The Male Lead’s Secretary Is Too Good at Her Job – Chapter 13

Author: isuzuuy

As I’ve mentioned before, Pierce gives off the impression of a genuinely upright young man.

Put him in a school, and he’d be a prodigy. Put him in a company, and he’d be its star employee.

As someone who’d studied alchemy, I thought he seemed like the kind of student who was the most beloved by everyone in the laboratory.

And today, my impression of him was updated.

He was indeed the most beloved student in the laboratory… but it turned out he was also a psychopath who constantly conducted insane experiments.

“The basement is actually quite comfortable, isn’t it?”

Looking at the utterly bleak gray walls, I couldn’t help but stiffen.

Where on earth was he taking me…?

“Watch your step on the way down. There’s no need to be too scared. The basement is quiet right now, so you won’t hear any screaming.”

That meant there had been screaming before.

“Oh, didn’t one of the guys yesterday say he’d seen a ghost?”

That meant there was a chance I’d hear screaming even now…!!

“Anyway, be careful. It’s dark down here.”

He led the way, holding a lamp.

I followed right behind him, literally sticking as close to his back as I could. I couldn’t even count how many times the cold air brushing against me had given me goose bumps.

Fortunately, the corridor wasn’t very long.

At the end stood a tightly shut black iron door.

When Pierce opened it, I saw Rashak’s back.

I couldn’t help flinching as I suddenly remembered that Rashak hadn’t called us here.

Even if I was his secretary… torture was supposed to be something private, wasn’t it?

Was it really okay for me to just show up like this? I’d barely been working here for a week!

While I was overwhelmed by that tension, Rashak’s gaze landed on me.

The next moment, he asked a completely unexpected question.

“What time did you arrive at work?”

“Nine o’clock. I-I arrived right on time…”

He smiled.

“Good job.”

It was a surprisingly bright smile, completely out of place in this bleak atmosphere.

It was just as out of place as it was in the original story, so I couldn’t help flinching again.

Seriously, though…

He really was handsome.

“So, how’s it going?” Pierce asked as he approached.

Rashak clicked his tongue.

“Same as yesterday. They haven’t said a thing.”

“All three of them?”

“All three.”

I followed Rashak’s gaze.

Beyond a massive glass window, a man was tied to a chair.

Standing in front of him was Mr. Fidel, the head of the assassination squad, who somehow looked even more terrifying from here.

As he wiped a bloodstained knife with a cloth, he said,

“Looks like he has no intention of dying peacefully.”

Good grief.

I just wanted to go home today, too.

“So, Hiel? Do you see anything?” Pierce asked.

I shook my head vigorously.

“N-No. Nothing at all.”

“Nothing that suddenly lights up, like what happened at Sterling?”

“Nothing.”

At my firm answer, Pierce looked disappointed.

I turned back toward the window.

The man tied to the chair was one of the pursuers who’d chased me to the rooftop last week.

You know, the mustached one who’d been leading the group.

…His face is a complete mess.

He was covered in wounds, presumably from the rough treatment he’d received here.

But his tightly sealed lips made it perfectly clear that he had no intention of talking.

Wait a minute. If he hadn’t said anything…

“So you still haven’t caught the actual spy inside the organization?”

Even after asking, I was so startled that I hurriedly covered my mouth.

That was a rather bold question for a secretary who’d only just started working here.

But Rashak didn’t look offended. Instead, he gave a faint chuckle.

“That’s right. That’s the problem.”

His straightforward admission only made me more nervous.

I remembered what I’d said last week.

“I think I’ve caught the spies…”

It would’ve sounded strange to say, I’ve caught the pursuers, so I’d called them spies instead.

Technically, this man was an underling sent by the spies, someone working under their command.

Still, I’d used the word spies, and Rashak had paid me the promised 100 million rupen.

But the real problem—the spies themselves—remained unresolved. Honestly…

It’s bothering me a little…

After all, I’d already been paid.

I knew it was beyond my abilities, but it still made me uncomfortable.

There was nothing I could do about it right now, though.

I’d learned interrogation techniques during my knight training, but I’d never used them in a real situation… and I knew even less about torture.

Isn’t there something I can do to help?

As I stared intently through the glass, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

If I try that method…

But I couldn’t bring myself to speak up right away. The chances of hitting a dead end were much higher than the chances of finding a lead.

Still, if there’s no other way…

I cautiously asked Pierce,

“Have their personal belongings been collected?”

His blue eyes immediately lit up.

His voice practically boomed through the room.

“You’ve thought of something again!”

“I’m not sure it’ll work…”

“You’ve thought of something! Haven’t you?!”

Then the same situation as before repeated itself.

Unable to bear the intensity of his sparkling eyes, I looked away. Next, Rashak’s gaze landed on me, then Mr. Fidel’s beyond the glass, and even the mustached pursuer tied to the chair started staring at me…

Aaah!

Desperately avoiding everyone’s eyes, I finally managed to answer.

“If we examine their belongings… there might be some clues…”

***

We arrived at a room somewhere in the basement.

“These are all the belongings we recovered from them.”

Various weapons lay scattered across the table.

There were daggers, small alchemical bombs, powders that looked like poison, bundles of folded banknotes, and even belts fitted with numerous pouches.

Pierce asked,

“What are you planning to do?”

“Well… the three of them are companions, right? They probably stayed in the same place before leaving together.”

Rashak, who’d been listening silently, spoke up.

“So you’re looking for traces they have in common on their belongings.”

“Exactly.”

“Oh, then we might be able to find their hideout! You’re like a detective!”

It really was detective work, in a way.

I’d even been trained to examine suspects’ belongings—in other words, potential evidence—carefully during my knight training.

“Then… I’ll take a look.”

I cautiously began examining the items.

Fingerprint analysis didn’t exist in this world, but just in case, I put on gloves.

There was nothing particularly noteworthy about the daggers. They showed signs of frequent use, as if they were the owners’ preferred weapons, but they were otherwise very clean.

I considered analyzing the poison, but that would probably take too long.

Besides, I suspected Rashak might already be handling that, so I decided to leave it for now.

The small bombs were exactly what their name suggested: simple, compact devices made according to standard recipes.

Even if I dismantled them, there probably wouldn’t be any distinctive marks identifying their maker.

Then all that’s left is these belts.

I carefully opened one of the pouches attached to a belt.

The poison, small bombs, weapons, banknotes, and everything else had already been removed, leaving it completely empty.

I carefully examined the tiny crevices inside, running my fingertips through every nook and cranny.

And when I pulled my hand out…

“There’s something on it.”

I nodded and reached for a glass dish beside me.

A tiny amount of fine, pure white powder clung to its surface.

Wait, is this that weird… stuff…? That kind of drug…?

“…It smells faintly of pine. Is it resin powder?”

…Apparently not.

“I’ll check the other pouches, too.”

After secretly letting out a sigh of relief, I put on a fresh pair of gloves and examined the remaining pouches.

Every single one contained a small amount of the powder.

In other words, all three men had spent time somewhere this powder was present.

My initial hypothesis had been proven correct.

“Can you confirm whether it’s resin?”

“Yes.”

I immediately went over to the nearby table.

The alchemical equipment I’d asked Pierce to prepare was laid out there. I selected a reagent and dropped a few drops onto the glass dish…

“A yellow… precipitation is forming.”

“Yes. That means it’s resin.”

“…That’s rather inconclusive. Resin has so many uses.”

Pierce furrowed his brows as he spoke.

He was right. This powder had a wide variety of uses. It was used in shipbuilding, carriage and cart maintenance, printing shops, carpentry workshops, and countless other places.

However…

“It might be a special kind of resin.”

“A special kind?”

I separated the precipitate and transferred it to a smaller dish.

“Yes, I’d need to examine it more closely, but…”

At that moment, my fingertip accidentally brushed against the dish containing the precipitate.

Ping.

A small, clear chime rang through the room.

I froze.

A few tiny silver flecks mixed into the precipitate had begun to glimmer faintly.

Thinking it might have been my imagination, I touched them again with my fingernail.

Ping.