SDA 2

Chapter : 02

Rian de Vichel suddenly invaded my life a month ago.
It was through Chase Oravenny’s introduction.

“Sienna, meet him. This is Rian de Vichel, who will be working at our center starting today.”
“…Huh?”
“I met him when I was studying abroad at Tiarosa Academy. He’s one of my closest friends.”
“….”
“Rian is from the Kingdom of Rehatten, so there’s a lot he doesn’t know about the Empire. Make sure you take good care of him, okay?”
“….”
“I trust our Sienna. You know how I feel, right?”

So, basically, he was a parachuted-in hire personally dropped by the center director.
‘If he’s from Tiarosa Academy, he must be a noble…’
I still didn’t understand why a kingdom noble would bother crossing over to the Empire just to work at a counseling center.

My first impression of Rian was simple:
‘Annoying… extremely annoying.’

Of course, he was handsome.
Everything about him—his face, physique, and posture—was flawless. His expensive-looking attire suggested he had money.
Anyone could guess he was the kind of man who could easily be one of the thirty male leads in a game.

But the problem was, I absolutely despised people with Rian’s personality.

“Hello, Director. I look forward to your guidance. I expect your consideration for me from now on, okay?”

Someone like Chase Oravenny—what people called a “slick + shameless + sweet-talker.”
‘I’ve known Oravenny for a long time; a guy like that flirts with every woman habitually.’
In short, he wasn’t genuine.
‘And starting off with speaking informally only added to the dislike.’

Anyway, although Rian was technically the youngest at the center, he wasn’t acting like a junior.
A junior at work should assist seniors and handle miscellaneous tasks.
But Rian didn’t do any of that—he didn’t do any work at all. From the moment he arrived to the moment he left, he only sat on the sofa, lazily tapping his feet…
Yet none of the staff dared to say anything to him.
‘He’s a noble, and he’s the oldest among the employees…’

The situation now was much the same.
When Rian reacted positively to a request, the atmosphere instantly turned tense.
The expression on everyone’s face read:
‘We’re already annoyed enough—why is the junior stirring up trouble?!’

Whether he noticed or not, Rian spoke with a sly smile.
“But Director, why bother asking the seniors’ permission? Didn’t we already agree to take the request?”
“…?”
“I saw the thick envelope you received earlier.”

He pointed to his own red eyes and smiled darkly.
‘When did he even see that…?’
Rian hadn’t been around when Johan visited earlier.

Isadora’s gaze turned sharp.
“Director, did you receive an advance payment?”
“Uh… yes.”
“How much did you receive?”
“….”
“…50,000 gold.”

Her tired eyes instantly cleared as if washed with holy water.
‘Suddenly the fish looks alive instead of dead.’

Heaven and Finn reacted the same way.
“50,000 gold…?”
They stared blankly at me, then nodded slowly.
“That’s a lot.”
“It is…”
“Ahem.”

Isadora, clearing her throat, pushed her glasses back up her nose.
“Director, I have one question….”
“….”
“Would you be willing to give us an incentive from the client’s payment?”

I rolled my eyes at her frankness.
‘I didn’t even think that far, focusing only on Johan…’

I quickly agreed.
“Well… you’ve been with the center for over two years. Including the final payment, that makes 100,000 gold.”
“….”
“…I’ll give 3,000 gold each if the request succeeds.”

The previously slouching employees straightened up immediately.
“Well, we can’t help it then.”
“That’s true.”
“Let’s do it.”

Those who had been negative just a minute ago suddenly changed their attitude.
‘They’ve surrendered to capitalism.’

By now, Rian had approached my side.
He looked over the documents Johan had prepared and spoke.
“Director, do you know this man?”

A sudden question.
His red eyes scanned the papers and returned to me.
“Nothing in particular, it’s just that when you looked at the Marquis earlier, your gaze seemed… intense.”
“….”
“Almost like you’ve known the Marquis Veloster for decades.”

Rian’s half-lidded eyes curved slightly.
His chilling yet sharp gaze made my heart pound.
‘This guy is uncanny.’

He had even managed to analyze my expression when I received the advance payment.
‘But there’s no way I can tell him I’ve known Johan for nineteen years across my past and current lives.’

I put on a serious face.
“No, we don’t know each other at all…”

It felt strange speaking politely to the junior, but I had no choice.
‘I can’t just use informal speech toward someone Chase Oravenny considers a close friend…’

Rian raised his eyebrows.
“I see.”
“….”
“So the Director sends ‘those kinds of’ looks to people you don’t know?”
“….”
“You’re an interesting person, Director.”

His sinister smile appeared in my vision.
‘What answer does he want from me?’

I had nothing to say, so I turned to the staff.
The employees, who had been watching Rian and me, quickly looked away.
‘Why are they like that?’

I couldn’t understand any of it—the annoying Rian stirring trouble or the suspiciously acting staff.

Rian, still examining the documents, muttered,
“The request from Marquis Johan Veloster targets Violet Bringer of the Bringer family….”
“….”
“…Ah, I remember. She’s famous for being beautiful, right?”

I unconsciously clenched my fists.
‘The junior just barges in and does nothing, and now he’s throwing facts at me?’
I was already uneasy, and now he had to strike me with reality.

Violet Bringer.
I had known of her existence for some time.
She was famous for her beauty, just as Rian said.

I first saw Violet at the royal ball held a year ago.
‘Wow, she’s like cotton candy.’

Indeed, Violet was a breathtaking beauty with a sweet, dessert-like aura.

But…
‘I never expected Johan to like Violet.’

Of course, men like beautiful women, but I never imagined Johan would.

In the novel The Flower Fields of Milaira, Johan was diligent and pure.
He was different from ordinary male characters.
He began liking Milaira not for her looks, but for her kind heart.

‘I know this is a game world where the novel’s settings don’t fully apply, but still… Violet?’
My idealized image of Johan was shattered.
‘Johan Veloster, you’ve fallen.’

While I was suffering from amnesia for 19 years, he must have fully tasted the ways of the world.

Still, even though I was disappointed in Johan, it wasn’t easy to give up on him.
He was, after all, my perfect ideal type and ultimate favorite.
‘I didn’t expect getting over someone to be this difficult…’

I pushed aside my tangled emotions.
The request had already been accepted, so there was no turning back.

“I’ll investigate.”

To facilitate a natural meeting between Johan and Violet, I first had to track Violet’s movements.
‘I don’t want to… but I have to.’

I trudged toward the door, and one by one the staff greeted me.
“Please be careful, Director.”
“Director, here’s some melon juice for the road.”
“I’ll take strawberry, please.”

Already feeling gloomy, I shot Finn and Heaven a glare and stepped outside.

But… I sensed someone following from behind.
“…Why is the junior following me?”

Rian had quietly come along.
“I’m just making sure you don’t get bored.”
“Bored? We’re going to work.”
“Don’t you know splitting work in two halves the burden?”
“If we split the work, then we have two jobs.”

I shoved the unhelpful Rian back into the center building.
“Don’t follow me. Go help the seniors.”

Yet Rian didn’t move.
He simply looked down at me struggling with a relaxed gaze.
“Director, do you think I’d get pushed aside by that little fist of yours? You seem to enjoy making me laugh.”

He winked and added,
“I’m adorable, you know.”

Habitual flirting, plus the winking…
Realizing this world was a game made me think:
‘Rian de Vichel… which novel’s male lead did you come from?’