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Chapter 31
What was that? That line sounded strangely reckless.
“So cool…!”
So that’s what a boss who throws around envelopes of money looks like — confident and dependable!
I stared blankly up at Cayenne in admiration.
Seeing the look in my eyes, Cayenne gave a knowing little laugh.
“You almost married a man you didn’t even love for a few coins. I’ve heard it’s painful to go against your heart.”
It hadn’t really been that painful though…?
I was just a little worried about whether I could find a contract marriage partner who matched my interests.
Cayenne’s words were slightly off the mark, but that wasn’t important.
What was important was that the man standing before me trusted me so much that he’d handed me a hundred thousand gold!
With genuine respect and loyalty welling up from deep inside, I shouted passionately:
“Thanks to the bonus you gave me yesterday, things have gotten so, so much better! Thank you so much! Being able to work by your side is the greatest fortune of my life. I want to serve you faithfully and never leave your side for the rest of my life!”
Along with my gratitude, I also slipped in my desire for lifelong employment.
But… maybe that desire was too obvious?
Cayenne’s graceful mouth suddenly stiffened.
Then, abruptly, he turned his head aside and coughed awkwardly.
“W-well… ahem. It’s nothing. That amount is mere pocket change to me.”
Was that… a sudden boast about money?
It was random, but maybe that’s what a hundred-thousand-gold bonus does — even that seemed cool to me!
“Ahem. Then. From now on. Focus. Even more. On your duties.”
Huh. His voice and movements seemed strangely choppy somehow.
Must’ve been my imagination. I erased the stray thought and beamed brightly.
“Yes! I’ll do my best!”
While I was immersed in my morning work, Aaron called to me from outside the office door.
“Handle the afternoon tasks in this order.”
“Yes, thank you, senior.”
“Ah, if you’ve got any questions, ask now. I’m heading out for field work soon, then straight home afterward.”
So this would be my only chance to talk to him today.
I hurried to stop him.
“Um, Senior Aaron.”
“Yes? Ask anything.”
“Actually, I wanted to ask you for a favor.”
“A favor?”
“Would you… be willing to go to the graduation ball with me?”
Crash!
Something clattered to the floor inside the office.
A short while later.
Aaron stood before the desk, hands folded politely, a bead of cold sweat running down his face.
Cayenne, who had been gazing out the window, slowly turned toward his subordinate.
“Aaron.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“What kind of nonsense were you pulling on the rookie?”
So he heard after all!
Cayenne’s hearing was extraordinary — not just his hearing, but all five senses were unnaturally sharp, awakened by his immense magical power.
If he hadn’t heard it, the sound of the glass falling when Aaron was invited by Frisia wouldn’t have reached him from inside the office.
And a few seconds later, that ice-cold voice wouldn’t have summoned Aaron inside either.
‘Lady Violet is someone the Duke himself personally stopped from marrying, that’s how much he values her. If he thinks I was hitting on her, I’m dead!’
Aaron recalled the bald man from the vision sphere who’d tried flirting with Frisia and got ruthlessly stomped by Cayenne.
Determined not to share that fate, Aaron explained desperately.
“You heard what Miss Violet added afterward, didn’t you? That she didn’t have anyone suitable, so she asked me as a last resort. It’s not unheard of for a senior colleague to act as an escort.”
Indeed, a lady’s escort didn’t have to be a lover.
It could be her father, brother, relative, or superior.
“She probably didn’t want to attend the academy graduation ball alone, so she asked me.”
Aaron kept explaining frantically.
But Cayenne wasn’t really listening.
“She asked because she couldn’t go alone? Then… why didn’t she ask me?”
The thought came out of nowhere and refused to leave his mind.
“Well, I suppose a boss isn’t the same as a senior colleague.”
Maybe she just didn’t have the courage to ask her superior and chose the more approachable Aaron instead.
That explanation made sense.
Besides, attending something as trivial as a ball for freshly graduated kids was ridiculous.
He despised meaningless social events where you had to waste hours pretending to care.
Still…
“So going alone to the graduation ball is considered improper?”
“Yes, sir. Since it’s their first debut in high society, appearances matter. The capital’s nobility is quite conservative about that.”
“How ridiculous.”
Cayenne snorted. The pretentious customs of the nobility disgusted him.
But he also knew that if you wanted to live among them, you had to play by their rules.
So… for the sake of his competent secretary’s public image, for one day…
“I suppose I could make the time.”
Convinced by his own reasoning, Cayenne turned to Aaron.
“When’s the graduation ball?”
“The last day of this month, sir.”
“What’s on my schedule that day?”
Aaron quickly pulled out his planner and began listing:
“At 9 a.m., a budget meeting with the Minister of Finance. At 11, an audience with the Laphlia ambassador. At 3, a power and strategy briefing. And at 6, a royal state banquet.”
“Nothing important, then.”
“What?! Those are all important, sir…”
“Cancel them all.”
“Wh-what?! But— Yes, sir! Understood!”
Under Cayenne’s deadly gaze, Aaron nodded frantically.
“That ball—does it go on all night? Then clear my schedule for the next morning too.”
“S-sir… surely you don’t mean…”
As the bizarre orders continued, Aaron looked up in disbelief.
“You’re not actually planning to attend as Miss Violet’s partner, are you?”
“I am. Why, is that a problem?”
Aaron’s eyes widened.
A problem? Oh, definitely.
Wouldn’t the poor rookie just faint on the spot?!
“I mean… I believe Miss Violet truly respects you, sir, but even so—having you as her partner would be too much pressure, wouldn’t it?”
“Why?”
“Well…”
Lately, rumors had been swirling through the capital about the Tower Lord and his beautiful secretary — in a distinctly romantic tone.
If they showed up together at the ball, it would surely explode into a massive scandal.
‘Even if Miss Violet’s infatuated with him, this is on another level!’
For a young noble lady, especially one of humble status, a scandal could be fatal.
Besides, Frisia had always seemed modest and reserved — she even looked uncomfortable under the attention of the court magicians today.
And there was an even more serious issue.
“If you escort her, everyone will assume you have a special relationship. Wouldn’t that completely ruin her chances at marriage?”
“So you’re saying she’ll never marry and will just grow old working for me?”
“W-well… yes?”
Cayenne tilted his head with a crooked smile.
“I like that idea. Proceed.”
Aaron’s jaw dropped.
He’d always been a reckless man, but when it came to Violet, that recklessness took an entirely different form!
“S-still, shouldn’t you at least ask Miss Violet first?”
“Her opinion? Oh, she’ll agree.”
Cayenne raised an eyebrow with shameless confidence, a faint smile curling his lips.
“She just said today she wants to stay by my side forever. That meeting me was the greatest fortune of her life.”
Running a hand through his hair, Cayenne recalled her words:
“Being able to work by your side is the greatest fortune of my life. I want to serve you faithfully and never leave your side for the rest of my life!”
Her eyes had sparkled with warmth and admiration — dazzlingly so.
“…”
For some reason, Cayenne suddenly found it hard to breathe. He loosened his cravat.
