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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: The Assistant Manager's Secret
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How much time had passed? Cedric swept toward the main entrance, his coattails fluttering.
“Understood. I shall return in thirty minutes.”
From his somewhat restrained voice, it was clear he was suppressing a boiling rage.
“Your Grace!”
And just like that, Cedric departed from the with his subordinate in tow.
‘It’s just thirty minutes, he could have waited inside, honestly.’
I watched Cedric’s retreating back and secretly clicked my tongue.
His damn pride must have made it too embarrassing for him to stay.
“Lady Charlotte Lindsi.”
The manager, after giving the departing Cedric a polite bow, finally spoke to me.
“Once again, I apologize for failing to keep our appointment time.”
“Ah, it’s quite all right. These things happen.”
“Then, please come this way.”
I followed his elegant gesture up the stairs, and the assistant manager followed behind me.
The VIP room was located in the innermost part of the second floor, exuding an even more luxurious atmosphere than the first.
“You may sit over there.”
As I settled onto the plush sofa at the manager’s direction, the assistant manager plopped down comfortably on the one opposite me.
“By the way, where’d you go, big brother? Without a word.”
He popped a cookie, which had been prepared on the table in advance, into his mouth as he spoke.
“You said you didn’t have anything special scheduled today.”
Just as I was thinking his tone was remarkably informal, I found myself startled.
“You scoundrel!”
The manager, who had seemed as if he would remain calm even through a natural disaster, had suddenly erupted.
“You disappeared, leaving nothing but a leave request, and I’m the one who gets the calls!”
The assistant manager simply raised both hands, a grin still on his face.
“Sorry, sorry. But it was a sudden vacation, and I figured you wouldn’t approve it if I applied by the book.”
“So you just disappear without a word? I had to go because your colleague begged me, saying it was an emergency. Me!”
“Well, that’s a relief. It must have been a good opportunity to show off your skills in front of others for a change.”
“Y-you…! The mouth on you!”
The manager seemed to be rummaging in his pocket, and then something went flying.
“Whoa, how could you just throw that at me?”
The assistant manager protested, nimbly dodging the fountain pen that came hurtling toward him.
“Alright, you’ve really done it now.”
While the manager scanned the VIP room for something else to throw, the assistant manager grabbed my wrist.
“Let’s run!”
With those words, he pulled me out of the VIP room.
“You, you brat! Get back here!”
He left his fuming superior behind.
“This way!”
The man pulling my hand led me to the third floor.
Unlike the bustling, shop-like first floor or the quiet, office-like second floor, the third floor of the seemed more like a warehouse.
The assistant manager entered a small room in the farthest corner of the third floor and stood before the wall opposite the door.
Something strange happened when he tilted one of the candlestick sconces on the wall to the side.
The bookshelf, filled with what looked like ledgers, began to move on its own.
Soon, the bookshelf opened like a door, revealing a hidden space behind it.
“Surprised? It’s not dangerous, so please come in.”
Without waiting for my reply, he stepped hastily into the secret space.
He kept glancing back toward the door, apparently worried the manager would come charging in at any moment.
The inside was wider and more comfortable than I had expected.
He easily closed the entrance to the secret space using a handle on the back of the bookshelf.
“We should be fine now that we’re in here.”
The man turned to me and said cheerfully.
“This door, you see, can’t be opened by touching that candlestick, no matter how hard you try, if someone is inside.”
“I see.”
“Ah, my goodness. I was in such a rush that I haven’t even properly introduced myself.”
The hood that had been covering the assistant manager’s face was pulled back. And the identity it revealed was…
“You remember me, don’t you? I’m Kirie.”
It was, as one might expect, Kirie—the second male lead of and the court mage.
He smiled, his appearance as beautiful and pure as ever.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
“It’s a pleasure to see you too. But, um…”
My gaze shifted to my wrist. The wrist that had been in his grasp this entire time.
“Ah.”
He looked at his hand, then at my face. Hand, then face. His expression rapidly hardened.
“Aaargh!”
Kirie suddenly let out a desperate scream and snatched his hand away from my wrist.
Then he scrambled backward until he was pressed flat against the wall like a sticker.
“I-I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking, just grabbing, grabbing a lady’s wrist like that.”
I knew it. For someone who had trouble with women, he had been far too casual in touching me, making me wonder if his condition had improved.
‘He was simply distracted by other things.’
It wasn’t all that strange.
After all, Kirie had been preoccupied, first dealing with Cedric and then fleeing from the manager.
But once he became conscious of the fact that I was a woman, this was his reaction.
“Haha… Please, make yourself comfortable and sit there.”
The mage, who looked anything but comfortable himself, said, pointing to a chair.
“You should sit too, Kirie.”
“I’m fine. I’m comfortable here.”
“Ah, yes. Still, if you stay so far away, it’s a bit…”
“Then please give me five minutes. I’ll just stay here for a little while before I come over.”
And so, we decided to have an incredibly awkward five-minute intermission.
I passed the time by idly looking around the secret space.
Usually, places like this in novels are meant to exude a secret, mysterious atmosphere, but this place was, how should I put it…
‘It looks lived-in.’
There was a desk cluttered with miscellaneous tools, a bookshelf packed with books, and an array of various objects whose purposes were hard to guess.
Most likely, they were magical tools that Kirie had made or was in the process of making.
Even I, who had read the novel, had no idea a space like this existed.
“Phew, I’ve calmed down a bit now.”
Just then, Kirie, who had taken several deep breaths, sat down in the remaining chair.
“I-I received the l-letter you sent. It was a-about the reward I promised you b-before, wasn’t it.”
Are you really calm?
“Are you alright?”
Kirie quickly shook his head at my question.
“Perfectly fine. Please don’t worry at all.”
Even as he said that, Kirie subtly scooted the chair he was sitting in toward the exit.
‘…It’s not like I’m some kind of monster that eats people.’
Objectively speaking, I was the one who should be on guard right now.
I was in a sealed, secluded space with a man I had only met three times.
Yet the one sweating, unable to even make proper eye contact, was Kirie.
“You seem as nervous as last time. Weren’t you getting used to it?”
“There’s no way I could get used to it after such a short time. Besides, I unknowingly held your wrist for so long…”
“You’re quite unique, Kirie. You were so chee—, I mean, you spoke so fluently in front of Grand Duke Hiklrid.”
I had been about to say ‘cheeky’ but corrected myself midway.
“Pardon? Is that unique?”
As expected, changing the subject made it easier for Kirie to answer.
“Of course. So many people are afraid of Grand Duke Hiklrid. They say he’s as cold as the ice and snow of the North.”
“Well, I’ve heard stories like that, but when I saw him earlier, my only impression was that he was an irritating person.”
In the middle of his sentence, Kirie let out a small “Ah,” his expression surprised.
“Come to think of it, you said you liked him, my lady. I didn’t mean to speak ill of him…”
“No! I don’t like him! I’ve given up!”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. The reason I knelt earlier was only to apologize for something I did wrong in the past.”
“That’s a relief, then. You’re too good for a man like that.”
“Haha… You’re flattering me.”
“I’m being sincere. Moreover, you used your excellent insight to figure out the connection between this shop and me. The fact that I’m the assistant manager isn’t publicly known, you see.”
“Ah, that was just a lucky guess. I was a bit hesitant to send a letter directly to you because of my family, so I tried to have it delivered through an acquaintance.”
I came up with a plausible excuse, since the rumor that he often visited this shop was something one could know without having read the novel.
“Apologizing to the Grand Duke on your knees like that was also a remarkable choice.”
“Oh, it was nothing.”
“Not at all. Most nobles, including myself, would find it nearly impossible to do such a thing for the sake of appearances. As such, if the Grand Duke were to reprimand you again, public opinion would likely turn against him.”
The atmosphere was more amicable than I had expected. Why was he showering me with such pleasant compliments?
‘Don’t tell me he’s fallen for me.’
Is this that classic trope where every guy falls for the transmigrated protagonist… Not a chance.
Even as he smiled, the slight twitch at the corner of his right lip showed that Kirie was still uncomfortable around me.
After savoring a brief moment of sweetness, I returned to harsh reality.
The most fundamental reason Kirie was being so favorable to me was, of course, the bed.
‘It’s kind of pathetic, really. It reminds me of my past life, having to suck up to my boss just to get by.’
Life is tough, in that world and this one.
I decided to quickly alleviate Kirie’s troubles.
“Well, shall we get to the main point now?”
Perfect timing. Kirie moved the conversation forward.
