself.
“Come on, of course not. The Director is here.”
But Iliana, removing her glasses and rubbing her eyes with a carefree grin, seemed to have interpreted it the former way.

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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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