If You Are Suited for the Villain's Secretary - Chapter 60

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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 60
Luther, who had been coughing for a while, asked with a flushed face.
“I didn’t hear that right, did I? Tell me I didn’t.”
“…Given how shocked you are, it seems you heard correctly?”
“Why are you saying it so calmly, Secretary?!”
“Well, that is….”
Startled by Luther’s reaction, I found myself giving a rather peculiar answer.
“Nothing happened.”
“What-?”
Luther looked as though he might faint.
“No, I’m not saying I wanted something to happen! The Director offered me the room out of pure kindness, taking pity on me… Ah, why am I even explaining this? Anyway, all we did was work. Really.”
Speaking in hushed tones, I suddenly glanced around.
Luther’s voice was naturally loud as a train whistle, and his outburst had drawn everyone’s attention. After apologizing with a look, I brought my finger to my lips.
“Shh, shh. Luther, you can’t speak loudly while we’re moving.”
Both from the perspective of public courtesy and confidentiality.
…Of course, this conversation had nothing to do with La Mar’s operations.
“You’re right. Sorry. I overreacted, I guess. I’m just a narrow-minded, foolish old man. Let me apologize again.”
“I apologize too for saying something that would startle you like that.”
“But… I’ve never been to the Director’s house myself. That’s why I was taken aback. There was no other meaning to it.”
“Really?”
“But I have my own place, so I wouldn’t have gone anyway. It’s part of employee benefits. …That must be it, right? Ugh, I need to keep this mouth shut… Anyway, I don’t know anything. I didn’t hear a thing.”
Luther seemed completely oblivious to what I was saying.
He was still muttering to himself while stuffing a muffin in his mouth and wiping up spilled drink.
I left Luther to his self-reproach and turned over his words in my mind.
I had felt a bit embarrassed entering Aden’s house yesterday, but it had passed quickly. The argument I’d used to convince Aden—that it was much like a business trip—had apparently convinced me as well.
But Luther’s reaction made heat suddenly rush to my ears.
‘Thank goodness I didn’t mention eating pancakes together.’
“I’ll just wash my hands quickly.”
I was heading to the Restroom when I bumped into someone wearing a hat pulled low.
“My apologies.”
After apologizing, I headed straight for the Restroom, unaware that the person was watching my retreating figure intently.
***
***
I’d spent so much time touring the entire Central Flower Garden that the schedule had fallen behind.
After that business trip with Luther—a night and a day away.
“…That concludes my report.”
“Very well. You may go.”
Had I really thought that?
That we’d grown closer through conversation and sharing pancakes together, only to realize it was all a delusion?
The delusion was real. Rather than growing closer, an icy chill radiated from Aden.
‘I’d thought Aden hadn’t changed since our first meeting.’
But now I could see that wasn’t true.
Until two days ago, Aden would interrupt but still respond through glances and nods.
His face remained expressionless and his voice cold, yet his manner of speaking had subtly shifted—slower, his word choices gentler. Most notably, he’d even smiled occasionally.
‘When I think about it, we’ve grown incomparably closer compared to when we first met.’
But today’s Aden was like the moment we’d first met.
Regardless, there was only one reason I could think of for Aden’s changed attitude.
‘I must have caused trouble while drunk….’
I had no memory after falling asleep at the table.
Had I grabbed Aden by the collar and shaken him roughly?
‘He’s not the type to act this way without reason.’
It was one of the few certainties I held about Aden.
There’s always a reason behind his actions. Even if that reason isn’t necessarily ‘universal or common sense.’
In any case, the first thing that came to mind within my common sense was that I’d caused a scene while drunk.
“Did you not hear me tell you to go?”
He really was like the Aden from my interview day.
I laughed hollowly and asked carefully.
“I heard, but may I ask one thing?”
“If it’s about the key, you need not return it.”
“…Pardon?”
An unexpected response came back.
As I stood bewildered, Aden sighed and added, still keeping his eyes on the documents.
“During the investigation period, you cannot enter the Company Residence, so you may stay at my residence in the meantime.”
I felt even more bewildered.
“I appreciate the offer, but that wasn’t what I wanted to ask about.”
“Then what is it?”
“Did I perhaps make a mistake with you that night two days ago….”
“A mistake.”
Was it my imagination?
Aden’s voice as he repeated the word ‘mistake’ sounded dark.
“Iliana Grecia… you made no mistake with me.”
“….”
“Now go. Leave with Luther when you clock out.”
And so I was cast out once again.
As a result, I found myself thoroughly bewildered.
I’d always known Aden had an eccentric temperament, but was he truly this unpredictable?
‘Why does he insist on sleeping at his own house again?’
Since he wasn’t one to speak idle words, my mistake—or rather, the lack thereof—was likely the truth.
‘Then is he stressed because of Crimson…?’
The fact that work had grown too demanding for me to retrieve Sungsu felt like a critical blunder.
In any case, if it was because of Crimson, I could understand.
Seeing Aden in such visibly poor spirits, I had no desire to oppose him, so I decided to simply comply with his wishes.
“Luther.”
“Mm.”
“If there’s something you want to say, just say it.”
“I’d rather not.”
With Luther’s expressive farewell—his face speaking volumes where words would not—I returned to the Safe House in a somewhat uncomfortable mood.
It struck me anew how desolate it felt. It seemed Aden hadn’t returned to the Safe House last night.
‘I need to resolve Crimson quickly. Aden said we’d discuss it once the investigation progresses, but if he continues suppressing his emotions like this, he might suddenly explode. That would be catastrophic.’
There was a reason I’d asked Aden how he intended to handle Crimson.
In the original story, after the landslide incident, Aden dismantled Crimson with truly brutal efficiency.
He didn’t merely return the bombing in kind. He kidnapped key personnel, extracted information from them, then mercilessly ‘disposed’ of them. Using that intelligence, he froze or seized all of Kaileb Crimson’s assets, cutting off any possibility of the nobles offering aid.
And then Aden finally appeared before Kaileb Crimson, abandoned by everyone.
Bringing with him Kaileb’s pregnant daughter.
‘…He placed a knife in Odette’s hands.’
Aden offered Odette—Kaileb’s daughter and his card for social advancement—a choice.
Stab her father and save her own life, or sacrifice herself to save his.
Odette stabbed her father.
Watching the blade fail to penetrate deeply, Kaileb’s eyes widen in shock, and Odette’s trembling form, Aden simply said…
“So your resolve to escape your father amounted to merely this? I had hoped your skill with a blade might exceed your talent for deception.”
“…”
“How unfortunate.”
He threw both of them into a Private Prison where no light reached, and locked the door so that no one could ever enter or leave.
When the Protagonist and her companions opened that prison door, what greeted them were two skeletons.
It was impossible to tell which had died first, or which had killed the other.
I hastily erased the image of that prison—gruesome even in imagination—from my mind and exhaled deeply.
‘I understand seeking revenge against Kaileb Crimson. That’s his karma. But the method is the problem.’
If Aden went to prison, La Mar would collapse too—it wasn’t a separate issue.
No matter how justified the revenge, no one could remain unscathed after staining their hands with blood like that. Aden’s self-control and composure rapidly deteriorated from that incident onward.
In a sense, Crimson became the spark that ignited his magical runaway.
‘I have to prevent that. To do so…’
I had no choice but to somehow uncover the clues that might remain hidden in the original story.
Which meant I’d have to imagine that prison scene again. Though it made my skin crawl, there was no helping it—and with that thought, I picked up my pen.
The backup communication device rang.
“Yes, this is Iliana Grecia.”
Only Luther, Lenox, and Aden knew about this communication device.
…Could it be Aden?
-This is Ezekiel Lask, Commander of the Holy Knight Order.
I was half surprised and half disappointed, but I forced down the feeling.
Well, since I’d reported the backup communication device to the Investigation Bureau, it wasn’t strange that he knew about it.
It was odd to contact me in the middle of the night, but if it was for the investigation….
-Come to the Investigation Bureau immediately. However, keep this secret from your Director.
But what came next was even stranger. Before I could ask anything more, the communication cut off abruptly.
I couldn’t know why he’d suddenly summoned me, but in a way, it was an opportunity.
I might be able to catch wind of the investigation’s progress, and I might even discover unexpected clues.
‘But why does his instruction to keep this secret from Aden feel so….’
After hesitating for a moment, I made my decision.
“Director, the Holy Knight Order Commander says he wants to see me briefly at the Investigation Bureau, but to keep it secret from you. What should I do?”
Why would I listen to someone I’d only see once?

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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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