If You Are Suited for the Villain's Secretary - Chapter 64

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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 64
“A g-gun…!”
Several knights faltered in surprise.
The compact revolver-type firearm—not a ceremonial musket—was so uncommon that most knights had never even seen one. It was expensive because it was an enhanced magical artifact.
Yet watching Aden handle such a weapon with practiced ease, the various charges hanging over his neck and the epithet “Black Hand” naturally overlapped in their minds. Luther even had another one.
However, Aden paid no attention to the knights’ stares as he gestured to Luther.
“Let’s go.”
Luther sometimes thought his director was like a glass of water.
A glass filled to the brim, precariously full. A glass on the verge of spilling over.
In Luther’s assessment, today the director was right before that overflow.
‘Given the situation, I understand why he doesn’t trust the knights.’
But for Iliana’s safety, wouldn’t they need the knights’ assistance, however unreliable?
Could there be another reason he distrusts the Holy Knight Order?
And besides…
‘If things continue like this, the director will actually slit Kaileb Crimson’s throat. He definitely had a “problem-free” plan in mind!’
This way, Kaileb’s scheme to destroy La Mar and Aden would simply be completed in a different direction.
Of course, if I had my way, I’d shoot that bastard Kaileb Crimson myself!
Watching Luther’s indecision, Aden moved forward instead of pressing further.
That was when it happened.
“I apologize.”
Ezekiel stepped into his path.
He spoke again, his gaze alternating between the gun and Aden’s face.
“A witness was kidnapped in front of the Investigation Bureau Main Gate. It is clearly my failure, and I sincerely apologize on the name of the Holy Knight Order Commander for failing to prevent it.”
Naturally, the Holy Knight Order Commander was not someone who had reason to apologize to anyone.
The knights, startled by this, quickly fell silent.
In truth, Aden’s words were correct. Though there were no guards at the main gate in the late hour, the fact that a witness who had come for questioning—not a mere passerby—was kidnapped near the Investigation Bureau meant the responsibility lay with the Bureau.
“I understand this is a situation easily misinterpreted.”
‘Especially since you must have heard some of the knights whispering.’
The knights who had rushed out late to the commotion had heard only that Aden’s secretary was kidnapped before gossiping whether it was a staged act.
These were the same knights who, like Oswald, viewed the attempted poisoning of Marquis Vito as La Mar’s provocation.
The chattering knights fell silent the moment they saw Aden’s expression, but words already spoken cannot be taken back. For Aden, it was sufficient reason to believe the Investigation Bureau was treating this matter lightly.
“The person who should receive that apology is not me.”
Aden replied expressionlessly and moved to leave again.
“I know. That’s why I hope you’ll cooperate in finding the person who should receive it.”
“…”
“I too wish to save Iliana Grecia. I promise there will be no problems.”
Ezekiel spoke with sincerity.
It was he himself who had summoned Iliana at this late hour.
Had that been purely official business?
No, that wasn’t it. It was to verify my suspicions about The Director standing before me, and while it might aid the investigation, strictly speaking, it had no direct connection to the audit.
‘And I didn’t even get a proper answer out of it.’
Ezekiel wondered if perhaps he hadn’t asked the right questions.
In other words, his own action of summoning a witness for a pointless inquiry had created this outcome.
It was just as Aden, who had been staring at Ezekiel’s face hardened with guilt, was about to speak.
“Um, Captain, actually… well, I…”
Oswald, who had been stammering, raised his hand with a face on the verge of tears.
“I installed a location tracker in Iliana Grecia’s glasses…”
Both Aden’s and Ezekiel’s gazes snapped toward him simultaneously.
Oswald, startled, continued in a trembling voice.
“It, it just stopped working, so I thought I should tell you… I’m sorry…!”
Luther moved the moment he understood what Oswald was saying, but Aden was faster.
Coordinates appeared on the tracker screen that Oswald held out. Aden read the combination of numbers in a single breath.
“Hallow Street 31.”
“Ah! That’s the cabin that a subcontractor of the defunct Crimson used as lodging for their mercenaries! It’s been empty now!”
“Go.”
They departed twenty minutes after Iliana had disappeared.
***
“What exactly is the information you need?”
I met Norbert’s gaze directly.
Whether the poison was spreading or if the situation itself was the poison, my stomach churned, but I endured it by biting the inside of my mouth.
‘It wasn’t Father.’
Norbert doesn’t know.
When I heard that my missing Father was on the other side of the glass barrier, the first emotion I felt wasn’t joy or relief—it was dissonance.
I don’t regard the existence called Father with mere affection.
Just as Father couldn’t hate or love his daughter, who resembled his dead wife so perfectly, after Mother passed away.
‘But if the person beyond the glass had truly been my Father, then at least, truly at least…’
“What did you… make me swallow?”
“What else? Poison.”
I would have reacted to the words that I had swallowed poison.
Even if my mouth had been sealed shut, my ears weren’t.
Thanks to that, I gained time to think while pretending to stare blankly at Father’s silhouette.
And when he didn’t hesitate to nod immediately, even though I had misspoken Mother’s necklace as an “earring.”
My dissonance became certainty.
‘Think clearly, Iliana.’
Had I ever been this angry in my life?
Rage surged up until my vision nearly turned white, but I tried to compose myself.
‘There’s only one thing I can do right now.’
First, I’ll agree, and extract as much information from Norbert as possible.
That was all there was to it.
“Of course it’s information about your Director. That man named Aden—the one about whom nothing else is known!”
“So you’re saying you need more than just basic personal details like his real name, origins, or age? Something deeper and more intimate, perhaps? Like carefully hidden secrets, for instance.”
“Exactly!”
“But could I possibly uncover such classified documents in such a short timeframe? Couldn’t you grant me more time?”
‘Crimson is merely speculating. They don’t seem to know exactly how many “Black Label Documents” exist or what they contain.’
I suppressed my nausea and forced composure into my expression.
“Who do you think you’re negotiating with right now? Don’t you understand your own position…!”
“I understand my position perfectly well, which is precisely why I’m making this rational assessment. You said what you gave me is poison—the same kind the servant consumed.”
“…W-well, that may be true, but!”
I needed to extract information about the poison.
The poison I’d already swallowed an entire flask of.
I pressed down my trembling voice and continued questioning.
“So if I’m going to collapse coughing up blood soon, what meaning does a 72-hour deadline hold? Isn’t the actual time I’ve been given merely a few hours?”
“Ha. Are you scared of dying? Don’t worry—this poison works like a time-bomb. It has a set deadline.”
“…So it’s a poison that activates at a predetermined time?”
“That’s right! Generic antidotes won’t work at all, so don’t waste your effort. If you want the real antidote within the timeframe, you’ll have to obtain those documents by any means necessary. Unless you can negotiate with the poison itself.”
‘So that was the magical aura Sherwood sensed in the poison.’
A delayed-action poison.
Beyond merely manifesting its effects slowly, this poison was designed to activate at a specific moment in time.
From what I gathered, it didn’t necessarily have to be exactly 72 hours—that was simply the duration of the poison they’d given me.
‘The likelihood that what Norbert is holding is the genuine antidote is… practically nonexistent.’
Just as they’d attempted to ensnare me using the fake Father, this was likely another deception.
A bitter taste filled my mouth.
‘In a way, having a 72-hour safety window actually works in my favor. It’s fine. I don’t know why it’s specifically 72 hours, but… it’s not the worst situation.’
No matter how many times I repeated this to myself, nausea rose in my throat, and my stomach churned so violently I had to lower my head.
‘I need to ask more. This is my chance. I have to focus, Iliana…’
When I first learned I’d been kidnapped, I was shocked.
That shock quickly faded, and the void it left was swiftly filled with rage.
But now that even the rage had subsided, what clawed at my insides was something else.
‘…Fear.’
The terror I’d deliberately ignored and suppressed.
The thundering of my heartbeat in my ears threatened to consume me entirely.

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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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