SDA 8

Chapter : 08

I replied casually.
“Well… objectively speaking, I guess that’s true.”
“…….”
“But I don’t really care about conditions or anything like that…”

As I mumbled on, a question suddenly struck me.
‘…Why is he asking me this?’

I wasn’t the client—I was just the center director.

“No… why are you bringing up my opinion now? An objective perspective matters, not what I personally think.”

Rian, who had been staring at me intently, let out a silent scoff.
His lips curved in a subtle, unreadable smile.
“Just because.”

His expression was enigmatic, impossible to interpret.
The red glow in his long eyes was unusually vivid today.

Facing Rian like this made me feel strangely uneasy.
‘He’s not the same guy I usually see.’

Sometimes he gave off this kind of aura.
He usually maintained a cheerful, “Chase-like” charm, but then suddenly became weighty and intense.
‘It’s like two souls exist within one body.’

Even the staff seemed as bewildered as I was.
I could feel the atmosphere in the center shift awkwardly.

Fiddling with my sleeve, I snapped back to reality.
The wall clock caught my eye.

“Enough. Let’s get to the point… We need to decide within ten minutes whether we’ll take the request or not.”
“…….”
“Johann, the Marquis of Veloster, is on his way to the center. He’s scheduled to arrive exactly at 10 o’clock.”

Haven, who had been sipping juice while hesitating, swallowed hard.
Isadora and Finn both turned to check the time.
‘It’s 9:50 now.’

The Johann I knew would never be late.

“So, what will it be?”
“…….”
“We either tell the Marquis of Veloster the truth and cancel the request, or we keep it a secret among ourselves and push through regardless.”

Finn ran his fingers roughly through his hair.
“Wow… so it’s basically either keeping our conscience and ending up broke, or taking the money and throwing our conscience away, huh.”
“Damn it, I already planned what I’d do if we got the incentive…”

Haven pouted and lay flat on the desk, face down.

Isadora spoke.
“I’ve already stated my position. I believe it’s right to tell the truth.”
“But Dora, why are you acting like this? You usually go crazy over money.”

Indeed.
Even I was curious why Isadora, usually the most materialistic among us, was being moralistic this time.

When Haven asked, Isadora pushed her glasses up with her index finger.
“It’s a shame to throw away an incentive that fell into my lap, but protecting the reputation I’ve built is important too.”

“…….”
“I’ve contributed significantly to the Willow Counseling Center’s ‘100% dating success rate.’ I’m undoubtedly the employee who has written the most love letters for clients.”
“…….”
“I don’t want this record to ever be broken.”

Ah…
‘Of course. She chose reputation over money, nothing more complicated than that.’

Finn and Haven sided with Isadora.
“I also think it’s not right to start something knowing it will fail.”
“Money would be nice, but… let’s protect our reputation instead.”

Rian, sitting at his desk and shaking his legs, muttered quietly.
“What a shame… looked like it would’ve been fun.”

Seeing the staff’s reactions, I had no choice but to give in.
‘Well, that actually works out for me.’

I never wanted Johann and Violet to be together anyway.
‘It doesn’t mean I get a chance, though…’

I had already heard where Johann’s heart was headed.
So I couldn’t approach him.
‘My own love has spectacularly failed… but at least I don’t have to lie to Johann. That’s somewhat relieving.’

At that moment, a bell rang at the front gate, and Johann entered the center.
‘Jesus Christ…’

His holy beauty once again seemed to absolve all my sins.

I greeted him, trying to act casual.
“You’re here?”
“You arrived on time.”

Johann glanced at his watch, showing exactly 10:00, and smiled.
‘Ha… I have to say goodbye to those beautiful dimples.’

I didn’t like seeing Violet and Johann acting lovey-dovey, but I did like that the request gave me many chances to meet him…

Then suddenly, some men started coming in behind Johann.
‘Huh…?’

There were five of them, each carrying something large in their hands.
Baskets of food.

Johann met the staff’s eyes.
“I know I’ve asked you to take on a special request outside your usual duties. I also understand it may interfere with the center’s work.”
“…….”
“But since you all agreed willingly, I wanted to offer a small token of thanks.”

The men set the baskets down on an empty table.
Finn and Haven were already inspecting the food as if they had teleported there.
“Steak… lobster…”
“What is this? What is it called?”
“Foie gras.”
“Wow… there are salmon roe too.”
“Not salmon roe, sturgeon roe.”

He said it was a “small” token of thanks.
‘This rich male lead…’

Johann had basically bribed them with three luxurious delicacies.

Finn and Haven, salivating, immediately swarmed to me.
“Director, let’s do it.”
“Come on, just do it.”

These guys…
‘How do they switch positions so fast every time?’

I didn’t answer and instead looked at Isadora.
She quietly opened her mouth, still staring at the feast.
“Earlier, I belittled Johann Marquis of Veloster for being kind to everyone, didn’t I?”
“…….”
“Upon reflection, that was a very rash comment. The Marquis is a good person.”

One corner of her mouth lifted slightly.
“Let’s uphold the name of Willow Counseling Center and reverse the outcome.”

Once again, the staff surrendered to capitalism.
I couldn’t stop it.
‘And I can’t turn Johann away now that he’s already come with food.’

I approached Johann and greeted him.
“Thank you, Marquis.”
“No, thank you, Director. I look forward to working with you.”

Johann’s dimples played hide-and-seek as he spoke.
Seeing his brilliant smile made my heart ache.
‘Damn it… now I have to struggle to pair you with Violet again…’

Refusing the request means I can’t see him, fulfilling the request means I have to see him with another girl.
It’s tormenting.
‘I’m not in a fantasy romance; I just wanted to play a favorite character-raising game.’

But now, I couldn’t cancel it forever.
So I had to steel myself.
‘Right… Johann has potential, just like I thought.’

A man who would stand out anywhere.
‘Violet, it doesn’t matter whether you like the crown prince.’

I’ll show you just how amazing this caring male lead is.

9 PM, Baron Ijet.

Dim lights glowed in the study of the mansion.
Chase Willow sat in a chair, reviewing a pile of papers.

Of course, knowing his playful personality, he probably hadn’t been diligently working until now.

He was reading love letters that had arrived at his desk.
After flipping through the numerous letters, Chase put them down.
“…If you were going to send them, you should’ve gone through the center directly.”

Chase immediately recognized the handwriting as Isadora Mendoza’s.
Isadora, Finn, and Haven—three talents he personally selected.

Chase was truly sharp-minded.
A proper Casanova must have excellent memory, after all, to avoid mistakes with the women he meets.

Knock. Knock.

Chase sipped whiskey and said,
“Come in.”

The door creaked open, and a large figure entered the study.
Wet black hair, as if freshly washed.
Red eyes gleaming even in the dim light.

It was none other than Rian.

Seeing him, Chase stood up, and a crooked smile curved across his lips as he greeted,
“You’ve come, Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”