If You Are Suited for the Villain's Secretary - Chapter 61
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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 61
‘And really, it should be fine for me to make decisions of this caliber on my own. After all, problems tend to arise anyway.’
It was better to report issues preemptively than to regret them later.
Especially when the superior was someone like Aden.
-What is it?
“The call cut off before you could even ask.”
I thought he might tell me to ignore it, but his response through the communicator was unexpected.
-Wait for now. I’ll come get you.
“Pardon?”
The communication cut off, and shortly after.
“Come out.”
Along with a knock, Aden’s voice came from outside the door.
I did leave the Safe House as he instructed, but doubt lingered in my mind.
‘I thought he was going to come get me and warn me to watch my words.’
Aden walked forward without speaking, his gaze fixed ahead.
I glanced at his profile, dimly lit by the falling night, and finally broke the silence.
“Why did the Holy Knight Order Commander call for me?”
“It’s unlikely to be about La Mar.”
“Then it must be to extract information about The Director—his weaknesses, that sort of thing? The Order seems to regard him as a dangerous individual.”
“That’s quite likely.”
“…Are you not concerned?”
Aden stopped in his tracks.
His gaze finally turned toward me.
“Why would I not be concerned?”
“Well, I might misspeak, or break under interrogation and reveal information about The Director.”
The matter of Calix Arden Blight was set aside for now.
Aden wouldn’t think I knew his true identity, and Ezekiel wasn’t yet at a stage where he would question Calix Arden Blight.
But even setting that aside, Aden was someone with many secrets.
He should have at least warned me about precautions, yet he sent me off without a word.
I wondered if it was because he trusted me, or because he was confident he could handle whatever I might say. Perhaps I had been hoping for the former.
And yet…
“It doesn’t matter.”
Faint moonlight cast itself across his pale cheek.
“You believe the information you know—or think you know—about me is important enough to affect my safety. Is that what you think?”
“…”
“Others might think so.”
Where the light had scratched, a cool shadow settled in.
“But it isn’t. So there’s no reason for me to be concerned.”
You’re mistaken.
Aden was saying exactly that—that I knew nothing about him.
All I could speak of regarding him were mere surface-level fragments.
It was a pointed remark that drew a clear line between us.
“There’s no need for you to take sides with me and deliberately raise your banner against the Holy Knight Order’s commander.”
Yet why did he add such words?
As though his previous statement wasn’t a warning to me, but rather… concern.
Aden resumed walking and stopped where the Investigation Bureau came into view.
“Do you see the red button on the communicator? Keep it activated in case we move somewhere other than the Investigation Bureau. It’s a location tracking device.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be in the office, so contact me once you’re finished.”
“Yes.”
“Then go ahead and enter.”
“Yes. Please don’t worry too much.”
Aden, who had been about to turn away after concluding our exchange in a businesslike manner, paused at my response.
To him, who was gazing at me intently, I spoke once more with emphasis.
“Don’t worry. I’ll do well.”
Then I turned away.
I couldn’t see what expression Aden wore behind me after hearing my words.
They say he’s always been somewhat peculiar, but I couldn’t quite understand why he’d suddenly become so sharp these past few days.
As he said, I don’t know much about Aden. But there is one thing I know.
That man, who had turned his concern for me into something fierce and roundabout,
“Hello, Holy Knight Order’s commander.”
was still a ‘good director’ to me.
Entering the Interrogation Room, I offered a gentle smile to Ezekiel, who had been waiting for me with a furrowed brow.
***
Oswald, the adjutant monitoring the interrogation through the magical device connected to the interrogation room, let out a hollow laugh.
-Didn’t you explicitly tell your director to keep this summons secret?
-Yes, sir, you did.
-Then why did you arrive at the Investigation Bureau with the director? Did you think my warning could be ignored?
-That couldn’t be further from the truth, Holy Knight Commander. I simply happened to be at the director’s residence when I received the summons.
-…What?
-Therefore, it was rather difficult to maintain secrecy in that situation. My apologies.
“Wow, this secretary is really something else.”
To remain so composed even in front of the Holy Knight Commander—it was remarkable.
Whether it stemmed from audacity, confidence in something, or simply resembling the director she served, I couldn’t quite tell.
Moreover, even as she parried his questions, her tone remained consistently gentle and tinged with amusement, making it difficult to find any real fault with her responses.
‘She didn’t even trigger the lie detector.’
When pressed about why she was at the director’s residence at this hour, she claimed she’d been working there due to the overwhelming demands of the investigation.
Her answers came readily enough, yet somehow they always seemed to miss the mark.
She was likely twisting her responses just enough to evade the lie detector while carefully selecting which questions to answer—never volunteering more than necessary.
-I found a resignation letter you wrote. What was your reason for wanting to leave the Trading Company after just one day, and what made you change your mind and continue working?
-Well, the biggest reason was the bonus I received on my first day, and the second reason was my superior.
-Your superior being the director?
-No, I’m referring to Jeremy Sand, my senior secretary. In fact, I was promoted semi-forcibly because of him. Oh, and by the way, he was a spy for Crimson. Have you heard about this already?
‘But what puzzles me is why the Holy Knight Commander would summon this woman again.’
Iliana Grecia was a difficult witness to interrogate.
‘He claimed it was to obtain information about Director Aden and the “Black Label Documents”….’
Wouldn’t it have been better to call Luther, that large man, for such purposes instead?
As Oswald tilted his head in confusion, he heard a sharp beep—the voice from the interrogation room had cut off.
Ezekiel had disconnected the line temporarily.
While closed interrogations weren’t uncommon, Oswald noticed something different about Ezekiel today and quietly retrieved a basket of confiscated items.
‘In any case, the commander is working hard even at this late hour, so I should do my part too. Especially since Marquis Vito has been pressing for quick results.’
What Oswald picked up was Iliana’s glasses.
‘Criminals use every trick in the book—why must we always investigate so honestly?’
With a crooked smile, Oswald quietly opened a drawer.
Inside lay a small, lightweight tracking device he’d purchased with his own money. Using a small screwdriver, he disassembled the frame of the glasses and carefully inserted the tracker into the seam. It fit perfectly.
‘Of course, the commander would never approve of such methods, but still—this secretary is the director’s closest confidant. If I’m lucky, I might be able to access the director’s hidden assets or secret vault through her.’
The more evidence we uncovered against La Mar, the more the flaws of Marquis Vito and Crimson came to light.
Yet Oswald, mindful that this could all be a provocation from La Mar, felt his determination only intensify.
I’ll expose every dirty secret La Mar has, no matter what!
As he reaffirmed his resolve, Oswald heard the door open. He quickly returned the glasses to the basket and feigned indifference.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Ah, yes. You may go.”
Even with that innocent smile and greeting, I won’t be fooled. Never!
As Iliana bowed and left with the confiscated items, Oswald caught a glimpse of her retreating figure and reaffirmed his determination once more.
***
‘Why do they keep staring at me?’
Oswald’s repeated glances were beginning to irritate me.
I adjusted my glasses and slipped around the side of the building, out of view from the Investigation Bureau’s entrance, my thoughts churning.
‘Top-secret documents, apparently.’
It had happened just moments ago.
Ezekiel, who had been interrogating me, suddenly cut off the external communication device.
I’d felt my blood run cold, wondering if he was about to resort to coercion for a confession.
‘He asked if I knew about the Black Label documents—files containing La Mar’s classified information along with Aden’s personal details.’
It was the first I’d ever heard of such a thing. It wasn’t even mentioned in the original work.
So I’d answered honestly that I knew nothing about it. But the more I thought about it, the clearer it became.
‘Jeremy must have dug that tunnel toward the Document Storage Room for these documents. So Crimson is after them.’
For a moment, I wondered if Ezekiel had colluded with Crimson, but I quickly dismissed the thought.
I couldn’t imagine that obsessively sincere Holy Knight being swayed by Kaileb Crimson’s money.
But it was possible he’d been manipulated from above—perhaps Marquis Vito, having been asked a favor by Kaileb, had let something slip.
Either way, it seemed he was searching for anything that might aid the investigation.
‘Either way, I need to report this to Aden.’
If those documents contained information about Calix Arden Blight, it would be catastrophic.
I was entering Aden’s number into my communication device when I furrowed my brow.
‘…But why did Ezekiel ask me that strange question at the very end?’
Just before I’d left the interrogation room, Ezekiel had posed an utterly unexpected question.
And with complete seriousness, no less.
“…Are you perhaps a mage?”
“Pardon? No?”
I’d waved my hand in denial, and he’d simply told me to leave.
But he’d already confirmed it with a mana detection device, so why ask such a thing now?
‘Does he think I used magic because I didn’t break under interrogation?’
If that were the case, I’d be rather flattered.
I let out a soft chuckle and pressed the send button on my communication device.
But that was when it happened.
“Mmph!”
Before the connection tone could even sound.
Someone suddenly clamped a hand over my mouth from behind, and I dropped the communication device.
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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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