The Secretary of the Northern Grand Duchess Has Run Away

Chapter 64. The Black Swan (5)

Two days later.

At a laundry shop near Nordique, Gehenna’s agency.

A single table stood in front of the gate.

Soon, the future top ballerina appeared there in casual clothes.

As soon as she saw me sitting in a chair, she greeted me cautiously.

"I'm here, President Roger."

"Ah, you’ve arrived. Please wait here with me for a bit."

At my suggestion to wait, Gehenna took a seat for now.

"Is someone else coming?"

"Yes. About two more people."

The ballerina glanced around the streets near the agency.

Then, staring at me again, she asked quietly.

"Who on earth are they?"

"To put it simply, people who would benefit from Robert the Director's downfall."

Two people who would be pleased by the ruin of the most successful director at Nordique.

Aside from herself and the secretary, Gehenna couldn't think of anyone else.

"When you have a common enemy, unity comes naturally, don’t you think?"

Soon, two carriages arrived at precisely 10 in the morning, when most citizens were busy working.

Gehenna turned her head to see who it was—

And her lips parted in shock.

The eagle and monocle crest of the Mansachs family.

The cross-shield emblem of the Church of the Light’s Truth.

She immediately realized that everyone inside those carriages belonged to the empire’s highest social class.

"You’ve all arrived early."

What shocked her even more was how indifferent I looked.

I rose calmly from my chair, hands behind my back.

I looked like someone greeting old friends I saw every day.

"Roger, you said first-class knights—!!"

My first partner, Mansachs, clicked his tongue as he stepped down from the carriage.

The blond boy, arms crossed, was leisurely descending.

But when he saw the beautiful ballerina standing beside me, his smile faded.

"Yeah, you’ll be quite satisfied with this one too."

"Entertainment industry scoops—never get old, no matter when you hear them."

Already informed by me, he greeted Gehenna warmly.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Mansachs from Gold Morning. I've heard a lot about you."

"Ah, yes… I'm Gehenna Natasha."

While the two exchanged a light wave—

The holy knight in the passenger seat opened the carriage door.

Soon, the woman with the greatest influence in the Empire after the royal family stepped down.

"The only person who’d summon me to a laundry shop… is you, Roger."

"My apologies, Saintess. But since I’ve guided four lost lambs, perhaps you’ll forgive me?"

The radiant silver-haired saintess, Istina.

She stepped down from the carriage, blinking her brilliant blue eyes.

"So you're the ballerina, Gehenna. I’ve always wanted to see you perform. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Ah… Yes, Saintess. It's an honor to meet you…"

Gehenna’s pupils lost focus, seemingly dizzy from the sudden encounter with such powerful figures.

“What did the secretary you met in the confessional say?”

“She claimed the Director demanded sexual favors. We've already secured the full testimony.”

The holy knight reported clearly in place of the saintess.

Istina, too, nodded slowly and gracefully in agreement with his words.

“This operation will be a joint work between Gold Morning and the Church of the Light’s Truth.”

I spoke to them with the elegant smile I used to wear as Chief Secretary.

About the sweet rewards each of them would gain from today’s meeting.

“Mansachs will get the exclusive report on a top agency director’s serial sexual assault scandal.”

“The Saintess will be praised for drawing out testimonies from the victims through confessionals.”

The two exchanged deeply worldly smiles, seemingly satisfied.

“And as for me, I’ll get to fulfill the dream of this charming ballerina here.”

“You’re skipping over the part where you win the Grand Duke’s trust by bringing the Black Swan to Luton Hall.”

The Saintess looked at me sweetly, as though I were a sly fox.

I didn’t refute it—only responded with a sly smile of my own.

“Isn’t there nothing better than everyone walking away happy?”

Istina seemed to agree and handed me a folder.

Inside were the testimonies of the victimized secretaries, recorded during confession.

“They’re all deeply afraid of Director Robert’s retaliation. Some were even threatened with being blacklisted from the industry for life.”

Even the ambitious Saintess wore a cold, expressionless face this time.

“I also checked with our agency’s internal audit team like you suggested, Roger. Turns out one of the employees had already taken Robert’s bribes. He’s quite a thorough bastard.”

Bribing the press and threatening people with expulsion from the industry.

Gehenna could now understand why the victims couldn’t even open their mouths.

But—

“I already spoke to the executives ‘properly,’ so we can proceed as planned.”

“The President of Nordique is also a faithful donor to our church.”

Then, she realized.

Corruption at the top could only be punished by someone even higher.

And that I stood at the center of it all.

Her eyes began to sparkle.

“That should be enough, then.”

However, there was still one thing that bothered her.

Namely, the lack of solid evidence.

“But is this enough? I mean, we don’t have any clear proof yet.”

She looked worried as she stared at the folder of testimonies in my hand.

To this, I placed the documents in my briefcase and replied,

“That’s exactly why I asked you all to gather at this laundry.”

I pointed toward the laundry shop door.

Then, telling them to wait a moment, I stepped inside alone.

“Welcome.”

“I’m here to pick up some laundry. Under the name Robert Fellows.”

With my hands behind my back, I asked the middle-aged woman kindly.

The shopkeeper checked her order book through a magnifying glass.

“Let’s see… Robert… Ah, here it is. He dropped this off yesterday.”

The woman soon returned carrying the laundry.

It was the same jacket Robert had worn at the party a few days ago.

“By any chance, were there any spare buttons inside?”

“Oh yes. I removed them before washing.”

With a gentle smile, the laundress handed me a small paper pouch.

I gave her a polite bow and carried the laundry back outside.

The three were still waiting.

I tossed the gifted jacket casually onto the chair and opened the pouch of buttons.

And then—

I handed the small spirit stone inside to Gehenna.

“This is…”

Gehenna, too, would know exactly what the spirit stone was used for.

No artist wouldn’t.

It was an essential tool used when recording music.

And it had been inside the jacket I had gifted him.

That night,

Robert had stayed long at the company’s secretary office even after the party ended.

“Why would he leave laundry somewhere else when he has a full mansion?”

Gehenna looked up at me softly.

In her brown eyes, filled with longing for art, my serious expression was reflected.

“Give this to the President of Nordique, Gehenna.”

I gently closed her hand around the spirit stone.

Her fingers were marked with countless scars from all the times she had fallen.

“I’ll entrust this to you. The company deserves a moment to prepare as well.”

Gehenna gripped the spirit stone tightly.

Then, she looked cautiously at the Saintess and the second son of the newspaper company standing beside me.

And finally, she looked back at me.

“Alright, Mr. Roger.”

She pressed her clenched fist against her chest as she spoke.

With eyes full of firm resolve.

“I’ll come back with good news. I promise.”

I gave her a faint smile and a respectful nod.

Then I turned to Mansachs.

“Can I ask you to escort Miss Gehenna back to her agency?”

“Sure. Thanks to you, I get to ride in a carriage with a famous star—”

True to his noble upbringing, Mansachs smoothly guided Gehenna to the carriage.

Once aboard, the ballerina leaned her head out the window, turning to the side.

Her loosely braided hair fluttered in the wind.

“Thank you, Roger! I’ll repay this favor someday!!”

I silently waved to her.

And thought to myself,

A favor, huh.

I had simply used her to carry out the Grand Duke’s orders.

It had been a long time since someone thanked me—someone who had always lived in another’s shadow.

“Is it alright to send her alone to the president like that?”

Saintess Istina asked, watching Mansachs’s carriage disappear into the distance.

Hands clasped and folded gently against her body, she looked gracious beneath the morning sun.

“Yes, she’ll be fine. Unlike noble families, companies aren’t bound by blood.”

I answered as I idly glanced down at my wristwatch.

“No matter how skilled at flattery or how great their performance, if one person brings down a company’s image…”

I looked softly at Istina.

And with eyes that implied she already knew, I added,

“It’ll be a heavy blow. That’s why they’ll cut off the rotten part without hesitation.”

Cutting off the tail.

Now that I was the one doing the severing, the words left a bitter taste.

“Sounds like you’ve cut someone off before.”

The Saintess looked into my hollow eyes and asked calmly.

Her blue gaze peeking through strands of her silver hair.

“No. I haven’t.”

I shook my head firmly in response to her question.

Instead, I said quietly,

“I’ve only been the one cut off.”

Straightening my suit jacket, I prepared to leave.

Then, with a bright tone, I turned the question back to her.

“You should get ready too, Saintess. Don’t you have a big interview tomorrow?”

“Thank you for your concern. But—”

Istina gently lifted the silver hood over her head.

Then, for the first time since I’d known her, she spoke with the tender eyes of a true Saintess.

“Sometimes, it’s okay to slow down a little, Roger.”

Around her hood was a trim of silver wolf fur.

And within it, that wistful, smiling gaze—

“No matter how strong a person is, there are moments when they feel on the verge of collapse.”

Just for that moment, she truly felt like a Saintess.

“You can come to confession from time to time, too.”

“Well, seeing how effective it was in convincing the secretary, I suppose it works quite well.”

But I had no intention of leaning on her.

Or rather, I was born unable to rely on anyone at all.

“I was born the kind of person who can’t afford to depend on others.”

A secretary, after all, is someone their master should feel they can lean on.

“If I start depending on religion, then who would my master lean on?”

At my sly reply, Istina gave a faint smile.

Then she pulled her hood back over her face.

“That’s an interesting answer.”

Within the hood, only her red, fresh lips remained visible.

And those lips, in a beautiful voice, said to me,

“You say that as if your master could never embrace their secretary.”

I was about to return to the hotel alone—

But her cryptic words made me turn my head.

“How irresponsible must your previous master have been for you to think that way?”

And then—

“You’re making me want to change that heart of yours.”

She had approached close behind me, without me noticing.

Her blue eyes pulled me toward her hood.

“There’s no need to act tough before God.”

The warmth of the Saintess’s breath tickled the tip of my nose.

That radiant smile, shining beneath the shadow of her hood.

Just how many followers had found ecstasy and comfort in that smile?

Anyone with nowhere else to lean on would have surely fallen into her arms.

But—

“The way you took down Director Robert… it was elegant and despicable.”

There’s no reward in this world without a price.

“You didn’t dirty your own hands on the surface, but in truth, you used someone close to him to eavesdrop.”

Istina must have thought my method suited her religion quite well.

After all, appearances were everything to her faith.

“If someone did all that for me… I’d make sure they’d never regret it for the rest of their life.”

Sweet words.

Especially coming from the most compassionate woman in the Empire.

However—

“Would you really?”

Those words didn’t work on someone who had already been cast aside and faced their end.

Even if a god descended and reached out to me, I wouldn’t believe in that god.

“Make sure I never regret it for the rest of my life… I’m sorry, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say things like that.”

At my firm words, Istina blinked her beautiful eyes for a moment.

Like a silver she-wolf encountering a kind of lamb she’d never seen before.

“As a citizen of the Empire, I wouldn’t want to see a day where the Saintess fails to keep her promise.”

You don’t make vows you can’t keep.

Because someone who was betrayed might come back alive one day.

“……”

From beneath her hood, the Saintess silently watched the man walk away.

Until now, most of the faithful she’d met had repented in her love and entrusted their hearts to her.

But perhaps for the first time, she had met someone with an inner world so dark and impenetrable that she couldn’t wedge herself into it.

“If a boy like that came to rely on me… I can only imagine how rewarding that would feel…!!”

Like meeting a shy little lamb after a long time, a sense of curiosity stirred within her.

“I want to savor it already.”

In her blue eyes, hidden beneath the hood, his back was reflected.

The Saintess gazed at the man—once a shadow of the Grand Duke’s house—long and hard, as if deeply intrigued by what lay inside him.