SDD 09

Chapter 9.

1.Becoming the Obsessive Villain’s Secretary (9)

Nod, nod…
He had looked dangerously sleepy for a while now, and sure enough—

Thud.

Blein’s head dropped.

Well, of course he’s tired.

Aside from eating and washing, he’d worked nonstop. No wonder.

Even someone like Helwid, whose stamina far exceeded others due to constant training, was exhausted. How much harder must it be for the precious young lady of a count’s household?

It was already long past midnight.

You worked hard.

Honestly, he hadn’t expected her to keep up this well.

I was planning to act like I had no choice and let her go home if she asked to leave around ten…

But instead of asking to go home, Blein steadily reviewed documents one after another.

Now she was slumped over her desk, face buried like a kitten blinded by the light.

Her head shape is surprisingly cute.

Helwid unknowingly propped his chin on his hand, letting out a relaxed sigh as he gazed at his deeply sleeping secretary.

Where were you hiding until now?

He regretted only meeting her at this point in his life.

No—meeting her at all is fortunate.

Without Blein, his life would have remained dull and monotonous.

A toy like this is a first.
The kind that’s fun just to look at.

Thanks to playing around, I even slept.

Helwid suffered from severe insomnia.

Even when he called it sleep, all he ever did was lie with his dry eyes closed.

I never thought I’d sleep deeply enough to miss my alarm.

If Blein hadn’t snuck up on him that night, he would’ve slept much longer.

I knew she’d be kidnapped and hurt, and yet…

Seeing her get beaten badly enough for her mouth to split open—he nearly went insane with rage.

For the first time, Helwid regretted his own chosen course of action.

“Idiot. You should’ve thrown some useless information at them. Why stubbornly take all the hits?”

She had no flexibility in the strangest places.

The intruders—kidnappers—were insignificant nobles with no real backing.

Just imagining Blein being harmed by such worthless trash made him want to tear them limb from limb.

I was the one who ordered it… unbelievable.

Helwid ran a hand down his face, disgusted with himself.

“Mm…”

Blein shifted uncomfortably.

Even as her shoulders trembled from cold, she didn’t wake.

How could she sleep so peacefully in front of her emperor—and boss—without even knowing what he might do?

She wasn’t particularly strong-looking to begin with. Curled up like that, she reminded him of a tiny, cranky kitten.

Kitten, huh…

Helwid took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders.

What fit him perfectly turned into a blanket on her fragile frame.

Right, she’s quite thin. If I held her like this…

He lifted his arms slightly, as if imagining holding her, then snapped back to reality.

What am I doing… ha. I must be tired.

Running a hand through his hair irritably, he returned to his desk, dimming the lights so she could sleep comfortably.

Birdsong was refreshing.

Even with her eyes closed, she could sense the brightness outside. Her body felt light and energized—
and that’s when dread hit her.

Right. Like that awful morning when you oversleep—

Oh crap—I’m still at work!

She shot upright.

Her whole body screamed from sleeping hunched over the desk.

“You’re awake.”

“HUH!”

A low, husky voice.

Rubbing her eyes, she looked up—Helwid stood before her, looking impossibly perfect for someone who’d supposedly pulled an all-nighter.

“W-When did I fall asleep…? I-I mean, why didn’t you wake me…?”

Something slid off her shoulder.

She caught it before it fell—Helwid’s coat.

He covered her?

Her chest warmed with faint emotion—until he spoke.

“I should put a bed in the office.”

“…Huh?”

“You sleep so restlessly. Kept mumbling in your sleep, looking for a bed. I felt too guilty for forcing you to sleep on the desk, so I couldn’t wake you.”

So much for gratitude.
Emotion: shattered.

“You could’ve just let me go home.”

Pouting, she glared at him. Helwid tapped on the desk.

“Funny how your mouth gets bold when you slept soundly while your boss worked all night.”

Bold mouth??
She pressed her lips together, annoyed.

“My secretary slept so comfortably that I couldn’t rest at all. Notice anything different about the desk?”

“The desk?”

The mountain of papers—gone.

“…No way.”

“What choice did I have? The work had to be done.”

Helwid rolled his shoulders.

“S-Sorry. I—uh—should I make some coffee? Do you want to rest?”

She panicked—after all, she did abandon the work.

“No, that’s fine. Today has its own workload.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I worked all night doing your tasks, so I’m exhausted. I’ll rest a bit…”

He clapped twice.
The tightly closed door opened, and a cart stacked with a horrifying number of documents rolled in.

With a bright morning smile, Helwid said,

“I leave it to you until I return.”

She heard her hair falling out in real time.

Days later, she stared at another mountain of documents, oddly satisfied.

Ah, yes. Another hardcore day.

“Good morning. You’re early today.”

“I had a weird dream and woke up early—
apparently, it was to see… this.”

“Ah, time to review the midyear reports.”

Helwid stroked his handsome jaw thoughtfully.

“At least the pile is smaller this time. Thanks to my capable secretary’s hard work.”

“Not because you trapped me with legal overtime and worked me like a mule?”

“Well… both. Isn’t that how life works?”

He patted her shoulder and returned to his seat.

“Let’s start the day with coffee.”

“Yes, that sounds perfect.”

As he brewed coffee, she inhaled the scent like she was preparing for war.

“Ugh, I’m dying!”

Stretching made her groan.

Why, in both lives, was her fate to work nonstop? Was she born a plow ox in spring?

Indelis—face-down on the sofa solving what looked like a college-level math problem—snickered.

“You don’t have a quiet moment, young lady.”

At this point she was used to him barging in every time Helwid left, badgering her to transfer as his full-time tutor.

“I was quiet while working.”

“Quiet? As you muttered, ‘Ugh, screw this, I can’t do this, maybe if I die I won’t have to work, no—why should I die, I’ll just shoot my boss—Philippine contract killing, 270,000 won.’ That’s quiet?”

…Not that quiet, then.

“That counts as quiet, doesn’t it?”

Indelis ignored her completely.

“Did you finish your work?”

“No. Work never ends.”

“When does it end?”

“When I resign?”

“…So never, then.”

Sir, that sounds like a curse.

“Need help with anything?”

“No. I’ve never been stuck since then.”

Genius.

She pulled out hidden candy from her drawer.

“This is my life-extension item. Want one?”

“…Why?”

“Because Your Highness is cute?”

“I said I dislike being called cute.”

Yet he accepted the candy properly. Adorable.

She laughed, forgetting temporarily that this eight-year-old would someday kill her boss.

“So, why did you ask if I was done working?”

“I wanted to spend time with you.”

An eight-year-old speaking like that with a gentle smile—
he was definitely going to break hearts someday.

At the moment, though, with his cheek puffed from the candy, he was just a sweet little angel.

“Time with me? I’d be honored. It’s nearly lunchtime. Want to go out?”

“The weather is nice. A picnic sounds good. Do you like sandwiches?”

“I love them. Let’s spread a mat and slack off—”

“That sounds like a lovely plan.”

Lord help her—she jumped.

Helwid’s voice.

“When did you get here?! Could you at least make some noise? You scared me.”

“My secretary plotting to ditch her boss for a picnic—unforgivable.”

He smiled, infuriatingly gentle.

Indelis clung to her hand tightly.
His candy-swollen cheek puffed defiantly—he didn’t want Helwid tagging along.

She begged Helwid with her eyes.

Just this once—please?

“No.”

Come on!

“‘Come on’?”

The kid doesn’t want you there!

“Not my problem.”

Are you really going to be petty?

“My secretary calls me petty so often I’m starting to become it.”

Oh, the king of grudges.

“I am petty and full of grudges.”

How is he reading her mind so perfectly?

Indelis looked between them, confused.

“…Are you two communicating telepathically?”

From his face: Are you excluding me? Are you that close?

She rubbed her forehead.

“Anyway—yes. I’m having lunch with His Highness.”

“What about me?”

“You… what about you.”

“You expect me to eat alone?”

He suddenly acted pitiful. Unfair—using his handsome face like that.

Indelis stepped forward, glaring at him.

“The young lady is uncomfortable. Please stop reading her mind.”

“She’s not uncomfortable.”

“She clearly is.”

“She enjoys it. Her tastes are… unusual—”

“HEY! Don’t say that in front of a kid!”

She ran over and clamped his mouth shut—technically a crime against the emperor, but someone had to protect the child’s purity.

Helwid just smiled lazily, eyes seductive.

Indelis looked down at her hand, then grabbed her sleeve tightly.

“I don’t care about the young lady’s preferences. Everyone has the right to their own. But don’t use me to gloss over the situation.”

…W-what?

“I have completed all necessary sex education as a prince. Every citizen has sexual freedom.”

He said this while moving his candy from one cheek to the other.

“So I don’t care about her preferences. But if you let go of my hand again…”

Let—let go?

“You’ll have to choose between quartering and hanging.”

What kind of threat is that?!

She instantly let go of Helwid and grabbed Indelis’s hand.

But Helwid wrapped an arm around her waist.

“If you let go of me, you’ll have to choose between flogging and being crushed under a press.”