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Chapter 08
To be honest, Jeremy’s fighting skills were terribly crude.
Compared to the wrestling matches the sailors at his old trading company used to do for fun, this lacked any real force or technique.
But the problem was that Jeremy had completely lost his mind.
He barely managed to dodge Jeremy’s second wild charge.
“Shut up!”
Whack!
Before he could even straighten up, Jeremy’s arm shot toward him again—but instinctively, he blocked it with the broom in his hands.
He pushed back with all his strength, trying to shove Jeremy away with the broomstick, but the difference in physical strength was enormous.
Jeremy’s face slowly tilted closer toward him, curling into a nasty grin.
“You’re the one who should know who you’re messing with. How dare you pick a fight with me?”
Apparently Ilian’s muttering earlier about “knowing your opponent” had struck a nerve.
But the “opponent” he meant was Aden, not himself!
Still, before he could snap back, Jeremy pushed even harder against the broom.
“Urgh!”
“So you’d better tell me who sent you right now. Before I twist your neck off!”
‘Think. I need to think.’
Jeremy’s face was oppressively close, but Ilian desperately forced his brain to work.
How had the sailors fought again?
Then he remembered something one of the smaller sailors—who somehow always won wrestling matches despite his size—had once said.
“I’m weaker than the others, so it’s hard for me to throw someone down.”
“Then how do you win?”
“Oh, that’s simple. I make them fall on their own. You wait until they underestimate you, and then… you redirect their force a little.”
‘Right. That might work…!’
Quickly scanning his surroundings, Ilian made his decision.
And then—
“Tell me right—waugh!”
Instead of pushing the broom forward, he yanked it backward with all his strength.
Jeremy’s forward momentum combined with Ilian’s pull, and for a split second Jeremy staggered, losing his balance.
In the process, Ilian’s glasses were knocked away by Jeremy’s arm—
“Hah… hah…”
—but Ilian managed to slip free just before Jeremy’s body crashed into him.
Practically rolling as he scrambled to the far end of the hallway, Ilian stared at Jeremy, who was now approaching with a fury incomparable to before.
Cold sweat soaked the hand gripping the broom, but he never looked away.
‘Wait for it. I’ll only get one chance!’
Remembering what he had noticed earlier when surveying the hallway, he tightened his grip on the broom.
“You damn bitch…!”
Creak, creak.
Jeremy slowly advanced, stepping on the groaning floorboards.
The moment their eyes met—
“…Huh?”
Jeremy hesitated briefly.
‘What was that?’
Ilian didn’t know why.
But—
‘Now!’
Without missing the opportunity, Ilian stomped with all his strength on the opposite end of the creaking board Jeremy was standing on.
The combined weight of both of them crashed down at once.
And then—
“Uwaaaagh!”
Craaack!
The old floorboard—already weakened because someone had dug a tunnel beneath it and removed the support—splintered apart.
At the same moment, Jeremy’s leg plunged straight through the gap.
And perfectly timed with it, the broom Ilian swung came crashing down—
“Ghk!”
SMACK—!
Directly onto Jeremy’s head.
And so now—
“…That’s everything.”
—Ilian had been summoned to Aden’s office.
Damn it.
“……”
Throughout the entire explanation, Aden had remained silent.
Even after Ilian finished, he still said nothing.
Which made sense. Anyone would be dumbfounded.
‘If I came back from an outside meeting to find the hallway floor destroyed and the new trainee tying up a senior employee, I’d be speechless too…’
To begin with, it was unclear whether Aden even believed him.
It was true that Jeremy had picked the fight first, but there was no proof.
After all, Ilian was just a trainee on his first day, while Jeremy had worked at La Mar for six months already.
If their stories conflicted, Aden might very well side with Jeremy.
‘And because things escalated this badly, I had no choice but to explain the shell company and the tunnel too. But even after hearing all that, his expression hasn’t changed at all… Wait, don’t tell me this wasn’t Jeremy acting alone? What if Aden himself secretly ordered the embezzlement to create slush funds or something?’
Was he planning to pin everything on Ilian and cut loose the expendable piece?!
‘But Jeremy definitely mentioned “the chairman.” That’s why I thought he was a Crimson spy…’
What was the truth here?
His thoughts spiraled wildly out of control when—
“I understand.”
Aden’s low, emotionless voice snapped him back to reality.
More importantly, “I understand”? There was no way someone like Aden would accept all this so easily.
“So I only have one question.”
‘I knew it.’
‘What is he going to ask now?!’
His thoughts were in chaos, but Ilian merely adjusted his glasses and nodded calmly.
“Was there something insufficient in my explanation?”
“No. That isn’t it.”
Then what?
Though he struggled to keep his expression steady, he could feel cold sweat running down his back.
His mind raced through every possible question Aden might ask when—
“Are you injured anywhere?”
“…Huh?”
It was a question he genuinely hadn’t expected.
What? Aden was asking if he was hurt…?
For a brief second, Ilian almost misunderstood.
Almost thought the man might possess at least a tiny shred of humanity.
“The other party was beaten unconscious, yet you appear uninjured. I was merely confirming.”
Ugh. Of course.
So he was suspicious because Jeremy supposedly attacked first, but Ilian didn’t even have a scratch.
The unfairness of it made his fists clench instinctively.
“…I was lucky. Fortunately.”
“Have you ever learned martial arts?”
“No.”
But—but Jeremy knocked off my glasses! The frame got bent, and even after fixing it there’s still a mark on them!
…He barely swallowed those words and answered shortly instead.
If he started explaining how he remembered sailors wrestling and used that to defend himself, this interrogation-loving man would definitely ask even more questions. Besides, technically he hadn’t formally learned anything, so it wasn’t a lie.
“I see.”
Then why was he looking at him like I know there’s more, but I’ll let it slide?
Fatigue hit him all at once. His muscles were starting to ache too.
Still, there was one faint ray of hope.
‘Judging by this reaction, he still dislikes me. Well, obviously. I caused an incident like this on my very first day. Maybe he’s laying the groundwork to fire me using this as an excuse…!’
Was he finally getting dismissed?
Ilian worked hard to suppress the corners of his mouth from rising in anticipation when—
“We will not hold Miss Gresia responsible for this matter.”
Actually, I’d really appreciate it if you would.
“On the contrary, compensation is more appropriate for the dedication Miss Gresia has shown La Mar despite it being her very first day—and despite still being a trainee.”
Why was he emphasizing those words like that?
“Every person has a role that suits them. Today’s incident has given me sufficient basis to evaluate you, and coincidentally, a position perfectly suited to Miss Gresia has just become vacant.”
No way.
“One month of probation would clearly be meaningless. Therefore, congratulations, Miss Gresia.”
No way?!
“As of today, your trainee status is revoked. You are hereby appointed as an official in-house secretary.”
“……”
“I look forward to your continued work.”
Slide.
A document labeled Employment Contract was pushed in front of the stunned Ilian.
And what briefly crossed Aden’s face as he handed it over was—
“What are you doing? Sign it.”
—without question, the faintest trace of a smirk.
‘You evil bastard!’
“Ugh… ngh…”
Jeremy groaned as he slowly opened his eyes, his head still pounding.
It was dark. Where was he?
Trying to sit up, he froze in horror when he realized his entire body had been tightly bound with rope.
‘Don’t tell me that trainee tied me up and dumped me here?!’
But he didn’t have time to stay shocked.
He had to escape before the company head and the others returned. This was probably some storage room in a corner of the company building.
Twisting his body desperately, Jeremy cursed aloud.
“That crazy bitch tied these knots ridiculously tight!”
Jeremy had no way of knowing the knots Ilian used were special sailor knots learned from ship crews. He couldn’t even begin figuring out how to untie them.
Getting beaten and tied up by a woman?!
‘Come to think of it… the moment I looked into that trainee’s eyes, my body froze.’
It wasn’t because he was incompetent. That girl must have used some kind of trick.
Maybe some sort of magical tool?
Unable to accept defeat, Jeremy kicked uselessly at the air in frustration before suddenly stopping.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw a figure.
‘W-what the…’
And not just any figure.
A very large one.
