IBVSM 03

Chapter 03

My instincts, sharpened by sending money every month to repay my debts, screamed at me.

“Two hundred thousand gold?!”

I hurriedly flipped over the envelope and clamped a hand over my mouth at the sight of the enormous sum written inside.

I’d expected maybe five thousand gold. Ten thousand at most!

“What the heck? Why is the interview fee so high?”

Before I knew it, I was already bowing deeply in the direction of .

“Maybe he’s a villain, but at least he’s not stingy? Wow, with this much money I could cover a month’s food expenses—no, if I’m careful, maybe even two months!”

Clutching the two hundred thousand gold, I happily ran toward the employment agency.

For the first time in a while, both my steps and my heart felt light.

I even found myself feeling a little grateful toward the infamous Aden.

At least… until then.

At that same time, inside —

Even long after the interview had ended, Aden was still staring down at the résumé lying on his desk.

“Ilian Gresia.”

Murmuring the name written there to himself, Aden didn’t even raise his head at the knock on the door.

“Come in.”

“Yessir, coming in.”

Luther entered with an exaggerated salute before shutting the door and sitting down.

Officially, Luther’s public title was Aden’s attendant secretary.

But no matter how anyone looked at him, his thick muscular arms suited a bodyguard far more than a secretary.

Cracking his knuckles, Luther asked,

“So, why’d you call for me?”

“When you escorted Miss Gresia out earlier, how did she seem?”

“Ah, that kid?”

Luther grinned.

“She seemed decent.”

“And why do you think that?”

“Well, she didn’t badmouth you, Director.”

Aden finally looked up.

Seeing that expression, Luther shrugged awkwardly.

“I mean, come on. You call it an interview, but it basically looked like an interrogation, didn’t it? Most people would’ve shrunk right up. But even when I subtly gave her an opening, she kept smiling and answered politely the whole time. What’d she say again? Something like, ‘I learned a lot.’”

“……”

“She answered well, and her attitude was respectful. Don’t know for sure, but she seemed sharp and well-trained.”

“I had a similar impression.”

“Right? Then—”

“But why was it only when I asked about the ‘Airen Flower Incident’ that she briefly lost control of her expression?”

Something clicked in Luther’s head.

“Wait, wasn’t that the item our competitor made a fortune on years ago by importing fake seeds? Then when they got caught, they dumped all the blame on local traders from the island nation and ran?”

“Correct.”

“I heard every town got hit except some tiny countryside port?”

“Sirena. Coincidentally enough, Miss Gresia’s hometown. She claims Sirena avoided disaster because she personally identified the poisonous seeds.”

“Knew it! I could tell she was smart just by looking at her!”

Luther was grinning proudly when he noticed Aden’s expression and blinked.

“…D-Don’t tell me you think she’s lying?”

“Hard to say. Personally, I find it more believable that there was an internal connection between and , and they received advance information to avoid the damage. Miss Gresia likely knows that as well, which would explain her hesitation.”

“……”

“Of course, that alone isn’t enough to conclude anything. However—”

Aden handed over a photograph taken with a magic device.

Luther accepted it skeptically, then immediately covered his mouth.

“Isn’t this a picture of her coming out of ?!”

“It was sent by an informant this morning.”

“…C-Couldn’t she have just gone there for an interview?”

“You know as well as I do that hasn’t posted any recruitment notices recently.”

If Ilian had heard this, she would’ve been horrified.

She’d only stopped by to ask whether they had any part-time work that wasn’t listed through the employment agency.

But the problem was—

“Don’t tell me sent another spy?!”

At the moment, was already extremely wary of <Crimson’s> movements.

There were many who viewed the rapidly rising trading company with suspicion.

Not just rival companies—even rumors claimed the imperial family itself was closely watching the changing balance of power.

Ordinarily, that wouldn’t matter if they had nothing to hide.

‘But our company really isn’t innocent!’

was merely disguised as a trading company.

In truth, it was an information guild.

A so-called “Black Hand” organization willing to use any means necessary to achieve its goals.

Any business would suffer from spies, but for a group hiding secrets like , the existence of an infiltrator was especially dangerous.

“B-But still.”

Recovering himself, Luther spoke again.

In Luther’s opinion, Aden was excessively suspicious by nature.

Granted, that paranoid caution had saved them more than once before. So his wariness was understandable.

‘Especially since the spy from has already been bothering him.’

Aden had actually discovered the existing spy long ago.

He simply hadn’t “dealt with” them yet because he was still tracing the flow of funds.

Meanwhile, the spy remained completely unaware they’d been exposed and was stumbling around inside the trap Aden had prepared for them.

“We already have one spy in the company. Would they really send another? Though, to be fair, the current one isn’t exactly competent…”

Luther glanced toward the door and was about to continue when Aden slowly flipped through the papers and interrupted him.

“This recommendation letter says she hasn’t been late or absent a single time since she began working at fourteen.”

“Huh? Is that even possible?”

“Possible or not, the recommender listed here——apparently shut down a few days ago. Quite conveniently.”

“Oof… yeah, that is a little suspicious.”

“And the owner has disappeared as well.”

Of course Mason had disappeared.

He’d literally left on a voyage around the world.

If Ilian had heard this too, she would’ve grabbed the back of her neck in frustration.

“So far, it’s only circumstantial evidence. But most importantly, Miss Gresia…”

Tap. Tap.

Aden lightly tapped the desk.

“She immediately recognized that this desk is genuine blackwood.”

“…Seriously? Even experts struggle to tell the difference.”

“She also confidently stated that every desk in the office is genuine blackwood, not just the one in my study. What do you think that means?”

Luther’s uncertain expression instantly hardened.

“She either already knew we deal in blackwood…”

“Or, contrary to what this résumé claims, she grew up in an environment where blackwood was familiar to her. Such as receiving training within a noble household.”

The moment he said “noble,” Aden’s eyes sharpened like blades.

“If she’s connected to , that’s naturally a problem. But if she’s actually a noble operative disguising her identity more carefully by taking advantage of the conflict between rival companies, that’s equally dangerous.”

“S-So what are you going to do?”

To Luther, it sounded like Aden suspected the latter even more strongly.

Running a hand through his black hair, Aden spoke darkly.

“For now, send someone to Sirena. Have them investigate .”

“Yes sir, understood. Then what about Gresia—I mean, the new ‘spy’?”

“Well, obviously.”

Aden’s eyes gleamed.

“We hire her.”

“…What?”

“You keep your enemies close, Luther. Watch their every move thoroughly…”

The corner of his lips curved upward ever so slightly.

“And uncover whoever’s behind them.”

“……”

“Wouldn’t you agree?”

Luther quietly looked away from the company director whose smiling face was somehow far scarier than his usual blank expression.

The next morning, before dawn.

“Director of the agency? Good morning. What’s going on?”

“W-Well, about that…”

Ilian Gresia, who had opened the door after hearing a knock, was told—

“…They said you’re to report for work starting today immediately.”

“…What?!”

Still dressed in her pajamas, she received notice that she had passed the interview for the secretary position at .