I recalled the conversation we’d had when my employment contract was first discussed.
“Your annual salary will be 100 million rupen. I can’t guarantee you’ll always leave work on time, but I promise you’ll receive time off equivalent to any overtime you work. There will also be additional rewards based on your performance.”
People might have different opinions about these working conditions, but the very first thought that crossed my mind was this:
So they’re going to make me work overtime like it’s a daily meal.
Still, I wasn’t particularly dissatisfied. At my first job, that massive merchant company, working overtime had been as natural as breathing.
Time off is equivalent to overtime hours.
Just getting that promise already made this job better than my previous one.
But I’m leaving work before midnight?
I blinked while checking the time on my pocket watch.
I was currently inside Rashak’s carriage, sitting opposite him while Mr. Fidel, the head of the assassination squad, drove us.
Watching me close my watch and put it back in my pocket, Rashak asked,
“Do you have somewhere urgent to be?”
“Huh? Oh, n-no. Not at all. It’s actually the opposite…”
“The opposite?”
I hesitated, trying to gauge his reaction, before asking,
“…Is it really okay for me to leave work now?”
For some reason, Rashak’s brows drew together.
Leaning back against the seat with his arms crossed, he asked,
“When did you say you came to the capital?”
“When I was twenty-one.”
“And before that?”
I slowly told him my story.
I spent three years as a trainee knight at fifteen, then three years studying alchemy. After that, I moved to the capital and joined Crowell, but…
“…I never expected to encounter a sexual harasser there.”
“And you opened your own magic potion shop when you were twenty-four?”
“Yes. My maternal grandfather gave me the house, and before getting married, I wanted to try running a business of my own…”
I wanted to use the knowledge I’d brought from my previous life.
And the information I knew about the original novel, Holding the Leash of You, the Arrogant One.
With those two things, I wanted to succeed and show my parents what I was capable of. I wanted to prove that I could do well, too, and tell them to stop looking down on me so much…
“…But hadn’t you already investigated my background?”
At my question, he gave a faint chuckle.
“Hearing it directly from the person herself is different.”
I didn’t know what difference that made, but I nodded anyway.
Well, perhaps it was some kind of instinct unique to an organization boss.
“Then staying up all night to submit reports must be a habit you picked up at Crowell.”
“A habit…? Well, not exactly. Everyone there does it. No matter what happens, we’re expected to write a report first and submit it by the following morning.”
“What else?”
“Pardon? …What else?”
“Tell me everything you did at Crowell that you were planning to do in my organization, too.”
I let my eyes wander for a moment before answering cautiously.
“I was going to arrive at six in the morning, clean the office and the surrounding areas, prepare your tea, and then review some of the day’s work…”
“Six in the morning… Wait a moment.”
Rashak asked seriously,
“Then when do you sleep?”
“…Whenever I can steal a few moments?”
“A few moments?”
“Well… during lunch breaks and things like that…”
“Then what about lunch?”
I skip it or eat something quick.
I couldn’t bring myself to say that out loud. He was looking at me as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Tsk. You’re practically begging to die.”
“Excuse me?”
“Do you know what happens when you live like that? You go on without knowing when or where your body will give out, and then one day, you suddenly die in your sleep.”
“Excuse me?”
“Your life expectancy is shorter than that of the people in my organization who get stabbed or poisoned. Hiel Cavernon.”
His brows furrowed sharply. I knew exactly what that expression meant.
Why do I have to explain something this obvious to you? Are you a fucking idiot?
…No, Rashak hadn’t actually said that.
Still, it was the kind of look you’d give someone with absolutely no sense of planning whatsoever.
“If you’re leaving work early, don’t go to bed past midnight. Arrive at work on time, eat lunch during your lunch break, and… yes, I should arrange for you to have a health checkup, too.”
While I was wondering what kind of twenty-first-century employee benefits this was, a sudden curiosity struck me.
How exactly did mafia-style health checkups work?
“And cleaning? Preparing tea? Are you deliberately trying to make yourself look like a spy?”
“Excuse me?!”
“If you’re wandering around before dawn, long before work starts, of course you’ll look suspicious. Don’t you think so?”
He continued explaining.
“Besides, I don’t put just anything into my mouth. Bring me what I need when I need it. If you prepare something before I’ve asked for it, I’ll have no choice but to suspect you.”
“……”
Why is she trying to make me consume this?
I swallowed nervously before answering.
“I-I’ll never do that again.”
“Good. See that you don’t.”
Only then did he give a satisfied smile before leaning his upper body toward me.
His golden eyes, filled with unwavering determination, fixed on mine.
“Forget every habit you picked up at Crowell. Forget every principle your parents drilled into you.”
“……”
“From now on, I’m your superior, Hiel Cavernon. You’re mine, too. And your schedule belongs to me.”
You’re mine, too.
Your schedule belongs to me.
Faced with that possessive tone, I could only nod.
“Y-Yes… Understood. Then… what should I do now?”
Just then, the carriage came to a stop in front of my house.
When Mr. Fidel opened the carriage door, Rashak gestured toward the house.
“Go inside and sleep. Until eight in the morning.”
In other words, I was to start work at nine sharp.
I nodded once more and picked up my bag.
“If you loiter anywhere near the office before nine, you’ll be in trouble.”
His playful voice followed me as soon as I stepped out of the carriage.
He gave me a casual wave, then the door closed.
I stood there blankly, watching Rashak’s carriage disappear into the distance.
Somehow, that was…
…He’s a good boss.
He even made sure I got home safely after working late.
He didn’t make me do pointless work.
And he took an interest in his employees’ lives.
He’s different from the original story.
The original Rashak was something else entirely.
After all, Holding the Leash of You, the Arrogant One was a regret-filled, emotionally devastating novel.
Rashak was the quintessential regretful male lead—or rather, a villainous male lead with an even worse personality than the archetype itself.
Hadn’t he snapped at the heroine whenever she dared to feel even slightly wronged?
“Have you still not grasped the situation? Do you know whose hands hold your lifeline?”
There had been another line like this, too.
“Shall I remind you what happened to the people who dared to run their mouths in front of me?”
Just remembering those chilling lines made me shudder.
Honestly, he wasn’t even the kind of person who deserved the chance to regret his actions.
Though there was a reason…
The moment I thought of that reason, my body stiffened involuntarily.
That’s right. There was a reason Rashak had become such a terrible person.
An incident that could be called the greatest misfortune of his life.
And right now, we were still at a point in time before that incident occurred.
What would happen if I told him about it?
Would the future change?
Or was there something called the original storyline that couldn’t be changed, no matter what I did?
With all those complicated thoughts weighing on my mind, I returned home.
For now, I decided I should focus on taking care of myself.
***
The next morning.
I arrived at work exactly on time, just as Rashak had instructed.
Pierce, however, arrived ten minutes late.
“Oh, Hiel! You’re here early!”
…You’re the one who’s late.
“Didn’t you leave work late yesterday? Come on, you should’ve arrived a little later today. Everyone would’ve understood.”
“…Then did you work overtime yesterday, Mr. Pierce?”
“I left on time.”
What a baffling workplace.
“How’s the Sterling case coming along?”
“Oh, I’ve been compiling yesterday’s testimonies and organizing everything. We’re planning to notify the merchants’ association about the incident today and submit the formal complaint to the court tomorrow.”
“Then you can start working on the reports the day after tomorrow. Let me know if you need any help.”
I could only nod at his almost leisurely attitude.
Well, honestly, the later the deadline for those reports, the better for me.
“But… What about the boss? Hasn’t he come to work yet…?”
“Oh, he has. He’s probably torturing someone in the interrogation room downstairs right now. You know, those little rats Hiel lured in and helped us catch before.”
Torture.
At that word, my face stiffened. I felt goose bumps rise along my arms.
“Y-You mean… those people?”
“Yep! They’re still alive, believe it or not! Isn’t that amazing?”
Pierce flashed me a bright smile.
“You look curious. Want to go take a look together?”
And so, once again, I came to the same conclusion.
Pierce was definitely a fucking lunatic.
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